The Retake

Calonita, Jen. The Retake 

December 1st 2020 by Delacorte Press

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Zoe is apprehensive about the first day of seventh grade; she and her absolutely best friend Laura have had to spend the summer apart for various reasons, and they haven't reconnected for some of their necessary rituals such as discussing their first day outfits. Because she's been following Laura's social media feed, she can tell that Laura has been hanging out with some new friends while Zoe was away, and her brief interactions with Laura confirm that some of her priorities have shifted. For instance, the two were very involved with Future Cities and hoped for spots on the volleyball team, but being in dramatic productions seems more important to Laura now. After a disastrous first day of school that involves a spot on her white jeans and her phone being taken away, Zoe misses volleyball tryouts to just go home. Her older sister, Taryn, gives her a hard time about it, and her mother insists that she needs to try other things. Since Zoe's mom and Laura's mom are best friends, the two families (minus Laura's father, since her parents have recently divorced) have dinner together, but conversation is strained. When Zoe finds an app that mysteriously appeared on her phone while it was being help in the office, she selects a picture of a sleepover three months ago and hits the "back" button. She is transported to the sleepover, and tries to change things with Laura, as well as Ava, Hyacinth, and other girls. Things don't go quite the way she hopes, and she tries going to another point in time. Every time she thinks she can makes things different, she just makes them worse. Through these travels, however, she learns that she does really like Future Cities, that Clare is a far better friend than Laura, and that even when you are best friends with someone for a long time, you can still grow apart. Will Zoe be able to find a version of her middle school life that works for her? 
Strengths: Issues with friends are such a large part of the middle school experience that they could be included in every single book in all genres and it wouldn't be too many tales of this. Zoe and Laura's relationship is absolutely typical, and it was fascinating to see how many ways things could go wrong. I especially liked the use of technology in the book; while this might date the book at some point, Instagram has been a big part of tween culture since at least 2012. Zoe knowing what Laura is up to when she is not with her is something that wouldn't have happened a few years ago, and is a big problem! Zoe's disocvery of herself and what she likes, as well as her appreciation of the better qualities of other classmates makes this very hopeful, and the fact that she realizes that she and Laura will remain friends on some level but are different enough that they won't be best friends is a great, mature example for tween readers to see. I love this author's Secrets of My Hollywood Life series. 
Weaknesses: This was more invested in the friend drama than the time travel capabilities, which makes it perfect for actual tween readers, but disappointed me as an adult reader just a tiny bit. This is mainly because I desperately want to go back to September of 1979 and change my entire life and is not a fault of Ms. Calonita's writing!
What I really think: Definitely purchasing. I'm not sure why there aren't more time-travel-via-cell-phone books; there's a little of that in Jay Asher's The Future of Us, and of course Sarah Mlynowski's Gimme a Call (2010. 2010?! Wow. Seems like a read this just yesterday!) tackles this idea brilliantly. 

Love of the Game

Coy, John. Love of the Game.
This is the third in the 4 for 4 series that also includes: Top of the Order, Eyes on the Goal, and Take Your Best Shot.
Starting middle school has Jackson worried because he is also having to move into his mother's boyfriend's home. He already has a father; he doesn't need Ted, too. There are older students who are giving him a hard time, classes are difficult, and he is forced to be in a reading club. He has to take a food class, which is okay because there is a girl he likes in it. The one thing he looks forward to is football, but he is worried that his friend Diego won't go out for the team because his mother is afraid of injuries. His friend Gig is still concerned about his father in Afghanistan. Will all of these things get Jackson down, or will he be able to work everything out?
Strengths: This is a nice easy read for boys who like sports, even though there aren't as many descriptions of games. Readers of Rich Wallace will like these. I liked the book club and the shout out to Ritter's baseball books!
Weaknesses: Again with the bullies threatening swirlies and taking kids' lunch money. Sigh. I suppose it happens in some places.

Skead, Robert and Mike Simmel. Mighty Mike Bounces Back.
Mike has had epilepsy since he was two, and is on medication but still has seizures. When he was younger, they were so bad that his parents made him wear a bike helmet all the time! When he discovers basketball, if becomes his obsession. It's not enough to practice before and after school-- he wants to be on the team. With the help of his doctor and the patience of his teammates, he gets on the team. Even though he still has seizures (and sometimes has them at very inopportune moments), he is able to be a successful member of the team. Based on the real life experiences of Mike Simmel, who plays for the Harlem Wizards exhibition team.
Strengths: A short basketball book that also has a lot of information about epilepsy.
Weaknesses: A bit didactic, and the book would have benefitted greatly from better design, although the cover is good. The print is very tiny; since the book is so thin, I would have chosen a larger font!

