Saturday Morning Cartoons- The Love Report

BeKa and Maya. The Love Report (#1)

June 13, 2023 by Astra Publishing House

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Lola and Grace are best friends who have very different family lives; while Lola lives with just her mother, Grace has siblings and parents whom Lola thinks are close. The girls are obsessed with crushes, and are trying to understand the dynamics of how romance works among their peers, so start a scientific study. Why is Felicity Sunshine the object of all the boys' desires? Why is it so hard for Lola to talk to Noah? Why does gossipy Charlie know what all of the other girls are doing? Watching those around them and talking to new people at school, Lola and Grace try to find out how romance works through anecdotal evidence. While they are doing this, Lola finally talks to Noah, and the two start going out and kissing. Meanwhile, Grace's parents fight more and more, and she fears that they might get divorced. The girls grow apart, and make new friends. Lola finds herself talking more to Felicity, who isn't interested in all of the attention that she gets but would rather study astrophysics. Grace finds herself confiding in Adele, who is so prickly because she had a bad experience with a boy who went too far (he put his hand under her shirt, which is shown discreetly in a panel) and was afterwards labeled a "bimbo" and a "slut". When Noah breaks up with Lola because he is trying to befriend the "cool kids" at school and they tell him to drop her, Lola is heartbroken. She misses Grace and realizes that she hasn't been there for her friend. Will the two be able to start to understand both the nature of friendship and the nature of love as they try to survive their tween years?

I vividly remember having a crush on a boy in 7th grade and watching with fascination as he "dated" just about every girl in my class except me! Lola is an appealing Every Girl who is a bit quiet and mousy (she is portrayed with a bit of hair in her face that made me want to brush it back!) and thrilled to have a boyfriend. Noah is sweet until he gives in to peer pressure. Felicity is an interesting popular girl who isn't pleased with the superficial reasons that boys like her. There is some mention of romance beyond the heteronormative binary, but this is mostly boy-girl romance. 

The issue of reputation is dealt with, and Lola and Grace discuss talking to Felicity in terms of meeting a "bimbo". Adele's problems include someone writing the word "slut" on her backpack. This does have a particularly French feel to it, similar to Tessier's Chloe series and Simonson and Mason's Junior High Drama, that won't resonate with all US readers, since judging girls and women are their choices is no longer acceptable. 

Romance certainly is a very appealing topic to middle school students, and this book portrays the frenetic pace of breakups and makeups very well. The idea of studying classmates and trying to qualify and quantify emtions is an intriguing one. Graphic novel readers go through a lot of books, so this is one to have on hand for readers who have worked their way through other titles with lots of drama like Miller's Besties: Work it Out, Holms' Real Friends, Jamieson's Roller Girl, and the works of Raina Telgemeier. 

Melleby, Nicole. Sam Makes a Splash (Sunrise Lagoon #1)

May 9, 2023 by Algonquin Young Readers

ARC provided by Young Adult Books Central 

The Ali-O'Connors live in New Jersey on a lagoon near the seaside. Mom repairs boats and takes people out in her boat, and Mama teaches and helps with the business' bookkeeping. Sam was adopted after being fostered by the family, and joins siblings Marina (who is also adopted and has Mexican heritage) and Harbor, as well as seven year old twins Cordelia and Lir who have Mama's Syrian ancestry. The children know that summer has started when the Badger brothers arrive to stay with their grandparents, and the summer activities begin. This is hard for Sam, because she hasn't learned to swim well, which is a problem given where they live. She is also concerned that she has caused the family financial difficulty, since her adoption was expensive, and the boat business isn't doing well. She is saving her  money from doing chores to help, especially when Mom sells boats to Joe Koch, and Sam thinks that Mom might sell the business and go work for him. Cordelia and Lir get involved and ask everyone in their community for help, which wasn't exactly what the grownups wanted! The Badger brothers entice the siblings into taking some risky chances, but things work out. Sam really wants to take over the boat business when she grows up, because it makes her feel like she is part of the family, but will the business still be there?

Children worry more about family finances than parents realize, so it was interesting that Sam was worried for the family. The mix of biological and adopted children is discussed freely, which is a bit of a change from a few years ago, and Sam visits her grandmother in an assisted living facility, and Marina talks about visiting with her father. The desire to be part of a large family still persists today, even though there are not nearly as many large families in the 2020s-- the suggested power of The Brady Bunch lingering on, perhaps?

I have noticed that many of my students don't know how to swim, and this seems particularly dangerous. Sam's attempts to learn, even though fraught with difficulty, were an especially good conclusion. I have to admit that I don't quite understand the topography of the New Jersey lagoon, but anyone living near water should certainly have this skill. 

The blurb for this compared it to Birdsall's The Penderwicks or Glaser's The Vanderbeekers, but this seems more like Levy's Misadventures of The Family Fletcher, especially The Family Fletcher Takes Rock Island, and has a bit in common with Donoghue's The Lotterys. 

Melleby, Nicole. Marina in the  Middle (Sunrise Lagoon #2)

May 9, 2023 by Algonquin Young Readers

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central 

Marina was adopted into the Ali-O'Connor family when she was very young, and lives with her two mothers in Sunrise Lagoon, New  Jersey. She gets along with sisters Harbor and the recently adopted Sam, as well as younger twin siblings Cordelia and Lir, but she is struggling with Mama. Marina doesn't like boats, and doesn't want to ride on the family one for the annual Parade of Lights before school starts. Mama says that if Marina doesn't improve her attitude, she will need to talk to a counselor to work through her issues with boats which are, after all, the family business. Marina doesn't feel that boats or the ocean are safe, and when the family goes to the beach and Cordelia wanders off even though the family specifically talks through a lot of safety issues, Marina is determined that she will not ride on the boat. She comes up with some schemes to disable the boat with her new friend Bernadette (called "Boom") that are decidedly NOT safe, and Mama talks to her about her own personal anxiety about a number of issues. Can Marina make peace with her fears and feel secure within her family?

Family structres have changed a lot in the last 30 years, and it's always good to see families with a blend of biological and adopted children. Both Mama and Mom are actively involved with the raising of the children, and the squabbles that the sisters (and Lir!) have are true to life. 

I especially enjoyed that the children's origins were all respected and considered. Marina is a bit troubled by the fact that Sam was adopted as an older child and is close to her own age; she was expecting her moms to adopt a baby. Because of the different levels of stress the children feel, talking to a counselor is always an option. In the previous book, Sam Makes a Splash, Sam was seeing a professional to work through her issues, and Marina is also given this opportunity. 

This is more lighthearted than Melleby's The Science of Being Angry, but shows similar sibling interactions. Smith's Code Name Serendipity has a similar family structure, and Callaghan's Saltwater Secrets has a similar setting. It's interesting to see that there has been a bit of progress made with the acceptance of LGBTQIA+ families: the whole plot of Gennari's 2012 My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer revolved around the fact that the family with two mothers is not accepted. Things aren't perfect, but there has been incremental progress. 

