Bad Sister

Alexander, K. R. Bad Sister

January 6, 2026 by Scholastic Inc.

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In this sequel to Identikill, Angelica (who died some time ago) has come back from the Underside and assumed her sister Chelsea's identity after terrorizing her and her friend Janette. Chelsea is trapped with Riley, but the two are unsure about who is taking Riley's place in the "real" world. Angelica (as Chelsea) is bullying Janette, publically embarassing her, and trying to align herself with Pia and Riley, who had always given Chelsea a hard time. Eventually, Janette manages to talk to Chelsea in Underside by going to her house at night with a pocket mirror. Janette isn't too surprised that Angelica is on the loose, especially after she posts an unflattering article about her all around school. There is an escalation of meanness, but eventually Chelsea and Riley figure out that there is a portal to Underside at the cemetary. They have Janette invite Angelica there, but can they figure out how to restore the balance and get everyone to their proper places?

Strengths: Alexander does a gerat job at balancing realistic horror (your former best friend stops speaking to you and spreads rumors about you) with supernatural elements, like your dead sister luring you into an alternative reality and trapping you there while she takes your place! This is a quick read, and has plenty of scary moments that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. A creepy cemetery make perfect for Halloween! 
Weaknesses: Even with the different fonts when perspective changed from Chelsea to Angelica, this was a bit confusing. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like the idea of people being haunted or stalked by ghosts in books like Brown's The Forgotten Girl or Strong's The Secret Dead Club. 

MMGM- Secrets of the Broken House

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Souders, Taryn. Secrets of the Broken House

January 6, 2026 by Sourcebooks Young Readers

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Tucker lives in the small town of Everson with his father, the chief of police, and his mother, a pharmacist. He has a good friend in Clemmie, who comes to stay with her grandmother, Mama E, who runs the local beauty parlor. There's plenty of gossip in town, and everyone knows that Geraldine Guss (aka "Fussy Gussy") is a cantakerous old woman who has bever gotten over the death of her brother, the town postal inspector. When the town threatens to condemn her house, Ms. Geraldine asks Mama E. if Clemmie can help her clean some antiques for appraisal. She also suspects that the mayor, an electricion, is sabotaging her power box. Clemmie agrees to help, as long as Tucker can as well, and the two are paid by taking possession of an abandoned row boat that Ms. Geraldine has. Their friend Sadie helps as well. Tucker is very observant, and the group makes a list of all of the furniture. This helps when Mr. Linus comes to appraise it. He doesn't offer enough money for Ms. Geraldine's taste, and she yells at him and breaks his fountain pen. The next day, the group returns to help, but Ms. Geraldine doesn't answer the door. Peering inside, Tucker sees Ms. Geraldine sprawled at the bottom of the stairs. The kids break in, and discover that their employer is dead. They follow the correct procedures, calling 911 and not touching anything but the bowl that they accidentally knock over. They take Van Gogh, Ms. Geraldine's cat, and go next door to Miss Rowena's house. Everyone is upset about the death, and the children all are retrieved by caring adults as the rumors start to swirl. Tucker talks to his father and is allowed to check the scene for clues with the permission of the assistant investigator and makes a suspect board. Along with Sadie and Clemmie, he investigates everyone from Mr. Linus, the mayor and his wife, local postal carrier Turtle, and even Miss Rowena, who is set to inherit everything. He also has to deal with his best friend, Aiden, with whom he had a falling out over a fishing contest. Using his skills, Tucker is able to find the culprit, which puts him in some danger! 

Strengths: One of my favorite books as a child was Encyclopedia Brown, and Tucker's situation echoes this brilliantly. Everson is a close knit town with lots of quirky characters, and is small enough for the kids to wander about investigating. There are plenty of suspects who all seem plausible (my bet was on Mr. Linus!), and there were enough red herrings that the culprit, when revealed, is quite a surprise! I loved that both of Tucker's parents are around, but give him room to explore. Having some friend drama with Aiden adds some nice tween tension to this, and the kids act like kids, not mini adults. Tucker even forgets some major clues but remembers them in time. The ending had some great feel good elements. This will be a hugely popular title with my students, who are constantly asking for murder mysteries! 
Weaknesses: There has been a societal shift in what elderly people look like, but literature hasn't quite caught up with it. My father would be 91, and rarely wore anything but jeans; anyone younger would have been part of the youth movement of the 1960s. Ms. Geraldine and Miss Rowena weren't necessarily portrayed in skirts and cardigans, but they FELT that way. Maybe it was the antique furniture. I'd love to see more older characters fashioned after Pierce Brosnan's or Helen Mirren's characters in the film adaptation of Osman's The Thursday Murder Club.  
What I really think: Souders' other titles like The Mystery of the Radcliffe Riddle and  Coop Knows the Scoop have some elements of classic adult murder mysteries in them, but Secrets of the Broken House absolutely nails the formula for cozy middle grade MURDER. Ms. Geraldine is old and not pleasant; she dies in a bloodless and not too violent way (even when the mystery is solved), the children have logical access to the scene and the suspects, and it doesn't hurt that Tucker's father is the chief of police. I would be perfectly happy to read more books with Tucker, and would love to see Aiden get involved in the solving of more murders in Everson. There are thousands of murder mysteries for adults, but not many for grades 4-8. This is perfect! 

Scattergood

Bowman, H.M. Scattergood.

January 21, 2025 by Neal Porter Books 

Ohio Digital Library Copy

Peggy is having a difficult time in 1941 in West Branch, Iowa. She's not quite thirteen, so her older cousin Ida Jean treats her like a baby, even though Peggy is a year ahead in school because she is talented, especially in math. Another cousin, Delia, is about the same age. She is very poorly because she has leukemia. Peggy has to research what this is because the adults aren't very forthcoming; they have told Peggy that she is anemic, and will get better, although the doctors think she has only six months to live. Peggy is determined to find a cure, going to the public library and reading articles that she painstakingly copies out and gives to her aunt. She's also enthralled by a Jewish refugee, Gunther, who is a few years older than she is. Gunther lives at Scattergood, a Quaker community that is housing a number of refugees, including a professor who has lost most of his family and takes comfort in teaching Peggy chess. A local boy, Joe, is equally enamoured of Peggy. Against the backdrop of the historical times, teenage mistakes are made, family secrets are revealed, and Peggy has to find her way forward. 

