How to Save a Library and The Bionic Boy

Nelson, Colleen. How to Save a Library
November 25, 2025 by Pajama Press
Copy provided by Publisher Spotlight

Casey and his father have moved around a lot with his father's job as a librarian, and have most recently landed in Cornish, where they have been for over a year. It's a great small town, and the two rent an apartment from Mr. Nakamura. Casey plays soccer with Steve and Alex, who can be unpleasant jerks at times. There is a lot of tension between Casey and his former best friends Addison and Vivienne, but the cause of this is not revealed until later in the book. When the public library needs expensive renovations, Casey is worried that his father will lose his job, and they will have to move again. To try to avoid this, he joins a school club called Kids C.A.N. (Community Action Network) that is working to win a contest that will provide $30,000 to a community project. The library is heavily used, and has a huge fan base, in part because of a duck, Daisy, who comes back yearly to nest on the roof! The only two kids willing to work with the grumpy Mr. Olivera who was "voluntold" to help? Addision and Vivienne. Luckily, Addison also wants to work to help the library, since her mother has a bakery right next door. This also makes sense, because Casey and Addison's friendship involved a lot of bonding over books. Impressed by the money making ideas that the girls have, Casey tries to play to his own strengths to earn something for the project, and approaches his soccer coach with an proposal. What if his team ran a soccer camp for younger players? Sign ups go so well that the Coach asks the girls' team to do something similar. Steve continues to be a jerk on and off the soccer field, and after a scuffle during a game leads to Casey being injured, Casey finally stands up to him. Will this be enough to repair his friendship with Addison? Most importantly, will the Kids C.A.N. group be able to win the contest and provide the money the library needs in order to keep Casey's dad employed??
Strengths: There were several threads of suspense that ran through this, and I don't want to ruin any of the twists. I liked Casey a lot; he seemed like a solid Everyboy who is trying to live his life and not irritate people around him. He is active in soccer, gets along with his dad, is a good student, and occasionally has to deal with difficult relationships. Every school has jerks like Steve, and it was good to see that he at least apologizes at the end of the book. Addison and Casey's relationship also makes sense; I wouldn't have talked to Casey under the circumstances, either, even if Vivienne was more understanding. Many libraries are having difficulties, and avid readers will be invested in saving the Cornish Library. 

Weaknesses: While I appreciated the happy ending, the help came out of left field. The cover of this might make it a hard sell to 7th and 8th graders, since it looks very young. It wouldn't have hurt to add more of an air of possible romance between Addison and Casey. 

What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want a library centered story like Sumner' The Summer of June, Bishop's The Things You Can't Say, Tan's A Kind of Paradise, Coats's The Unexpected Lives of Ordinary Girls.  

Plourde, Lynn. The Bionic Boy

October 21, 2025 by Nancy Paulsen Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Benji and his sister Becka are being raised by their Dad and Papa near Bangor, Maine. Benji was born without hands in a country far away, and Becka lives with Down Syndrome. Benji is in fifth grade, and spends a lot of time thinking about superheroes with his best friend, Sam Patel. There's a new neighbor, Izzy, but she is angry about having moved, and won't talk to anyone, which really hurts Becka's feelings. When his fathers take him to see Staff Sergeant Dirk Snider speak about having lost all of his limbs in a bombing attack, Benji is amazed at what Sgt. Snider can do with prosthetic limbs. He agrees to meet with a prosthetist to see if artificial hands might be right for him; when he was younger, it seemed like something that was too stressful, and he's relied on using his feet, lower arms, or strap on utensils since. He's intrigued to meet Wyatt, who lost a limb in a tractor accident, and has been to Camp No Limits, a summer program for children with limb differences. Benji is fitted with a rudimentary 3-D printed hand while he's waiting for his myoelectric ones, so he can get a feel for what it is like. He has some initial success with it, but when the family pet, Kitty, escapes, he feels that perhaps he doesn't deserve the hands. His family and Sam assure him that he is already a super hero, and he learns why Izzy has been so difficult.

Strengths: Families can include a wider variety of people than normally are portrayed in middle grade literature, so it was good to see the dynamics in Benji and Becka's family. Both fathers are still alive! Benji has a variety of issues because of his start in life, but gets a lot of support. Including Sgt. Snider was a good choice, and Benji's interest in super heroes will speak to younger readers. This is a short, fast paced book, and offers a good view of a character whose life is most likely very different from most readers' lives. 
Weaknesses: Benji came across as rather young for being in fifth grade, so might not be a good fit for my 6-8 library. There's something about the cover that did not appeal to me. 
What I really think: This would be a great fiction companion to David and Ferren Aquilar's Piece by Piece: How I Built My Life (No Instructions Required),  and is one of the few books like Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus and Youngblood's Forever This Summer that include a character with limb differences. Plourde has also written Maxi's Secret.