Because I was not familiar with the Jersey Shore, I admit to looking up some of the street views on Google Earth. Let me tell you: Marina has more to worry about than boats. Like the Florida Keys, the lagoons in New Jersey seem like a very bad place to live. One good storm, and the family would be up to its ears in water. However, having spent a great deal of her life living in a community that thinks it's a good idea to build roads over water, you would have thought she would have realized that with proper training and safety measures, a boat would be a decently safe option. (Apologies to people who think that living close to water is a good idea. Clearly, I have a fear of this!)

Guy Friday- Puppy Love

Soto, Gary. Puppy Love

June 13, 2023 by Clarion Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Jordan Mendoza blows a basketball game in an embarassing way, and of course his crush Sierra sees him. His best friend Antonio, as well as other kids at school, won't let him forget it. When he is out walking near his home, he comes across puppies that have slipped into a nearby canal, and jumps in to rescue them. One is dead, and he buries it with some ceremony, but he takes the other one home. He feels a little less awkward after doing this; he's saved a puppy, after all. He does get an infection in a scrape on his hand and has to go to the doctor, who says he needs to take a little time off from playing basketball. He has some dreams about the canal, and ends up rescuing another puppy, and later finds some money in an abandoned car. He thinks about turning it into the police, but instead leaves it at the door of the house whose address appears on some papers that are mixed in with the money. The canal is the location of some criminal activity, and soon the police are knocking on his door. His parents know he is a good kid, and know what he's been up to at the canal, but his fingerprints show up on a car door, so the police have to ask questions. There are other highjinks, like one of the puppies showing up in his back pack at school, and some very odd dreams about Sierra. Antonio gets involved in a pep band and tries to get Jordan involved as well. Jordan's puppies (he finds a third after more dreams) and his brief stint "in juvie" all give him a little more credibility with his peers, and he makes some progress in his relationship with Sierra, only to find out that she is moving away. He isn't too crushed, and in the final pages, meets a new girl named Dawn to whom he is attracted. 

Strengths: Basketball. Puppies. School drama. Friendship. Right here, you've got a good mix of topics, and the book comes in at 161 pages. I liked Jordan, and he reminded me a lot of Joey in Mercy on These Teenage Chimps. His parents are involved and supportive, there's a bit of basketball described, and his adventures with the canal and police seem fairly realistic, if a bit odd. 
Weaknesses: Soto is normally a really good wordsmith, and has written some very fine titles, including some poetry that I actually enjoyed. (I'm very picky.) There were some references that seemed dated (his mother is described as a homemaker, the boys go to the mall, Jordan answers e mails. The ending seems rather abrupt. 
What I really think: I'm really on the fence about this one. On the one hand, the mix of topics is a great one for middle grade, and nicely reflected on the cover. It's nice and short, and would certainly get checked out, but it was not the best written of Mr. Soto's work. 

I am not trying to be mean, but this was odd. Honestly, the more I think about this, the more I wonder if this was written by Chat GPT, or if Mr. Soto had recently suffered a stroke. There are similarities to Mercy on These Teenage Chimps and other Soto works, and a lot of the book felt like set pieces that you could program into Chat GPT. "Write a book in the style of Gary Soto about a boy who plays basketball, rescues puppies, and gets in trouble with the police." I may buy a copy just so that students can compare it to his other work. 

Nightmare Island

Bourne, Shakirah. Nightmare Island
June 6, 2023 by Scholastic
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Serenity has been plagued by the same dream for years; she is in a hospital corridor and bad things happen. To deal with this, rather than tell her parents, she heeds the advice of a kung fu movie that "avoiding fear increases the fear itself" and has become obsessed with making scary movies that will scare away her nightmare. She has roped her younger brother Peace into helping with the music and artwork on these, so regularly immerses him in her world of zombies, haunted houses, and gore. When Peace starts to have nightmares that just won't stop, her parents blame her and decide to take a vacation to Duppy Island alone with Peace, and leave Serenity at her grandmother's house. Serenity has long felt that her yoga loving mother and quiet father prefer Peace to her because he rarely screams and causes problems the way that Serenity does. She decides it's a good plan to run away from her grandmother's house, stow away on the boat, and follow her family to the island. When she gets there, she finds a weird world were Dr. Whisper is working with a variety of children, including Peace. Jacob's father works on the island, and he befriends Serenity and helps her get answers. There are a lot that are needed. She's told her parents are somewhere else, but she finds their suitcases. Peace treats her very oddly. Not only that, but there are the duppies themselves. Serenity has looked up what these creatures are, and her desire to create a film about them is one of the reasons that she has followed her family to the island, especially when she found out that the island housed a sanitarium where people were exiled in the 1850s when they had cholera. Meeting some of these spirits from the Caribbean islands is both frightening and the answer to her dreams. There's clearly a lot going on with her parents and Dr. Whisper, but I don't want to spoil all of the twists and turns.
Strengths: There is a lot of interesting Black history in the background of the story; the parents have bought a plantation house to reclaim some of the narrative, and the father finds some family connections with one of the spirits on the island. Serenity has a good process for filming her horror stories, and is constantly thinking in terms of background music for scenes, which gets her in trouble at one point. Younger brothers being possessed by demons (in Ellen Oh's Spirit Hunters) or other spirits always seem plausible to me, although I wouldn't have been as motivated to find the solution to this as Serenity was. There's plenty of creepiness, spooky forests, and duppies with no faces and backwards feet! Love the cover.
Weaknesses: A lot of my readers like shorter books, so at 304 pages, this is a bit on the long side. Some of the backstory of the island or Peace's existence could have been tightened up.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed this author's Josephine Against the Sea, Baptiste's The Jumbies, Stringfellow's Comb of Wishes, and Smith's HooDoo or especially Strong's Eden's Everdark.

Land of Broken Promises

Kuo, Jane. Land of Broken Promises

June 6, 2023 by Quill Tree Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In this sequel to In the Beautiful Country, we continue with Ai Shi (aka Anna) Zhang's story in 1982. The family fast food restaurant is doing well enough, and the racist, violent vandalism has stopped. Sixth grade is over, and while many of her fellow classmates are planning on going to camp or spending their day hanging out and watching television, Ai Shi knows that she will instead be working every day with her parents, and won't even be able to hang out with her best friend Tiffany. When Tiffany's father loses his job, she ends up going to spend time with relatives. While cleaning up the apartment, the Zhangs uncover a pile of mail that includes a notice that their visa has expired, and that they were supposed to have renewed it or left the country over a year ago. Knowing that this is going to be a problem that requires an expensive lawyer, Ai Shi's mother takes a job working at a friend's bakery in the city in order to earn some money. Before she leaves. she makes Ai Shi promise that she will not "waste her time" reading books, but will instead do a good job working at the restaurant. Ai Shi tries, but it can be very boring. Her father, seeing her distress, eventually allows her to read, and the two make the best of their time together. When the mother returns, the family consults a lawyer, only to find that there is no good answer to their problem; they can file a claim with immigration and run the risk of being deported, or NOT file a claim and run the same risk; the visa they had was not one that was likely to lead to citizenship. Starting middle school under the cloud of being "illegal" is tough, and Ai Shi feels her family's differences very deeply. This novel in verse is based on the author's own experiences. 

