While many of the books in the other units are applicable here, some are particularly suitable.

Parvanah's Journey by Deborah Ellis

Parvanah’s Journey is a gripping novel that tells the story of Parvana’s quest to find her family. The story takes place in Taliban controlled Afghanistan, and Kabul is in ruins. Parvana’s father has died, and her mother, sister and brother could be anywhere in the country. Parvana is thirteen now, but she sets out alone, masquerading as a boy. In their search for shelter and food as she makes her way across the desolate Afghan countryside, she meets other children who are strays from war. Their journey becomes even more perilous when was breaks out, though they don’t know why the bombs are falling. It takes resilience, imagination and luck – and the family bond the children forge with each other – to help them survive.

Suitable for older children in grades 6 and up.

Chinese Cinderella by Adeline Yen Mah

A riveting memoir of a girl's painful coming-of-age in a wealthy Chinese family during the 1940s.
A Chinese proverb says, "Falling leaves return to their roots." In Chinese Cinderella, Adeline Yen Mah returns to her roots to tell the story of her painful childhood and her ultimate triumph and courage in the face of despair. Adeline's affluent, powerful family considers her bad luck after her mother dies giving birth to her. Life does not get any easier when her father remarries. She and her siblings are subjected to the disdain of her stepmother, while her stepbrother and stepsister are spoiled. Although Adeline wins prizes at school, they are not enough to compensate for what she really yearns for -- the love and understanding of her family.
Following the success of the critically acclaimed adult bestseller Falling Leaves, this memoir is a moving telling of the classic Cinderella story, with Adeline Yen Mah providing her own courageous voice.

No Time to Say Goodbye by Sylvia Olsen with Rita Morris and Ann Sam

Children's Stories of Kuper Island Residential School
No Time to Say Goodbye is a fictional account of five children sent to aboriginal boarding school, based on the recollections of a number of Tsartlip First Nations people. These unforgettable children are taken by government agents from Tsartlip Day School to live at Kuper Island Residential School. The five are isolated on the small island and life becomes regimented by the strict school routine. They experience the pain of homesickness and confusion while trying to adjust to a world completely different from their own. Their lives are no longer organized by fishing, hunting and family, but by bells, line-ups and chores. In spite of the harsh realities of the residential school, the children find adventure in escape, challenge in competition, and camaraderie with their fellow students. Sometimes sad, sometimes funny, always engrossing, No Time to Say Goodbye is a story that readers of all ages won’t soon forget.