The Trouble with Twins

Siebel, Kathryn. The Trouble with Twins
August 9th 2016 by Knopf BFYR
Copy received from the publisher

A young girl's mother tells her the story of twins: Arabella Osgood, who was very pretty, and Henrietta, who was less attractive and also boring. Jealous of her sister because of the preferential treatment she recieves from their parents, Henrietta cuts Arabella's hair when she is sleeping and is send away to Great-Aunt Priscilla's as punishment. And punishment it is, since Priscilla feeds her fish head soul and there is nothing more exciting to do than to name the cats. Arabella misses her sister and has bad dreams about her, so sets off to find her. The Osgoods panic and call the police and the school, and a comedy of errors ensues. This includes the Osgoods traveling to Priscilla's and demanding that she sell a ring to offer reward money for Arabella, who is quietly making her way across the countryside. In the end, Henrietta manages to burn down Priscilla's old house, and we learn the connection between the narrator and the twins. 

I was so upset by the unequal treatment of the girls at both home and school that I had a lot of trouble with this. I was also alarmed by the way the aunt treated Henrietta and the way the aunt herself was treated. This made it hard for me to like the book, although it has gotten very favorable reviews both at Kirkus and at School Library Journal. 

Strengths: This definitely does have a Lemony Snicket/Wolves of Willoughby Chase vibe, and will be enjoyed by readers who are fond of their characters being thrust into unpleasant situations where they are abused and no one calls Children's Services. Twins are always fascinating to middle grade readers as well, and the connection between Henrietta and Arabella despite the adults in their lives is interesting. 
Weaknesses: Again, I was deeply disturbed by the treatment of Henrietta.
What I really think: This has a classic vibe to it, and is set in a vague time in the past-- the 1970s, perhaps? Combined with the illustrations, this tone may make this more popular with elementary students than with middle school ones. 

MMGM- Fuzzy

Angleberger, Tom and Dellinger, Paul. Fuzzy
August 16th 2016 by Amulet Books
E ARC from Netgalley.com

Maxine is having trouble in school with the robotic assistant principal Barbara making sure that everyone is Upgrading, but things get even more complicated with the advent of a robot prototype named Fuzzy. The government is trying to get a robot to create its own code based on its experiences instead of relying on programming, and feel that a middle school is good place to do that. Max is assigned to help Max, and ends up getting a lot of dTags (demerits) because she is frequently made late by Fuzzy or his handlers. Unbeknownst to her, Barbara is giving her poor scores on tests and trying to get her removed from the school. The assistant principal program has also been writing its own code, although that was not supposed to be one of its function, and is trying to get rid of students who are dragging the school down. There are also people trying to steal either Fuzzy or some of the school's codes. When Fuzzy uncovers more information about Barbara's plot, he works with Max and other students to try to overthrow her influence. 

N.B. The pages of my E ARC turned really slowly, so I wasn't able to go back and get details I had saved. There weren't pictures, so I don't know why it was so slow. 

Strengths: I liked this vaguely dystopian school system, where students are tested every week and scores MUST go up. Granted, it's a little over the top, but completely plausible! Max is a fun character who tries to do the right thing but becomes frustrated, and Fuzzy is an excellent robot to have as a friend. 
Weaknesses: I'm usually not a fan of evil principal characters, but making a computerized principal evil-- that's brilliant! 
What I really think: This is definitely one of Angleberger's stronger works, and I think it will be very popular. Robots seem to be a huge new trend, right up there with video games. 

Time, Inc. Time for Kids Almanac 2017
May 31st 2016 by TIME for Kids
Copy received from the publisher

Remember back in the day when there was a class set of almanacs, and the social studies teachers would bring their students to the library to look up information about countries in them? No? This was, of course, before smart phones. Want to know the current population of Bolivia? Just Google it. Students are woefully unprepared to look up information in books these days, which is a skill they might occasionally need to have. 

Because almanacs don't serve the important function they once did, this Time For Kids publication focuses on a variety of fun facts. You can still find information about Bolivia, but instead of it being a solid block of 6 point text on flimsy paper, there's a colorful entry (alongside other countries of the world) with the flag and pertinent data. I especially liked the information about the different states. There is a wide range of information, from books for middle grade readers that have been published to fun holidays to information about sports teams. All of the information is presented with pictures, text boxes, and a generally appealing format that is fun to dip into. There are lots of maps and timelines as well. 

