The Book Thief, by Mark Zusak (2005)

Death recounts the story of a little girl, Liesel. He first met Liesel when he took her brother in 1939 on a train to Molching, a suburb of Munich. He sees her steal a book, The Gravedigger's Handbook, from her brother's graveside. Why an illiterate girl would steal a book? Death follows Liesel on her journey to stay with the Hubermann's, her foster home. Liesel's illustrious career as a book thief grows in Nazi Germany amid book burnings and Nazi Youth meetings. As World War II unfolds she sees Death through the eyes of Max, a Jew the Hubermann's hide in their basement. He is there to carry the Jewish souls from Dachau, the concentration camp just up the hill from Molching.
As Death watches on Liesel learns to read, makes friends in her new school and forms an unusual tie with the mayor's wife. Throughout, Liesel hones her skills as a book thief.
Her connection to words is what eventually saves her, literally and metaphorically.
Suggested for grades 9-11

Chanda’s Secrets, by Allan Stratton (2004)

Growing up in sub-Saharan Africa, Chanda Kabelo has aspirations of winning a scholarship and studying abroad. However, with two young siblings, no father and a mother who is dying of AIDS, Chanda must become the care-taker in her family and put her dreams on hold.

Chanda’s Secret is a portrayal of the effect of AIDS in Africa and the stigma and shame that surround it. The novel also focuses on the strength and courage that young people have, even in the most desperate of circumstances.

review submitted by Library Peer Tutor, grade 11

Throwaway Daughter, by Ting-Xing Ye (2003)

Growing up in Ontario in the 1990s, Grace Parker struggles with her Chinese heritage. Adopted as a baby by a Canadian family, she is resentful towards her biological mother, whom she never knew, for abandoning her at an orphanage. As she becomes a young adult, Grace feels the need to learn about her past, so she decides to travel to China in an attempt to find her birth parents.
Throwaway Daughter deal both with the personal challenges of identity as well as gender discrimination and the practice of abandoning, or in come cases, murdering baby girls that can occur in societies where women are considered inferior to men.

review submitted by a Library Peer Tutor, grade 11