Poverty Fiction

Finally, Amira is 12. Old enough to wear a toob, old enough for new responsibilities. And maybe old enough to go to school in Nyala - Amira's one true dream. But life in her peaceful Sudanese village is shattered when the Janjaweed arrive. The terrifying attackers ravage the town and unleash unspeakable horrors. After she loses nearly everything, Amira needs to dig deep within herself to find the strength to make the long journey - on foot - to safety at a refugee camp.

Few winter stories are more affecting than Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Match Girl. Written in 1848, and strictly speaking a New Year's Eve story, it showed so clearly then, as it does now, that the Christmas holidays do not represent fireside, food, and presents for all. This story never fails to move, yet it somehow avoids serious sentimentality.

The legend of the famous hero Robin Hood originates in dramatic pieces and ballads from the 15th century in England. His story has been given shape and retold through the centuries, and is still universally known to children nowadays. "The Tales of Robin Hood and his Merry Men", as retold by Mary Macleod, is a faithful rendition of the original medieval legend full of colorful and moral adventures. It is read by Katie Haigh, for the delight of children and as well as adults sensitive to literary style.

On the surface, everything seems perfect for high school senior Ireland Raine. She’s intelligent and artistically talented, and her natural beauty and quiet charm are enviable. However, Ireland harbors a secret she’ll guard at any cost—she’s homeless. When her crush, Kal Ellis, invites her on a date, she seizes the opportunity. Ireland has never had a boyfriend before, and Kal is not just a guitarist for the local band, he’s also an artist. Their connection is instantaneous, and he suggests they collaborate on the school mural.

Jeremiah feels good inside his own skin. That is, when he's in his own Brooklyn neighborhood. But now he's going to be attending a fancy prep school in Manhattan, and black teenage boys don't exactly fit in there. So it's a surprise when he meets Ellie the first week of school. In one frozen moment their eyes lock, and after that they know they fit together - even though she's Jewish and he's black.

When home is a car, life is unpredictable. School, friends, and three meals a day aren't guaranteed. Not every town has a shelter where a family can sleep for a night or two, and places with parking lots don't welcome overnight stays. Opin, his brother Emjay, and their mother are trying to get to Los Angeles, where they hope an uncle and a new life are waiting. Emjay has taken to disappearing for days, slowing down the family's progress and adding to their worry.

School is out for the summer, but not for 18-year-old Michael and 17-year-old Shelly. The pair of them meet while serving court-ordered community service, and both are driven by secrets and lies.

When you live in your car the way 18-year-old Eddie and his sister, Maya, do, the rules are pretty simple: lay low, trust no one, and make sure you have plenty of duct tape on hand. But Maya is growing up fast. She's forgetting how to play the game, and Eddie is finding it harder and harder to keep them both safe from the outside world. When their lives suddenly become complicated through a mistake Maya makes, Eddie begins to lose his composure. And why wouldn't he? He hasn't had time to address his own emotional wounds.

Always think in threes and you'll never fall, Cora's father told her when she was a little girl. Two feet, one hand. Two hands, one foot. That was all Cora needed to know to climb the trees of Brooklyn. But now Cora is a middle schooler, a big sister, and homeless. Her mother is trying to hold the family together after her father's death, and Cora must look after her sister, Adare, who's just different, their mother insists. Quick to smile, Adare hates wearing shoes, rarely speaks, and appears untroubled by the question Cora can't help but ask: How will she find a place to call home?

Kim Fitzgerald-Trout took to driving with ease - as most children would if their parents would ever let them try. She had to. After all, she and her siblings live in a car. Meet the Fitzgerald-Trouts, a band of four loosely related children living together on a lush tropical island. They take care of themselves. They sleep in their car, bathe in the ocean, eat fish they catch and fruit they pick, and can drive anywhere they need to go - to the school, the laundromat, or the drive-in. If they put their minds to it, the Fitzgerald-Trouts can do anything. Even, they hope, find a real home.

Newbery Honor winner Joan Bauer's new novel will touch your heart.

One bright spring morning in the woods of France, a soldier, blinded by the war, is found by a little girl named Coco, and her older sister Marcelle. In return for their kindness, the soldier tells the sisters marvelous tales, each story connected to the keepsake he carries in his pocket: a perfect, tiny, silver donkey.

Max is back with a thrilling new adventure that involves time travel, creepy bad guys, killer drones, and a shocking mystery about her past that she will stop at nothing to solve! Under constant danger of being kidnapped by the shadowy Corporation, Max is on the run from New York to London and beyond. But soon the call comes for the Change Maker kids' next mission: make sure no kid ever goes hungry again! If anyone can tackle a problem this big, Max and her genius friends can.

Hi, I’m Lyric. And I’m kind of a mess. ADHD, that’s me. I’m a high school drop-out, late everywhere I go, and one screw-up away from being homeless. I’m a loner, and I like it that way. After my mom died, I figured life couldn’t get much worse. I thought it might even get better. I should’ve listened to the rumors about evil spirits. About the angry, ancient magical creatures haunting our small Oregon Coast town. But did I? No. That was my first mistake. And it might be my last. ‘Cause now, I’m in a battle for my life.

This story is loosely inspired by the true account of four young children who lived in a casino records warehouse. At the same time, their mom worked to escape their alcoholic father with homicidal tendencies.

Part muckraker, part adventurer, and part raconteur, Frazier beholds, captures, and occasionally reimagines the spirit of the American experience. He travels down South to examine feral hogs and learns that their presence in any county is a strong indicator that it votes Republican. He introduces us to a man who, when his house is hit by a supposed meteorite, hopes to "leverage" the space object into opportunity for his family, and a New York City police detective who is fascinated with rap-music-related crimes.

Best friends Ray and Jose are not your typical teenagers. They've escaped foster care and juvenile detention centers to live on their own together in an abandoned stationhouse in New York City's Ten Mile River Park. Ray and Jose are as close as brothers. But then they meet Trini, the smart, beautiful, and confident girl from their local barber shop, and they both fall for her immediately. As tension creeps into their relationship, Ray must struggle to find an identity separate from Jose and try to envision a future for himself beyond Jose and Ten Mile River.

A small prison cell in India holds an 18-year-old penniless waiter from a Mumbai slum. But Ram Mohammad Thomas isn't a criminal. He is under arrest for correctly answering 12 tricky trivia questions on the show Who Will Win a Billion? Reluctant to part with the jackpot of one billion rupees, the show directors bribe the police to arrest Ram, accusing him of cheating.

One morning Rafe wakes up to discover his bedroom is floating in a vast sea of water. Alone with only his dog for company, Rafe adapts to this strange new world by fishing cans of food out of the water and keeping watch. Boxes float by, as does a woman, playing her cello. Then, one day, Rafe fishes out a young girl, who joins him in his room -- they don't speak the same language, but they will face this uncertain future together.

We will dance on the cliffs of Brooklyn. Maggie’s Door is the story of the journey from Ireland to America told by both Nory and her neighbor and friend Sean Red Mallon, two different stories with the same destination - the home of Nory’s sister, Maggie, at 416 Smith Street, Brooklyn, America. Patricia Reilly Giff calls upon her long research into Irish history and her great powers as a storyteller in this deeply involving, riveting stand-alone companion novel to Nory Ryan’s Song.