My Tokyo Summer

Denson, Abby and Utomaru (illus.) My Tokyo Summer

July 7, 2026 by Graphix

ARC provided by the publisher

In this graphic memoir, we go back to 1986 to meet Abby, who lives in the US, and Yuuko, who lives in Japan. Both girls are interested in comics and anime. Abby's mother has traveled to Japan for business, so Abby is enthralled with that country, and Yuuko and her older sister Yoko are interested in US culture. Both girls hope to one day spend time in New York City. When Abby gets the chance to stay with her grandfather in the Big Apple, she is introduced to the zine scene. She creates her own, which Yuuko discovers when she visits the city with her sister. Yuuko writes to Abby, and the two become penpals. in 1997, Abby gets the chance to attend a summer program in Tokyo, and she and Yuuko are able to hang out and experience all of the sites, food, and shopping in Japan. They write a comic together, and get a table at Comiket to sell it. Even years later, the two are still connected, and Abby, an author, goes back to visit as often as she can. 

There are great notes from Denson and Utomaru, as well as Yuuko, at the end of the book, and some fun pictures. Like Santat's A First Time For Everything, My Tokyo Summer is a great snapshot of a particularly important and influential summer in an author's life. There are plenty of good details about things to do in Japan, and a LOT about the food. Transliterated Japanese is also included. While most of the ARC was in black and white, the few pages that are in color are bright and appealing. Utomaru's illustration style is a mix between US artists like Telgemeier and Galligan and Japanese manga (That ALWAYS in my head is expressed as Speed Racer-like!) and is very appealing. 

Readers who enjoyed  a taste of life in Japan in Brown's While I Was Away or Chapman's All the Ways Home  or who enjoyed Misako's Bounce Back will be enthralled with this virtual field trip to Tokyo, especially if they are fans of anime and manga. 

 

Sneaks

Tern, Amy. Sneaks
July 7, 2026 by Holiday House

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Vallory is angry that Mrs. Sagara would accuse her of stealing an antique coin from her collection, especially since she was dealing with the disgusting bathroom to help out her mother, Alyssa, who works as a cleaner for the imperious woman. Waiting on the balcony for the reckoning with her mother, she runs into Rook Sagara and asks for his help. She DID steal the coin and claims she was going to put it back. Rook, who is homeschooled and under a lot of pressure to do well at an upcoming piano competition, agrees. The two form an odd friendship after Vallory travels back on the bus from her home in Grumdale back to the fancy Charles Hill neighborhood of Boston where Rook lives. Rook introduces her to a mystery involving the next door Faden House. Mrs. Sagara rents out rooms there, and Rook thinks there is a girl living in one of the apartments, even though his mother's records don't indicate this. After spying on the building, the kids see a mysterious woman, Ms. Smith, set fire to a doll on the balcony. When they hear that a local girl, Lottie, has been kidnapped, they assume the worst. Since Vallory's mother is dating a policeman, Burke, Vallory lies to her mother about being at Make-a-Pot, and continues to visit Rook, even though Ms. Smith complains to Mrs. Sagara. The two continue their investigation, even bringing in Vallory's former friend Tiff who was told not to hang out with Vallory after she shoplifted items from the local WalMart. When circumstances turn out to be more serious than they could have suspected, will Vallory and Rook be able to save the day?
Strengths: Rook and Vallory are both children who are in need of a friendship, and the two end up supporting each other in valuable ways. Rook has developed anxiety, especially about going outside the house, that his family doesn't seem to appreciate. Similarly, Vallory acts out, possibly over tension with her mother and concern over their financial instability. Her father, whom she refers to as "Dastardly Dan", lives in Australia. While the two try to sneak around, the aren't very adept at it, and it is realistic that neighbors are upset to find that children are trespassing and harassing the neighbors, even if they end up having a really good reason to do so. Both children have well developed back stories that add a lot to the narrative. The ending is satisfying, but I don't want to give away any twists and turns. 
Weaknesses: While Rook and Vallory's concerns end up being very serious, this has a feeling of goofiness to it that might not appeal to middle school readers who want darker thrillers like the works of April Henry. The mirrors on Ms. Smith's hat made me take her less seriously. 
What I really think: Readers who are amused by meddlesome children like Fitzhugh's Harriet the Spy will appreciate Vallory's efforts to uncover a mystery. At first I thought this was going in a similar direction to The Treasure of Maria Mamoun, but in the end it felt a little more like Trouble at the Tangerine or Millington's Once for Yes. 