Strengths: This had a very classic feel to it, like Hunt's Up a Road Slowly, Enright's Thimble Summer, or McCuller's The Heart is a Lonely Hunter. The summer heat and the quiet of the Iowa countryside were so well described that I felt like I was with Peggy on her miles long walks to get to the library or Scattergood. The way Delia's cancer was handled was very true to the time period. I appreciated that this was an upper middle grade/young adult book, with some romantic longing and chafing at family restrictions. I would have loved this book when I was in middle school. 
Weaknesses: This was a bit long and introspective, and WWII books set on the home front are not as popular with my students as I would like them to be. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed historical novels like Bundy's Pixie Pushes On or Buzzeo's Light Comes to Shadow Mountain, or for teachers and librarians who really want to recommend Greene's The Summer of My German Soldier to students but can't locate a copy of this beloved 1974 title. The midcentury Grant Wood-esque paperback cover is intriguing. 

I Survived the Japanese Tsunami, 2011

Tarshis, Lauren, Ball, Georgia and Chalik, Chris (illus.)

I Survived the Japanese Tsunami, 2011: The Graphic Novel

August 5, 2025 by Graphix

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Ben, Harry, and their mother visit Shogahoma, Japan after the death of Harry's father in a car accident. He had been in the military, and survived all manner of horrific experiences, so Ben is taking his death especially hard. He's glad to be staying with his father's uncle, but finds that being in Japan makes him think of his father frequently, where at home he had been more successful in not thinking about him. When an earthquake occurs, Ben's fast thinking keeps him and Harry safe under a bed, but the tremor is so extreme that his uncle wants to evacuate immediately. The family piles quickly into their car, but do not get very far before it is swept away by water. The others are pulled through open doors, but Ben is trapped. Thinking about his father's advice, he assesses the situation and manages to kick out the windshield to escape. He is swept along with debris, but comes across his uncle's cat, Nya. When Ben realizes that the water is beginning to recede, he fears the water will drag him out to the ocean, so he manages to jump onto a tree with Nya, and to hold on. Devastation is widespread, but Ben manages to get to a local school, where he encounters Dr. Sato, whom his brother had visited when he had a mishap. Even though Ben doesn't speak Japanese, he is put in charge of watching some of the younger children who have come to the school without their parents. Eventually, the rest of his family shows up. The uncle's house is badly damaged, but he wants to stay in Shogahama. Ben returns home, and is able to deal better with the death of his father, since his memory was helpful to him when he was trying to survive. 

It's hard to imagine just how a tsunami works, and this graphic novel representation makes things a little clearer. While the devastation is clearly shown, and there is an inkling that Ben saw a lot of things he would like to forget, there isn't much gore on page. This is good if you want younger readers to enjoy this. The pictures also show how different Japanese houses are, which is not something I picked up from reading the novel version. 

The end notes add a lot of information about tsunamis, as well as the Fukushima nuclear disaster that was caused by the tsunami.  

The story is well developed, and Ben's grappling with his father's sudden death does work well, since he thinks about some of the difficult situations his father talked about while he was in the military. Ben manages to put these lessons to good use, and also feels that his father will always be with him in spirit. 

There aren't a lot of books about tsunamis, but I've read enough to know that if I am ever near the sea and there's an earthquake, I am heading for higher ground as soon as possible. Pair this with Philbrick's Wild Wave, especially if there is a reader who isn't quite understanding how the children in that fantastic adventure book get moved so far inland. 
 

At the Speed of Gus

Scrimger, Richard. At the Speed of Gus

December 2, 2025 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Augustus Constantine lives in Vancouver with his mother and father while his older sister, Ruby, is off at college. He has ADHD, and has a lot of trouble maintaining a train of thought, much less appropriate behavior at school. For example, he has been given the opportunity to read the announcements at school, but can't stick to the script, and ends up making fun of other people in an attempt to be funny. When the principal, Ms. Gorby, tells him he can't do that, he calls her a Nazi and is suspended for hate speech. It's good timing, though, because Ruby is moving back home and wants Gus to hop on a bus to come and help her. Of course, Gus forgets the instructions she has given him and has a series of accidents where he hallucinates and passes out. For instance, on the ferry he thinks that a dog has jumped overboard and that he has gone after it and gotten wet, when he has apparently had a seizure and just fallen to the ground. This happens again on the street, and an ambulance is called. At the hospital, when he is lying on a gurney, it is hit by a car and speeds off down the street. Gus is saved by a skateboarder named Jamie who knows Ruby. Soon, Gus is at his sister's apartment. His friend Gale has gotten a call from Gus' mother and has driven with her to get Gus. After another incident, he is back in the hospital and talks to another doctor about medication and coping strategies. He also learns to breathe through some of his spirals. At the end, he goes to a comedy show and gets applause for his interactions with the comedian. There is an author's note that is not included in the E ARC that I read. 

Strengths: There are a significant number of students on medication for ADHD, so it's always good to see representation in middle grade literature. Despite Gus' difficulties, he is generally upbeat, and straight forward with his friends about his therapy appointments, even though his mother tends to be more secretive about them. Road trip books, even by bus and ferry, are always fun. Gus' hallucinations, especially about a dog he calls Buddy, add an extra layer of interest. It was fun to travel around Vancouver with Gus, and it was certainly a frenetic journey. 
Weaknesses: This was rather hard to follow at times because of the stream of consciousness style, and I would have liked to know a LOT more about Gus' medical diagnoses. These may be included in the author's note to which I did not have access. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Larsen's Quagmire Tiarello Couldn't Be Better  or Pla's The Someday Birds. 

