Recommendations based on Becoming Naomi Leónby Pam Muñoz Ryan

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. Esperanza Rising

    by Pam Muñoz Ryan
    A young girl from a wealthy Mexican family is forced to flee to California during the Great Depression and learns to adapt to a new life as a farm worker.

    Esperanza is a child in Aguascalientes , Mexico, daughter of wealthy landowner Sixto Ortega. She lives on her family's ranch, El Rancho de la Rosas, with her mother, father, and grandmother Abuelita. ... (Wikipedia)

  2. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

    by Sherman Alexie
    A young Native American boy's struggles to survive in a difficult world.

    The book follows a fourteen-year-old boy living with his family on the Spokane Indian Reservation near Wellpinit, Washington for a school year. It is told in episodic diary style, moving from the ... (Wikipedia)

  3. Revenge of the Wannabes

    by Lisi Harrison
    The third book in the "The Clique" series follows Massie Block and her friends as they navigate the social hierarchy of their exclusive middle school.

    Weeks before Christmas. Alicia and Olivia are on their way to Manhattan so the Teen People editors can do a story on them about winning the Octavian Country Day uniform design contest. When Massie ... (Barnes & Noble)

  4. The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate

    by Jacqueline Kelly
    A young girl in rural Texas discovers her passion for science and nature.

    In the summer of 1899, Calpurnia Virginia Tate is about to turn twelve and worries about the adult responsibilities that loom on the horizon. She would much rather swim in the river near her family's ... (Wikipedia)

  5. The Crossover

    by Kwame Alexander
    Two brothers explore the joys and struggles of adolescence through the power of basketball.

    New York Times, bestseller ∙ Newbery Medal Winner ∙, Coretta Scott King Honor Award ∙,2015 YALSA 2015 Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults,∙, 2015 YALSA Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers ... (Barnes & Noble)

  6. Echo

    by Pam Muñoz Ryan
    A magical story of courage, hope and friendship, connecting three different generations.

    The framing story is set in Germany circa 1889; , while playing hide-and-seek with his friends, Otto becomes absorbed in a book he had purchased from a Gypsy entitled The Thirteenth Harmonica of Otto ... (Wikipedia)

  7. Pretty Little Liars

    by Sara Shepard
    Four teenage girls uncover secrets and lies as they investigate the disappearance of their best friend.

    EVERYONE HAS SOMETHING TO HIDE - ESPECIALLY HIGH SCHOOL JUNIORS SPENCER, ARIA, EMILY, AND HANNA Spencer covets her sister's boyfriend. Aria's fantasizing about her English teacher. Emily's crushing ... (Goodreads)

  8. The London Eye Mystery

    by Siobhan Dowd
    When Ted's cousin Salim disappears from the London Eye, Ted and his sister Kat use their unique perspectives to solve the mystery.

    The story begins with Aunt Gloria visiting Ted's family. Ted is a boy with Asperger syndrome. She is accompanied by her son Salim, a half- Asian boy who is about a year older than Ted. People with ... (Wikipedia)

  9. Does My Head Look Big in This?

    by Randa Abdel-Fattah
    A coming-of-age story about a Muslim-Australian teenager who decides to wear the hijab full-time and faces discrimination and challenges from her peers.

    When sixteen-year-old Amal decides to wear the hijab full-time, her entire world changes, all because of a piece of cloth... Sixteen-year-old Amal makes the decision to start wearing the hijab ... (Goodreads)

  10. One Crazy Summer

    by Rita Williams-Garcia
    A young girl's summer adventure in Oakland, California, as she learns about her family's past.

    Delphine, aged eleven, Vonetta, nine, and Fern, seven, live with their father and grandmother in Brooklyn , New York. However, the girls’ father sends them to Oakland, California one summer to stay ... (Wikipedia)

  11. Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key

    by Jack Gantos
    A young boy's struggles with ADHD, as he navigates an often-chaotic world.

    The book describes the life of a child named Joey Pigza who frequently gets into trouble at school due to his erratic behavior. He has a habit of swallowing a key attached to a piece of string in ... (Wikipedia)

  12. Ida B. . . and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and

    by Katherine Hannigan
    Ida B. is a spunky, imaginative girl who loves her apple orchard, but when her mother falls ill, she must learn to cope with change.

    Ida B. Applewood believes there is never enough time for fun. That's why she's so happy to be homeschooled and to spend every free second outside with the trees and the brook. Then some not-so-great ... (Goodreads)

  13. The Watsons Go to Birmingham - 1963

    by Christopher Paul Curtis
    The Watson family travels from Michigan to Alabama during the height of the Civil Rights Movement, experiencing racism and tragedy.

    The Newbery Honor-winning American classic, The Watsons Go to Birmingham–1963 , celebrates 20 years with this anniversary edition featuring a special letter from Christopher Paul Curtis and an ... (Goodreads)

  14. Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad

    by Ellen Levine
    A slave's courageous escape to freedom via the Underground Railroad.

    A stirring, dramatic story of a slave who mails himself to freedom by a Jane Addams Peace Award-winning author and a Coretta Scott King Award-winning artist. Henry Brown doesn't know how old he is. ... (Barnes & Noble)

  15. Chains

    by Laurie Halse Anderson
    A young girl's mission to secure her and her sister's freedom from enslavement.