 

The Second Life of Snap and Force of Nature

Kelly, Erin Entrada. The Second Life of Snap
May 12, 2026 by Greenwillow Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Zuzu Santos lives in Subsidized Camp Five in a trailer. Her father works at Lockwood Associates in security, but has just lost his job. As severance, he is given a Secure Network Android Processor robot, known as Snap. He thinks that the robot will be a good way to keep track of Zuzu while he's looking for a job, but Zuzu doesn't trust anything that comes from "bounties" who live in protected areas, have technology, and are generally better off than those living in the Barrens are. Zuzu is used to hanging out with the other children in her small neighborhood that they call Bright Valley. Elias, Laiken, and Ant (the "Valleycats") all go to school with her, and like their teacher, Ms. Dagney, who isn't as fond of Lockwood Associates as she should be. Zuzu warms to Snap when he does household chores for her, and when Elias syncs his tablet with the robot, Snap seems to change some of the robot's functions. Snap now makes choices, and can lie. He is helpful to the children, detecting an old bike chain in a nearby lake that is useful to Elias, who is trying to build a bike. There is a farmer's market that the children go to, but it is a dangerous place. Elias takes a water filter that he has made and tries to sell it, but Grady, a child from the Driftwood community, steals the battery from it and breaks it. Dr. Li, who works with Ms. Dagney, still buys it from the children, and even buys fruit from Mabel for them. When Laiken's mother is ailing, the children borrow bikes from Nora and Costello from Sandtown and travel to Driftwood to try to get the battery back from Grady. Driftwood is even more fun down than Bright Valley, and Big Jim says the kids can have the battery only if he keeps a bike. Since Snap has been collateral for the bike, Zuzu has to trade information to Nora and Costello in order to keep Snap, who has become her friend. All through the story, we have known that Snap's charger is broken, and once his battery wears down, he will revert to factory settings. After a storm tears through Bright Valley, everyone survives, but the last scene shows that Zuzu was not able to keep Snap, although he does get a new battery and owner. 

Strengths: It is well within the realm of possibility that a technology company could take over the world, and that marginalized communities will suffer the effects of climate change and be housed in undesirable places in mobile homes, so the setting is quite true to life. The children in Bright Valley come from an array of backgrounds; Zuzu is Filipina, Elias is Mexican, Laiken is Black, and Ant is white. It's also likely that well to do communities will use a lot of technology. The salvage yard was interesting; in a dystopia, I imagine that the large landfills will be excavated, because judging from things I see thrown out, there has got to be a lot of very usable items there. Snap is a nice robot, which is a relief, since there are a lot of fictional robots who want to kill people. This is definitely a heart print book that merits a discussion about what it means to be human. 
Weaknesses: There are so many dystopian books. The world is horrible right now. It would be nice to see science fiction that depicted the world being a better place because children stepped up and made a difference. 

What I really think: Readers who found the dystopian worlds in Cartaya's The Last Beekeeper or Perry's Scavengers intriguing will find Bright Valley interesting, as will those who enjoyed the robots in Rodriguez and Ortega's  The Girl and the Robot or Warga's A Rover's Story. I am always confounded by people who become emotionally attached to robots that are not the Jetson's maid, Rosie. To me, it is akin to becoming attached to my microwave or vacuum cleaner, but I know that other people are different. 