Strengths: This is a timely historical novel that addresses issues of immigration and racism that continue to be problematic today. I was glad to see that Ai Shi had teachers who tried to help her, and who shared their own family stories of immigration. There are some good 1980s details about being in middle school. (I was in high school and college, so can attest to the popularity of Members Only jackets but had to look up Pee Chee folders.) Modern tweens would benefit from a summer working in a fast food restaurant without any technology; this is as close as most of them will get! 
Weaknesses: The first book had a more interesting plot. The depiction of the local Taiwanese community, as well as setting up the restaurant, was much more enjoyable than that of Ai Shi being unhappy working in the restaurant for the summer, although I appreciated her acknowledgement that perhaps some day she would have fond memories of the time spent with her father. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked the first book and want to know more about the Zhang family's story. There seems like there could be another book after this, since it ended very abruptly. 

The Ruby Code

Khoury, Jessica. The Ruby Code

June 6, 2023 by Scholastic Press 

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Ash lives a bit in the future, when Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, and delivery drones are widespread. His mother, an artist, has struggled to get by since the death of his father, and the two are currently living with her boyfriend, Luke, who is wealthy but abusive. Ash saves up his money to buy one hour in a full immersion Virtual Reality arcade, but just as he is about to enter, he sees a man being beat up by thugs. Wanting to save the man, he orders a delivery drone to pick up one of the thug's fancy jet bikes, thereby distracting the group. He helps the man, Owen, and wants to get him to a hospital, but he refuses. Instead, Owen gives him a box with a golden coin in it. This is a video game called The Glass Realm, something that his best friend Hakeem's sister plays. He feels foolish that he spent his life savings to save the guy, but when he finds out later that the man is found shot dead on a Skytrain, he is also very sad. He starts to play the game, and finds that it is a bit different from the widely available version. He plays so much that Hakeem worries that Ash is turning into a VR "zombie", but there's something more to the game. We see events unfolding from the perspective of Ruby, a Non Player Character, who hears a Voice in her head and is eventually able to break away from the game. When Ash meets her in the shop she runs, the two both realize that they can do more in the game than is usually possible, and strike up a friendship. Ruby is an awesome fighter, but it turns out that she is much, much more. Her connection to the man who gave Ash the game goes deeper than he could expect, and Ash's involvement with Ruby brings him to the attention of dangerous criminals who want to use Ruby for horrific military uses to try to take over the world! Will Ash and Ruby be able to figure out a way to both save the world and keep Ruby's humanity?
Strengths: This had some twists and turns that I don't want to ruin. The technology rich society was well developed, and I like that it wasn't portrayed as entirely evil. Hakeem's mother is very concerned that the boys don't turn into VR "zombies", and people are certainly very invested in the VR headsets, but there are some good things, even though Autocabs could run you right over! There are some fantastic chase scenes, and one where Ash rides a jetbike on train rails, even though he is afraid of heights. There is some clever writing as well, like this description of a character (from the E ARC): "He's wearing a black turtleneck and black pants... I wonder if anyone ever told him that's, like, Basic Villain Outfit Number 1." We get to explore some pretty deep ideas about humanity and emotion in Artificial Intelligence, but in a very personal way, so it never bogs down the story. It's a longer book, but everything is wrapped up nicely at the end, although there is a sense of the world continuing after we close the book, which I rather liked. Well done. 
Weaknesses: Reluctant readers might not pick this up because of the length. It could have been streamlined a little bit. Khoury seems to write mainly Young Adult; for middle grade I would have probably shortened the plot that involved the evil boyfriend. 
What I really think: This had a completely different plot from Zhao's Last Gamer Standing, Ross' Game Over and Mancusi's Dragon Ops, but a similar feel. This struck me a bit like Vande Velde's Heir Apparent (2002), which has fallen apart and is long gone from my library shelves, but really stuck with me. This is the sort of book I can see readers picking up at a Scholastic book fair and keeping forever because it just resonated with them so deeply. I can see myself having bought it at the insistence of my sci fi/fantasy loving friends, and liking it more than I thought I would. Definitely purchasing. 

Grabenstein, Chris. Evil Genius: The Smartes Kid in the Universe #2
May 1, 2023 by Random House Children's Books
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Jake, who managed to snarf down a lot of Coach Farooqi's Ingestible Knowledge jelly beans in The Smartest Kid in the Universe and to use the incredible knowledge gained from them to thwart evil doers in Genius Camp, has a problem. He feels like his super smarts are fading, and he doesn't want to go back to the boring obscurity of his old life. He tells his mother to go to Disney World with his sister without him, while he has more assessments done by Marie Double at the consortium. Coach Farooqi, who might be the most disorganized scientist ever, hasn't been completely successful in replicating the beans, so if Jake's abilities disappear, he's in trouble. Of course, with 8th grade starting, Jake as well as his friend Kojo also have to worry about the new school year. Thanks to friend Grace Garcia, whose family treasures were taken back from the evil Hubert Huxley and his family, the school has been renovated, and the 8 million dollar Red Lion jewel is on display to remind people who funded the changes. Since Jake put together the security system, it should be impenetrable, but that doesn't stop people from trying. When Farooqi's newest batch of trial IK beans are stolen, clues point to the evil Zane Zinkle, who was unhappy that Jake's intelligence passed his own. Of course, with Hubert at their school now, since his father is in jail, suspicion falls on his as well. When it comes to light that Grace's ancestors hid an even bigger treasure, the three pound, orange la Gran Calabaza diamond, everyone turns their attention to finding it. Hubert's grandmother enlists Jake's help anonymously, figuring that once it is found, she will steal it. When the Consortium takes a turn to the dark side, Jake starts to question everything he knows. Will he be able to keep the diamond safe, determine if his super smarts will stay, AND find out which organizations are good, and which are evil? 

Like Ponti's City Spies or Gibbs' Spy School books, this is full of improbably scenarios that will delight young readers who think it is perfectly possible that they will lie to their parents and sneak off on dangerous international spy missions! It offers worthy adveraries of varying abilities, bumbling adults who could be so much more helpful, and a quest that only our protagonist can solve. There's lots of action and adventure, and the short chapters will mean that the pages are turned very quickly. 

Jake is an engaging Every Kid who finds himself in an unusual situation. He is enjoying his new life, and fears that he might not be up to his tasks if the IK beans wear off. This anxiety about capabilites is something that many middle grade readers feel, if only abou their ability to survive dodge ball, so it makes Jake's unlikely exploits seem relatable. Kojo is a fun sidekick, but I wonder if any middle grade readers will get his classic television references (Kojak?McGyver? Maybe it will spark some research.)

James Patterson's imprint is filled with books with strong kid appeal, and Grabenstein is one of the strongest writers in his stable, with his Jacky Ha-Ha series, Dog Crew books, and fantastic Wonderland Motel adventures. The Smartest Kid in the Universe is a smart purchase for fun summer reading. 

I do share Mr. Buxton's view that Jake isn't a great spy, and there are too many security lapses to be feasible. Also, if Coach Farooqi really lost that much scientific data on the jelly beans and had such bad security on his apartment, would anyone trust him to invent anything? 

