Ocean State Libraries

"Xiomara Batista feels unheard and unable to hide in her Harlem neighborhood. Ever since her body grew into curves, she has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking." -- "Harlem. Ever since her body grew into curves, Xiomara Batista has learned to let her fists and her fierceness do the talking. She pours all her frustration and passion onto the pages of a leather notebook, reciting the words to herself like prayers-- especially...

"When catastrophe strikes their beloved upstairs neighbors, the Vanderbeeker children set out to build the best, most magical healing garden in Harlem--in spite of a locked fence, thistles and trash, and the conflicting plans of a wealthy real estate developer. While Isa is off at sleepaway orchestra camp, Jessie, Oliver, Hyacinth, and Laney are stuck at home in the brownstone with nothing to do but get on one another's nerves. But when catastrophe...

Unable to celebrate the holidays in the wake of his older brother's death in a gang-related shooting, Lolly Rachpaul struggles to avoid being forced into a gang himself while constructing a fantastically creative LEGO city at the Harlem community center.

After reluctantly taking on the leadership of the Harlem gang, the Scorpions, Jamal finds that his enemies treat him with respect when he acquires a gun--until a tragedy occurs. The story of twelve-year-old Jamal, whose life changes drastically when he acquires a gun. Though he survives the experience, it's not without sacrificing his innocence and possibly his relationship with his best friend.

When orphaned Dave is sent to the Hebrew Home for Boys where he is treated cruelly, he sneaks out at night and is welcomed into the music- and culture-filled world of the Harlem Renaissance.

Seeing no way out of his difficult life in Harlem, seventeen-year-old Jeremy "Lil J" Dance flees into a house after a drug deal goes awry and meets a weird man who shows different turning points in Lil J's life when he could have made better choices.

New York Times best-seller Karina Yan Glaser brings everyones favorite Harlem family back in this poignant fourth novel in the delightful and heartwarming (New York Times Book Review) Vanderbeekers series. When autumn arrives on 141st Street, the Vanderbeekers are busy helping Mr. Beiderman get ready for the New York City Marathonand making sure the mysterious person sleeping in the community garden gets enough to eat. But when they discover the true...

Witness the power of family history and family love in this funny, poignant addition to a series that the New York Times Book Review hails as "delightful and heartwarming." It's summer on 141st Street, and the Vanderbeekers are looking forward to Papa's surprise fortieth birthday party. But when Papa must leave town suddenly to help his best friend, trouble in the form of their distant grandparents shows up on their doorstep. Not only must the Vanderbeekers...

"Brenda Black prides herself on her logical and orderly mind, but when her spoiled cousin Tiffany visits, Brenda tells a lie and must rely on the help of her Sugar Plum Sisters to help make things right."--

"Harlem teenager Nala is looking forward to a summer of movies and ice cream until she falls in love with the very woke Tye and pretends to be a social activist." --