Welcome to the Elise Ford Allen Library!

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What's New in the Library?

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The Weight of Water by Sarah Crossan

Armed with a suitcase and an old laundry bag filled with clothes, Kasienka and her mother head for England. Life is lonely for Kasienka. At home, her mother's heart is breaking and at school friends are scarce. But when someone special swims into her life, Kasienka learns that there might be more than one way for her to stay afloat.

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Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca

Reha feels torn between two worlds: school, where she’s the only Indian American student, and home, with her family’s traditions and holidays. But Reha’s parents don’t understand why she’s conflicted—they only notice when Reha doesn’t meet their strict expectations.

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Closer to Nowhere by Ellen Hopkins

For the most part, Hannah's life is just how she wants it. But when her cousin Cal moves in with her family, everything changes.

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The Canyon's Edge by Dusti Bowling

One year after a random shooting changed their family forever, Nora and her father are exploring a slot canyon deep in the Arizona desert, hoping it will help them find peace.

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Full Cicada Moon by Marilyn Hilton

It's 1969, and the Apollo 11 mission is getting ready to go to the moon. But for half-black, half-Japanese Mimi, moving to a predominantly white Vermont town is enough to make her feel alien. And even though teachers and neighbors balk at her mixed-race family and her refusals to conform, Mimi’s dreams of becoming an astronaut never fade—no matter how many times she’s told no.

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Paper Hearts by Meg Wiviott

 A novel in verse, Paper Hearts is the story of survival, defiance, and friendship. Based on historical events about a group of girls who were slave laborers at the munitions factory in Auschwitz.

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Under the Broken Sky by Mariko Nagai

Twelve-year-old Natsu and her family live a quiet farm life in Manchuria, near the border of the Soviet Union. But the life they’ve known begins to unravel when her father is recruited to the Japanese army, and Natsu and her little sister, Cricket, are left orphaned and destitute.

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The Colors of the Rain by  R.L. Toalson

Paulie and his sister, Charlie, move in with their Aunt Bee and attend a new elementary school, set against the backdrop of the desegregation battles that took place in Houston, Texas, in 1972.

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The Places We Sleep by Caroline Brooks DuBois

It's early September 2001, and twelve-year-old Abbey is the new kid at school. Again. Tennessee is her family's latest stop in a series of moves based on her dad's work in the Army, but this one might be different. Her school is far from Base, and for the first time, Abbey has found a real friend: loyal, courageous, athletic Camille.

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Unbound: A Novel in Verse by Ann E. Burg 

From the award-winning author of All the Broken Pieces and Serafina's Promise comes a new novel-in-verse that is a gripping, transcendent story about a little-known piece of slave history. The day Grace is called from the slave cabins to work in the Big House, Mama makes her promise to keep her eyes down. Uncle Jim warns her to keep her thoughts tucked private in her mind or they could bring a whole lot of trouble and pain.

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