Books published by publisher Second ACT Press

Thirteen-year-old Jakob’s family has hidden their true identity as Jews and are living as Catholics in Budapest during WWII. One day, in a burst of loyalty, Jakob decides to reveal that he is Jewish, a choice that puts his whole family in danger. Jakob hopes his best friend Ivan, a Christian whose father is a high-ranking military official, will help his family, but he comes to believe that Ivan has abandoned them. Sent as a prisoner to Auschwitz, Jakob is kept alive by his passion for revenge against Ivan. When Jakob is finally freed, he discovers that Ivan too made a choice that day, a choice that changes everything Jakob thought was true.

Lately Keith Williams has been thinking a lot about his place in the world. He's thirteen now and is discovering that being black in San Jose, California offers an interesting set of challenges. Between having a crush on the cutest girl in school and proving that he can play basketball with the high school guys, he comes face to face with some life threatening situations. On top of all that his parents are opening up to him in ways they haven't before.

Rachel is a Jew living in Kishinev, Russia. At fourteen, she has dreams of being a writer. But everything is put on hold when a young Christian man is murdered and Rachel is forced to keep the murderer’s identity a secret. Tensions mount and Rachel watches as lies and anti-Jewish propaganda leap off the pages of the local newspaper, inciting Christians to riot against the Jews. Violence breaks out on Easter Sunday, 1903, and when it finally ends, Rachel finds that the person she loves most is dead and that her home has been destroyed. Her main support comes surprisingly from a young Christian named Sergei. With everything against them, the two young people find comfort in their growing bond, one of the few signs of goodness and hope in a time of chaos and violence.

In a world where thousands are dying over matters of religion, where do you go? What do you believe? Who do you put your own faith in? These questions, so relevant to growing up in 2006, are also questions faced by young people hundreds of years ago as they saw their cities and towns destroyed by the Christian Crusades. Based on a true story of a peaceful crusade in 1212 led by children of different faiths, this book traces the lives of three characters as they try to find answers to these persistent questions.

This book tells the inspiring stories of ten women, in all types of journalism, who put themselves at risk to do their jobs. Put all together, their lives also tell the story of journalism itself, its importance to society and the struggle that the women in this field have gone through to do the work that they love and to provide an essential service to society. In an age when many young people's experience of journalism is limited to celebrity gossip and sports scores, Fearless Female Journalists demonstrates the essential role that these women have played, by telling the stories of just a few of those who are willing to stand up to ridicule, make personal sacrifices and even, in some cases, lose their lives to tell the stories that need to be told.

Alex is seventeen years old and she feels her life has come to an end. After being involved in an accident that killed her best friend, she doesn’t see why anyone would want her around and she refuses to talk. Ordered by a judge to do community service, she must spend time at a hospital with a girl named Joanie, who has minimal control of her body and no speech. Never having known another way of being, Joanie has an extraordinary internal life. She has been listening and watching as the world goes on around her, but Joanie is so full of words, thoughts and images that if she could ever figure out a way to let them loose, they would come swirling out in a torrent of syllables. She would fill every room with the colors of her dreams until the whole world became a rainbow of her making. Brought together by accident, Alex and Joanie have experienced the helplessness of silence. Their growing connection may lead them both to find the power of their voices.

The true story of Shannen Koostachin and the people of Attawapiskat First Nation, a native Cree community in Northern Ontario, who have been fighting for a new school since 1979 when a fuel spill contaminated their original school building. Shannen's fight took her all the way to Parliament Hill and was taken up by children around the world. Shannen’s dream continues today with the work of the Shannen's Dream organization and those everywhere who are fighting for the rights of Aboriginal children.

Kat is alone with a secret she doesn?t want to keep, but can?t risk telling. A victim of longtime sexual abuse at the hands of her family?s trusted friend, Kat is torn between trying to protect herself and safeguarding her little sister, whom she fears might be next. With no one to turn to, Kat keeps a secret journal where she writes the truth about everything that has been going on since she was a little girl. But now the journal is missing, and Kat?s secret is about to unravel.

A coming-of age story about two girls, separated in time by thousands of years, who are forced to leave their homes. In 1984, a young girl named Debritu and her two brothers set out by foot on a treacherous journey through the mountains of Ethiopia and the deserts of the Sudan. They must deal with bandits and famine before they ultimately reach Jerusalem, their ancestral home. 3,000 years earlier, during the rule of King Solomon, Aleesha and her family are sent from Jerusalem to join the Queen of Sheba in Ethiopia. Bridging the two eras is the story of an emerald stolen from the ancient Holy Ark in King Solomon's Temple and brought to Ethiopia. As Debritu and Aleesha journey towards new homes and new lives, they encounter adventure and overcome challenges on their way to becoming independent and self-reliant young women.

Lucky loves her grandparents, and they are all the family she really has. True, her grandmother forgets things...like turning the stove off, or Lucky's name. But her grandfather takes such good care of them that Lucky doesn't realize how bad things are. That is until he's gone. When her grandma accidentally sets the kitchen on fire, Lucky can't hide what's happening any longer, and she is sent into foster care. She quickly learns that some families are okay. Some aren't. And some really, really aren't. Is it possible to find a home again when the only one you've ever known has been taken from you?

Thirteen-year-old Rabia, along with her mother and younger brother, flee Afghanistan and the brutal Taliban for Pakistan. Relocating to North America, their flight falls on the fateful morning of 9/11. After the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, their plane is diverted to Gander, Newfoundland. Also on the plane is an American boy named Colin, who struggles with his prejudices against Rabia and her family. The people in the small community of Gander, including teens Jason and Leah, open their hearts and their homes to the stranded passengers, volunteering to billet the hundreds of unexpected visitors to the island. Their kindness might be the bridge to understanding and acceptance that Colin and Rabia need.