My students love the Guinness Book of World Records, mainly for the gross articles about people with multiple piercings or 20 foot long fingernails. This is a better alternative. Since the format is vibrant and engaging but the information is more useful and pertinent to daily life, spending time flipping through this will increase students' working knowledge of the world and provide them with useful data that they can apply to their school work. 

Plus, it doesn't have a plastic coated lenticular cover for readers to repeatedly run their fingernails over in order to make a squeaky noise and annoy everyone in study hall!

First Day of School

In my district, we are starting with a Teacher Inservice Day. I usually give a presentation of 100 Great New Books on these days. If you aren't able to make it, here's the PowerPoint!

(And the cool font didn't transfer. Darn.)


http://www.slideshare.net/karenyingling/fall-2016-64800563/karenyingling/fall-2016-64800563

Miss Waiver Day in the past? I've uploaded many of my presentations.
http://www.slideshare.net/search/slideshow?searchfrom=header&q=karen+yingling

The Sea Pony (Piper Green and the Fairy Tree #3)

Potter, Ellen. The Sea Pony
August 16th 2016 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
E ARC from Netgalley.com

Piper finds a nautical whistle in her "fairy tree" and it gets her into more trouble than it gets her out of. She almost loses it while out with her father checking lobster traps, and befriends a seal pup (that she calls her "sea pony") briefly. While her father doesn't like the idea of her using his bait to attract a nuisance, he is a little more lenient when her antics help find a skiff that has blown away and was thought lost. Piper is very interested in an actual pony that is delivered to the island, and is happy when it has gone to a friend. There are lots of fun anecdotes delivered in short chapters. 
Strengths: Piper is a fairly appealing character, and the "exotic" setting, complete with maps, is quite fun.
Weaknesses: I'd love to see a similar series for older middle grade readers in a similar setting, but with more age appropriate problems. Maybe that's why I am enjoying these early chapter books so much-- both of Piper's parents and both of her siblings are still alive!
What I really think: I would have adored this when I was in first grade, but it is too young for middle school readers. 

Guy Friday- I Am Drums

Not everyone understands why my blog tagline is "Books for middle school students, especially boys". When I started my blog, I realized that many of the "gatekeepers" in boys' lives were female, and that certainly the books I personally read in middle school (Anne of Green Gables, Beverly Cleary's teen novels) were not things that interested boys. In the last ten years, there has been a lot of discussion about "boys' books" and "girls' books", with some hurtful, unhelpful things going on, like Shannon Hale not being invited to talk to boys at school visits because she writes "girl books". 

That's not my intention. I wrote an article for School Library Journal on my opinions, and still think that it's somewhat more difficult to get books that make boys excited about reading. 

I say this all because the following book is an excellent example of how publishers can make a more gender neutral book that I can hand to boys without them recoiling. I love Dionne's Notes from an Accidental Band Geek (at left), and have handed to lots of boys in band. But is has a girl in a skirt on the front. Middle school boys really have to be persuaded to read this because of the cover, no matter how good the inside of the book is. Compare this with the nice neutral cover below! My school has just as many girls in the drum section as boys, but I could definitely hand I Am Drums to a boy and he wouldn't blink. Success!



Grosso, Mike. I Am Drums
September 6th 2016 by Clarion Books
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline

Sam loves to drum, but her family is having some financial difficulty, making private lessons and even a drum set hard to swing. She has put together her own kit on an old computer desk, with a variety of different books and newspapers that make different sounds. When she finds out that her school is going to cut the entire band program, she gets desperate and decides that she has to finally try to get lessons from the local expert, Pete. She needs to find a way to make money, so talks to a number of neighbors and borrows her family's lawn mower without permission in order to pay for lessons. Pete agrees to take her on as long as she pays $15 per lesson (half the going rate) and saves for a drum set. Sam is very passionate and talented, and works very hard, which is why Pete takes her on, but she also had a behavioral issue at school that she's keeping from her parents. On top of the lies she tells in order to keep taking lessons, she runs afoul of her parents in a major way, which eventually ends her lessons and gets her in a lot of trouble. Can Sam manage to make things right and continue with something she loves?
Strengths: Lot of good details about drumming, and Pete is a fun teacher. Sam is very impetuous, which is so true of many middle schoolers. I can't think of another book that is so centered on music. I see this making some drummers in my school very happy. 
Weaknesses: I never thought of drumming as being a "boy" thing, but then I was a huge Karen Carpenter fan! Sam is given a hard time about this by some boys in her class. I also was really, really uncomfortable about Pete being willing to drive her to an audition. I would only ever transport a student if I personally knew and was friends with the parents. The lying had consequences, but went on for a very long time. 
What I really think: Love the cover and will purchase. Won't be hugely popular, but will be the right book for the right child on many occasions. 