MMGM- Half Moon Summer

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and #IMWAYR day 

at 

Teach Mentor Texts 

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Unleashing Readers

Vickers, Elaine. Half Moon Summer

June 6, 2023 by Peachtree

ARC provided by the publisher

Drew is dreading the summer in Half Moon Bay, since his best friend Isaac has moved away. They usually spent the summer wandering around town, going to the beach, and doing things like burying a time capsule. He still can text his friend, but Isaac is obsessed with a new video game, and it's not the same as being together. He also has to watch his younger sister Luna, and his father Pete wants him to spend more time at the family woodworking shop. His father also buys him a pair of running shoes and makes him go running with him at 6 a.m. Mia (whose chapters are written in verse) is also not thrilled to be spending the summer in Half Moon Bay, but that's because her grandmother in Alaska is ill. Her father has to travel there to help with the family restaurant, and the family, including Mia's toddler twin brothers, has to live with Mia's other grandmother. Her father was building a house for them in Sacramento, but something is amiss with the financing, and Mia is discovers that the family might lose the house because of Luke Martin, an unscrupulous developer. Mia was born in Half Moon Bay, but doesn't know the story surrounding that time; Drew does, but doesn't quite suspect that Mia was the other baby born when he was, and that the two share a past. Once they meet, the two become friends. Since Mia was thinking of doing cross country in Sacramento, she goes along with Drew and his father on their runs. There's something up with Pete, who is stumbling more and dropping things, and Mia is alarmed when she sees him at the pharmacy with a lot of prescriptions. When the two find a flyer for a local half marathon, they decide to compete in it. Mia finds out that Martin often runs the race, and plans to approach him about how he has damaged her family with his sketchy business dealings. There's a lot going on for both families, but with each other's friendship, Drew and Mia find a way to train for their race and support each other through personal difficulties. 

Strengths: There's a lot to be said for modeling resiliency and agency in middle grade literature. Yes, life can be difficult. Parents get sick, grandparents die, and families lose their homes. It's good to see these issues treated with dignity but also a bit of hopefulness. The inclusion of cross country running is a great way to show this; it's a hard sport, especially training for a half marathon, but it does require young people to develop a certain amount of grit. I especially liked that both Mia and Drew sometimes put their families' best interests ahead of their own, and both were not overly irritated with much younger siblings, but were competent in taking care of them. Drew misses Isaac, but looks for ways to spend his time without him. When Isaac comes back for a bit, the two reconnect in a natural way that bodes well for their continued friendship despite the distance. Mia misses her father, but tries to make the best of her time in Half Moon Bay. I have a lot of respect for the ending, even though it wasn't what I thought would happen. This was an oddly intriguing read that kept me interested, even though it made me rather sad. 
Weaknesses: Even though there are a lot of challenges, this is generally upbeat. That said, the inclusion of Our Town philosophy in this is a gut punch!
What I really think: I wish there had been a little bit more about running, and perhaps one less majorly sad thing. This is a great title about friends and family that will be a hit with fans of Fry's Losing It or Messner's The Brilliant Fall of Gianna Z. 

The Order of Things

Langley, Kaija. The Order of Things
June 6, 2023 by Nancy Paulsen Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

April and Zee are more like family than friends. They live on the same floor of an apartment building in Boston, and frequently hang out at each other's places. Zee's mother is long gone, and his father, a postal worker, encourages his violin playing. April has never had a father in the picture, and her mother often works nights at a warehouse. She has recently started to bring a coworker, Robin, home for family dinners, and it seems odd to April to see her mother with someone. Zee is attending a performing arts school for 6th grade, so the two are not in school together for the first time. April wants to play the drums, but doesn't feel confident in her abilities, compared to Zee's talents with the violin. She's taken lessons, and even asked Zee's father to work with her. She tries to practice, and is slowly gaining a bit of skill, but something is wrong with Zee. He's often short of breath, and even passes out in the practice room at school. He tells April not to bother his father about it. When Zee dies of sudden cardiac arrest, everyone is devastated. Zee's father is inconsolable, and even stops delivering the mail, which April finds piled up in his apartment and decides to try to deliver by herself. While she is doing that, she realizes some of what is going on with her classmate, Asa, who is frequently absent and often looks uncared for. April's mother throws herself into work and takes comfort in Robin's presence. April just feels lost, and isn't quite sure how to handle her grief. How will April be able to continue with her life while still grieving her best friend? 

Strengths: This novel in verse is particularly lyrical, and I loved the inclusion of April and Zee's musical aspirations. April's reluctance to play in public is realistic, and the tension created by Zee's abilities was intriguing. The idea of found families is a great thing to include in middle grade books, since so few of my students have traditional nuclear families. For those who want it, there is a lot of description of the funeral and the aftermath. Asa's story line about the problems her parents were having was compelling, and learning that she often stayed home from school to care for siblings is a sad reality for many middle school students. April's school was supportive, and she had some particularly understanding and helpful teachers. 
Weaknesses: I am never a fan of grieving parents who completely fall apart, and I was particularly disturbed that Zee's father had mail that never got delivered. This issue is never resolved; he eventually leaves town after abruptly cleaning out the apartment. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked Geithner's If Only or Conklin's Counting Thyme. 

Saturday Morning Cartoons- Lo and Behold

Mass, Wendy and Mandez, Gabi. Lo and Behold
May 2, 2023 by Random House Graphic

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Addie's father works with virtual reality at the university level, so when he is offered a summer job at Spring Haven University, the two travel there. They live in an apartment across the hall from Professor Vargas' family, which includes Mateo, who is Addie's age. Addie's mother is not in the picture, having badly injured her leg and struggled with recuperation. We are not told exactly where she is now, but are given frequent hints that she is alive but not able to be with her family, and it's clear that some consequences of opioid addiction are involved. Addie is interested in tortoises (she was named after one), space, and also in "moon seeds" and the resultant trees that were planted in 1976 after the seeds came back from space. She suspects that one such tree is on campus and is excited about that. She is NOT excited about her dad's VR project, that takes him away from home and leaves her to her own devices for long periods of time, until she tries one of the programs. There are several students and professors working on grants for various kinds of VR experiences, but Addie really likes one that makes her feel like she is not living HER life. Her father has a VR headset at the apartment, and she spends a lot of time in the virtual world, even blowing off Mateo to play instead of hanging out with him. Eventually, she sees that this is not a great plan, and follows Mateo to the hospital to apologize. She has avoided hospitals because of her mom, but realizes that Mateo had a brother who is no longer around, which is why he volunteers. Addie steps in to help kids who don't want to go to chemo, and she and Mateo realize that havin VR available to them might help them deal with the long and boring treatments. She also makes some headway on hunting down the moon tree, gets a surprise involved with that, and makes some peace with her mother's situation. The summer is relatively short, but gives her some lasting connections. 

