Click here to see all of the current Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers nominees along with more information about the list and past years’ selections.
Beast Rider by Tony Johnston and Maria Elena Fontandt De Rhoads
Abrams
Publication Date: March 19, 2019
ISBN: 9781419733635
Manuel has one goal; to get to Los Angeles and his older brother. In order to do this he will have to jump on a train, The Beast, and ride on the roof until it crosses into the US. But it isn’t that easy when you are 12. Manuel encounters many setbacks on his voyage including police, gangs, thieves, starvation and someone even steals his shoes. Getting to his brother takes years.
While this story at first appears hopeless, Manuel never loses sight of his goal and shows his resilience to all of these obstacles and even meets some kind people who give him a meal and nurse him back to life after being left for dead.
This title is recommended for readers who have enjoyed Sedgwick’s Saint Death (2016), Anderson’s Border Crossing (2009) or Bowles poems They Call Me Guero (2018).
–Jessica Lorentz Smith
Copycat by Hannah Jayne
Sourcebooks/ Sourcebooks
Publication Date: July 3, 2018
ISBN: 9781492647393 Continue reading Quick Picks for Reluctant Readers (#QP2020) Nominees Round Up, November 25 Edition