MMGM- Playing for Keeps and Grin

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Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

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Unleashing Readers

As adults we forget about what thoughts REALLY fill up tweens' heads, because we are not tweens, and our own heads are filled with things like "What's for dinner?" and "How will tariffs affect my Roth IRA?", and, apparently, a lot of concern about everyone around us dying. Tweens think a lot about friendships, because those define who they are. For older middle school students, the idea of romance figures very strongly, and when this plays out in reality, can be very volatile. "Going out" with someone can take weeks of lead time, relationships are often short lived, and break ups are often messy and involve changes to friendships as well. 

Oddly, there are relatively few books that deal with this, which is why I was so glad to see this new Spotlight Sprinkles series by Lee Heart that includes Meet Me at Sunset and Written in the Stars. I would have devoured these when I was in middle school.

Heart, Lee. Playing for Keeps

August 26, 2025 by Simon Spotlight

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Aaliyah is starting 7th grade at Glen Creek Middle School, but hasn't heard from her long time best friend Travis for a while. She's surprised to find that he's grown seven inches, gotten muscles, and become a topic of conversation among the other girls at school, who all think he is cute. This includes popular soccer star Harlee, who is apparently "going out" with him. Even Aaliyah gets a little flustered when talking to him now. Travis is a soccer star, and all of Aaliyah's friends, including Emma, seem to be involved in a sport or activity, while she just plays piano on her own, since she is too shy to play in public. Aaliyah feels like she is "popular, but not uber popular", and fairly happy with her life, but is discombobulated without her best friend. Due to some misunderstandings, she thinks he is acting like a jerk, and she doesn't appreciate having to give Harlee information about his favorite color. The two eventually talk, and Travis tells her that an 8th grader on his soccer team, Zac, would like to take her to the Harvest Dance. This is a problem, because Emma has a crush on Zac. Travis and Harlee are in the same homeroom with Aaliyah, and Mr. Paulson has assigned them all a short "getting to know you" project. Aaliyah's involves a lot of pictures of Travis, and in putting it together, she realizes how much he means to her. She learns a lot about her classmates during these presentations, including the fact that Harlee lives with her wealthy but disinterested grandparents, and is being raised largely by nannies. Aaliyah is motivated by an insistent and somewhat geeky 6th grader, Connor, to perform a piano and clarinet duet at the school recital, and she gets a lot of compliments on her playing, even though performing in public is outside her comfort zone. Eventually, she and Travis are comfortable enough in their 7th grade lives that Travis asks Aaliyah to the dance, and she accepts. 

Strengths: It was such fun to watch Aaliyah struggle with very realistic problems, like possibly losing a best friend, dealing with drama, struggling with school work, and thinking that she doesn't have any special talents or skills, when she is an excellent piano player! My favorite character might well have been the well spoken and precocious Connor; I have to admit that I sort of hoped that he and Aaliyah would break conventions and go to the dance together! There are fun descriptions of fashions that won't necessarily go out of style, but which add some depth to the characters. Clothing is communication! There's even an episode of babysitting, which I wish we would see more in books, but which I understand is not something that tweens do as much of now. This is a great length, has a fabulous cover (the three books together will look AWESOME on display), and is a fun, fast paced read. If I had the budget, I would buy two copies of this. A new book, Fun in the Sun, is on the horizon, but I can't pin down a release date. 
Weaknesses: Are there schools that have middle school exchange students? Not sure. Although my school certainly has a homeroom that it too long; perhaps I should assign a similar project to my advisory students next year. 
What I really think: If your students really like Nelson's Cake Pop Crush, Darling's Crush books (which still circulate well after 12 years!), Dalton's Pulled Under, or Miller's Not If You Break Up With Me First, this is an essential purchase. It's also a book that adults who are recommending titles to young readers should read right now; the Newbery titles are all well and good, but if you want to hook reluctant readers, THIS is a title that will do it, not The Eyes and the Impossible. 

The other thing tweens love is horror, and this will be a title that will be HUGELY popular. 

