Library Girl and Carter Avery's Tricky Fourth Grade Year

Horvath, Polly. Library Girl

September 10, 2024 by Margaret Ferguson Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

The Huffington Public library is in a beautiful, 1894 building on a street filled with thriving businesses. Three of the children's librarians, Doris, Taisha, and Jeanne-Marie are all good friends, and a reference librarian, Lucinda, has managed to weaponize her baked goods and worm her way into their good graces even though they usually aren't friends with anyone who doesn't reread Elizabeth Enright every year. When the four are working late one night, they hear a baby somewhere in the library. Once they find the baby girl, they are unwilling to turn her over to the authorities, although they realize the trouble they might be in. Instead, they gather their resources (all of them have hoped for babies, with no results) and decide to raise Esmerelda, or Essie, in the library. They must hide this activity from Mr. Fellows, the head of the library, who asks occasional questions about a day bed, a tin washtub, or a dresser in the workrooms. Being librarians, they have satisfactory, if silly, statistics to support these items. Essie is cared for when the four take turns staying overnight. She learns to ride a bike in the stacks, but can't be sent to school because there is no record of her birth. She does meet the occasional patron, like the elderly Oscar, who wants to know why she has never had a phosphate at the shop across the street. Her mothers decide to give her spending money and allow her to go out to shops close by; they don't go with her so they can't be accused of kidnapping. She goes to the mall, where she buys disappointing bubble bath (there's no running water in her tub) and candy. She has always longed for a sibling, but does love the women who are raising her. She also thinks that going to school would be interesting, so when she meets G.E. at Gilmore's Department Store, she marvels at how different his life is from her own. When the library hires a new librarian, Ms. Matterhorn, keeping Esme's secret becomes harder and harder. What is Esme's full story? Will she be able to write her own ending? (There are twists and turns I don't want to ruin.)

Strengths: The cover alone will ensure that many children's librarians will find this in their holiday stockings this year. There is a tremendous sense of place, and living in a library would be fantastic. Horvath, whose Everything on a Waffle, Pine Island Home, and Canning Season all explore the idea of "found family" in different ways, has a knack for taking improbable situations and making them believable. Esme's sadness at her situation will give middle grade readers something to think about; what 7th grader is completely happy with their own home life? The ending is quirky, and teachers and librarians who like library themed "heart print books" will love this one. 
Weaknesses: There were several things that seemed... not necessarily inappropriate for children, but a bit uninteresting to them. Also, I think even six year olds know that you can't just find a baby and raise it on your own in a library without problems. 
What I really think: This is a great choice for readers who enjoyed the hidden children in Albus'  Nothing Else But Miracles or books set in libraries, like Alexander's The Library of Ever, Magoon's The Secret Library, or Prineas' The Scroll of Kings. 

 

Buyea, Rob. Carter Avery's Tricky Fourth Grade Year

September 3, 2024 by Delacorte Press

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Carter Avery is THAT student. The one who rockets around the elementary classroom when the teacher needs everyone to sit down. The kid who has no filter. The smart aleck who takes the teacher's chair when told to take any available seat. All of his teachers agree, and he knows all of the staff in the office because he spends so much time there. He has a very supportive grandmother, who is raising him and his high school aged sister Brynn after the death of their parents, but Carter hasn't gotten the support he has needed. That is, until Olivia Krane shows up at his school. When the third graders meet their new teachers on the last day of school, Carter is worried, because he's heard that Ms. Krane is super mean. But... she isn't. She does tell him to act in different ways, but doesn't mind when he sits in her chair. She even sticks up for him when the snooty Missy Gerber is mean. Carter confides in his bus driver that maybe "the Owl" isn't as mean as everyone has said. After a summer of swimming lessons, baking cookies, going to the library, and visiting a local farm with his grandmother, Carter is ready for the first day of school. It takes a little adjustment, but Ms. Krane is kind and supportive, and also shares with Carter than it would be helpful if he used kind words in her classroom because she is pregnant, and she wants her baby to be surrounded by pleasant things. It helps that she lets Carter move around as long as he isn't bothering others, even if it bothers Missy Gerber from all the way across the room, and she even lets him use a dictation device, called the Dragon, to record his stories, and then revise and edit them on the computer. The device is in the office, which means he sometimes overhears things he shouldn't. For instance, he hears that Ms. Krane's pregnancy is "artificial" and also that she is "liberal". He asks Mr. Wilson about these things, but has to get answers from his grandmother and Brynn. Ms. Krane isn't married, but having a baby, and some members of the community are upset, including Missy Gerber's mother. Fortunately, the school district is supportive of Ms. Krane. As the year progresses, the class has all manner of interesting projects, including a visit to a farm and chicks to hatch. Mason, a blind man whom Carter met at the summer reading program, is invited to the classroom with his dog, so that kids can read to the golden retriever. Carter even invites people in his life whom he enjoys to Thanksgiving, and Mr. Wilson (and his wife), Mason, and Ms. Krane all have an excellent holiday. When Ms. Krane isn't in school after break, Carter is worried, especially since the substitute is a hard line, ex-military guy named Lieutenant Boss. He doesn't understand Carter's ways, but after a while the two reach an agreement. Missy has been pulled out and homeschooled by her mother, which is unfortunate because she and Carter manage to become friends.  Ms. Krane even meets with Gram and Carter for breakfast so that she can reassure him that she and her new baby, Oliver, are doing okay, but because Oliver was premature, he needs to stay in the hospital for a while. The substitute changes some of his ways, and the class prepares for Ms. Krane's return. The party is successful, and Carter even makes a medal for Lt. Boss. The best news is that Gram will be caring for baby Oliver, and Ms. Krane will be able to return to the classroom. 

Strengths: Buyea's experience in the classroom is always evident in his excellent fiction, and he writes even more successfully from one point of view. (Both the Because of Mr. Terupt and The Perfect Score series have multiple voices.) Carter's voice is very strong, and his energy comes through on the page. He tries very hard to keep his impulsive behavior in check, but he can't always do it. He's not a bad kid, and the teachers have not understood him well enough to deal with his behavior. I loved all of the caring adults in Carter's world who see the good in him. It's also good to see that Ms. Krane's attention helps change Carter's behavior, but also the way his classmates see him, and having their support further improves his behavior. This is definitely a feel good story, where the world isn't perfect, but people are generally kind, or see the error of their ways if they are not. I'd love to see more characters in middle grade literature like Carter, because there are a ton of them in the real world. 
Weaknesses: Pennypacker's Summer of the Gypsy Moths (2012) is a little dark for fourth grade. I've never looked at Febreeze the same way since I read it. I also found it somewhat surprising that anyone in the community cared about the artificial insemination. We have a single teacher in my building who has a son who's almost twenty, and her teaching position was never challenged, even though her methods were no secret. 
What I really think: This is a "heart print" book, like many of Buyea's titles, that will be very much loved by elementary teachers. There is a sub plot with Brynn's friend who was hanging out with a boy who is no good for her, and that, combined with wrestling, could be Buyea's next book. That one, I would buy; this was just slightly too young for my middle school readers. 

Monti and Leo: A Newcomer in Pocketville

The more I thought about this one, the more I liked it. It also made me wonder if I have an addiction to I Can Read books! While this is more of an elementary school book, I'm including it here because it might be my nomination for the Cybils' Awards.

