Bang!: The Art, History, and Science of Fireworks and The Magic of Someday Soon

Miller, Ron. Bang!: The Art, History, and Science of Fireworks
March 3, 2026 by Twenty-First Century Books
Coopy provided by the publisher

My students frequently have projects assigned where they have to read a 100 page narrative nonfiction book and complete a scavenger hunt and report. It's hard to find books that are interesting and informative and meet the project criteria. Bang! is a book that I am definitely looking forward to recommending to my students!

Not surprisingly, the origins of fireworks are largely military, but I loved all of the science and chemistry behind the different fireworks. It's fascinating that we have descriptions as far back as the 1260s describing how to make some of the combinations. I don't think that Roger Bacon's prose (originally written in Latin!) will be useful to anyone wanting to manufacture fireworks now, but it is fun to read.

The art of fireworks will intrigue a wider array of readers, and knowing that the first public display in the Western world was for King Henry's marriage to Elizabeth of York in 1486 was fascinating. I especially liked the description of "green men" who set off fireworks. They were called this because they layered themselves in leaves to protect their skin and clothes from catching fire! The chapter on how fireworks are made today includes needed information on safety precautions, as well as a variety of records set by different displays.

My favorite chapter was probably the one on professional and consumer fireworks, because it highlighted Phantom Fireworks, the largest US distributor. They are based in Youngstown, Ohio, close to my hometown. There is also a discussion of various laws and etiquette surrounding setting off displays, and well as an intriguing description of indoor fireworks and substitutes for them.

The technology behind fireworks also comes into daily life in items such as matches, signal rockets, flares, flash bangs, movie explosions, and even car air bags! Of course, they are used around the world to celebrate a variety of holidays. The final chapters of the book include a discussion of fireworks as a hobby as well as the future of fireworks. The book ends with source notes, websites, a list of pyrotechnic clubs, and an index.

This is a beautifully formatted book that includes a lot of bright red and yellow. There are lots of photographs, as well as period illustrations. There are diagrams, charts, and sidebars, as well as bold print paragraph headings. Those projects and scavenger hunts I mentioned? They all call for students to identify these facets of nonfiction texts! The print is on the smaller side, but this would be a great inclusion for all middle school and high school libraries.

Lee, Michelle. The Magic of Someday Soon

March 3, 2026 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Zoe's father passed away when she was very young, and for the past eight years she has been constantly at her artist mother's side as she travels the country as the Upcycle Magician, completing projects before packing up their aged car Geraldine and moving on. When Zoe signs a contract on her  mother's behalf to complete a project in her father's hometown of Maravel, Florida, her mother isn't pleased, but can't be too angry. When the two arrive in the small town, they find that the mechanic who is towing and fixing their car is the father of the "city council person" who asked them to come! Teddy is being raised by her uncle Jeremy, and is invested in honoring the legacy of her great grandparents, who ran Fossil Gardens in the 1970s and 80s. It was a tourist attraction with dinosaurs made out of scrap, so a perfect project for Zoe's mother, but the gardens have had multiple sink holes underneath of the property, which is now owned by the Altamontes. Their son, Nick, is Teddy's age, but her archnemesis due to an incident when the two were in kindergarten. Smoothing everyone's ruffled feathers in her father's Grandma Dee, who runs a local tea shop and has an otherworldly, magical air about her. She's thrilled to put up Zoe and her mother while their car is fixed, and the mother does agree to fix the two remaining "fossils", Bobby and Rita, who are moved from the gardens to Dee's lawn. Zoe desperately wants to stay in one place, and loves hanging out with Dee, who plies her with almost magical tea and a quantity of baked goods. Teddy is relieved that Bobby and Rita will be restored and appreciated, but a heavy storm opens up another sinkhole, this time in Dee's yard, and both statues are sucked under. There's a lot of agitation as Zoe has to deal with going back on the road and Teddy has to process her loss and also make amends with Nick. Will things work out for everyone in Maravel?
Strengths: I am absolutely all about vintage tourist attractions, motels, or relics from grandparents, so I really enjoyed this story. It was also good to see both Zoe and Teddy make a friend with someone who understood their losses. Maravel was a very fun setting, and I could just envision Bobby and Rita sitting all alone in a field, with foliage growing up through them. Grandma Dee is delightful, and perhaps even a little magic. There's a satisfying conclusion to the story, and everyone is happier at the end than at the beginning, which is always a relief. 
Weaknesses: The cover makes this look very young, and also promises a little more magic than is actually involved in the story. 
What I really think: This felt a little like a cross between Lloyd's A Snicker of Magic and Lute's Dinner at the Brake Fast or Berry's Heart Finds. The closest comparison is Freeman's Trashed, which I absolutely loved but which isn't circulating as much as I would like. 

MMGM- Follow the Water and Mary Oliver

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at

Unleashing Readers

Cochrane, Ellen. Follow the Water: The Unbelievable True Story of a Teenager's Survival in the Amazon
March 17, 2026 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
ARC provided by Books Forward

Julianne Koepcke's survival in the Amazon after a plane crash in 1971 is a riveting story that has been covered before in Olson's 2018 Lost in the Amazon: A Battle for Survival in the Heart of the Rainforest as well as her own 2012 memoir When I Fell from the Sky: The True Story of One Woman's Miraculous Survival. Follow the Water frames this true story in a way that will appeal to middle grade readers, with details about Koepcke's life before and after this tragic event and a lot of additional information about a variety of topics, such as wildlife in the Amazon, rainforest leaves, and bacteria and viruses.

Raised by biologist parents in Peru, in a remote research facility dubbed "Panguana", Juliane learned a lot about her environment and how to survive in it. When she reached high school age, she was required to attend a school in Lima. Right before Christmas in 1971, her mother visited her, and the two got on a small plane to return home.

When the plane went down, Juliana fell two miles to Earth, but sustained relatively few injuries. This was because her airplane seat was attached to another, so fell in a manner similar to a maple tree seed, which slowed her down, and she then fell through densely packed liana vines. She had a spinal cord injury and a broken collar bone, and ended up with just her dress, one shoe, and a handful of food she was able to find in the wreckage. Heeding her father's advice that she "follow the water", she traveled down the river despite her injuries. She was fairly fortunate that she was not attacked by any animals, although she did have maggots in her wounds and ended up with an infection from drinking the water. After eleven days, she came across a boat that she thought about taking, but also found a cabin and some woodcutters, who were very surprised to see her but took good care of her and helped her get to safety.

After this experience, Koepcke continued her studies. She worked as a librarian in Munich and eventually followed in her parents' footsteps to protect the Peruvian wilderness, often facing political difficulties. She specializes in bats, and continues to advocate for the rainforest.

I loved the factual details sprinkled throughout the book, but my favorite concerned the filmmaker Werner Herzog, who adapted her story into the 1998 film Wings of Hope. He had a personal connection to her story because he and his crew were waiting in line at the same airport as Koepcke but were unable to get on the flight, saving their lives!

The research that Cochrane did is extensive, and there is a great list of sources that includes books as well as multiple web sites. The story moves quickly, and has just enough detail about the events before and after the crash to add an extra level of interest. Hand this to readers who like true survival tales like Sole Survivor by Norman Ollestad or fictional ones like Into the Rapids by Anne Braden. 

