Discrimination: Racial Insensitivity/Racism,Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco: Reference or Discussion,Language: Moderate Language,Language: Racial or Ethnic Epithet/Slur,Violence: General
A middle-grade novel by James Bird about homelessness and hope.
When home is a car, life is unpredictable. School, friends, and three meals a day aren't guaranteed. Not every town has a shelter where a family can sleep for a night or two, and places with parking lots don't welcome overnight stays.
Opin, his brother Emjay, and their mother are trying to get to Los Angeles, where they hope an uncle and a new life are waiting. Emjay has taken to disappearing for days, slowing down the family's progress and adding to their worry.
Then Opin finds a stray dog who needs him as much as he needs her, and his longing for a stable home intensifies, as his brother's reckless ways hit a new high. Opin makes a new friend in the shelter, but shelters don’t allow dogs…
Will anything other than a real home ever be enough?
“Songs We Street Dance and Sing To.” Glossary. Author’s
note.
Topics Homeless persons. Family problems. Mothers and sons. Brothers. Domestic violence. Trauma. Native Americans. Ojibwe people. Dogs. California.
Lexile 590L
Trim Size 8 1/2" x 5 1/2"
JLG Span Fall
Language English
Rights type Print
Publication date 2023-08-07
JLG Release Date Oct 2023
Minimum grade 6
Maximum grade 8
Reading level Middle
Format Print
Upper Middle School Fiction Plus (Grades 6-8)
Upper Middle School Fiction Plus
Upper Middle School Fiction Plus (Grades 6-8)
For Grades 6-8
This collection features fiction titles selected for older middle school readers who are ready for longer, more layered stories that explore growing independence and changing perspective. Selections include realistic and speculative fiction with increased emotional and narrative complexity, offering stories that look beyond immediate experience and invite readers to engage with broader questions about identity, belonging, and the world around them.