Kantorovitz, Sylvie. Monti and Leo: A Newcomer in Pocketville 

May 7, 2024 by Walker Books US

Copy Provided by Young Adult Books Central

Life is pretty perfect in Pocketville for Monti Mole. He has his routine, which includes a visit to Mrs. Sheep's bakery to get a treat, a trip to the library for reading material, and a brief spell of communing with nature by sitting on his favorite rock by a river while enjoys the fruits of his first two outings! One day, there is a buzz in the bakery about someone new in town. This, of course, has to be bad, but it gets worse when Monti finds an interloper sitting on HIS rock. He silently fumes, and thinks of ways he can challenge this outside. The next day, when he finds out that the newcomer has bought the last two cinnamon rolls and checked out the book he needs, he is fully prepared to give the meddling lizard what for. However, Leo introduces himself, offers Monti a cinnamon roll, and promises to finish the book that night so that Monti can read it. Mrs. Sheep makes negative comments about Leo when he suggests that she offer sliced bread, but Monti stands up for his new friend. Not only that, but he introduces Leo to his friends, and the two plan a talent show to try to get into everyone's good graces. Mrs. Sheep is flattered when they ask her to sing, and she uses her influence to entice others to participate. In the end, Pocketville is a little different, but sometimes change makes things better. 

This is roughly the size of an I Can Read book, and has a similar level of text complexity. The difference is in how the illustrations are arranged. They aren't quite in a comic book style, but there is some of this style in the way the pictures are arranged. The text is in about a 14 point font, so it's perfect practice for readers who are not quite ready for chapter books,  but almost there. 

The illustrations have a clean line, and a fresh and modern feel to the pictures. The color palette includes a lot of soft teal, which might just be the color of the 2020s! The animals have the stylized feel of Marc Brown's Arthur characters, with a very human physique but animal snouts. 

I can see this book (which has a sequel, A Mystery in Pocketville, out in February of 2025) being compared to Lobel's Frog and Toad or even Marshall's George and Martha, and there are some similarities in the reading level and general themes of friendship. Those classic tales always struck me as being overly philosophical and allegorical, which is something that adults certainly enjoy. I liked the straight forward style of this a bit better, especially where young readers are concerned, and would hand this to fans of other early chapter books like Petrick's One Cool Duck, Sherry's Fish Feud, or Braddock's Peanut, Butter, and Cracker.

Guy Friday- Team Park

Ahn, Angela. Team Park 

September 10, 2024 by Tundra Books 
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

It's summer, and Evan wants to be enjoying his days, but he's not sure what to do. He's just been released from physiotherapy, but doesn't want to go back to soccer, even though his father puts pressure on him to be a top notch player. Darren, his therapist, often participates in dominator ninja competitions, and this sounds interesting to Leo. His older sister, Lydia, and his toddler sister, Georgia, are also hanging around the house. Their mother has bought a trampoline, but there father disapproves of the expense and the danger, posting a ton of rules that the kids have to follow. Since Evan's friends are all off on their own adventures, he starts looking into ninja competitions, and finds out there is one with tryouts in Seattle, not far from his Vancouver home. He starts to train on jungle gyms in nearby parks, and starts to build an obstacle course in his back yard. No matter what he does, however, his father treats him like a failure. When he sprains his wrist again, his chances at competing disappears until he discovers the Soiled Pants Team Edition, a mud based obstacle course. Soon, he has roped his entire family into training. There are group runs, and even Georgia pulls her own weight at events that involve crawling. The family builds a mud pit in the yard (after some construction difficulties), and even practices scaling walls. They have goals for each member, and a training plan. Everyone is nervous the day of the competition, and this isn't improved when the organizers announce that there have been changes made to the different events. Will Team Park be able to hold their own? Will Evan finally show his father that he, too, can compete? And at the end of the competition, who will do the muddy laundry?
Strengths: This was appealing on several different levels; some young readers will be wanting to create mud pits in their own back yard and hoisting siblings over fences, while others will be intrigued with Evan's troublesome relationship with his demanding father. While his father frequently throws hostile glances Evan's way, he is not quite abusive, and I think that there are a lot of families where this dynamic plays out. Even more interestingly, while the family is of Korean descent, the father's behavior is not explained in terms of this background, giving this more universal appeal. Lydia ended up having quite the knack for the ninja style sport, and even Georgia gives it a go. I loved that Evan is called upon to babysit his younger sister, who frequently asks for him. While it isn't his favorite thing to do, he plays with her without complaining about it. There are plenty of details about mud, trampolines, and other ninja activities, and as a bonus, Darren gives Evan passes to the new, expensive training gym where he will be working. 
Weaknesses: The parents have a few fights over money, with the father even throwing out "I'm the breadwinner". I don't think that the mother has a job outside the home, and I would have loved to see that explored a little more. Middle grade fiction isn't really the place for that, and young readers will be much more interested in the shenanigans in the mud, but my interest was piqued. 
What I really think: Hapka's  The Competition Begins (Junior Ninja Champion #1) had some similar themes, but had a lot more characters to keep track of. Like Ahn's Swimming Into Trouble, this focused nicely on one tween and the interactions with the family that surrounded his activities. This is a quick, humorous book with plenty of emotional meat to the story. I see myself handing this to a lot of students when they need to do book projects, and know that when they present on this title, their classmates will all come to the library and want to check it out! 

Camp Twisted Pine and The Loneliest Place

Burch, Ciera. Camp Twisted Pine

September 17, 2024 by Margaret K. McElderry Books

ARC provided by Young Adult Books Central

Naomi would rather spend the summer as she usually does, with her father and twin younger brothers, thinking of activities to do around town. Instead, she is going away to camp in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey because her father is moving out of the house. She has an interest in nature and plants, but just doesn't want to be away from home for two weeks. The other campers are nice, including Medina and Alice Saito. Deonne claims to be the "head girl" of their cabin, and Jackie, who has some hearing impairment, claims that she is going to break all of the rules so that she can go home. One tradition of the camp is that all of the kids get airbrushed tattoos, and there are lots of scary stories told around the campfire. Since the local monster is the Jersey Devil, there are lots of twists on that tale, including one about the "devil's cabin" where campers are sent for infractions. Naomi can't swim, and is rather anxious, but grateful that Jackie is willing to teacher her some sign language. Naomi is also concerned about the kudzu that seems to be all over the camp; it's an invasive plant widespread in the South, and needs to be controlled. The counselors, especially Mara, seem to be half a bubble off as well, and everything is creepy. When off in the woods one day, the girls see odd yellow lights, and find a child's shoe. They also meet the Jersey Devil, who claims that magic is being siphoned out of the Barrens and that the children are somehow the key to saving the area. After breaking into Mara's cabin to use her computer, Naomi puts together the details available and makes a shocking discovery about what is really going on at the camp. Will she and her new friends be able to work with the Jersey Devil to defeat the forces of evil threatening the Camp Twisted Pine?
 Strengths: Summer camp is a very good thing for tweens, and it can be hard to find a camp. In the absence of actually attending one, reading about it is the next best thing! Given the out of the ordinary setting of camps, and the unfamiliarity of a wooded setting, it makes sense that we see a lot of camps where creepy things are taking place. Ghost stories are a big nighttime draw! Naomi doesn't want to go to camp, but manages to make the most of her experience, and it was nice to see that there wasn't too much drama with the friendships; when you are only with people for two weeks, there's no history and a lot more forgiveness. The villain was a little surprising, and I enjoyed the fact that the Jersey Devil was not really the force of evil one would suspect! 

