The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore

“When you’re a little kid in Harlem, you can pretty much go anywhere and do anything as long as you’re careful.  But when you start to get old–about my age, twelve–things start to change.”

Lolly is finding it hard to be without his older brother Jermaine who was shot at a nightclub in the Bronx. Navigating his world has become more complicated with this rock that sits in his chest.  When his mom’s girlfriend gives him to huge bags of Legos, Lolly finds distraction in building a huge city. But he still needs to figure out how to live his life in Harlem without Jermaine and where he and his best friend, Vega are continually harassed by older crews on the street.

Solo by Kwame Alexander with Mary Rand Hess

Blade’s celebrity hard rocker father, Rutherford Morrison, is in and out of rehab.  Rutherford is one of  the paparazzi’s favorite subjects, and when he’s not sober, he’s Blade’s worst nightmare.  Blade finds solace with his girlfriend, Chapel and playing soft rock his acoustic guitar.  But when Rutherford crashes Blade’s last minute valedictorian  speech at graduation, it sets a series of events in motion that send Blade on a journey to find out himself. This story is told in Kwame Alexander’s lyrical verse style.