MMGM- How to Tell a True Story and The Trouble With Heroes

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Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
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Always in the Middle 

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Unleashing Readers

Springstubb, Tricia. How to Tell a True Story   

April 1, 2025 by Margaret Ferguson Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Amber Price’s family struggles a little. Her mother sells crafts online, and her father is a hospital technician. The family has recently bought a house, which is a little run down, but in a neighborhood that includes a library, school, thrift shop, and bakery within walking distance. Amber gets along well with her exuberant younger sister, Clancy, but her older brother Gage is becoming increasingly distant. She has two best friends, Mariah and Lottie, and there are the usual problems with them. When Gage claims that he is out at the library studying (which Amber suspects is a lie), Amber goes up to his attic room to wait for him. She falls asleep, and when she wakes up, she can smell smoke, and the floor of the bedroom is hot. Her mother calls for her, but it is Gage who makes his way upstairs and carries her out of the burning building. Amber doesn’t have many injuries, but Gabe has some severe burns. The community rallies around the family, and when Amber is released from the hospital, her Aunt Nor takes the family in while the father stays in a hotel. There is a lot of tension between the parents, so Amber knows something is wrong. The family didn’t have great insurance on the house, and there’s an ongoing investigation into the start of the blaze. Amber’s friends want to talk about the fire, and Mariah is always giving her clothing that doesn’t quite fit. When the school’s Confetti Club wants to make the family a project and raise $7,000 for them, Amber is conflicted. Her father doesn’t want charity, but she does want to reward Gage for saving her. As the fundraiser continues, Amber finds out some secrets about Gage that imperil the Price of Kindness event. When should family secrets be kept, and when must they be told?
Strengths: More middle grade readers have lives like Amber’s than we see depicted in books. The family struggles financially, but are making things work. They don’t have the reserves to deal with something like a fire. Aunt Nor willingly takes the family in, and has such an active and messy household; that level of support was encouraging to see. While her family always makes sure she is okay, Amber seems very autonomous. She takes the bus to many places on her own, and has to deal with a lot of input at school. Her teachers are also good about checking on her, and I loved the gruff math teacher who provides her with a new book and tells her that she can find solace in math. The friend dynamics are so realistic that they are painful; when Amber isn’t “properly” grateful about the fund raiser, her friends feel hurt. Ouch. I don’t want to spoil the plot and discuss what happens with Gage, but it also seems very true to life. An intriguing book that kept me on the edge of my seat.
Weaknesses: While Amber’s middle school voice is spot on, the writing took a turn into Young Adult levels of angst towards the end, which slowed down the story a bit for me. At 304 pages, this is on the longer side of what I can get my students to read, especially since the cover is not as appealing as it could be. Some of the names were overly quirky, which is not something I enjoy personally. (Aunt Nor and Uncle Neither have two sets of twins, Bert and Ernie and Bacon and Eggs.)
What I really think: Springstubb crafts the most appealing neighborhoods ever, whether in this book, the more Young Adult Every Single Second,  or the younger What Happened on Fox Street or Cody series. This is a great choice for fans of No Purchase Necessary by Maria Marianayagam or Kate in Between by Swinarski.

Messner, Kate. The Trouble with Heroes

April 29, 2025 by Bloomsbury Children's Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

During the Pandemic, Finn Connelly and his mother moved from the Bronx, where his father worked as a fire fighter, to live with his Gram, who runs a small chocolate shop, in the Adirondacks. His father passed away in the city shortly afterwards, and Finn has struggled with his reactions to this loss. He's failing in school, and is caught on camera vandalizing the headstone of Edna Grace Thomas after he was unsuccessful in kicking his father's headstone. Thomas was a big supporter of the 46ers, people who try to hike all 46 peaks in the Adirondack Mountains. Her daughter, Kelly, understands that the family can't pay the money to replace the stone, and agrees to a restorative justice program. Finn must hike the 46 peaks over the summer, and members of the 46ers club will chaperone him. This will also give him credit for his missing phys ed work, and his language arts teacher wants him to write 20 poems on the topic of "Heroes", so Finn keeps this account of his summer experiences in verse. He is very conflicted about his father's death because his father coped with his PTSD from saving people during the 9/11 attacks by drinking and working too much, rather than spending time with his family. In between going on hikes with "Cow Nanny" Annie, who runs a farm and has lots of grandchildren, "Nerd Nanny" Sam, who is a middle school counselor, and "Coach Nanny", who was his father's wrestling coach in high school, Sam delves into his father's behavior and thinks about whether or not his father's depression might have led him to take drastic action, since his mother hasn't really told him his father's cause of death. Finn likes to bake, so creates different cookies (mostly chocolate chip based) to commemorate the different climbs, even though his father didn't exactly approve of his baking. The climbs are hard, but Finn starts to appreciate the value of being in the wilderness. After discovering his father's ashes as well as the fact that his father tried to climb all 46 peaks but died before he could finish the final 6, Finn takes small amounts of ashed with him on climbs to scatter. There are other stresses in his life, like the fact that the chocolate shop may have to close. On the final trip, Finn is particularly angry, and makes some poor choices that endanger him and Seymour, Thomas' dog whom he is required to take on most of the hikes. Will he be able to survive, and be able to better cope with the difficult situations in his life after becoming a 46er?

Strengths: I'm a huge fan of Messner's 2010 The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z, 2011 Sugar and Ice and 2012 Eye of the Storm, which was absolutely prophetic. As a former middle school language arts teacher, she knows all about poetry assignments, and according to her author's note, has also climbed the same 46 peaks required of Finn. This story is extremely well constructed, with lots of clever pieces tying the characters together and the theme of heroism being explored in a realistic way. The verse format is better done than most middle grade novels in verse I've read recently, and the sonnet is exquisite. I sort of wish the whole book had been in sonnets, ala Vikram Sheth's 1986 The Golden Gate, but that would take years to write! The tie ins to 9/11 and the local scenery are perfect, and there are even some photographs of the scenery. This is a great novel to explore character growth. There are also cookie recipes included, and I came very close to making the chocolate chip ones with pretzels, since I had some on hand. 

Weaknesses: This would be more popular with actual tweens if there were less about dealing with the grief over his father and writing poetry, but these inclusions will  make it wildly popular with teachers and librarians. I'm also not convinced that Finn's cookies could save the chocolate shop, but it was a much needed upbeat inclusion. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Hashimoto's The Trail or Downing's Just Keep Walking.