Winner Fiction: Multicultural 2021 Best Book Awards
Finalist Fiction: Historical 2021 Best Book Awards
Pennsylvania, 1971: Graham Davidson is a young man with survivor’s guilt after the death of three siblings.
Estranged from his father and seeking a direction in his life, Graham learns about vision quests from a Crow Indian. He secures seasonal employment in Yellowstone National Park and embarks on a spiritual journey.
Wyoming Territory, 1871: Under a full moon at a sacred thermal area, Graham finds himself in Yellowstone a century earlier - one year before it was established as a national park. He joins the Hayden Expedition which was commissioned to explore the region.
Although a military escort provides protection for the explorers, the cavalry’s notorious lieutenant threatens Graham. His perilous journey through the future park is marred by a horrific tragedy in a geyser basin, a grizzly bear attack, and an encounter with hostile Blackfeet Indians.
Christine Sleeter's Family History in Black and White tells a story of racism, hope, and the consequences of personal choices. The novel features two main characters, both urban high school principals who find themselves on a collision course. Roxane, an African American woman with a compelling vision for schooling, craves recognition of her humanity. Ben, an ambitious white man who had been bullied as a child, craves public recognition of his experience and capabilities. Both gradually uncover surprises in their families' pasts that lead to an unexpected reckoning with the history of racism in the U.S. The richly-drawn characters and unfolding suspense will keep readers turning the pages, as the story puts a finger on the workings of racism in today's America.
A childhood tragedy followed her into adult life. Will she ever claim real happiness again?
Kind and generous, twenty-seven-year-old Orchid Paige will never forget that day. Living as best she can after witnessing her parents’ fatal accident, the beauty industry marketer yearns to win a promotion to China to connect to her mom’s ancestry. But with competition fierce, she despairs she’ll never make the grade… until she meets an encouraging man who makes her feel safe despite her usual distrust.
After Orchid convinces the handsome entrepreneur to let her gain experience at his nonprofit project, she’s determined to keep their relationship professional and ignore their powerful attraction. But when working on his military ad campaign for veterans triggers her own unresolved PTSD, she fears her confident mentor may be too good to be true even if she could trust him with her heart.
When Christine, an idealistic young American teacher, meets and marries Hideki Yamada, an aspiring Japanese high school baseball coach, she believes that their love with be enough to sustain them as they deal with cultural differences. However, Hideki's duties, and the team of fit, obedient boys whom he begins to think of as a surrogate family, take up more and more of his time, just as Christine is struggling to manage the needs of their multiply-disabled daughter and their sensitive son. Things come to a head when their son is the victim of bullies. Christine begins to think that she and her children would be safer - and happier - in her native country. On a trip back to the States, she reconnects with a dangerously attractive friend from high school who, after serving and becoming wounded in Iraq, seems to understand her like no one else.
In 1846 Alta California, Catalina Delgado daydreams about her future: roping cattle, marrying Angelo Ortega and raising children. But now, invaders from the United States—the Bear Flaggers—have declared war against Mexico, her country. Bear Flaggers have imprisoned one close friend of her family and murdered others. What fate might befall her parents, grandfather and younger brothers? And what about her best friend, a Costanoan servant girl? How can Catalina, only sixteen, help protect all those she loves?
The spirits provide Catalina with answers, but not ones she wants. Plus she fears the strange spirit man who rides a black Andalusian stallion through the sky. For the sake of all she holds dear, Catalina must risk her reputation as a chaste young woman, her future with Angelo, her life and her very soul. When hopes and dreams clash with cold reality, Catalina finds the fortitude to accomplish what only she can do.
For readers of Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchinson, Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover and The Locked Door by Frieda McFadden.
Assertive Cienna should have been able to fight off an abduction. However, even she is unable to fight two able-bodied men and the drugs that they use to get her in the back of the van. Her journey begins as she awakes, and is sold to a friendly man in a baseball hat named Mike, who promises to take her back to her family but instead ties her to a pole in his barn. Mike becomes her friend, saving her from the man who abducted her and violently took her innocence.
When Jasmine awakes, she is in a brothel, locked up in the "Trouble Room.” She remains convinced for the rest of her journey that she has been very bad and sentenced to this place of horror. She deals with her plight by enjoying the drugs that her owners provide and developing a second personality.
Miguel Sanchez is obsessed with a subgenre of music known as progressive rock and the band Rush in particular. So when his favorite band rolls into town he has big plans for the day. These plans include spending the day with his best friend, Sean, in the rock and roll parking lot, getting Everly Baxter to fall in love with him and connecting with other oddballs who share his passion for the elevating power of prog. But down every row of cars, at every tailgate, in the haze of smoke and music he is repeatedly forced to face the same question be it spoken or implied: What kind of Latino listens to prog rock? Are you sure you're in the right place? Miguel’s quest for music turns into a quest for identity.
When reality fractures into a multiverse (be it from the power of Rush or the spells of a necromancer) and a kaiju beast (a manifestation of fear) is let loose Miguel discovers anything can happen in the rock and roll parking lot. It doesn’t even have to be true to life. “General Admission” is a quasi-fantasy, sci-fi novel with overtones of critical race theory set in the early 1980s during Rush’s tour through the Bay Area. Is Miguel a modern day warrior or a misfit so alone? If he chooses not to decide, has he still made a choice? Listen as the synthesizers herald the beginning of this long and very weird day.