Weaknesses: This wasn't all that scary. My students want something more along the lines of Strand's Nightmare in the Back Yard. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed this author's Finch House or other books about creepy camps, like Berk and Mitchell's Camp Murderface or the Tales from Cabin 23 series. 

Senf, Lora. The Loneliest Place (Blight Harbor #3)

September 17, 2024 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Evie is still dealing with the loss of her parents and is fighting the evil forces she fought in The Clackity and The Nighthouse Keeper, but things have settled down a bit. Her aunt Desdemona wants her to have a better summer, and not be as responsible for saving the world. Evie does have a few calm moments, like helping Lily bury a pet rabbit along with Lark, their ghost friend, and stopping by Mrs. Bradbury's to get her special candy that tastes like the buyer's fondest wish. When she goes to ask Irv about what she should do regarding saving her parents, he turns into the Clackity, and the game starts all over again. She ends up going to the Dark Side Sun and spending time in her childhood home. She's instructed to find "the loneliest place", and her parents are supposed to be there. She meets talking snakes, heads into the Winter land of her mother's book, and even meets Death (or one of them!) before climbing stairs to the Moon to try to find her parents. Will she finally be able to escape the power of the Clackity and bring her parents back to Blight Harbor?

This is the final book in the series, and spends a lot more time in Blight Harbor, following Evie's everyday life. This makes sense, especially at the end of the book when the Clackity is trying to make her feel that she is lonely and miserable, but she's able to look at all of the people besides her parents who love and support her. Definitely take a look at this one if you've read the other two. 

On a Wing and a Tear

Smith, Cynthia Leitich. On a Wing and a Tear
September 17, 2024 by Heartdrum

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Ray Halfmoon, who is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, lives with his grandpa Charlie in the Albany Park of Chicago. For the last year, they've had Mel Roberts and her mom, Susan, who are both Muscogee citizens, sharing their bungalow while Susan teachers at the university. Unbeknownst to Ray, the fabled Great Grandfather Bat, of traditional folklore, is recuperating from a wing injury in the yard. Ray loves to draw, and is very interested in Cub's baseball. Mel is glad to be living in Chicago, and gives an excellent presentation at school about the Trail of Tears. As spring break nears, two unusual things occur. Grandpa Charlie reconnects with an old girlfriend, who is a friend of Susan's, and Grandpa Bat approaches Ray and talks to him! He needs to travel to a rematch of an animal versus bird baseball game, and would like his old friend Charlie to help him get there. Gray Squirrel would like to go as well, and the area where the game is most likely being held isn't too far from where Georgia, the gradfather's old flame, lives. Since it's almost spring break, Ray is willing to miss going to the first Cub's game to take Grandpa Bat to the game. Of course, the group runs into trouble right away when Midas Buttinsky, who's trying to have a social media presence, hears the talking bat and steals him. The Halfmoons and Mel follow Midas to Iowa City, and Gray Squirrel manages to rescue his friend. Of course, any road trip has problems; a policeman is suspicious of the group when they are in a park late at night, the truck breaks down, and when Charlie meets Georgia, a dog gets loose in the restaurant. Midas manages to sneak a GPS unit into the cardboard box that Bat travels in, but this causes him to go out of his way when a relative borrows Charlie's truck to go to a bridal fitting in Texas. With Midas and his sister hot on their trail and eager to use Grandpa Bat for their own evil purposes, will Ray and his group manage to get to the site of the game in time? 

Strengths: I loved Leitich Smith's note at the end of the book explaining how the different characters in the book appear in her other books; cousin Rain is from Rain is Not My Indian Name! There are a lot of historical sites visited in the group's travels, and there is a fair amount of historical information about the Trail of Tears. The family connections and cultural practices support the story of the ball game, and make it seem a little more likely that Ray has a bat and a squirrel talk to him. The budding romance is sweet. Road trip books are always fun, and it's always more interesting to travel with grandparents, as in Cooney's Hit the Road, McVoy's Drive Me Crazy, Stone's Clean Getaway, Cavanaugh's When I Hit the Road, Acampora's How to Avoid Extinction, or the with uncles in Bradley's The Road to Wherever .
Weaknesses: Talking animals are a one of my least favorite middle grade tropes. I love Grandpa Charlie, but I don't think it was strictly necessary to kill off both of Ray's parents in a tornado when he was a baby. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like animal adventures where the animals talk to humans and interact with them, and I can see this being a popular choice with fans of Pennypacker's Pax, Parry's A Wolf Called Wander, Carter's Coo, or Rimington's The Elephant's Girl. There are not very many fantasy books with Native American cultural connections, so this was good to see. 

Splinter and Ash, Mouse and His Dog

Nijkamp, Marieke. Splinter and Ash
September 10th 2024 by Greenwillow Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

At the age of twelve, Princess Adelisa is finally returning to the royal city of Kestrel's Haven to take her place in the palace after spending her childhood living with an aunt. She walks with a cane, having been in the carriage accident that took her father's life years ago. Her mother, Queen Avelina, has been dealing with difficult political situations, since the Ferisian Empire is making incursions into Calinor. Her brother, Lucen, the heir to the throne, holds unexplained grudges against her and is not happy that she is back. Ash, as she prefers to be called, has her doubts about being able to survive life at court, since she thinks it is silly. When she steps away from a celebration in her honor because people are being mean to her, she meets Splinter, who claims to be a young squire. When it turns out that Splinter is the orphaned, youngest daughter of the DuLac family whose uncle thinks a convent would be a preferable place for his young ward instead of being a knight, Ash suggests that Splinter become her squire. There is no rule against this, and soon Splinter is outfitted and training with the other squires. Some of the staff support both Ash and Splinter, like Master Elnor, the tutor, and Lord Brenet, the master of the squires, but Lucen has had a previous run in with Splinter, and is quite mean. Ash has to deal with people making offhanded, cruel comments about her disability, but soon has a bigger purpose. Queen Avelina suspects that the Maronnes family is traitorous, since letters between them and Ferisian citizens have been intercepted. Since they have two young daughters, Ash is tasked with befriending them and looking for incriminating information. Eager to help, Ash agrees, but finds the task more difficult when she genuinely likes both Hazel, who is ten, and Melisande (Mist) who is her age. The three have much in common and enjoy many of the same things. Splinter is not welcome to socialize with the three, but is allowed to be taught sword tricks by one of the Maronnes staff, Fenna. When the girls are researching Midwinter Mystery Plays in the father's library, Mist talks about wanting to "spy", but Ash actually steals a letter from the father's desk that is written in Ferisian. Meanwhile, Splinter has a difficult time with the other squires, and when they are on a cleaning detail, is abused and shoved in the mud. Lucen even intercepts a message from Ash and rips it up before Splinter can see it. Soon after, it is discovered that Ash has been kidnapped, and Splinter is blamed for not being with her charge. Splinter decides to run off to find Ash, and is surprised to team up with Lucen, who is also running away with the same purpose. Their common ground in becoming squires is to keep people safe. Unable to locate Ash, the two head to the Maronnes and accuses Hazel and Mist of collusion with the Ferisians, only to find out that the father is working with other scholars to try to bring an end to the war. Meanwhile, Ash has been kidnapped by people who share a surprising connection with her, and want to keep her away from the palace. Splinter wants to contact her brother, Anders, who has been off fighting for some time, but when the two finally connect, Anders seems to be a traitor working with the Larks, an organization that opposes the queen.  Ash manages to escape her captors and run into one of her mother's lords... who turns out not to be who she thought he was. Will Splinter, Lucen, and Ash be able to get back to the palace and let the queen know what is going on? There is definitely room for a sequel to discuss the progression of the hostilities between Ferisia and Calinor. 

