Earth Heroes

Dyu, Lily. Earth Heroes: 20 Inspiring Stories of People Saving Our World
October 3, 2019 by Nosy Crow Ltd
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Did you know that Sir David Attenborough will be 100 years old on May 8, 2026? It's fitting that he is the first entry in this collective biography of influential environmentalists, since he has worked so tirelessly to support green initiatives. In all, this book highlights 24 changemakers who are trying to make the world a better place.

There is a wide range of types of eco activism. Roz Rozman is working to protect rivers, Ellen McArthur is trying to make the sea sustainable, and surfers Andrew Turton and Pete Ceglinski are concerned with ocean pollution. People make change in many different ways: Stella McCartney is trying to make fashion sustainable, Isabel Soares is trying to stop food waste, and Doug Smith is concerned with saving wolves. There are stories from different parts of the world as well. Chewang Norphel is working in India to assure that everyone has access to water, Bittu Sahghal is trying to save Tigers in India, and sisters Melati and Isabel Wijsen have addressed the use of plastic bags in Bali. It's good to see a range of ages as well; the Wijsen sisters and Greta Thunberg started working for their causes when young, and Yvon Couinard is still working with his company, Patagonia, to inform sustainable consumption at the age of 86.

Each person has about a ten page biography detailing a bit about their lives but concentrating about the various concerns they are addressing about the environment. This gives young readers a good introduction not only to the person, but also the different ways in which the world needs help. The final chapter of the book talks very briefly about what young readers can do to help as well. There are picture and quote credits, but no list of resources, which would have been helpful.

The format of this book reminded me of Freedman and Shilstone's 1961 Teenagers Who Made History, with photographs of the subjects embellished by artist Jackie Lay. The book is the size of a standard novel, and the biographies are straight text without insets, charts, graphs, or other illustrations. I would have appreciated the inclusion of more biographical information such as year of birth, and perhaps a quote from each person. This is a good springboard from students who want to learn more about environmentalists and fits in with books like Kirby's Old Enough to Save the Planet, Thimmesh and Sweet's Girls Solve Everything: Stories of Women Entrepreneurs Building a Better World, Alexander's Generation Brave: The Gen Z Kids Who Are Changing the World, and Messner and Greenwood's History Smashers: Earth Day and the Environment. I'd love to see a biography or Sir David Attenborough!

While this book will physically hold up better than some of the heavily illustrated collective biographies, it already feels dated. My readers are used to more illustrations, so this seems rather dry. The lack of dates for each person (even though these are easy to find online) is concerning, and the biographies didn't seem to be arranged in any particular order. It would have been nice to have included some maps, and I definitely would have liked a bibliography. I'll put this in my collection because we have teachers who assign biography projects on activists, but I'm not sure my middle school students would sit down and read the whole book for pleasure, which is a shame. There is another book by this author, Earth Heroes: 20 Inspiring Stories of People Saving Our World illustrated by Amy Blackwell that I may have to investigate.

Adventures in the City of Stories

Otheguy, Emma. Adventures in the City of Stories (#2)
July 21, 2026 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers
ARC provided by Young Adult Books Central

After our Cousins in the Time of Magic return to Miami following their time travel adventures to Virginia in 1862 and the Battle of Puebla, they once again get into trouble at their Tía Xía's house. Camila, Jorge, and Siggy find puppets and a signed, antique book in their aunt's cupboard, but end up jumping through a magical tinajón and leave the objects at the Mar del Tiempo when trying to escape from the bully, Cooper. Camila has had a rough day already; she's brought Spanish language books to school to share with her friend Marisol only to have the principal tell her they were inappropriate and could not be brought! Not only that, but he's sent a letter home to everyone about not bringing such books to school. After finding out that the book was signed by the famous poet Gabriela Mistral, and that the puppets belonged to author and librarian Pura Belpré, there's a huge problem. Tía Xía, who runs the Latin History Museum, found them in a closet, but now insurance investigators are looking for the relics. Unfortunately, continued scuffles end up with Cooper having the puppet Perez, and the children and the puppet Martina traveling back in time to New York City in the 1930s. The puppets serve as a kind of walkie talkie, and the children can communicate across the years from time to time. In the city, they try to get information from Anne Carrol Moore at the New York Public Library, but are overheard by Eva Wilson. Mrs. Wilson is the wife of a horrible employer, and she is very vocal about how there should be no books published in Spanish when it's so hard for any books to be published. The children find out where Pura Belpré works, but also run into Antonia, whose father works for Mrs. Wilson. Mrs. Wilson threatens Antonia that if she doesn't turn in the Time travelers, Mr. Wilson will fire her father, especially since Antonia has written an essay about the poor working conditions. The children also meet Gabriela Mistral when they duck into her apartment to escape being caught! A talking doll named Nicholas gives them a note from Tía Xía, who has arrived in the 1930s and is staying in Harlem with Arthur Schomberg. The whole adventure is fraught with anxiety as Mrs. Wilson steals the book and calls the police, and it looks like the puppets won't be able to be hidden away. Luckily, Antonia's Puerto Rican family is very welcoming and allows the present day visitors to stay with them in the 1930s. Things become even worse when the group makes sure that Antonia's negative essay is published in the paper. Will everyone survive and make it back to Miami? And will the adventure give Camila the boost she needs to stand up to book banning in her own time? 

There is a lot of historical information in this book that might not be widely known, so it was great to see extensive end notes describing historical events like the Great Depression as well as the famous historical figures who are portrayed. Information about book bannings and Puerto Rico is also included. There is an extensive list of books for further reading in addition to a lengthy bibliography. 

Like the first book in the series, this is illustrated by Poly Bernatene. In addition to chapter headings, there are a good number of illustrations that support the text, usually about one per chapter. I'd love to see more illustrated middle grade books. 

Teachers and librarians will appreciate the inclusion of information about both historical and modern books bannings, which weigh heavy on many minds. To lighten the load, there is the opportunity to see famous literary characters interacting with the time traveling cousins!

Time traveling is always more fun when there's a mission, celebrities from the time, and a lot of adventures! If readers enjoyed Henderson's The Magic in Changing Your Stars or Questlove and Cosby's The Rhythm of Time series and want more time slip adventures, this and Cousins in the Time of Magic are great choices to read next. 

