Amelia Gray is Almost Okay

Brody, Jessica. Amelia Gray is Almost Okay
March 28th 2023 by Delacorte Press

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Amelia and her father move all over the US, and rarely stay in one place for more than a month. She has a mixed breed dog named Biscotti, and wants desperately to know what mix of breeds he is. Her father "reinvents" struggling hotels, designing rooms, doing renovations, and generally helps the owner be prepared to improve business. Amelia has attended public schools, but it's hard to make connections when you are only in a place for four weeks. The newest project is a hotel in Summerville, New York. The owner, Annabelle, inherited the property from her father, and tried to run it while she was also running a historic theater in town. Neither venture was successful. She lost the hotel, and it was torn down, and a new and mysterious building is being built in its place. Amelia has always been happy to move and to live "life on the go" with her father, and is dismayed when she hears him discussing their lifestyle with Annabelle. Amelia's mother died when she was born, and she isn't sad for what she never had, so she's a bit angry that her father is thinking of changing things without asking her. Is he dating Annabelle? He also tells Amelia she has to do an activity over the summer so she can get out and meet other kids her age. Amelia still doesn't know what her "thing" is, although she's sure (after a disastrous elementary school event) that it isn't theater. She decides that she will try three different personalities out, in the same way that her father tries out room designs. She's Amie, who loves track, Mellie, who does investigative journalism, and Lia, who does theater with Annabelle. Thanks to the assortment of costumes left over from the theater that Annabelle lets her borrow, she is able to pull off these three identities. She makes friends in each area, including Esme in track and Katarina, who writes for the local paper. Since everyone in the small town hangs out at the Float and Boat ice cream parlor, there are some close calls, but she manages to keep up the ruse for most of the summer. She does tell the truth to Finn, whom she meets in the dog park, and whose "thing" is drawing comics and hanging out with his rescue dog, Ketchup. When Katarina and Amelia uncover a story about the theater and the building project that links it to Esme's parents, the town is in an uproar. At the same time, Amelia's father is ready to give up on trying to make Annabelle happy with his designs, and decides to pack up and move along. Amelia, who visited the house her father was interested in buying and is finding connecting with other kids her own age rather enjoyable, isn't sure that this is the best plan for the two of them. Will they return to Summerville, or continue their life on the go?
Strengths: Books about personal identity are always a huge hit with my students, who are themselves trying to figure out who they are and what they want to do. I loved that Amelia's choices included the sorts of things I encourage my students to do every summer: something physical, something academic, and something creative! While Amelia starts out being a little irritated with her father, she hasn't complained about her life or spent a lot of time mourning the mother she never had, and she takes to Summerville pretty well. Young readers need more examples of characters who are flexible and willing to adapt rather than ones who are dead set against any changes in their lives. This was fast paced and fun, and filled with interesting characters. I liked the twist at the end with the building project, and loved how Amelia's father got involved and made things better for the community. Like Wientge's Best Friends, Bikinis, and Other Summer Catastrophes, this is a great middle grade book with a fun summer adventure. 
Weaknesses: In a town as small as Summerville, clip on bangs are not going to make Amelia unrecognizable to Katarina, and I found it hard to believe that she was able to keep up the ruse for so long. It also was a little hard to believe that Amelia would have been enrolled in public schools for just a month at a time. She wouldn't have made it into the yearbook, certainly, even without a picture. 
What I really think: Since Kimmel's The Reinvention of Moxie Roosevelt was published about the time that Amelia was born, I guess we can use another middle great tale of inventing multiple personalities. While I feel that this idea of trying to be different people might have several different iterations, it's still a fun read, and will be very popular with my students. 
 

Time to Roll and Nina Soni, Perfect Hostess

Summer, Jamie. Time to Roll (Roll With It #2)
April 4th, 2023, Atheneum Books for Young Readers

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Ellie's mother and her gym teacher have gotten married, and since they are going on a honeymoon, Ellie's father and her two young step brothers are staying at the trailer with her. Her grandmother and grandfather, who is suffering from Alzheimer's, have moved in the senior condo facility, Autumn Leaves. Ellie and Coralee are looking for some adventures for the summer, along with their friend, Bert, and Coralee decides that she will enter the Little Miss Boots and Bows pageant. Her grandmother drives the trio so that Coralee can sign up (and pay using the money she earned from selling stolen Girl Scout Cookies), and the pageant organizer encourages Ellie to enter as well. She doesn't think it's a good idea, but Coralee really wants her to. Ellie would rather be baking. Still, she borrows $75 from her grandmother and is soon involved with Coralee on preparations for the pageant. She is also trying to reconnect with her father, and they do some activities like fishing together. She also gets the occasional postcard from her mother. Of course, with Ellie and Coralee both in the pageant, there are bound to be some moments of contention. Will Bert be able to smoothe things over and get the friends through the summer?
Strengths: Ellie is a fun character, and it was interesting to see her navigate her new school in the first book, and to see her spend more time with her grandparents. In this book, the emphasis is more on Coralee and Bert, as well as the difficult relationship Ellie has with her father. It's also summer, so Ellie's school relationships aren't really discussed. There's still plenty of baking, and details about the challenges that Ellie has being in a wheel chair because of her cerebal palsy, but it was good to see that those challenges are just part of her daily life and not the focus of the book. The friend drama is always a good addition, and I imagine it's hard to be friends with the exuberant Coralee!

Weaknesses: Pageants are a hard sell at my school. I can't think I have ever had a student involved in one, and can't even think of any local pageants that exist. Is this more of a Southern or Oklahoma thing? Even Bert comments that pageants as a social construct are rather outdated. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for collections where Roll with It has been popular, and joins a short list of middle grade books that center around beauty pageants, like Pucket's The Glass Witch, Charles' Like Vanessa, Alpine's You Throw Like a Girl, Scott's School of Charm, and Frazier's The Other Half of My Heart. 