Down Came the Spiders

Russell, Ally. Down Came the Spiders

December 2, 2025 by Scholastic Paperbacks

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Andi and her older sister Adrienne are decorating for Halloween, but there is some tension between the two girls. Adrienne is social, and likes to go out with her girlfriend, but 6th grader Andi is quieter, and prefers to spend her time studying spiders and watching horror movies with her best friends Carly and Devon. When Clementine, an 8th grader, has a Halloween party, the trio consider themselves invited because Devon is on the track team, which Clementine has invited. Andi's dad drops her off, and Andi is apprehensive about staying, but is glad to see her librarian, Ms. Kaye, serving refreshments. Mr. Mendez is a science teacher at the kids' school, and when Andi finds out that he collects spiders, she wants to have a tour of his office. Mr. Mendez gets sidetracked before he can show her the collection, but when the office is open, Andi and her friends sneak in. There are interesting specimins, like a Black Widow and Brown Recluse, but it is Specimin 17 that draws Andi's attention, especially since it seems to speak to her in a hypnotic fashion. Andi takes the lid off the cage to take a picture, but is startled when she hears Mr. Mendez approaching. Carly and Devon encourage Andi to be more social, and comment about her reclusive habits in a negative but somewhat supportive way. She also has the attention of Jason Arnold, who is rather cute and dressed like an owl. Eventually Andi notices an spider invasion that gets progressively worse. Not only that, but no one has cell phone service way out in the country, and all of the adults are missing! The group heads out to a Ferris wheel size spider web, and even more spiders. They call 911 on the landline, only to be laughed off as a prank; they wisely tell the dispatcher that there is a teen party out of control in a desperate attempt to get help. Oddly, they don't want their own parents to come. There are spiders everywhere, and Andi starts to suspect, after reading some of Mr. Mendez's paper, that Specimin 17 is behind the odd activity. After discovering a web with woodland animals trapped under it, Andi knows that she needs to figure out what's going on in order to save everyone. But will she be able to?

Strengths: Andi's interest in spiders is a great way to introduce this topic, and there's certainly a lot to be frightened of if there are cascades of the creepy critters everywhere. I'm all for saving spiders and putting them outside because they eat other more annoying bugs, but this many of them (including some parasite infested zombie spiders in the basement) would make me want to squish them. Andi is able to use her knowledge to make sure the infestation doesn't get worse. Both of her parents are alive, and she has some realistic interactions with her older sister. The idea that she is a 6th grader and gets invited to an 8th grade party was something that I'd like to see in more books. Even one grade is a huge difference in middle school. Mr. Mendez's position on the school staff (and his secret back history!) is used to good effect. Carly and Devon, as well as Jason, are good foils for Andi's quieter personality. 
Weaknesses: Once again, Scholastic brings us a brilliant book available only in paperback. This was similar in fear level to Russell's It Came From the Trees and Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave. I didn't find it all that scary, which would make it great for upper elementary readers. My students want a lot more blood and gore than most publishers want eleven year olds to have, but I will buy this because the cover is so brilliant. Pacing is a bit uneven, and my horror readers won't care about Andi's social awkwardness, but inclusions like this will help sell this to adults. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who don't have arachnaphobia and enjoyed other creepy crawly books like Gillespie's Give Me Something Good to Eat, Killick's Dread Detention, Lawrence's Many Hauntings of the Manning Family, and Alexander's The Fear Zone. 

 Look at that cover. It's one of the best scary ones I've seen lately. Stephanie Yang is credited for book design, but I'm not sure that includes the cover. I wish publishers would make this information easier to find. 

The Road From Nowhere

Avi. The Road From Nowhere

January 6, 2026 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Gus and Ollie are brothers living in Gatchett's Gulch, Colorado in 1893. They are unable to leave this silver mining town even though their father was killed in an explosion, because their mother doesn't have the money to move, even though she is barely able to keep everyone afloat by doing laundry for miners. Since they are the only children in the area, aside from Alys Thomas, there is no school for them to attend, and neither boy can read or write. Mr. Gatchett keeps a stranglehold on the town, forbidding anyone from doing any prospecting, claiming all the land around is his, and running anyone who crosses him out of town. When Gus and Ollie are out with a divining rod looking for silver, their dog, Poco discovers a cave-- of course, there is a run in with a snake before the boys are able to get in. Once they do, they are amazed to find a large space with what they suspect is silver ore. They ask a newcomer to town, Bertram Blake, how to stake a claim, since he is a well educated geologist who teaches at a university. Mr. Blake is interested in their discovery, and goes with them to look at the rocks. He concurs that there is probably silver, but since Mr. Gatchett's henchmen overheard Ollie talking to Blake, Gatchett soon shows up at Ollie's house threatening to run the whole family out. After Blake talks to Ollie's mother, the group decides to borrow Alys' family's wagon and go to Franklin, 25 miles away, to file a claim. However, when they set out, Gatchett's me refuse to let them pass. Later, Ma tells Gus and Ollie that Mr. Blake has asked to marry her, and if it's okay with them, she would like to. The family will have to move, but there will be more financial security, and Blake seems like a good guy. The couple sneaks off to walk to Franklin to get married, and leave the boys behind with orders to lay low. Ollie, who just really wants to strike it rich with a silver mine, despite the fact that Blake has warned him that silver may soon not have as much value, decides to take a rock with ore in it to the saloon, at night (when they are forbidden from going), to try to see if the miners will join his cause. This doesn't go well, and soon the news comes by stagecoach that the price of silver has fallen so much that all the miners have stopped shipping ore, the smelter has shut down, and the coach and mules who have been bringing supplies to Gatchett's Gulch will do so no more. Ma and Mr. Blake aren't back yet, but the town clears out. Alys and her mother take off for Alys' sister's in Denver, and Gatchett even blows up his mine as well as the cave! Will Gus and Ollie's mother come back to take them away from what has become a ghost town? 
Strengths: There aren't as many books set in the American west written now; when I was growing up, there were tons, both historical and involving the ghost towns that events like the silver panic of 1893 created. (Didn't both the Brady Bunch AND the Partridge Family visit ghost towns?) Avi has investigated a lot of history from the 1800s (think Gold Rush Girl, as well as The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle), so his details of daily life, as well as the larger historical context, are fabulous. Modern middle schoolers probably have no idea about what life was like in a mining camp, and how hard children their own age had to work. Of course Ollie wants to strike it rich, but it is reassuring that even though he doesn't, the kind Mr. Blake comes through for his family. 
Weaknesses: My students aren't great fans of books set in the West, even though I would like them to be, so I am debating purchase. Once Mr. Blake offered to marry the mother, I couldn't get too invested in Ollie's quest, especially since there was no way he could stand up to Mr. Gatchett, but young Readers won't have that objection. 
What I really think: While there are some titles about gold  mining (like the late Will Hobbs' City of Gold and Rose's Jasper and the Riddle of Riley's Mine), I haven't read any about silver mining. If you're looking for an adventure set in the West to go along with other books by Avi like Avi's The Secret School or Dallas' TenMile, this is a good choice. 