MMGM- Beware the Jacks and Kid Potato

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at

Unleashing Readers

Lavoie, Laura. Beware the Jacks

July 21, 2026 by Union Square Kids

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Dahlia Reid has enjoyed living in Wilcott Head, awhere the Harvest Festival during the Autumnal Equinox is a big deal. The town has tried to position itself as a spooky destination, so she’s a little surprised at how vehemently the town opposes Penelope Mullins and her family, who have recently moved in and started a pumpkin patch. Some feel they are challenging the more established Pickens Place, but Mrs. Barnes is quite vocal that the soil there is “spoiled” and it’s dangerous for anyone to live there. There is some historical truth to this; the area was the site of a sinkhole in the 1800s that killed several people. Dahlia, whose best friend Lucy used to live where the Mullins do, befriends Penelope, who was adopted from China. Penelope said they moved because her father, a professor of environmental science, was stressed. The family certainly is trying to ingratiate themselves to the community, and even invite Dahlia’s class to the farm for a field trip. This doesn’t stop Levi, Dahlia’s new stepbrother, from being a jerk to Penelope. At the farm, Dahlia buys a couple of pumpkins so her family can carve them. When a forest walk at the Harvest Festival is called off because two children, Julian and Ava, are missing, Dahlia returns home to find her folks missing, and the house filled with green goo. As unusual and scary things continue to happen, she realizes that Mrs. Barnes’ concerns were valid, and consults with Isaiah Barnes, borrowing his mother’s books, to find a way to neutralize the creepy and evil Jacks that are terrorizing the town. Will Dahlia, Penelope, and Levi be able to work together to save Wilcott Head?
Strengths: I don’t want to give away too much, since there is a great backstory to the killer jack o’lanterns that are terrorizing Wilcott Head. Suffice it to say that “it’s not nice to fool (with) Mother Nature!” The opposition to the Mullins’ farm makes sense for several reasons, even if people like the Jamaican born Mrs. Barnes are not always taken as seriously as they should be for their objections. It was nice to see Dahlia befriend Penelope, and to work with her stepbrother Levi, even if she didn’t really want to. The town is deliciously creepy, and the kids are given free rein to wander about in the dark, which is always fun. There are plenty of tense moments, which are essential in a scary middle grade book. This read quickly, and will be a good addition to an autumnal horror collection, even though it would be good to read all year.
Weaknesses: Like this author’s scary The Thirteen Doors of Black House, this is being published in paperback. Titlewave does not yet have a prebound version, but I will keep my eyes open for one. Paperbacks do not hold up well in my middle school library.
What I really think: This is a great choice for people who liked Gillespie’s Give Me Something Good to Eat, Arden’s Small Spaces, Strand’s It Watches in the Dark, Russell’s Down Came the Spiders, and Krovatin’s Killer Harvest. Also, this has made me add “small rural towns with harvest festivals” to my list of places I never want to live, along with the Florida Keys, New York City, Hawaii, and anywhere south of Ohio. 

Coslett, Neil. Welcome to My World (Kid Potato #1)

May 5, 2026 by Ten Speed Young Readers

Copy provided by the publisher

Spudbert lives with his mother, father, sister Parka, and dog Ollie. He isn't particulary fond of school, and doesn't do as well as his friend Raven, although he knows not to cheat from her papers when she is distracted. He also has a metal robot friend, Chomp. Spuddy, aka "Kid Potato" embarks on a variety of every day adventures. These goofy antics include an alien getting stuck in Chomp's head and needing to be sent home, and Kid Potato being paired with a vampire-like classmate named Kid Evil for science fair. The two construct a project measuring how eating cheese before bedtime changes people's dreams, but don't win. Kid potato goes to visit his elderly grandmother, and gets involved with her high end toilet, the Flusterton, when it goes rogue and causes havoc by sucking things into itself. Even though he's not a competitive bowler, he decides to enter the Croco Bowl tournament so he can beat nemesis Finchely. Finally, we find out more about Ollie's past as there is a pet day at the school and Ollie runs off. There are several pages of puzzles at the back of the book for those who like activity books. 

Strengths: Like Kinney's Wimpy Kid series, Kid Potato has little discernable plot, but an endless supply of gags, jokes, silly illustrations, and potty humor, so I can see this being very popular in my library, along with books like Keller's Arnie the Doughnut and Pastis' Timmy Failure books. It's been harder to find good notebooks novels since graphic novels have really taken off, but for some reason, graphic novels tend to skew towards female characters. The constant stream of zany takes, like the school being across from a prison and next to a sewage processing plant, the alien destroying Kid Potato's school and home, and the sentient toilet are paired with MAD Magazine type illustrations. I can imagine this being a great choice for a giggle inducing read aloud for first graders, who will unabashedly love the potty humor and slapstick comedy, but it's also good for middle school readers who want a fun break from all of the serious books language arts teachers assign. The sequel, Fry and Stop Me, will be published in September 2026.
Weaknesses: Readers in the US will miss the joke with Parka's name, since we don't called baked potatoes JACKET potatoes. Since this was first published in the UK, it does seem very British, but other UK notebook novels, like Pichon's Tom Gates Clover's Rory Branagan: Detective, and Berger's The Pudding Problem have done well in my library. 
What I really think: This was not a personal favorite of mine, since I have never actually been a twelve-year-old boy and don't particularly care for the low brow humor. Will fans of Pilkey's Dog Man, who seem to be legion, enjoy this? Absolutely. I'll definitely recommend this a lot at the beginning of the school year in order to get kids to read, and hope that they will use this as a bridge to more challenging books like Hall's fantastic new This Could All Go Bad or, aptly, Costner's My Life as a Potato. 

Eleven Kinds of Blue

Wolff, Katherine. Eleven Kinds of Blue
July 7, 2026 by Holiday House

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Margot Stafford's father died before she was born, and her mother, Ruth-Ann, who has recently lost her job as a kindergarten teacher, has struggled with depression. Margot and her older brother Eli try to help as much as possible, but have their own interests. Margot's best friend, Suzanne, and her mother, Joan, try to help as well. School isn't Margot's favorite place, but she does enjoy art class with Mr. Grunwald, even if she isn't wild about some of the assignments, like mixing different shades of one color and naming them. When Ruth-Ann's current boyfriend, JP, moves in, the kids are wary. JP is a landscaper who has lost his daughter (a student of Ruth-Ann's) is a freak accident, and he is temperamental and often controlling. Hoping to show her mother that she doesn't need JP's help, Margot visits a new local art gallery to apply for a job. The owner, Alice, offers to let her work off the cost of a vase she has broken by cleaning the upstairs annex, and then to continue for minimum wage under the table. Margot is entranced by the gallery and her proximity to art, and when she finds six prints, takes them home and frames them herself, hoping to prove her worth to Alice. Suzanne is busy with her own activities, and Margot is trying to balance working at the gallery with watching out for her mother. She does meet Lex at a tutoring group that JP makes her attend in order to improve her math skills, and is enthralled with the carefree way Lex approaches life. When things with JP and the gallery reach a crisis point, Margot realizes that she needs help dealing with her mother, and is helped by Joan. Things end happily, with Ruth-Ann being offered a job running a town-sponsored art program at the gallery. 

