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Avatar
Avatar is a dark contemporary story in twelve chapters about a boy, Kevin, who is cruelly bullied and comes home either to an empty house or a mother who is more child than parent. A new girl, Lan, recently arrived from Vietnam, gives him the...
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Black Gold
Black Gold is an informational explanation. The text explains where oil comes from and how it is found, extracted, and refined. The politics of oil and our options for energy alternatives are discussed. The book concludes with a feature on...
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Blood Diamonds
Blood Diamonds is an informational report on blood, or conflict, diamonds originating in several West African countries. The report explains what diamonds are, how they are obtained, and how violent means have been used to get diamond revenue to...
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Building Faces: Identity Restored
Building Faces: Identity Restored is a non-fiction explanation of how artists, forensic technologies, and computers are used to give faces to bones. The techniques can expand our knowledge of history and solve crimes. The book concludes with...
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Cool Grinds
Cool Grinds is a short story told in the first person. Josh and his stepfather seem to have no common ground. The high stress of a skateboarding competition leads Josh to think about life and choices. And when he makes a kind gesture to...
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Design It
Design It is a procedural text that takes readers through the design challenges of starting a fictitious T-shirt company called SK8R Jam. Logo design, stationery design, company profile, manufacturing, and package design are among the topics...
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Facing Jesse James
Facing Jesse James is a gritty historical fiction story presented in six chapters. Josh is a farmer’s boy and his friend Ben’s the saloon keeper’s son. Ben’s pappy routinely wups drunks, and Josh is ashamed that his...
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Fuelling Extinction
Fuelling Extinction is an informational explanation of the impact of palm oil plantations on the rainforest habitat and on the animals that live there, particularly orangutans. The text discusses the challenges of weighing the benefits of biofuels...
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Game Over
Game Over is a science fiction story. Penn is the most successful captain of her generation, so why isn’t she the automatic choice for commander of the new Moon Security outpost? The answer is not what she expects. One more test...
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Global Food Crisis
Global Food Crisis is an informational explanation that outlines the magnitude of the problem of world hunger and details the origins and social impact of the crisis, as well as the challenges for the future. The book concludes with a feature on...
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Koevasi
Koevasi is a heart-breaking contemporary story told in the first person. The narrator, Clem, lives with his friend AJ. Both boys have lost their parents in a war that still fills the streets of their city with danger. AJ decides to put...
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My Name is Joad
My Name Is Joad is a contemporary story for mature readers told in the first person. Joad wants more than anything to be accepted into the Kingz gang, and finally, the leader gives him an initiation task. He carries out the crime, but when...