Sheth, Kashmira. Nina Soni, Perfect Hostess

April 11, 2023 by Peachtree

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Fourth grader Nina is always trying to organize her life and do the right thing, so when she finds out that her grandmother (Dadi) and cousin are coming to Wisconsin to stay for six weeks, she makes herself lists about what she can do to be the perfect hostess. Because India is warmer, her parents are putting Dadi and Montou in their room, and moving to the basement themselves. Nina offers to move in with her sister Kavita so that they don't have to do that. She makes a list of things that have to be done for guests, like cleaning, buying groceries, and making sure everyone is comfortable, and checks with her mother to see what she needs to do. It's not always easy to do the right thing, and there are times when Nina isn't exactly happy. She invites Montou to her bhangra class, and he outshines everyone, making her a little jealous. A similar thing happpens when he visits her school and does better in math than she does, even though he is younger. Montou and Kavita really hit it off, and Nina is again a little jealous. She does love spending time with Dadi, and the two cook, play games, and have long talks. Before the six weeks are up, Dadi and Montou feel like part of the family, and Kavita mentions that maybe when she grows up, she will move back to India, taking her US family back with her. Nina realizes that while her lists were helpful, the ways to make guests comfortable can't always be quantified and written down, but acting out of love makes the job a lot easier to do. 

Other books in this series include Nina Soni: Former Best Friend (2019),  Sister Fixer (2020), Master of the Garden (2021), Halloween Queen (2021), and Snow Spy (2022). 

Strengths: I love Nina and her family, and they remind me of a modern day B is for Betsy. Nina's family is busy, but there are lots of good details about how daily life goes on. There's cooking, interactions with neighbors, visits to school, homework, and lots of playing outside with neigh Jay. Family friends visit, the family travels around their hometown, and the books are just a great look into another little girl's life. I would have adored these when I was in elementray school. Having a grandparent visit for six weeks is both exciting and nerve wracking; when I was in fourth grade, my grandmother stayed with us for the summer because she was undergoing chemotherapy. I wasn't able to spend a lot of time with her, but I have a very clear memory of her teaching my how to sew quilt blocks on our back porch. This series is an absolute must purchase for any elementary school library. 
Weaknesses: These are a little young for my middle school readers, and I would love to see Sheth write a series about a student in middle school. 
What I really think: Peachtree has several fantastic realistic fiction series, like Charlie Bumpers, the slightly younger King and Kayla, and of course, Fred Bowen's fantastic sports books! These are all just the right length, and wonderfully addictive. 

Once There Was

Monsef, Kiyash. Once There Was

April 4, 2023 by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Fifteen-year-old Marjan is struggling after her Iranian American father's murder, but knows she has to somehow manage to continue to go to school, keep her father's veterinary practice going, and take care of herself with the occasional help of her next door neighbor and guardian. When she gets a strange visitor who demands she go to England, she decides to go on the spur of the moment. Once there, she finds out that her father was not only a veterinarian for household pets, but also for magical creatures. She meets Simon and Sebastian's family griffin, who is ailing, and finds she is able to diagnose him. She and Sebastian really connect, and text each other even after she returns home to California. She learns even more when she visits the palatial but oddly barricaded home of Horatio Prendergast to help heal his incontinent gnome. Horatio actually has dozens of magical creatures locked up, claiming that he is trying to keep them safe because the world no longer will care for them properly. His on site vet has botched the declawing of a manticore (who is NOT happy about it), and Marjan tells them what they need to do to fix it. Something's not right. Her father's murder still hasn't been solved, the vet practice isn't doing well despite the help from her father's accountant and long time friend, David Ginn, and Marjan uncovers some clues with the help of Horatio's detective, Ezra. Soon, she is reaching out to Sebastian for a plane ticket to Ithaca, where she feels something is going on. Sebastian meets her there, which is a good thing, since he can drive and she can't. They uncover a very important magical creature that is the key to many things, but which also puts them in contact with the Fells, long time brokers of magical creatures. Are they good? Are they evil? How are they and Horatio connected? Marjan tries to go home and return to school, but her friends Grace and Carrie are concerned about her frequent absences and lack of communication. 

Strengths: I read a lot of fantasy, so when I say that this was something NEW, it was quite the relief. Marjan has always had her powers, but her father was hiding things from her. She's not the chosen one, but she does have a job. There's a little bit of a quest feel, but it's more of a murder mystery in some ways, and the interplay of good and evil is delightfully gray. Is everyone evil? Who exactly is evil? I loved that Marjan was randomly left to her own devices, since her mother had also died. Is this likely to happen? Nah. But is the fact that she just up and flies to England, and then Sebastian sends her plane tickets and they meet up in the US a lot of fun? Absolutely. Even though I got a little confused, avid fantasy readers aren't going to be. They are going to eat this up, and are going to love the ending as well. 
Weaknesses: This cover was not my favorite, and the description doesn't quite do this one justice. Starting this book, I thought it would be one that I would just skim, but I ended up really liking it. Some reviewers mentioned that they couldn't quite place this as MG or YA because the character was 15. It's perfectly fine for middle school, and I think it has enough depth for high school as well. 
What I really think: This was absolutely fascinating, and would be the perfect choice for an avid middle school reader of fantasy with an interest in magical creatures. This was dark, but not overly dark, and had lots of twists and turns, which I don't want to ruin. This did remind me a bit of Coville's Into the Land of the Unicorns (1994), which I remember being a bit dark as well. Sadly, I don't think I have the readers at school for this one, so I might not purchase it, but will recommend it to the one student I can think of who will like it. I'll be interested to see what else Monsef writes. 

MMGM- The Ultimate Goal (The Good Sports League)

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at 

Teach Mentor Texts 

and 

Unleashing Readers

Greenwald, Tommy and Vamos, Lesley (illustrations).

