Books recommended by the Hawaii State Library:

“Drum Roll, Please”

By Lisa Jenn Bigelow

Quiet Melly loves to play the drums and is about to spend two weeks at Camp Rockaway jamming under the stars. But this summer brings a lot of big changes for Melly: Her parents split up, her best friend ditches her and Melly finds herself unexpectedly falling for another girl at camp.

Ages 8-12

“Free Lunch”

By Rex Ogle

The story of Rex Ogle’s first semester in sixth grade. Rex and his baby brother often went hungry, wore secondhand clothes and were short of school supplies. Rex was also on his school’s free-lunch program. The book is the 2020 winner of the Young Adult Library Services Association award for Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults.

Ages 11-14