Monsters of Fife: Sea Dragons

Yolen, Jane and Lowenthal, Celia. Monsters of Fife: Sea Dragons

June 3, 2025 by Charlesbridge Moves

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

In 1890s Anstruther, Scotland, Cat Douglas is excited to be a member of the Royal and Ancient monster hunters squad, which is lead by the teacher of her one room schoolhouse, Mr. Harris. This is especially important to her, since her father was lost at sea. Along with Callum and Jamie, she is prepared to drop everything and go take care of monsters that endanger the local population. The trio is well armed, and even paid for their efforts, which helps out Cat's family a lot. When a farmer has his cow eaten, the hunters find the culprit in a cave, lure him out, kill him, and haul the body off to be used as bait for a menacing sea dragon. When Ann McLeod loses her sons at sea, this creature is to blame. The local culture supports the "no body, no closure" philosophy, so the Royal and Ancient members set out to both find the boys and hopefully take care of the dragon as well. They borrow the McLeod's boat and take off, but are soon dragged out to sea. Ending up at an island, they come across a young dragon choking on a fishing net, which makes it easier to kill him. Having done so, they worry that the dragon's mother might be lurking in the caves on the island. Investigating this leads them to find the McLeod boys, who are alive but not well. They also discover a number of dragon eggs that they smash. In the ensuing battle with the dragon, old family secrets are revealed and Cat proves herself a valuable member of the monster hunters. 

Yolen, who has written over 400 books in her 86 years, harnesses her experience of living in Scotland by incorporating a lot of history, local color, and even some dialect into this short novel. There are plenty of details about equipment needed to deal with monsters, and some rather gory chopping up and carting away of said prey, which brings the thrill of the hunt down to earth.

Lowenthal's art appears in several graphic novel style spreads, including the one that ends the book, as well as a couple of full page illustrations. The end papers mimic the beautiful marbled designs found in vintage books, and the cover under the desk jacket looks like it is embossed with a dragon's head. Even the reverse of the dust jacket is well designed-- there is a poster for the book, and the sequels will also have covers that can all be displayed to form one larger poster. 

Monster and dragon books are always popular. Kagawa's Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl and Fournet's Marius Gray series are a bit long, but Monsters of Fife is just right for readers who prefer shorter fantasy books like Yep's  A Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of HumansA Dragon's Guide to the Care and Feeding of Humans, the Tsangs' Dragon Realm series, and Soontornvat's The Legends of Lotus Island.

This reads like a title I might have seen thirty years ago; it hurt  my heart when Cat and her fellow hunters were smashing the dragon eggs! My students are far more likely to want to befriend and train a dragon than to kill it and cut it up for bait. The Scottish dialect might be hard for some readers; I knew what a "clootie" was, but some of my students would probably stop cold and return the book, especially since it took some time to figure out that this was set in the 1890s. 

MMGM- X Marks the Haunt

It's

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 at 

Always in the Middle 

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Unleashing Readers

Currie, Lindsay. X Marks the Haunt
January 6, 2026 by Delacorte Press
E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus

In X Marks the Haunt by Lindsay Currie (published January 6, 2026 by Delacorte Press), Will Stone spends a lot of time at the Graceland Cemetery in Chicago because his mother is the executive director, and because he is very interested in the history and the stories of the people who are interred there. Not only does he help his mother with looking up information in the old fashioned file cards for inquiring families, but he rides along with groundskeeper Art and intern Addie on security sweeps that also check on the coyote population.

His best friend, Sean (aka Stash) understands and doesn't give him a hard time, but Will downplays his background at school, worried that the unpleasant Chris will treat him the same way he does Toby, whose parents run a local funeral home. Chris calls Toby "body boy" and badgers him constantly, so when Will finds out that his class is taking a field trip to Graceland, he is worried that this will put him on Chris' radar. Will and Stash are put on a team for a scavenger hunt along with Henry and Michelle, who are both friendlier with Chris than Will would like, but they all enjoy finding out information about the cemetery and seem to get along. Unfortunately, Chris decides that getting into the cemetery after dark and live streaming from a tomb is a good idea, and he compels Will to give him a key to the Marvin Ryerson tomb. Will knows that the tomb is hard to get into, and he's not surprised when Chris and Henry are spooked and run back to the entrance, pursued by Art, before they can get in.

What is surprising is that Chris has thrown the 150 year old key somewhere in the grounds. This is catastrophic, and Will knows he needs to find it. As he searches, he feels that something is off, and he also hears something sinister whispering his name. When a ghost appears in his bedroom, the trees in the cemetery start dying, and the lake level goes down, Will feels that there are ghosts at work, although he doesn't really believe in them. With the help of Stash, Michelle, and Henry, Will scours the historical records and finds a young woman who died of tuberculosis. This incurable, deadly disease often devastated entire families, and was sometimes thought to have some vampiric qualities. Because of this, Anna McDowell's body was exhumed, and her ghost won't move on until she gets some better treatment. With more trees dying, and Will's mother concerned that the cemetery will lose its hard fought status as an arboretum, something Will's late father worked on, can Will and his friends appease the ghost before she causes more chaos?

I enjoyed X Marks the Haunt as much as I did this author’s It's Watching and It Found Us, because Ms.Currie uses her knowledge of and research into actual cemeteries to give her creepy tales an extra layer of verisimilitude. This is set in November, and the feeling of the dark, dank, chill crept right into my bones! Will is an engaging character who truly enjoys taking care of the cemetery and protecting its legacy, but he also yearns for friends who can understand his somewhat unusual background. This makes his struggle in dealing with Chris realistically painful to watch; some of my favorite moments were when Will had had enough and told Chris that he needed to stop what he was doing! The inclusion of Chicago cemetery history is interesting; I wonder if readers will be compelled to pick up Murphy's (2012) Invincible Microbe: Tuberculosis and the Never-Ending Search for a Cure by Jim Murphy or John Green's new Everything is Tuberculosis (which I haven't read) to find out how widespread the connection between "consumption" and vampirism was! The adults in the book were both harried yet supportive, and treated Will with respect, even when he makes poor choices. Young readers will pick this up for the late night graveyard runs and the frightening ghosts, making this a book that will command a variety of audiences.