The Ultimate Goal (The Good Sports League #1)

April 11th 2023 by Amulet Books

Copy provided by the publisher

Ben Cutler LOVES soccer. He's on a local Pizza League team, the Anchovies, with his friend Jay-Jay, and after playing hard on the field, they celebrate their successes with goofy dances and lots of homemade baked goods provided by their parents. The referees are high school students, and the parents and siblings get involved, as does Ben's dog, Lola, on occasion. When the coach of the local travel team, West Harbor Soccer Academy, approaches Ben to play for him, Ben is pleased that his talents are noticed, and his parents let him sign up. This means leaving Jay-Jay behind and playing with classmates Lucas, Matty, and Andre. Standards are a little higher; the coach derides Ben's worn out cleats, and he has to get new ones. There are no celebratory dances, and the snacks are carrot sticks and more carrot sticks. Things are intense on the field, and Coach Cleary comes down hard on any breaking of the rules. Ben starts to miss the free wheeling fun of the Anchovies, and the lack of joy in the sport shows in how the team plays against Jogo Bonito, a team the coach has been holding up as a paragon of skill all season. Will Ben be able to continue his soccer career when it has become more work than play?

Greenwald deftly merges the humor and heart of his Charlie Joe Jackson series with the sports of his Rivals and Game Changers for an excellent middle grade book that strikes at the heart of a critical issue with youth sports: how serious does a "game" need to be. I loved seeing Ben and Jay-Jay's joy when they had a good play, and the casual chaos of a child centered approach to sports was great to see. Coach Cleary was intense, and clearly had a different approach, but he wasn't demonized. Instead, his players were able to help him understand why they really wanted to play the game, and why having fun was important to their success. After my years coaching cross country, I know that it's a fine line to walk. Players want to do well, but too much pressure doesn't help. I never criticized my runners if they wanted to run down hills shouting "For Narnia!" even if it added a second or two off their time. 

The format of this book is the perfect amalgam of pictures and text. Charlie Joe Jackson had occasional page decorations, but this has introductory sections in graphic novel format. The narrator of these, Frederick Ulysses Nimbleshank, could have been left unnamed and made a bit older to draw in a wider range of readers, but young soccer fans are just going to be lured in to the book by seeing that pictures are involved. There are also more page decorations scattered throughout the book, which makes a huge difference for reluctant readers. The ARC had very rough drawings, but they were placed throughout the text with a little more frequency than many books, which is great. I've bemoaned the lack of sports graphic novels, but this is even better. There's enough text to give more satisfying details about the games and the character development, so this will make both tweens and the adults in their lives happy. 

There aren't a lot of sports books that detail the emotions that players have when they don't do well, but this is a huge issue in middle school. A bad day on the playing field can carry over to school and home, especially if parents or coaches are putting undue pressure. Bad days at school can also carry onto the field. I was glad to see that Ben talked to a variety of people and was able to voice his feelings to his coach. Mental health issues have come into a lot of middle grade novels in the last five years, but few of them are as constructive in their approach. 

While soccer isn't the most requested sport in literature (that would be football, with basketball close behind), I am seeing more and more readers who are heavily invested in the sport, and many of these are English Language Learners. As Ben's sister Ellie might say, The Ultimate Goal is a home run, touchdown, slam dunk of a book!

Happy Easter

Toht, Patricia and Jarvis (illus.) Pick a Perfect Egg

14 February 2023, Candlewick Press

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

A little girl and her mother go through all of their preparations for making colored eggs for Easter, including buying them from a "pick your own" market, boiling them, and dying them with a variety of natural and commercial dyes. After the eggs are all done, the girl goes to bed dreaming of the next day, when she wakes up with great glee, dons a bunny suit, and proceeds to an Easter Egg hunt outside with her friends. They find and collect a variety of plastic eggs in their decorated baskets, then add some of the home dyed eggs to make an appealing decoration.

Told in rhyming verse and illustrated in bright spring colors, this book captures the fun and merriment of Easter rituals in a secular way. The poetry boldly used trochaic lines, which is hard to pull off, but the scansion holds up really well, and trochees certainly propel the story forward with a lot of excitement. (ADD some water... SET a timer...) There is just the right amount of text on each page for a read aloud, and I imagine that this is a book that will get read repeatedly leading up to the holiday.

I don't know that I have ever seen a picture book that gives so many details about how to color eggs, but this even talked about using white crayon to create designs on eggs before they were dyed. I'll forgive the omission of the coolest way I have ever seen to dye eggs: wet a flower or leaf and place it on the egg, then wrap it in onion skins, tie up in a rag, and boil it. The eggs have a cool golden or red (depending on the skins you use) effect, and a white spot where the foliage was placed!

In my family, DuBose Heyward's 1939 The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes was our go-to Easter book, more for the female empowerment than anything else. Sadler's It's Not Easy Being a Bunny was a close second. This would have been a popular choice, since dying eggs and going to a local egg hunt in a park always played a big part in our activities. The cover is beautiful, and begs to be part of an Easter decorating display!

Frozen Peaches

Downing, Erin Soderberg. Frozen Peaches (The Great Peach Experiment #3)
April 4th 2023 by Pixel+Ink
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In the nine months since their mother's death, the Peach family has has a lot of adventures, including traveling around with a peach pie themed food truck in When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Peach Pie, and turning their Aunt Lucinda's house into a Bed and Breakfast in The Peach Pit. Now, unbeknownst to his family, Freddie has been entering contests under his father's name and has won a year's supply of yogurt and a family trip to the famous Ice Hotel in Sweden! The contest was specifically for families who ran B and B's in cold climates, so the Peaches of Duluth, Minnesota were a good call, and they invite Aunt Lucinda to join them. They are joined by four other families, including the Proetzs of Montana, whose daughter Ellen immediately starts an atagonistic relationship with Lucy. The families will all participate in various events in a Frozen Olympics, and the winners will have the chachet of being the Frozen Best, as well as getting a small ice hotel constructed in their location the following winter! There are some glitches along the way, like Herb taking all of his underwear out of his suitcases and replacing them with Beanie Babies, but staying in the Ice Hotel is a fascinating, if very, very cold, experience. The contests are varied, from baking and decorating sleds to downhill races and a final dogsled competition. The Peaches enter everything with their usual gusto, but are saddened when their father, who has gone on a side trip to a research station that relates to the scientific work he does, has not come back in time. Luckily the owner, Phillip, takes their concerns seriously, and takes them out to the station, where they find that their father really does need their help. During the final competition, the Proetzs also need their help. This could mean that the Peaches lose the contest, but what is more important, winning or being good sports?
Strengths: I love that Downing based this book on her own experiences visiting the Ice Hotel years ago; I dont' even mind that she fictionalized a lot of the setting. I read this on a very snowy day, and it was a great virtual adventure-- I didn't even need to borrow a snow suit! I like that the kids all work together towards a common goal, even if they do have a few spats and misunderstandings. Aside from Ellen, all of the competitors were fairly nice. Aunt Lucinda coming along is a nice touch, and her wigs add just a tiny bit of quirkiness. I appreciate that the children occasionally have moments when they think of their mother, but that thei grief isn't pervasive; this is much truer to real life than many middle grade novels. Right now, I have several sixth grade boys racing through this series, so they will be glad to see this next installment. I hope we get to see them back in Duluth one more time! 
Weaknesses: I did find it a little hard to believe that there are that many contests out there for people to enter, but that being said, I had a friend who won tickets to some fancy golf tournament in England, so it could happen. 
What I really think: The Peaches have adventures that are a lot of fun, and they aren't as quirky as the Vanderbeekers are, so I enjoy them a lot more. Readers who like solid family adventure stories with a tiny hint of Enright's Melendy family to them will enjoy traveling with the Peaches.