Brief Job Update: It looks like I may be at one school next year, and it will hopefully be the one that I have been at for the last ten years (fifteen if you count volunteering!). This is, of course, marvelous good news, but next year could still be sad. The length of the day will probably be cut, and SSR could be a victim. The most important part of SSR for me is that I see ALL of the children in the building once a week, and they have an adult in their lives who has a vested interest in making sure that they have a book at all times. I try to get out to study halls to check, but SSR teachers see the the same group of students every day and can make sure.

There are a lot of teachers who are retiring even though they have a lot of good years left, in order to save the jobs of younger teachers. People will be moved. Students will have limited electives. We'll have cross country, but the fee will be $150. I have some runners who could barely afford $50. I saw my first cockroach in the building because of the custodial cuts.

*SIGH*

We will be grateful for what we have. And speaking of which, go congratulate Mother Reader on her Star Volunteer Award. Why is it that as conscientious, hard working adults, we still feel we are not worthy? I just won a GEM Award, and feel sort of like Mother Reader does!

Summer on the Moon

Fogelin, Adrian. Summer on the Moon.
ARC received from Peachtree Publications. Read about the blog tour!

Socko lives in a rundown apartment building in a rough area of town. His mother Delia works at Phat Burger and brings home leftovers for them to eat, and he and his friend Damien are looking forward to a summer of hanging out and skateboarding. Around the time that they feel they can no longer stay away from local bully Rapp and his gang, Socko's mother gets an offer she can't refuse-- her grandfather, the General, offers to move them to a brand new house in a new subdivision if they will take care of him. Socko isn't happy about leaving Damien, and not wild about taking care of an ornery, wheelchair bound, complaining old man, but he makes a friend in Livvy, the daughter of the ill-fated Moon Ridge Estates, and the two hang out in the nearly empty subdivision. While Socko and Livvy try to make the Estates in to a viable neighborhood, Socko's friends in the old neighborhood seem to be in danger from Rapp, and Socko has to decide how and if he can help them while still working to improve his own current conditions. This interesting story explores the importance of home-- both the physical place and the people who inhabit it.
Strengths: The skateboarding and inner city gang problems are topics that interest middle grade students tremendously.
Weaknesses: There's a little too much about the grandfather's eccentricities and not enough skateboarding. I haven't seen the final cover, but I'm not overly wild about this one. Stock photos would be a better choice.

Peachtree is having a Blog Tour for this title, at the following sites. Check it out!

Monday:

Boys to Books (review)

Barbara Watson (Q&A with Adrian )

Tuesday:

There’s a Book (review and Q&A with Adrian )

Ms. Yingling Reads (review)

Maestra Amanda’s Bookshelf (review)

Wednesday:

Boys to Books (Q&A with Vicky Holifield, editor)

Thursday:

Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers (Guest Post by Adrian )

Friday:

Maestra Amanda’s Bookshelf (Guest Post by Adrian )

Kloepfer, John. The Zombie Chasers: Sludgment Day. (#3)
Zach's parents (and most of the world) have been turned into zombies, but Zach and his friends have the antidote and are ready to save the world! First they have to drive across the country and locate the food scientist Duplessis, who helps them make more antidote as well as antizombification popcorn (it looks like brains, right?). During their trip to get there, they meet up with zombie Elvis impersonators, have a show down in the Mall of America, and fight a zombie BurgerDog meat man. Many illustrations accompany this.
Strengths: The kids LOVE zombie books, and this is gross without being overly gruesome. I can see a second grader reading it, and the 6th graders adore this series. The 8th graders, however, are FAR too cool to be seen with Zombie Chasers.
Weaknesses: Lots of death and destruction, but there is the feeling that it isn't permanent. The cartoonish illustrations, while a bit stomach turning, somehow make this seem less serious-- the level of gore in this could be pretty disturbing if the book were done in a slightly different way. Still, great for reluctant readers! And there is still probably one more book to come.