The Bad Kid

Lariviere, Sarah. The Bad Kid
September 6th 2016 by Simon & Schuster 
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline

For some reason, some of my students LOVE to read books about "bad kids". I've had a couple of books about children in juvenile detention centers that have been wildly popular. 

This book ending up being a mystery. I have to say, it kept me reading, because I kept waiting for Claudeline to be BAD. She was a little obnoxious, to be sure, and the parts about her grandfather being a putative gangster were interesting. That's something my students used to ask for, when The Sopranos was on, but there weren't a whole lot of details about what the grandfather did (which might have appealed to students), and Claude's father was not emulating his father. This ended up being a very heavily atmospheric neighborhood story about Brooklyn, with the mystery of Alma Ligonberry thrown in. I liked Claude's friends Brett and Lala, and the fact that Claude had both parents. It read a bit like some Paula Danziger or other 1970s books set in New York City, where the city is a character as well. Just don't think it will resonate with my students, but take a look at it if you need a mystery!

From Goodreads.com
"Claudeline Feng LeBernardin learns what it really means to be bad in this colorful and hilarious mystery reminiscent of Harriet the Spy.

Claudeline Feng LeBernardin is very good at being bad. Her Grandpa Si was a real-life gangster, and Claude always thought she’d take over the family business when he was gone. Instead, Claude’s dad is in charge—and she’s sure he’s running things into the ground. She wants to step in, but her parents are keeping secrets and her partner in crime, Fingerless Brett, is suddenly on the straight and narrow.

Then, when a very strange character by the name of Alma Lingonberry shows up in the neighborhood, Claude gets closer to the crime life than ever. Before long, she’s swept up in a maddening mystery that’s got her wondering: What does it really mean to be bad? "

#WNDB Wednesday- Makoons

Erdich, Louise. Makoons (The Birchbark House #5)
August 9th 2016 by HarperCollins
E ARC from Edelweiss

Makoons is recovering from a lengthy illness, and is disappointed that his twin brother Chickadee is so much faster and stronger than he is. His family has moved to the Great Plains of Dakota Territory from their home in the woods because they were forced out by the US government, and are trying to figure out how to live a new kind of life. They hunt buffalo and make pemmican and other food that can be stored and will travel easily, settle for long enough to put in a garden, and deal with the passing of the seasons, which can be hard on the older members of the group. There is some comic relief from a very vain young man obsessed with his clothes and hair, but even he learns lessons at the end. 
Strengths: Even though I missed the two books (Game of Silence and Porcupine Year) between Birchbark House and Chickadee, this was easy to follow. The details about everyday life on the Plains in the 1880s is very detailed. This author has the approval of Debbie Reese. 
Weaknesses: I can't get students to read The Birchbark House, so haven't bought other books in this series. It is very slow.
What I really think: I feel like I should buy this, but fear it will just sit on the shelf like The Penderwicks (another dead-in-the-water title in my library). I'll try to get students to read the first book and go from there. 

Missy Piggle-Wiggle and the Ultimate Voyagers!

Mass, Wendy. The Seventh Element (Voyagers#6)

July 5th 2016 by Random House Books for Young Readers
Copy provided by publisher

Things are looking grim for Team Alpha-- Piper almost dies when the Light Blade blows up, but luckily manages to not only escape but also to bring the Slither Pollen with her. Team Omega also manages to escape, and are forced by necessity to join forces, especially since Anna has figured out that Dash only has a few months to live. Colin has been contained, and Chris lets the groups know that they will be heading to Dargon at Gamma Speed, where they need to deal with elves, ogres, and dragons in order to get the sixth element, dragon cinder. The trip is much more fun with two teams, and while there are issues both on Dargon and with Colin, the element is secured and loaded into the Element Fuser. Unfortunately, there is still one element needed-- will the teens be able to make the Source and return safely to earth?
Strengths: This is a great action/adventure space travel mystery, and I've enjoyed the different planets, as well as the conflicts between the different teams and Colin and Chris. There is also an online presence that I haven't checked out very much.
Weaknesses: The elves and other medieval fantasy creatures, as well as the method by which the dragon cinder had to be created, were not my favorites. There are too many medieval fantasy books as it is, and the elements seemed out of place in a science fiction series. Students may not share this objection.
What I really think: It's really essential to read these in order. While I reviewed books 1 and 2, I haven't read books 3,4 and 5. I'm ordering them for my library and planned to read them when they arrived. I was able to get into the story after a couple of chapters but would recommend reading the books in order. 