While having Will's father killed in a car accident two years before the book begins does make Will's desire to preserve the trees and the arboretum status more understandable, it was unnecessary to kill yet another middle grade parent. It would have been more realistic and poignant to have Will's grandfather be the one who had passed away after spending a life devoted to Graceland. I am never a fan of books where middle grade parents are killed without reason.

Like Currie's other books, X Marks the Haunt is a masterful mix of history and spookiness that will give readers shivers down their spines, but not scare them so much that they are afraid to hunt down a local cemetery, do some grave rubbings, and learn about local history through gravestones. They might want to be just a little more careful than they should be not to disturb any murderous ghosts! 

Millie Magnus for Mayor and Bridge to Bat City

Mazique, Brittany and Glenn, Ebony (illustrator). 

Millie Magnus for Mayor (Millie Magnus #2)
September 2, 2025 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Millie is back after her introduction in the beginning chapter book Millie Magnus Won't Be Bullied, and immediately sees a HUGE problem. She overhears her mother, the mayor, talking about plans for tearing down the local playground. This is horrible! She gathers her friends in The Moody Bubblegums, Atticus and Poppy Anne, and try to come up with a plan to save their favorite place. They also loop in Greta, a cool fourth grader, and her group, The Real Chill Pickles. Millie thinks that there needs to be a leader, so gets herself voted the "mayor" of the project. This doesn't go over all too well with Greta, who thinks that she should be the leader since she is older, and the groups' momentum stalls.  Millie confides in Josephine Draper, her mother's assistant and also Millie's caregiver, and Josephine tells Milie to talk to her mother about the project. She doesn't, but does apologize to Greta. The groups make buttons and posters to take to the community press conference, even though they are not supposed to crash a press conference. In the end, it turns out that Millie's mother is working to make the playground bigger and better. The next book, entitled Millie Magnus is Jealous, is likely to revolve around the new relationship between Millie's widowed mother and Mr. Longfellow, an architect. 

Accompanied by fun illustrations (Extra Spicy chicken glory needs to be seen!), Millie's story reflects the exuberance and misguided intentions so often seen in early elementary school students. While she's not quite as off the mark as Amelia Bedelia, it's apparent early on that the beloved playground is not in the danger Millie suspects. Millie would benefit from some guidance in peer relationships, and is lucky to have Josephine to keep her sassy ways in check. The tensions between Millie and Greta reminded me of Stella Diaz's struggles with her Sea Musketeers in Dominguez's Stella Díaz Dreams Big. Leading a group is not always an inherent skill, so seeing this modeled in literature is great. 

Young readers who enjoyed Millie's exuberance, as well as her pet chicken, Extra Spicy, will be glad to follow Millie's attempts as she deals with situations in her life, rather like a Junie B. Jones (Parks, 1992) for the new millienium. Millie's would find co conspiritors in Allen's The Magnificent Mya Tibbs, Draper's Sassy, Sheth's Nina Soni, or Watson's Ryan Hart in Ways to Make Sunshine.

Cline, Ernest. Bridge to Bat City

April 9, 2024 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Ohio Digital Library Copy

Opal Flats moves from Lubbock to Austin, Texas after her mother, a talented seamstress, passes away from a stroke. Opal, who is 13, is on the heavy side, obsessed with Buddy Holly, and very sensitive to music. Her father died in the Vietnam war, so her Uncle Roscoe, her father's brother, takes her in. Roscoe still runs the family farm, which was started in 1865, even though he doesn't like farming, because he wants to protect his family's legacy. Not far from the farm is a cave that is home to a colony of bats. Muckerno Limestone has been trying to buy the farm in order to mine the area, but Roscoe doesn't like the environmental impact the company has. Opal starts to notice that the bats seem to like it when she plays music, and even chitter in response to it, and she names the bats after streets in Austin, because they seem to especially enjoy the television program Austin City Limits. When the cave where the bats live is blown up by Muckeno, they fly out to Roscoe's farm, unaware that the Flats are losing their home to foreclosure. Roscoe and Opal string up clotheslines in the barn so that the bats have somewhere to stay during a storm, but everyone needs a long term solution to their displacement. Roscoe and Opal move to Austin, where they find a bridge under which the bats can live. The flocks of bats, however, panic the population of the city. Can Opal convince the citizens of her new home that the bats are an asset? 

Strengths: There are lots of good details about Austin's music scene in the 1980s, and despite the sad beginning, is an upbeat story. Opal does seem to have some actual exchanges of information with the bats, (she knows, for example, that many of them are orphans like she is) if not conversations, so this does have a fantasy aspect to it. Uncle Roscoe, despite his poor financial planning, is a good choice for a guardian for Opal, and the two have a great relationship. Their move to Austin improves the quality of their lives, since Roscoe is able to get a job at a newspaper as well as at a Radio Shack (I hope he retired before he lost both of those 1980s gigs!) The illustrations are a nice touch, and showcase musicians of the time as well as historical figures like Nancy Richards and Molly Ivins. Texas readers will enjoy this look at their recent history. 
Weaknesses: Don't know what in the Sam Hill Cline was trying to do with the folksy language, but I think it would have limited appeal with my readers. It got tiring hearing about how socially awkward Opal was, and the names were a bit twee (Flats on her father's side and Sharp's on her mother's? Sigh.)
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want folksy, Southern tinged books like Tubbs' Luna Howls at the Moon or Lloyd's The Witching Wind.  I will pass on purchasing. 

