Biographies, Autobiographies & Memoirs Non-Fiction Title: A Blessing Over Ashes: The Remarkable Odyssey of My Unlikely Brother Author: Fifield, Adam Summary: Adam Fifield tells the story of his adopted brother Soethe: his journey from the killing fields of Cambodia to life in suburban America and then back to Cambodia to find the brother he had left behind. Call Number: B SAUT Title: A Hope in the Unseen: An American Odyssey from the Inner City to the Ivy League Author: Suskind, Ron Summary: Cedric Jennings' father is a convicted drug addict, yet he is determined to do well in life by obtaining an Ivy League education. Call Number: 371.8092 SUS Title: Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution Author: Bober, Natalie Summary: This story of the life of Abigail Adams, wife of one president and mother of another, is a riveting portrayal of the revolutionary war through the eyes of a very intelligent and independent woman. Call Number: B ADAMS Title: All Over but the Shoutin' Author: Bragg, Rick Summary: Award-winning New York Times journalist Rick Bragg writes about growing up dirt-poor in Alabama with an absent war-stricken father and a sacrificing mother. Call Number: B BRAGG Title: American Chica: Two Worlds, One Childhood Author: Arana, Marie Summary: A colorful memoir of a woman as she grows up in two conflicted cultures, American and Peruvian. Call Number: B ARANA Title: Angelhead: My Brother's Descent into Madness Author: Bottoms, Greg Summary: In this hard-hitting memoir, Greg Bottoms tells about his life growing up with a paranoid schizophrenic brother. Call Number: 616.8982 BOT Title: Bad Boy: A Memoir Author: Myers, Walter Dean Summary: If you thought that kids were well behaved and that life was perfect 40 or 50 years ago, this book will dispel those notions. This is a fun-loving autobiography about the childhood of highly respected childrens and young adult author, Walter Dean Myers. Call Number: B MYERS Title: Boy: Tales of Childhood Author: Dahl, Roald Summary: A humorous anecdotal look at author Roald Dahl's childhood. Call Number: B DAHL Title: Cleopatra: Goddess of Egypt, Enemy of Rome Author: Brooks, Polly Schoyer Summary: This biography provides a view of Cleopatra as an intelligent, loyal woman who tried to protect her country from Rome. Call Number: B CLEOPATRA Title: Falling Leaves: A True Story of an Unwanted Chinese Daughter Author: Mah, Adeline Yen Summary: The former title is the original and the latter an abridged version for young teens. Adeline's mother dies while giving birth to her and she is subjected to the scorn of a cruel stepmother during her entire childhood. Call Number: 305.488951 MAH and B MAH Title: Flags of Our Fathers Author: Bradley, James Summary: Have you ever paused to wonder about the real men in the famous photograph of the six soldiers raising the American flag at Iwo Jima? Written by the son of one soldier, this is the story of the three who were killed in battle and the two who were consumed by grief. Only one returned from World War II to lead a happy and successful life. Call Number: 940.5426 BRA Title: Girl, Interrupted Author: Kaysen, Susanna Summary: 18-year old Susanna Kaysen voluntarily committed herself to spend two years in a psychiatric ward for teenage girls. This is her story. Call Number: 362.21 KAY Title: Hawk: Occupation, Skateboarder Author: Hawk, Tony Summary: Tony Hawk's adventures as a skateboarder began in the 80's when skateboarding was very popular and continued through a tough time in the 90's when it was not popular, to its present day resurgence. Call Number: B HAWK Title: I Am Jackie Chan: My Life in Action Author: Cheng, Lung Summary: A humorous and touching story of a young boy left by his parents at the China Drama Academy at the age of seven. Chan relates the story of how he became a successful stunt man and actor. Call Number: B CHENG Title: I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Author: Angelou, Maya Summary: Through her poetic prose, Maya Angelou recounts her youth growing up in rural Alabama. She grew up in poverty, but was rich in family, friends and memories. Call Number: B ANGELOU Title: I was a Teenage Professional Wrestler Author: Lewin, Ted Summary: Art student by day, professional wrestler by night, Ted shares how he used his artistic talents both inside and outside of the ring. Call Number: B LEW Title: In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer Author: Opdyke, Irene Gut Summary: Irene starts by leaving food out for Jews in a nearby ghetto. She later hides them in the home of the German soldier who employs her as a housekeeper Call Number: B OPDYKE Title: Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl Author: Jacobs, Harriet A. Summary: This story very clearly allows us to experience the horrors of slavery through the eyes of a woman determined to break her bonds and save her children. Call Number: B JACOBS Title: Junior: Griffey on Griffey Author: Griffey, Ken, Jr. Summary: Go behind the scenes to experience what a major league baseball player's life is like. This is a picture of Ken Griffey Jr., both on and off the field. Call Number: B GRIFFEY Title: Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa Author: Mathabane, Mark Summary: A revealing memoir of life in a South African ghetto, and Mark Mathabane's escape through education and hard work. Call Number: B MATHABANE Title: Needles: A Memoir of Growing Up With Diabetes Author: Dominick, Andie Summary: Diagnosed with diabetes at the age of nine, Dominick