Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang

Ji-li Jiang writes of a terrible time the history of China and in her life. Everyone was so enamored and "brainwashed" by Mao's greatness that the Chinese began to change the way they thought, dressed, acted and were educated----and if they didn't, they were seen as Four Olds to be humiliated in front of family and friends by teen guards that had become revolutionized to do Mao's good work. Her family went from a success story to being blamed for a grandfather being a landlord which was considered the worst. Their furniture was taken, their clothes gone, their father imprisoned and they were questioned as enemies. As soon as I finished this book, I wanted to learn all I could about what would make a country change so much for Mao. It was a sobering and scary story by a wonderful, bright, intelligent teen who chose to stand by her family and not renounce them.

Smack by Melvin Burgess

Smack is a tough book to read---just like Strasser's Can't Get There from Here, teens narrate each of the chapters from their point of view. Fourteen year old Gemma and Tar are on the run, Gemma wants a life away from her parents, but Tar's father beats him and his mother is a raging alcoholic. They squat in abandoned homes and become hooked on heroin. They lie, steal and cheat to feed their habit. Life on the street is tough and bitter!