Frankel, Erin and Hu, Jasu. Mary Oliver: Holding On To Wonder

October 14, 2025 by Astra/ Calkins Creek

Copy provided by the Publisher

Born in Cleveland in 1935, Mary Oliver loved being outside, and enjoyed how natural elements made her feel happy. How could see capture that feeling? She loved reading poetry, and even wrote to the sister of recently deceased poet Edna St. Vincent Millay to ask if she could visit her home. She graduated from high school, and after several visits to Millay's home, accepted a job helping to organize her papers. She started publishing her peomes, and lived in Cape Cod with photographer Molly Malone Cook. Despite growing fame, Oliver remained devoted to capturing the joy in quiet, beautiful moments in her poetry, and taught at many places until her death from lung caner in 2019. 

Oliver's work seems to be very popular, and is much quoted. This picture book biography captures the same dreamy feel of her nature poems in both the lyrical text and misty, ethereal illustrations. There is an author's note, timeline, and list of resources, making this well suited for research. 

Have this book on rotation for April, National Poetry Month, along with Fountain and Turnham's The Poem Forest: Poet W. S. Merwin and the Palm Tree Forest He Grew from Scratch, Bober and Gibbon's Papa is a Poet: A Story About Robert Frost, Clinton and Qualls' Phyllis' Big Test, and Rogers and Groenick's Sixteen Words: William Carlos Williams and the Red Wheelbarrow, and especially Starflower: The Making of a Poet, Edna St. Vincent Millay by Farkas, Vizzo, and Dwyer. 

Full confession: I am not a fan of Oliver's poetry. Millay, yes. Timothy Steel, absolutely. Oliver's work reminds me of poems that were printed on greeting cards in the 1970s. I'd love to see a picture book biography of Edna St. Vincent Millay, however. 

Olivia Gray Will Not Fade Away and When Tomorrow Burns

Burch, Ciera. Olivia Gray Will Not Fade Away

March 17, 2026 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
 

Olivia is starting 7th grade, and is fortunate enough to have a good group of friends. Her brother, Malcolm, has come out as gay, and Olivia's parents have thrown a party for him as a way to be supportive. Olivia used to spend a lot of time in the school library, talking to Mrs. Cassidy and showing her her sketchbook, but when she checks in this year, she finds to her surprise that she has retired and been replaced by a young, hip librarian, Ms. Amelia. When a 7th and 8th grade formal is announced, Olivia's friends want to share all of the gossip on a social media app called KruShh, which Nessa helpfully downloads for her. Olivia doesn't have much interest in in, but does spend a Friday evening scrolling through it when Malcolm forsakes the family movie night for a date. There's all kinds of drama on KruShh, but Olivia has little interest. She's annoyed when Robbie, a boy her friends think is cute, leaves a note asking her out. She isn't quite sure who left the note and says "no", and things get out of hand on KruShh. Olivia meets Jules in the library; Jules is nonbinary and has asked Miss Amelia for books to help. The odd thing is that both Olivia and Jules have an odd condition; they get headaches, feel tingling in their limbs, and then are invisible to everyone around them. Miss Amelia is the only other person who can see them. As the drama over the dance escalates, Jule and Olivia have a misunderstanding. Eventually, Olivia realizes that she is aromantic and doesn't share the same interest in having relationships that her friends do.

Strengths: Olivia's experience in middle school is given an allegorical twist as she feels invisible and actually physically manifests that feeling. This is a book that is definitely on trend and embraces the cultural zeitgeist when it comes to sexual identity. It also has plenty of tween drama and an especially evil form of social media in KruShh. Olivia's parents are probably the best characters as they try really hard to support Malcolm, but in the cringiest ways possible. 
Weaknesses: Being "invisible" in the real world is not particularly pleasant all the time (try being Mrs. Cassidy, Olivia! I'm sure she was probably about 55-60; people don't usually stay in teaching until they are 80.), but if people ACTUALLY turned invisible, it would be an interesting experience. I prefer Kessler's Have Anyone Seen Jessica Jenkins or Thompson's The Day I was Erased for fun stories about tweens becoming invisible. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Gino's Alice Austen Lived Here or Riley's Jude Saves the World. 

I feel really seen and perhaps a bit irritated by the following description: "Mrs. Cassidy has been nice but tired and had listened to Olivia the way a grandma would, fondly and with vague interest." (page 96 of the e ARC). Ms. Amelia, with her dark purple hair, sneakers, and nose ring is brand new. She will learn soon enough that she won't have the energy to teach six classes a day while power washing 30 Chromebooks AND weeding the collection in her downtime if she spends time counseling tweens who find the cafeteria overwhelming during her "lunch". Mrs. Cassidy was probably trying to answer e mails while talking to Olivia about her drawings. I do have a bit of concern for Ms. Amelia; there are places where she would be putting her job in jeopardy for sharing her own aromantic identity with students. I'm not saying it's right, I'm saying that we live in perilous times. 
 

Keller, Tae. When Tomorrow Burns

March 3, 2026 by Random House Books for Young Readers

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Nomi, Violet, and Arthur used to be close friends, but as middle school wears on, they spend less time together. Arthur broke away first, spending more time with the boys on the cross country team, in part because he has a crush on Nomi and doesn't think she likes him that way. Nomi does, but she is obsessed with an old book the three kids found in Arthur's fathers' gallery. She thinks that the poems are prophetic, based on how things in her life were able to be interpreted. Violet is more interested in boys than Nomi, which Nomi finds irritating even though she has a crush on Arthur. There are wildfires in the area surrounding their Seattle home, so when Violet shows up wearing an uncharacteristic all pink outfit, Nomi thinks that the combination of pink and gray is signifying the end of her world. Violet is angry about her  mother's blog, and when Lucas asks her to send him a compromising selfie, she does. She thinks he won't share it with anyone. Nomi goes full speed ahead to try to solve the mystery of the book, even contacting a scientist after she says something very similar to one of the prophecies. We also hear a back story of the book from the perspective of the trees. When Lucas shows other boys the picture of Violet in her bra, Nomi goes on the war path and attacks Lucas. This puts her scholarship in jeopardy, and since her single mother is struggling financially, she would have to leave the private school. Violet wants to quit and go to public school with Nomi, and the girls cause a fire when burning some of the unflattering sketches Lucas has spread around school. Luckily, Arthur saves the day by providing proof to the principal. 

This reminded me of Rebecca Stead's 2015 Goodbye, Stranger. I appreciated the author's note that we shouldn't try to hide the horrible things going on in the world from tweens, but I'm not sure that the compromising selfie plot ARC will resonate with my students. Our school dress code is literally "all private parts must be covered", and there have been girls coming to school in low rise jeans and tube tops, which are much more revealing than bras. The cover makes this look like it might be about climate change, and there are glimmers of that, but it's more about social media use and friend difficulties. Hand this to students who will appreciate the interstitial Greek chorus sections from the point of view of the trees. 
 