Strengths: I appreciated that while Addie wasn't super excited to move for the summer, she embraced the experience and didn't complain. Her hard working father is realistically portrayed; I think anything at the university level means a lot of time spent away from family. The VR information was interesting, and I liked that it was used for a lot of social situations, like creating empathy or helping children undergo chemotherapy. Mateo and Addie's friendship evolves in a realistic way. Addie's mother's opioid addiction is also very realistic. The illustration style is quite nice and will appeal to graphic novel fans. 
Weaknesses: I wish that the addiction had been explained right away instead of being introduced in such a teasing way. 
What I really think: Graphic novels really seem to hit their sweet spot when describing trauma, and this has both Mateo's brother's death as well as the issues with Addie's mother, so will go over well with fans of Telgemeier, Libenson, and Scrivan's work. There is enough story here that it would have made an excellent novel, which I would have preferred, but I will still purchase this for my library. 

The Many Masks of Andy Zhou

Cheng, Jack. The Many Masks of Andy Zhou
June 6, 2023 by Dial Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Andy's parents moved to the US with him from Shanghai to Detroit when he was very young. They live in a duplex next to his best friend Cindy's family, and the two spend a lot of time together. As they enter middle school, Cindy wants to shake things up. She bleaches her hair blonde and coaxes Andy to do the same, but his hair becomes a mottled orange. She also wants Andy to join a Movement group at school that is adapting Lord of the Flies as a dance. He's not super comfortable with this, especially since Jameel, his lab partner, makes fun of him. Andy also has to deal with his grandparents visiting and taking his room. He is glad to see them, and doesn't mind, but it adds some extra wrinkles to his life. When he and his grandmother go to the store where his mother works to get groceries, they run into Jameel, who is nice to him and doesn't call him names. The two make an uneasy peace; Jameel (who is Chaldean- his family is Christian and from Iraq) is nice to him when they are alone but tends to be meaner or ignore him when they are at school. It's good to have a new friend, especially since Cindy is starting to hang out with other girls who dress just like her. Andy's grandfather isn't doing well, and Andy realizes that he has probably come for a last visit. Andy ends up working on the sets for the production instead of acting in it, and both advisors think he has quite the talent for it, but he is feeling stressed about the many things going on in his life. He manifests this by pulling out his hair so much that he creates a small bald spot on his head. Will Andy be able to figure out how to get along with his friends, understand his family, and deal with the pressures of everyday life. 

Strengths: Middle school students seem to lose at least one friend, and it's always traumatic. It's especially hard for girls and boys to remain friends, but it is becoming more common. The relationship with Jameel made sense, and had realistic complications. I loved how well the dialogue was portrayed; when it was in Shanghaiese, it is in italics, and the English spoken is not always standard. This usually bothers me, but it was effective in this case. While I had a hard time believing that there was a dance version of Lord of the Flies, the details about the set design and performance worked well with the rest of the plot. The family dynamics were what really sold this one, and I wanted to know more about exactly where in Detroit this was set. (I lived for six months in Clawson, Michigan years ago, so might have driven by Andy's neighborhood.)

Weaknesses: I could have used more elucidation for Jameel's identification as Chaldean. It is not a term I was familiar with, and even our ESL teacher was not aware of it. This was a bit on the long side, and was more contemplative than some middle grade titles. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed this author's See You in the Cosmos, Carl Sagan but are more interested in a school story told in a more traditional way. The grandparent plot reminded me a tiny bit of Shang's The Great Wall of Lucy Wu, and the family dynamics in the neighborhood a bit of Kelkar's As American as Paneer Pie. This is the second book I've read featuring body-focused repetitive behavior; the first is Sales' new The Museum of Lost and Found.

Possess Me

Alexander, K.R. Possess Me
November 1, 2022 by Scholastic Inc.
Library copy

Kaden and best friend Javier like to hang out at Mr. Hubbard's junk shopping, looking for things for their collections of oddities, like a taxidermied mouse in a tutu that captures Javier's imagination. It can't just be random junk; it has to help tell a story. This is just part of why the two are considered odd, and are targeted by Gabby, who used to be friends with Kaden, as well as Jake and Melvin. When the treasures at the junk shop begin to seem ordinary, the two decide they will go to the local burnt out, abandoned house, Blood Manor, and see what cool things are there. Ruined in an eerie fire years ago, the house of Janice Hoffweller is impressive but deeply ominous. Venturing deep inside, down a set of stairs, Kaden finds a room that is not burnt, and a ring with an eyeball on it. Putting it on causes strange things to happen, like a ghost that frightens everyone out of the house. Gabby and her companions flee but also blame Kaden for the weirdness. The ring causes Kaden to have odd dreams, and before long, it's hard to tell where Kaden ends and the all devouring Benjamin begins. Benjamin had Mrs. Hoffweller in his thrall, and had her doing horrendous things for years, but now that ownership of the ring has changed, it is Kaden who has to do the spririt's bidding. As children in town start disappearing and Kaden start to slip into a disturbing plane of existence where it's hard to tell what is real and what isn't, Benjamin seems to have the upper hand. Will Kaden be able to get enough help to break free from the spirit and sever its grip on the house?

Strengths: This was a bit different from other Alexander titles, because it had a weirdly disconnected feel to the narrative. Kaden is possessed by the demon spirit of Benjamin, so there are scenes where Kaden is clearly doing things, but describing them almost as if someone else is doing them. The thing that I liked best was actually Kaden's parents, who know that there's something going on, but can't quite fix it. Javier is good as well, and his obsession with the mouse and the tutu and other odd things definitely opens Kaden's mind up to investigatig the house and keeping the ring. This is really quite a disturbin gbook, but in a good way. I'd say it's my third favorite, right behind Darkroom and Escape. 
Weaknesses: I would have liked to know a little bit more about Gabby and Kaden's relationship. We're given just a tantalizing glimpse that they were once friends, but there could have been more developed here. Also, while the blue eyes on the cover are very arresting, the eye on the ring is clearly GRAY.  
What I really think: I thought a fight would break out when I held up the two new copies of this title during the weekly library lesson. Readers bring these titles back with their friends right behind them who want the book they are turning in! Order extra boxes of these for Scholastic book fairs, and purchase at least two of each for any middle school library.

In the Tunnel

Lee, Julie. In the Tunnel

May 30, 2023 by Holiday House

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In this companion novel to Brother's Keeper, we see the events of post WWII Korea from the point of view of Myung-gi. Going back and forth during several time periods, we see how the lives of the Kim family are affected. After the Japanese leave the area, Myung-gi's father loses his business, but gets a job as the principal of the local school. Myung-gi excels academically and loves reading, and his father has a deal with a local book seller to get English language books that have been banned. They hide these in the walls of the house. The family's life is very constrained, and they are very careful to not be noticed. When the father is conscripted, however, Myung-gi's mother and sister Yoomee follow the father's plan to leave their home and walk to Busan, where he has made arrangements with Sora's family to find a place for them to stay. While they don't meet the father at the river crossing as they had hoped, the group does manage to make it to the city, where they have a modest house to live in. Myung-gi attends school, but also works hard carrying water for elderly people and doing odd jobs. He is still worried about his father, and thinks that if he can go North, he might find him. He saves up enough money to support his mother and sister for six months, then joins the army. Throughout the book, we flash forward from this story line to Myung-gi on the front, where he has fallen into an enemy tunnel and is trapped there for days. He is near an enemy soldier who is also trapped, befriends a mouse, and has plenty of time to think about the events that have brought him to this place. Deprived of food and water, and also badly injured, he hallucinates, and thinks that it is very likely that he will perish. He is thankfully saved, and in an epilogue we do find out the fate of his father, who never made it out of North Korea. 

