The Whale Rider

Ihimaera, W. (1987). The whale rider. Auckland, N.Z. : Heinemann.

A beautiful and heart warming story of Kahu Paikea Apirana, a 12 year old Maori girl.

Even though she is the only living child of the tribe's chiefly succession, Kahu is denied to become the leader of the tribe, as she is not a male. The death of her twin brother has further complicated her relationship with grandfather Koro, as he condemns and blames her for everything that goes wrong in the tribe. So Kahu has to fight to win the love of her grandfather and her destiny as tribe leader.
When a pod of whales is stranded on the beach, Kahu can prove she is destined to be the leader of the tribe by riding the biggest whale and leading the pod safely into the sea.

A renown Maori writer, Witi Ihimaera's another tale of the Maori people. He combined past &present and myth &reality and wove a beautiful and unforgettable story.

The secret between us

Delinsky, B. (2008). The secret between us. New York, NY : Doubleday.

Deborah allows Grace to drive them back home in the rain when she picks up Grace from a party. However, when their car hits a man running in the dark, Deborah sends Grace running home and decides to take responsibility for the accident on her shoulder.

This story is about how the decision brings in tension between mother and daughter and threatens their special bond.

Even though the book has been written from the perspective of Deborah and mainly explores her relationship with her parents, ex-husband and children, it can be also read from Grace's point of view.

Grace, a 16 year old, suffers because of Deborah's well-inteneded lie. In the end, she becomes more assertive and takes responsibility for the accident and by doing so, has grown up.

Chinese Cinderella

Mah, A. Y. (1999). Chinese Cinderella. London, UK : Puffin. [autobiography]

From the beginning of her life, Adeline is considered to be bad luck, as her mum died a week after she was born. She feels neglected and denied love by her father and her siblings. This situation even gets worse when her father gets remarried. The stepmother doesn't like all the children of his previous marriage, particularly Adeline.

This story is about how Adeline struggles to find her own place where she feels she belongs. She immerses herself in achieving academic success to win her father's favour. In the end, she wins a scholarship, which takes her to the UK and a new opportunity of life.

The lovely bones

Sebold, A. (2002). The lovely bones. Boston, MA: Little, Brown & Company.

An moving story of Susie and her family after a tragic loss of their beloved one. 

The story is most intriguing, as it is told by 14-year-old Susie who was murdered but now from her heaven watch her family and friends grieve, suffer and even fall apart without her.

Susie follows the loves of her family and friends as they struggle to cope with the devastation they are left with after her murder. Her father is consumed with guilt at having failed to save her. Her mother drifts away from her husband.In watching her family on Earth and recounts the memories she had before, Susie comes to understand the life she and her family are robbed of.

My Sister's Keeper

Picouldt, J. (2004). My sister's keeper. New York,NY : Atria Books.

A thought provoking story of 13-year-old Anna.

Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate, her older sister. Since she was born, Anna has undergone through countless surgeries and transfusions to keep Kate alive. She has never questioned about her life and her role in her family as her sister's keeper until she makes a decision that will tear her family apart and most likely lose her beloved sister. She sues her parents to get medical emancipation when she is expected to donate a kidney to Kate.

A very engaging story with a suprise ending.

If you want to know about the author's thoughts on My Sister's Keeper, click to this link.
http://www.jodipicoult.com/my-sisters-keeper.html

Our Secret, Siri Aang

Kessler, Crisitina. (2004) Our secret, Siri Aang. New York, NY : Philomel Books.

A story of a courageous twelve year old Masai girl. Namelock, who  comes to have many secrets that she cannot tell anyone.

She comes across a mother black rhino in labour and helps her to give birth. She vows to protect them and visit them as often as possible and keep them secret.

She starts to bleed but she keeps it secret too until it is noticed by her mum.

She wishes to go to school and learn to wirte her own name and how to do maths.

Once she decides she will go through her initiation and accepts the traditional way of life as a Masai girl/woman, she wants to vist and say good bye to the rhinos, only to find the mother rhino was killed by poachers. To keep her vows to them and also want to find Siri Aang, Namelock starts her journey to the bush to search for the poachers and bring justice to them, which leads her to a horrifying discovery that could completely shatter her foundation.

You can find the author Cristina Kessler's Behind the Books video and listen to her about how the book was written on this link. http://www.cristinakessler.com/Books_7.htm