Saturday Morning Cartoons- The Lionharts and Zicky: Wrath of the Rat King

Lawrence, Michael. The Lionharts #1
March 3, 2026 by Abrams Fanfare
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

This graphic novel is set in a medieval world similar to Alexanders Chronicles of Prydain. The Lionharts have a Family Quest business taking care of magical problems for clients from their timbered building in a world where there are dragons and ogres. The parents tend to do most of the work that requires travel, although a standing job is clearing harpies out of Farmer Grunk's hayloft. This leaves Alder to run the counter in the shop while Grandma Dotty and Baba Gilbert (who are retired) take care of the house and Alder's younger brother, the exuberant if misguided Flynt. When a mysterious woman (who looks a bit like the Red Queen in Alice in Wonderland) books an appointment to find a missing treasure, the weary parents head out alone, despite Alder's pleas to be allowed to help. When they don't come back for several days, Alder worries, and he and Flynt head out to find them. They meet Ferg, a troll who says they headed off toward the bog, as well as Clump, an ogre. They begin to worry that perhaps Maude, the dragon that Grammy Dotty took care of, has returned. When mists in the forest lead them astray, they end of at the cottage of Gloria, an elf who is Baba's ex-girlfriend. Joined by their grandparents, they learn that their parents are heading up the mountain. Grammy asks Gloria to watch the boys, but her idea of keeping them safe if much different. The three take a magical boat up the mountain, and Gloria turns the boys into a turtle and frog so that they can swim underwater to get into Maude's cave. Once there, they find their parents and grandparents engaged in battle with a surprising foe, and family secrets are revealed. Eventually, things are resolved, and Alder and Flynt are allowed to go on more quests with their parents.
Strengths: Middle grade adventures are so much better when parents are involved. Throw in a heroine grandmother, and this is as good as it gets. Of course, parents occasionally get kidnapped and need to be saved, so Flynt and Alder get to have plenty of adventures on their own. There are plenty of medievalish quest fantasy novels, but very few in graphic form. This even starts with a map of the kingdom, and includes all of the standard fantasy tropes and characters. The inclusions that make this feel fresh are the parents and grandparents, especially the stong mother and grandmother, and the fact that the boys don't seem to have been trained for adventures. The artwork is a little brighter and more modern feeling than I would have expected for a medieval adventure, but this also makes the story a bit fresher. While fantasy books haven't been circulating well in my library, graphic novels have. I'll definitely purchase this, and try to use it as a gateway for the many, many fantasy novels that are in my school library, especially ones like O'Donnell's Homerooms and Hallpasses.
Weaknesses: I rather wanted Flynt to get eaten by a dragon. He was annoying. Of course, I am an older sister, so I naturally sided with the more responsible Alder. I also have some questions about the advisability of leaving the boys with Gloria. There's definitely more to her story.
What I really think: While I personally will never quite understand the appeal of traveling up mountains, through forests, and underground (either through water or earth), fantasy readers love this sort of adventure. The closet graphic novel to this title is Aldridge's Estranged, and readers who enjoyed Yogis and Truong's City of Dragons series, Messenger, Freen, and Chianello's Keeper of Lost Cities adaptation, Siegel's 5 Worlds adventures, Sedita, Seraydarian, and Hamaker's Pathfinders books or Kurtz' Table Titans Club Dungeons and Dragons camp stories will be glad to see this classic quest tale given a graphic novel treatment.  

Cape, Darin S. (author), Hainsworth, Shawn (Editor) , Decrux, Zeno Decrux and Gabotto, Hiorsh Gabotto (Illustrators). Zicky: Wrath of the Rat King

April 14,  2026 by SHP Comics (Date changed from March)
Copy provided by the publisher

Zachary is almost five years old and lives with his parents and older brother and sister. He has a very active imagination, and spends his nighttime and nap hours fighting the Rat King in a fantasy world where he is an older character called Zicky. When he goes missing one morning and the police have to be called, it's clear that his two worlds are mixing. He has rats in his bedroom, and a dog he has in the imaginary world appears and his sister adopts it. The Rat King wants his ring (actually a binky), and there's lots of fighting. The rats eventually come in to other parts of town in the real world. An exterminator is called, but he is no match for giant rats. Zachary has a potion that will make the rats larger and even turn him into Zicky in the real world. When his family experiences the giant rats and Zicky, they are suitably alarmed, but when Zachary is done having the Rat King in his real life, a Deus ex machina called The Ghost in the Machine comes in and cleans up all of the messes so that Zachary can go back to his regular life. 

This was a rather trippy, comic book style graphic novel that was a bit like Kochalka's The Glorkian Warrior books or Angleberger's The First Cat in Space; I just don't get the humor. The rats icked me out, and the Manga style Rat King world was deeply unpleasant as well. This will probably make it iristible to young readers in the way that Paul Zindel's classic Rats and Doomstone has been! Those who aren't grossed out by Savage's Laser Moose and Rabbit Boy might pick this up. Even though SHP Comics is an independent publisher, this is available through Follett Titlewave and was reviewed by Kirkus. I'll put this copy in my library (I don't put all books I receive in my library!). Take a look to see if it might be right for yours! 

Queso, Just in Time

Cisneros, Ernesto. Queso, Just in Time

March 10, 2026 by Quill Tree Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
 

Quetzalcóatl Castillo, known as Queso, lives with his mother in Orange County, California. He's having a hard time after his father's death, especially now that his grandmother has moved back to Mexico. He really likes his school, especially his teacher Mr. Gleason and the energetic librarian, Ms. Maldonado, and has two best friends, Martín, and Marisol, who has recently changed pronouns to they/them with the support of their grandparents. Still, even though he's been in therapy, he constantly wishes he had more time with his father before he was shot by an intruder in their back yard. One night, he can't sleep and goes out to the treehouse that his father built. He finds a rabbit, and falls asleep cuddling "Horchata". When he wakes up, things are off. The house looks newer, and when he sees some delivering a newspaper he finds out that it is March 1, 1985! He literally runs into his father, Pancho, who is also 12. Queso introduces himself as Tajín (a commercial spice blend that was not readily available in the 1980s), and Pancho takes him back so that his mother, Queso's beloved grandmother, can bandage his leg. Queso also gets to meet his namesake, his grandfather who died when he was very young. There are questions about why Queso doesn't call home, and the Castillo's end up not only letting him stay with them but also enroll him in Pancho's school as his cousin from Mexico, saying that many students lack documentation. He meets Lucy, a girl who is at the library looking for books with gay representation, only to find that those books are filed under "Abnormal Psychology", and tries to broaden understanding in his school. Mainly, he enjoys spending time with his father in a completely different time period. Eventually, he realizes that he has to return to his mother, and finds the strength to do so after talking to his grandfather.

Strengths: I'm really surprised that there aren't more middle grade novels involving meeting parents as children because it's such an interesting idea! Queso is able to see how things were different in the past, especially when it came to treatment of people who identify on LGBTQIA+ spectrum and for people of color, and there's lots of good information about books, libraries, and librarians. There's an especially delightful twist at the end, and I would bet money that Ms. Maldonado is named after author Torrey Maldonado! It's a lot of fun that Pancho lived in the same house that Queso currently lives in, and there are so many feel good moments about the interactions that Queso has with his family. His visit to the past also has some positive effects on the present, since he encouraged Pancho and provided some coping skills for studying, although he is not able to prevent his father's death. Fans of this author's Falling Short and Efrén Divided will be glad to see this new title, which has a fabulous cover.

Weaknesses: I wish we had seen a little bit more about Queso's life in the present day, perhaps with more of his grandmother. In 1985, I wish there had been a few more details about daily life, although there are a decent number. Today's children really can't grasp how different the world was then. I would have enjoyed this more if the Queso had been fighting with his father, but came to a new understanding about him while in 1985 that improved their relationship, because the dead parent trope is just never my favorite. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Page's Rewind or Welford's Time Traveling with a Hamster. There's another book, Sue Corbett's 2002 Twelve Again (author right around Connor, published before 2005) where a boy's mother is twelve at the same time that he is! Just weeded that, but look how much cover art styles have changed in 20 years! 