Strengths: An author's note at the front references De Brief Voor de Koning (1962) by Tonke Dragt, a classic Dutch book, as well as one of my all time favorite medieval fantasy series, Pierce's Tortall books, as the inspiration for this tale. The parallels are clear, since Alanna escaped being sent to a convent and disguised herself as a boy to train to be a knight, but Nijkamp puts a modern spin on this with Splinter's nonbinary identification. Calinor has a well developed back story, Ash's family history is complicated, and her new friendship with Splinter is heart warming. It's always good to see characters who fall outside the mainstream band together and be successful in their endeavors. Having Lucen understand both Splinter and his sister better was better than having him remain a villain. I especially liked Hazel and Mist, and would love to see them appear in future volumes. 
Weaknesses: When Splinter and Ash leave the palace to find Ash, they don't take their horses. I'm willing to buy that there are a lot of coincindences that bring various people into contact with each other, but I would have thought squires who had horses would have taken them instead of walking, which would take much too long. Personally, I always struggle with the politics of fantasy wars, but those who enjoyed Nielsen's The False Prince, Lairamore's Ivy Ever After, Haskells' Handbook for Dragon Slayers, Lidell's The Cadet of Tildor, and Flanagan's The Ranger's Apprentice books. (I love these because of the adventures in the woods and the coffee over the campfires, and tend to skip over a lot of the politics.)
What I really think: This is an excellent update to purchase for collections where Pierces' Alanna: the First Adventure or Wrede's Dealing with Dragons are in constant circulation. I will buy this for the readers I have who can't get enough of books like Burgis' The Dragon with the Chocolate Heart, Lloyd's The Book of Three, Ursu's The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy, Durst's Journey Across the Hidden Islands, or Hale's The Princess Academy, or George's The Rose Legacy..

Applegate, K.A., Choldenko, Gennifer, and West, Wallce (illus.)
Mouse and His Dog (Dogtown #2)
September 17, 2024 by Feiwel & Friends
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Now that Chance has found his furever home, Dogtown is most concerned with Buster, a beautiful Golden Retriever with a penchant for getting in trouble and being returned to the shelter. Told from the point of view of Mouse, who is not overly comfortable with living in a place where mice are not welcome, we find out about Buster's various adoptions. We also meet Stewie, a dog who has the reputation for being mean, and Smokey, a robot dog whose wiring was crossed with a smoke detector, leading to some interesting sound effects. Mouse has decided that if he can get Buster on the Reading Buddies List, he will be safe. When Saanvi arrives with a copy of one of Mouse's favorite books, The Borrowers, he hopes to get her interested, especially after she sees him and doesn't panic and alert people at the shelter. Buster is adopted a couple of times, but when he comes back after the last adoption, he gets put on The List. Determined to save him, Mouse finds the key and breaks both Stewie and Buster out, and take off to find Saanvi. They visit Chance on their way, and are greeted warmly at Saanvi's apartment building by Mary Alice. Unfortunately, Saanvi's mother won't adopt a dog, Owen (who lives in the building) has three younger siblings, and Mary Alice's son doesn't want his mother to adopt Stewie, given his history. Luckily, once the intrepid group makes it back to the shelter, they have gotten enough exposure that people are willing to adopt them, so there is a happy ending. 

This was not as philosophical as Dogtown, which was surprisingly deep, but was an excellent story! West's illustrations will add to the appeal for young readers, and Mouse will be right at home with a whole subgenre of Talking Mice books. There are some good tips at the end about working with rescue dogs to make them more comfortable, and I am all for raising awareness to the plight of these animals. Hand this one to fans of Crimi's Secondhand Dogs or W. Bruce Cameron's work. I think these books will have a very long shelf life, since they do have a classic feel to them. Any book that reawakens interest in The Borrowers is fine by me! 

Calonita, Jen. Fairy Godmother: An Enchanters Tale
September 3, 2024 by Disney Hyperion
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

I LOVED Calonita's Go the Distance Go the Distance, and this had the feel of Donna Jo Napoli's fabulous Zel or Spinners, told from the point of view of a secondary character in famous tales. Seeing the fairy godmother from Cinderella was quite fun, and this would make a great companion to Moon's Delphine and the Silver Needle. Will the Prince get his own tale? (Other than Healy's Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom?) I feel like the wicked stepsisters could as well! 

MMGM- The Beautiful Game and Shaken

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at

Unleashing Readers

Mendez, Yamile Saied. The Beautiful Game

September 17, 2024 by Algonquin Young Readers

E ARC provided by Netgalley.com

Valeria Salomón lives in Utah with her grandmother (Lita) and grandfather, who is also her soccer coach for the Overlords. Her parents were very young when she was born, and her father has only visited her five times, since he lives on the east coast and travels a lot as a photographer. Val loves soccer, and is a very good player. She's played with the Overlords for years, and her best friend, Sasha used to be on the team as well. Now, however, Val is the only girl on the team. Her grandmother and father are supposed to come to a crucial game, but the family is devastated to find out that her Tia Antonello in Argentina is not doing well at all. Lita packs up to go, and Val's father joins her. Val isn't feeling well during the game, and realizes too late that it's because she's gotten her period. A time out is called, and the entire team changes from white to black shorts. Distracted, Val blows a play and feels embarassed and awful... until she finds out that Abuelo found out during the game that her aunt has died. Since he's had a tumultuous relationship with the aunt, he doesn't handle things well, and Val decides to stay next door at Sasha's house, where her mother gets her period supplies and tries to help her through the difficult days. Eventually, Lita comes home... with Antonella's son Maxwell in tow. Since it's summer, he has time to settle in to living in Val's father's old room, and even starts to play with the Overlords, since Val was kicked off. Val thinks it's unfair, but her grandmother points out that if she wants to be considered for the Olypic Development Program, she needs to play on a girls' team. The best coach out there is Linda Blume, but when Val calls her, Coach Blume tells her that her team is full, and she's just missed the try out period. Undaunted, Val goes to her house and explains why she didn't go through the tryouts. She gets on the Amazon team as the 19th player on the roster. Still stinging from being kicked off the boys' team, Val doesn't do well at first. Eventually, she starts to realize that she's not playing WITH the team, but is just trying to showcase her own skills. Once she figures this out, she starts to play better, and Sasha helps her connect socially with her teammates. Lita jumps in to full soccer mom mode, bringing her knitting and sitting between Maxwell and Val's teams. Abuela may be struggling with his daughter's death, and letting the other coach, José, work with the team, but Maxwell is slowly acclimating to his new home situation. When both Maxwell and Valeria have a big tournament, Val's dad comes in, and there's plenty of team drama as the Overlords and the Amazons play for their respective league trophies. 