Strengths: Like Sora's story in Brother's Keeper, Myung-gi's story is heart wrenching but also filled with hope. It's good to see a somewhat happy ending to his story, after his grueling experiences. The details of life under Communist rule, the difficulties of escaping to the South, and the hard conditions of life in Busan are especially important to read now, in light of similar circumstances affecting people in Ukraine. The research into this time period is very strong, and Myung-gi's relationship with education is a fantastic thread running through all of his experiences. It's good to see Sora and her family and to learn a bit more about them as well. 
Weaknesses: I understand why the choice was made to go back and forth from the Kim's escape to Busan to Myung-gi being trapped in the tunnel; the scenes in the tunnel don't have a lot of action, so the book moves more quickly when that timeline occurs. Flashbacks can be hard for some of my readers to comprehend, so I would have preferred a more straightforward timeline. 
What I really think: There is little written about the Korean War, so I very much appreciate both of these books. The fact that they center teenagers is a great way to show young readers not only how devastating war is, but also how many people over time have overcome great obstacles. These are both important historical novels for middle school and high school libraries to have. I will definitely purchase.

Truffle: A Dog (and Cat) Story

Happy belated book birthday to this delightful picture book! Interestingly enough, it arrived while I was in Cincinnati, watching my daughter's house while she is on her honeymoon and learning to live with her cat Bella! I've never been a cat person, but Bella is a VERY friendly cat who soon decided to drape herself all over me, licking my face and kneading my shoulders! My mother always told me that cats were evil, and I internatlized that. At first, I thought that Bella was tasting me, in preparation for murdering me in my sleep, but this did not seem to be the case.  

Tolerance is certainly one of the lessons of this book, and while I did learn to enjoy Bella's presence, I was glad to be home with my dog Pongo. As a shih tzu poodle mix, he does not shed. Bella, on the other hand, seemed to travel in a cloud of white cat fur, which was an impossible challenge to clean up, even though I brushed Bella thrice a day!

McPhail, David. Truffle: A Dog (and Cat) Story

June 5, 2023 by Peter E. Randall

Copy provided by the publisher

Truffle is a hardworking dog who is employed on a farm, where he makes sure that the rats stay out of the barn, and the badgers who dig holes in the field help to get trucks out of them when they get stuck! He also has an adversarial relationship with the barn cat, whom he believes to be very lazy. Upon his retirement, Truffle takes his inheritance and moves to a village, where the first thing he does, ala Babar, is to buy a posh green suit. He still does not care for cats, especially when he can't help but chase them, and this does damage to his beautiful suit. Cats seem to be everywhere; the tearoom, where they rub up against his legs while he's trying to enjoy a cuppa, the library, and even his barbershop! Eventually, Truffle decides that what is missing in his life is travel, so he books a trip to the seaside. It's glorious, but when he is gazing out onto the water, a cat working on the dock falls into the water. Quick thinking Truffle jumps in and saves him! Tom and Truffle spend some time together and become friends. Upon returning home, Truffle gets to know some of the cats in his neighborhood, and eventually invites Tom to visit him in the village. The two have a delightful time together, and Tom decides to stay, which alleviates Truffle's loneliness. 

McPhail's illustrations have changed over his long career, but Truffle seems to hark back to his 1980s illustrations, and are a bit reminiscent of Tasha Tudor or Garth Williams, two of my favorite illustrators. There's a misty richness to the scenes, and a very cozy sense of place. 

I normally read dog books, like McMullan's As Warm as the Sun, but can get behind titles that promote harmony between species, like Willem's Diva and Flea. Truffle: A Dog (and Cat) Story definitely feels like a classic book, and I feel like it was speaking directly to me. Now, I just need a nice green suit. Which would, of course, show the cat hair no matter what color the cat was!
 

As you can see, Bella and Pongo have very different feelings about the concept of "personal space"!

   

Spellbinders: The Not-So-Chosen One

Auseon, Andrew. Spellbinders: The Not-So-Chosen One

June 6, 2023 by Labyrinth Road 

ARC provided by the publisher

After his parents' divorce, Ben isn't happy that his mother has moved him away from the city and his friends, with whom he had a role playing game group for Kingdom of Forever. The five are supposed to be meeting up for the Fantasy Fandom Convention, as has been their tradition, but his friends have VIP tickets and he's angry that they aren't doing things the same way they have been. While he's waiting for them to show up, he's approached by a girl in a fantastic costume who claims that he is the Chosen One. Dubious, he plays along, and is surprised to find himself drawn through a portal to the world of Lux. His notebook, which was a gift from his father, has the Prophet's Seal on it, so Niara has whisked him away, and he's soon riding down a mountain on a hulking usu named Sprinkles, escaping threats like the King's Wings and flying narwhals! He's still getting texts on his phone from his mother, so there's no panic about his whereabouts in the Earth world, but he finds that when he writes things down in the notebook, they come to pass. There are certain rules about what he can and can't make happen, but he uses this power to help Niara survive battles. There are some odd things in Lux, like a statue of the Prophet wearing seatpants and flip flops, and Ben isn't pleased to find out that the Prophecy that brought him to Lux says that he will find the Prophet's weapon... but then be killed! Ben meets Merv, a thief (whose pronouns are they/them) who wants to rob the king's treasury. The two manage to retrieve the weapon from the Gullet of Torment, but Ben ends up in the king's dungeon. The weapon is not what anyone expects, and sheds some surprising light on the entire kingdom. Can Ben use his powers to both save Lux and get back to Earth to reconnect with his mother and make new friends at school?

N.B. There's a great twist in this that I don't want to ruin. 

Strengths: There is a certain kind of middle grade fantasy reader who has internalized Harry Potter and truly half believes that they will someday get sucked into a fantasy world. They write fan fiction, play Dungeons and Dragons, and frequently wear unicorn headbands or capes to school, and save their allowances to buy books. Their parents are often also fantasy readers. This is perfect for them. The middle school friend drama is on point, and it's nice to see that Ben manages to feel a bit better about his move in real life by the end of the book. There's a lot of action, and Ben starts to understand that battles are not glorious, but have sad consequences. There is also plenty of humor, from the stinky usu that he has to ride to the half-a-bubble-off quirks of the Prophet, like the oversize "Have a Nice Day" sacred t-shirts to the weird things that are considered bad language, like "butternut squash" and "cargo pants". There's an overall feeling of being in on a secret that is especially enticing. There's plenty of room for a sequel due to the twist at the end. 
Weaknesses: At 432 pages, this is going to appeal to hard core fantasy readers, especially since this seems to be the first book in the series. In a nit picky moment, Ben talks about feeling woozy the way he did when he got his wisdom teeth out; Ben's no more than 13, and most people don't get their wisdom teeth removed until the end of high school or later. 
What I really think: This is a great choice for readers who love hefty fantasy tomes like Kate O'Hearn's books, Shannon Messenger's epic Keeper of Lost Cities series or Townsend's Nevermore saga.