Here Lies a Ghost

Bourne, Shakira. Here Lies a Ghost
March 3, 2026 by Scholastic Press

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Jermaine is struggling after the death of his father, but is trying very hard to secure a place with the cool boys on the track team, the Turbo Jets, in his school in Barbados. He has a tenuous friendship with Brody, a taller boy who is red haired and pale skinned and takes after his mother. Jermaine invites the wealthier boy over to his house, and is embarassed when Brody leaves suddenly after realizing that the bathroom is outside. That's not the reason Brody left; he has his own secrets. When the Turbo Jets (or Turbo Trolls, as Brody calls them) dare Jermaine to spend time in the Chase Vault at the local cemetery, which is rumored to be haunted, he agrees, but is scared when he is closed in the vault. When he finally gets home, he realizes that a Ghost is following him. He assumes it is Dorcas Chase, who died in 1812 when she was 12, but since she seems to be helpful to him, he's not too worried. Eventually, it turns out that Brody can see her as well, but after an explosion in the science lab, it's clear that Dorcas means Brody harm. The boys have to work together to try to figure out why Dorcas has not passed on. They decide that they might need to return a rock they took from the vault to be rid of the ghost, but when they go to return it, Wilton and the other boys from the track team are there are cause a lot of trouble. Secrets are revealed, and through research, Brody finds out some information about the ghost as well. Will Jermaine and Brody be able to appease the ghost and send her on her way before tragedy occurs?
Strengths: Bourne has brought Barbadian folk lore to life in Nightmare Island and Josephine Against the Sea, and ups her game by including some history as well as some friend drama in her new tale. Jermaine's desire to be thought of as cool is heart breaking, and makes his decision to appropriate fashionable tennis shoes from the his mother's hotel work place's lost and found seem completely understandable. His rocky relationship with Brody also makes sense, since both boys have a connection that is revealed at the end. The ghost is quite frightening, especially since she does seem to help Jermaine out at the beginning of the story. The Turbo Jets have quite the scary adventure in the tomb, with plenty of danger and running about. This book didn't make me want to go anywhere near a cemetery for a long time, but should appeal to readers who (unlike me!) really enjoy horrorific tales. 
Weaknesses: This is a bit on the long side, and the text switches into a verse format for reasons that aren't entirely clear. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked other books centered in creepy cemeteries like Fournet's Brick Dust and Bones, Russell's Mystery James Digs Her Own Grave, or Rushby's The Turnkey of Highgate Cemetery. 
 

Soccer Sideline and Roohi and Nate Are Not on the Same Page

Marino, Max, Bolte, Mari and Diaz, Roman (illus.) Soccer Sideline
January 1, 2026 by Lerner Publications ™
Copy provided by the publisher

Mak Malek has to leave his friends to attend a new middle school, but is excited to be on the soccer team there. Unfortunately, the night before school starts, he has a nightmare and whacks his wrist on the nightstand. It hurts, but he doesn't want to tell his parents about it, lest they not allow him to go to practice. At the first practice with the Titans and Coach Rhime, Mak falls on his wrist, injuring it more. Teammate Dougie notices, but doesn't say anything. Mak tapes his wrist and adds Popsicle sticks as a splint, but when all of the team members have to take a turn at being the goalie, the pain from his wrist makes Mak hesitant to stop the ball. He changes to a piece of old shin guard to protect his injury, but has trouble completing an obstacle course at practice. At the first game, he feels a little better, and wearing arm warmers helps. The coach doesn't put him in because of his lack of confidence and his hesitancy, but Mak still doesn't tell anyone about the pain he is in. When he is hit in the wrist with a ball during a game, he is in a lot of pain. Dougie finally intervenes and convinces Mak to talk to his parents as well as Dougie's father, who is a doctor. It turns out that the nightstand injury was a greenstick fracture, but letting it go caused a full break. Mak will have to stop playing for six months, and won't be able to ride his BMX bike or do parkour, either. Luckily, his friends are supportive, and Coach Rhime lets him serve as a coaching assistant. 

Sports injuries are rarely talked about in middle grade literature, but they do happen frequently and deserve some attention. Mak's reluctance to tell his parents because he would miss part of the season is completely understandable. As a coach, I always kept a close eye on my cross country runners and told them to come to me if they did not feel well, but young athletes are often stubborn. It was good to see that Dougie cared about his friend enough to call him on the injury and get him help. 

The end of the book includes a short biography of Radamal Falcao, a soccer player who also had trouble with injuries. The combination of problems and descriptions of practice and games is great, and I can see this book being popular with readers who enjoyed Fabbri's Back of the Net series.

Soccer is a sport that a lot of young readers play, so this is a great purchase for all elementary school libraries, and middle school collections where there are a number of emerging readers. I've been purchasing a lot of soccer titles lately, like Gibbons' Super Sub, Maddox's Soccer Goals, and Layton's longer The Academy books. 

Kelkar, Supriya and Lerner, Jarrett. Roohi and Nate are Not on the Same Page

March 3, 2026 by Amulet Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Roohi is an overachiever; she's is involved in cross country team, science olympiad, Robotics Team, and the school newspaper. She has a friend group from each activity, but is struggling with her relationship with herr cross country friends after she broke her toe and had to stop running. She has a lot to deal with at home, mainly watching her three younger brothers while her father works from home and her mother is a surgeon at a local hospital. The one place she finds comforting is the library, where she eats lunch every day to avoid her friends and to talk books with the cool, rock band t shirt wearing Mrs. Sharp. She and Nate aren't friends; he's a slacker skater boy whom she feels has been rude to her, so she's rude back. Nate's parents seem to favor his older brother, Noah, "the smart one" who is off at college. His best friend is Z (or Zach), but lately the two haven't been vibing. When Nathan sees a lunchtime book club starting, he wants to join, even though his father makes snide comments that it's :"more Noah's thing" and he has to lie to Z about where he is going. Roohi is NT excited about the club, because it means she has to share her space with Miles, who loves an ogre based book series, Dao, who is on the girls' basketball team, and Troy. When everyone votes to read a graphic novel that Roohi thinks is infinitely inferior to the fantasy novels SHE would like to read, she is even angrier. It doesn't help that another cross country runner, Bianca, seems to have taken her place in her cross country friend group. As discussions about the book start, the participants bring up a lot of personal struggles and ask for help to work through them, which was part of Mrs. Sharp's plan for the group. While she's not super pleased to have to deal with Nate, the two bond briefly over their shared love of drawing. When it is revealed that the school district is short on money and Mrs. Sharp may have to work at other libraries if librarian positions are reduced, the lunch bunch tries to find ways to save her full time position. They think about bake sales (figuring the $635 would save at least one librarian's job!), petitions, and a talent show at which the group would speak passionately about the importance of librarians. None of this is easy, and Roohi and Nate don't always see eye to eye about anything. The two eventually reconcile, but librarian positions are still cut. With Mrs. Sharp only coming to their school two mornings a month, Roohi, Nate, and the other lunch bunch group have to find their way forward. 

Strengths: There are any number of middle grade novels about book bans, but fewer about the very real problem of librarian positions being cut because of funding shortfalls. Since I could have lost my job had my district's ballot initiative failed, this hit very close to home. The cuts are realistically portrayed as well, and I love the impassioned lists of all of the good that full time school librarians do. The friend drama was well portrayed, and I felt particularly bad for Roohi's broken toe! Been there, worn the boot! Nate and Roohi are definitely different types of students, but they are very realistically portrayed; many cross country runners want to be involved in everything, as Roohi is, and are frequently at odds with students who, like Nate, are not as fond of academics. I loved that they connected over their shared love of drawing, and tried to work together to save the library. The addition of drawings to the story will add some appeal to this title, for fans of those graphic novels of which Roohi is not fond! 
Weaknesses: Roohi's situation is exactly why I don't allow students to spend more than a lunch or two in the library before I insist they talk to a school counselor to get proper help with their problems. Roohi clearly needed a lot more help that Mrs. Sharp could provide. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Varnes' Property of the Rebel Librarian, Magoon, Smith, and Murakami's The Vice Principal Problem, or Janet and Jake Tashjian's Einstein the Class Hamster Saves the Library.