https://www.goodreads.com/series/163091-voyagers




Martin, Ann M. Missy Piggle-Wiggle and the Whatever Cure
September 6th 2016 by Feiwel & Friends
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline

When Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle feels compelled to go looking for her priate husband, she asks her great-niece to hold down the upside down fort during her absence. Missy settles in, makes friends with a shy new neighbor girl, and the children who regularly visit start to warm to her. There is a nice, light romance between Missy and the local bookstore owner which I enjoyed because I always wanted to know a little more about Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle herself. Once again, some of the children have troublesome habits, unlike Lester the pig, Wag the dog, and Penelope the parrot, who are all delightful and well-behaved. The Freeforall family seems to have problems, in particular, so Missy steps in to babysit the three children while she effects her cures. In the end, and in a very modern way, Missy has to cure the Freeforall parents as well. There is a cryptic letter from Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle at the end of the book that leaves room for a sequel. 
Strengths: I do adore the original Betty MacDonald books, but they are VERY dated. If a reboot could get young readers interested in this, I'm all for it. Martin seems to have studied the original books and has remained true to the feel of the stories, while updating them nicely.
Weaknesses: This had more outright magic than I remembered the originals having. This sparked quite a conversation with my daughters, who read all of the books, and they pointed out that the "Tattle-Tale Cure" produced clouds of smoke, which was fairly magical. We came to the conclusion that while Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle WAS magic, we were always a tiny bit unsure whether that was really true or whether we were imagining it. Because of this, I preferred the cure utilized for a child who was always late (a loud alarm only she could hear) to the cure for greediness that involved whatever she grabbed shrinking visibly, where others could see it. That is certainly a personal preference, as is my intense love for the original Hilary Knight illustrations. 
What I really think: The reissued Ruth Chew books have been insanely popular in my library, so I think I will give this one a try with my students. 

MMGM- Let Your Voice Be Heard

It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe and What Are You Reading? day at Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers. It's also Nonfiction Monday.






Silvey, Anita. Let Your Voice Be Heard: The Life and Times of Pete SeegerAugust 2nd 2016 by Clarion Books
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline

This well-illustrated biography, we learn about Seeger's unconventional upbringing with educated parents, his musical career, and his interest in social justice. Difficult topics, like his parents' divorce, his investigation by the Un-American Activities Committee, and his marriage to Japanese-American Toshi Ota in 1943, at the height of World War II, are all covered fairly. The musical influences from which Seeger took his inspiration, as well as the musicians he inspired, represent such a wide range of performers that this is a fantastic book to have in a middle school library, and could be very useful in History Day projects. This was a well-researched and very complete book on an important figure in US history, but is also fun to read. 

My only complaint is that the book ended rather abruptly. While Seeger was most active before the 1970s, he did continue to perform and become involved in politics. The book mentions that, but condenses the last 40 years of his life into very few pages. This was at odds with the pacing of the rest of the book, and left me dissatisfied. While I love the cover illustration, Seeger was so iconic (at every stage of his life!) that it's a tiny bit of a shame that a photo isn't on the cover. 

Rowling, Tiffany and Thorne. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
July 31st 2016 by Arthur A. Levine Books
Purchased copy for Picky Reader!

Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley's children, James and Albus, are both off to Hogwarts. Albus is a somewhat awkward lad, and he's afraid that he will be assigned to Slytherin, which would be a bad thing, given his father's background. On the train, he happens to meet one nice boy, but he turns out to be Scorpius Malfoy, the son of Draco. He does get sorted into Slytherin, but it's not that bad. What is bad, however, is being the son of Harry Potter. He fights constantly with his father, is frequently in trouble in school, and takes refuge in his friendship with Scorpius, which of course his father forbids. When Albus overhears that the Ministry of Magic has a Time Turner, and the father of Cedric Diggory (along with his niece and nurse, Delphi) wants to use this to get his son back, Albus decides to run away from school, use Polyjuice potion to impersonate Harry, steal the Time Turner, and bring back Cedric. Of course, things go badly wrong, but through this experience Albus learns things about himself, his father, and the real fate of Voldemort. 
Strengths: According to my daughter, this is everything that she could want. The words "Rowling Canon" actually came out of her mouth. She was pleased at the interplay between the past and the present, and there were some twists that she expected and was glad to see. Certainly, a must purchase for any library that has Harry Potter. 
Weaknesses: Reading a script is always difficult for me, and there are lots of gaps due to the play format. The marvelous details and writing are not in this story because Rowling didn't write it. I can't think of another series where the author had an idea and instead of another book coming out, a play was produced. Also, I didn't like Albus. He was a brat. There's a lot of talk in blog reviews about Harry's difficult child hood making it hard for him to parent, etc., but Albus was just a prat. I did like Scorpius, though, and Draco came off looking much more sympathetic than one would have imagined. 
What I really think: At some point, you just have to finish up any story and let it go. I'm sure that my daughter would read anything that ever came out about Harry Potter, but like Naylor's Now I'll Tell You Everything, sometimes it's best to leave things to the imagination. Now that we know there is a nursing home for wizards, do we really need a story where Albus puts Harry there? 

Hundred Percent

Young, Karen Romano. Hundred Percent
August 2nd 2016 by Chronicle Books
ARC from Baker and Taylor

Life is changing rapidly for Christine "Tink" Gouda. Even though she and her best friend, Jackie, used to dress alike and be very close, Tink has gotten tall and developed, but Jackie is the one who has developed social savvy. Their class at school seems very close, and there are a lot of inside jokes, and Tink finds herself at the mercy of the class jokester... whom she finds herself kid of liking. There is the added complication of Jackie's mom dating a man with children about the age of the girls, and we see how everyone interacts, and witness the many ways that Tink manages to embarrass herself  over the course of a year. 
Strengths: I was really looking forward to this-- there is a huge demand for realistic fiction about middle school issues in my library, and it's the sort of thing I like best. 
Weaknesses: This had several things that made it odd. Even though it was clearly set in the present (technology is mentioned), many of the songs and clothing (pants with whales embroidered on them?) seemed dated. A lot of the dialogue between Jackie and Tink was set up like a play instead of incorporated into the narrative. Also, Tink's concerns and the language of the book seemed much more like an adult looking back at middle school instead of reflecting what a current middle school student would actually think. ("When it was just her, she sometimes felt beautiful. She liked herself. Alone, she was a sugar cube, settled, with firm edges and strong corners. But when other people were around she thought that some of them were better--smarter, funnier, cuter, thinner, hotter, cooler-- and she felt herself come apart a little, like sugar on the kitchen table, spilled from a spoon." Page 62, ARC)
What I really think: I don't think I'll buy this one, but I imagine that it will be a favorite of teachers and librarians everywhere, because of the rich figurative language and introspective nature. 

Owl Diaries

I have a growing number of struggling readers in my middle school, so I read a lot of leveled and beginning chapter books for Young Adult Books Central. Since many of the books are paperback, I generally give them to teachers instead of putting them in the library, but there are a few that make it into the collection. 

Elliott, Rebecca. Eva and the New Owl (Owl Diaries #4)
May 10th 2016 by Scholastic Inc. 
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Eva is very excited about the new owl, Hailey, at her school. She tries very hard to be nice, making a map of the area and a necklace for Hailey, but feels rejected when Hailey doesn't immediately wear the necklace or accept her invitations. While spending so much time thinking about the new student, Eva neglects her best friend Lucy, and the two fall out. With the help of her older brother, as well as Mrs. Featherbottom, her teacher, Eva finds a way to make up with Eva, and soon all three owlets are friends. 

The artwork in this book is absolutely adorable, and there are lots of small pictures of Eva's school mates, her own artwork, lists she makes, etc. The colors are bold and trendy, and the collage style owls deserve to be hung on walls as decorations! 

I appreciated the fact that while Eva considers one of her classmates, Sue, a "Meany McMeanerson", she acknowledges that some days Sue is nice, and most of the characters are very polite and kind to each other. Most of the drama is a result of misunderstanding instead of actual meanness. 

