Food, in one way or another

McClain, Lee. Sizzle.
Linda has a good life with her Aunt Elba, who runs a small diner in Arizona, but her aunt's health is bad enough to send Linda off to live with her Aunt Pat in Pittsburgh. Pat also cooking, but instead of the flavorful, fresh Mexican food that Linda likes to cook, Pat favors carb-heavy casseroles from cans, recipes for which she shares on her local cooking show, Cooking From Cans. This is in part because there are a lot of children in the family, including foster child Angel, who is having a hard time but takes to Linda because of their shared cultural heritage. Linda misses Arizona and cooking, and tries to "help" Pat out by teaching her that Linda's way of cooking is better, which imperils the show, which is a much needed source of income. She also needs to learn to get along with the other girls in the family, even though she has a crush on the same boy that one of her new sisters does.
Strengths: Very nice treatment of fitting in at school and with a new family, good cooking details, and a sweet budding romance. This is definitely one to add to the list of middle grade cooking novels!
Weaknesses: What happened to Linda's parents is never addressed and I kept waiting for it. Also, there is a web site listed for Pat's show, but it doesn't really exist. For some reason, this irks me, because some books do have real web sites.


Kent, Trilby. Stones for My Father
Nominated for the Cybils by Ivette deBruyn

Corlie's life on a South African farm in the early 1900s is difficult not only because her father has passed away, but because of the fighting between the Khakis (the British) and the Boers. The British frequently find small farm communities and burn them to the ground if they suspect that they are aiding the other side. This happens to Corlie's family, so they set off with a family of friends who are African to find a larger community of people banding together trying to survive. Food is especially scarce. This group is unwilling to take in the African family, fearing that they are on the side of the British, but Corlie's family is able to survive until the British come and force them all into a refugee camp. Things go from bad to worse, with Corlie's brother becoming ill and her mother refusing to care for her any longer. Luckily, a Canadian soldier who knows her helps Corlie get medical treatment and arrange for her care.
Strengths: This is a period of time about which I knew little, and was a harrowing tale of survival under military turmoil.
Weaknesses: This would have been easier to understand if it had started with a preface that included a brief overview of the historical situation, and a list of foreign phrases. Also, this is a small book with a young girl on the cover, but is really more suited for older readers due to violence and situations such as Corlie almost being molested by an old man and the fact that her father was really a British soldier and that's why her mother disliked her.

Waiting for You/ Not What I Wanted Wednesday

Colasanti, Susane. Waiting for You.

Marisa has the most enormous crush on Derek, but he is going out with someone else. She gets on with her life-- hanging out with her friend Sterling, who likes to cook, dealing with her combative younger sister Sandra, being confused about her parents' relationship (which is quickly disintegrating), dealing with her anxiety disorder, and hanging out with her friend, Nash. When Nash confesses that he likes Marisa, things get uncomfortable when she doesn't return the feeling. Eventually, Derek goes out with her, but is he the one in whom she is really interested?

Strengths: After reading So Much Closer and finding it appropriate for middle school, I knew I would have to read more of these books. A lot of my 8th grade girls crave romance books and will only read Nicholas Sparks. They will find these books, with their crushes, pining, and eventual resolutions perfect.

Weaknesses: Too painful for me to enjoy. I hated reading about how much of a crush Marisa had on Derek-- because I have been there. Luckily, that was 30 odd years ago and I have recovered. I guess it's a sign of good writing that the books can make me uncomfortable. Definitely buy

ing whichever ones of these are middle school appropriate.

And here are some books that didn't work for me or my library, but I can definitely see them working at different levels:

Meehl, Brian. You Don't Know About Me.

From the Publisher: " Billy has spent his almost-sixteen years with four cardinal points--Mother, Christ, Bible, and Home-school--but when he sets off on a wild road trip to find the father he thought was dead, he learns much about himself and life."

What I Wanted: A rollicking road trip book with lots of action and humor.

Why This Didn't Work For Me: I was about half way through the book, and really enjoying it, when I realized it was too introspective for middle school. While I can get kids to read gently humorous quirky books for a while, this clocks in at 406 pages. Given it's personal identity theme, this would be great for high school. I adore this author's Suck It Up, and his writing style is great. Also, the cover is perfect.

People who liked this include: Publishers Weekly, Jessica Max Stein, YA Reads, A Crowe's Nest, and Kirkus Reviews.

Watson, Paul E. The Robot.

From the Publisher: " Science-loving Gabe and girl-crazy Dover are best friends. In fact, they're practically each other's only friends. So when Gabe's parents leave town for the weekend, he lets Dover convince him to break into his father's basement laboratory-even though he knows it's off-limits under penalty of lifelong grounding. Once inside, the boys make a shocking discovery, one that will turn a boring weekend into a hilarious madcap adventure: a smoking hot robot"

What I Wanted: A rollicking science geek book with lots of action and humor.

Why This Didn't Work For Me: *Snerk* While this cracked me up, it was not appropriate for me to hand to middle school students. Underaged drinking and salacious interest in the robot.

People who liked this include: Chris at School Library Journal and Ryan the Librarian.This just came out, so there aren't a lot of reviews of it around or I would include more.

Paratore, Coleen Murtagh. From Willa, With Love.

From the Publisher: "As summer comes to a close on Cape Cod, Willa finds herself dealing with bad news from her best friend, a surprising secret from her brother, an unexpected crush, and last minute wedding plans."

This is the fifth book in The Wedding Planner's Daughter series.

What I Wanted: Girlfriend Material with a touch of Along for the Ride.

Why This Didn't Work For Me: While this does have some romance, it is more about Willa's interaction with her close-knit community. I enjoyed this to a certain extent, but the first book in the series is not much read, so I haven't invested in it. Willa did get irritating at some points, not just because Willa has long been a name I've had tucked up my sleeve for a character! If this series is popular in your library, it would be a must have.

People who liked this include: Hippies, Beauty and Books, Kiss the Book, Imaginary Reads, GalleySmith, and What is Bridget Reading?