MMGM- Another and some Summer Blather

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Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

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Unleashing Readers

Tremblay, Paul. Another

July 22, 2025 by Quill Tree Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

During the COVID pandemic, when schools had hybrid learning, Casey is attending school a few days a week while having virtual learning as well. The whole process hasn't been easy for him, and the stress of the situation has caused him to develop some tics and twitches. These have led his teacher to tell him not to chew gum behind his mask (which he wasn't doing!), and a classmate, Dillon, to record a video and post it with music to sync with Casey's twitches. This went viral, and Dillon and other classmates were punished, but it hasn't helped Casey's relationships with his classmates. Now that it's spring break, there's been an odd development: Casey's mother has obtained a vintage langline phone, and set it up in case of emergencies. A call comes through that isn't a robocall. It's the father of one of Casey's "friends", who asks if Morel can spend the week with Casey and his family. Oddly, the mother says that this is okay, even when the father shows up at their door with a dusty bag and takes out what looks to be a clay mannequin. There is dust in the air that seems to affect the parents, who don't seem to notice how odd Morel is. Over the course of the week, Morel and Casey bond over drawing, and Morel goes from being a featureless human like creature to someone who looks exactly like Casey. He even sounds like him! Casey has been sending pictures to his sister Ally, who is away at college, and she notices the change as well. Casey has nightmares about being consumed by plant matter, notices that his features are becoming less pronounced, and is increasingly tired. His parents don't notice any of this, and blame their odd reactions on the constant dust that is in the house. Morel's father calls from time to time, and eventually tells Casey that he will be there the next day to take him home. Not Morel, but Casey! Morel even goes to Casey's ball game, where he a much better player, and to school, where Casey's teachers think that Casey's behavior has improved. When Morel's "father" arrives, will Casey and Morel be able to thwart his evil plans?
Strengths: This was the most intriguing and innovative story I have read in a while. The way that the pandemic was just the setting of the story was inspired, and the details of online classes, pods, and mask wearing will be interesting to children who were in early elementary school back in 2020 and don't remember details of that time clearly. I loved that the parents were present and involved, but still completely clueless because of whatever spores they were breathing in. Casey's drawing is included in an interesting way. Morel is, of course, the star, and I don't want to spoil his deeply creepy transformation. This had some Ray Bradbury vibes to it, and gets bonus points for using the term "doppelganger".
Weaknesses: While the mushroom imagery was interesting, it got a bit more scientific than I was expecting, and slowed this fast paced story down a bit. Short's The Mutant Mushroom Takeover also has some of this scientific information, so apparently mushrooms can be psychologically disturbing.
What I really think: This read almost like a short story, and is an excellent creepy choice for readers who enjoyed Scieszka's Guys Read: Other Worlds, Lubar's Lawn Weenies books, Josh Allen's short stories, or Ocker's fever dream, The Black Slide. 

Blather:

This has been a very busy summer. Two days a week I'm in Cincinnati with LegiLad; thank goodness for the Pop Culture Preservation Society podcasts! Middle grade author Kristin Nilsen's upcoming book, The Scott Fenwick Diaries, will be featured here on July 21st! 

Too much time has been spent sewing. Made 22 crib quilt tops and finished 3. Also made the upcycled denim tunic pictured. Making garments is so much fun, but not a good use of time!

I'm not motivated to read because I'm working on titles being published at the end of October. So much of it is just... sad. I started to dread just about every title, since there have been some people MY AGE in my world who passed away suddenly. I know that middle grade publishing LOVES books where people have died and the main characters have to process the grief, but honestly, I will never recommend these books. I did have one student whose mother died after a lengthy battle with cancer... can you imagine handing her a book about a parent death? Unless she specifically asked for one? It's July 11th, and I've read ONE middle grade book this month. One.

My milestone birthday (which I was perfectly glad to reach!) was great fun. A long suffering friend accompanied me to the last York Steak House in the world on the west side of Columbus. It was like time traveling back to the 1970s, and the food was quite tasty! 

School is back in session in less than a month, and I'm ready to go back. I like routine, and I LOVE the first few weeks of school. Right now, though, Leo and I are just trying to stay cool and keep an eye on our busy, busy calendar so we don't forget to show up anywhere!