While this is an early chapter book that fans of Ivy and Bean and Like Pickle Juice on a Cookie will gladly pick up, the length (80 pages) and variety of text types (speech bubbles, lists, etc.) make this a challenging read for second graders who will be so engrossed in the story of friend drama that they will gladly keep straight all of the cute characters. Expect readers of book one (Eva's Treetop Festival) to want to read the entire series!

Camper, Cathy and Raul the Third. Lowriders to the Center of the Earth
July 5th 2016 by Chronicle Books
Copy provided by the publisher

This is everything one could want in a graphic novel: fantastic art (done with one of those blue and white three color pens that I coveted when young), goofy characters and plot, multicultural elements including the use of footnoted Spanish. But ultimately, it's not something I liked. Will my students? Absolutely. We're going to file this under Things I Don't Understand, along with low boots with skirts, Hamilton, and cauliflower. 

From Goodreads: The lovable trio from the acclaimed Lowriders in Space are back! Lupe Impala, Elirio Malaria, and El Chavo Octopus are living their dream at last. They're the proud owners of their very own garage. But when their beloved cat Genie goes missing, they need to do everything they can to find him. Little do they know the trail will lead them to the realm of Mictlantecuhtli, the Aztec god of the Underworld, who is keeping Genie prisoner! With cool Spanish phrases on every page, a glossary of terms, and an action-packed plot that sneaks in science as well as Aztec lore,Lowriders to the Center of the Earth is a linguistic and visual delight. ¡Que suave!

The Haunter

Stine, R.L. The Haunter (Goosebumps Most Wanted Special Edition #4)
June 28th 2016 by Scholastic Paperbacks
Copy Provided by Young Adult Books Central

Sammy is a good kid who tries not to get into trouble, even when the nasty Rubin Rubino bullies him in sly ways. He's apprehensive when his group is assigned a research piece on haunted houses, especially when he finds out that a girl he likes is also in the group. Not wanting to look like a fraidy cat, Sammy goes to the house, but when he is there, weird things happen. After being super cold, he hears a voice inside his head, telling him to do crazy things like dancing on the desks, or more dangerously, on the roof of the school. Eventually, Sammy realizes that a boy who died in the house he visited, Benjamin Marple, is possessing him and wants him dead. Sammy thinks that he has gotten rid of the ghost... until Benjamin shows up in his class at school!

Stine really is the master of walking the line between scary and goofy. On the one hand, it's scary that Sammy has an imperative voice inside his head that he can't resist, telling him to do things. On the other, one of the first things it makes him perform is jumping jacks on his desk! The chapters are always ended on some sort of cliff hanger, and even if it is goofy, it entices readers to turn the page to find out what has gone on! 

This book had a particularly good class setting. There were a variety of students, such as Shamequa whose father has an unusual amount of ghost hunting equipment at hand and who is simply described as having "brown skin and straight black hair". Buzzy is a supportive best friend, and Rubin is devious. No obvious moves like swirlies or pantsing for him-- he sneakily has Sammy sit in a chair on which his cat has peed. Much more realistic... and much more evil.

This is a special edition of the Goosebumps: Most Wanted series, and the best part of this series is that they don't have to be read in order. Some are reworkings of previous Goosebumps books, and there has been quite a resurgence of interest in Stine's work after the 2015 movie. You won't have to hand this to readers-- they will be haunting the shelves to find the newest fright!

All We Have Left

Mills, Wendy. All We Have Left
August 9th 2016 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
ARC from publisher 

Going back and forth between the present day and the morning on September 11, 2001, we follow the story of two girls. Jesse (in the present day), was a baby when her brother was killed in the towers, but her family has never been the same. Her father is obsessed with hating Muslims, and her mother is just sad but trying to put on a good front. To act out, Jesse gets involved with Nick, who is hot but trouble. Her friends warn her away from him, but she joins in with his group, spray painting hate messages around town. She gets caught painting an Islamic center, and her punishment is to spend time there. In 2001, we meet Alia, who is a talented artist who has run afoul of her Muslim parents' rules and is denied the opportunity to go to an art workshop over the summer after she was caught in the bathroom smoking marijuana. Of course, she really wasn't, but since she had also run away previously (being upset that the family had moved from California to New York City), her parents think she is in need of consequences. She chooses to start wearing the hijab the morning after she is punished, which even she knows is not the best timing. Sad that she argued with her father, and hoping to convince him that she should still attend the art workshop, she goes to visit him at his office in the Twin Towers. There, she gets stuck in an elevator with Jesse's brother, Travis. 