Introduction to Anime and Manga and Laugh Riot

Bolte, Mari. Introduction to Anime and Manga: From Magical Girls to Pirate Kings
January 1, 2026 by Twenty-First Century Books ™
Copy provided by the publisher

I wasn't imagining it: between 2019 and 2022, sales of manga quadrupled in the United States. It seemed like my students had very little interest in the format before the pandemic, and came back from lockdown obsessed with drawing manga characters and reading the books. While I have had Poitras' 1999 The Anime Companion: What's Japanese in Japanese Animation in my library for years, I was glad to see an updated book that takes a good look at the history of both manga and anime... and also includes the LAST quarter century of progress.

There were so many astonishing statistics, like the fact that 35-40% of printed work in Japan is manga! The format goes back to the 1700s, with a variety of artwork that tells stories, but took off in 1985 with magazines. This mirrors what was going on in the US at the same time (which I know from reading Hoena and Hampton's Comic Books: A Graphic History!). While the books in the early twentieth century were largely collections of comic strips, Astro Boy, in 1951, was the first book that more closely resembled the manga we know today. He was a very popular character, based on the styles of Mickey Mouse and Betty Book. The large eyes are still a hallmark of this style. Otaku culture arose, and women started to be more involved in the industry in the 1960s. I loved the fact that in 1968, reading was the top leisure activity in Japan!

Anime started in the early 1900s, but because of the fragility and expense of film, little of the productions survive. This was not helped by a devastating earthquake in Tokyo in 1923 that also destroyed many of the films. There were some propaganda films during World War II, but most of these were destroyed. It was thought that there were no surviving copies of one of the most famous films, Momotaro, but a copy was found in 1983. Astro Boy, of manga fame, was made into anime in 1963. It was interesting to hear that the Golden Age of anime was the 1980s, with films by Miyazaki being very popular, but it was a bit alarming to hear that Dragon Ball didn't come out until 1986, and Pokemon until 1994. My children were obsessed with Pokemon, but it WAS a very long time ago!

I had not known that there were different categories of manga that targeted different ages and genders of readers. It's significant that there is not a category for women over sixty; this might explain why I don't have much of a personal interest in the books. Shonen is aimed at young boys, Josei for teen romance readers, Seinen for male students or men at work, Gekiga for adult audiences, and Kodomo for children. This last category includes topics like Hello Kitty. Some of the tropes of manga are discussed.

It makes sense that anime and manga were not as popular in the United States until the 1990s, because it was hard to get books and films from other countries. It wasn't surprising that there were a lot of bootleg media that introduced the American audience to Japanese productions. The illegal file sharing of the early 2000s would surprise some young readers, who don't know a world without subscription services like Crunchyroll, or one where the public library wouldn't have digital books from all over the world.

While I've read several books on the history of comics in the US, I haven't seen as much on anime and manga. This book is part of a larger series that includes other topics like Understanding Manga: From Fox Spirits to Fashion Icons, From Pocket Monsters to Jujutsu Sorcerers, and From Zodiac Animal Shifters to Demon Slayers. The only quibble I have with this book is that Speed Racer and Kimba the White Lion, the only two Japanese imports I was aware of for a long time, were not included! This series will be popular with young readers beginning to explore the world of these Japanese arts as well as avid devotees.

Krovatin, Christopher. Laugh Riot

March 3, 2026 by Scholastic Inc.
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Jeremiah is having a difficult time in middle school. His parents are in the middle of a bitter separation, and his father frequently asks him to take care of his nine-year-old sister, Keri. At school, he has to deal with bully Ricky Almeda, who picks on him and his friend Natt. There's even Mrs. Bunley's evil dog, Chowder, who barks at Jeremiah and scares him on his way to school. The only thing that makes him feel better is drawing a comic strip with a character called Laugh Riot who is able to strike back against all of the inequities in Jeremiah's life. Of course, even this gets him in trouble with his teacher, Mr. Clayborn, who won't accept his math homework when it has a doodle on it. All of this has Jeremiah very angry, so he pushes back against Ricky's treatment, even though Ricky's friend, Will, says that Ricky is having a hard time himself. When both Chowder and Mr. Clayborn are injured in real life in ways eerily similar to Jeremiah's drawing, he is both aghast and pleased to have this power over the universe. He even draws a comic that has him coming to the rescue of Janelle, a girl on whom he has a crush, and marvels at how smoothly he handled the situation that arose. Things get dark when Jeremiah asks his mother to take him and Keri to a school lacrosse game, and he witnesses first hand how his drawing of Ricky losing his shorts on the field comes true. However, there is also an almost fatal crash involving field lights that Jeremiah doesn't remember drawing, although it is in his sketchbook. When more and more things occur, he asks both Natt and Will for help. They set up a camera to tape Jeremiah at night, and find that he is drawing in his sleep... or when he is possessed by Laugh Riot. Jeremiah's mother and father are alarmed when he scares Keri with one of his drawings, and the mother tries to send him off to a facility for observation. Jeremiah thinks that maybe this is a good idea, since he knows that Laugh Riot has gone too far. What's really going on? Can Jeremiah manage to extricate himself from this unusual situation? (Don't want to spoil the twists at the end.)

Strengths: Had I been able to draw comics that wreaked vengeance on my middle school nemeses, would I have? Absolutely!!! This is middle grade wish fulfillment at its finest. Would I have had the regret that Jeremiah experienced? Probably not as much, but that's why this book is so good. Jeremiah is dealing with a lot; his parent's separation comes after years of fighting, and is still acrimonious. He struggles with school work, has to deal with Ricky's idiocy at school, and is just FED UP. Laugh Riot is a great way for him to deal with his feelings... until it isn't. Blowing up a math teacher's hair? Depantsing Ricky? These fates make perfect sense, even though they are cruel. Natt and Will make an unlikely team to help Jeremiah, and the awkwardness of Will inserting him into Jeremiah's life is perfect. Of course Ricky has his own family problems, and its good to see that his family gets therapy, but the real draw here is the level of evil that Laugh Riot brings to the story. There's a huge twist at the end, and I loved the way that Keri was brought into that. There could possibly be a sequel, but I'm also completely okay with just ending this tale on an unfinished note. 
Weaknesses: I've decided that all of the BEST Scholastic titles are paperback only. This is infuriating as a school librarian, since paperbacks don't hold up at all. Also, I'm not sure I understood the ending, and might have to check the final print edition, which I also hope has a few more drawings. 
What I really think: Krovatin does a great job coming up with unusual plots and scary stories, and has come a long way since his 2012 Gravediggers. (Red Rover is a demon, NOT a dog.) This is a fantastic story that middle school students will love. Order an extra case of this title if you are having a Scholastic book fair. The cover confused me a little at first (it made me think of Basye's 2008 Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go), but this was a twisty, dark story with plenty of middle grade angst that should do well with my students. The only other books I can think of where drawings come to life are MacHale's 2010 The Light and Silberberg's 2013 The Awesome Almost 100% True Adventures of Matt and Craz. 