Saturday Morning Cartoons- Parachute Kids

Tang, Betty. Parachute Kids
April 4, 2023 by Graphix

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Feng-Li Lin and her family travel from Taiwan to the US in 1981 to visit Disneyland and California. They have some trouble with their visas in the airport, but have a great time visiting. The parents surprise Feng-Li, who is ten, and her older brother and sister with the fact that they are not planning to return home because of political unrest. Because he would not be able to get a good paying job, the father returns to the country, leaving the mother to set up a household and enroll the children in school. The children start to go by the names of Jessie, Jason, and Ann, although Ann's brother is determined to keep his own name of Ke-Gang. There is another Taiwanese family who helps with the transition, and the daughter takes a shine to Ke-Gang. Ann has some trouble with English, and her teacher is helpful, even if the other children are not. The only other Asian girl, Rebecca Zhou, does not want to be associated with Ann at all. When their mother's visa expires, the three are left alone. For a while, the family friends are able to watch out for them, but when they are transferred to Boston, the three don't have much support. Jessie is trying to study for the SAT so that she can pursue medical studies on a scholarship at Harvard, but Ke-Gang is angry and starts to hang out with a group of other Asian "parachute kids" who have been brought to the the US to be raised by relatives or friends to give them better chances. He has a crush on one of the boys, but after someone sees them starting to kiss, the boy ignores him. Jessie is scammed out of $10,000 by someone pretending to be an INS official, and has trouble running the household while studying. Ann works very hard on her spelling, as well as making friends, despite the obstacles that she faces. When Ke-Gang is inured, Jessie must let her parents know, and get some help. The problems with visas remain, but the Lins are determined to make life in the US work. 
Strengths: Like Gonzalez's Invisible, this book taught me things that I did not know about immigrant stories, and I'm excited to share this with my students who like graphic novels rather than have them pick up Big Nate comics over and over. Tang's style is really appealing, and she captures the 1980s without making the story seem so historical that modern children can't connect to it. I especially liked the fact that the  speech bubbles were color coded as to the language that the speakers were using. This definitely had a Boxcar Children feel to it; I actually had a former student and her brother whose parents left them in another state when they were in high school because jobs took them out of the area, so I could believe all of the details. The Lin children, even Ke-Gang, were very resourceful and resilient, and I wouldn't mind seeing another book about how their lives played out. 
Weaknesses: Feng-Li (Ann) looked a lot like Speed Racer. That's a "me problem", I know, but I was just getting over thinking that all graphic novels were "performed by the cast of Speed Racer" when I picked them up! Otherwise, I did especially enjoy Tang's illustration style, and the story would make for a great class novel. 
What I really think: Definitely purchasing, and this will be perfect for readers who liked Lin's Dumpling Days, Kuo's In the Beautiful Country, LaMotte and Xu's Measuring Up, and, yes, Yang's Front Desk. Yang has a YA title, Parachutes, that addresses another facet of the practice of bringing children to the US. 

Chat GPT Poetry Friday

So of COURSE Walt Hunter, writing for The Atlantic, thinks that Chat GPT is Not a Poet. He's an associate professor and chair of English at Case Western Reserve. He has to take poetry seriously. 

I took poetry seriously when I was twenty. I had a poem published in Writer's Digest. They paid me $50 for it, which was bank back then. But I soon realized that there were reasons people monetized their college degrees, and many of these reasons had to do with eating three meals a day and living in places with controllable amounts of roaches. So I stopped writing poetry and threw myself into my very lucrative college major, which was Latin. With a super useful and sought after minor, Ancient Greek. I got a job teaching Latin at a private school in Cincinnati where I made slightly less than I had earned at Lazarus.

Then I was unemployed a lot, went back to graduate school, and ended up in a school library.

My plan for retirement, which is years away, is to go on aimless walks, make baby quilts, watch BBC, and write bad poetry. I might take entire days to write one bad poem. I like formal verse. It takes time. 

Unless you are Chat GPT. Its grasp of meter is pretty bad (can you not count to ten, Chat GPT?), but it's rhyming is pretty good, and there's something endearing about just how bad it is. I want to get up at a poetry slam and give a dramatic reading of this one, especially. Such a pity it totally flubbed that last line. 

When I retire, I can spend a whole day thinking of a new one as I walk in the rain smelling the spring flowers. And yes, I am now only allowed to spend 15 minutes a day on Chat GPT, after a friend caught me giving it a prompt to write a poem in the style of Edna St. Vincent Millay's Brief Candle about foot pain.

The Taste of Controversy: An Ode to Spam

Out in the store there lies a can of Spam, A mystery in metal, pink and bold, Its origins unknown, a strange comestible jam, But some do find it appetizing, truth be told.

Some may turn their noses up at Spam, And others praise it as a savory delight, A matter of taste, and not a simple scam, To each their own, in this culinary fight.