Strengths: This was a very realistic look at how families can take many different forms. While Lita and Abuelo are Val's grandparents, they are raising her, so feel a bit more like a mom and dad. There's a nice scene when the Amazons have a "mother-daughter" party, and Val feels a bit awkward asking Lita, who of course is perfectly happy to attend. There are a lot of my students who are in similar circumstances, so I liked how matter-of-fact the family situations were. The draw for young readers will be all of the soccer details. I know in Ohio, girls can play on boys' teams, but boys can't play on girls' teams, so this seemed realistic. The Overlords generally liked Val, but there were some members who were irritated, which also seemed realistic. The difficult family situation after the aunt's death was well handled, and one of my favorite moments was when Sasha and Maxwell met and Val could tell they liked each other. Yes, tween life still goes on, even under stressful circumstances. Val is a little jealous of Maxwell, since he has spent more time with her dad, but she does acknowledge that this is a bit petty, since he has just lost his mother. There are never enough books with sports in them, and this will be a very popular book with my students, who have also enjoyed this author's Shaking Up the House and Wish Upon a Stray! 
Weaknesses: While I really liked that Val had to contend with her period during a couple of points in the story, I'm not sure how I feel about first periods that are super noticeable to everybody. Having been in a middle school for 26 years, I've never seen this happen, and I am more likely to be consulted for help than the school nurse in these matters. I also talked to several friends and my daughter, who had their doubts. Should girls be prepared? Absolutely. Is it good to scare them this way? I'm still thinking about that one. Both of my daughters would pass out at school on occasion, so it is good to have period issues as part of the story.
What I really think: I'll definitely be purchasing this title, and recommending it to readers who enjoyed 

Morgan's The Kicks series, Matheson's Select, and Lupica's Defending Champ.

Preller, James. Shaken

September 10, 2024 by Feiwel & Friends

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Kristy Barrett is not just a good soccer player, she's been featured on ESPN and mentioned as an Olympic hopeful. Her parents are very invested in her sporting career, and her father will take her early and sit in the car while she does her warmups before games. She's a seventh grader, but playing on the high school team. This makes it a little hard to connect with other players, although she is good friends with Tia, who is three years older. When Kristy dives for a ball, she connects in such a way that she passes out. She is taken to the doctor, who tells her that she needs to stopp, assess her condition, and follow the concussion protocol. Her parents assume that she'll be back to playing within the week, but Kristy is nauseated, unable to focus, and can't even handle being at school. Her mother grudgingly lets her stay home, but doesn't understand the severity of the injury. The other girls on the team quickly forget about her, and she feels bad that she won't be able to play in an important game. She does go to a concussion specialist, who says she has post-concussion syndrome, and that it will take a lot of time before she feels better. This makes her so depressed that her mother does take her to see a therapist. This helps a bit, as does hanging out with her neighbor, Jimbo, who is a year ahead of her in school. What doesn't help is that Jimbo is a bit of a loose cannon, and some of their activities involve shoplifting from CVS, going to the golf course in the middle of the night, and sneaking in through her bedroom window. Her parents are angry about Jimbo, of course, but essentially struggling with the fact that Kristy isn't the daughter they once had. Kristy also questions who she is without soccer, although she does enjoy the art therapy that she does, and starts to embrace art as a new part of her. After months of recuperation, she is able to do some running, but the concussion has definitely changed her essential identity. 

Strengths: Middle grade books should all have some element of personal identity. It's a huge concern with this age group, and tweens are constantly trying out new personalities. Kids who play soccer often start at very young ages and get VERY invested; the father sitting in the car watching Kristy warm up struck home, because during the Washington, D.C. trip with 8th graders, I volunteered to spend a half hour every morning sitting in the parking lot watching a soccer player do the same kind of exercises. She wasn't willing to give that up for even three days. Kristy's inability to focus and frustration are palpable, and her parents' reaction was surprising but very interesting! The idea that Kristy was able to play on a high school team when she was in middle school will be aspirational for many readers. A lot of my students play soccer, and this is a great soccer book to have in a middle school collection, along with Fabbri's Back of the Net series, Greenwald's The Ultimate Goal, and Matheson's fantastic Select. 
Weaknesses: I would have liked a bit more medical detail about what was going on with Kristy; there is a decent amount of detail with the therapy, but more on concussion protocol, treatment, and descriptions of exactly what Kristy should have been doing to rest her brain would have been very helpful. I've had a couple of students who have suffered concussions, and it's been difficult for them to understand what is going on. There was also a strange seen with Binny talking about her younger brother that could have been omitted. 
What I really think: There are a good number of football books dealing with concussion, but soccer is also a leading cause of this injury. Herbach's Cracking the Bell , Greenwald's Dinged, or Weyn's Full Impact address football injuries, so I was glad to see this soccer title. Since so many of my students play soccer, I'll definitely purchase a copy. 

Update Blather:

This is the last week I have off before I return to school. I've been very good, following all of the doctor's instruction, staying strictly off my feet for five weeks. This last week... has been rough. A lot of pain and swelling. I even called the doctor's office, and got the information that I am supposed to walk, but not too much. Well, what's too much? No one could tell me. I have a feeling that re entry will be rough, but I will be glad too be getting out of the house. 

I'm not the sort of person who is ever bored, but I am slowly getting there. I've read a lot of books, tweeted like it was my job, even knit a sweater. But I miss long walks, puttering around the house, and even doing laundry. My home "staff" has done an excellent job picking up the slack, but... how do you burn something in the microwave? My rule has always been that I don't complain about work that I haven't had to do myself, so if I have to use towels that were line dried, so be it! (Don't do this. They're scratchy.)

Almost at the point where I want to break out the desperation projects. Write bad poetry. Haul out the quilting (which is only a summer endeavor). Clean out a closet while sitting on the floor. Learn to crochet. All of those things take more gumption than I currently have, and I would just be sad when I went back to work that I couldn't do them. 

So! One more week of track pants, sitting around reading, and being with Leo, who has discovered that the best thing in the world is full body massage, and will sit on top of my computer until I pay attention to him properly. He misses walks, too, and will not be too pleased when I go back to work! 

Sharks!

