Carmen Browne

Carmen Browne is a ten-year-old African-American girl beginning fifth grade. With her family moving to a new city, Carmen is anguished to give up her friends and comfortable home. As her family adapts to a new location, Carmen learns that finding new friends and fitting in is not easy. Part of her doesn't even want to try. Family issues become complicated when Carmen's brother learns he is adopted. Dealing with unpopularity, fitting in, and cultural differences are Carmen's issues in the first book of the Carmen Browne series.

Ten-year-old Carmen settles into her new home in Ettrick, Virginia. It's Christmas and Carmen has a problem: she's bored and conspires against her parents to have a "free day" at the mall without them. A subplot in the story involves adopted brother, Clay, as he continues to wonder about his real parents, and Carmen decides to help him dig into his past. Will her parents find out about their schemes?

Third in the Carmen Browne Series, Golden Spirit finds Carmen meeting new challenges and facing serious issues such as domestic violence, and her own tendency toward bossiness. This series focuses on issues faced by many preteen girls and teaches inspiring lessons about dealing with gossip, self-esteem, and body image.

Graduating from eighth grade Yasmin starts summer on a positive note. Everything she's learned about self-esteem and true joy from the LIGHT club however will be put to the test as she faces new challenges with family, friends, and her first year in high school. Through it all Yasmin manages to hold on to hope and experience true joy. Perfect Joy captures the tumultuous changes every sixth-grade girl faces--new friendships, fickle popularity, and adolescent jealousy--with the added fears of waiting as her mother is tested for a breast cancer. Carmen truly is an inspiring heroine, rising above her mistakes and her trials using her trademark spunk and admirable conviction--she finds the perfect joy that comes only from God.

Energetic pre-teen, Carmen Browne is determined to live her life to please God as she faces life issues such as an unexpected family move, her big brother's search for his birth family, and the tragedy of domestic violence. Carmen's learned a lot about herself, too: being popular doesn't guarantee you true friends, honesty up front saves a lot of hurt, and sometimes self-confidence is just bossiness in disguise. In the fifth and final volume of the popular series, Carmen enters the uncharted waters of adolescence, discovering that her changing moods and growing body bring new challenges to her life.