Saturday Morning Cartoons- Champion and Time to Win

Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem, Obstfeld, Raymond and Laroche, Ed (illustrator)
Champion: A Graphic Novel
September 2, 2025 by Ten Speed Graphic
E ARC provided by Edelweiss plus

When Monk makes the poor decision to add graffitti to a rival school's mascot sign, he is caught. His coach and parents decide to implement some restorative justice, so he and his teammates have to clean up the paint (which is at least chalk based), and Monk has to write a report on basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The report can't be about his basketball playing, however, which confuses Monk. He seeks some help from people in his life, like Lark, who is on the girls' basketball team, and Sissy, who hires him to work in her store. All of the people in his life are a little concerned that he is laser focused on basketball, and no longer seems to have interest in art, even though he's very good. As he starts to delve into research on Abdul-Jabbar, he learns a lot about the Civil Rights movement, and the sports legend appears to him and has conversations. He even takes Monk back to different places and points in history so that he can understand how difficult the struggle was, and how Abdul-Jabbar was involved in a lot of things, not just basketball. Monk meets many road blocks; his notes and files on his computer disappear, his work hours are cut, and he angers Lark by not coming to her game. When he finally finishes his research, he decides to present it in a unique way, and with the help of his teammates, creates a mural about Abdul-Jabbar's life on the side of Sissy's store. 

Strengths: I wanted to buy this graphic novel for this quote from the coach alone (from the E ARC): "Reality check: There are over 18,000 NCAA players, of which only about 4,000 are eligible for the NBA draft. Of those, only 60 will get drafted." Of course, Monk replies that he will be one of the 60. There are so many of my students who think that they have a chance to play professional ball, even though they aren't particularly talented, so maybe they will take away the message that it's important to have other plans for careers. My students are also ridiculously fond of LeBron James and ONLY want to read books about him, so this might tempt them to investigate another basketball player who has a wider impact than sports. This had an older, more serious illustration style to it that I enjoyed, and that will appeal to middle school and high school readers. 

Weaknesses: This was fairly text dense, and I'm afraid that some of my readers might give up early on. 
What I really think: I'm always interested in more sports graphic novels; the Jake Maddox ones are quite short but very popular. Champion is a little more complex and a good choice for readers who liked Soria and Williams' Who is the Man in the Air: Michael Jordan or Smith, Barnes, and Anyabwile's Victory. Stand!: Raising My Fist or Justice. Don't forget that Abdul-Jabbar also wrote the Sasquatch in the Paint series. Sadly, I didn't find out about book three until it was no longer available! 

Shah, Amar. Time to Win (Play the Game #3)

August 5, 2025 by Scholastic Inc.

Library Copy

Raam is now on the school team with Beast, the Moore twins, and Jason. He's glad to finally be able to play basketball, but feels like everyone is questioning his suitability to be on the team. His best friend Cake also seems angry, and the two don't spend much time together. There are problems at home as well. His mother's Indian dance studio is having financial difficulties, and losing students. His father is very worried about this, and interviewing for more stable jobs. When he gets one offer that means the family would have to relocate away from Orlando and Raam's grandparents who live there, Raam is very worried. Jason is very mean on the court, and causes several painful but not too serious injuries, but things do get a little better after Coach Demer has the boys doing some team building exercises at the Orlando Science Center. Raam gets more insight into Payton's life when the team stops by his house to pick up uniforms, and Payton's father can't stop talking about building his son's brand, and the clothing line and training app they are releasing. When Raam's mother loses another student, she asks Raam to help her studio compete, but Raam breaks his toe fooling around. Cake has to step in, but the mother's team wins, which helps the studio remain solvent. Raam's father decides not to take the job, and Raam is glad that he can remain at his school, near his grandparents, with his family intact.

Strengths: It's important for middle grade sports stories to have two things: lots of sports action, but also another plot to move things along. Raam's family issues are great for this; young readers will relate more to parents who are arguing and struggling with finances than they will to having all the parents die. My students love these books for all of the celebrity mentions, like when one of Raam's favorite players comes to his team's game, and the two later meet at an Indian dance festival that the Orlando Magic is hosting in its facility. Not sure whether this was a real player, but probably was; I don't pay attention, but my students certainly do. These are a great length and move along quickly. I like to suggest titles like this for book projects; kids who like sports do so much better on projects when they LIKE the book they are reading! 
Weaknesses: There are a lot of references to current players and contemporary trends that will cause these books to be dated in a few years. It's a fine line to walk. I also don't understand why these books aren't available in hardback! Scholastic tends to publish its most popular titles only in paperback, which doesn't make sense to me at all. Luckily, prebinds of these books are available. 

What I really think: Three books is perfect for a middle grade series, and I would love to see another sports title from Shah. It would be great if he could write standalone basketball books similar to the ones Fred Bowen writes (with his own insider, celebrity spin); I'd buy three of every single one! 

Guy Friday- Gone Viral

Soto, Gary. Gone Viral.
January 6, 2026 by Clarion Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

When Jason decides to put together a band, he informs his best friend Sean that their new names will be Metallic Z and Half-Lo, respectively, and together they form Gormax. Gormax will embrace the musical philosophy of John Cage, who in 1952 performed a piece entitled “4’33” that was essentially silence. Jason, aka Metallic Z, argues that in the current age of noise, this style would gain new appreciation. He seems to be right. With the help of Chase Stravinsky, their eleven year old agent (nicknamed White Socks), the boys inform their parents, and school principal, Mr. Kidman, that they will be dropping out of school. Soon, Chase has them booked for a gig in Cologne, Germany and billetted in a fancy hotel. Their performances involve a lot of swaying to silence with “implied feelings”. They are a hit, and find themselves in a wide range of European and world cities, performing and eating copious amounts of junk food. Chase arranges for them to be joined by a girl from Tulare, near their hometown of Visalia, California, and soon Samantha (who changes her name to Skylark), and her cockatiel, Zep (who can play a tiny harmonica), are gathering even more fans than Gormax. From wearing kilts in Scotland to having Cal Tech name a planet after the band, the two friends have a kaleidoscope of goofy experiences. But, like many band stories, theirs soon has an end. Skylark, who has developed a crush on Principal Kidman’s daughter, Priscilla, quits the band after Zep goes missing. Gormax struggles to gather audiences at progressively smaller venues, and when Chase’s investments literally sink (the island with their Bitcoin goes down), the two return home. Principal Kidman makes them repeat seventh grade, which they do willingly, and there is a happy ending for Skylark and Priscilla, as well as Zep.

N. B. This is considered a "modern fantasy" and is purposefully silly and over the top, according to the publisher. It is very different from Soto's other work.   

