Advanced Level Fiction

Learning Resource Center Bibliography

Appel, Benjamin, Hell's Kitchen. Toronto, Canada: Pantheon Books, 1977.
PZ 7 A64th
Hell's Kitchen is a predominately Irish section of New York City. During the years before World War I, the residents were poor and jobs were scarce. For anyone who was not Irish things were even more difficult. This novel relates the lives of four, non-Irish youths whose bonds of friendship remained strong even as gangs and crime lured some of them away from the paths of love and education. 205 pages.

Bridges, Sue Ellen. Home Before Dark. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 1976.
PZ7 B7615Ho
Stella Mae Willis moves with her family to her father's home town. She discovers boys and friendship, the pain of her mother's death, and that having a place of her own isn't as important as love.176 pages

Chin, Frank. Donald Duk. Minneapolis: Coffee House Press, 1991.
PZ & C4423do 1991
This delightful story is set in China Town in San Francisco during a Chinese New Year Celebration. The characters are fascinating and amusing. The most delightful is Donald Duc himself, a twelve-year-old boy who intensely dislikes his name. He discovers the history of the Chinese in American building the railroad and learns of his culture and himself. 173 pages.

Collier, James Lincoln & Christopher. My Brother Sam is Dead. New York: Scholastic Inc, 1974.
PZ7 C678My 1974
This historical fiction reveals how the Revolutionary War affected families. The story is told through Tim Meeker, who watches the war edge closer and closer until it engulfs his family. His father is a loyalist, and his brother a rebel. Tim realizes that he also must choose between the new America and the English King. 216 pages

Crew, Linda. Children of the River. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell , 1989.
PZ7 C86815Ch 1991
Sundara fled Cambodia with her aunt's family to escape the Khmer Rouge, leaving behind her family and friends. Now she has been living in Oregon for several years and struggles with living in two cultures. Her memories take her back to the Mekong river of her youth as she stands beside the Columbia river with her new friend. 213 pages.

Hinton, S. E. Rumble Fish. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Books, 1975.
PZ7 H5976Ru 1989
Rusty-James is a tough teen. He wants to be even tougher, just like his older brother, the Motorcycle Boy. This is a story of troubled youths, drugs, conflicts with the law, and difficulty in school. 135 pages.

Ho, Minfong. Rice Without Rain. New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shephard Books, 1990.
PZ 7 H633Ri 1990
The struggle for democracy and equality pressed heavily on the villages and cities of Thailand. As resistance against the military dictatorship grew, the students and peasants alike began to anticipate freedom. The resistance movement found support from the communist party, but ultimately their hopes were dashed in a brutal clash at a University. Jinda's life is caught up in the struggle, in part through her beliefs and in part through her affection for Ned. She must make a choice between life in her village and life as a member of the resistance. 236 pages.

Lee, Marie G. Finding My Voice. New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1992.
PZ7 L5138Fi 1994
Ellen Sung loves gymnastics and works hard to win a varsity letter. She must also deal with conservative parents, pressure to get good grades, and prejudice against her as the only Korean-American in her school. She hopes that attending Harvard University will release her from racism. 163 pages.

Lee, Mildred. Fog. New York: The Seabury Press, 1972.
PZ 7 L5143fo
Set in a small Southern town, this novel reveals the conflicts and confusion of teenage boys growing up. These four friends face many hardships, including serious injury, the death of a parent, and romantic disappointment. Yet their friendship endures. The characters are both delightful and tragic. Their story is compelling. 250 pages.

Martinez, Victor. Parrot in the Oven: Mi Vida. New York: Joanna Cotler Books, 1996.
PZ,7 M36718Par 1996
In this beautifully written novel, the reader has a vivid portrait of one Mexican-American boy's life. Manny's story is like a full color home movie, sometimes funny, sometimes sad, but always intensely original. 216 pages.

Myers, Walter Dean. Scorpions. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1988.
PZ 7 M992Sc 1998
After reluctantly taking on the leadership of the Harlem gang the Scorpions, Jamal finds that his enemies treat him with respect when he acquires a gun, until tragedy occurs. Tito, Jamal's best friend, looks out for his friend by joining the gang, even though gang life is dangerous. The author creates likable and sympathetic characters in this honest depiction of gang life. 216 pages.

Schaffer, Jack. The Plainismen. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1952.
PZ 7 S332pl
This collection of ten short stories captures some of the moments of crisis, comic or tragic, and sometimes both, that mark the twists and turns of the lives of the men of the plains. Read about the cavalry and homesteaders, Baldpate the barber in Nebraska, a man's relationship with his horse, Nate Bartlett's store, and many more intriguing stores of former times. 252 pages.

Snow, Richard. Freelon Starbird Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1976.
PZ 7 S68513fr
A young soldier narrates an honest, often humorous and wry, account of the war for independence. He narrates a vivid picture of what the war was really like for the thousands of innocent, relatively untrained men who took up arms to fight in the revolutionary war. 209 pages.

Ulyatt, Kenneth. North Against the Sioux. Englrwood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1965.
PZ 7 U36no
This novel gives a strikingly honest portrait of the American frontier during the 1860's, a place of high adventure, heroism and treachery on both sides of the war between American Indians- the Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Sioux- and the United States Government. It tells the story of a brave scout's two-hundred-mile journey in blinding winter and the collision on a battlefield of two determined forces. 223 pages.

Uchida, Yoshiko. Journey Home. New York: Aladdin Books, 1992.
PZ 7 U25jn 1992
During World War II, all of the Japanese families living in California were sent to camps in the desert. Life was difficult in camp, but the journey home and struggling to start over was equally difficult. Yuki and her parents were blessed with good friends and neighbors. Her brother, however, suffered a terrible injury in the war. Their internal scars also needed healing. This is a touching story of friendship, kindness and courage. 131 pages.

Uchida, Yoshiko. The Happiest Ending. New York: Atheneum,1985.
PZ 7 U25Hap 1985
The close friendships in a neighborhood of Japanese-Americans living in Oakland California provide an interesting setting for this delightful story. Twelve-year-old Rinko tries to interfere in the arranged marriage plans of a family friend and discovers the strengths and weaknesses of her family and neighbors. 111 pages.