Oh Spam, you are a food both loved and loathed, A symbol of excess, and yet of thrift, A product that has managed to stay afloat, Despite the jokes, the insults, and the myth.

So here's to Spam, that oft-maligned meat, May it continue to find a place to eat.

(It also regenerated a slightly better one: 

May it remain a staple, a culinary treat.

Captain Skidmark

Irwin, Jennifer A. Captain Skidmark Dances with Destiny
April 4, 2023 by Charlesbridge Publishing
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Will and his parents have moved to a small town in Canada so that his father, a former professional hockey player, can take a position as a school principal. Will is on a hockey team, but he is not at all good at the sport, and because of his small size, is often picked on by his teammates, especially the vile Artie. As if this weren't painful enough, his cousin Alex is moving from the big city to go to school and play hockey. Alex's family is very wealthy, but the parents are very busy with work, and the details surrounding the reasons he is living with Will are a bit unclear. He's a great soccer player, strapping, handsome guy, but a bit of a jerk. After being pursued by bullies, Will ducks into a local dance studio, where he meets the suave and a bit goofy Jesus, who convinces him to try some moves. Because he gets to dance with Tessa Harper, he's okay with it, and turns out to have a bit of a talent. He starts to take lessons, telling his mother he is at the library. His ruse is discovered by Alex, who uses his knowledge to leverage a meeting with Tessa. When she takes a dislike to him, Alex has Will convince her to go out, and to come along on the date. Alex is actually a nice guy who stands up for Will and is more interested in education than sports, but his father pushes him. Will continues to do poorly at hockey and to struggle with Artie and the other jerks in his school, so he doesn't want anyone to know about his dancing, especially his father. Will had an older brother who died as an infant, and finding this out solidified his feeling that his father was disappointed in him, and that his brother and his cousin are really more of the kind of son his father wants. When Will ends up having a bit of talent as a goalie, his father is excited and signs him up for a goalie camp. Will isn't thrilled, but acquiesces, and gives up his dance dreams. At the same time, Alex's father comes in to town and wants to take him back to play a higher level of hockey in the city. Because Will wouldn't stand up for himself, Alex doesn't either. Will both boys decide to follow their fathers' dreams instead of their own, or will they find their voices?

Strengths: There are a lot of good hockey details, even though Will doesn't like the sport. There are not as many descriptions of the dancing, and while it is played for laughs at first, I liked that Will had a talent for it. There is a lot going on emotionally in both boys' lives. Will was never told about the baby who died, and feels very alone and unsupported. The grandfather, who gives him details, is not a positive role model who can help out. Alex came to the small town because of anger management issues, and seeing the boys grow close and support each other was the best part of this book for me. Will also has a friend, Mike Safi, who lives on a farm and is similarly bullied; this is not explored overly much, but Will does prove himself to be a good friend. I liked that there is a little bit of romance involved, and Will is reliably awkward about it. I think this is a highly relatable title with a style that will appeal to most middle school boys, especially those who have mixed feelings about sports. 
Weaknesses: Frequent readers of my blog know that I am basically a 12-year-old boy in my reading preferences, but it turns out there is a limit to the amount of time I can read about people getting hit in the nuts. Fart jokes are great, but they need to be more nuanced. Also, not sure we ever need to read descriptions of girls' breasts in any middle grade literature, and there are a couple of instances when Will "pitches a tent" that I could have done without. While all of these middle grade moments are okay in moderation, there were just too many of them for me to feel comfortable handing this to students. I was not fond of the grandfather's use of the term "peckerwood", either.
What I really think: I will probably purchase this, despite the content. It's not horrible, but since I do so much hand selling, I'd rather the book didn't have these things. It does have a lot of hockey details in it, and there are a good number of my students who have read all of the Sigmund Brouwer titles and want something new. It will check out about as much as Kadohata's Checked, which goes out four or five times a year, making both of these hockey books good investments. 

Girl Forgotten

Henry, April. Girl Forgotten

8 March 2023, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Public library copy

Piper Gray has been living with her mother, but since she is no longer in the picture, she has moved in with her father and his wife Gretchen and their younger children. She's not looking forward to starting at a new school in Firview (in the Pacific Northwest), and it's confusing to have her father suddenly willing to provide her with things like a brand new phone and a computer, things that her mother would not have been able to on her waitress' salary. She has met one person-- Jonas, whose dog got loose when she was out on a walk, during which she discovered the grave of a 17-year-old girl, Layla Trello. Further investigation reveals that the local girl was murdered 17 years ago. Since she is a big fan of the true crime podcast Dead, Deader, Deadest, she decides to do her school required passion project to create her own podcast, Who Killed Lauren Trello. She gets paired up with Jonas, who has a podcast of his own, and he gives her lots of good information. He has a past of his own, and was driving a car when his girlfriend grabbed the wheel during a fight, causing an accident that took her life and causes Jonas to have his leg amputated. People still blame him for the accident, so he doesn't like that Piper is causing renewed trauma to Layla's family, who still live in the area. Layla does her research, reading everything she can find on the topic, interviewing anyone she can find, including brothers who both might have had a relationship with Layla, her best friend, Layla's mother, a school resource officer who seems too friendly with young people, and even her own language arts teacher, Mrs. Wharton. She proceeds carefully, keeping the feelings of her interviewees in mind, and really wants to get justice for Layla. There are a few threats, but nothing she takes seriously. She is dealing with trauma of her own, including what really happened with her mother, and with her feelings for Jonas. When the local paper does an article on her, her listenership grows, and the woman who produces Dead, Deader, Deadest covers the story, causing some people to accuse Piper of copying! Even though she hasn't solved the murder, she plans a final podcast episode, but as she is going live with it, things fall into place in a dangerous way. Will she be able to figure out who killed Layla, or will she become an unsolved murder case herself?

