MMGM-Attempting Connection (Gamers #1)

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at

Unleashing Readers

Myers, E.C. Attempting Connection (Gamers #1)

May 6, 2025 by Pixel+Ink

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Chell Park (pronounced with the hard "ch" of "chess:) is having a hard time. Her father, Yong, has lost his job and moved out, because her mother wasn't happy that he did nothing but online gaming after becoming unemployed. Her mother has taken a second job to make ends meet, and Chell has to leave her friends Kiki and Sloane and transfer from her private school to Lawsondale Middle School. Since she didn't tell her friends what was going on, they're mad at her. She's started 7th grade, but just trying to lay low. When she's called to the principal's office, she notices several other students who seem intrigued with the game she is playing on her phone. Luckily, she's not in trouble with Principal Gupta; her mom just asked him to check on her. She connects online later with Mario, whose mother held him back a grade and who is on the volleyball team but recuperating from a broken leg, and the two talk about getting together an eSports team. Josh Bard, who is a bit of a geek, is definitely on their radar, as is Alyx Achebe. Alex is a bit of a mystery; she won't talk to Chell, but invites her over and offers a challenge. If Chell can beat her at a game, she'll join the team. Alyx's family is full of motivated, high achieving entrepreneurs, and her family home is large, with a fully stocked gaming room. The group moves on to finding a faculty sponsor, and has no luck until they approach Same Keene, the librarian, who uses they/them pronouns and was a former top scorer in the Vorpal Blade game. The kids do some research, and try to get high scores at the game themselves, to show Mx. Keene that they are serious about gaming. The librarian reluctanly agrees, and Principal Gupta is surprisingly supportive. The library doesn't have great facilities for gaming, but everyone scrounges up what they can. Chell tells her father a little about what she's doing, but he is so busy trying to make a go of online gaming that he isn't too supportive. She DOESN'T tell her mother, even forging her signature on a permission slip, because her mother has been so scarred by her father's gaming. While Chell often feels ignored by her father, she does still feel like gaming is her "thing", and is enjoying playing with her new friends. The Gamers manage to win a competition and are able to play in a tournament in New York City, but when Chell's lies come out, her mother isn't happy. Will Chell be able to settle things with both her parents so that she can continue to participate in eSports?
Strengths: Parents who are divorcing because of the father's gaming addiction? THAT is a new one. It made me feel better that the father admitted at the end of the book that maybe following this particular dream wasn't the best idea. Having to change schools, dealing with a mother who is working all of the time and tired... this is the reality many of my students have, and it was wonderful to see it portrayed in such a realistic way. The gaming angle is fresh, and I love the group of disparate students who become friends and work together. When Chell can't play, there's a good lesson in how to be a teammate even though you can't be "on the court". Chell's lies catch up with her, and there are consequences, but her parents also listen to her and work with her to achieve her goals. My favorite part was, of course, the realistic portrayal of the resources in the library, even though I, unlike Sam, am never going to sponsor any activity that has to do with video gaming! 
Weaknesses: The details of what goes on in public schools, like the super slow internet that slows down a tournament, are usually very good, which is why it seemed so odd that Chell is reading The Hobbit as a language arts class assignment. I can't see any teachers in 2025 assigning this to a class. My eye started to twitch just thinking about it, and I had flashbacks to fifteen years ago when a teacher had a gifted class read Orwell's 1984. The level of gaming descriptions was such that I got very confused at some points, which is PERFECT for younger readers who have actually played video games. 
What I really think: While I really, really dislike video games, my students love them. Books that showcase children playing games are a good compromise. Hand this to readers who enjoyed Strasser's The Good War, Christmas' Gamerville, Ross' Game Over, or Zhao's Last Gamer Standing. Even better, wait for this to come out in paperback and use it as a class novel! There are students who would ADORE having this as a lit circle choice. 

Tree, Isabella. Wilding: How to Bring Wildlife Back - An Illustrated Guide
May 6, 2025 by Pan Macmillan
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

First, the rewilding project at Knepp is an absolutely fantastic one that should be replicated many times throughout the world. Even small rewilding projects, like the ones in my back yard and front flower bed, attract a lot of wildlife. Tree and Burrell are to be commended for their ongoing project, and congratulated for this book, which shows how important it is to support natural habitats.

This is somewhat of a picture book format, but is almost 100 pages long. The illustrations are absolutely gorgeous, with a woodcut feel to many of the larger ones. There are some photographs; the aerial view of the area before and after reqilding was fascinating. It was especially valuable to have different plants featured, and accompanied by explanations of the creatures that benefit from the plants presence.

This is probably best for third or fourth grade and up, since there are a lot of scientific or plant names that might cause some difficulties. The print tends to be on the smaller side.

This is a really beautiful book. Pair with Collard's environmental books , Roland Smith's They Are Here: How Invasive Species Are Spoiling Our Ecosystem, or Burns' The Hive Detectives: Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe (the reason for my yard's rewilding!) for environmentally conscious young readers.