Strengths: It would be great if there were more middle grade books with children who had jobs; it would be great if more middle grade students were trusted to have jobs. Babysitting, lawn mowing, dog walking, and cleaning are all things that tweens should be able to do to earn money and experience. Cleaning out an art annex would be fascinating, and Margot does enjoy it. Navigating changing middle school friendships is also something that interests young readers, so Lex and her different approach to life (She has a tattoo! And used to live in the city! Her parents are interesting!) is quite intriguing. There's some adventure, and the very real problem of dealing with a parent who needs help. Having Joan around was reassuring and helpful. Despite the heavy quality of a lot of the storyline, there is a happy ending. 
Weaknesses: This would have been a fresher and more upbeat story without the inclusion of not only the deceased father (whose overalls Margot wears every day), but of JP's daughter, who was crushed under a folding table of casseroles at a family gathering. The inclusion of so much grief slowed the story down. This is always my pet peeve, so other readers may not agree. I also found it a bit disturbing that there were few consequences for Margot taking the paintings or for moving JP's things specifically to annoy him, since this had rather serious consequences.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who found Braden's The Benefits of Being an Octopus or Keller's The Science of Breakable Things interesting. 

My Tokyo Summer

Denson, Abby and Utomaru (illus.) My Tokyo Summer

July 7, 2026 by Graphix

ARC provided by the publisher

In this graphic memoir, we go back to 1986 to meet Abby, who lives in the US, and Yuuko, who lives in Japan. Both girls are interested in comics and anime. Abby's mother has traveled to Japan for business, so Abby is enthralled with that country, and Yuuko and her older sister Yoko are interested in US culture. Both girls hope to one day spend time in New York City. When Abby gets the chance to stay with her grandfather in the Big Apple, she is introduced to the zine scene. She creates her own, which Yuuko discovers when she visits the city with her sister. Yuuko writes to Abby, and the two become penpals. in 1997, Abby gets the chance to attend a summer program in Tokyo, and she and Yuuko are able to hang out and experience all of the sites, food, and shopping in Japan. They write a comic together, and get a table at Comiket to sell it. Even years later, the two are still connected, and Abby, an author, goes back to visit as often as she can. 

There are great notes from Denson and Utomaru, as well as Yuuko, at the end of the book, and some fun pictures. Like Santat's A First Time For Everything, My Tokyo Summer is a great snapshot of a particularly important and influential summer in an author's life. There are plenty of good details about things to do in Japan, and a LOT about the food. Transliterated Japanese is also included. While most of the ARC was in black and white, the few pages that are in color are bright and appealing. Utomaru's illustration style is a mix between US artists like Telgemeier and Galligan and Japanese manga (That ALWAYS in my head is expressed as Speed Racer-like!) and is very appealing. 

Readers who enjoyed  a taste of life in Japan in Brown's While I Was Away or Chapman's All the Ways Home  or who enjoyed Misako's Bounce Back will be enthralled with this virtual field trip to Tokyo, especially if they are fans of anime and manga. 

 

Sneaks

Tern, Amy. Sneaks
July 7, 2026 by Holiday House

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Vallory is angry that Mrs. Sagara would accuse her of stealing an antique coin from her collection, especially since she was dealing with the disgusting bathroom to help out her mother, Alyssa, who works as a cleaner for the imperious woman. Waiting on the balcony for the reckoning with her mother, she runs into Rook Sagara and asks for his help. She DID steal the coin and claims she was going to put it back. Rook, who is homeschooled and under a lot of pressure to do well at an upcoming piano competition, agrees. The two form an odd friendship after Vallory travels back on the bus from her home in Grumdale back to the fancy Charles Hill neighborhood of Boston where Rook lives. Rook introduces her to a mystery involving the next door Faden House. Mrs. Sagara rents out rooms there, and Rook thinks there is a girl living in one of the apartments, even though his mother's records don't indicate this. After spying on the building, the kids see a mysterious woman, Ms. Smith, set fire to a doll on the balcony. When they hear that a local girl, Lottie, has been kidnapped, they assume the worst. Since Vallory's mother is dating a policeman, Burke, Vallory lies to her mother about being at Make-a-Pot, and continues to visit Rook, even though Ms. Smith complains to Mrs. Sagara. The two continue their investigation, even bringing in Vallory's former friend Tiff who was told not to hang out with Vallory after she shoplifted items from the local WalMart. When circumstances turn out to be more serious than they could have suspected, will Vallory and Rook be able to save the day?
Strengths: Rook and Vallory are both children who are in need of a friendship, and the two end up supporting each other in valuable ways. Rook has developed anxiety, especially about going outside the house, that his family doesn't seem to appreciate. Similarly, Vallory acts out, possibly over tension with her mother and concern over their financial instability. Her father, whom she refers to as "Dastardly Dan", lives in Australia. While the two try to sneak around, the aren't very adept at it, and it is realistic that neighbors are upset to find that children are trespassing and harassing the neighbors, even if they end up having a really good reason to do so. Both children have well developed back stories that add a lot to the narrative. The ending is satisfying, but I don't want to give away any twists and turns. 
Weaknesses: While Rook and Vallory's concerns end up being very serious, this has a feeling of goofiness to it that might not appeal to middle school readers who want darker thrillers like the works of April Henry. The mirrors on Ms. Smith's hat made me take her less seriously. 
What I really think: Readers who are amused by meddlesome children like Fitzhugh's Harriet the Spy will appreciate Vallory's efforts to uncover a mystery. At first I thought this was going in a similar direction to The Treasure of Maria Mamoun, but in the end it felt a little more like Trouble at the Tangerine or Millington's Once for Yes. 

