Alligator Bayou by Wendy Lamb Books $8.99
An unforgettable novel, based on a true story, about racism against Italian Americans in the South in 1899. Fourteen-year-old Calogero, his uncles, and his cousins are six Sicilians living in the small town of Tallulah, Louisiana, miles from any of their countrymen. They grow vegetables and sell them at their stand and in their grocery store. Some people welcome the immigrants; most do not....
Bound by Simon Pulse $6.99
YOUNG XING XING IS BOUND. Bound to her late father's second wife and daughter. Bound to a life of servitude as a young girl in ancient China, where a woman is valued less than livestock. Bound to be alone, with no parents to arrange for a suitable husband. Xing Xing spends her days taking care of her half sister, Wei Ping, who cannot walk because of her foot bindings, the painful tradition for...
Zel by Dutton Juvenile $17.99
Zel begins to have thoughts of a life of her own life and Zel's mother is fearful of her daughter ever leaving her, so when a young man accidentally meets Zel and they become attracted to each other, Zel's mother locks her away in a tower far away from everyone, especially the young man.
Hush: An Irish Princess' Tale by Simon Pulse $6.99
A silent girl. An awesome power. Melkorka is an Irish princess, the first daughter of a magnificent kingdom -- but this all changes the day she is kidnapped and taken aboard a marauding slave ship. Trapped in a world both unfamiliar and cruel, Melkorka finds that her powerlessness gives her clarity. That she is the master of what she says. Choosing to take a vow of silence, Melkorka becomes...
Spinners by Puffin $6.99
This is the story of two spinners. The first honed his craft at a stolen wheel, crippling his leg, turning a room full of straw into a glittering dress for his beloved -- and losing her. The second steals moments to teach herself. Saskia is her name, and she grows up to be a master spinner. Nothing is beyond her -- until she, too, must spin straw into gold. And it is then that they meet . . .
The Wager by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR) $16.99
Don Giovanni was once the wealthiest and handsomest young man in Messina. Then a tidal wave changed everything. When a well-dressed stranger offers him a magical purse, he knows he shouldn’t take it. Only the devil would offer a deal like this, and only a fool would accept. Don Giovanni is no fool, but he is desperate. He takes the bet: he will not bathe for 3 years, 3 months, and 3...
Breath by Simon Pulse $5.99
Salz is a boy afflicted with a strange disease -- he coughs and coughs and cannot catch his breath. The only way he can stay alive is by doing things that make him an outcast: joining a coven, throwing himself into a handstand when the fits overtake him, avoiding the ale that his brothers and all the townspeople drink. Salz lives in a time of superstition and fear, in the medieval town of...
Daughter of Venice by Laurel Leaf $6.99
In 1592, Donata is a noble girl living in a palazzo on the Grand Canal. Girls of her class receive no education and rarely leave the palazzo. In a noble family, only one daughter and one son will be allowed to marry; Donata, like all younger daughters, will be sent to a convent. Donata longs to be tutored like her brothers and to see the Venice she has glimpsed only on the map. What is the world...
Stones in Water by Paw Prints 2008-04-18 $14.99
When Roberto sneaks off to see a movie in his Italian village, he has no idea that life as he knows it is over. German soldiers raid the theater, round up the boys in the audience, and pack them onto a train. After a terrifying journey, Roberto and his best friend Samuele find themselves in a brutal work camp, where food is scarce and horror is everywhere. The boys vow to stay together no matter...
Sirena by Scholastic $15.95
In Donna Jo Napoli's beautiful prose, the tragic love story between a mermaid and a mortal comes to life for young readers. When Sirena meets Philoctetes, Hercules' friend, she falls in love. But the young warrior must return home to fight the Trojan War and leave his magical love behind.