first rebels against her disease. She then accepts it and learns to live a happy and productive life. Call Number: 362.198924 DOM Title: No Pretty Pictures: A Child of War Author: Lobel, Anita Summary: The horrors of the holocaust are told through the experiences of a very young child. When the Nazis invade Poland, Anita's parents are forced to flee, leaving her and her brother with their nanny under terrifying circumstances. Call Number: 940.531809 LOB Title: Race Across Alaska: First Woman to Win the Iditarod Tells Her Story Author: Riddles, Libby Summary: As a novice dog sled racer, Libby Riddles is the first woman to win the Iditarod, a grueling 1200-mile race that ends in Nome, Alaska. Call Number: 798.8092 RID Title: Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution Author: Jiang, Ji-li Summary: Ji-li was living a life of prosperity until the Chinese Cultural Revolution started. All of a sudden, her life changed dramatically along with the rest of China. Call Number: 951.056 JIA Title: Rocket Boys: A Memoir Author: Hickman, Homer H. Summary: As a teenager, Homer Hickman develops an undying interest in rockets and a strong desire to pursue his dreams beginning with attending college so that he can leave the small West Virginia mining town he grew up in. Call Number: B HICKAM Title: Space: A Memoir Author: Kercheval, Jesse Lee Summary: The 1960s race to put a man on the moon comes alive in this memoir. Jesse is a young teen whose father works for NASA. She tells of touching, as well as humorous, personal and national events of the time. Call Number: B KERCHEVAL Title: Stick Figure: A Diary of My Former Self Author: Gottlieb, Lori Summary: This is a surprising, somewhat lighthearted memoir of a preteen girls struggle with anorexia. Gottlieb chronicles this struggle from her desire to be the thinnest eleven-year-old alive to her realization that she was starving herself to death. Call Number: 616.85262 GOT Title: Teen Angst? Naaah--A Quasi-autobiography Author: Vizzini, Ned Summary: A collection of essays originally published in the New York Press and the New York Times Magazine that describe the pinnacles and pitfalls of being a teenage boy in middle class America. Call Number: 305.235092 VIZ Title: The Cage Author: Sender, Ruth Minsky Summary: This is a memoir of a Polish girl whose mother is taken to a concentration camp while she is left to take care of her siblings, one of them fatally ill with tuberculosis. Call Number: 940.5315 SEN Title: The Cry of the Gull Author: Laborit, Emmanuelle Summary: Emmanuelle was born deaf and was not taught sign language until she was 7 years old. She shares her thoughts and memories of growing up deaf, existing in the deaf world and how she has bridged the gap to the hearing world. Call Number: B LABORIT 1563680726 Title: The Greatest: Muhammad Ali Author: Myers, Walter Dean Summary: "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee," was the motto of the great quick-moving boxer Muhammad Ali. This book describes young Cassius Clay's fight to become a world-renowned professional boxer, Muhammad Ali's fight to be accepted as an articulate black man and Muslim and finally, his battle with Parkinson's disease. Call Number: B ALI Title: The Hungry Ocean: A Swordboat Captain's Journey Author: Greenlaw, Linda Summary: Described by Sabastian Jungar, author of The Perfect Storm, as one of the best sea captains on the East Coast, Linda Greenlaw gives her own hair-raising account of the challenges that await those who fish for a living. Call Number: 639.2778 GRE Title: The World at Her Fingertips: The Story of Helen Keller Author: Dash, Joan Summary: This biography brings to vivid life the story of Helen Keller, a child with no hearing or sight in a time of little or no medical expertise. Call Number: B KELLER Title: The Wright Brothers: How They Invented the Airplane Author: Freedman, Russell Summary: With the help of photographs, this book explains how these famous brothers accomplished the miracle of flight. Call Number: B WRIGHT Title: Up From Slavery Author: Washington, Booker T. Summary: Booker T. Washington was born a slave. He was freed after the Civil War and rose to a position of prominence as the founder of the Tuskegee Institute. Call Number: B WAS Title: Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High Author: Beals, Melba Pattillo Summary: Melba was one of nine African-American teens selected to integrate Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957. This early battle for civil rights turned into a war in which Melba ended up running for her life. Call Number: 370.19342 BEA Title: We are Witnesses; Five Diaries of Teenagers who Died in the Holocaust Author: Boas, Jacob, ed. Summary: Diary excerpts from five teenagers, including Anne Frank, who fell victim to Nazi Germany's invasion of their countries. The teens range in age from 12 to 15 and their nationalities include Dutch, Russian and Lithuanian. Call Number: 940.5318 WE Title: We Were There, Too!: Young People in U.S. History Author: Hoose, Phillip M. Summary: Teens and children also played a role in major events of American history, such as Columbus's trip to the new world, the revolutionary war, and the civil rights movement. Call Number: 973 HOO Title: Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo Author: Filipovic, Zlata Summary: Zlata was eleven years old when war broke out in Sarajevo in 1992. Through diary entries, Zlata vividly describes the hardships her family and friends endured. Call Number: 949.742 FIL