Catch a Falling Star by Kim Culbertson
Summer comes to small town, Little, California. Summer Moon is working in the family cafe and things are quiet, just the way she likes. Then, something happens to Little, California and its residents. Little become the set for Adam Jakes' new movie. Jakes needs to revamp his "public image." This movie and a "girl next door" girlfriend will do the trick. Summer Moon is perfect. She ignores him while every other girl in town is vying for his attention. The studio offers her a big paycheck to be his "girlfriend for the summer." Summer doesn't like the idea but her family REALLY needs the money, so she agrees.
Life for Summer just got more complicated. She usually spends her free time with Chloe and Chloe's boyfriend, Drake Masuda (alias Alien Drake). Evenings on the roof looking at stars. Summer also discovers there is more to Adam Jakes than his public image would want one to believe. She isn't sure how she feels about this new Adam. Throw in her brother, John, who has his own set of problems and what might have been a summer love story become a whole lot more.
The Hero Two Doors Down by Sharon Robinson
What do you do if your hero move in just two doors down the street? That is what happened to Steven Satlow. Growing up in Brooklyn, Steven and his father share a LOVE of baseball especially the Brooklyn Dodgers. It is 1948 and Jackie Robinson is Steven's newest hero after an outstanding rookie season with the Dodgers.
Steven lives in an all Jewish neighborhood and has just learned that an African American family is moving to the neighborhood. A fact that some neighbors are not happy about. This African American family is not just any family, but Jackie Robinson and family. Steven's hero will be just two doors down. Steven first become acquainted with Mrs. Robinson and their two young children while Jackie is away at spring training. When Jackie comes back to Brooklyn to play ball a unique friendship grows between the young Steven and Jackie Robinson.
The book, written by Sharon Robinson, is based on the real life events of the Satlow and Robinson families, who remained friends even after the Robinson family moved away after two years. The book has baseball as its background, but also looks at how the two families dealt with the racial turmoil of the era. Two very different families saw found their similarities out weighted the differences and the differences were something to be celebrated.
