Willow's Whispers*
by Lana Button
Illustrated by Tanya Howells
ISBN: 978-1-55453-280-3
Willow defines shy. Her voice is described as being "as soft and shy as a secret." At school, this limits Willow. She isn't loud enough to be heard by others on the playground that she'd loved to play with them. She gets the wrong choice of juice from the teacher because the teacher can't hear her response. Thing like this continue to happen to her, and her father offers some intriguing perspective. He told Willow that her strong voice was somewhere inside of her, and it would "wiggle its way out." These words perplex Willow, and she ponders at night how to make her strong voice come out of her. She decides to create a magic microphone out of recyclable cardboard, glue, and some glitter. It works! But then, at the end of the day, it breaks. At that point, Willow feels something "bubbling" inside of her...waiting to come out.
The text structure add to the main themes of the story. When Willow shyly responds, the font is very small. This further creates the image of her tiny voice.
Big Red Lollipop*
by Rukhsana Khan
Illustrated by Sophie Backall
ISBN: 978-0-670-0627-4
The main character, Rubina, is invited to a friend's birthday party. Immigrants to America and of Muslim faith, Rubina's mother, Ami, insists that she takes her little sister, Sana, along to the party. The mother's culture doesn't celebrate birthdays, so she simply doesn't understand the awkwardness of this conundrum. Sana wreaks havoc at the party (as Rubina expected) by insisting on winning all the prizes and crying when she falls during music chairs. This spoils the day for Rubina. Sana and Rubina receive treat bags when they leave the party. They contain small toys and treats...including a big, red lollipop! Sana eats hers right away, but Rubina saves her for the next day. To add insult to injury, Rubina checks the refrigerator the next day...the lollipop is no more than a little triangle on a stick! Eventually, it's Sana's turn to be invited to a birthday party, and the mother insists that she take her younger sister, Maryam. In a touching act of forgiveness and awareness, Rubina insists that Sana be able to attend the party by herself. 
A Very Big Bunny*
Written and illustrated by Marisabina Russow
ISBN: 978-0-375-84463-8
Can you imagine being too big to play recess games with others (I do!)? Too tall for jump rope, feet considered too big for hopscotch, and no one wants to be on the opposite side of the seesaw from her, Ameilia is an outcast from her peers. She spends recess times counting cloud and listening to the wind by the fence. One day, a new student joins the class...Sussanah, now the "pipsqueak" of the class. She endures the same recess problems as Amelia, but it's due to her petite size. Sussanah is a fighter, though, and she essentially hounds Amelia about becoming friends, but Amelia just wants to hang around by the fence...alone. The two finally befriend and become comfortable with who they are when Sussanah dolls Amelia and herself up for picture day.
Here are resources to catch your eye!
Dork Diaries: Tales from a Not-So-Fabulous Life*
by Rachel Renee Russell
ISBN: 978-1-416-98202-9
If you're looking for a super-fast read that's akin to The Diary of a Wimpy Kid but with a feminine flair...this fits the bill. The two books have the same text structure (text and drawings in a diary by teenagers). In this book, Nikki Maxwell is a flawed 8th grader that attends a hoity-toity school because her father was awarded the exterminator contact for it. Yeah, she gets dropped off in Dad's work van...the one with the giant roach affixed to the top of it. Here, she is the easy victim of the class's mean girl, Mackenzie. The storyline comes to a climax when Nikki and Mackenzie both enter into the school's art contest. Mackenzie busts Nikki's painting into a "zillion pieces." Nikki's secret crush (Brandon) saves the day.