Clark, Melissa. Force of Nature

May 19, 2026 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
 

High school junior Chloe Lovejoy lives on the West Coast with her mother, Laurel, and grandmother, Fern. She sees her father occasionally. Fern is a bit quirky, spending a lot of time watching the weather on television and going out to a shed in the yard. Laurel has trouble keeping a job, and there are many days where she doesn't get out of bed because she is hung over. A lot of household management falls to Chloe, who is a solid C student thinking about college, hanging out with her friends, and crushing on the very cute Curtis. On her sixteenth birthday, she hopes that she will get a car, but is disappointed when Fern gives her an antique key to the shed, which Fern calls the Maparium. It turns out that Fern is Mother Nature, and controls the weather all over the world. Now that Chloe is sixteen, she will be an apprentice, and come into her full powers at twenty one. Laurel is bitter that she has been passed over because of her poor life choices, and Chloe is a bit wary of the whole process until Fern makes a lemon tree in the yard magically bloom.  Chloe starts to read the Book of Nature and prepare for her role, but Fern dies suddenly and thrust Chloe into her new position. She consults Wade, who lives up on Mt. Kismo, after her mother throws the ancient book into the pool and there is a volcano in Switzerland. He gives her a device with the digitized book on it, and suggests how she can study. Since her friend Felix has had to drive her, he's in on her secret. After Chloe is involved in an uncharacteristic altercation with a teacher who tries to take the device away, thinking it is a phone, it is recommended that Chloe start therapy for her grief over Fern's death. Wade demands that Chloe spend more time in the Maparium actively controlling the weather, which interferes with her schoolwork. Things get strange when Laurel starts dating local weatherman Duncan Sunshine. He eventually finds out about the family connection to Mother Nature, and steals the key in order to further his television career. Will Chloe be able to learn on the job, keep the weather in check, and deal with her family and personal issues?
Strengths: What an absolutely fantastic premise! Of COURSE Mother Nature's role is passed down matrilineally! Chloe realistically tries to juggle school, dating, her friends, her mother, and all the weather in the world! The reasoning behind the mother being skipped was a big part of the story, and made a lot of sense. The father appeared just enough, and was able to share some back story Chloe didn't know. Digitzing the Book of Nature made perfect sense, and I would have gladly spent more time with Wade. Duncan Sunshine was the perfect villain, and added a bit of levity to the plot. I would have adored this book when I was in high school and all of my friends were reading heavy duty fantasy.

Weaknesses: Would it be better or worse to spend more time with Fern? She was such a great character, so it was sad that she died, but Chloe needed to work on her own. Perhaps if she had gone on vacation, and had been able to come back to teach Chloe some more and fix her messes, she wouldn't have had to die. I also wanted a little more about the weather and why Chloe's family was chosen to fill the role of Mother Nature. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want a magical book like Roberts' fantastic 2010 Green or Welch's Spells for Lost Things. I'm debating purchase for my middle school library; even though Chloe is in high school, the story is still appropriate for middle school, but I don't have as many readers for magical realism as I used to. The cover is great, so I'll order it if I have enough money next year. I would definitely order it for a high school library.
 

