MMGM- Busted and Rebel Girls Make Dessert

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Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
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Always in the Middle 

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Unleashing Readers

Gemeinhart, Dan. Busted.
October 7, 2025 by Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Oscar Aberdeen has lived with his 75 year old grandfather, Pops, at the Sunny Days Retirement Community in New Jersey ever since the death of both of his parents when they were bring the infant Oscar home from the hospital. It's been a good life; Oscar is the head of the celebrations committee that plans parties, he gives many eulogies, and he knows how to dress for special occasions in a suit, dress shoes, and cufflinks. When the owner, Frank Howell, dies, his son takes over. Oscar meets Frank's granddaughter, Natasha, who offers some explanation when Pops' rent is increased so much that the two will have to leave and find another place to live. Natasha says that the community is running out of money since rents were never raised, and her father is hoping to turn the business around by getting tenants who can pay more. It's nothing personal. To Oscar, who has been raised with a plethora of grandparents, it is intensely personal. When new resident Jimmy DeLuca, a rumored ex-mobster, has a proposition for Oscar that might enable him and Pops to stay put, he's all ears. In exchange for help in breaking out of the rest home, Jimmy will give Oscar a substantial amount of cash, all obtained legally. The catch? Jimmy is 104 and on oxygen. Also, he'll be driving his own baby blue Kaiser Dragon on their adventure in New Jersey. Oscar uses his knowledge of the facility and its staff to bust Jimmy out, but encounter Natasha in her bathing suit, on the way to the hot tub. She wants in on the adventure or will alert the authorities. This necessitates a stop by the mall to buy her clothing, and Oscar even has to purchase unmentionables for her. She is a help, however, in taking care of Jimmy's hairless cat, Mr. Buttercup, on the road. Jimmy's "bucket list" starts off fairly tamely, with a fantastic dinner at an Italian restaurant. Oscar isn't happy with the "dine and ditch" approach, so he goes back to leave some of Jimmy's cash, which makes the next stop, picking up a $300 cigar, a bit more difficult. Oscar ends up getting punched, hence the black eye on the cover. Jimmy wants to apologize to his colleague, Thumbs, who is in prison, while Jimmy got away, and Jimmy somehow knows that Oscar has someone he needs to speak to there as well. The group visits the house where Jimmy lived with his wife and daughter Maria, and learn that the daughter's untimely death is what led Jimmy into a life of crime that he deeply regrets. There is a stop at a tattoo parlor, and also a gambling den, where Jimmy loses the car in a game of high stakes poker. Since the group needs wheels to get around, they steal a car. When a silver alert appears on the news, they realize that the kids' phones are being tracked, and turn them off. Jimmy's final item is to sit on the beach, where he was happy with Maria. Oscar is alarmed to find out that Jimmy's oxygen tank is almost empty, but Jimmy is not. Even though the police are closing in, the day is over for the group anyway, especially for Jimmy.

Strengths: I've been a fan of breaking senior citizens out of facilities since Cooney's 2006 Hit the Road, so getting Jimmy the Wrench out of Sunny Days was a great adventure. His possible dealings with the Mob makes this even more appealing; what middle schooler doesn't harbor vague thoughts of being on the wrong side of the law? Oscar doesn't, of course, since he has learned the most polite behavior on God's green earth, dagnabit. That's where having Natasha along for the ride comes in handy. She has a reason for seizing the day, and does it with a vengeance. The pacing of this books was particularly well done; we get just enough of Oscar's daily life to become invested in his continued residence, but are soon compelled onto the road in a sweet car with a complicated older individual. We don't get enough time with Jimmy, but what we learn of him is realistic, and his end, while a little sad, makes sense. I know that Gemeinhart's 2019 The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise has LOTS of fans among teachers and librarians; this will be a much bigger hit with actual tweens, since there is more adventure and less soul searching. 

Weaknesses: Is it possible that middle grade books involving senior living communities is becoming a trend? We've seen this theme since Sonneblick's 2005 Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, but I've not really talked with my students about how much they are interested in this. Also, Gemeinhart seems to be fond of killing off parents; this had a complicated, very realistic backstory twist that I don't want to spoil, but I did prefer Korman's artifice of having his main character's parents in Belgium with international careers so he could like in a senior facility with his grandmother in Old School. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like roadtrips with senior citizens and classic cars, like Cartaya's new A Hero's Guide to Summer Vacation, Bradley's The Road to Wherever, or Ponti's The Sherlock Society. The East Coast setting also reminded me a bit of Nokowitz's The Prince of Steel Pier. 

Rebel Girls Inc. Rebel Girls Make Dessert: Kid-Tested Recipes YOU Can Make, Bake, and Share!
October 28, 2025 by Ten Speed Press
E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus

I'm a huge fan of reading cookbooks. Cooking, not so much, but I think that having read a lot of cookbooks helped me to be a decent cook. Middle grade readers would benefit tremendously from books like this, that start with some cooking basics, like how to dust something with powdered sugar, melt butter in the microwave, etc. There are great photos of the end products, and even mini biographies of women who are involved in the world of cooking. 

Some of the recipes are what I would consider new fangled, because of the ingredients that are rather exotic. This isn't a bad thing; I just don't see myself making Almond-Butter Miso Cookies with Chocolate Chunks. The homemade Oreos were interesting, even though if you really want to replicate the filling you need Crisco instead of butter. Can't imagine modern children doing that! 

There are also chapters for cakes and cupcakes, fruit desserts, pastries, puddings, and pies, and frozen treats. I think a lot of kids starts cooking with cookies and other desserts, so this book would be a good gift for an eight year old who has just been granted supervised kitchen privileges. 

In the back of my mind, I keep thinking that real rebel girls don't cook. They take shop instead of home ec. Of course, now there's neither of those classes offered in schools, and I no longer understand modern feminism, so that's a me thing, along with thinking that buying boba and guava paste are impossibilities. Modern children will love this as much as I loved my Betty Crocker Cook Book for Girls and Boys.