Stine, R.L. Shark Night

July 2, 2024 by Blackstone Publishing

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Liam's mother makes documentary television programs and wants to put together one for the Danger Channel. When executives don't like her "Pool Party" idea (invite people to a luxury pool and surprise them by letting killer sharks loose in it), she spitballs a different idea. What about putting a KID in a tank with a shark. The network loves the idea, but Liam makes his mother promise that HE won't be the kid in the tank. She does, and a swimmer and actor named Swan is hired for the show. WHen Liam accidentally causes Swan to break his ankle, he finds himself being put into the tank. Not only that, but when the shark is lowered in, it's not the old, toothless hammerhead his mother promised, but a bull shark, the most dangerous type of shark in the world. Not only that, but the tank he is in explodes, and he is washed out to sea. Luckily, he comes across two sailors, Sully and Ernie, whose trained dolphin has rescued him. They say they are "gathering sharks"... and want to use Liam for bait. He'll be safe, in a cage, and they just need to nick him a LITTLE to draw blood. Panicked, he jumps off the boat, and the dolphin takes him to an island where there is a resort. He meets his sister, Rosa, there. There's no good explanation why she is there, and why Liam's mother isn't looking for him, but he is determined to get in to the resort and find someone with a phone to let him call. The staff is suspicious and say that no phones are allowed, but the two find a kid named Derek who says he will help... but then calls the security guards. Liam finally calls home, but his mother denies she has children. Liam ends up in a lagoon with pirahnas, and Swan shows up to save him. What about his broken ankle? Something is clearly not right. What is going on in Liam's worl?
Strengths: This was fast paced, a little goofy, and didn't have a dull moment. Liam is a reasonable character who finds himself in difficult circumstances but manages to survive in a resilient manner. Rosa was slightly evil, the way most siblings in Stine's work are. The mother was somewhat enigmatic, but this also makes sense given the circumstances. There are enough shark details to keep future marine biologists happy, and the cover is fantastic. 
Weaknesses: I knew exactly what was happening and who was responsible about two pages after Liam got washed out to sea. Of course, I have read everything Stine has written in the last twenty years, so I grok his style. Young readers will just love the fact that bad things are constantly happening and Liam is surviving it all! 
What I really think: Middle school students LOVE Shark Week, and there aren't a whole lot of books about sharks. This is a bit goofy, but have it swim along with Monniger's Dragged From Under series, Northrop's Surrounded by Sharks, or Spradlin's Menace From the Deep.

Crumpton, Nick and Scott, Gavin (illus.)

Everything You Know About Sharks in Wrong!

May 7, 2024 by Nosy Crow

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

Here's the perfect book for Shark Week from the team that brought you Everything You Know About Dinosaurs is Wrong! Tween shark aficionados will tell you that sharks are misunderstood, but they need this book to provide the ammunition needed to disabuse those who don't understand sharks of their misconceptions! In the process of addressing various wrongly held ideas, each two page rebuttal to commonly held beliefs (sharks eat people!) offers a lot of information about things that are true about sharks. Where they live, different types, what they eat, and even statistics on various deadly creatures add to the general knowledge about sharks and amuse avid readers. There's a great glossary at the back of the book, as well as a much needed index. 

Not only does this book have a wealth of printed information, but the illustrations also provide a lot of helpful material. I love that there is so much blue in the backgrounds; it makes the pictures of sharks look like they are swimming. It also makes it a little harder to read the smaller fonts on the pages, but younger readers won't notice this as much as I did. 

I can't say that I was all that frightened of sharks, since they are about as unlikely to show up in my yard as I am to show up on the beach, but now I am a little concerned about cows, who apparently killed 22 people in 2021! 

Readers who like sharks often swim towards nonfiction books like Littleboy's How It Works: Sharks or Silen's Can't Get Enough Shark Stuff, but I love to pair nonfiction with fiction books on the same topic. This is perfect for readers who are enjoying Márquez's Swimming With Sharks, Monninger's The Great White Shark, Spradlin's Into the Killing Seas or Northrop's Surrounded by Sharks!

In a Pickle

Greenwald, Lisa and Berstein, Gallia (illus). 

In a Pickle (Ellie's Deli #2)
September 17, 2024 by Andrews McMeel Publishing 

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Ellie should be able to relax now that her Bubbe's deli, Lukshen, has been saved from being redeveloped by Nina's father, but there is still a lot going on. She's behind in her school work, and her advisor has called her parents and wants her to come in early in the morning for tutoring. Not only that, but she has agreed to help Ava's cousin Charlie find a venue for her bat mitzvah celebration after the venue her mother booked closed down. Ellie wants to help everyone, but it's not working out the way she would like, and making her very stressed. Adding to this stress is the drama that Nina seems to bring with her to every relationship. She seems dedicated to pitting friends against each other and accelerating the drama by asking why no one likes her. When Nina's father has a meeting at Lukshen, the answer to one of Ellie's problems becomes clear: he wants the deli to turn unused upstairs space into an event center. Charlie could hold her party there, and one of Bubbe's friends is a retired event planner who would be glad to help. The only problem? Architects are getting involved, so it looks like the upstairs won't be ready for a year, and Ellie needs it in a MONTH. Even though she is spending more time on her schoolwork (and, not surprisingly, doing better!), she has a lot of anxiety and frequently finds herself using the calming techniques that she knows. After Nina is suspended for mean social media posts, she makes some progress in how she treats others, she still has a lot of work to do. She finally tells her mother and grandmother that she needs some help, and they are able to work with Charlie's mother to have the perfect place for the celebration. 

Strengths: Like the first book, Ellie's Deli, this has a delightful combination of friend drama, illustrations, and RECIPES. I loved the setting of the neighborhood and the deli, and the fact that Ellie enjoyed hanging out there, talking to her grandmother's friends. The friend drama with Nina is so spot on; there's always that one girl who just seems to delight in stirring the pot and getting everyone upset. I've never understood it, but Ellie and her friends deal with it pretty well, talking to each other and getting some help from adults. Like Greenwald's Absolutely, Positively Natty, Ellie is having some realistic problems controlling her emotions and her reactions to other people, but she still has lots of positive interactions and has some fun! Her family is generally supportive, and her sisters appear just enough for us to understand her dynamics with them. I hope that Ellie is able to grow up and run the deli!

Weaknesses: Admittedly, this is a strange complaint: the recipes, while very interesting, don't always correspond to the food being mentioned in the text. It's not a problem, but when rugelach was mentioned towards the end of the book and there wasn't a recipe, it occurred to me that I wanted recipes for things that Ellie was making or eating! 
What I really think: I think we need to order up a middle grade trend on family run food shops! What titles can you recall that would go along with Badua's The Takeout, Oh's Haru, Zombie Dog Hero, Granillo's Cruzita and the Mariacheros, Leali's The Truth About Triangles, Kuo's In a Beautiful Country,  Chari's Karthik Delivers, and Hiranandani's How To Find What You're Not Looking For?

