This sensitive and often humorous book tells the story of an adolescent boy who begins to find himself after the people he has always depended on let him down. Alone. That’s how thirteen-year-old Justin feels these days. His older brother Duane has left home, enlisting in the Army, and his father has walked out, maybe for good this time. His mom is too depressed to get out of bed, much less pay the bills and keep food in the refrigerator. And if that’s not enough, his best buddy Ben has a new girlfriend and no longer has time to hang out. There’s not much left for Justin to do but to put his brain in neutral and slide into the state he calls “the Big Nothing.” But slowly Justin discovers he has more resources than he thinks. With the help of his classmate Jemmie and her grandmother, Nana Grace, he learns that underneath all the noisy confusion in his brain lies a talent for music. As he spends time with Jemmie, he begins to understand how simple notes make complex music, and how simple feelings can turn into deep emotions. Award-winning author Adrian Fogelin once again offers readers an emotionally charged story featuring a sympathetic adolescent trying to make sense of the people and world around him.
This poignant coming-of-age story is set against the verdant landscape and sultry atmosphere of the Florida Keys Ben Floyd has a lot on his mind. In only eighteen months he will be old enough to get a learner’s permit to drive, but that seems a lifetime away. Ben enjoys the close-knit group of friends in his small neighborhood, but lately he has been longing for a taste of adventure. Keeping an eye on his younger brother Cody is getting to be a big responsibility. And he is confused by complicated feelings he has for his lifelong friend, Cass. An unexpected turn of events finds the Floyd family in the Florida Keys over Christmas vacation and offers Ben a welcome opportunity to escape the neighborhood routine. Here he meets Mica, an independent, strong-willed girl who lives a nomadic life aboard a boat with her marine biologist father. Mica teaches Ben and Cody to fish, sail, and snorkel, and together they explore the interior canals and coastal waterways. But Ben soon realizes that adventure sometimes brings danger, and that at the center of Mica’s seemingly charmed life lies a mysterious loneliness. Young readers will relate to Ben’s conflicting feelings and growing restlessness as they experience this realistic, thoughtful, and sometimes humorous portrait of adolescence by award-winning author Adrian Fogelin.
When Fish tries to escape from the responsibilities of his overachieving life, he gains a new understanding of the dangers of neglecting his connections and commitments to others For Fisher Brown, bearing the responsibility for the well-being and happiness of the people around him is a heavy burden to shoulder. Not long after his mother’s sudden departure, Fisher lost interest in school and was well on his way to becoming a classic underachiever at school. But now—under the strict supervision of his high school counselor father—he is jockeying for position at the top of his high school class. It’s a challenging role, and one he has doubts about. But as long as Fisher single-mindedly prepares for college and practices for the SATs, he can keep his father happy. So when Fisher meets Lonnie Traynor, whose rootless, carefree existence is so markedly different from his own, he is drawn to his take-life-as-it-comes attitude. Lonnie easily cons him into accompanying him on a weekend outing that turns into an extended road trip. But Lonnie’s footloose ways reveal a troubled man with a long history of letting down the people he loves. As Fisher becomes an unwitting participant in Lonnie’s hapless adventure, he begins to rethink what it means to be responsible for other people. In the end Fisher finds his way home as well as a way to redefine his own complex relationships.
A move from an impoverished tenement to an unfinished suburban development turns thirteen-year-old Socko’s world inside out It’s summer vacation, and Socko and his best friend Damien are hanging around the Kludge apartments, taking care to avoid the local gang members. When Socko’s great-grandfather suddenly offers to buy a house in the suburbs, Socko’s mom jumps at the chance to leave the bad neighborhood. Socko hates to leave Damien behind, but they pack up their few belongings and move to Moon Ridge Estates. Nothing there is even remotely what Socko had imagined—Moon Ridge is a lonely wasteland of half-finished houses. Socko tries to make the best of a bad situation, hopping on his skateboard to explore the empty streets that are now his private domain. Constructing new lives will involve taking some risks, but in time a ragtag community begins to rally around the struggling development. With humor and heart, Adrian Fogelin weaves a timely story of loyalty, family, community, and economic hardship.
This moving, coming-of-age story follows a young white girl who overcomes family prejudice and cultural differences when she befriends a black girl in a small working-class town Twelve-year-old Cassie narrates the dramatic events that unfold when Jemmie, an African-American girl, and her family move in next door. Despite their parents’ deeply held prejudice against each other’s family—exemplified by the fence Cassie’s father builds between their two houses—the girls find they share more similarities than differences. Mutual interests in reading and running draw them together, and their wariness of each other disappears. But when their parents find out about the burgeoning friendship, each girl is forbidden to see the other. A family crisis and celebration provide opportunities for the families to reach an understanding. Author Adrian Fogelin addresses the complex issues of bigotry and tolerance with sensitivity and intelligence. Readers will find her story of how two adolescent girls, through their own example, teach racial tolerance to the adults in a small Florida town powerful and compelling.