 

The Second Life of Snap and Force of Nature

Kelly, Erin Entrada. The Second Life of Snap
May 12, 2026 by Greenwillow Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Zuzu Santos lives in Subsidized Camp Five in a trailer. Her father works at Lockwood Associates in security, but has just lost his job. As severance, he is given a Secure Network Android Processor robot, known as Snap. He thinks that the robot will be a good way to keep track of Zuzu while he's looking for a job, but Zuzu doesn't trust anything that comes from "bounties" who live in protected areas, have technology, and are generally better off than those living in the Barrens are. Zuzu is used to hanging out with the other children in her small neighborhood that they call Bright Valley. Elias, Laiken, and Ant (the "Valleycats") all go to school with her, and like their teacher, Ms. Dagney, who isn't as fond of Lockwood Associates as she should be. Zuzu warms to Snap when he does household chores for her, and when Elias syncs his tablet with the robot, Snap seems to change some of the robot's functions. Snap now makes choices, and can lie. He is helpful to the children, detecting an old bike chain in a nearby lake that is useful to Elias, who is trying to build a bike. There is a farmer's market that the children go to, but it is a dangerous place. Elias takes a water filter that he has made and tries to sell it, but Grady, a child from the Driftwood community, steals the battery from it and breaks it. Dr. Li, who works with Ms. Dagney, still buys it from the children, and even buys fruit from Mabel for them. When Laiken's mother is ailing, the children borrow bikes from Nora and Costello from Sandtown and travel to Driftwood to try to get the battery back from Grady. Driftwood is even more fun down than Bright Valley, and Big Jim says the kids can have the battery only if he keeps a bike. Since Snap has been collateral for the bike, Zuzu has to trade information to Nora and Costello in order to keep Snap, who has become her friend. All through the story, we have known that Snap's charger is broken, and once his battery wears down, he will revert to factory settings. After a storm tears through Bright Valley, everyone survives, but the last scene shows that Zuzu was not able to keep Snap, although he does get a new battery and owner. 

Strengths: It is well within the realm of possibility that a technology company could take over the world, and that marginalized communities will suffer the effects of climate change and be housed in undesirable places in mobile homes, so the setting is quite true to life. The children in Bright Valley come from an array of backgrounds; Zuzu is Filipina, Elias is Mexican, Laiken is Black, and Ant is white. It's also likely that well to do communities will use a lot of technology. The salvage yard was interesting; in a dystopia, I imagine that the large landfills will be excavated, because judging from things I see thrown out, there has got to be a lot of very usable items there. Snap is a nice robot, which is a relief, since there are a lot of fictional robots who want to kill people. This is definitely a heart print book that merits a discussion about what it means to be human. 
Weaknesses: There are so many dystopian books. The world is horrible right now. It would be nice to see science fiction that depicted the world being a better place because children stepped up and made a difference. 

What I really think: Readers who found the dystopian worlds in Cartaya's The Last Beekeeper or Perry's Scavengers intriguing will find Bright Valley interesting, as will those who enjoyed the robots in Rodriguez and Ortega's  The Girl and the Robot or Warga's A Rover's Story. I am always confounded by people who become emotionally attached to robots that are not the Jetson's maid, Rosie. To me, it is akin to becoming attached to my microwave or vacuum cleaner, but I know that other people are different. 

Clark, Melissa. Force of Nature

May 19, 2026 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
 

High school junior Chloe Lovejoy lives on the West Coast with her mother, Laurel, and grandmother, Fern. She sees her father occasionally. Fern is a bit quirky, spending a lot of time watching the weather on television and going out to a shed in the yard. Laurel has trouble keeping a job, and there are many days where she doesn't get out of bed because she is hung over. A lot of household management falls to Chloe, who is a solid C student thinking about college, hanging out with her friends, and crushing on the very cute Curtis. On her sixteenth birthday, she hopes that she will get a car, but is disappointed when Fern gives her an antique key to the shed, which Fern calls the Maparium. It turns out that Fern is Mother Nature, and controls the weather all over the world. Now that Chloe is sixteen, she will be an apprentice, and come into her full powers at twenty one. Laurel is bitter that she has been passed over because of her poor life choices, and Chloe is a bit wary of the whole process until Fern makes a lemon tree in the yard magically bloom.  Chloe starts to read the Book of Nature and prepare for her role, but Fern dies suddenly and thrust Chloe into her new position. She consults Wade, who lives up on Mt. Kismo, after her mother throws the ancient book into the pool and there is a volcano in Switzerland. He gives her a device with the digitized book on it, and suggests how she can study. Since her friend Felix has had to drive her, he's in on her secret. After Chloe is involved in an uncharacteristic altercation with a teacher who tries to take the device away, thinking it is a phone, it is recommended that Chloe start therapy for her grief over Fern's death. Wade demands that Chloe spend more time in the Maparium actively controlling the weather, which interferes with her schoolwork. Things get strange when Laurel starts dating local weatherman Duncan Sunshine. He eventually finds out about the family connection to Mother Nature, and steals the key in order to further his television career. Will Chloe be able to learn on the job, keep the weather in check, and deal with her family and personal issues?
Strengths: What an absolutely fantastic premise! Of COURSE Mother Nature's role is passed down matrilineally! Chloe realistically tries to juggle school, dating, her friends, her mother, and all the weather in the world! The reasoning behind the mother being skipped was a big part of the story, and made a lot of sense. The father appeared just enough, and was able to share some back story Chloe didn't know. Digitzing the Book of Nature made perfect sense, and I would have gladly spent more time with Wade. Duncan Sunshine was the perfect villain, and added a bit of levity to the plot. I would have adored this book when I was in high school and all of my friends were reading heavy duty fantasy.

Weaknesses: Would it be better or worse to spend more time with Fern? She was such a great character, so it was sad that she died, but Chloe needed to work on her own. Perhaps if she had gone on vacation, and had been able to come back to teach Chloe some more and fix her messes, she wouldn't have had to die. I also wanted a little more about the weather and why Chloe's family was chosen to fill the role of Mother Nature. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want a magical book like Roberts' fantastic 2010 Green or Welch's Spells for Lost Things. I'm debating purchase for my middle school library; even though Chloe is in high school, the story is still appropriate for middle school, but I don't have as many readers for magical realism as I used to. The cover is great, so I'll order it if I have enough money next year. I would definitely order it for a high school library.
 

