Poverty Fiction

Anna and her best friend Molly run a blog and podcast called the Returned, helping returned shelter dogs find new, loving homes, and families. With four successful adoptions through their program, the girls discuss choosing their next dog to feature. Unbeknownst to Anna and Molly, their mission will find them - in the form of a chained dog named Rocky. Rocky is a pit bull mix who is forgotten in the summer heat in an overgrown backyard next door to the town library.

Brody Fair feels like nobody gets him: not his overworked parents, not his genius older brother, and definitely not the girls in the projects set on making his life miserable. Then he meets Nico, an art student who takes Brody to Everland, a “knock-off Narnia" that opens its door at 11:21 p.m. each Thursday for Nico and his band of present-day misfits and miscreants.

The school year is over, and it is summer in Atlanta. The sky is blue, the sun is blazing, and the days brim with possibility. But Leah feels...lost. She has been this way since one terrible afternoon a year ago, when everything changed. Since that day, her parents have become distant, her friends have fallen away, and Leah’s been adrift and alone.

Pan Smraďoch patří do kategorie hodně divných románových hrdinů. Žije na lavičce v parku a svému jménu dělá opravdu čest. Je to ten nejsmradlavější smraďoch pod sluncem. Dvanáctileté Chloe to ale rozhodně nebrání v tom, aby se s ním spřátelila. Jasně, páchne, ale na druhou stranu nikdy na ni nikdo nebyl tak milý jako on. A tak se Chloe rozhodne, že milého bezdomovce tajně ubytuje v kůlně na zahradě svých rodičů. Jenže schovejte takového smraďocha!

Life hasn't been great for Jeff Hicks. After years at his beloved St. Catherine's, he's forced to spend eighth grade in the public middle school, which he hates. He's no longer speaking to his former best friend, Tom Bender, because of "that burned girl" Jessica Feeney. But worst of all, his family is changing, and it's not for the better. When his mom comes home announcing that she's lost her job, Jeff begins to worry about things far beyond his years.

Undocumented is the story of immigrant workers who have come to the United States without papers. Everyday these men and women join the workforce and contribute positively to society. Juan grew up in Mexico working in the fields to help provide for his family. Struggling for money, he crosses over into the United States and becomes an undocumented worker, living in a poor neighborhood and working hard to survive. Although he is able to get a job as a busboy at a restaurant, he is severely undercompensated - he receives less than half of the minimum wage!

After a family tragedy results in the loss of both father and home, 12-year-old Nora lives with her mother in Manila’s North Cemetery, which is the largest shanty town of its kind in the Philippines today. When her mother disappears mysteriously one day, Nora is left alone. With help from her best friend, Jojo, and the support of his kindhearted grandmother, Nora embarks on a journey riddled with danger in order to find her mom. Along the way, she also rediscovers the compassion of the human spirit, the resilience of her community, and everlasting hope in the most unexpected places.

America meant "freedom" to the immigrants of the early 1900s - but a freedom very different from what they expected. Cities were crowded and jobs were scare. Children had to work selling newspapers, delivering goods, and laboring sweatshops. In this touching book, Newberry Medalist Russell Freedman offers a rare glimpse of what it meant to be a young newcomer to America.

Twelve-year-old Lowen Grover is still reeling from the shooting death of his best friend, Abe, when he stumbles across an article about a small town giving away homes for just one dollar. It seems like the perfect escape from Flintlock and all of the awful memories associated with the city - and to his surprise, his mum, dad, and older brother are all onboard. Only his sister, Anneth, is reluctant to leave her friends and the familiarity (and amenities!) of Flintlock, but with the rest of the family anxious to do what’s best for grief-stricken Lowen, her protests fall on deaf ears. But is the Dollar Program too good to be true?

She can't marry him while her name is marred! There's no way she would dream of tainting the man's reputation - he had enough baggage of his own to worry about. Fortunately for Ericka, Titus is not the kind of guy who gives up easily. Going undercover, he becomes a resident of a men's homeless shelter. No matter what it takes, he's determined to expose the real criminal so he can take Ericka's hand in marriage.

In an alternate reality a lot like our world, every person's physical size is directly proportional to their wealth. The poorest of the poor are the size of rats, and billionaires are the size of skyscrapers. Warner and his sister Prayer are destitute - and tiny. Their size is not just demeaning, but dangerous: day and night they face mortal dangers that bigger, richer people don't ever have to think about, from being mauled by cats to their house getting stepped on. There are no cars or phones built small enough for them, or schools or hospitals, for that matter - there's no point, when no one that little has any purchasing power....

Becca's life is anything but ordinary. At 15, she's already experienced her share of pain. With a mom who drinks too much, a revolving door of father figures, and struggles at school, Becca wonders if she'll ever have a chance at a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane is her little sister, Chloe; that is, until her mother's breakdown leads to her sister's disappearance.

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.

The Russell family came home one evening to find an uninvited visitor sleeping on their porch. Brock appeared to be quite harmless. So they took him in. Knowing the Bible says they are to feed the hungry and clothe the naked, the Russells take Brock into their own home and quickly befriend him - only to find out he has formerly been accused of a horrifying act.

In an old, abandoned mill, a girl and her ma take shelter from their memories of life on the streets, and watch the busy world go by. The girl calls it the Castle because it's the biggest place they've ever stayed, a home of her own like no other. The windows are boarded up and the floorboards are falling in, but for her neither of those things matter. Then developers show up, and it's clear that their lives are about to change forever.

Lately everybody's messing with Jamal. His teachers, the kids at school, even his dad. And now that Jamal's brother Randy's in the slam, Crazy Mack has a crazy idea. He wants Jamal to take control of the Scorpions and run crack. All the gang jive - Jamal has no use for it. Unless, like some say, it's the only way to cop the bread for Randy's appeal.

Fifteen-year-old Pearl DeWitt and her mother live in Fallbrook, California, where its sunny 340 days of the year, and where her uncle owns a grove of 900 avocado trees. Uncle Hoyt hires migrant workers regularly, but Pearl doesnt pay much attention to them...until Amiel. From the moment she sees him, Pearl is drawn to this boy who keeps to himself, fears being caught by la migra, and is mysteriously unable to talk.

Pete's dad is being pursued by a secret organisation. Both their lives are in danger, and when the helicopters hover nearby, they must hide. Pete knows he leads an unusual life, but he's never dared ask questions before. Now he needs some answers. His dad's behaviour is starting to confuse him. But when Pete starts to piece the scraps of information together, what will he discover? Who, exactly, are they running from? And why is his father really behaving so strangely?

Many people came to America in the early 1900s looking for jobs, opportunity, and freedom, and a lot of them were kids. But what happened to all these immigrant children after they passed inspection at New York’s Ellis Island - that is, if they passed inspection? Life was not easy for immigrants. Large families lived in small, one-room tenement apartments with failing plumbing and few windows. Children had to go to school with kids from different countries and learn to read and write a new language.

Fans of Karen Cushman's witty, satisfying novels will welcome Meggy Swann, newly come to London with her only friend, a goose named Louise. Meggy's mother was glad to be rid of her; her father, who sent for her, doesn't want her after all. Meggy is appalled by London, dirty and noisy, full of rogues and thieves, and difficult to get around in - not that getting around is ever easy for someone who walks with the help of two sticks. Just as her alchemist father pursues his great work of transforming base metal into gold, Meggy finds herself pursuing her own transformation.