Middle School Monsters

Easter, Robin. Middle School Monsters
August 4, 2026 by Little, Brown Ink
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Jamie and her family have just moved to a new town, and Jamie wants to start anew. At her old school, she let people know she was a werewolf, and they made fun of her. Now, in seventh grade, there are three girls, Aimee, Jazz, and Olivia who include her right away. They do warn her against Vera, or Vee, who claims to be a vampire and alienated her former best friend, Kennedy, by biting her. In one class, Jamie is assigned to sit next to Vee, and finds that the two share a love of certain t.v. shows that Aimee and her gang do not appreciate. They chat surreptitiously, and hang out several times, even going trick-or-treating together as their alter egos, Raven and Scout. They are even writing a story about these characters, but when Vee doesn’t log off a school computer, another student shares the story with everyone. Aimee and her gang are particularly mean, and Jamie does not stand up for Vee. This creates a rift between the two, and Jamie has to decide if she wants to pretend to be someone she is not in order to hang out with a relatively popular group, or to embrace her inner quirkiness and be friends with Vee, even if it means she creates an awkward social situation for herself.
Strengths: This has a very specific and narrow audience who will love the fact that Jamie thinks she is a werewolf (she does have particularly hairy legs and arms, and her mother won’t let her shave) and wants to wear a wolf hat to school. The message of embracing your true self and not hiding it from others is widespread in popular culture now. The librarian lets Vee eat in the library instead of learning to adapt to the school environment, and this also seems to be a popular trend. I thought it was interesting that Aimee and her friends, who play volleyball, were quite nice to Jamie, even though they were shown making somewhat unkind remarks about others. This has a lot of very real moments, like Vee coloring her fingernails with black sharpie.
Weaknesses: Whether or not Jamie is really a werewolf is never really addressed. Vee admits she just thinks she is a vampire; some young readers might appreciate more concrete identification. They will also not pick up on the allegorical elements of the story.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked graphic novels about school social structure like Miller’s Click, Libenson’s Invisible Emmie, or Chmakova’s Crush. 

As a weird middle schooler myself, I have to say that it is a VERY BAD idea to share your true self with others. Once I realized this, high school was a lot easier. I really, really fail to understand why adults think it’s a good idea to "let your freak flag fly", to quote Jimi Hendrix. In middle school, it’s definitely not. Had a long conversation with my now 32 year old daughter about this, and we both agreed that there is a time and place for being one’s authentic self, and that middle school is not one of them.

Saturday Morning Cartoons- Dare You to Dance

Mock, Rebecca. Dare You to Dance

July 28, 2026 by Random House Graphic
E ARC provided by Netgalley

Gracie gets accepted into a prestigious Youth Dancer Summer Program in New York City, and lives with her godmother while attending. She is from Ohio, and a little star struck by the variety of dancers from around the world, who seem to know more about dance than she does. She runs afoul of Sariah, who is very standoffish, and Nicole also gives her a hard time. Luckily, Jaz reminds Gracie of moves when she is not paying attention, and translates the teacher's French for her. There is a lot of drama in the school, and jockeying for solos and opportunities. Gracie dares Sariah several times, but Sariah, battling stiff muscles, doesn't want to get hurt... until she does. It's not a horrible injury, but Gracie learns that Sariah's aunt is the dancer Manon, who had to retire from ballet because she was injured. Gracie meets her idol, Tatiana, and learns a lot about being a team player and part of an ensemble after she sabotages Jaz after her friend wins the solo. Luckily, by the end of the book, the campers are much nicer to each other and rediscover their love of dancing. 

Strengths: The most intriguing part of the book was the author's note stating that at some point, they felt that they needed to DO something with their drawing, rather than just having it as a hobby, and that they translated this feeling to ballet. Certainly, Gracie and the other dancers think they can be professionals. The levels of drama are very high, and the meanness is right up there with the Sweet Valley Twins graphic novels, which appeals to some readers. The look backstage and how ballet training progresses was interesting, and I had a soft spot for Gracie's godmother and her tiny dogs. 
Weaknesses: Graphic novels occasionally have one facet of the drawings (often noses) that really annoys me; in this, Gracie's head often looked flat on one side. No other characters had heads like that, so I had some questions. Otherwise, the illustrations are similar to Gale Galligan's or Gabe Mendez. I wish we had more graphic novels encouraging students to pursue interests like computer programming, where there might be more jobs. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked Chase's So Done or Ziegler's The Audition. It would be nice to see more middle grade novels about girls involved in local ballet programs. 

I've always liked to sew and knit, and have never given it up. It never occurred to me to be professional about it, but I do daydream about having a PBS quilting show in the 1990s. Had a moment in college where I thought I could write poetry professionally, mainly due to the $50 I earned for a poem that Writer's Digest published in about 1986. Trying to read all of the middle grade literature leaves little brain space for writing poetry these days.