Raven Rising

Derr, Christine Hartman. Raven, Rising

July 7, 2026 by Heartdrum

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Raven moves from Oklahoma to Bear Creek Falls with her Aunt Coral after the death of both of her parents in a household accident that Raven believes is her fault. Since she was at her friend Jade's for a sleepover, she survived. Her father was Cherokee, and her mother was of Scottish and English descent, and Raven feels adrift from her community, especially since she has been told that she doesn't "look" Native. Even though the move has been chaotic, Coral insists that Raven start school right away, and things go badly. She gets an incomplete schedule, and runs afoul of Stella, a popular blonde girl who then makes it her mission to make Raven's life difficult. Raven misses baking, which she did with her mother, but refuses to do any now, even though ingredients "call" to her, somewhat magically. Trying to escape cinnamon at a local bakery, she happens upon a gazebo in the woods, where she meets Hazel, who is Black, and Laurel. The girls want to befriend Raven, and tell her that the gazebo might be magical. Stella's meanness increases, and in a moment of rage, Raven yells some Cherokee words at her, which Stella interprets as a curse. Classmate Will, who is also studying Tsalagi, calls Raven out on her behavior, and she apologizes. She explains that her father was interested in the language, so she's been studying it. Since there is a Fall Festival in town, and an All Hallow's Eve Ball at the school, Hazel and Laurel want Raven to enter some of her baked goods, since they are working on costumes. However, the costumes, as well as Raven's everyday outfits, run afoul of the strange and stringent dress code, creepily enforced by Mr. McKell. This covers everything from chokers to leggings as pants to hoodies, but seems inequitably enforced. With the help of the school counselor, Ms. Barton, Raven stands up for the girls at school, and also uncovers the facts that Mr. McKell doesn't have a teaching license or even a college degree! Things are  better at school, and Raven continues to deal with the grief over the death of her parents as she becomes closer to Aunt Coral. 

Strengths: Books about magical baking have long been popular, from Littlewood's 2012 Bliss to LaRocca's 2019 Midsummer's Mayhem to McClaren's 2025 Crumble. It's frequently an outlet for emotions, so it makes sense that Raven has a difficult relationship with the activity after her mother's death. It was good to see that there were students willing to defend her, even though Stella was not pleasant. Aunt Coral is great, and tries her best to make sure Raven is thriving, even making sure she continues online therapy with Dr. Marie. The inclusion of Cherokee culture is good to see, as is Raven's grappling with her mixed identity. 
Weaknesses: The main storyline ended up being about the dress code. Since my school's dress code is basically "make sure private parts are covered" I don't think the story will resonate with my students. Stella was a stereotypical bully, and seemed to target Raven for no good reason. I would have liked to see more about the magical gazebo, which would have been much more interesting. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Farr's Margie Kelley Breaks the Dress Code or Firestone's Dress Coded. 

Time Slip Tuesday- The Replay Trap

Brandt, Julia. The Replay Trap
June 30, 2026 by Aladdin
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

*Spoilers*

Sydney is not thrilled to be going to Ari’s birthday party, because she was not invited. Instead, her mother, who is concerned that Sydney hasn’t been making friends since the family’s move from the city of Minneapolis out to the suburbs, arranged an invitation with Ari’s aunt, Dr. Jae Park. The sleepover is being held at the Wildlife Science Center, where Dr. Park works. It is an animal refuge that specializes in taking care of wolves and other animals who need rehabilitation. After a fraught car ride with her parents and younger sister Dianette, Sydney arrives at the party with her gift, which she was not supposed to bring. She meets Ari’s friend group, the “Frankfurters”, which includes twins Gus and Uvy, as well as Remy. Ari likes to make documentaries, and is working on one about cryptids. Sydney isn’t all that interested, but hears about Dogman and other scary tales around the campfire, joined by Mr. Wright and Dr. Bjella. When a beast comes out of the woods and jumps over Sydney, she passes out, only to wake up on the same car ride. This happens again, and she learns a little more information, but loops again. This time, she stays in the cabin and plays Nintendo Switch, claiming a migraine. She talks to Dr. Bjella, who tells her that time loops in fiction are generally solved when the looper finds out essential information about herself and changes. Sydney tries to be interested in the documentary but is again attacked and loops. This time, she thinks that Mr. Wright is a cryptid who is controlling time. Sydney goes all in, even discussing with Ari why she is friends with Melody and Charlotte, who are not nice to others, but were the only ones who welcomed Sydney when she moved to town. The group investigates Mr. Wright’s camper, and gets more information about what he is doing. Sydney tells the Frankfurters about looping before she loops again. This time, Sydney stays home and confides in Dianette about her experiences, and the girls find a cryptid claw stuck in Sydney’s hair. Dianette has some insights, but Sydney still loops. Back at the camp, Sydney tries to finally reconcile all of the information she has gathered, and to work with the Frankfurters to put an end to the time looping. Will she be successful?
Strengths: This was certainly an innovative novel, and felt even more “loopy” than other books I’ve read about days that repeat. Sydney makes much more progress, and changes the iterations of the day more than usual, which makes the novel move more quickly. The friend drama is very realistic, and its progression added a realistic element to this fantasy. The adults involved were interesting, and offered just enough oversight and interest while still allowing the children to explore. I found Dianette’s input surprisingly valuable, as did Sydney. Readers who enjoy wolves and cryptids will like the variety of animals in this story.
Weaknesses: The time loop might confuse some readers, and I wanted a bit more information about why cryptids caused time loops, or why Sydney was involved.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like time loop tales like Bearce’s Paris on Repeat, Levy’s Finn and Ezra's Bar Mitzvah Time Loop, Cirrone’s The First Last Day, or Mlynowski and Soontornvat’s Time After Time (Best Wishes #3 ), or who are interested in reading about cryptids in books like Key’s Beast: Face-to- Face with the Florida Bigfoot or Russell’s It Came from the Trees.

   

MMGM- The Making of American Girl and Thunder and Mercy

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at

Unleashing Readers

I'm trying to find it funny that the 90s are trending, especially 90s childhoods and parenting, because that's when my own daughters were small. And it was thirty years ago; in 1978 when we were wearing poodle skirts for 1950s days when I was in middle school and watching Grease and Sha Na Na's variety show, we were only looking back twenty years, and that seemed like ancient times! With the Sestercentennial, it's a great time to take a look at some historical fiction. 

I no longer have the American Girl books in my middle school; they fell apart a while ago, but I would definitely have repurchased them for an elementary library. My daughters and I read them all, and I've enjoyed some of the newer titles, like Gilly and Valentine's Julie and the Blue Guitar. 

We never bought any of the dolls; at the time, they were very much out of our price range, (the outfits were $22, and I wouldn't pay more than $2 for a pair of jeans at the thrift store!) but we spent many hours paging wistfully through the catalog and looking at the dolls, clothes, and furniture. I remember thinking vague thoughts about saving up for a Bitty Baby for my youngest, but that didn't happen, either. Luckily, both girls had FRIENDS who had American Girl dolls, so they did get to play with them. 