MMGM- Let's Hear It For the Girls!

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at

Unleashing Readers

Acevedo, Chantel and Sylvester, Natalia. No Way Never Sisters

March 10, 2026 by Aladdin

ARC provided by the publisher

Meli and Roxy go to the same school in Florida and know each other, but have never really gotten along. Roxy is the class president and popular soccer player, while Meli is happy hanging out with her two best friends, James and Janette. When their parents are dating, the girls aren't happy, but their brothers, Ben and Benji, are ecstatic, because they are friends. Carlos, Roxy's dad, is a real estate agent who has helped, Eva, Meli's mom, look for a new house. When the parents announce their engagement over a family dinner on the last day of school AND drop the bombshell that they will all be moving into the same house that they need to renovate before the August wedding, the girls are not at all pleased. They are each dealing with things in their own lives, like Meli's scoliosis and her father who is working in Spain, and Roxy's mean friends and her mother who is struggling with her mental health and has moved to New Jersey to be with her own mother. . After some time together, they realize that their parents seem to be complete opposites, so they come up with a "Disaster Plan" to break them up. It doesn't seem hard to do when Eva gets up early on the weekends and starts vacuuming before everyone is awake, but the girls help the process along by giving the father decaf coffee and escalating any differences. They pretend that there are bats in the house (but real bats are found), and eventually ramp up their sabotage to involve paint, styrofoam peanuts, and a fan. This, as well as foundational problems in the house, causes their parents to fight, and even though invitations have already been mailed, the wedding is called off. Both Meli and Roxy realize that they actually want their parents to get together. They enlist their friends and brothers to do work around the house in hopes of making their parents happy enough to go through with the wedding, but will it work?
Strengths: See how easy it is to get parents out of the picture WITHOUT killing them? It's much more common to have parents have to work out of town or struggle with issues that make it hard to take care of their children. Also, there are a lot of students dealing with blended families, and there is all manner of different kinds of drama involved in that. I liked that Meli and Roxy didn't get along at first mainly due to perceived differences and misunderstandings rather than any visceral dislike of each other. It was cute that their brothers were such great friends. I also enjoyed the fact that the parents had very different styles, so there was some work to be done. The other big positive of this was the casual inclusion of Meli's scoliosis brace! I'm always glad to see that health issue represented, since I wore a brace in middle school and have had two students recently who do as well. This was a humorous, upbeat look at what could have been a difficult situation if people hadn't had more grace. 
Weaknesses: The Choco Taco was discontinued in 2022, so the characters are unlikely to be eating one. Is that picky or what? I wasn't a huge fan of the Disaster Plan, but the girls do come to regret it. (Ms. Sylvester let me know that an editor caught that and it was removed from the final text!)
What I really think: This is a great choice for readers who want to read about blended families, like Burke's An Occasionally Happy Family,  Leavitt's North of Supernova, Lynch's Reel Life,  Palmer's Love You Like a Sister, or Youngblood's Love Like Sky. I'm definitely ordering a copy and think it will circulate very well. 

Hitchcock, Shannon. Wild Mountain Ivy

March 3, 2026 by Carolrhoda Books ®

E ARC provided by the publisher

Ivy is an avid violinist whose mother Charlotte is a math teacher and whose father travels with his Bluegrass band, Will Presnell and the Misty Mountain Boys. When Ivy gets sick, she and her best friend Priya don't think it's serious, but it turns out to be COVID. Two months later, Ivy is still weak and tired, suffering from long Covid. Since her Uncle Cam and his husband Steve run a bed and breakfast in the mountains near Asheville, North Carolina, they invite Ivy and her mother to stay there for the summer, even offering to pay Charlotte to help out, since she won't be able to teach summer school. Everly House is in a building that had been a tuberculosis sanitarium, and there's even a portrait of Jessie Pearl, one of the patients, with a dulcimer, and Ivy stays in the Jessie Room. When she naps, which she does frequently, she dreams about Jessie, who communicates about things like using a feather pick for the dulcimer, and also provides flashbacks to what her life was like in the sanitarium. When her strength allows, Ivy learns to play dulcimer, makes biscuits with the cook, Celeste, takes trips into town with her mother, and does some research into Jessie's life, even reading Murphy's Invincible Microbe: Tuberculosis and the Never-Ending Search for a Cure She finds that the portrait was painted by another patient named Louise Hall, who got better and married the groundskeeper. Louise turns out to be Celeste's great grandmother! Ivy finds a necklace of Jessie's buried in a box, but loses it when she goes back home for a visit. Charlotte has decided to look for a job so that the family can move to Asheville, so they need to pack up their belongings. Ivy texts Priya to look for it, but she dreams that Jessie tells her that the necklace is where it belongs, and finds it back with the contents of the box. In her research, Ivy finds out that after two years, Jessie was well enough to leave, and had a number of children. She manages to find one of them, Mrs. Williams, who visits Everyly House. When Ivy sings the ballad about Jessie that she has been composing for Mrs. Williams, it turns out to be a tune that her mother sang frequently! Ivy's parents buy a new house, start marriage counseling, and Jessie performs her ballad with her dad's band since she is finally feeling better. 

Strengths: Occasionally, there are historical novels that are so good that I have to buy them, even though I don't have as many readers for historical fiction as I would like. This is definitely one of them. I loved the representation of Ivy's illness, the bed and breakfast setting, the parent's marital problems, and the way that the two stories were woven together. I also enjoyed the quiet ways that Ivy found to amuse herself, and how she was able to combine her father's love of the violin with her mother's love of classical music. Ivy's research is realistically portrayed, and it was such fun that she was able to hunt down Jessie's daughter... especially when she calls and ends up talking to a neighbor who is related. I would have absolutely adored this when I was in middle school. 
Weaknesses: The house that Ivy's family buys is described as having painted brick that is fresh and inviting. No! Painting brick should be a federal crime. You can't unpaint it. The same goes for wooden furniture. Just... don't. The book has a quiet feel to it, which some readers won't like, but but historical fiction fans will appreciate all of the details about the past. 
What I really think: This is a great addition to a middle school collection, since there are so few good representations of COVID, and today's readers barely remember it. Wendell's Light and Air is another good title, and readers who liked Fusco's The Secret of Honeycake, Johnson's The Blossoming Summer, or Jensen's Lilac and the Switchback will be glad to pick this one up as well. 

Hannigan, Kate and Moore, Sofia (illus.). Louisa Learns to Write

January 20, 2026 by Calkins Creek

Copy provided by the publisher

It's hard to believe that Little Women has remained in print for over 150 years, but the fact that it still captures the imagination of young readers is no doubt rooted in the fact that Alcott based the book on her own family and life. Framing Alcott's life around ten habits for becoming a writer, Hannigan shows how these habits helped Alcott develop the skills she needed to not only enable her to provide for her family through her writing, but how she was able to fashion such long enduring classics. 

Fans of Alcott's work will be familiar with the basics of her life, and the text shows the deprivations the family suffered without laboring over the fact that the father's strange habits were responsible for the often horrible conditions. If you've read Whelan's 2008 Fruitlands, you'll know that Bronson Alcott had some very strange ideas that caused his family endless grief. The book also touches on the family's relationships with notable authors of the time, such as Nathaniel Hawthorne and Ralph Waldo Emerson. There's even a bit about Alcott's involvement in nursing during the Civil War. 

