Oklahoma

Everything Sad is Untrue

Sophie Rosen , , , , ,

Nayeri, Daniel. Everything Sad is Untrue: (a True Story). New York: Levine Querido, 2020. 

Khosrou’s family history goes back centuries. In Iran, his family was well-to-do, educated, respected. But now, in an Oklahoman middle-school, the renamed Daniel is merely a poor lonely immigrant. In the style of the stories of Scheherazade, Khosrou tells how his mother converted to Christianity and they had to flee the secret police, leaving his father behind.A multiple award winner, this 356-page autobiographical novel is highly recommended for readers 11 years old and up.

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Two Roads

Sophie Rosen , , ,

Bruchac, Joseph. Two Roads. New York: Puffin Books, 2019.
Twelve-year-old Cal and his father, homeless, travel across America by rail. It’s 1932, in the middle of the Great Depression, and countless poverty-stricken men are clambering onto freight trains, hoping not to be caught by the guards. But Cal is caught – by a surprise. His father tells him that they are Creek Indians. And now he is going to join a demonstration in Washington, D.C. to defend the rights of World War I veterans, so Cal is being dropped off in Oklahoma to stay at a residential school for native Americans.  Joseph Bruchac, author of numerous novels and picture books, skilfully tells a story of grief and hope. Recommended for readers 11 years old and up.

Note: All books published by Puffin are well-written. All stories by Joseph Bruchac are worth reading.

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