Strengths: Students ask me all the time for murder mysteries. There is something innate in the human psyche that finds this topic interesting, and Henry even addresses this right in the beginning with this quote from S. Friend: "We appear to enjoy tragedy not despite, but precisely because of, the painful emotions we feel in response." Piper's Father and Gretchen are a bit concerned about her interest in the podcast, but she is able to hide a lot from them, and this interest might be in part because of the difficult circumstances in her own life. There's nothing particularly gory in the book, and while Piper is in high school, the content of this is middle grade appropriate. This is why Henry's work is so popular in my library-- it's similar to the Joan Lowery Nixon 1990s murder mysteries that offer just enough details without overwhelming younger readers. For my part, I loved Piper's clothing, and the fact that she gets her cool outfits from the thrift store, even though she seems to find a lot more true vintage clothes than have been in my local stores lately! The relationship with Jonas is nuanced but mutually respectful, Piper slowly comes to terms with her new situation, and her mother's fate is complicated. I don't want to spoil that plot line, since Henry drops lots of breadcrumbs to help readers understand, but it is a very realistic look at what some teens have in their lives these days. The details about how to produce a podcast are also excellent. I can believe that it takes seven hours of preparation to produce one hour of a podcast, but if I ever go back to recording, I'll definitely tape in a closet to improve the audio quality. 

Weaknesses: Seventeen years later, Layla's mother is still a wreck? And her father killed himself a year after Layla died? I still think parents are more resilient than this, and it always bothers me to see this kind of negative portrayal of how parents deal with grief. Also, I knew who the killer was right away, but I doubt my students will. 
What I really think: This might well be Henry's best work yet. I've already bought a copy without reading it, which I rarely do, but will probably add two more to my fall order. Great book to hand to students who enjoyed Hahn's What We Saw and who are tired of only reading about murderous GHOSTS. A must purchase for all middle school and high school libraries!

To Catch a Thief

Brockenbrough, Martha. To Catch a Thief
April 4, 2023 by Scholastic Press

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Amelia McGuffin lives with her large family in Urchin Beach near the Pacific ocean. Her parents run the local general store, and struggle to keep their house repaired and their five children organized! They depend on the tourists who come for the local Dragonfly Day festival every year, but this year there is a problem: the dragonfly staff, which plays a large part in fundraising, has been stolen. Not only that, but there are numerous small objects that are also going missing. More seriously, storms have damaged a lot of the beach area, and require extensive repair. The wet weather has also wiped out a large portion of the dragonflies. Amelia and her friends Birdie (whose family runs the local newspaper) and Delphine try to investigate the thefts. The McGuffin children have found an abandoned dog, whom they name Doc, that they have taken in even though their parents have said they can't afford another mouth to feed. If the Dragonfly festival fails, they will definitely not get to keep the dog. With the help of neighbor Dr. Agatha and a library book on detecting, Amelia works hard to solve the mystery. A lot of suspicion falls on new neighbors, twins Dot and Dash Morse, as well as Amelia's own mother. Just when she is closing in on the thief, a mudslide cuts off Urchin Beach from the rest of the world. Is Dragonfly Day doomed? 

Strengths: Amelia and her large family have a lot of freedom to wander around their colorful, close knit town and have adventures, but there are also a lot of serious issues brought up about the environment, local economies, and social justice. I appreciated that the family took such good care of Doc, but made sure that the vet scanned him for a microchip and made an effort to find his owner. Amelia acquires and uses a lot of good skills is trying to identify clues and think critically about the situation, and I enjoyed Dr. Agatha, the somewhat surly older neighbor. This was a quirky, somewhat clue-oriented mystery. 
Weaknesses: There are a lot of inside literary jokes; a local realtor is named Mike Jung, and there are a lot of current middle grade authors mentioned. I thought this was amusing, but it might confuse most of my students. Of course, if they ask, it will be great fun to explain it to them and get them books by Anne Ursu, Laurel Snyder, Olugbemisola Rhuday-Perkovich, Laura Ruby, Kelly Barnhill, Tracey Baptiste, and Linda Urban! 
What I really think: This was a little bit like Blakemore's The Friendship Riddle mixed with Lemony Snicket's All the Wrong Questions series. This will be very successful with elementary audiences, but my middle school readers have been looking for more serious mysteries, involving murder whenever possible.

Chat GPT

I've been talking about technological advances with my students all week, telling them about the evolution of the cell phone and discussing whether Chat GPT will have the success of that innovation or go the way of the laser disk. I asked it for book blogger recommendations, and it came up with some that are NOT my favorite (seriously, how can men read so little and become so famous?), so I asked it the following: 

Me: Have you ever heard of Ms. Yingling Reads?

Yes, I am familiar with Ms. Yingling Reads! She is a book blogger and school librarian who has been writing about middle-grade books for over a decade. Ms. Yingling Reads is run by Karen Yingling, a middle school librarian in Ohio, who has a passion for finding great books for her students to read. On her blog, she shares book reviews, author interviews, and reading recommendations for students, parents, and educators. She also hosts regular book giveaways and provides valuable insights into the world of middle-grade literature. Ms. Yingling Reads is a great resource for anyone who is looking for new and exciting books to share with young readers!

So there you go! I felt a need to memorialize this in the way I did the first E Readers! 

Also, I asked it "Why should schools have school librarians?"

Having school librarians can bring many benefits to schools and students. Here are some reasons why schools should have school librarians:

1. Promote literacy and a love of reading: School librarians can help foster a love of reading in students by providing access to a wide range of books and resources, as well as promoting reading through book clubs, reading programs, and other activities.

2. Support learning and academic success: School librarians can help students and teachers with research, provide access to educational resources, and offer instruction on information literacy and digital citizenship.

3. Provide a safe and inclusive space: School librarians can create a welcoming and inclusive space where all students feel valued and respected, regardless of their background or identity.

4. Foster critical thinking and creativity: School librarians can help students develop critical thinking skills and encourage creativity through activities such as makerspaces, coding clubs, and other innovative programs.

5. Support technology integration: School librarians can help teachers integrate technology into their lessons and provide access to digital resources, as well as offer instruction on digital literacy and online safety.

Overall, having school librarians can greatly benefit schools and students, providing them with access to resources, support for learning and academic success, and a welcoming and inclusive environment.

