Defining Dulcie

Defining Dulcie
Author: Paul Acampora
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 180
Release: 2008-05-29
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1440630992

From a debut author comes a story of finding oneself in a place all too familiar. After Dulcie Morrigan Jones's dad dies, her mom decides they need to find a new life in California. But Dulcie doesn't understand what's wrong with her old life back in Newbury, Connecticut. So she heads across country and back home in her father's red 1968 Chevy pickup truck. When she arrives, she meets Roxanne, a girl whose home life makes Dulcie see that her own situation may not be all that bad after all. And as the summer comes to an end, Dulcie realizes that maybe it's necessary to leave a place in order to come back and find out who you really are.

The Tequila Worm

The Tequila Worm
Author: Viola Canales
Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books
Total Pages: 210
Release: 2007-12-18
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 030743401X

Sofia comes from a family of storytellers. Here are her tales of growing up in the barrio in McAllen, Texas, full of the magic and mystery of family traditions: making Easter cascarones, celebrating el Dia de los Muertos, preparing for quinceañera, rejoicing in the Christmas nacimiento, and curing homesickness by eating the tequila worm. When Sofia is singled out to receive a scholarship to boarding school, she longs to explore life beyond the barrio, even though it means leaving her family to navigate a strange world of rich, privileged kids. It’s a different mundo, but one where Sofia’s traditions take on new meaning and illuminate her path.

Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face

Rachel Spinelli Punched Me in the Face
Author: Paul Acampora
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Total Pages: 175
Release: 2011-08-30
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1429976802

Zachary's mom just up and disappeared from their home in Copper Lake, Colorado. The good news is that Zachary and his dad are trying to move on, and Falls, Connecticut is just the place for a fresh start. With the help of a new friend, Rachel, and her brother Teddy, Zachary is learning about new beginnings, the power of forgiveness, and the quirky people that make life interesting.

I Kill the Mockingbird

I Kill the Mockingbird
Author: Paul Acampora
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2014-05-20
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1596437421

Best friends Lucy, Elena, and Michael are excited to see "To Kill A Mockingbird" on their summer reading list. But not everyone in their class shares the same enthusiasm. So they hatch a plot to get the entire town talking about Harper Lee's classic novel.

How to Avoid Extinction

How to Avoid Extinction
Author: Paul Acampora
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 169
Release: 2016-09-27
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0545899087

For fans of Gary Schmidt and Joan Bauer, a laugh-out-loud intergenerational road trip story from acclaimed author Paul Acampora! Since the death of his grandfather, Leo's number one chore has been to chase after his grandmother who seems to wander away from home every few days. Now, Gram's decided to roam farther than ever. And despite his misgivings, Leo's going along for the ride. With his seventeen-year-old cousin, Abbey, and an old, gassy dog named Kermit, Leo joins Gram in a big, old Buick to leave their Pennsylvania home for a cross-country road trip filled with fold-out maps, family secrets, new friends, and dinosaur bones.How to Avoid Extinction is a middle grade comedy about death and food and family and fossils. It's about running away from home and coming back again. For Leo, it's about asking hard questions and hopefully finding some sensible answers. As if good sense has anything to do with it. Against a backdrop of America's stunning size and beauty, it's also about growing up, getting old, dreaming about immortality, and figuring out all the things we can -- and can't -- leave behind.

In Honor of Broken Things

In Honor of Broken Things
Author: Paul Acampora
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2022-03-08
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1984816659

Three unlikely friends become partners in heartbreak and hope during a middle school pottery class in this powerful, poignant novel—perfect for fans of Gordon Korman and Lynda Mullaly Hunt. At West Beacon Middle School, eighth graders Oscar Villanueva, Riley Baptiste, and Noah Wright become unlikely friends during Introduction to Clay class. Oscar, a football star, just lost his little sister to cancer. Riley's been dragged away from Philadelphia by her single mom to a new life in West Beacon, a tiny Pennsylvania coal town that's smaller than Riley's old school. Noah's spent his whole life as a homeschooler and just started West Beacon Middle School as a result of his parents' train wreck of a divorce. Through art, football, failure, faith, and trust, the friends help one another to piece things back together again. In true friendship, they also discover that some injuries may never heal, some things can never be unbroken—and that's okay too.

Confusion Is Nothing New

Confusion Is Nothing New
Author: Paul Acampora
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 141
Release: 2018-05-29
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1338210017

What's a girl to do when she finds out her late mother was the lead singer of an '80s cover band, Cyndi Lauper is Not Dead? A hilarious MG by an author who's been compared to Peck, Gantos, and Bauer. Ellie Magari just learned that her mother is dead. Perhaps that would be sad if Ellie had ever met the woman. Exactly who was Ellie's mom? Does it even matter that she's gone? Perhaps a dead mom can still help Ellie figure out what it means to be a girl in the world today. Either way, Ellie wouldn't mind a role model beyond her master chef Dad.Fueled by the bighearted sounds of '80s rock and roll, plus large doses of Cyndi Lauper's girl-power joy, Confusion Is Nothing New is about friendship, family mysteries, and the perfect pizza. It's also about fathers and daughters and girls who understand that it's good to make things, but breaking things is okay too. In fact, sometimes breaking things is required.

Wages of Sin

Wages of Sin
Author: Jenna Maclaine
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2008-07-29
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780312946166

Dulcinea "Cin" Craven, having inherited magical powers and become the target of a vampire and a demon who want them for themselves, teams up with the warriors of the Righteous, meeting and falling in love with Michael who gives her the option to remain human or become immortal like him.

Danny Constantino's First (and Maybe Last?) Date

Danny Constantino's First (and Maybe Last?) Date
Author: Paul Acampora
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 226
Release: 2020-07-14
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1984816624

Between going out with his celebrity crush and his mom's campaign to be the next town mayor, Danny's got a lot to learn about life in the spotlight. When Danny Constantino asks his old-friend-turned-Hollywood-movie-star, Natalie Flores Griffin, to his local school dance and homecoming parade, she surprises him . . . by saying yes! Unfortunately, now everyone in Cuper Cove has something to say about Danny's love life--especially since Natalie is the hometown hero. Throw in herds of TV reporters and NFG groupies, his mom using Natalie's arrival for free publicity, and a pep rally gone horribly, horribly awry, and Danny's left absolutely clueless in this new world of crushes and becoming (kind of) famous.

I'm Glad I Did

I'm Glad I Did
Author: Cynthia Weil
Publisher:
Total Pages: 273
Release: 2015
Genre: JUVENILE FICTION
ISBN: 161695356X

It's the summer of 1963 and JJ Green is a born songwriter - which is a major problem, considering that her family considers the music business to be a cesspool of lowlifes and hustlers. Defying all the naysayers, JJ takes an internship at the Brill Building, the epicentre of a new sound that is rapidly changing the world: rock and roll. JJ is finally living her dream. She even finds herself a writing partner in Luke Silver, a boy with mesmerising green eyes who seems to connect instantly with her music.