Raven Rising

Derr, Christine Hartman. Raven, Rising

July 7, 2026 by Heartdrum

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Raven moves from Oklahoma to Bear Creek Falls with her Aunt Coral after the death of both of her parents in a household accident that Raven believes is her fault. Since she was at her friend Jade's for a sleepover, she survived. Her father was Cherokee, and her mother was of Scottish and English descent, and Raven feels adrift from her community, especially since she has been told that she doesn't "look" Native. Even though the move has been chaotic, Coral insists that Raven start school right away, and things go badly. She gets an incomplete schedule, and runs afoul of Stella, a popular blonde girl who then makes it her mission to make Raven's life difficult. Raven misses baking, which she did with her mother, but refuses to do any now, even though ingredients "call" to her, somewhat magically. Trying to escape cinnamon at a local bakery, she happens upon a gazebo in the woods, where she meets Hazel, who is Black, and Laurel. The girls want to befriend Raven, and tell her that the gazebo might be magical. Stella's meanness increases, and in a moment of rage, Raven yells some Cherokee words at her, which Stella interprets as a curse. Classmate Will, who is also studying Tsalagi, calls Raven out on her behavior, and she apologizes. She explains that her father was interested in the language, so she's been studying it. Since there is a Fall Festival in town, and an All Hallow's Eve Ball at the school, Hazel and Laurel want Raven to enter some of her baked goods, since they are working on costumes. However, the costumes, as well as Raven's everyday outfits, run afoul of the strange and stringent dress code, creepily enforced by Mr. McKell. This covers everything from chokers to leggings as pants to hoodies, but seems inequitably enforced. With the help of the school counselor, Ms. Barton, Raven stands up for the girls at school, and also uncovers the facts that Mr. McKell doesn't have a teaching license or even a college degree! Things are  better at school, and Raven continues to deal with the grief over the death of her parents as she becomes closer to Aunt Coral. 

Strengths: Books about magical baking have long been popular, from Littlewood's 2012 Bliss to LaRocca's 2019 Midsummer's Mayhem to McClaren's 2025 Crumble. It's frequently an outlet for emotions, so it makes sense that Raven has a difficult relationship with the activity after her mother's death. It was good to see that there were students willing to defend her, even though Stella was not pleasant. Aunt Coral is great, and tries her best to make sure Raven is thriving, even making sure she continues online therapy with Dr. Marie. The inclusion of Cherokee culture is good to see, as is Raven's grappling with her mixed identity. 
Weaknesses: The main storyline ended up being about the dress code. Since my school's dress code is basically "make sure private parts are covered" I don't think the story will resonate with my students. Stella was a stereotypical bully, and seemed to target Raven for no good reason. I would have liked to see more about the magical gazebo, which would have been much more interesting. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Farr's Margie Kelley Breaks the Dress Code or Firestone's Dress Coded. 

Time Slip Tuesday- The Replay Trap

Brandt, Julia. The Replay Trap
June 30, 2026 by Aladdin
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

*Spoilers*

Sydney is not thrilled to be going to Ari’s birthday party, because she was not invited. Instead, her mother, who is concerned that Sydney hasn’t been making friends since the family’s move from the city of Minneapolis out to the suburbs, arranged an invitation with Ari’s aunt, Dr. Jae Park. The sleepover is being held at the Wildlife Science Center, where Dr. Park works. It is an animal refuge that specializes in taking care of wolves and other animals who need rehabilitation. After a fraught car ride with her parents and younger sister Dianette, Sydney arrives at the party with her gift, which she was not supposed to bring. She meets Ari’s friend group, the “Frankfurters”, which includes twins Gus and Uvy, as well as Remy. Ari likes to make documentaries, and is working on one about cryptids. Sydney isn’t all that interested, but hears about Dogman and other scary tales around the campfire, joined by Mr. Wright and Dr. Bjella. When a beast comes out of the woods and jumps over Sydney, she passes out, only to wake up on the same car ride. This happens again, and she learns a little more information, but loops again. This time, she stays in the cabin and plays Nintendo Switch, claiming a migraine. She talks to Dr. Bjella, who tells her that time loops in fiction are generally solved when the looper finds out essential information about herself and changes. Sydney tries to be interested in the documentary but is again attacked and loops. This time, she thinks that Mr. Wright is a cryptid who is controlling time. Sydney goes all in, even discussing with Ari why she is friends with Melody and Charlotte, who are not nice to others, but were the only ones who welcomed Sydney when she moved to town. The group investigates Mr. Wright’s camper, and gets more information about what he is doing. Sydney tells the Frankfurters about looping before she loops again. This time, Sydney stays home and confides in Dianette about her experiences, and the girls find a cryptid claw stuck in Sydney’s hair. Dianette has some insights, but Sydney still loops. Back at the camp, Sydney tries to finally reconcile all of the information she has gathered, and to work with the Frankfurters to put an end to the time looping. Will she be successful?
Strengths: This was certainly an innovative novel, and felt even more “loopy” than other books I’ve read about days that repeat. Sydney makes much more progress, and changes the iterations of the day more than usual, which makes the novel move more quickly. The friend drama is very realistic, and its progression added a realistic element to this fantasy. The adults involved were interesting, and offered just enough oversight and interest while still allowing the children to explore. I found Dianette’s input surprisingly valuable, as did Sydney. Readers who enjoy wolves and cryptids will like the variety of animals in this story.
Weaknesses: The time loop might confuse some readers, and I wanted a bit more information about why cryptids caused time loops, or why Sydney was involved.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who like time loop tales like Bearce’s Paris on Repeat, Levy’s Finn and Ezra's Bar Mitzvah Time Loop, Cirrone’s The First Last Day, or Mlynowski and Soontornvat’s Time After Time (Best Wishes #3 ), or who are interested in reading about cryptids in books like Key’s Beast: Face-to- Face with the Florida Bigfoot or Russell’s It Came from the Trees.

