Thirteen-year-old Hadi Saleh and his family are displaced. At least that's what the Lebanese government calls them and the thousands of other Syrian refugees that have flooded into Beirut. But as Hadi tries to earn money to feed his family by selling gum on the street corner, he learns that many people who travel the city every day don't think he and his family are displaced-they think they're in the wrong place, that they don't belong in this country either. Each day he hears insults, but each day he convinces himself they don't matter, as he approaches the cars again and again to earn enough money to keep them in their one room home a little longer. He hardly dares to dream anymore that this might change. But then Hadi meets Malek, who has been instructed to work on the same corner. Malek, who talks about going to school, becoming an engineer, and building a whole life beyond their tiny corner. A life Hadi starts to believe might not be as out of reach as he thought. But Malek is new to the streets, and just when Hadi starts to hope, Kamal, the man who oversees many of the local street vendors, tells Malek he must work the corner . . . alone. And people who don't follow Kamal's orders don't last long. Now Hadi is forced to make a choice between engaging in illegal activities or letting his family starve. Can the boys find a way out of their impossible situation, or will the dream of something greater than their harsh present remain stubbornly out of reach? Acclaimed author Dean Hughes delivers a gripping look at the realities faced by those who are forced to flee their homes with no place to go.
A boy discovers the complexities of conflict in this fast-paced and thoughtful look at the Vietnam War from the acclaimed author of Soldier Boys and Missing in Action. Rick Ward wants to go to war. And he's not sure why. Maybe he's running from his dad and his crazy temper. Maybe he's running from his girl, who seems to think he's more of a joke than a man. Or maybe he's just running-to find himself. After basic training, Rick enlists with the Charlie Rangers, a special unit that ambushes the enemy in secret jungle raids. It is the most dangerous front line duty, and Rick's six-man team will experience everything from horrifying enemy encounters to mourning the death of a comrade. Rick will discover that no one-not protestors, politicians, or writers-has got a clue. And he will see that war is far bigger, scarier, and more complicated than anything he ever could have imagined.
From the author of Soldier Boys and Search and Destroy comes a thought-provoking, action-packed story based on the little-known history of the Japanese Americans who fought with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team during World War II. Yuki Nakahara is an American. But it's the start of World War II, and America doesn't see it that way. Like many other Japanese Americans, Yuki and his family have been forced into an internment camp in the Utah desert. But Yuki isn't willing to sit back and accept this injustice-it's his country too, and he's going to prove it by enlisting in the army to fight for the Allies. When Yuki and his friend Shig ship out, they aren't prepared for the experiences they'll encounter as members of the "Four-Four-Two," a segregated regiment made up entirely of Japanese-American soldiers. Before Yuki returns home-if he returns home-he'll come face to face with persistent prejudices, grueling combat he never imagined, and friendships deeper than he knew possible.
Dirty. Lazy. Good-for-nothing. Jay Thacker is used to being called names because his dad is half Navajo. But things are different after he and his mother move to a small town in Utah to stay with his grandparents during WWII. Jay makes friends and earns money working the fields for his well-respected grandfather-but he encounters a problem in Ken, a fellow worker who's from the nearby Japanese internment camp. Ken's a Jap. And Jay's dad, who's been fighting for the navy out in the Pacific, is missing in action. This moving story about an unlikely friendship deftly addresses themes of prejudice and intolerance, providing readers a glimpse of the past that enlightens the present.
Spencer Morgan And Dieter Hedrick Are On Opposite Sides Of The War And Fighting For The Same Thing. At the age of fifteen, Dieter's blind devotion gets him promoted from Hitler Youth into the German army. Dieter's determined to prove his allegiance and bravery all costs. Spence, just sixteen, drops out of his Utah high school to begin training as a paratrooper. He's seen how boys who weren't much in high school can come home heroes, and Spence wants to prove to his friends and family that he really can be something. Their worst fear was that the war would end too soon -- that they wouldn't get the chance to prove themselves. But when they finally see the action they were hoping for, it's like nothing they could have ever imagined.
A historical fiction novel told from the perspective of a son fighting on the battlefields of Europe during World War II and his mother, struggling with worry and uncertainty as she tries to maintain a normal, happy Christmas holiday
Norma Hayes has always tried to make Christmas special for her family, but 1944 will make that more difficult with money being tight and wartime rationing making everything hard to come by. Aware of his mother's hardships and the worry from having her eldest son at war, Norma's second son, Dennis, is determined to buy his mother a special gift this Christmas: a lavender blue dress he hopes will bring her comfort.
Meanwhile, on a battlefield far from home in Holland, Norma's soldier son catches a familiar scent of lavender, which briefly transports him back to the homefront and to the perfume scent his mother wore, giving him a short respite and reuniting the family once again-if only in his imagination.
"Home and Away is far and away the best story I have read this year. Awesome and moving."-Obert Skye, bestselling author