Award-winning author Adrian Fogelin’s latest book for middle readers follows an unlikely but enduring friendship that is forged between two adolescent girls. Anna Casey likes living in North Florida with biology teacher Miss Johnette, her latest foster mother. Best of all, Miss J wants to adopt Anna. Still, it is hard to grow into a new family, a new life, and a new school all at once, especially when you’ve been rootless nearly all of your life. Mica Delano likes living aboard her sailboat, the Martina, which is docked at a marina in the Florida Keys. Best of all, the marina’s owners, whom she calls Aunt Emma and Uncle Bert, try hard to make up for the sometimes inattentive parenting she gets from her marine biologist father. But Mica fears that her restless father will soon pull anchor, taking them away from the safety of Bert’s Marina. A chance correspondence between these two girls separated by the length of the state of Florida becomes a flourishing friendship. As they share their love of nature, each helps the other cope with uncertainty and loneliness and profound change. Mica enrolls in public school for the first time since first grade and suffers the agony of trying to fit in. Anna must make room in her heart for a possible rival when her beloved foster mother becomes serious about a suitor. In the end, Anna and Mica save each other and themselves with hope, humor, and a shared love of the natural world.
The award-winning author of Crossing Jordan brings her Neighborhood novels to a close with “a fine, complex tale of family, friends and magic” (Kirkus Reviews). I wish . . . just for once, something exciting would happen around here. Cass, Jemmie, Ben, and Justin have been friends for years now, but this could be their last summer together. They start high school in the fall, and each of them has different feelings about the future. Then something unusual happens during a basketball game. Ben’s little brother, Cody, shows up, wearing a fedora left behind by their missing uncle, claiming the cap is magic. With the brim covering his eyes, Cody sinks the ball in the hoop—twice. Although the older kids are hesitant to believe in a magic hat, it soon leads them into the woods to an abandoned house with a mysterious past that will change everything . . .
Twelve-year-old Rox and her grandmother Mimi sell at a flea market every weekend to supplement the family's only income, that of construction worker and college student, cousin John Martin.
FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. A middle-schooler struggles to cope with major family problems, including a brother who might be heading for the Persian Gulf, but finds an escape in piano lessons and the dream of a romance with a popular girl.
How do you face life without a place to call home? Award-winning author Adrian Fogelin follows up her critically acclaimed novel Crossing Jordan with the story of a young girl’s trials and triumphs as she tries to find a home. With warmth and humor, Fogelin has created a memorable character in Anna, who must deal with the loss of her family and adjust to living in a foster home. Feeling abandoned and alone, Anna turns to her closest companion, her explorer journal. With the help of a scrawny new friend named Eb, Anna discovers a sense of belonging . . . and her own place in the world.
A move from an impoverished tenement to an unfinished suburban development turns thirteen-year-old Socko’s world inside out It’s summer vacation, and Socko and his best friend Damien are hanging around the Kludge apartments, taking care to avoid the local gang members. When Socko’s great-grandfather suddenly offers to buy a house in the suburbs, Socko’s mom jumps at the chance to leave the bad neighborhood. Socko hates to leave Damien behind, but they pack up their few belongings and move to Moon Ridge Estates. Nothing there is even remotely what Socko had imagined—Moon Ridge is a lonely wasteland of half-finished houses. Socko tries to make the best of a bad situation, hopping on his skateboard to explore the empty streets that are now his private domain. Constructing new lives will involve taking some risks, but in time a ragtag community begins to rally around the struggling development. With humor and heart, Adrian Fogelin weaves a timely story of loyalty, family, community, and economic hardship.
When Fish tries to escape from the responsibilities of his overachieving life, he gains a new understanding of the dangers of neglecting his connections and commitments to others For Fisher Brown, bearing the responsibility for the well-being and happiness of the people around him is a heavy burden to shoulder. Not long after his mother’s sudden departure, Fisher lost interest in school and was well on his way to becoming a classic underachiever at school. But now—under the strict supervision of his high school counselor father—he is jockeying for position at the top of his high school class. It’s a challenging role, and one he has doubts about. But as long as Fisher single-mindedly prepares for college and practices for the SATs, he can keep his father happy. So when Fisher meets Lonnie Traynor, whose rootless, carefree existence is so markedly different from his own, he is drawn to his take-life-as-it-comes attitude. Lonnie easily cons him into accompanying him on a weekend outing that turns into an extended road trip. But Lonnie’s footloose ways reveal a troubled man with a long history of letting down the people he loves. As Fisher becomes an unwitting participant in Lonnie’s hapless adventure, he begins to rethink what it means to be responsible for other people. In the end Fisher finds his way home as well as a way to redefine his own complex relationships.
