Mustaches for Maddie by Char Morris and Shelly Brown

Maddie is confident in her ready humor and explosive imagination. However, Maddie isn’t so confident in her friendship with Cassie, the most popular girl in her class. Some of Maddie’s insecurities stem from her arm not laying straight. As this problem worsens, Maddie’s mother takes her to the doctor. Several tests later, Maddie is told she has a brain tumor and it must be removed immediately. Maddie is frightened by the operation, but her family and countless friends comfort her, except for Cassie. Cassie believes Maddie is making up the tumor to get attention. After Maddie’s risky procedure and recovery, she returns to school but excludes Cassie from her friends. However, Maddie sees signs that Cassie is going through several difficult situations and no one has been there to help.

Mustaches for Maddie is based on the true story of the authors’ daughter Maddie. Even though Maddie is diagnosed with a tumor, she knows she is more than her physical ailments. She has her ready wit, caring attitude, colossal imagination, and her stash of mustaches which brightens everyone around her, except for Cassie. Cassie doesn’t like getting attention taken away from herself. This, sadly, turns Cassie into a bully. But like Maddie looking past her illness to see her true self, Maddie looks past Cassie’s bullying to see the real pain behind Cassie’s negative choices. Once Maddie does this and helps others to do the same, healing and hope can freely flow between the two girls. A hilarious yet touching read will inspire others to face their challenges and bullies with a hot-pink mustache.

In the Shadow of the Sun by Anne Sibley O'Brien

Mia Andrews and her brother, Simon, were not planning on vacating to North Korea. Who would? The country is run by dictators who brainwash their people into fearful loyalty. Mia and Simon’s father has used his humanitarian aid connections to help North Korea’s starving citizens. Now he is taking his kids there for an unexpected trip. Mia is both fascinated and fearful of the country. Even though Mia was born in South Korea, she may have distant family ties to the North Koreans. During their vacation, a political group gives Mia’s father an iPhone, which is an illegal item. Mia turns on the phone and sees horrifying pictures of North Koreans imprisoned in concentration camps. Mia tells Simon about the phone and during a planned excursion, the North Korean police arrest their dad. With no other choice, the two siblings escape heading towards North Korea’s border with China.

In the Shadow of the Sun is the real-life version of the Hunger Games. Spectacle and propaganda abound in a country where the elite thrive while the common people starve to death. A country where one ill word about present or past dictators can send a person and their entire family to a concentration camp. This is the shaky reality where O’Brien begins Mia, Simon, and their father’s story. But O’Brien does not just focus on an American’s perspective of the secretive state. She also includes several short stories showing the thoughts and actions of North Koreans who either love their country or who risk everything for a better life. A nail-biting, thought-provoking read for ages 12 and up.