Kareem Between

Safadi, Shifa Saltagi. Kareem Between
September 10, 2024 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Set in 2016, this novel in verse follows Kareem, a middle school student whose best friend Adam just moved away. Not only that, but he didn't make the football team. Kareem has an older sister, Jameelah, a younger brother, Sameer, and a father who is a cardiologist in their Chicago area town. Kareem is a huge fan of the Chicago Bears, and often watches the games as a way to decompress and not think about the variety of problems he and his family are facing. At school, Kareem is constantly belittled by Austin, who did make the team, and whose father is the school gym teacher and coach. Austin's comments and actions go far beyond the level of microaggressions, but Kareem hopes to take him at his word that he'll get Kareem on the team in the spring if Kareem does one of his papers for him. Of course, one paper turns into most of the longer assignments. There's a new family from Syria, and Kareem's mother wants him to befriend Fadi, who is Christian and has blond hair. Kareem is afraid to stick up for Fadi when Austin calls him "Cereal", not wanting to imperil his own social standing. The most serious problem is that his mother's father, Jido, is very ill. The family is trying to get him and the grandmother out of Syria, but this is a difficult process. Kareem takes great comfort in reading books, and mentions a lot of middle grade titles like Shovan's The Last Fifth Grade of Emerson Elementary, Woodson's Locomotion, the Barbers' Go Long!, Senzai's Shooting Kabul, and classic titles like Wimpy Kid, Hatchet, The Bad Beginning, and Holes, relating his experiences to those of the characters he has enjoyed. When his mother goes to Syria to bring back her parents, the family feels very different without her steadying presence. Things with Austin escalate at school, and Kareen finds himself not supporting Fadi as he should. There are some bright spots, like meeting fellow football fan Jerry at the public library, but when Kareem gets in trouble at school, he compounds things in a horrible way. He hides his father's phone in the freezer, causing him to miss a call about his mother's flight. Because of this, the travel is delayed, and then runs into the problems of Executive Order 13769. This affects not only his family, but his religious education teacher whose fiance won't be able to come from Yemen. Things get even worse, and Kareem blames himself. When his mother goes missing, he tries to post on social media to try to find her, and eventually gets the attention of a local news reporter who suggests he contact his representative. There are protests in Chicago, and the travel ban is eventually appealed. Things aren't perfect in Kareem's world, but after a heart-to-heart with his father, he knows it is important to apologize for his actions that have hurt people, and to take responsibility for other aspects of his life as well.
Strengths: Putting a football on the cover of a middle grade novel means that it will automatically be picked up, so I appreciate that Safadi manages to weave Kareem's interest in the sport into a book that covers larger social issues as well. It's perfect to have Kareen be very concerned with issues like football, reading, and his social standing while his family faces what most people would consider more pressing problems; middle school is still middle school, and Kareem was born in the US. (The student of Syrian background whom I remember most was an 8th grade boy who would stop by the library first thing in the morning to ask how his hair looked. He trusted me to make sure he started his day without flyaways!) He has realistic struggles about this as well, not feeling that his Arabic is good enough, although the fact that the religious aspects of his life were mainly mentioned without any problems was refreshing to see. (He has a space to pray in the library, attends religious services with his family mostly without complaint, and doesn't really have any crises of faith.) Of course, the travel ban is shown in all its horror, and there are many examples, both in the story and in the author's afterword, about how this affected many families. There's enough football to keep young readers turning the pages as well.
Weaknesses: This is on trend with novels in verse that aren't particularly poetic; my readers don't pick these up quite as much, but we'll see if the inclusion of football outweighs the format. 

What I really think: This is a good addition to other books featuring the stories of other children with Syrian family backgrounds, and has a particularly strong message about the importance of activism. Pair this with other titles such as Dassu's Boy, Everywhere, Hitchcock and Senzai's Flying Over Water, Kullab's Escape from Syria, Rauf's The Boy at the Back of the Class, Roumani's Tagging Freedom, Saeed's Yara's Spring, Saleh's Wild Poppies, Senzai's Escaping Aleppo, and Warga's Other Words for Home.

Cover Reveal- Calonita's ISLE OF EVER!

Jen Calonita has been one of my favorites, ever since her 2007 Secrets of My Hollywood Life series, so I was thrilled to be part of her cover reveal for ISLE OF EVER, the first book in a mystery-adventure series! 12 to 22 is my favorite book to hand to Taylor Swift fans, and The Retake is never on the shelf!

ISLE OF EVER is being published by Sourcebooks Young Readers on March 25, 2025!

 
Here's the publisher's description: 

"Bestselling and beloved author Jen Calonita delivers the first in a brand-new series featuring a girl who will inherit a mysterious fortune if she can break a centuries-old curse! Days after her twelfth birthday, Everly "Benny" Benedict learns she's the heir to a fortune! But to collect the inheritance, she first has to play―and win―a game. Following clues that her ancestor left, Benny must locate a small island that vanished long ago, according to legend. She has only two weeks to play the game and find the island. If she's successful, she'll break a two-hundred-year-old curse. If she fails, the fortune will be forfeited. And if she's not careful, she'll cross paths with someone else who is after the island's secrets, and who will stop at nothing to get them. Because, as it turns out, there's far more than a fortune at stake."

More information about the series is available HERE. 

Preorder now (this helps authors out a lot!) at your favorite independent bookstore, like Columbus' Cover to Cover. 

What other authors have to say:

§ “Isle of Ever will keep you guessing till the last page, then begging for a sequel immediately…you’re bound to find readers up well past their bedtime” ― Melissa de la Cruz, #1 New York Times Bestselling author of The Isle of the Lost

§ “This book has everything…I couldn’t put it down!” ― Stuart Gibbs, New York Times bestselling author of the Spy School series

§ "Calonita leaves us breathless as Benny races to save the day and her family. Young readers will love it!" ― James Ponti, New York Times Bestselling Author of City Spies

§ "The Isle of Ever is a gripping game and grand adventure. A treasure hunt filled with riddles, clues, an ancient curse, and a main character you’ll be cheering for all the way to the final page. I loved it!” — Chris Grabenstein, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Mr. Lemoncello's Library series.

And now... the video reveal and THE BOOK COVER!!!

The Sherlock Society

Ponti, James. The Sherlock Society

Published September 3rd 2024 by Aladdin

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Alex and Zoe Sherlock are glad that school is out for the summer, but we start the book seeing that they are in rather a stressful situation with their grandfather; they are all escaping an exploding yacht off the coast in Miami, Florida. How did they get there? Well, it's always nice to have some discretionary income, so the two decide to start a business. Instead of walking dogs or babysitting, they decide to run a detective agency. Zoe does the research and has a solid business plan of passing out flyers and business cards, creating a social media presence, and even enlisting the help of their grandfather as their "director of transportation and logistics". Things get off to a slow start, but the two, along with friends Yadi and Lina, answer a text request for help and go to a local laundromat/coffee shop to meet their client. It turns out to be their mother, who is a lawyer, who has a LOT of concerns about their undertaking. Not only is it dangerous to go around meeting strangers, but she throws a lot of legalese at them. Their grandfather, a former Miami Herald investigative reporter, has an idea; what if they look at his cold case files and find one to research. After looking through the papers from his stuffed storage unit, the kids come up with two likely topics. They can either delve into the case of Murf the Surf, or try to find Al Capone's treasure. Capone's millions win out, and Grandpa assigns them each one of the five W's of journalism. They interview a few people they find through Grandpa's connections, and head out in Grandpa's aquamarine 1964 Cadillac Coupe de Ville to the Crandon Park Zoo to look for the location. They realize the years don't line up, so try another tactic. Yadi has drones, so instead of trekking through the Everglades, they decide to fly them over another likely spot. They find a lot of dead animals when they get near the location, and take a water sample back. What's going on? Zoe, who has been arguing a lot with her parents over the fact that they wouldn't send her to a trendy summer camp with her friends and has been generally surly, decides that the group should give up on the Capone treasure hunt and figure out what it going on. They comb through the footage and find some likely culprits and vehicles. Traveling back to Bailey's Bait and Tackle, they pretend to be filming a documentary, and get more information from Bailey. This leads them to Morris Kane, whose family has run Kane Crystals sugar refinery for decades, as well as local newspapers. They continue the documentary ruse with him, and find out plenty of information, and even identify one of his workers as a person in the video. When Lina leaves her recording device running when the group is asked to leave the room, she feels bad, especially since the mother has made the group carry consent forms and observe all the legal niceties before interviewing anyone. The kids have the grandfather listen to the tape, and he says it has nothing interesting... but it does. There is more than toxic waste dumping going on; the possibility that Kane and his cronies are illegally counterfeiting money MIGHT be the reason the CIA's Dale Tyree was called in after the kids were rescued from the yacht. If the CIA is involved, how big a deal is this? Once we catch up with the legal troubles caused by the yacht incident, there turns out to be a lot more at stake. Will the Sherlock Society have its first successful investigation?