Moore's brightly colored illustrations capture the spirit of both watercolors and pencil drawings, and capture details of life in the 1800s well. Clothes, toys, furniture, and even outdoor environments offer a visual background to Alcott's family and writing life. The end notes include daguerreotypes and artwork of all four sisters; I don't know that I've ever seen depictions of the other sisters before. There's also a photograph of the Alcott's writing desk and the interior of Orchard House. 

There is a wealth of back matter in the book, including a list of the ten habits for becoming a writer (which really needs to be made into a poster!), a great timeline, and a list of resources (which includes Samanta Seiple's 2019 Louisa on the Front Lines: Louisa May Alcott and the Civil War, a book I haven't read but need to!). There is also a chart comparing the people and events of Alcott's real life with those in her books, which is the best listing of these similarities that I have seen. 

There is no shortage of books about Alcott, from Noyes' A Hopeful Heart , McNees' The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott, and MacCall's The Revelation of Louisa May for adults to  picture books like Krull's Louisa May's Battle: How the Civil War Led to Little Women. I liked that this book focused on the process of writing and showed how Alcott's adherence to these principles served her well. 

Animal Titles

Warga, Jasmine. The Unlikely Friendship of Chase and Finnegan

March 3, 2026 by Balzer + Bray

ARC provided by Young Adult Books Central
 

Finnegan is a dog who has run away from his home with Samuel after a misunderstanding, and he finds himself out in the wilderness in a world of trouble when he is attacked by another animal. Luckily, he is rescued by Ryan, who takes him to the vet and then adopts him. Chase is a cheetah cub born in a zoo to a mother who was rescued from the wild. Unfortunately, when her mother is taken for a veterinary procedure, she passes away. Chase must be fed and trained by Basma, one of the zoo workers. Finnegan is very scared of storms and causes some trouble at home. Ryan lives with Basma, who thinks that Finnegan and Chase could help each other out. They do a lot of training so that Chase can perform in a zoo presentation meant to draw attention to the plight of animals in the wild, but also comfort each other. Chase misses her mother and is leery of leashes, since her mother was taken away wearing one and never came back, and Finnegan is worried that Ryan and Basma will discover the secrets in his past and not want him to live with them anymore. The friendship that helps out both animals is based on a real life program at the Cincinnati Zoo.

The Vivienne To cover will make this book immediately appealing to younger readers who like animal stories or who frequent the zoo; who doesn't harbor a secret wish to cuddle with a tiny cheetah? I loved that Finnegan was a rescue dog with a hidden past; so many bad things can happen to dogs, and they can't tell their new homes about them! At least Finnegan can confide in Chase when his humans don't quite understand why he is so upset when they are packing up to move to a new home. 

There are just enough things going on with the humans in the book to add another level of interest. At one point, Ryan wants to ask Basma to marry him, and is quite nervous about proposing. The workings of the zoo are also quite interesting; I haven't been to the Cincinnati zoo in a long time, but was always impressed with the work they do. 

Warga has quite a range of topics in her list of middle grade works; an immigrant tale in Other Words for Home (2019), a problem novel in The Shape of Tunder (2021), the sci Fi A Rover's Story (2022),  a fantasy with some community issues A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall (2024), and even a horror book in the second of the The Last Resort series, The Claiming (2026). This animal tale will be popular with readers who liked the unlikely friendships and animal perspectives in Applegate's The One and Only Bob, Bruce Cameron's Dogs with a Purpose tales, Robertshaw and Danka's Life in the Doghouse books. 

Bradley, Kimberly Brubaker. Phoenix (Ride On #1) 

March 3, 2026 by Dial Books
E ARC provided by Netgalley

Harper and her mother Beth move suddenly from Knoxville, Tennessee to Sommer Springs after Harper's father has an affair with the mother of Harper's best friend Cat, who lives across the street. Unwilling to put up with the gossip, Beth finds another nursing job and a very small house to rent where their Great Pyrenees dog, Harvey, is welcome. The rural community is very different; on the way into town, Harper sees dead chickens strung up on a clothesline, and the home they are renting is right next to a horse stable. This is run by Miss Chelsea, whose wife is a doctor. Several children from Harper's 6th grade class ride at the stables, and she meets Dante, Night (who uses they/them pronouns), and Emma. Harper is very angry about the reasons for moving, and has fallen out with Cat, so feels very isolated. She spends a lot of time watching the others ride, and talks to them briefly on the bus. Dante knows that Harper isn't talking because she is sad, and doesn't push her. When a "kill truck" shows up at the stables when everyone is done, Harper ends up with a very sick horse given to her! She and her mother do an internet search for how to properly care for the ailing animal, and end up feeding it tiny bits of hay around the clock. Miss Chelsea agrees to help with the horse, although she wants to buy it from Harper, who refuses to sell it. Harper equates the horses experience of being "thrown away" with her own father's dismissal of her. There is a lot of concern about the cost of owning a horse, which is considerable, but Harper is adamant that she be allowed to keep the horse, whom she names Phoenix, although her mother inquires about perhaps turning the animal over to a horse rescue. Harper ends up working at the stable in the morning to help pay for Phoenix's upkeep. When she returns from a tense weekend at her father's, she sees a woman, Ms. Rawlings, who is attempting to feed Phoenix and has called the police about what she considers an abused animal. There is a tense standoff, complete with nasty microaggressions where Ms. Rawlings assumes Dante is a stable groom because he is Latine. Carine Rawlings and her horse start participating in the lessons and practices, but it takes a while for her to fit in. Phoenix continues to improve, although the path is rocky. This is the first book in a purported series. 

I'm always looking for books for readers who would love to own their own horses, but I'm debating this one. While there are good details about caring for an ailing horse, as well as about riding and stable life, there is a lot of discussion about the father's affair, even though Bradley is so circumspect in her treatment of the topic that younger readers won't even understand that an affair occurred. Harper is 11, and there is talk about her attending therapy, but she doesn't manage to get to a therapist even though she is having a very difficult time. Readers who like horses will have to make it far enough into the book, and they may not, since Harper is afraid of horses at the beginning, and doesn't really want anything to do with the stables. 

The fact that this starts with the description of the dead chickens and Harper's reaction to them doesn't do this book any favors. I usually enjoy Bradley's books, but this was far more like Fighting Words than her popular historical titles like The War That Saved My Life. 

A Bunch of Stuff

Bemis, John Claude and Miles, Nicole (illustrator).
Rodeo Hawkins and the Daughters of Mayhem: A Graphic Novel
Published September 9th 2025 by Holiday House
ARC provided by Young Adult Books Central

Sidney Poblocki has finally found a foster care placements where he has a friend, Walt, but things go bad quickly when a group identifying themselves as Paladins appear out of thin air and tell him that they have to take him away to train with them! He ends up in their world, but is relegated to a dungeon, which doesn't seem quite right. Sure enough, Rodeo Hawkins, who identifies herself as a Daughter of Mayhem, shows up and claims that the Paladins have killed a number of other Sidney Poblocki's, and he is the last one standing in their way. She whisks him off to the treehouse fortress of her "femininjas", who are a bit put out that this Sidney is a boy. They try to explain the multiverse to him, and that fact that they are currently in the WoBeWo; the World Between Worlds, where things go when they vanish from other worlds. The Paladins release 400 dragonfly spies to try to locate Sidney, and Sidney meets up with Chainsaw Charlie as well as Madame Zoltana, who is working with the Paladins and won't tell him the prophecy in which he is mentioned. The Paladins eventually locate the treehouse, which leads to an altercation in the forest, where the Paladins tell Rodeo that if she hands over Sidney, everyone else can go free. Sidney manages to muster powers to bring everyone into his plane of existence on Earth, where they manage to regroup. Rodeo discovers that there are demon lords still around, even though the Paladins claim to have dispatched them, and Sidney comes up with a plan to steal the necklace that binds them and send them into a black hole. Will the Daughters of Mayhem keep the multiverse from imploding, and if they do, how will they feel about Sidney becoming one of their ranks?