Gillespie, D.W. Grin

August 26, 2025 by Delacorte Press

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Danny is thrilled to be spending a week with his Uncle Bill, mainly because he owns that biggest arcade in Tennesse, PixelWorks. In addition to having access to all of the cool games as well as the snack  bar, Danny gets to geek out about the history of arcade games, and doesn't have to worry that he's disappointing his parents by not going outside and playing "sportsball". On the ride to his uncle's he sees his favorite YouTuber, Mr. Griller, talking about an arcade game that has quite an urban legend around it. The game Grin is apparently privately manufactured, since only one machine seems to have existed, and this one is quite mysterious and seems to have led to the death of anyone who ever played it. Danny is enthralled, and, of course, when he is touring the back rooms of PixelWorks, he finds the very game in the "graveyard" of old machines that his Uncle restores. It was a pricey piece of equipment, $8,000, and when Danny mentions it to Bill, his uncle decides to drag it out onto the floor and plug it in. He cuts his hand doing so, but is so enthralled by playing the game that he barely notices. The next day, the vibe in the arcade is odd, and the workers, including Emma, Trey, and Sam, who runs the kitchen, notice it. Danny wants to investigate more thoroughly, and when he meets up with an old friend, Jodi, who has moved back to town, the two decide to approach the matter scientifically. In addition to reaching out to Mr. Griller, Danny watches Jodi as she plays Grin, and logs her reactions. She seems to get sucked into the game, and when Danny tries to break her trance, she gets rather violent. Danny has seen the same behavior in other arcade patrons, and even in his uncle. He himself has played the game, and seems to hear a voice in his head afterwards. Bill tells Danny that he purchased the game from the daughter of Griffin Patterson in Chicago, and after he tells Mr. Griller this, the YouTuber uncovers a lot of disturbing information about the history of the game, including the fact that the body of Gregory Heller, the Peach State Peeler (who killed his victims with scissors) was found on top of the arcade game after he was shot by police. When Danny finds Bill in the arcade sharpening a large pair of ceremonial ribbon cutting shears, as well as acting rather altered, he begins to worry. With the help of Trey (who doesn't play games), he manages to get the game back into storage, and Mr. Griller lets him know that his only chance to free his uncle from the game's grip is to smash it. Even if Danny and his friends manage to do this, will the spirit of Heller really leave the arcade?

Strengths: If there is a book that better describes the average tween of 2025, I don't know what it is. Watching YouTube on a car ride instead of talking to one's mother? Wanting to spend all day inside playing arcade games, drinking pop, and eating chicken nuggets? I'm surprised that Gillespie didn't dress Danny in plaid pajama pants, a black hoodie, and Crocs. Uncle Bill is aspirational to Danny; he owns an arcade full of weird, vintage games, never went to college, and best of all, lives in a trailer packed with video games in the parking lot of PixelWorks even though it's technically illegal. And would be glad to have Danny work for him. Also, Danny has suffered from anxiety and has had panic attacks, although these have been better since he turned to horror and started scaring himself so he could learn to cope. That explanation alone is why teachers and librarians should read this book. In addition to all of that, this has some excellent scary moments. An unhinged uncle in a trance sharpening giant scissors? A warehouse full of arcade games? The ghost of a serial killer not only haunting an arcade game but using the game to take over people's bodies so that the serial killer can wander around wearing someone else's meat suit? Oh, my! Gillespie, who did the clever Give Me Something Good to Eat, has definitely hit all of the things tweens want in a creepy tale! 
Weaknesses: I'm not a fan of creepy books, and this was a bit too much for me at times, with the game having a flesh like screen, and lots of blood and murders. However, this is EXACTLY what my students want. So that they can, you know, learn to deal with any life situation that involves gory dismemberment?
What I really think: This is the perfect book for readers who loved Alexander's Darkroom. Just look at that cheesy, 1990s style cover! I'll definitely have to buy two copies of this one, and might later purchase a third if it is as popular as I think it will be.