By Matt de la Peña
A bus ride across town with a grandmother who can find something beautiful in anything.
Every Sunday after church, CJ and his nana ride the bus across the city. CJ wonders why they don't have a car, why he doesn't have what other boys have, why they always get off in the run-down part of town. His nana has an answer for each of his questions, and none of them is the one he expects.
This is the gentlest way onto the trail, because the hardship never once raises its voice. CJ notices everything he doesn't have, the way any child does, and instead of arguing his nana just keeps showing him what is right in front of him. By the last stop you understand where they have been headed the whole time, and it turns the whole ride over in your hands. A brand-new reader can follow every word.