If you or someone you know was a big fan of the dolls, this is a wonderfully done book, and probably the best history of a franchise that I have ever seen. Definitely take a look. 

American Girl. The Making of American Girl

May 12, 2026 by American Girl Publishing

Copy provided by the publisher

The first chapter of this book, detailing how Pleasant Rowland was inspired to create her iconic dolls and chapter books, could be made into a middle grade nonfiction book on its own, but when you add the rest of the information about each of the original six American Girl dolls, as well as chapters about the American Girl magazine and American Girl Place, this book is absolutely everything anyone could possibly want to know about this influential franchise. 

I have to applaud Ms. Rowland not only for coming up with the idea of early chapter books featuring stories about girls from different time periods who have adventures and the dolls that go with the books, but for documenting her process and saving all of her papers. It is absolutely fascinating to see letters between her and writer Valerie Tripp, sketches of the dolls and original illustrations, and even fabric swatches for the outfits. There are even reproductions of the covers of vintage magazines like Harper's Bazaar and Good Housekeeping that inspired some of the outfits. There are vintage prints, and pictures of toys and household accessories as well. One of my favorite things was a mock up of the catalog that Ms. Rowland did. How cool was it that the catalogs showed the doll as the actual 18" size?!

The chapters of the different dolls cover so much information! Whether you were a fan of Samantha, Kristen, Molly, Felicity, Addy, or Josefina, you will find everything you can ever want to know about the character. There are illustrations from the original books that portray all of the characters, inspirations for the names and outfits, details about the research that was done, and a two page spread of each doll. I'm a fabric geek, so I adored all of the sketches with swatches, and there are even prototypes of shoes and knitwear. There is information about the storylines, as well as authors and illustrators who were involved in the projects. There are even some fans depicted, some of whom later became involved in the company. There are even some knitting patterns, like the chart for Kristen's sweater! 

The chapter about the magazine was also interesting; my daughters had a subscription for several years. There are a few letters and pieces of artwork from fans shown, and some discussion of the stories about the American Girl dolls characters that were included. I somehow missed the paper dolls, but those were VERY cool. There's a little bit of information about the books like The Care and Keeping of You, but I would have been glad to know a little bit more about that aspect of the company. 

I didn't know that there was more than one American Girl Store, so the chapter on the brick and mortar retail aspect of the company was fascinating. I did have one friend who took her daughter to the American Girl Place in Chicago, and it seemed like a VERY fancy weekend. 

This was an absolutely gorgeous book, but it is 10.5 x 1.2 x 13 inches and almost five and a half pounds! Perfect for a coffee table, but a little much for a middle school student to carry in a back pack. If you are a fan of the American Girl dolls, or know someone who is, this would be a fantastic gift. Now, if Mattel would do a similar book about the creation and evolution of Barbie, that would be great! 

Barr, Jennifer Robin. Thunder and Mercy
July 14, 2026 by Calkins Creek
ARC provided by the publisher

In 1979, Theodora Underwood's parents are more interested in following their own scientific interests than in "Thunder", so she is tutored by a nanny in Boston during the school year and shuttled off to various relatives in the summer. She is used to being alone, and has a lot of initiative. When she tires of staying with a college aged cousins, she managed to travel by bus and taxi to Philadelphia to stay with her Aunt Hazel in her crumbling historical mansion in Fairmount Park. Thunder's parents consider Hazel "hippie-dippie", and certainly the organization of the house is more carefree than the methodical ways of the other Underwoods. She is very welcoming to her niece, however, and gives her her own room, specially decorated for her, as well as a notebook. Since most of her relatives were just annoyed to have to deal with her, Thunder is pleased. She is even able to have a storage closet for her own hideaway. When she finds a 200 year old letter there written by Margaret "Mercy" Percy, she carefully handles it, and when she tells Hazel about it, is allowed to keep it and investigate the mystery it outlines. The house had been owned by Benedict Arnold, and the letter mentions his wife, Peggy, and has cryptic clues to the whereabouts of Mercy's journal. Hazel gets help with the house from handyman Mr. Dixon, as well as Pop Jackson, who has two children, Charlie and Heather. Thunder isn't used to having friends, but gets drawn in to the Jackson children's plans, especially when they help her with the mystery. There is also a prowler in the area, purportedly looking for an important ring. After finding Mercy's journal, the children embark on a sometimes treacherous investigation to try to uncover the identities of women spies during the American Revolution. Thunder enjoys the hunt, and loves living with her Aunt and talking to people like Professor Maggie Kenner. As the summer draws to a close, however, will she have to return to being homeschooled?

Thunder is an engaging character who is having trouble understanding why any adults would find her company valuable. Aunt Hazel is delightful and welcoming, and her house, while it needs a lot of renovation, offers much scope for the imagination. There are hidden passages, very old documents, and other artefacts that are quite interesting. I appreciated that Thunder didn't keep too many secrets from Hazel, and Hazel gave her a lot of leeway. Watching Thunder interact with the children in the neighborhood was also interesting, and her desire to remain with a supportive and fun community is understandable, especially since her parents don't seem very pleasant.

The mystery is well developed, and there are a lot of clues and information about the Revolutionary War, which is especially nice during the Sestercentennial! This reminded me a lot of books I read in the 1970s, with plenty of details from the journal about goings on. Fortunately, the journal entries are in a different font that has some characteristics of cursive by is closer to print, so young readers can decode it Real historical characters are referenced, and readers who are interested might want to pick up Sheinkin's The Notorious Benedict Arnold for more information. There is some tension when neighbors are suspected, but I don't want to give away any twists and turns.

There are plenty of details about life in the 1970s, and popular movies and songs are mentioned frequently. Since I was about Thunder's age at this time, I can tell you they are pretty much spot on, although by this time I am not sure we would have been wearing an orange polyester pantsuits. That seems more 1975. Fashions changed incredibly quickly in this decade!

Readers who love history and are up to the challenge of 368 pages of history and clues, and who enjoyed Durst's Spy Ring or Landis' Capitol Chase, will look forward to this title by the author of Goodbye, Mr. Spalding. 

Heartland

Hoffmann, Jilanne. Heartland. 