    As the Revolutionary War begins, thirteen-year-old Isabel wages her own fight...for freedom. Promised freedom upon the death of their owner, she and her sister, Ruth, in a cruel twist of fate become ... (Goodreads)

  16. A Long Way from Chicago

    by Richard Peck
    Story of a brother and sister's adventures with their larger-than-life grandmother during their summer visits.

    "Shotgun Cheatham's" Last Night Above Ground - 1929" (originally printed in Twelve Shots: Stories About Guns, 1997). The first summer the children go to their grandmother's house, a reporter comes ... (Wikipedia)

  17. The Tiger Rising

    by Kate DiCamillo
    A young boy discovers a caged tiger in the woods and befriends a girl who helps him confront his grief.

    The National Book Award finalist from the best-selling author of, Because of Winn-Dixie,—now in paperback Walking through the misty Florida woods one morning, twelve-year-old Rob Horton is stunned to ... (Goodreads)

  18. Bud, Not Buddy

    by Christopher Paul Curtis
    A young boy searches for his father during the Great Depression, encountering adventure and unexpected kindness along the way.

    The story opens with Bud being placed with a new foster family, the Amoses'. Bud soon meets Todd Amos, their 12-year-old son, who teases him mercilessly and calls him Buddy. After a fight with Todd, ... (Wikipedia)

  19. The Higher Power of Lucky

    by Susan Patron
    A young girl's journey of self-discovery, learning the power of resilience and hope.

    The novel features Lucky, a 10-year-old girl who lives in a small town called Hard Pan (population 43) in the California desert with her two friends Lincoln, who is an avid knot tyer and expected by ... (Wikipedia)

  20. Alif the Unseen

    by G. Willow Wilson
    A hacker navigates a dangerous and repressive world while seeking love and justice.

    In an unnamed Middle Eastern security state, a young Arab-Indian hacker shields his clients—dissidents, outlaws, Islamists, and other watched groups—from surveillance and tries to stay out of ... (Goodreads)

  21. The Breadwinner

    by Deborah Ellis
    A young girl in Afghanistan must take on the mantle of breadwinner to protect her family.

    Parvana is an 11-year-old girl who lives in Kabul , Afghanistan with her mother Fatima, her father, her older sister Nooria, and two younger siblings, Maryam and Ali. Taliban soldiers enter her house ... (Wikipedia)

  22. The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes

    by DuBose Heyward
    A mother bunny overcomes obstacles to become one of the five Easter bunnies, proving that even those who are underestimated can achieve greatness.

    It is the story of Cottontail, a small, brown mother bunny who aspires to be an Easter Bunny which, in this telling, is a highly competitive position for which only 5 bunnies are selected each year. ... (Wikipedia)

  23. Counting by 7s

    by Holly Goldberg Sloan
    A story of resilience and hope, as an outsider learns to find her place in the world.

    Willow Chance is a twelve-year-old genius, obsessed with nature and diagnosing medical conditions, who finds it comforting to count by 7s. It has never been easy for her to connect with anyone other ... (Goodreads)

  24. Moon Over Manifest

    by Clare Vanderpool
    A young girl's adventure through 1920s America, uncovering family secrets and finding her identity.

    The main character in the book is Abilene Tucker, a nice, adventurous girl from 1936. Her father sent her to a small town called Manifest, Kansas while he worked a railroad job somewhere else. She ... (Wikipedia)

  25. Elijah of Buxton

    by Christopher Paul Curtis
    A young boy's adventures in a pre-Civil War free-town, learning the true meaning of freedom.

    Newbery Medalist and CSK Award winner Christopher Paul Curtis's debut middle-grade/young-YA novel for Scholastic features his trademark humor, compelling storytelling, and unique narrative voice. ... (Goodreads)

  26. Wonderstruck

    by Brian Selznick
    Two stories from different eras intertwine, revealing hidden connections between a deaf girl and a runaway boy.

    Ben’s story starts in Gunflint Lake, Minnesota in June 1977. He was born deaf in his left ear. Ben’s mom, Elaine, was the town librarian, but died in a car crash. He now lives with his aunt and uncle ... (Wikipedia)

  27. Walk Two Moons

    by Sharon Creech
    A young girl embarks on a road trip with her grandparents to find her missing mother, while reflecting on her own life and relationships.

    The novel is narrated by a 13-year-old girl named Salamanca (Sal). Sal's mother has recently left Sal's father, and Sal's grandparents are taking her on a cross-country car trip to Lewiston, Idaho to ... (Wikipedia)

  28. A Long Walk to Water: Based on a True Story

    by Linda Sue Park
    A boy's story of courage and perseverance, as he faces the civil war in Sudan.

    A Long Walk to Water begins as two stories, told in alternating sections, about a girl in Sudan in 2008 and a boy in Sudan in 1985. The girl, Nya, is fetching water from a pond that is two hours’ ... (Goodreads)

  29. Inside Out & Back Again

    by Thanhha Lai
    A young girl and her family flee Vietnam, adapting to a new life in America.

    Inside Out and Back Again is a story about a young girl named Kim Hà and her family, consisting of her Mother and three brothers, being forced to move to the United States because the Vietnam War had ... (Wikipedia)

  30. The Nixie's Song

    by Tony DiTerlizzi
    Two siblings must rescue their kidnapped mother from the clutches of a dangerous faerie queen.

    The Spiderwick Chronicles leave the old-fashioned charm of New England far behind and head south for some fiendish faerie fun in the hot Florida sun. Eleven-year-old Nicholas Vargas only thinks his ... (Barnes & Noble)