MMGM- The Unexpected Lives of Ordinary Girls and White House Secrets

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Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
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Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

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Unleashing Readers

Coats, J. Anderson. The Unexpected Lives of Ordinary Girls

September 23, 2025 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Life in Cold Creek, Colorado in 1910 is very regimented for young Stansislava. She must help out around the house, attend a kolo dance club, and attend church. Going to school and checking out books from the penny library in town are real treats. Her mother is unhappy that the family has had to move from Carniola (present day Slovenia), and spends a lot of her time praying and crying while her older daughter Stina (who is 23), takes care of the younger children, Mari and Domen. Two older brothers and the father work at the smelting plant. At the penny library, Stansislava checks out a book she thinks is King Arthur and His Knights, but is actually Katie Arthur at Knowlton College. She loves the story of young Katie, who is an immigrant just like her. She decides to start calling herself Sylvia, and asks her teacher about going to college. Sadly, when Stina decides to marry someone who is not Slovene and leaves home, Stanislava is no longer allowed to attend school, but must stay home to wash down the walls, change diapers, and do laundry. Refusing to believe that her future holds no more than children and household chores, she takes off to Denver and finds the boarding house where Stina lived. Unfortunately, she and her new husband have moved to Silver Valley, Idaho. Retreating to the local library to regroup, Stanislava is enthralled by the modern, free library, which is having an examination for enrolling students into a library training program. She meets a young Sloven woman, Jelena, whose mother in laws doesn't believe that the library is free. Stanislava helps explain to her how the library works. She stays at the library overnight, being very careful not to be found, and goes to the exam, only to be told she is too young. Miss Edwards, however, can use Stanislava's help in reaching out to the Slovene community, and also finds  Stanislava a place to live. She gets paid to accompany Anna to the mother's club meeting, which doesn't go well. Anna thinks that immigration is a "problem" and has brought civics books instead of picture books for the young. Her attitude and approach don't work, but Miss Edwards listens to  Stanislava's idea that a party would be a better tool for outreach. When Stina and her new husband show up,  Stanislava that she would rather stay in Denver with her new found family. The woman who runs the boarding house, Ursuala, helps Stanislava enroll in high school and work to pay for her room and board so that she can become educated and have a career. 

Strengths: This is the kind of historical fiction book that I absolutely adored as a tween reader; my favorite Wilder book was Little Town on the Prarie because Laura has a job. I grew up knowing that an education was all that stood between me and backbreaking work on a farm, since both of my parents came from agricultural backgrounds. Today's children don't have the same concept of how important an education is. The details of everyday life in 1910 are perfect; I was vaguely wondering why washing the walls was so important when Stanislava mentioned that the coal smoke made everything grimy! Perfect. The inclusion of a penny library, and of Katie Arthur at Knowlton College was also fantastic; I've read several books from this era through Project Gutenberg, and it's surprising to see how forward thinking some of the literature was. Oh! This was a little bit like Grace Livingston Hill's work, but without the heavy Christian themes. I would have absolutely worn out a copy of this when I was twelve, and it has enough adventure in it that I'm sure I can get readers who enjoyed Albus' A Place to Hang the Moon and Elliot's Bea and the New Deal Horse to read it!. 
Weaknesses: I know that terms like perjorative terms like "Bohunk" would have been used at the time, but it was uncomfortable to read. I could have used a few more descriptions of clothes and household furnishings as well, but that's just me! 
What I really think: The Margarita Kukhtina cover is brilliant, and this is such a fun read. While historical fiction isn't something a lot of kids ask for, there's always a few students who enjoy delving into the past, and I have just the reader for this. I have to admit that I sort of want to buy a copy of my own, and I rarely do that! 

Jarrow, Gail. White House Secrets: Medical Lies and Cover-Ups
September 23, 2025 by Calkins Creek
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Who knew that the presidents in the late 1800s and early 1900s were SO sickly!? Lucky for them, it was a lot harder to get information and to disseminate it! Even into the 20th century, reporters were more circumspect about what they let the public know. Who knows? Maybe the White House is still covering up the medical history of presidents.

It wasn’t 20th president James A. Garfield’s fault that he was stabbed at a train station by someone who wasn’t thrilled he was president, and it’s too bad that he suffered for such a long time. He was succeeded by Chester Arthut, who had Bright’s Disease, a kidney disorder that laid him low, but which was covered up. Right after them, Grover Cleveland battled a particularly nasty form of oral cancer that required extensive surgery and altered his whole facial structure, to the extent that there was some coverage in the papers. He managed to survive for 24 years, which is amazing, considering the primitive nature of treatment at the time.

Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president, had a stroke, but his wife and advisors covered it up. His successor, Warren Harding, had a personal physician in the White House because his wife Florence was poorly, but he himself had the flu and significant heart problems. We all know 32nd president Franklin Roosevelt’s struggles with polio; I know he wasn’t particularly nice to his wife, but you have to admire his work ethic, and how hard he strove to not be seen as weak at a critical time in history. He also had high blood pressure from his constant smoking.

In what I consider to be modern times (closer to my own lifetime!) we only have John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan whose health was compromised significantly, although there is a short discussion about President Biden’s challenges at the end of his term. Kennedy’s colitis and spine problems were significant, and did make the news occasionally, but he had such an air of health about him that I’m not sure people took them as seriously as they did. The press covered up a LOT for him, although knowing the extent of his medical problems, it’s bit surprising that he was able to participate in as many extracurricular activities as he did. Conversely, Ronald Reagan was seen to be absolutely ancient at 70, even though he was fairly active. He was the target of an assassination attempt from which he rebounded fairly quickly, but he also had problems with polyps and his prostate. Whether or not he had cognitive decline during the presidency is hard to determine, but he did finally succumb to Alzheimer’s at the age of 93, fifteen years after he left office.

Each chapter starts with a picture of the president and a short overview. The chapters are all detailed, but move fairly quickly. In addition to the effects of the health problems on the presidents, Jarrow does a good job of addressing the effects of the president’s ill health on the wider government and society. The addition of primary source political cartoons is excellent, and there’s a good timeline at the end of the book.

There are always a few middle school students who are obsessed with the US presidents, so this is a good choice for them, along with Spradlin’s Close Calls and Bausum’s Our Country’s Presidents.