by S.E. Hinton

4.6 stars – 1,447 reviews

Supports Us with Commissions Earned

Text-to-Speech: Enabled

Here’s the set-up:

Rusty-James wants to be just like his big brother Motorcycle Boy—tough enough to be respected by everyone in the neighborhood. But Motorcycle Boy is also smart, so smart that Rusty-James relies on him to bail him out of trouble. The brothers are inseparable, and Motorcycle Boy will always be there to watch his back, so there’s nothing to worry about, right? Or so Rusty-James believes, until his world falls apart and Motorcycle Boy isn’t there to pick up the pieces.

An edgy, emotional portrait of a troubled kid trying to navigate the chaotic world around him, Rumble Fish was made into a film by Francis Ford Coppola and has become a modern classic praised by School Library Journal as “stylistically superb” and beloved by multiple generations of readers.

“Hinton knows how to plunge us right into [Rusty-James’s] dead-end mentality—his inability to verbalize much of anything, to come to grips with his anger about his alcoholic father and the mother who deserted him, even his distance from his own feelings.”—Kirkus Reviews

by Marin Darmonkow

4.3 stars – 8 reviews

Supports Us with Commissions Earned

Here’s the set-up:

The Epic of Gabriel and Jibreel is a cautionary tale of the ultimate friendship. It is a heartbreaking story of two boys, a refugee, and a child from a wealthy suburb. Gabriel lives with his father in a large house surrounded by other large houses. One day while exploring the beach, Gabriel meets Jibreel. Jibreel lives with his father in the upside-down boat that brought them across the sea. With similar stories of devastating loss, yet joyful dreams, and a love for flying, the boys form an incredible and indestructible friendship. This is an excruciating story – a children’s picture book with a powerful message that is worth hearing.