Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte

Based on historical facts by a hearing impaired author, readers will be drawn into the surprisingly idyllic life of Mary Lambert on the island of Martha's Vineyard. Readers will be conscious of the tension with the island's Native Americans in a way that the characters in the book are not, and then outraged at Mary's treatment in the later part of the book. Her great-great-grandfather was an early English settler and the first deaf islander. Now, over a hundred years later, many people there -- including Mary -- are deaf, and nearly everyone can communicate in sign language. Mary has never felt isolated. She is proud of her lineage. But then her brother dies tragically, leaving her family shattered. Tensions over land disputes are mounting between English settlers and the Wampanoag people. And a cunning young scientist has arrived, hoping to discover the origin of the island's prevalent deafness. His maniacal drive to find answers soon renders Mary a "live specimen" in a cruel experiment. Her struggle to survive is both to physically escape her captors and to communicate and assert her personhood.

The Brave by James Bird

 

Collin can't help himself, in his mind he visualizes every word said to him and is compelled to count every letter. School is impossible and his single father can't cope. He doesn't know much about his mother until he is kicked out of another school and his dad sends him to Minnesota where his mother is Ojibwe and lives on a reservation. Collin and his loyal dog, Seven, finds his mom is eager to welcome him and accept his condition. He also meets the girl next door who lives in a treehouse and believes she is turning into a butterfly. Together they work to overcome his condition, and, as Collin gradually discovers, deal with Orenda's terminal illness.

The Total Eclipse of Nestor Lopez by Adrianna Cuevas

 

Nestor would love to be able to unpack all of his things and live in own place for more than a few months. He'd love to just have dinner with his dad. But dad is in the military, and for the first time, he and his mom are no longer living on a military base. They have moved into dad's hometown and are living with Nestor's grandmother. Nestor plans to lay low. He definitely doesn’t want to anyone find out his deepest secret: that he can talk to animals. But Nestor does get involved in his new home. He joins a quiz bowl team at school and makes friends with his teammates and when the animals start disappearing, he starts to investigate. The neighbors suspect Nestor's grandmother. Nestor suspects a bully who is also on the quiz bowl team, and begins investigating the woods where they disappeared, he discovers that they are being seized by a tule vieja―a witch who can absorb an animal’s powers by biting it during a solar eclipse. And the next eclipse is just around the corner. Can he and his friends do anything to stop it?

My Life in the Fish Tank by Barbara Dee

 

Just before leaving for college, twelve-year-old Zinnia Manning’s older brother Gabriel  takes Zinnia out for ice cream. They pig out on an insane amount of ice cream and then Gabe seems to go crazy on the drive home. Zinny is frightened, and then the family learns that he has crashed his college roommate's car and is being sent home with a mental illness diagnosis. The family is turned upside down and Mom and Dad want Zinny, her older sister, Scarlett, and her younger brother, Aiden, to keep Gabriel’s condition “private.” Soon Zinny's life is dominated by the secrets she keeps from her two best friends, and her science teacher, Ms. Molina. A well-meaning guidance counselor invites her to a Lunch Club with a weird mix of kids who Zinny doesn't believe she has anything in common with. As the year progresses, the family attempts to reconnect with Gabe and each other and Zinny learns who she can trust and who she can't.

The Last Lie by Patricia Forde

 

The conclusion of a dystopian series where the leaders of the rebellion believe they can save the world from repeating the environmental destruction of the past by limiting people's ability to speak. 

"If babies never hear a single word, they will never learn to speak."

The battle for Ark seems to be over. As a teenager, Leeta has found herself an unexpected hero, both for murdering one of the the leaders and for teaching the refuge's children the lost words. But the new ruler of Ark is even crueler than her predecessor, and Letta is horrified to find that they are stealing babies so they can get rid of language once and for all: if babies never hear a single word, they will never learn to speak. Letta learns that winning a rebellion is hard when there is evil on both sides and the leaders of the other side are family.

Shirley & Jamila Save Their Summer by Gillian Goerz

Jamila Waheed mother has her whole summer planned out, but all Jamila wants to do is play basketball. When Jamila's mother meets quirky Shirley Bones' mother at a garage sale, the two girls reluctantly come to an understanding that they hope will meet both of their needs and keep the mom's off their backs. The plan is simple: Shirley accompanies Jamila to the basketball court every day and reads while Jamila shoot baskets. Then this kid Oliver shows up begging for Shirley's help. His pet gecko has disappeared, and he's sure it was stolen. That's when Jamila discovers Shirley's secret: She's the neighborhood's best kid detective, and she's on the case. At first Jamila is put off that Shirley doesn't tell her what's going on. Then Jamila discovers she's got some detective skills of her own and a crime-solving partnership is born. All they needed was a good mystery to become best friends.

The Next Great Jane by K. L. Going

Jane Brannen thinks she has everything planned out. She will become a famous author like her namesake Jane Austen. The first step to her plan is  meeting bestselling author J. E. Fairfax who has come to the seaside village of Whickett Harbor and is giving a talk at the public library. Locked out of the program because they are serving wine, Jane plans to listen in from a secret spot in the attic and learn the secrets of becoming an author. Which is where the real-life Jane Austen story begins. A hurricane rolls in and Jane gets stuck with the author's snobbish son, Devon, instead. They survive their first adventure together, but stormy seas are still headed Jane's way. Her familiar life with her frumpy marine biologist dad is about to be threatened by the sudden return of her mom and her movie director fiance, Erik. They've come to file for custody and Jane decides she needs to find her father a suitable mate, and thus a suitable step-mother. She latches on to the sophisticated J. E. Fairfax, even though the perfect choice is the reliable nanny/housekeeper already there. Jane's efforts to hook up dad and the author throw Devon even more annoyingly into her life. Of course any Jane Austen fan knows the story will unfold in unexpected ways and stand-offish boys have their charms, too.

When Stars are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson & Omar Mohamed

 

Based on Mohamed’s actual experiences, this is a compelling and moving account of Somali brothers Omar and Hassan. They’ve witnessed their father’s murder and lost their mother in the flight to the Kenyan refugee camp of Dadaab. An elderly woman oversees their care, but Omar feels he is responsible for the care of his younger brother who has been left mute by the ordeal, As a result, Omar doesn’t go to the camp school until a teacher is alerted to his intelligence and challenges him to join.  The frustrating uncertainty of the boys’ future is balanced by humor and glimpses of kindness, as well as Jamieson’s beautiful artwork.

Twilight Hauntings by Angie Sage

 

Desperate to save their child, Hagos, the King’s enchanter and his wife Pearl, force the babe into the arms of a woman who reluctantly takes baby Alex in a basket with a mysterious wallet tucked in the blankets. As Alex grows, a Cinderella to her cruel stepmother and stepsisters, she learns how to use the magical cards in her father’s wallet. She just might be an Enchanter herself, and Enchanters are banned in Luma. When her stepsister turns her in, Alex sees the sentinels coming for her in the cards and escapes just in time. Outside the city lurk the Hauntings, menacing creatures that hunt down those who practice magic. Alex’s only clue to who she is and how to survive are the mysterious hexagonal cards.

Beverly, Right Here by Kate Di Camillo

 

"Beverly put her foot down on the gas. They went faster still. This was what Beverly wanted --what she always wanted. To get away. To get away as fast as she could. To stay away."

Running away has always been part of Beverly's life. Now that Buddy, her dog, is dead and buried under the orange trees, Beverly is ready to leave for real. But this time, unexpectedly, she makes a home, with  a job and people who really see who she is, and who she cares about.