Strengths: Readers who enjoy goofy, nonsensical adventures that are told in a slap dash, episodic, non sequitur style will revel in Gormax’s pell mell exploits. Perhaps aimed at attention spans more used to TikTok videos than connected prose, this story feeds readers a constant stream of places, people, and anecdotes, sometimes within the same paragraph. It’s also a lesson in wish fulfillment; the boys are supposed to keep up with school work, but do so only cursorily, find the skateboards that were stolen from them when they were ten in a huge pile in Amsterdam, have pizza delivered to their hotel by robots, and get a chance to travel the world. This is a fairly happy tale, with no time for introspective navel gazing or processing of grief, even when the band’s run comes to an end, which sets it apart from the current middle grade trend of depicting anxious characters processing loss.
Weaknesses: Gormax’s initial appeal is a focus on silence and body consciousness, which is an interesting premise, but the addition of Skylark and Zep, with their more traditional performances, negates this. There was significantly less cohesive plot and compelling character development than is generally found in novels for children.
What I really think: Like Soto’s 2023 Puppy Love, Gone Viral shows a significant change in style for Soto’s work. If you are a fan of Soto’s books like Taking Sides, Baseball in April and Other Stories, and Fire in My Hands, I would read this before purchasing for a school library, as it is more reminiscent of Kinney’s Wimpy Kid books or Daniel Pinkwater’s chaotic adventures. 

A Year in Nature

Happy New Year! We are truly living in the future now that it's 2026. If my 11 year old, 1976 self asked what life would be like fifty years in the future, I would have to say that while technology has really taken off (Texting pictures to people! MP3 players with a thousand songs on them! E Books! Streaming movies!) and there is almost a complete lack of fashion, most things are still the same. There are no flying cars, jet packs, or enough silver spandex clothing to be concerned about. 

I'm not sure that overall, 2026 is an improvement. 

That said, patting myself on the back for 14 solid years of posting at least one book review every day. Not that anyone really cares, but there is a sense of accomplishment in the continuity. 

 

Mettler, René. A Year in Nature: Explore the Countryside, Month by Month
March 18, 2025 by Post Wave
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

In this beautifully illustrated, oversized French import, the reader is transported to an idyllic countryside with rolling hills and two amazing châteaus. This starts with a complete but succinct explanation of the seasons, and how they change in Europe and North America. After that, every month gets a fold out overview of the temperature, length of day and night, and a description of what the prevailing weather conditions are. There is even a "Gardener's Basket" which lists what foods are being harvested; who knew that Brussels sprouts had such a long winter growing season! On the other side, the plants, trees, animals and birds that pepper the landscape are described, along with what changes are occurring because of the weather. The real draw to this book is the two page spread of the countryside that shows a view from a hill complete with a winding country lane, far off village, fields, and a river. 

Mettler, who first published this book in 1997, wrote and illustrated many books dealing with nature and the environment, including Flowers, The Rain Forest, and Animal Camoflage. His attention to detail makes these illustrations come to life, and each feather on a bird or leaf on a flower is painstakingly drawn. These should really have been made into wall posters, since they are the sort of picture I could stare at for hours. 

The information about the seasons is equally complete, although there is an inordinate amount of discussion about hedgerows that tipped me off (along with those châteaus) that the scene was set in Europe. The temperatures also indicate that this takes place a bit further north than where I live (82 degrees in July sounds lovely and cool!), but also might indicate that climate change is indeed warming this up. I am a little suprised that the text was not updated with some information about current conditions. 

Seasons are a big topic for younger readers, and I enjoyed that this gives good basic information about the reasons for the changes. I can see an interested reader consulting this book at the beginning of each month and checking to see how the world outside compares with the description in the book. Combine this with Barnum and Frost's A Stroll Through the Seasons, Jenkins and Jones' Squirrel's Busy Year, and Duvoisin's classic 1950 The House of Four Seasons to give your young reader a good overview of the changing natural world. 

A few more picture books to end the year

Smith, Zadie, Laird, Nick, and Fox, Magenta (illus.). In The Wild

June 10, 2025 by Viking Books for Young Readers

Copy provided by Edelweiss Plus

Kit is going to camp, and her pets are not happy. Her bird Derrick, cat Dora, dog Bob, and guinea pig Maud are all concerned for her safety, and worried that she will feel lonely. The trip also puts a crimp in their rugged schedule of judo, naps, and practicing of "signature moves". When Kit is packing for her journey, Maud looks at the lists and realizes there isn't anything that says "no Mauds", so she hops in Kit's back pack! Arriving at camp, she hopes out and is amazed at how different the park is from home. There's grass, sky, and a very talkative hedgehog named Harvey. There's even a hawk that whisks Maud away, but she's able to rescue herself by performing her "signature move"! Harvey and Maud have a great time hanging out while Kit is frolicking with other students. While it was fun to get away from the routine of home, Maud is ready to go back home when camp is over. There, she and Kit recreate the fun of camp for their friends, complete with a tent and popcorn!

Maud's perspective on being out "in the wild" is a good one, she she really hasn't left the house! This means that everything, even the dirt beneath her paws and the open sky, is new to her. It was fun to see that she didn't spend her time trailing after Kit, but instead made a friend and was able to have a parallel experience to her owner's. I was expecting that she would stay close to her human, so this was a nice surprise. 

Fox's illustrations do a good job of contrasting Kit and Maud's time, and cleverly show Maud and Harvey doing their activities at the bottom of the page while Kit and her friends are going about their business on the top. There are lots of good details in the pictures. While we don't spend much time with Derrrick, Dora, or Bob, we see enough of their personalities that it would be easy to see more books of Kit's adventures that include them. 

Reading books about new experiences is a good way to introduce young children to them so that they are prepared for things that might otherwise surprise them. Keep In the Wild on hand to pop into a back pack for a camping adventure along with Weston and Warner's Good Job, Bear, Mann's The Camping Trip, Tariq and Lewis' Fatima's Great Outdoors, or Braddock's On the Trail. 

George, Kallie and Holzewarth, Devon. Sand Cakes

April 22, 2025 by Tundra Books

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

A little girl is enjoying her day at the beach, playing in the sand and running an exquisite sand bakery. She makes rock sprinkled cakes, seaweed pies, sand tarts with shells, and buns covered with sea glass. She offers these delicacies to passersby, who all wrinkle their noses and turn her down! Even the crabs turn her down. This makes her angry, but doesn't stop her from continuing to line up treat after treat on the beach. Eventually, she gets a surprise customer... the tide comes in and the ocean gobbles up all of her sand confections, making the girl very happy. 