When I asked it "Why should schools remove school librarians?", however, it gave me this:

As an AI language model, I cannot provide an opinion on whether schools should remove school librarians or not, as it is not appropriate for me to take a stance on this matter. However, it is important to note that school librarians play an important role in promoting literacy, supporting learning, and creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for students. Removing school librarians could potentially limit students' access to educational resources and support, as well as limit opportunities for students to develop critical thinking skills and a love of reading. Ultimately, any decisions regarding school staffing should be made based on the specific needs and resources of the school and its students.

It could not, as an AI language model, opine on who the cutest puppy in the world was. But we all know it is Pongo. 

The Not-So-Perfect Plan and Good Different

Matula, Christina. The Not-So-Perfect Plan (Holly Mei #2)
April 4, 2023 by Inkyard Press
E ARC provided by Netgalley

In this sequel to The Not-So-Uniform Life of Holly Mei, Holly-Mei and her family have settled into a routine in their new life in Hong Kong, where they have moved from Toronto when her mother's job moved them there. She and younger sister Millie attend Tai Tam Prep, and Holly-Mei is on the field hockey team. She's disappointed when she doesn't make MVP, but instead gets the award for the Most Improved Player. This stings especially when Millie wins a bake off with an avocado/chocolate cake even though she wasn't baking to win. Holly-Mei is jealous of all of the attention and social media love that Millie gets, and comes up with an idea; she will put together a team and enter the annual Dragon Dash, an orienteering race around the city. It's coming up quickly, but she manages to put together a team that includes cousins, Gemma, and others from school, but not Saskia, whose mother is pushing her to do better at hockey and other sports so she can qualify for the Olympics. The team calls themselves the Tai Tam Thunder and intend to play for fun until Holly-Mei, driven by the need to win, becomes demanding and takes a lot of the joy out of the training. Will she be able to compete, keep her friends, and get over her need to win things in order to feel loved?
Strengths: I doubt that I will ever get to travel to Hong Kong, so this was a good virtual tour of the city. At one point, Holly-Mei and Millie even get to travel on their own to the market to buy supplies; one of my favorite things to do while traveling is to go grocery shopping, since it gives such a good picture of what it's really like to live in a country. The sibling rivalry was well done, and I appreciated that Holly-Mei still liked her sister and got along with her even when she was jealous. The field hockey and running training will appeal to readers who like sports, and characters like Gemma add some social drama. The other fun part about this book was all of the food descriptions; it's fairly common to get descriptions of meals, but I loved that we got to hear a lot about Holly-Mei's snacks. I feel like at some point I will need to obtain some White Rabbit candy!  

Weaknesses: There were a lot of characters to keep straight, so I would have enjoyed this more if there had been a team of about four!

What I really think: This felt a bit like Harrison's The Clique books or Russell's Dork Diaries, with its ensemble cast, school related activity, and friend and family drama, but it was good to see a more international spin on realistic fiction.

Kuyatt, Meg Eden. Good Different
April 4, 2023 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Selah (SAYluh, not SELLuh) attends the Pebblecreek private school, and has done fairly well there. She has a small but loyal group of friends, including Noelle, who loves fantasy books, Gemma, and Addie. She lives with her mother and next door to her grandfather, Pop, who is the only one who really understands her. Selah's mother wants her to remember that she needs to be "normal" and not stand out at school, but this is hard, because Selah has a lot of sensory processing issues that have not been addressed. She also thinks a bit differently from her classmates; she is very interested in dragons, but knows not to talk too much about them even with Noelle. Sometimes her system is too overwhelmed; when Addie is brushing her hair in the way that 6th grade girls often do, Selah flails and hits her friends, earning her a suspension. This makes her feel even more awkward and unable to deal with being overstimulated. While she does have one teacher who encourages to work through some of her difficulties by writing poetry, there is another teacher who puts her on the spot and refuses to make any accomodations for her. After a visit to a ComicCon, where she meets a vendor who suggests some fidgets and other methods for coping, Selah does some research of her own. Armed with gummies, sunglasses, and ear plugs, she does much better paying attention until the teacher takes her "toys" away. Her mother thinks that Pebblecreek is the best school for her, but the principal doesn't think that the school has the necessary capabilities for dealing with Selah's "issues". Eventually, she approaches her mother, who has similar issues navigating the world, and asks to go to the doctor to see if she can get help. The doctor indicates that the autism spectrum in girls is often misunderstood, but that Selah can get help. There are some notes at the end by the author, who is neurodivergent, about the autism spectrum, related books, and a bit about her own experiences. 

Strengths: This had a lot of good information about Selah's struggles as well as what she does to try to make things easier for herself. It's important for young readers to meet characters like Selah in literature, because they will meet many of them in real life, and this will help to understand the challenges that others face. This was a novel in verse, reflecting Selah's love of poetry. My daughter, like Addie, managed to run afoul of one of her friends (who was identified as being on the Autism Spectrum a year later) in 6th grade, when her friend threw a wooden block at her in science class. She was understanding of her friend and didn't avoid her, but it was a bit hard to help her fully understand why her friend had become so agitated. A book like this would have helped. It was interesting to see that both Selah's mother and grandfather also struggled. The inclusion of a comic con and the description of a variety of coping mechanisms, like weighted blankets, was helpful. Having an author who is writing from experience and not research adds another level of detail to the story. 

Weaknesses: We have had an autism spectrum unit at my school for over twenty years, and there are many students who have not been identified but who exhibit some ASD traits; we certainly allow headphones and fidgets, and have all manner of accomodations available. The teacher who took away Selah's items and the principal who was ready to kick Selah out didn't ring true to me, but Pebblecreek is a private school, and while they are probably legally obligated to identify and accomodate differences, the reality is probably different. Schools may also have changed a bit since Kuyatt's school years, although perhaps not enough.

What I really think: This is a good addition to books that deal with children who struggle with sensory issues, like Mackler's Not if I Can Help It, Pla's Stanley Will Probably Be Fine, Kapit's Get a Grip, Vivy Cohen, McNicoll's A Kind of Spark, Gennari's Muffled, and Sass' Ellen Outside the Lines. I would have liked to see an additional plot ARC not related to Selah's ASD, since my readers are used to books with characters who have various issues but whose lives don't revolve solely around them, like Gerber's Focused. 