MMGM- Sweet and Bitter Rivals

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Unleashing Readers

Burkhart, Jessica. Sweet & Bitter Rivals (Saddlehill Academy #1)

May 30, 2023 by Aladdin
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Rising seventh grader Abby St. Clair has been through a lot of changes in the past year. Her mother has been gone for a while, abandoning the family without explanation when she was seven. Her father is always very busy at work, but has recently married Emery's mother. Emery, who is a year younger and has never had a father, is also going to be attending Saddlehill Academy, a boarding school that is outside Boston and has a lovely campus, strong academics, and an equestrian program that is superb. Abby has her own horse, Beau, (A Dutch Warmblood) on campus, and is excited to train and compete against rival Canterwood Crest. Abby is okay with all of the changes, but a tiny bit apprehensive about how much time her father is spending with Emery. She's also not thrilled that she is in the same house with Selly and Nina, who are both incredibly mean to her ever since Abby made a mistake at a competition that caused Selly to do poorly. When Abby gets a video on her phone from a mysterious source that makes it look like Abby was saying terrible things about Emery, she's devastated. She reaches out to Emery right away to tell her it isn't true, and starts to investigate the sourse with her friend, Vivi. Emery is understanding, especially since she sees the effort that Abby is going to to try to figure out who made the video. Of course, there are also classes to attend, horses to ride, and the occasional cute boy around, so Abby is plenty busy. Selly continues to say mean things to her and tries to undermine her confidence by befriending Emery and telling Abby that Emery is a much better rider. When the true identity of the video poster comes to life, will Abby be able to remain friends with Emery? We'll have to wait until The Showdown comes out on July 25, 2023 to find out!

Strengths: There is a lot of appeal to vicariously attending a boarding school while living safely at home. And a boarding school where a decent amount of time is spend riding, and around other kids who ride? Perfect. Saddlehill is a very posh school, and students can have pizza delivered and hang out at the pool, so for my students, this is a great fantasy novel! I absolutely adored that Abby really wanted to be friends with Emery even though she had to fight with her feelings in order to do this, and I can't wait to see how they resolve their issues in the next book. There are plenty of details about riding and caring for horses along with the drama, making this an excellent choice for middle school readers who want the full vicarious boarding school experience!
Weaknesses: The very long Canterwood Crest series is available in paperback, which is why I didn't order it for my library. I would get the first five books if they were available in prebind or hardcover. While I feel like I missed a bit about Abby's background, things are recapped nicely and it's not essential to read that series. 
What I really think: My horse fans were a bit disappointed to find out that this featured English riding but are still SUPER excited for it. I'll have to order the books over the summer so they can be checked out on the very first day back, along with Elliot's excellent Bea and the New Deal Horse. I do have Burkhart's Wild Hearts to keep my readers busy for a little bit!

Barton, Chris and Prabhat, Chaaya. Glitter Everywhere!

June 1, 2023 by Charlesbridge Publishing

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Barton's 2009 Day-Glo Brothers is such a fun title that I knew I would have to pick up this sparkling tome. Learning about objects in daily life is always fascinating, and I'm sure that middle school students will find this book to be very attractive. This is a nice history of glitter (or flitter, as it was called at one time), starting with natural sources like mica and beetles, and continuing on the the development after World War II of plastic glitter. I'm glad that Henry F. Ruschmann of Bernardsville, New Jersey gets a full-name shout out, although I was a little appalled to learn that modern glitter was created perilously close to my childhood. I also loved the discussions about microplastics; I was always leery of plastic craft supplies and bought very little that was glittery for my own children, and could not find a single glittery object to use to stage this book for Instagram. While I definitely find myself in the anti-glitter camp, this is a fascinating book that elementary and middle school libraries will want to purchase. I read somewhere that the cover didn't use plastic glitter because of the environmental concerns!

The Beautiful Something Else

Van Otterloo, Ash. The Beautiful Something Else

May 16, 2023 by Scholastic Press

E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus

Sparrow, whose mother calls her Maggie Grace, tries to do well in school and not get in trouble, since her mother is fragile and constantly keeps them on the move. Sparrow has had to take care of her mother, who often works nights or has demanding jobs, and sometimes falls into depression or addictive behaviors like drinking. When her mother is in a car accident because she has overdosed on an opioid, Sparrow ends up with her aunt Mags at her mother's family home, Windy Hall. Lead to believe that this was a fancy house, Sparrow is surprised that Aunt Mags (who started life as the mother's brother, Cameron) and her partner Luca live in a trailer and rent rooms in the house to college students who work on the property, which they call Rainbow Farm. Things start fairly well at Brightbarrel Middle School where Sully and Wynn immediately volunteer to be friends, although Sparrow has a crush on the more traditional Kylie. Sully identifies as asexual, and Wynn is fond of performance art and speaking her truth. Both help Sparrow to define a unique style that includes red "clodhopper" boots and a more nongendered style. After meeting November, one of the students on the farm who uses they/them pronouns, Sparrow starts to crystalize the feeling that a queer, nonbinary identification leaning toward being a boy but not quite, is what is most comfortable. Aunt Mags is certainly sympathetic, as are Wynn and Sully, although Kylie's mother and Kylie herself, who is attracted to Sparrow, don't have any patience for "weird stuff". After finding a teenage journal of her mother's, Sparrow realizes that the mother was abused by her parents, and was never comfortable with her own gay feelings, which may have lead her into addictive behavior as a coping mechanism. Sparrow eventually shares her feelings with her aunt after keeping them bottled up, and dealing with them only as "the Shadows". Will Rainbow Farm end up being a supportive place for not only Sparrow, but Sparrow's mother as well?
Strengths: This was a bit of a change from Van Otterloo's fantasy books, Cattywampus and The Glass Witch, and will appeal to readers who want a more realistic take on young people trying to define their own identities. Windy Hall is an interesting setting, and the Brightbarrell Middle School staff is filled with supportive and understanding teachers who try to help Sparrow. Her mother's addiction problem is one that more and more tweens have to deal with. The clothing and haircuts that Sparrow tries out will make this book an interesting period piece in thirty years! The story moves forward fairly quickly, and has a positive, if not completely happy, ending. (I feel like Sparrow still has a lot of work to do before being comfortable.)
Weaknesses: This book is close to 300 pages, and there are a lot of paragraphs from Sparrow's science related school papers that could have been cut out. I do appreciate the emphasis on science and ecology, but the papers did slow down the narrative a bit. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked the diverse, supportive communities in Bunker's Zenobia July or Luckoff's Different Kinds of Fruit. 