July 7, 2026 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus 

Xyla’s Alkorn family has lived on their family farm near Muscalissa, Iowa, for five generations, but Xyla isn’t enamored with farm life. Her single mother, Cassie, won’t tell her anything about her father, and is always stressed because of the amount of work it takes to run a farm. She not only relies on Xyla’s help, but is constantly expecting her daughter to do work AND be appreciative of the family’s agrarian legacy. Xyla would much rather build Lego models and experiment with clocks, but grudgingly does the work. Sadly, she has few skills and is easily distracted, which often results in loss of saleable crops, furthering her mother’s stress. When she finds a locked box, she is determined to break into it, even getting information from the library on how to pick locks. The library in town requires a one hour round trip, but Xyla loves to be there and hang out with the librarian and his dog. Xyla gets into the box and finds her mother’s journals from 1988, but gets caught reading them. Cassie is angry, and Xyla decides she MUST find out who her father is. Her investigation is put on hold when Cassie rents her grandparents’ house to Lucas DeSoto and his children, Mateo and Alegría. Alegría, whose mother recently died, is Xyla’s age, and Cassie expects Xyla to befriend her. The two actually hit it off, and Alegría is even given a job on the farm for the summer, since her father and brother are working. While the Alkorn’s farm practices organic and sustainable techniques, a nearby hog farm, Porca Miseria, does not. After snooping in her mother’s off, Xyla finds her birth certificate, and uses her mother’s phone to contact Cash Kane, her father, who lives nearby and is an attorney for Porca Miseria. Alegría becomes ill, and has also seen a horrifc spill of sewage from the business, where her father is a manager. Xyla meets up with her father, who gives her a phone she has wanted, but doesn’t act the way she would like about the sewage spill. We’ve seen entries from the mother’s diary about the crisis the family farm faced in the 1980s, which survived because of a return to sustainable practices, and see that while things are still hard in the 2020s, it’s still possible to farm in a responsible way. The ending is moderately upbeat, and there are lots of notes on farming issues since the 1970s. 

Strengths: There are not too many books about children growing up on farms, and it would be nice to see more. There are completely different challenges and joys in this lifestyle, and it would be interesting for young suburban students to see them. Xyla’s dislike of farmwork is essential to her dynamic with her mother, and there are many young readers who have parents who have not been in their lives for various reasons. It’s interesting to read the mother’s diaries (which are in verse), and there are also some chapters that are notes from the farm itself, or are explorations of how time has treated certain subjects. Farming in the 1980s was under attack, and there could be a whole novel just on that topic. 

Weaknesses: Xyla uses a lot of creative epithets, like “batfish farts” and “rat’s bumfuzzle” that seemed overly contrived. There were a lot of complicated issues going on in this book, so some things are treated superficially, like Alegría’s fatty liver problem. This comes in at 432 ages, which may be a challenge for some middle grade readers. 

What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want to know the joys and sorrows of family farming and who have enjoyed Swore’s The Wish and the Peacock, Berne’s Going Viral (Tween Era), King’s Me and Marvin Gardens or Cline’s Bridge to Bat City. This resonated with me on a personal level. My uncles sold their dairy operations after my grandmother’s death in 1988, so I understand the dynamics of long held family farms facing issues. During that era, I also visited family in Iowa who were tangentially involved in farming (ran corn shellers, lived on family farms that were being rented out, had farming supply businesses) but had moved away from farming because they couldn’t make a go of it. I saw first hand the effects that WalMart had on businesses in small town Iowa. (Muscalissa must be based on Muscatine and Atalissa?) This was the era of Farm Aid, John Cougar Mellencamp’s Scarecrow, and the loss of a plethora of family farms. It was also a time when a lot of Latine immigrants came to rural areas in Iowa to work in the meat packing industry, and the descendents of German immigrants just a generation or two before didn’t always take this well.  

Saturday Morning Cartoons- Sama Crushes the Code

Stevens, Brin, Mehta, Samaira, and Alvarado, Jenny (illus.) 

Sama Crushes the Code: A Graphic Novel
July 14, 2026 by MIT Kids Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Sama is worried about starting middle school, even though her best friend Nancy is excited about all of the opportunities for joining groups. Since her father is a coder, she has skimmed some of his books, but he tells her it is important to practice all of the small skills. She joins that tech club at school, even though she is wary of the president, Sid, but also meets a new neighbor, Zoe, across the street. They don't start off on the best foot, but after Sama repairs Zoe's hovercraft, she gets to meet Zoe's mother, who is a computer engineer for the Screamzone amusement park. Sid mentions that Sama should look into doing something BIG with coding, and when she sees that her brother's bus driver is stressed, she finds a way to optimize the route with the help of her father and Zoe's mother. Sid still isn't impressed; if Sama had done all the buses, that might be something different. Nancy and Sama haven't been spending as much time together, but when Sama uses the ByteBunnyz game she created to introduce her brother to coding as a way to raise money for the tech group, Nancy helps out and the two reconnect. Zoe joins the tech group, and Sama feels better about middle school, since she has two good friends and an activity she enjoys. 

Strengths: "Kids doing things" is always a great premise for a middle grade book, and seeing kids involved in any STEM activities, especially coding, is always great. Middle school friendships evolve, and the portrayal of Sama and Nancy's different interests taking them away from each other was very realistic. Including Zoe, who shares coding interests with Sama, also makes sense, and it was heartwarming to see that the girls were all able to become friends. The dynamics of the tech club were also interesting, and even though Sid was slightly unpleasant, his disinterest inspires Sama to optimize all of the school buses in the district! I always appreciate supportive parents as well. There is a fair amount of coding information and vocabulary. I will definitely add this to my graphic novel collection. 
Weaknesses: Even though I enjoyed this, the plot and character development fell a little short for me. Perhaps this was due to the graphic novel format, which never has enough details for me. The illustrations were fine; Alvarado seems to have a background in picture books, but did a great job with this format. 
What I really think: There are never enough books about kids involved in computing, so this is a great choice for readers who enjoyed Yang's Secret Coders or Deutsch's Girls Who Code. 