   

MMGM- The Making of American Girl and Thunder and Mercy

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at

Unleashing Readers

I'm trying to find it funny that the 90s are trending, especially 90s childhoods and parenting, because that's when my own daughters were small. And it was thirty years ago; in 1978 when we were wearing poodle skirts for 1950s days when I was in middle school and watching Grease and Sha Na Na's variety show, we were only looking back twenty years, and that seemed like ancient times! With the Sestercentennial, it's a great time to take a look at some historical fiction. 

I no longer have the American Girl books in my middle school; they fell apart a while ago, but I would definitely have repurchased them for an elementary library. My daughters and I read them all, and I've enjoyed some of the newer titles, like Gilly and Valentine's Julie and the Blue Guitar. 

We never bought any of the dolls; at the time, they were very much out of our price range, (the outfits were $22, and I wouldn't pay more than $2 for a pair of jeans at the thrift store!) but we spent many hours paging wistfully through the catalog and looking at the dolls, clothes, and furniture. I remember thinking vague thoughts about saving up for a Bitty Baby for my youngest, but that didn't happen, either. Luckily, both girls had FRIENDS who had American Girl dolls, so they did get to play with them. 

If you or someone you know was a big fan of the dolls, this is a wonderfully done book, and probably the best history of a franchise that I have ever seen. Definitely take a look. 

American Girl. The Making of American Girl

May 12, 2026 by American Girl Publishing

Copy provided by the publisher

The first chapter of this book, detailing how Pleasant Rowland was inspired to create her iconic dolls and chapter books, could be made into a middle grade nonfiction book on its own, but when you add the rest of the information about each of the original six American Girl dolls, as well as chapters about the American Girl magazine and American Girl Place, this book is absolutely everything anyone could possibly want to know about this influential franchise. 

I have to applaud Ms. Rowland not only for coming up with the idea of early chapter books featuring stories about girls from different time periods who have adventures and the dolls that go with the books, but for documenting her process and saving all of her papers. It is absolutely fascinating to see letters between her and writer Valerie Tripp, sketches of the dolls and original illustrations, and even fabric swatches for the outfits. There are even reproductions of the covers of vintage magazines like Harper's Bazaar and Good Housekeeping that inspired some of the outfits. There are vintage prints, and pictures of toys and household accessories as well. One of my favorite things was a mock up of the catalog that Ms. Rowland did. How cool was it that the catalogs showed the doll as the actual 18" size?!