We see both how Alia and Travis got through the bombing, and also how Jesse and her family deal with a 15th anniversary commemoration put on in the town. We find out why Travis was in the tower, and Jesse is finally able to make some peace for her family. 

Strengths: This seems to be a big year for 9/11 books, and we do need them. This is more Young Adult, but certainly appropriate for middle school students. The intertwining of stories was clever (if a bit unbelievable), and the inclusion of a Muslim main character was a nice touch. The cover on this is really beautiful.
Weaknesses: This had a lot of instances of people acting very poorly to occurrences in their lives. Jesse was rather a brat, her father was really awful, and Travis was the worst of the bunch. It did seem far fetched that Jesse was able to locate Alia.
What I really think:This author's Positively Beautiful was intriguing, even though it was too Young Adult for my school. I will probably buy this one, especially since the 8th graders are usually the ones who do an entire unit on this event. 

Undercover (Emma is on the Air)

Siegal, Ida. Undercover (Emma is on the Air #4)
May 10th 2016 by Scholastic Paperbacks 
Copy Provided by Young Adult Books Central

Emma is back, and this time she finds a copy of Bridge to Terebithia in her school library that has a note with clues in it. The book is not from the school library, but from a nearby branch of the local library, and was last checked out in 2000! With the help of her friend Melissa, who volunteers at the library, Emma manages to get into the tower that the note mentions, and manages to find the answer to the mystery.

While Melissa and Emma aren't always on the best terms, they learn to get along, and Emma's other friends, Javier and Aidan, also help her out in a constructive fashion, even though they can be a little annoying, with their insistence on doing karate kicks. I loved that the school class was working on a project in the library!

Emma is very interested in being a news reporter like her Papi, and when a woman from the local historical society does a presentation for her class on Nellie Bly, Emma is even more motivated to embrace investigative journalism. While this isn't the best career choice in real life for most young people, the author, herself a television journalist, can be applauded for trying to give children a window into career possibilities.

Elementary aged readers who have followed the exploits of Friedman's Mallory, McDonald's Judy Moody, Cleary's Ramon Quimby or Danziger's Amber Brown will be glad to have a new friend in the spunky and dedicated Emma Perez.

That said, I'm still not a huge fan of this series. Emma is self-absorbed and rather unpleasant. 

Cassidy, Sara. A Boy Named Queen
August 1st 2016 by Groundwood Books
E ARC from Netgalley.com

Evelyn's mother is very strict, and Evelyn's life is very ordered-- they go, for example, to the shoe store once a year to get back to school shoes, and when they find that their old stand by store has been replaced by a budget show store, they are both a bit alarmed. Evelyn heads off for fifth grade, and her class is a bit taken aback by a new student, who insists that his name is Queen. He's different from anyone Evelyn has ever met, and the kids at school give him a hard time, but he doesn't care. Evelyn is the only student he invites to his birthday party, and she has a great time and learns not only about Queen, but also how to take risks in her own life. 
Strengths: This was a solid book for elementary school students on accepting the differences in others. It wasn't so much a book about a transgender student, although the use of the word "queen" would indicate that; it felt more like a book about a student with an unconventional upbringing. 
Weaknesses: This ended VERY abruptly. I seriously thought I had somehow not downloaded half the book. There is another 80 pages that needs to be written to finish up this story. I don't think I've ever read a book that I felt was so unfinished. 
What I really think: If this had felt finished, I would have bought it. 

Girls with Magical Problems

Olson, Norah. What the Dead Want
July 26th 2016 by Katherine Tegen Books
E ARC from Edelweiss Above the Treeline

Gretchen shares a love of photography with her mother, who ran a gallery and was an expert on vintage paranormal photographs. Unfortunately, her mother has been missing for several years, and her father, in his grief, goes on mission trips. When he is away and she is being cared for by her mother's best friend, she gets a call from her mother's aunt Esther. Esther is preparing to move away from the family home and wants Gretchen to come out and help. She does, but it is a super creepy, decrepit place. Her aunt (who turns out to be a famous photographer who covered the Holocaust through Vietnam before holing up in the family home) instructs her about some of the things that need to be done, and then commits suicide by drinking developing fluid. Gretchen is understandably traumatized but luckily gets help from neighbors Hope and Hawk who are her age but orphans. They tell her about the historical event that caused a family tragedy that is tied into the house, as well as her aunt's death. The event is tied in to the Underground Railroad, the cotton industry during the Civil War, and the Ku Klux Klan. Gretchen manages to solve not only the very old mystery as well as what happened to her mother. 
Strengths: Creepy house, attacking ghosts, interesting historical connections. 
Weaknesses: A bit confusing. Too many details and not as much ghost violence. 
What I really think: Will probably buy because I can't keep enough copies of The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall on the shelf, and this was sort of like that. 


