grandmother

"Rex [Ogle] captures and celebrates the powerful presence [of] a woman he could always count on--to give him warm hugs and ear kisses, to teach him precious words in Spanish, to bring him to the library where he could take out as many books as he wanted, and to offer safety when darkness closed in. Throughout a coming of age marked by violence and dysfunction, Abuela's red-brick house in Abilene, Texas, offered Rex the possibility of home, and Abuela herself the possibility for a better life. 'Abuela, Don't Forget Me' is a . . . portrait of the transformative and towering woman who believed in Rex even when he didn't yet know how to believe in himself"--Provided by publisher.

Twelve-year-old Nikki, struggling to deal with the death of her beloved dog, finds comfort by visiting a secluded pond inhabited by a rare species of turtle, but she faces new challenges when her mother brings home a new puppy and she learns a developer is planning to destroy the pond.