A sensitive story of an adolescent girl uncovering her past and discovering the possibilities for her future. For twelve-year-old Roxanne, there are two things in life she can count on: her beloved grandmother, Mimi, and her weekend job at the flea market where she helps Mimi buy and sell fresh produce and other people’s junk to pay the household bills. This is her home and the people she knows and loves are here. But outside this fragile weekend world, she’s lost. A so-so student with few aspirations for higher education, she feels out of place at school. Stuck in the back of the pack with the other “lardbutts,” Rox just tries to stay out of the way of the popular creeps in her class. And who is she anyway? Her teenage mother left when she was only three months old and her father’s identity is a mystery. And no one, least of all Mimi, will talk about what happened. But then her cousin John Martin brings home a girlfriend from college who has very different ideas about the way life works. And when Roxanne discovers her mother’s teenage diary, she finds some painful but important answers to the unsolved questions of her past and the possibilities for a different future. With gentle wit and an uncanny sensitivity, author Adrian Fogelin captures the fragility of life’s certainties in this moving novel of an adolescent girl’s struggles to find her way in the world.
This moving, coming-of-age story follows a young white girl who overcomes family prejudice and cultural differences when she befriends a black girl in a small working-class town Twelve-year-old Cassie narrates the dramatic events that unfold when Jemmie, an African-American girl, and her family move in next door. Despite their parents’ deeply held prejudice against each other’s family—exemplified by the fence Cassie’s father builds between their two houses—the girls find they share more similarities than differences. Mutual interests in reading and running draw them together, and their wariness of each other disappears. But when their parents find out about the burgeoning friendship, each girl is forbidden to see the other. A family crisis and celebration provide opportunities for the families to reach an understanding. Author Adrian Fogelin addresses the complex issues of bigotry and tolerance with sensitivity and intelligence. Readers will find her story of how two adolescent girls, through their own example, teach racial tolerance to the adults in a small Florida town powerful and compelling.
This sensitive and often humorous book tells the story of an adolescent boy who begins to find himself after the people he has always depended on let him down. Alone. That’s how thirteen-year-old Justin feels these days. His older brother Duane has left home, enlisting in the Army, and his father has walked out, maybe for good this time. His mom is too depressed to get out of bed, much less pay the bills and keep food in the refrigerator. And if that’s not enough, his best buddy Ben has a new girlfriend and no longer has time to hang out. There’s not much left for Justin to do but to put his brain in neutral and slide into the state he calls “the Big Nothing.” But slowly Justin discovers he has more resources than he thinks. With the help of his classmate Jemmie and her grandmother, Nana Grace, he learns that underneath all the noisy confusion in his brain lies a talent for music. As he spends time with Jemmie, he begins to understand how simple notes make complex music, and how simple feelings can turn into deep emotions. Award-winning author Adrian Fogelin once again offers readers an emotionally charged story featuring a sympathetic adolescent trying to make sense of the people and world around him.
Award-winning author Adrian Fogelin’s latest book for middle readers follows an unlikely but enduring friendship that is forged between two adolescent girls. Anna Casey likes living in North Florida with biology teacher Miss Johnette, her latest foster mother. Best of all, Miss J wants to adopt Anna. Still, it is hard to grow into a new family, a new life, and a new school all at once, especially when you’ve been rootless nearly all of your life. Mica Delano likes living aboard her sailboat, the Martina, which is docked at a marina in the Florida Keys. Best of all, the marina’s owners, whom she calls Aunt Emma and Uncle Bert, try hard to make up for the sometimes inattentive parenting she gets from her marine biologist father. But Mica fears that her restless father will soon pull anchor, taking them away from the safety of Bert’s Marina. A chance correspondence between these two girls separated by the length of the state of Florida becomes a flourishing friendship. As they share their love of nature, each helps the other cope with uncertainty and loneliness and profound change. Mica enrolls in public school for the first time since first grade and suffers the agony of trying to fit in. Anna must make room in her heart for a possible rival when her beloved foster mother becomes serious about a suitor. In the end, Anna and Mica save each other and themselves with hope, humor, and a shared love of the natural world.
The award-winning author of Crossing Jordan brings her Neighborhood novels to a close with “a fine, complex tale of family, friends and magic” (Kirkus Reviews). I wish . . . just for once, something exciting would happen around here. Cass, Jemmie, Ben, and Justin have been friends for years now, but this could be their last summer together. They start high school in the fall, and each of them has different feelings about the future. Then something unusual happens during a basketball game. Ben’s little brother, Cody, shows up, wearing a fedora left behind by their missing uncle, claiming the cap is magic. With the brim covering his eyes, Cody sinks the ball in the hoop—twice. Although the older kids are hesitant to believe in a magic hat, it soon leads them into the woods to an abandoned house with a mysterious past that will change everything . . .
How do you face life without a place to call home? Award-winning author Adrian Fogelin follows up her critically acclaimed novel Crossing Jordan with the story of a young girl’s trials and triumphs as she tries to find a home. With warmth and humor, Fogelin has created a memorable character in Anna, who must deal with the loss of her family and adjust to living in a foster home. Feeling abandoned and alone, Anna turns to her closest companion, her explorer journal. With the help of a scrawny new friend named Eb, Anna discovers a sense of belonging . . . and her own place in the world.
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