Trying to be better about keeping statistics!

Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy

Thomas, Angie. Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy

April 4th, 2023 Balzer and Bray

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Nic Blake, who lives with her father in Jackson, Mississippi, is excited to turn 12. It means that her father, who homeschools her, will finally teach her to use the Gift, and perhaps let her have a hellhound puppy. Her best friend, JP, doesn't know that she and her father are Manifestors, a particular kind of Remarkables, but the two bond over a fictional story about a boy involved in magic. When the new book in the series comes out, Nic attends a book signing and finds out that the author, TJ Retro, is an old friend of her father's, and the books are based on their childhood! This opens up a lot of secrets, however; Nic thought that her mother had abandoned her, but it turns out that it was her father who took her away from Uhuru, where most Remarkables live and her grandmother is president of LORE, and has been hiding with her as an exile. Not only that, but her father is also accused of stealing the Msaidizi, which can change forms but is crucial to the safety of Uhuru. Nic also has a twin brother! She realizes that the only way to save her father is to embark on a journey to find the Msaidizi, which can change forms, making them difficult to find. She aslso has a twin brother, Alex! She realized that the only way to save her father is by meeting with a variety of Remarkables (who are drawn from African folklore), completing a heroic quest, and exploring a prophecy and a secret about herself that needs to be further examined in another book in this series!

Strengths: Nic's desire to be included into Remarkable culture is strong, and the description of the different types of Remarkables and how they function in the Unremarkable world is great fun. Having a magical creature of one's own is an added bonus, and the hellhoud puppy, while stinky, will speak to readers who want their own familiar. The family secrets are both devastating and somewhat of a relief; Nic is both angry but glad to get to know her brother, which whom she has quite a bond. JP is a fun character, with his preacher father and religious background, which he uses to great effect in many of the battles in which the trio are embroiled. There is definitely another book on the horizon; the family connections need to be explored and smoothed out, and Nic needs to spend some time settling into Uhuru, although I'm glad that JP will be allowed to visit. 
Weaknesses: This does embrace a lot of middle grade fantasy tropes: getting magical powers at puberty, heroic quests, and friends from outside of the magical realm that get drawn into the adventure. While I have read dozens of similar books, my students have not, so this probably won't matter to them. 
What I really think: Since 2014, we have seen an uptick in the number of culturally related fantasy novels, which is great. Readers who enjoyed Perry's Cameron Battle, Brown's Serwa Boateng, Mbalia's Tristan Strong and Last Gate of the Emperor, will enjoy this one the most, but the African folklore and inclusion of Black history will also appeal to readers who like more academy based tales with cultural connections like Clayton's The Marvellers, Elle's A Taste Of Magic, Dumas' Wildseed Witch, Moore's Mapmaker, and  Okogwu's Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun.

MMGM-- The Sister Switch

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at 

Teach Mentor Texts 

and 

Unleashing Readers

Rigaud, Debbie and Mlynowski, Sarah. The Sister Switch

Illustrations by Maxine Vee. Best Wishes #2

April 4, 2023 by Scholastic Press

E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus

Addie Asante lives in Columbus, Ohio (hooray!) and struggles with being the middle sister. She has to share a room with kindergartener Camille and her Legos, and doesn't feel she can live up to her big sister Sophie's academic success. After being told by her parents that she can't be in the school talent show because she is struggling with math, and after fighting with Sophie, Addie wishes that she weren't always stuck in the middle. Fortunately or unfortunately, she has just gotten a mysterious package in the mail, which had a bracelet in it. This is the bracelet that Becca from Best Wishes had sent to her when Addie's name appeared on the package. Addie hadn't had a chance to read the note Becca included about being careful what she wished for. It takes a bit to figure out what has happened. Not only has Addie become Sophie, but Sophie has become Camille and Camille is now Addie! They are all confused, and after Addie (as Sophie) finds out that Camille (who is really Sophie) has been sent home for throwing a chair in her class, Addie takes her other sister and asks to be sent home. Once at home, the girls try to figure out what is wrong, and try to plot a path forward. Addie isn't comfortable with Sophie's classes, but is glad to have her own room and phone, and hopes that she can still take place in the talent show. Sophie is cautioned to behave herself even if Camille's classmates eat play dough. Addie hopes that she can convince Camille not to go to school as her, but Camille is thrilled to be a "big kid" and to be so tall. Unfortunately, she uses her exuberance to stage a flash mob in the cafeteria. Having the sisters switch bodies is just as confusing as it sounds, and Addie isn't sure what she needs to do in order for the bracelet to unlatch itself. She does contact Becca, who warns her about the blonde woman, Eloise, who is trying to steal the bracelet. Sure enough, she shows up on rollerskates, chasing the girls near a park, and later shows up in their home, selling their mother makeup! She tells Addie a story about her sister being sick, and wanting to use the bracelet to wish to make her well. Addie's not buying it. When the talent show arrives, the sisters throw themselves into a variety of acts. Will they be able to figure out what needs to be done so that they can return to their own bodies?
Strengths: Ahhhh! Paige's coffee house on Morse Road is really Java Central here in my hometown of Westerville! I met Debbie Rigaud in the fall, and she said she did a lot of her writing there. There is even a drawing of it! (Below.) It's always exciting to read books set in Ohio! Oh, the book? Solid story. I am a big fan of the Freaky Friday trope (were there body switching stories before that 1972 one?), and applying it to sisters who each think the others have it better off is brilliant. This was fast paced, and should be popular with fans of Mlynowshi's Whatever After books and other magical realism titles. I also appreciated the message of Addie finding her own voice. The illustrations are delightful. 
Weaknesses: It did get a little confusing with the three girls, and I'm not quite sure where the story is going with Eloise trying to steal the bracelet. 
What I really think: I am very much looking forward to the Mlyownski and Soontornvat Time After Time, (out November 7, 2023) where the bracelet travels to Texas!