The Unusual Mind of Vincent Shadow
by Tim Kehoe
Illustrated by Mike Wohnoutka and Guy Francis
ISBN: 978-0-316-05665-6
This book is about eleven-year-old Vincent Shadow. Every child has an idol, right? His is Nikola Tesla...the immigrant inventor that was a proponent of alternating current. Vincent was an inventor himself. He invented toys such as Sky Writerz, Biting Beast Balls, His visions of his next invention would come to him when he suffered from migraine-like headaches. Only his mother, now deceased, knew of his visions. She was an artist and fostered creativity in their home. He created his toys in his secret laboratory in their home. His father remarries (enter the evil step-mom) and the blended family move from New York City to Minnesota. Vibs, the step-mom and her three daughters live there. Here, Vincent becomes withdrawn and isolated. Just when it seems like life couldn't get worse, Vincent learns that renowned toy maker Howard G. Whiz is sponsoring a toy making contest... and the prize is an apprenticeship for toy creation back in New York City. The ultimate prize, however, is one unexpected.
The Lemonade War*
by Jacqueline Davies
ISBN: 978-0-618-75043-6
This book showcases the bitter battle to sell the most lemonade final five days of summer vacation between newly rivaled siblings, Evan and Jessie Treski. Evan is a "people smart" soon-to-be fourth grader. His younger "book smart" sister, Jessie, should be entering into third grade, but the family receives a letter advising them that she'll be (due to her academic gifts) going to fourth grade. You guessed it! Right in Evan's classroom! Jessie, being socially awkward, thought this news was great as she could play with her brother that, until now, always accepted her and even helped her with social situations. Evan, on the other hand, perceived the news of Jessie's move to fourth grade as terrible. He knew that everyone would find her smart, and he would pale in comparison.
The two make the winner takes all bet, and they are immediately locked in this competition. Evan just wants to beat Jessie at something...anything! Jessie is motivated to win to earn Evan's admiration back.
The text structure is interesting as the chapters are organized by business concepts. The chapter titles (such as Going Global or Crisis Management) foreshadow the relationship of the siblings for that particular chapter.
Ask Me No Questions*
by Marina Budhos
ISBN:978-1416903512
This story is about Nadira, an American-born citizen of illegal immigrants. Abba (the father) is detained at the border going back into the United States. He is also investigated for funding a religious group suspected of illegal activities. The mother, Ma as she is called, stays at a shelter to work things out for Abba while the two girls travel back to Queens, New York.
Her older sister, Aisha, constantly oushines Nadira who is an average achieving student that is a bit overweight. Aisha is an A+ student that ends up earning the honor of valedictorian of her class. Initially, Aisha tried to meet with the government officials to defend her father's case, but she is unsuccessful. The climax of the book is when Nadira shows up at her father's hearing with evidence that could prove his innocence.
SOLD*
by Patricia McCormick
ISBN: 978-0786851720
This is the sickening story of Lakshmi, a thirteen year old Nepal girl whose life if forced upside-down. To pay off his gambling debt, her unscrupulous step-father sells her into prostitution in India under the deception that she would be a maid for a wealthy family. Lakshmi refuses to take part in this business, but eventually she is starved and beaten into submission. The author bases this story on research of Indian and Nepalian women, this book encapsolates a true societial problem.
Hot off the presses is this follow up of If I Stay by Gayle Forman. This book, Where She Went, rejoins our romancing characters, Mia and Adam.
My epiphany during the course of reading these books came to me when I was crafting this libguide. I noticed that many of the books that I chose could really fit in the Multicultural Literature tab, too. It made me realize how global our society is and continues to be.
When reading contemporary fiction, I tend to feel a jolt at the end of a book. I think about them longer after I've completed the book. I had to stop and analyze that. Why this genre? I think I figured out the reason. When I read other genres, I either pass it off as "that'll never happen" (fantasy) or "I know how this ends" (historical fiction) and such. With contemporary fiction, I feel I am more apt to put myself in the character's place because I can identify with the setting. I could actually be there, too.
With that said, I never, EVER, want to be in Lakshmi's position (Sold). I burned about that book for days after finishing it. Then again, I was so excited for Nadira (Ask Me No Questions) that I wanted to write a book about it... oh, wait. Hmmm.