Review: Shelter: Homelessness in Our Community by Lois Peterson

Shelter by Lois Peterson

Shelter: Homelessness in Our Community
Lois Peterson
Illustrated by Taryn Gee
Orca Book Publishers
Published October 12, 2021

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About Shelter: Homelessness in Our Community

There are 150 million people experiencing homelessness worldwide, and that number is increasing every year. Homelessness is not a choice, yet it exists in almost every community. But why are people homeless? Who are they? What can you do? In SHELTER: HOMELESSNESS IN OUR COMMUNITY, readers will get answers to these complex questions. They’ll learn about the root causes of homelessness and its effects, and what people and organizations around the world are doing to address the problem.

It shares the personal stories of people who … Continue reading

Review: Attitude by Robin Stevenson

Attitude
Robin Stevenson
Orca Book Publishing
Published October 1, 2013

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Fourteen-year-old Cassandra travels from her home in Australia to a highly competitive summer ballet program. At first Cassie tries to befriend girls who’ve been in the program for years, but it soon becomes clear that Melissa and her pals don’t stop at dancing your best in order to win. When Cassie gets blamed for a prank she didn’t commit, it becomes clear the girls mean to get her disqualified from an important audition. Cassie refuses to back down, though, and soon learns bigger lessons than dance technique.

Cassandra battles homesickness and bullying, making her an extremely relatable character. As a talented young ballerina, … Continue reading

Review: Cut the Lights by Karen Krossing

Cut the Lights
Karen Krossing
Orca Book Publishing
Published October 1, 2013

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Young first-time director Briar can’t wait to put her ideas onto a real stage. When she is chosen for a real chance to direct a student-written one act play, she soars. But working with real live actors proves to be more difficult than Briar imagined, and she’s forced to navigate everything her crew throws at her, from absence to bold-faced narcissism to outright boredom. With the date of the performances just a few days away, Briar is desperate to pull her disaster of a show together. Just as she begins to turn things around, disaster strikes, fragmenting the cast and leaving her without a lead. What now? Faced … Continue reading