Strengths: I know that middle grade authors often kill off a parent or two so that children can have unimpeded adventures, but really, how far can the average 12 year old get WITHOUT an aquamarine Cadillac? Pairing up a sometimes unwise adult with a group of kids, and putting them all against an adult who wants ridiculous things like their safety and security, and there's so much more interesting tension than watching a tween deal with the grieving process, which is, while heart wrenching, often just dull to read about! Big, big bonus points, since the marine biologist father also comes in handy. The fact that the mother went so far as to bait the kids and then scuttle their plans... brilliant. There are many very well thought out things in this book. Ponti has clearly spent time in schools, and has realistic interchanges in the school setting, although I personally am not setting up any escape rooms for any clubs in my library or genrefying it! (I really, really dislike games of any kind and, well, don't feel much different about genrefying.) Not only that, but he cleverly takes some middle grade tropes and then upends them. I had my doubts about the investigative business, but that turned into looking for treasure. Not super thrilled about that, although it can have its moments, but then there's another twist... they have to solve an environmental mystery. That's when it got interesting, and the fact that the CIA is involved and this is actually a dangerous case makes this one that middle grade readers will love. This will also work for adults as well, since Grandpa is one happening guy; I sort of want to know about his date when the Everglades creature that stowed away in his car jumped on his friend! I'll definitely be interested in looking at the next book in this series, as will my students!
Weaknesses: Did I miss Grandpa's name? As one of the best grandfather figures out there, he deserved a name, and I'm sorry if I didn't write it down. 
What I really think: This read like the work of Carl Hiaasen, if Hiaasen had a better feel for what middle graders wanted, and spent a bit of time including a ton of Miami history. Ponti's Framed is the closet read alike, and Stuart Gibbs' books are always somewhat similar. As for other books? You almost have to head over to spy books to get this level of excitement. Gerber's The Liar's Society comes close. 

Hards, Ashley. Hannah Edwards: Secrets of Riverway
September 10, 2024 by Fabled Films Press
ARC provided by the publisher

Hannah lives in the small town of Riverway, population 2000. The area was fairly prosperous, with a booming canola industry that has fallen on hard times as the river has dried up. Hannah's father, who ran a large farming concern, has been missing for four months, and she is determined to find out what happened to him. The local law enforcement has done little, along Rick, one of the officers, stops by weekly to give Hannah's mother an update. Her father's brother, Fergus, is being very helpful, taking care of Hannah and her mother, but there's something that seems off about his involvement. When Hannah's best friend, Sam, sees a ghost that looks like her father at the Old Grain Mill, the two launch into an investigation, using the "grief journal" her mother has given her to take case notes. After consulting a Ouija board, and thinking about the history of ghosts at the mill, Hannah visits the site, and sure enough, a ghost talks to her. It warns her about Fergus, and tells her to look for a pump. At school, Hannah, who struggles with ADHD, has trouble paying attention in class and getting her work in, and has to meet with Ms. Grant, a school counselor she does not like. When she sees a piece of her father's stationery that Ms. Grant is trying to hide in her files, she and Sam asks another classmate, Tim, to help them retrieve the paper. Since Ms. Grant has been saying Fergus, she's definitely suspicious, and the note indicates that Fergus is glad Hannah is getting counseling, but that her mother should not really be bothered with this fact. When Hannah finds out that her mother is going to give 50% of the farm to Fergus, since he's been helping to run it, she's very concerned. Unable to find the pump after several visits to the suggested area, Hannah and Sam sneak away from a school trip to Fergus' farm and try to locate the mysterious pump. Has Fergus really been doing something illegal that has caused the local river to dry up? And did he have a part in his father's death?
Strengths: This was definitely a fantasy book, with ghosts having conversations with several characters. The ghosts aren't scary or murderous, and do give Hannah and Sam some good clues to follow. Younger readers will like the variety of formats, which include transcripts of conversations as well as journal entries.  I liked the environmental tie in with the dropping water levels in the lake and the need to irrigate crops. There are some descriptions of how Hannah's ADHD affects her school performance, and since there are so many students who have some level of this disorder, it's good to see that representation in literature. 
Weaknesses: This had a lot of description and a rather slow pace, and I'm not sure my students would get the Hamlet allusions. Ms. Grant was a little over the top, and seemed awfully intrusive. It was a little surprising that Hannah's mother didn't have her in some kind of grief counseling. For younger readers, the ending, where it is very briefly revealed what happened to Hannah's father, might be disturbing.

What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like a gentle mystery with some clues and supernatural elements, like Lyall's Waking the Dead and Other Fun Activities or Reese's Puzzleheart.

I will pass on purchasing, as this doesn't have the level of excitement my students like to see in mysteries. 

A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall

Warga, Jasmine. A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall

September 10, 2024 by HarperCollins

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Rami Ahmed's supervises the cleaning at the Penelope L. Brooks museum in Maple Lake, and he loves hanging out there. Unfortunately, a painting has been stolen, and both he and his mom are worried that they are on the list of suspects, especially since the cameras were turned off and it looks like it might have been an inside job. His father is working in Atlanta, and his mother still misses her life in Lebanon. He's also dealing with some issues at school, and his friends are no longer talking to him. His concerns increase when he starts to see a girl hanging around the museum... but she's dressed in old fashioned clothes, and her feet don't quite touch the ground. He meets Veda, a classmate who is willing to talk to him, and she helps him investigate the stolen painting. The girl turns out to be the girl from the H.F. Bottentow painting, so the two determine that there must be some kind of issue with the painting to keep her spirit stuck in the museum. They try to go to the Evergreen Pines Nursing Home, where the elderly artist lives, to try to get information, but this is not sucessful. Eventually, with the help of a turtle, Agatha, who lives in the museum yard, the two are able to solve not only the mystery of the stolen painting, but also of the ghost. 

Strengths: How cool would it be to get to hang out in a local museum all of the time? Rami's life has some difficulties, but his mother is very supportive. It was good to see him making a new friend and learning how to work with her. There are plenty of clues, and they are untangled in a satisfying way.
Weaknesses: The chapters from Agatha's point of view make this seem a little more suitable for elementary school, even though Rami and Veda are in middle school. 
What I really think: This is a great choice for fans of Blue Balliet's work, McDunn's When Sea Becomes Sky, Gray's The Amelia Six, Wells' Eddie Red Undercover: Mystery on Museum Mile or other museum related mysteries.