Offsides

Gonzalez, Christina Diaz and Costa, Mari (illustrator). Offside

July 7, 2026 by Graphix

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Palmer is an avid soccer player who has torn his ACL and is out for the season. Luckily, Coach Harris and Coach T of the Jayhawks understand how important the sport is to him, and let him tag along as a "manager". His teammate Al hates having girls on the team (blaming it on his Peruvian father and grandfather's adherence to the antiquated idea that girls shouldn't even play soccer), so tries to sabotage Nicky, who has quit the girls' team and joined the Jayhawks hoping it will better further her career. Palmer's neighbor Fabiola is new to the US and learning English, but is interested in being on the team as well. So is Seba, a boy in Fabiola's English language learners class who is also new to the US. When both Nicky and Fabiola both make the team, Al is worried that his grandfather won't be proud of him playing soccer when he visits. Al's father goes so far as to lie to Vovo about Al's game, claiming it was cancelled. Palmer is asked to write an article for the school paper about having girls on the team, to help everyone accept them. After talking to Nicky about her experience with the poor fields for the girls, the article takes a different direction that manages to make both Nicky and Al angry, but which gets picked up by the local paper. Al finds that there is a field nearby that is for sale, and has a plan to get it turned into soccer fields. He offers Nicky the chance to play the hero is she and Fabiola don't play in a game so that his grandfather can watch the game. This turns into an odd sort of publicity event that involves Seba bringing his neighbor who has a petting zoo, but pressure is put on the mayor to do the right things for sports in the town. Al's grandfather is more accepting of girls playing soccer than Al and his father expect, and the team starts to work together. There is a glossary of soccer terms at the back of the book, and a lot of dual language (Spanish/English mostly, but some Portugese) speech bubbles throughout the book. 

Strengths: Both soccer and graphic novels are popular with my Spanish speaking students, to this will be a big hit. The coaches were the best part of this for me, because they modeled very positive behavior and encouraged the team to support each other and work together. Fabiola and Seba's experiences with language are very true to life. Fabiola often uses her phone to translate her conversations, which I have seen students do, but I appreciated that her mother encouraged her NOT to rely on the phone too much. Nicky is a complicated character who carries a lot of anger that comes from her personal life, and her desired career trajectory is something middle school students envision, and also adds to her frustration and anger. Palmer is fairly philosophical about being out for the season, but is still invested in his team. Gonzalez has clearly spent some time around middle school soccer teams! 
Weaknesses: It's been over fifty years since Title IX, and while the world isn't perfect, it still feels extremely antiquated for boys to complain that girls are on their teams. We've had girls on the football team at my middle school, and no one cared. I thought we were catching up, with books like Lupica's Triple Threat series or Green's Final Season, but just like the real world, I guess we are seeing backsliding in girls' and women's rights. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked sports books centering on girls playing for boys' teams, like Marino's Iced Out, or who are interested in the experience of English language learners. I'll purchase this, since there are so few sports graphic novels, but I just wanted to slap Al and his father. They reminded me of a father of two boys I coached in cross country who took offense when I told the boys they needed to run like the girls, because then they might actually win. The father did not take kindly to the fact that the girls WERE doing much better than the boys, or that I pointed this out!

A Girl's Guide to Spying

Webb, Holly. A Girl's Guide to Spying
April 14, 2026 by Rock the Boat
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

This was such a fun book, and SO well researched. I loved the inclusion of information about the Agnes Baden-Powell, who started the British Girl Guides, and her brother Robert, who started the Boy Scouts. It didn't surprise me that girls' badges included things like laundry and child care, but I appreciated the author's note explaining that things were very different in the early 1900s, and that the genders were treated differently.

Set during WWI, we meet Phyllis and Annie Means, whose brother Dan is off fighting in the war. Their parents run a shop, and are reluctant to let them join the Girl Guides because they are known to run about the streets without the proper amount of petticoats! They do join, and are later approached to be messengers for MI5 because the Boy Scouts were unreliable!

The family also takes in a neighboring shop owner whose husband is German. He's been incarcerated, the shop has been attacked, and the daughter, Minna, is welcomed into the guides as well. I loved seeing that the Means family were empathetic, even though Annie still thought that Minna might be a spy.

WWI had devastating effects on British society. Dan comes back missing an arm but feels lucky. I very much enjoyed this book, and it is available in prebind from Titlewave, although not in hardcover. I would love to buy it, but I don't have the readers for WWI historical fiction. Larger collections that can afford this additional purchase should definitely look into it. A bit of a departure from Webb's usual slightly magical titles, but extremely good!

This is available in both paperback and prebind from Follett, and would be a great choice for readers who enjoyed Bunce's Myrtle Hardcastle mysteries or Stevenson's Wells and Wong books. 

Champions of the Galaxy

Okogwu, Tọlá. Champions of the Galaxy
June 30, 2026 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Kola Adesola lives with his family in London in 2025. He’s been training for a space program for a year after his grandfather Gbadero, an aerospace engineer, has recommended him for a government project. His family struggles with his younger sister Simi’s sickle cell anemia, and she is in the hospital when the world shifts: a spaceship hovers over the Houses of Parliament, and the Onni, from the Ada’En system, announce that they have arrived to save the world. Kola’s space program is canceled, but after the Onni demand that children are to be sent with them to serve as champions and prove humanity’s worth in order to be saved, Kola is picked to represent the UK. Home schooled and a bit anxious, Kola doesn’t want to go, but the Onni have offered new technology as recompense, and he hopes they might have something to save Simi from suffering with her illness. Soon he is whisked away and put into a competitive “pod” with Achan, from South Sudan, Thea, from the US, and Dae Jin, from South Korea.They each have skills and complicated back stories, and fight a bit until they realize that is what the Onni want them to do. They are forced to undergo twelve trials, including one that forces them to eliminate one of the group. They refuse to do this, and the Onni are shocked. Their planet has been destroyed by an organization called the Alliance, and the twenty four remaining members of the society include Eika, the leader, and Thusor, who is in charge of Kola’s pod. The Onni group has been in charge of entertainment on their planet, and their top product was a show that traveled to different planets, arranging similar champion games. When more secrets come out about why they are taking children, and what plans are for Earth, Kola and his group have to use all of their wiles to save the planet. Will they succeed?
Strengths: If middle grade fiction has taught us nothing else, it's that only tweens can save the world. The arrival of the Onni is a new reason for them to become champions, which is a fresh twist. The idea that refugees from another planet are looking at what the residents of Earth have done to the planet and have decided to step in to save them is an interesting one, although after reading Falkner’s 2012 Recon Team Angel books, I know never to trust aliens who want to do something for your own good! Kola is an unlikely hero, which readers of science fiction seem to like, and his pod is a diverse group that is able to learn to work together. There are a few twists and turns that tweens might not expect, and there is a satisfying ending that could possibly lead to a sequel.
Weaknesses: I do not feel good about humanity’s chances of survival if we have to rely on today’s tweens. The message of the book was a bit unclear to me. Reality television is bad? People should learn to get along better? Never trust space aliens? This is more of a “me” problem; younger readers will just enjoy tweens saving the world.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed science fiction adventures like Johnson’s Aku: Journey to Ibra, Richter's The Star of Moon Village, Brooks’ Nothing Interesting Ever Happens to Ethan Fairmont, or Bradford’s Virtual Kombat series.