Multiverse stories are often frenetic and goofy, and this graphic novel is no exception. There is a being from another planet who manifests herself as a 1950s style robot named Go, Bugbear, who seems to speak a language everyone but Sidney can understand, and two girls named Tori, one of whom has green, leafy hair that lets her synthesize food! Rodeo seems to have a lot of unrelated side missions that occasionally pop up, like when she sends Sidney to demand a vanilla soda from Chainsaw Charlie as a distraction so she can threaten him because he owes her money, or when we find out that she was raised by the cave lion Mama Onca. With so much going on, it makes perfect sense to have demon lords suddenly appear and need to be sealed in the shadow dimension! 

Miles' illustrations (which also show up in McAnulty's Save the People and Where are the Aliens?, Rubin's The Ice Cream Machine, Jewell's The Anti Racist Kid, and Ross' Alley and Rex) have a great teen look to them, and show the various levels of the multiverse to good effect. I'll be interested to see a final edition with full color, since Tori's green hair is no doubt spectacular!

While there are several middle grade novels that deal with multiverses, like Wilson's Me vs. The Multiverse, Caprara's Mission Multiverse, Lubar's Emperor of the Universe series, and Cypess and Molebash's Future Me Saves the Universe, this is the first graphic novel treatment of that theme I have seen. Fans of goofy, fantastical romps like Barnett and Harris' The First Cat in Space Ate Pizza or Angelberger's The Two Headed Chicken will love following Sidney's adventures with Rodeo as he tries to avoid being killed by the Paladins!

Kurtz, Scott. Sneak Attack (Table Titans #2)

March 10, 2026 by Holiday House 

ARC provided by Young Adult Books Central

Interpersonal relationships were difficult in Table Titans Club, and while Val is getting along better with Alan, Andrew, and Darius, Kate is especially prickly as the group heads off to Camp Owlcare, a LARPing camp. Val is very excited about every aspect of the camp, and is fully embracing the experience by being in costume at all times, but is devastated when she is not put in a cabin with the rest of her friends. Since quests are undertaken with these groups, it's important to get along with the others. Some campers, like Maria, are nice, while others, like Lilith, aren't happy with anyone or anything. There are different competitions for archery, swimming, relay racing, and going through a labyrinth, and Val is not always happy with her cabin's progress. When she sees a troll near the dumpsters, she is sure it is real, and gathers the Table Titans to investigate, especially after the obstacle course is vandalized. Val wants to make Kate less angry, and finally convinces Alan to bring her character back by using his wish school, but also encourages him to apologize for the remarks that hurt Kate's feelings. The secret of the troll comes out, and camp is generally a success. 

The illustrations add a nice level of goofiness to this engaging camp story, and there is a little touch of fantasy with the possibility of the ogre being real. The counselors are all a bit goofy, which works well to balance the darker themes of friendship problems. 

The friend drama between Kate and Alan spills over in a natural way to the rest of the group. Val is understandably upset when she is not with any of her friends, but she does manage to connect with other campers. 

There are quite a number of graphic novels similar to Table Titans, including Durfey-Lavoie's Just Roll with It, Stevenson and Agarwal's  Alexis vs. Summer Vacation, Ostertag and Bouma's Dungeon Club: Roll Call as well as the great graphic history, Sattin and Steenz's Side Quest: A Visual History of Roleplaying Games. A few other novels have plots involving Dungeons and Dragons, including Boyce's Dating and Dragons and Formato's Roll for Initiative, so fans of the game should have plenty to read.  

Sutherland, Tui. The Hybrid Prince

March 3, 2026 by Scholastic Press

** Spoiler alert! ** 

One of my students wanted to read this SO MUCH that he asked for a copy for his birthday. He got it, read it, and immediately brought it to school so he could loan it to me. I promised to read it and return it tomorrow.

I have read this entire series, but have no memory of any of the books. Fantasy amnesia is a real thing, at least for me. My student did point out that the location of this book appears on the map in other books, but the Court of Refuge is very far away (over three days flying time?) from Pantala.

Sora has murdered two dragons who were involved with the death of a sibling? (See? Already forgotten even though I took notes.) Umber doesn't want to turn her in, but feels he should watch over her, so the two run away. They end up on islands that are dangerous; there are even notes on them that say so. On one, Umber is dragged into the sea by a kraken, but he is saved by Mulberry, a Leafwing/Skywing hybrid. Umber feels very attracted to Mulberry, and the feeling seems to be returned. He wants the two to be safe, so leads them to the Court of Refuge.

Things are pretty weird when they arrive. Beryl, Mulberry's mother, is kind of creepy, and Snakeroot, his father is completely unhinged. I thought maybe he had some cognitive decline. They are unpredictable and evil, and there's also a "ghost" warning Umber to this effect, but this turns out to be a disgraced dragon, Platypus, who has been hiding and popping out long enough to protest. There are a bunch of other dragons who support Platypus' agenda, and Umber might have to fight them, because Beryl wants Umber to train her guard, known as the King's Teeth. No real indication that Umber is qualified; Beryl's just not happy with the group.

But wait! It turns out that the Court of Refuge is actually a Dungeon Isle and no one but Mulberry can leave. He routinely goes on scouting missions to bring back other dragons to "keep them safe" even though he knows they CAN NEVER LEAVE. He doesn't seem to feel too bad about that.

Sora, in the meantime, is captivated by the musician Aurora, and feels "sane" when she listens to Aurora's music; it's the only time she doesn't replay the various murders in her head. Sora is working with the library, but the guards are starting to take scrolls and burn them. Sora tries to save them, and she and Umber happen upon the lair of the tiny metal SharpWings who are like small drone like creatures that do security details. Umber fixes one of them, so they get along okay.

Mulberry doesn't agree with what his parents have done, but doesn't want to make them angry because that wouldn't help him. There's a lot of history that is revealed in the Memory Room, and lots of different characters and scenarios are revealed. I really had trouble keeping those all straight. Aurora has another concert, and Snaketroot gets up and says a prophecy poem (the book didn't start with one this time because there were spoilers). There's a lot to do with only descendants of two of the original evil queens being the only ones to be able to leave. Mulberry runs away, and Aurora finds eggs (can't read my notes), and whoever raises the eggs will be able to leave, and then the dragonets will come back in three years and save everyone else.

Eventually Snakeroot, Beryl, and Taipan, who shows up and has tried to kill Mulberry, are sent to the dungeon, and Umber, Mulberry and the others are hatching dragonets.

So that's the gist of it. I didn't enjoy it because just about every setting was unpleasant, and there were so many dragons (both past and present) to keep straight. There's a little romance between Mulberry and Umber, but it felt... kind of creepy? I didn't know how old Mulberry was, and knew that Umber was a school aged dragon, and the talon stroking and fact that Mulberry could sort of mind control others felt weirdly out of place. Also, it didn't really go anywhere-- the two didn't hang out or talk very much because everything around them was a dragon dumpster fire.

I thought the series had ended, but apparently not. I need to make better notes so that I remember a little bit about where the books are going. I'll buy a copy for my middle school library, but I am NOT the target demographic for this one!