  Foxlee, Karen. A Most Magical Girl
August 2nd 2016 by Knopf Books for Young Readers
Copy provided by the publisher.

Annabel sees visions in puddles, which is not something London's uppercrust young ladies do in 1867. Her mother sends her to live with her great aunts Henrietta and Estrell, who run a serious magic shop and are secretaries for the Great & Benevolent Magical Soceity. When the creepy Mr. Angel appears at the shop, he leaves a note with Annabel that states his success in extracting enough dark magic to raise a shadowling army, with which he hopes to take over the world. When the aunts consult the bylaws and prophecies of the Society, they realize that "a most magical girl" can travel to Under London and retrieve the White Wand, which should thwart Mr. Angel's endeavors. With the help of street urchin Kitty, Annabel embarks on this dangerous journey to save a world she doesn't completely understand, facing dragons, trolls, and her own fears of failure. 
Strengths: This author's Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy was one that many librarians and bloggers adored. Victorian London was apparently rife with dark magic and children who could defuse it. This was an easy to follow adventure that was a good length and will appeal to readers who like creepy dark magic in a historical setting. 

In fact, creepy Victorians are such a recurrent theme in middle grade literature that I created a resource list for "A London Nightmare".

Weaknesses: Although I love the retro 1930s inspired illustration on the cover, I'm not sure that my students will care for it. This was a solid tale, but nothing really fresh. 
What I really think: I'm getting more fantasy readers, but the vast majority of them have been boys who express a desire for lots of things to blow up during the story. This had some action, but also a lot of Annabel's reluctance to be a hero. 

MMGM- She Stood for Freedom

It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday at Ramblings of a Wannabe Scribe and What Are You Reading? day at Teach Mentor Texts and Unleashing Readers. It's also Nonfiction Monday.

This was an interesting publishing phenomenon. Usually, we see really long nonfiction that may cover a person who made less than optimal life choices made into "Young Readers Editions" so we don't get all of the dirt on, say, Louis Zamperini's exploits in Unbroken. But to see a picture book version and one only 24 pages longer seems interesting. 

I ended up reading both, because our 7th grade is working to put together a Civil Rights unit and we were investigating biographies. I've included the ISBN numbers so if these look good, you get the right one for your library. 

Both E ARCS from Edelweiss Above the Treeline.

Loki Mulholland, Angela Fairwell, Charlotta Janssen (Illustrator)
She Stood for Freedom: The Untold Story of a Civil Rights Hero, Joan Trumpauer Mulholland 
 June 7th 2016 by Shadow Mountain
Hardcover Picture Book, 40 pages
162972176X (ISBN13: 9781629721767)

This had less information, and most of the photographs were embellished in the way that the cover of this book is. 

I wanted more information, and to see the actual pictures, so I will buy the other edition. 


Loki Mulholland, Angela Fairwell, Charlotta Janssen (Illustrator)
She Stood for Freedom: The Untold Story of a Civil Rights Hero, Joan Trumpauer Mulholland 

 August 2nd 2016 by Shadow Mountain
Hardcover, 64 pages
1629721778 (ISBN13: 9781629721774)

Joan Trumpauer was raised in the South but felt from an early age that the way blacks were treated was unfair. Since she was a teenager when the Civil Rights movement in the 1960s was heating up, she got involved. Other white people gave her an especially hard time, and occasionally the blacks she was trying to help were wary of her, but she managed to be in a lot of important places with influential people. 

My school is predominately white, and there were some parents who complained that when we studied Civil Rights, there was no specific mention of "good white people". Interestingly enough, there are LOTS of fiction books from the point of view of white people who are sympathetic to the 1960s plight of black citizens. 

We need a LOT more books on various facets of the Civil Rights Movement. It was very difficult to find resources when we were doing the unit. 

I vastly preferred the 64 page version of this book, because it was easier to see the actual photographs and there was more information. I would have liked to have had some more information about Mulholland's life after the movement, or about the movement in general.