Classic: "Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones"

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Head, Ann. Mr. and Mrs. Bo Jo Jones. New York: Signet, 1968.

An honest account of an unplanned pregnancy and the subsequent joining-together in marriage of two teenagers in the late 1960's.

When someone spikes the punch at the party, Trilby High's football star and his girlfriend July end up on the beach for a night that will change their lives forever. First comes regret, then comes pregnancy, and then a hasty marriage. All while two sets of parents push them in different directions. Will these two be driven apart by the sacrifices an unplanned pregnancy forces them to make? Can love grow between two teenagers who sway between being moody, loving, rigid, patient, and the other hundred emotions their situation provokes? For better or for worse, will July and BoJo find out what it really means to be Mr. and Mrs. BoJo Jones?

Verse Novel: "Out of the Dust"

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Hesse, Karen. Out of the Dust. New York: Scholastic Press, 1997.

A young girl comes of age in Oklahoma as dust storms combine with the Great Depression to create a mountain of hardships.

Dust can be angry and dust can be mean, and the dust storms that settled on Oklahoma during the great depression could break a family's heart. This is the story of one such family- a man, a woman, and a girl. A story of challenges faced when the soil dries up and partners with the wind and becomes an aggressor in a war without end.

"On Sunday,
winds came,
bringing a red dust
like prairie fire,
hot and peppery,
searing the inside of my nose,
the whites of my eyes,
Roaring dust,
turning the day from sunlight to midnight."

When Billie Jo's mother is killed, she must not only weather the storms outside, but she must also weather the silence of being neglected and overlooked by her father. This is their story. A story of dust and rain. But also a story of blossoming hopes.

Scott O'Dell Historical Fiction Award. Booklist Editors' Choice. YALSA Best Book for Young Adults. ALA Notable Children's Book. Newbery Medal. School Library Journal Best Book.