Wamego High
School's Good Reads
Hardship
& Adversity
FICTIONThe following books can be found in the Fiction collection, shelved by the first three letters of the author's last name, e.g., F BAR .
Agnon, Shmuel Yosef and Harshav, Barbara. Only yesterday.
Young
Isaac Kumer immigrates to Palestine with the Second Aliya where he
faces poverty, segregation, and loneliness.
Bridges, Sue Ellen. HOME BEFORE DARK.
Stella Mae is
the oldest
child in
a family of migrant workers and has spent most of her life moving from
one harvest to another, living out of an old, beaten-up station wagon
with
her parents and younger brothers and sister.
Brooks, Bruce. THE MOVES
MAKE THE MAN.Jeremy is a
bright,
happy, well-adjusted
black boy who lives alone with his mother. Bix is having a
difficult
time living alone with his stepfather while his mother is in a mental
hospital.
Childress, Alice. A HERO
AIN'T NOTHING
BUT A SANDWICH.This novel
centers around
a 13-year-old
drug addict from a New York ghetto. Each chapter is a first
person
account by various friends, family members, teachers, and pushers who
know
Benjie Johnson.
Collier, James Lincoln. WHEN
STARS
BEGIN TO FALL.Harry is
determined to
overcome
the "traxh" label placed upon his family. When he learns that a
local
factory is polluting the river, he comes up with a bold plan to stop
the
destruction. Hopefully, then, the town will respect him.
Hassler, Jon. JEMMY.After her
mother dies,
Jemmy has
to quit school in order to keep house for her father and take care of
her
younger brother and sister. Not only does she try to deep her
family
together, but she also struggles against poverty, ignorance and
prejudice;
Jemmy is half-Indian.
Hinton, S. E. TEX.Tex is
15. His
father is away
more than at home, his mother died when he was little. Tex
believes
his dad is working hard at the rodeo and doesn't really mean to stay
away
so long without sending money home. But Mace, Tex's older brother
who is raising Tex, knows better. The hardest thing for Tex is
learning
his father's secret and learning to appreciate Mace's love and concern
for him.
Hinton, S. E. THE OUTSIDERS.This novel,
written when
the author
was 17, is about the violence between two gangs, the Socials (Socs) and
the Jets (Greasers). The Socs are rich kids who live on the West
side of town, and the Greasers live on the East side and are often
mistaken
for hoods. Ponyboy, a Greaser, tells what life is like being an
outsider.
Hinton, S. E. THAT WAS THEN, THIS
IS NOW.Bryon and Mark
have been
best friends
since childhood, but as teenagers, they begin to develop separate
identities
and each is painfully aware that they are growing apart. Life on
the wrong side of town dished them both unfair servings of violence and
poverty. When Bryon discovers that Mark is selling drugs to make
money, he must make some decisions about their friendship.
Hunt, Irene. NO PROMISES IN
THE WIND.Josh is angry
with his
father for
losing his job and resents the fact that there are no jobs to be
found.
Because of the pressure of the Depression, Josh and his best friend,
Howie,
leave home so there will be more food for the other family members.
Lipsyte, Robert. THE
CONTENDER.It would be
easy for
Alfred Brooks
to join a gang and steal, mug, and take drugs, but Alfred doesn't want
that for himslef. Realizing that it will take guts and
determination
to be different from what his environment cultivates, he resorts to
boxing.
Mazer, Norma Fox. SILVER.Sarabeth Silver
never
thought of
herself as poor until she transfers to a school "where all the rich
kids
go." She is the only person who lives in a trailer with a mother
who cleans houses for a living. When Sarabeth is accepted into a
clique of girls she admires, she discovers that they have problems of
their
own.
Myers, Walter Dean.
SCORPIONS.Jamal has some
tough
decisions.
As a black boy growing up on the streets of Harlem, opportunities are
scarce
byt drugs are plentiful. His older borther is in jail for a
gang-related
robbery where a delicatessen owner was killed. Jamal wants to
help
raise the bail needed, but must decide if joining the gang for a "quick
fix" is the right way to go.
__________. HOOPS.17-year-old
Lonnie find
shooting
hoops a way to deal with the problems he is having with his
mother.
He is recruited to play on a local team, but quits because he
recognizes
the coach as a local wino. Lonnie rejoins the team and becomes
friends
with Cal, but a tragedy interrupts their friendship.
_________. THE
OUTSIDE SHOT.In this
involving sequel
to Hoops,
Lonnie has earned a basketball scholarship to a midwestern college but
finds himself unprepared for the pressures of classes, love, college
sports
and corruption.
Naylor, Phyllis R. SEND NO
BLESSINGS.Beth, a 10th
grader, is
the oldest
of many children. She is embarrassed by her poor and uneducated
family
and hates the dilapidated trailer they call home. Drawn to the
illusion
of possible escape when a 22-year-old asks her to marry him, Beth snaps
out of it and decides she does not want to repeat the mistakes of her
own
parents.
Paterson, Katherine. LYDDIE.Lyddie is
forced to alter
her plans
when her mother makes her go to work to help pay for the family's
debts.
The story, set in mid-19th century Vermont, traces three years of
Lyddie's
life as a worker in a tavern and then in a factory.
Paulsen, Gary. THE CROSSING.Manny Bustos is
sturggling just
to stay alive in the midst of unbelievable poverty on the streets of
Juarez,
Mexico. Across the border he sees two things: a dream of a
better life in America and Sergeant Robert S. Locke, a Vietnam veteran
with a drinking problem and an attitude.
Wilkinson, Brenda. LUDELL.Ludell Wilson, a young
black girl
growing up in the rural South, knows first-hand what it means to do
without.
Her family is poor - real poor - but Ludell finds life's treasure in
the
simple things.
Wolff, Virginia Euwer. True
believer.Living in the
inner city
amidst guns and poverty, fifteen-year-old LaVaughn learns from old and
new friends, and inspiring mentors, that life is what you make it--an
occasion to rise to.
NONFICTION
305.569 GOT
Gottfried, Ted. Homelessness : whose problem is it?
Discusses the issue of
homelessness,
examining who the homeless are, how they become that way, and differing
views
on how to deal with the problem.
338.5 SHE
Examines the causes and
conditions of the difficult economic
times known as the Great Depression.
361.1 GRO v.23
Vasudevan, Aruna. Pro/Con : Poverty and wealth.
362.5 DAV
Examines the living conditions
of Americans
from the lower economic classes and briefly discusses programs intended
to
assist them with their financial burdens.
362.5 HOM
Hurley, Jennifer A. The homeless : opposing viewpoints.
Presents varying perspectives
and
arguments concerning homelessness, including its significance and
causes, housing
options, and the role of society in the problem. Also
includes periodical bibliographies on
each topic, a bibliography of books, and a list of organizations and
Web sites.
362.5 POV
Balkin, Karen. Poverty : opposing viewpoints.
362.5 POV
Williams, Mary E. Poverty and the homeless.
362.5 WOR
Worth, Richard. Poverty.
Examines poverty-stricken areas and groups and programs to alleviate poverty, including welfare.
362.7 AYE
Ayer, Eleanor H. Homeless children.
Discusses why
children become homeless in the United States
AV DVD 155.6 SUT
Sutherland, David. Country boys.
Acclaimed producer,
David Sutherland, returns to rural America
to tell the epic tale of two boys coming of age in Kentucky
