MMGM- Music Everywhere

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Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
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Always in the Middle 

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Unleashing Readers

Wolitzer, Meg and Panek, Charlie. Found Sound

April 21, 2026 by Dutton Books for Young Readers

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Felix Frank's family spends their summers away from their cramped New York City apartment in Blissfield, Massachusetts. They swap houses with the Lees, and Felix attends a Fun in the Sun summer camp while his "genius" younger brother Miles goes to the Young Achievers of Massachusetts program at the Institute of Science. The house is much nicer, but has a problem with the basement steps this year, so they can't go down there. Older brother Dylan was a problem teen, who had altercations with Felix, and he lives on his own and rarely visits. When Felix's camp is closed due to a septic tank explosion, he is at loose ends until he meets quirky next door neighbor, Marigold Tanizaki-Weathers. When the two open a box in Danny Lee's room that says "Open Me", they embark on a curious scavenger hunt involving a lot of sounds. They find the "tallest thing" in town at Crest Creek Forest, and there's an "old fashioned" library circulation card in the tree. At the library, the book related to the card isn't in the system, but they find it on the shelf. It has a musical clue in it that leads them to the historical society, where they learn about musical cryptograms. Following the notes spelling ADEADBED up at the cemetery, they are instructed to find a room without echoes, and Miles says that there is one at the Institute. The anechoic chamber makes both children sick, but Felix gets a tune stuck in his head... which ends up being an ice cream truck tune. They sneak out at night to find the truck, which has a website listed on it, but they get in trouble when the owner calls their parents. They end up creating a song of "found sounds" to submit to a website, and eventually enter a contest with the local DJ Midnight. Felix is a little creeped out by one of the clues, but this doesn't stop him and Marigold from venturing around town to gather them. He reaches out to his parents, who are not concerned, and his brother Dylan for comfort, but gets no help. Eventually, the two friends figure out the answers and who was responsible for the scavenger hunt. Felix is also able to come to terms with his relationship with his brother.
Strengths: This was a nicely paced, very readable book that I enjoyed spending time with. The idea of a house swap is fantastic; I'd love to hear about what the Lee family did in New York City. Blissfield is a fun town, with plenty of places within biking distance for the kids to visit. Marigold and Felix, both rising 6th graders, feel a bit unseen and friendless, and since both are at a loss for things to do (Marigold is an only child) for the summer, are more than happy to hang out together. They complement each other well. Felix's family dynamics simmer in the background, and I had my suspicions about who was behind the scavenger hunt, but everything came together well. The clues are fairly easy to find, and not hidden in areas too difficult to access. There's a little bit of friction between Felix and Marigold at one point, but that makes sense. At 226 pages, it's a great length. The publisher website lists this for grades 2-6, but I think even my 8th graders would read this.
Weaknesses: It seemed odd that no one was concerned about who put all the clues around town, but perhaps the parents were in on the ruse. I know that Mr. Pacek is a sound engineer, but some of the science of sound bogs the story down a tiny bit. Did like learning about the anechoic chamber, though.
What I really think:Readers who are interested in sound engineering will certainly be glad to see this title, and it's also a great book to hand to readers who enjoyed summer tales involving new towns or scavenger hunts, like Janowitz's All the Ways to Go, Durst's Spy Ring, Renn's The Owl Prowl Mystery, St. Antoine's Three Bird Summer and Little's Worse Than Weird.

 

Weaknesses: The petals of the Rose Chord were ridiculously easy for the girls to find, and the fight scenes were laughably short. It reminded me of a Scooby Doo or Josie and the Pussycats cartoon where the mystery is easily solved in twenty minutes. This does make the book and fast and enticing read, and I am not the target demographic for this book!
What I really think: Yun, who wrote the Pippa Park series, has created a fast moving K-Pop Demon Hunters-esque novel that will be popular with fans of this musical genre or the movie. It's a bit cheesy, but so were the 1970s Patridge Family mystery books. This reminds me a little of Yee's foray into the Super Hero High books. Readers who enjoyed Goldie's Skylar and the K-Pop Principal, Bowman's Generation Misfits, or Kim's Make a Move Sunny Park will definitely enjoy this. Is it great literature? No. Will I buy a copy for my K-Pop obsessed fans? Absolutely. Stacia Deutsch also has a series out, K-Pop Demon Detectives (Bluestone Books), but I haven't been able to get ahold of any copies.  (But it is available through Follett. I like Deutsch's writing, and it seems like a fun series for the librarian who replaces me to find in fifteen years!)

Roggio, Sarah. K-Pop's Big Wave: A Global Phenomenon

January 1, 2026 by Lerner Publications ™

Copy provided by the publisher 

Popular culture is nature's way of showing us how old we are. It seems likely that most people fossilize their love and knowledge of popular music during their high school years, so it makes perfect sense that I don't know anything about K-Pop. Since it really started to crystallize as a phenomenon in the late 1980s and early 90s, when I was already teaching, it's never been on my radar. It's a little alarming that I remember South Korea's transition to a Western style democracy in 1987, but I did enjoy learning that the country is roughly the size of Indiana!

That said, I do have many students who are interested in the genre, and with the success of the Netflix series K-Pop Demons Hunters, there's a good chance that more and more young people will become fans. This book lays out the history of the style in a short, well illustrated book that includes many groups that readers might want to investigate. It was a good call to start with the Rosé and Bruno Mars collaboration in 2024, since that will still be fresh in many people's memories.

One of the very interesting bits of information was that the K-Pop music industry carefully trains and superintends new groups in a way that made me think of The Monkees. From songs to clothes to make up, there is a deliberate attempt to make these groups as appealing and commercially successful as possible. While this makes perfect sense for tween audiences, it seems a bit odd when viewed from the lens of organic artistry-- again, I can remember the backlash against the Monkees because they were an engineered group, even though their songs were quite catchy.

There are plenty of sidebars with information about tangential culture; Korean words that were entered into the OED, the kimchee craze, Korean beauty trends, and even an entry about the 2024 martial law's effect on the industry. It was nice to see the inclusion of the different ways in which the K-Pop community has stepped up to help out with social causes, as well as a brief look at K-Pop controversies. The book ends with a timeline, source notes, and a selected bibliography. Fans won't need a playlist, but I wouldn't have minded one!

I haven't seen any other books about K-Pop except for BTS: Icons of K-Pop by Adrian Besley, which a volunteer found at Half Price Books and donated. Since music classes occasionally study different types of music, this Lerner title is a great addition to middle school collections. I had several students request my copy after I added it to my library database, so there's definitely an interest, which I suspect will only continue to grow.