Jackson Bright in the Spotlight and Bad Cheerleader

O'Hara, Eureka and Poblocki, Dan. Jackson Bright in the Spotlight
October 21, 2025 by Amulet Books
E ARC provided by Netgalley

Jackson is an exuberant middle schooler who causes an inadvertent ruckus on the last day of school when he spills juice on his outfit and borrows a polka dot dress from his best friend Eva's older sister. He's given a hard time by bullies, and one particularly nasty teacher, Miss Helton, takes him to the principal. His mother is called, and she is NOT happy... with the school. She supports Jackson, and is angry that she had to step away from work. Jackson's father has lost his job and is depressed, so the family needs to money. Eva, who is nonbinary and uses they/them pronous, supports Jackson as well. When the two friends are shopping at a thrift store, they see an advertisement for a beauty pageant, and Jackson decides that he will enter in disguise. He and Eva come up with a name, Sissy St. James, and when Jackson's uncle Aaron visits, he signs the permission slip and helps Jackson with his makeup and costuming. The talent portion of the program is hard, but Jackson works to improve his performance. There are plenty of problems along the way, but Aaron and Eva are always supportive. Jackson has a crush on a boy, Lucas, whose sister is competing in the pageant, which complicates things a little. Jackson is eventually found out, but there are no rules that say that boys can't compete. What will his parents think when they find out? 

Strengths: Poblocki is best known for his horror titles, so this is an interesting change for him. Jackson and Eva are fast friends who come up with a plan and implement it, even though there are some problems along the way. There's even some very realistic friend drama. Jackson's parents and uncle are supportive, even if there are some pretty pressing problems that are worrying everyone. It was good to see that the principal was reasonable, even if Miss Helton (who had also taught Aaron) was rather evil. Readers who find pageants interesting will find plenty to love here, as will students who find drag performing intriguing. 
Weaknesses: Since I have never had a student participate in a pageant (I'm not even sure if there are any in our area), the appeal of this might be limited at my school. 
What I really think: This was very similar to Chu's Queen Bees of Tybee County and joins the list of middle grade novels involving drag performance like Leahy's Mallory in Full Color, Howard's Middle School's a Drag, You Better Werk, and Zaczek's Martin McLean, Middle School Queen.

Thayer, Alex. Bad Cheerleader

November 11, 2025 by Aladdin

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Margaret (who goes  by Bag) and her sister have moved with their mother to Newport, Rhode Island after their mother lost her job acting on a soap opera and their parents are separated. Their mother is now making school lunches at home and selling them to private school students. While Minerva is a cheerleader, Bag lacks confidence in herself after a dyslexia diagnosis. She does like reading, and spends most afternoons at the public library, where she feels comfortable. When her mother gets a job in a production of The Glass Castle, she can no longer get to the library and has to wait at school while Minerva has cheerleading practice. Thinking that something is off with Minerva, Bag sticks close to her sister and is asked by the cheerleading coach, Ms. Yoh, to help with equipment. Minerva is always sneaking off with fellow cheerleader Mimi to "write cheers", but Bag discovers that they instead have a scheme selling math homework to other students. Minerva claims this is to raise money to help fund their parents' divorce because the father is dealing with addiction issues. Bag's friend, Ridgely, feels estranged from her during this time, and Bag thinks it is because she has been allowed to cheer. She's done well, making up cheers and leading impromptu dances, which makes Minerva feel that Bag is out for her position as head cheerleader. Bag wants Minerva to return the money and stop the cheating, so that if she is found out, she won't get in as much trouble. While the scheme is eventually found out, the girls don't get in much trouble, and Bag is offered a position on the cheerleading squad.

While I really liked the family dynamic of the parents having marital difficulties and Bag and Minerva not always being close, I found a lot of this hard to believe. Bag wouldn't have been able to just pop onto the cheerleading squad, and certainly wouldn't have been at the top of a pyramid without extensive training. It also seemed odd that the girls wouldn't have gotten in trouble for charging money for homework! That's some high level rule breaking. This certainly had some intrigue, great characters, and an interesting plot, but not as much cheerleading as I had hoped. Take a look to see if it right for your collection.