Finalist Fiction: Multicultural 2021 Best Book Awards
Del Rio, California, a once-thriving Central Valley farm town, is now filled with run-down Dollar Stores, llanterias, carnicerias, and shabby mini-marts that sell one-way bus tickets straight to Tijuana on the Flecha Amarilla line. It’s a place you drive through with windows up and doors locked, especially at night?a place the locals call Cartel Country. While it’s no longer the California of postcards, for local District Attorney Callie McCall, her dying hometown is the perfect place to launch a political career and try to make a difference.
But when the dismembered body of a migrant teen is found in one of Del Rio’s surrounding citrus groves, Callie faces a career make-or-break case that takes her on a dangerous journey down the violent west coast of Mexico, to a tropical paradise hiding a terrible secret, and finally back home again, where her determination to find the killer pits her against the wealthiest, most politically connected, most ruthless farming family in California: her own.
Finalist Fiction: Multicultural 2021 Best Book Awards
Young Carlos grows up in a small, conservative town along the Arizona/Sonora border, the son of a successful cattleman who wants him to follow in his footsteps, but Carlos fantasizes about being a movie star. When he falls in love with the hunk schoolmate named Jesse, Carlos, and his pal Tulio struggle to understand who they really are and then dare to stand up for themselves. Letters to Young Carlos is a tender coming-of-age story set against a conservative bicultural society, a homophobic Papa, and the church’s strict teachings. Carlos navigates the fantasies of a teenager, the pain and heartbreak of first love, and the betrayal of those he trusted. Set in the 1960s, Carlos seeks to solve life's greatest mystery: to love oneself and others and be loved in return. This is a book you will want to gift to someone special in your life.
Finalist Fiction: Multicultural 2021 Best Book Awards
FOUR GIRLS. FOUR DIRECTIONS. ONE PURPOSE. The earth is gasping for breath; its only hope is the sacred Codes of Nature. But they’ve been stolen—snatched by a giant raven during a raging storm. SOPHIA ROSE, Guardian of Mother Earth, has summoned MAIA from the North to lead FALCON, AVA, and YUE, on a quest to find the Codes and save the planet. But the odds are against the young rescuers. Time is running out: the bees are dying, the oceans are filled with plastic—and a dark energy lurks in the shadows, threatening their search. Powered by the elements of earth, air, fire and water, messages from mystical dreamcatchers, guidance from the ancestors, and wisdom from the land—this fierce sisterhood must rely on courage, mythic horses, and each other if they are to succeed. Ultimately, their epic adventure takes them on a daring journey into a deeper understanding of their own unique place in the universe. The Dreamcatcher Codes builds bridges, unity, and hope, and illuminates two critical issues of our time: climate change and girls claiming their voices and vital place in the world.
Finalist Fiction: Multicultural 2021 Best Book Awards
The Eves is a multi-generational novel portraying lives lived well and lives in transition. Filled with poignancy and humor, The Eves captures the conversations we wish we had had with our parents, if we had taken the opportunity, and the lessons we would want to impart to our children, if they were ready to listen. Told through the voice of the psychologically complex Jessica Barnet, this is her story. As the primary witness in a messy trial she has been torn from the foundation of her existence—her connection to her children.
With a partially finished doctoral degree, and incomplete renovations on her Washington, DC row house, she has let go of her ambitions and her appearance, but not her vodka or her sense of loss and guilt. When Jessica meets five diverse, determined, and sometimes ditzy old women living in a sustainable community everything and everybody changes. Through plot twists and turns that cover three continents, we learn the truth of Jessica’s life and lies just as we fall in love with the vividly drawn characters and the vibrantly described settings.
Finalist Fiction: Multicultural 2021 Best Book Awards
Sequel to the award-winning book, The Rabbit Princess: The Path.
"It doesn’t take strength to wake up; it takes courage to wake up. It takes strength to live."
After the war, Annie, Pika and Naso carry on their pilgrimage to find the unicorn, Qilin, but they are pulled into a battle at a human village, compelling them to reflect on their own journeys—past and future—and forcing them to make difficult choices. Years later, a new force has arisen to overthrow the kingdom. Naso must find the others to help her and her granddaughter, Osani, fight to keep the kingdom they so love from falling apart. Along the way, they learn that no matter where their journeys lead them, the ties that bind their hearts—love, integrity and loyalty—will always bring them back together.
Finalist Fiction: Multicultural 2021 Best Book Awards
Adversity means nothing in the face of his tenacity.
People consider Diego Herrera different. Not only is he the son of undocumented Mexican immigrants, but he was also born with deaf mutism. Diego has fought all his life to find his path in the world and to change the world's opinion about him, but he is not alone in his journey. Diego has the help of his supportive mom, his little brother, and his best friend, Fernando, who are always cheering him on.
Diego’s greatest passion in life is soccer, and he seeks to prove he is just as capable as anyone else of reaching his goals. However, he must struggle to do so, as he is beset by naysayers he must prove wrong. Diego is not going to give up on his goals, and it finally seems like he has a chance to reach them.
But will Diego be able to achieve his dream, or will the world’s negativity drag him down?
