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Zoe I.

Biography

Zoe I.

Teen Board Member

Deerfield, Illinois

Hi! My name is Zoe and I am 17 years old and going into my senior year of high school. In school I am involved in swimming and track & field, and I am currently senior teaching sophomore English. When I am not stressing about school and my various activities, I enjoy sleeping, binge-watching shows on Netflix, eating Pad Thai and reading.  

Top Five Favorite Books:
1. The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
2. The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan
3. The Insanity series by Cameron Jace
4. ENDER'S GAME by Orson Scott Card
5. A TALE OF TWO CITIES by Charles Dickens

Zoe I.

Reviews by Zoe I.

by Keely Hutton - Fiction, Historical Fiction, Young Adult 12+

SOLDIER BOY begins with the story of Ricky Richard Anywar, abducted at age 14 in 1989 to fight with Joseph Kony's rebel army in Uganda’s decades-long civil war. Ricky is trained, armed and forced to fight government soldiers alongside his brutal kidnappers, but never stops dreaming of escape. The story continues 20 years later, with a fictionalized character named Samuel, representative of the thousands of child soldiers Ricky eventually helped rehabilitate as founder of the internationally acclaimed charity Friends of Orphans.

by Sandra Uwiringiyimana with Abigail Pesta - Memoir, Nonfiction, Young Adult 12+

Sandra Uwiringiyimana was just 10 years old when she found herself with a gun pointed at her head. She had watched as rebels gunned down her mother and six-year-old sister in a refugee camp. Remarkably, the rebel didn’t pull the trigger, and Sandra escaped. Thus began a new life for her and her surviving family members. With no home and no money, they struggled to stay alive. Eventually, through a United Nations refugee program, they moved to America, only to face yet another ethnic disconnect. In this memoir, Sandra tells the story of her survival, of finding her place in a new country, of her hope for the future, and how she found a way to give voice to her people.

by Ibi Zoboi - Fiction, Young Adult 14+

On the corner of American Street and Joy Road, Fabiola Toussaint thought she would finally find une belle vie --- a good life. But after they leave Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Fabiola’s mother is detained by U.S. immigration, leaving Fabiola to navigate her loud American cousins, Chantal, Donna and Princess; the grittiness of Detroit’s west side; a new school; and a surprising romance, all on her own. Just as she finds her footing in this strange new world, a dangerous proposition presents itself, and Fabiola soon realizes that freedom comes at a cost.