CCBC booklist are compiled from books we have recommended in various editions of CCBC Choices. Most of these booklists are updated annually. You can also select books from one or more booklists to create a custom list, which can also include additional books from the CCBC-Recommended Book Search.
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A Pocketful of Stars
CCBC Review:
Safiya, 13, thinks her mom doesn’t understand her; she certainly doesn’t understand Safiya’s passion for gaming. Safiya (multiracial) suspects that the tension between them wasn’t helped when she chose to live with her dad (white) after her parents’ divorce. When her mom, who is Kuwaiti, has a stroke and ends up in a coma, Safiya is scared and wracked with guilt over their last argument. Visiting her mom in the hospital, Safiya slips into what she first thinks is a dream before realizing she’s moving through her mom’s memories of growing up in Kuwait. Navigating the world of her mother’s young adulthood becomes like a video game quest: After each “visit,” Safiya must determine which object in the memory will unlock the next memory, and then hunt the item down in the real world. It’s a quest that reveals layers of her mom that have remained hidden to Safiya, including her youthful dreams and passions and the challenging relationship she had with her own mother. And it’s a quest that develops urgency when Safiya discovers a locked room at the top of her mom’s childhood home. Through the keyhole she can see her mother asleep on the bed. In the real world, her mom remains in a coma, her condition fluctuating, and Safiya is convinced that if she obtains the key and unlocks the door, she can save her. This intriguing, deeply felt story also explores difficult changes to a longtime friendship, deftly integrating the two storylines. ©2023 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 10-13
Age Range:
Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10)
Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)
Format:
Novel
Subjects:
Arguments/Conflict
Divorce
Fantasy
Friendship
Guilt and Remorse
Illness and Disease
Journeys and Quests
Kuwaitis and Kuwaiti Americans
Mothers
Multiracial Characters/Families
Secrets
Diversity subjects:
Arab
Asian
Cognitive/Neurological
Physical
On CCBC Booklist:
Great Middle School Reads
Publishers:
Carolrhoda, Lerner
Publish Year: 2023
Pages: 241
ISBN: 9781728450698
CCBC Location: Fiction, Bushby
Can’t find what you’re looking for? Our Recommended Book Search includes access to CCBC-recommended titles based on subject headings created by our staff.
Please send questions or comments about CCBC booklists to ccbcinfo@education.wisc.edu.