Cartoon Saturday- The Dog Knight

Whitley, Jeremy and Indigo, Bre (illustrator). The Dog Knight
May 1, 2023 by Feiwel and Friends
E ARC provided by Netgalley

Frankie is struggling with their identity; even though their mother is supportive and understanding, letting Frankie try on a suit for a band concert even though they end up getting a dress, some people like former best friend Dallas and her brother Austin are mean and call them "Freaky Frankie". After an altercation with Austin and his friends leads to Frankie hitting their head and blacking out, Frankie is taken by a Platinum Retriever she had previously seen at the mall to the Omniversal Doghouse. There, they get the Helm of the Dog Knight, which allows them to understand what the dogs say. In order to be a protector, however, Frankie must pass trials of dog qualities such as loyalty, kindness, stubbornness, an justice. Many of these trials involve defeating gremlins, which are bedeviling the school. Dallas is bothered by these as well, and in working on the trials, Frankie and Dallas come to an understanding. In the end, Frankie becomes the Dog Knight, and it seems like further adventures might be planned with the Pawtheon.

Strengths: Don't we all wish we could actually talk to our dogs? Frankie's selection of the Dog Knight is even better because their mother is allergic to dogs, so the family can't have one! The drawings are all adorable, even the one of the Yorkshire Terror, which are a little disturbing. (I also sense a bit of large dog favoritism!) While Frankie's nonbinary status is supported by their mother, there is realistic (although unfortaunate) tension at school and with Dallas, whose family is not supportive of many things. There isn't a huge level of danger, and this book sets up the basis for Frankie's powers rather than getting into too many quests. The armor they receive for becoming the Dog Knight is awesome!
Weaknesses: I was never entirely sure where the gremlins came from or why it was up to the dogs to defeat them. Maybe that will be addressed in the next novel. 
What I really think: There aren't a lot of fantasy graphic novels, so this will be popular with students who want something like Aldridge's Estranged, Steinkellner's The Okay Witch, or Siegel's 5 Worlds series.

N.B. When I read the book description to my students, they thought I was kidding that this was a real book. This is one to buy and display instead of trying to describe!

Will on the Inside

Eliopulous, Andrew. Will on the Inside
June 6, 2023 by Quill Tree Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Will loves playing soccer, and enjoys the kids on his Oakwood, Georgia school team, like his friend Henry. Lately, however, he's been flat-on-his-face exhausted after game, and his stomach is always upset. His parents take him for a colonoscopy, and the doctor strongly suspects Crohn's Disease. He puts Will on corticosteroids and advises changes in his diet, but also says it's a good idea for Will to stop playing soccer altogether. He's not happy about the idea, but his stomach upsets involve protracted bathroom visits that are hard to  manage when he is on the field. He is also attending a Weekend Warriors confirmation type class at his Baptist church, which is run by Mr. Dyson. Several of his classmates go there, and start asking questions. Classmate Griffin has asked Will's friend Henry to the school dance, and while Henry was thinking of asking Julie, he agrees to go at first. While Griffin is usually accepted, there was one soccer player and student, Francis, who wore rainbow socks and had come out as gay, but ended up transferring to a private school after being bullied. Will thinks that Griffin is really fun, and wants to be friends with him. The two bond over the Mirror Realms video game, and start hanging out together. Is it a crush? Will's not sure, but when people in the Weekend Warriors class start asking Mr. Dyson questions about their churches stance on gay people, Will starts to wonder if he is suffering from Crohn's because God is unhappy with Will's feelings. Is even hanging around with someone ewho is a "wrong thinker" going against his religion? He doesn't have a lot of time to dwell on these thought, since getting his disease under control. The steroids are making him break out, causing his face to be red, and giving him mood swings. Middle school is hard enough. How will Will deal with these additional changes?
Strengths: Will is an engaging character who is dealing with a lot. So many of my students are heavily invested in sports, so to see that taken away from a character creates immediate empathy. I love that his teammates still want him to ride on the bus, wear his jersey, etc., but my heart broke for Will when his disease wouldn't even let him do that. The confirmation class was well depicted, and Mr. Dyson carefully walks the line between adhering to the letter of the law in religion and adhering to the spirit of its tenets of kindess and compassion. Will's thoughts about religion are also in line with how  middle school students think. Will's feelings towards Griffin are complicated and a bit amorphous; at the end, he ruminates as to how he identifies very briefly. Is he pan? Bi? Gay? While students in middle school certinaly are thinking about this, it is a process that they haven't necessarily completed, so I loved this light touch. The family, even the older sister, is warm and supportive. I enjoyed this one on many levels. 
Weaknesses: I would have liked more details about how Griffin's diet was restricted. There is just enough information about the effects of Crohn's on Will's stomach; we get the idea without it being gross, but I am not familiar with the disease, so a bit more about the diet and ways to cope would have been instructive and interesting. 
What I really think: Definitely purchasing, but if this goes to paperback, there should be a soccer ball somewhere on the cover. The cover is gorgeous, but putting sports front and center always leads to more circulation!

The Cobra's Song (A horror title, really!)

Kelkar, Supriya. The Cobra's Song

(Cover by Dana Sanmar)
May 16, 2023 by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

The women in Geetanjali's family are reknowned classical singers, and she is looking forward to her grandmother, Aaji, visiting for the summer. Aaji is getting older, and might not be able to make the trip from India for much longer, so Geetanjali hopes to sing with her. Unfortunately, when she and her mother, Aai, sang at the Marathi Hindu new year, Gudhi Padwa, celebration, the song didn't go well. Now, Aai is busy with new baby Alaap, and isn't too worried about Geetanjali's singing. A neighbor, Heena Mavshi, had been visiting in India and helped Aaji get to the US, but is dealing with the death of her husband Jatin Kaka, which occurred when they were on their way to visit relatives. Heena Maavshi has met an old school mate, Naaglata, on the plane, and invited her to stay with her as she adjusts to her husband being gone. Geetanjali is a little worried about Lata Auntie, as she asks to be called, and finds something unsettling about her. Of course, there are other things going on over the summer. Geetanjali and her best friend, Penn, are working on a song for another celebration in their small town, but since Geetanjali is worried about her voice, she has pulled back. Penn is spending a lot more time with Deepak, with whom Geetanjali doesn't always get along. Aaji is getting frailer, and hiding things about the family's songs from Geetanjali. When snakes start being a problem in the neighborhood, and Heena Maavshi starts acting strangely, it is up to Geetanjali and her friends to figure out what is going on and save the day. 

Strengths: This took a LOT of twists and turns that I did not expect, and I don't want to ruin them by saying too much. This is definitely a fantasy horror book, and the cover, even with the cobra, doesn't necessarily reflect how dark this gets. If you like mice, be aware that a lot of them show up dead, with fang marks in them! This isn't too scary for elementary students, unless they have a deep seated fear of snakes. I did like all of the family stories, and the fact that Geetanjali got to connect with her grandmother, and younger readers will enjoy the friendship difficulties with Penn and Deepak. 
Weaknesses: I knew right away who the villain was because of the etymology of the name, and thoughtful Harry Potter readers might pick up on this as well! 
What I really think: This is very different from Kelkar's historical Strong as Fire, Fierce as Flame or Ahimsa, or the modern day As American as Paneer Pie in that it is definitely a fantasy horror book. I'm not sure why I was so surprised by this! There's still lots of cultural references and strong families ties, but again, don't read this if you have a fear of snakes!