Wave
Wave is a gorgeous novel in verse for ages 10-14 about a Persian American girl growing up in Southern California in the 1980s. Ava loves to surf and sing and hang out with her best friend, Phoenix. But she’s stuck straddling two worlds: her Persian culture and her single mother’s desires for her to become a doctor, and being an American teenager who just wants to fit in. When Phoenix gets sick, Ava is in danger of losing the one thing that grounds her. This is a sentimental story for any tween treading the waters of growing up.