Told in exuberant, rhyming verse, this tale begs to be read aloud, and I wouldn't be surprised to hear a little one chanting lines from this while making similar sand treats in a backyard pile! It's too bad that the people to whom the girl offers the treats decline them; don't they know that the proper response to to take the treat, put it to their face while saying "om nom nom", and crumpling it down their front? 

The illustrations have lots of details, and the bakery items are quite pretty. The endpapers are also beautifully drawn, and the front and back pages are even different. 

Tuck this title safely in a waterproof tote to read at the beach along with Jonker's Just One Wave, Ree's Sora's Seashells, Schertle and Lavallee's All You Need for the Beach, and Soman and Davis' Ladybug Girl at the Beach. 

Starstuff: Ten Science Fiction Stories to Celebrate New Possibilities

Alexander, William (ed.) Starstuff: Ten Science Fiction Stories to Celebrate New Possibilities 

May 20, 2025 by MIT Kids Press

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Like the Young Adult collection by this group, Tasting Light: Ten Science Fiction Stories to Rewire Your Perceptions, Starstuff showcases middle grade authors who turn their hands to envisioning what science will look like in the future. The authors puts their own personal twists on this theme, while offering readers glimpses of the future that are timely and sometimes worrisome. Let's take a brief look at what is included. 

Jenn Reese, whose middle grade novels Every Bird a Prince and Puzzleheart lean towards magic, hands us a "To-do List for the Apocalypse". River doesn't understand why her mother needs to move her to California after divorcing her father since there is an asteroid on its way to Earth. Her mother, who got a job teaching psychology, is also a citizen scientist, and when she gets an alert while they are driving to their new home, the two stop in Colorado to set up a station to record the asteroid as it passes close to the planet. Using the backyard of Jamila and her father Rahesh (who is also divorced from his husband), River finds out the real truth about the asteroid and makes peace with her new life. 

In "Calm Down, People", Carlos Hernandez (Sal and Gabi Break the Universe) introduces us to Orquidea Bandana, who is a on a space mission to show consumers that space travel is safe even for people who might be deathly allergic to bees or possibly in the early stages of multiple sclerosis, like she is. Bandana saves the day with her knowledge of EpiPens and inhalers when the captain is stung by one of the blue orchard bees on board, and helps Spacerino Exploration Travel show that space tourism isn't dangerous. 

Zinn and Charlie break into the Athanatos research facility in "The Whistleblowers" after Zinn's grandfather needs the EternaLife medicine that Charlie's mother has developed but has since found out can cause cancer. Kekla Magoon, whose Robyn Hoodlum series was set in a dystopia future, writes a thrilling tale about medical ethics gone wrong and kids doing what they can to save the ones they love. 

With people living on space stations, there has to be a way to get supplies to them. In Alexander's "Aesop's Elevator", which is written in the second person, our narrator loves living in the tiny apartment that is part of the space elevator that his mother designed, although his sister Addy would love to return to Earth permanently. When rocket entrepreneur John Jay Jordan threatens this existence by making a bet that his rockets can provide supplies more quickly, the narrator has to step in to discover who has sabotaged the elevator. Alexander, the editor of this volume who has written a lot of books with which I am not familiar, will be known to middle grade readers for his The Kids in Mrs. Z's Class: The Legend of Memo Castillo.

Maddi Gonzalez, who has written several of the Goosebumps graphic novels, contributes the only graphic novel style story with "Zabrina Meets the Retro Club", which finds Zabrina meeting members of a group she has only known online at the M.A.L.L.: the Multimedia Augmented Liminal Location. Her friends Ada, Brandi, Carol and Dina are glad to finally see each other in real life, although Dina is joining the group as a robot, since she is sick at home. Since Zabrina wears thick glasses, the two can't enjoy the virtual reality headsets, but everyone is glad to be able to hang out together. 

Kallen and his friend Ryla are on the spaceship Whistle Pig in "The Most Epic Nap in the Universe" and are determined that they Kallen will opt out of his hibernation cycle so the two can hang out together and Ryla won't get older that Kallen is. Their plans are thwarted by Kallen's mother, who doesn't want to miss out on time with her son, but the two manage to wake Kallen up and get into trouble, some of it involving the marmots that help the hibernation process. Capetta has done some young adult books, along with the elementary fantasy novel, Hocus and Pocus and the Spell for Home. 

Eliot Schrefer, who wrote Young Adult thrillers before turning his hand to books like Endangered, offers 

an interesting look at "A Proposal to the Animal Congress". In a text message format, narrated by an AI hawk and rabbit, the animals try to find the best way to minimize suffering for all animals. 

Artificial Intelligence is used again in Robertson's "Of What We Never Were" when we see Stacy, who is clearly struggling at school, constantly texting her best friend Adam, who is not with her all day for reasons that become clear later in the story. 

Fran Wilde (Gemworld, Bone Universe, The Canarvier Files) takes us on a wild ride in Red, Right, Returning as fifth grader Ollie Vere struggles with taking her prepilot test along with her twin sister Ella and best friend Luiz. When she presses the "optimize" button too many times, complications ensue, her anxiety rises, and the test seems even more  difficult. 

Finally, Lucy's class gets to submit ideas for a Space Treaty Organization contest in 2068, and while her teacher Mr. Gupta initially has reservations about whether a time capsule is a good use of the opportunity to send an object into space, Lucy's project is chosen, and she and her teammates must work to figure out what they can include in such a small space. Years after including information on DNA cartridges, Lucy comes across her own time capsule on a mission and adds additional items. 850 million years later, the capsule is found again, and this afterthought inclusion allows a future society to bring Lucy's clone to life in "The Traveler" by Wade Roush. 

While some of these stories were more effective than others, they all included a respectable amount of scientific information, although this sometimes overshadowed the narrative flow. It's hard to find science fiction that doesn't devolve into dystopia, so these stories will be a big hit with readers who enjoy futuristic adventures that try to predict how science and technology will change and impact our existence. It's hard to find science fiction short story collection for middle grade readers, but if they enjoyed novels like Mbalia's Last Gate of the Emperor, Warga's A Rover's Story, or Rodkey's We're Not From Here, Starstuff will hit the spot.