Books like Mud City by Deborah Ellis

A timeless adventure where Dorothy and her companions journey through Oz to seek the Great Wizard’s help and find their own courage, heart, and brains.

The story of a greaser and his friend, who are torn apart by the world's two types of people and must learn to cope with their differences.

Three teenagers from different eras and continents embark on perilous journeys to escape war, persecution, and tyranny, each facing drowning, bombings and betrayal, yet their stories converge, showing that hope endures across time and borders.

A gripping true‑story about eleven‑year‑old Salva, who is forced to flee Sudan’s civil war and trek across three countries, while later his experience inspires a life‑saving water project in his homeland.

When July 1916 buzzes with reports of a great white shark terrorizing the New Jersey shore, young Chet Roscow ventures into Matawan Creek to uncover the truth—and discovers more than he expected.

Thirteen‑year‑old Lakshmi leaves her impoverished Himalayan home for India, only to discover she has been sold into prostitution. With fierce resilience and new friendships, she fights her captivity and seeks a way back to freedom.

When the Taliban seize Kabul, 11‑year‑old Parvana must disguise herself as a boy to become her family’s breadwinner and survive the harsh restrictions on Afghan women.

During the 2001 Afghan War, a young Afghan refugee and an American‑Muslim teacher meet in a Peshawar school, their stories intertwining as they navigate war, displacement, and hope.

A Korean brother and sister navigate the growing oppression of the Japanese occupation during World War II, confronting threats to their culture while embodying courage and family loyalty.

After her father’s death, ten‑year‑old Parvana journeys alone through war‑torn Kabul, dressing as a boy to find her family and help other children survive the Taliban’s oppression.

Anna, a teenage Jewish refugee, tells how she and other children were sheltered by the courageous residents of Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, France, during the German occupation of World War II.

A young girl and her sister confront the loss of their parents to AIDS while living with a grandmother in rural Malawi, revealing the human face of Africa's AIDS epidemic.

Maryse Roicheaux can't help heaving a sigh of relief at the news that her not-so-beloved mother-in-law has kicked the busket. The woman was rude, manipulative and loved lording over everyone as the richest citizen of Mudbug, Louisiana. Unfortunately, death doesn't slow Helena Henry down one bit. Being haunted--or more like harried-- by Helena's ghost isn't even the worst of Maryse's problems. Close to making a huge medical breakthrouhg, she's suddenly been given an officemate, and the only thing bigger than Luc LeJeune's ego is his sex appeal. Maryse would bet her life the hot half-Creole is hiding something. Especially because it seems someone's out to kill her. But ggetting Luc to spill his secrets while avoiding Helena's histrionics and staying alive herself will be the ultimate bayou balancing act.

96 pages : 26 cm

Fifteen‑year‑old Parvana returns to her village after years in hiding to help her mother run a newly opened girls’ school, but when local men threaten the school, she must rely on her courage to protect her family.

Violetta, a little princess, is determined to become as big and strong as her brothers. She secretly teaches herself to become the bravest and cleverest knight in the land until she must face the king's best knights in a jousting tournament. Will she be ready?