The chapters of the different dolls cover so much information! Whether you were a fan of Samantha, Kristen, Molly, Felicity, Addy, or Josefina, you will find everything you can ever want to know about the character. There are illustrations from the original books that portray all of the characters, inspirations for the names and outfits, details about the research that was done, and a two page spread of each doll. I'm a fabric geek, so I adored all of the sketches with swatches, and there are even prototypes of shoes and knitwear. There is information about the storylines, as well as authors and illustrators who were involved in the projects. There are even some fans depicted, some of whom later became involved in the company. There are even some knitting patterns, like the chart for Kristen's sweater! 

The chapter about the magazine was also interesting; my daughters had a subscription for several years. There are a few letters and pieces of artwork from fans shown, and some discussion of the stories about the American Girl dolls characters that were included. I somehow missed the paper dolls, but those were VERY cool. There's a little bit of information about the books like The Care and Keeping of You, but I would have been glad to know a little bit more about that aspect of the company. 

I didn't know that there was more than one American Girl Store, so the chapter on the brick and mortar retail aspect of the company was fascinating. I did have one friend who took her daughter to the American Girl Place in Chicago, and it seemed like a VERY fancy weekend. 

This was an absolutely gorgeous book, but it is 10.5 x 1.2 x 13 inches and almost five and a half pounds! Perfect for a coffee table, but a little much for a middle school student to carry in a back pack. If you are a fan of the American Girl dolls, or know someone who is, this would be a fantastic gift. Now, if Mattel would do a similar book about the creation and evolution of Barbie, that would be great! 

Barr, Jennifer Robin. Thunder and Mercy
July 14, 2026 by Calkins Creek
ARC provided by the publisher

In 1979, Theodora Underwood's parents are more interested in following their own scientific interests than in "Thunder", so she is tutored by a nanny in Boston during the school year and shuttled off to various relatives in the summer. She is used to being alone, and has a lot of initiative. When she tires of staying with a college aged cousins, she managed to travel by bus and taxi to Philadelphia to stay with her Aunt Hazel in her crumbling historical mansion in Fairmount Park. Thunder's parents consider Hazel "hippie-dippie", and certainly the organization of the house is more carefree than the methodical ways of the other Underwoods. She is very welcoming to her niece, however, and gives her her own room, specially decorated for her, as well as a notebook. Since most of her relatives were just annoyed to have to deal with her, Thunder is pleased. She is even able to have a storage closet for her own hideaway. When she finds a 200 year old letter there written by Margaret "Mercy" Percy, she carefully handles it, and when she tells Hazel about it, is allowed to keep it and investigate the mystery it outlines. The house had been owned by Benedict Arnold, and the letter mentions his wife, Peggy, and has cryptic clues to the whereabouts of Mercy's journal. Hazel gets help with the house from handyman Mr. Dixon, as well as Pop Jackson, who has two children, Charlie and Heather. Thunder isn't used to having friends, but gets drawn in to the Jackson children's plans, especially when they help her with the mystery. There is also a prowler in the area, purportedly looking for an important ring. After finding Mercy's journal, the children embark on a sometimes treacherous investigation to try to uncover the identities of women spies during the American Revolution. Thunder enjoys the hunt, and loves living with her Aunt and talking to people like Professor Maggie Kenner. As the summer draws to a close, however, will she have to return to being homeschooled?

Thunder is an engaging character who is having trouble understanding why any adults would find her company valuable. Aunt Hazel is delightful and welcoming, and her house, while it needs a lot of renovation, offers much scope for the imagination. There are hidden passages, very old documents, and other artefacts that are quite interesting. I appreciated that Thunder didn't keep too many secrets from Hazel, and Hazel gave her a lot of leeway. Watching Thunder interact with the children in the neighborhood was also interesting, and her desire to remain with a supportive and fun community is understandable, especially since her parents don't seem very pleasant.

The mystery is well developed, and there are a lot of clues and information about the Revolutionary War, which is especially nice during the Sestercentennial! This reminded me a lot of books I read in the 1970s, with plenty of details from the journal about goings on. Fortunately, the journal entries are in a different font that has some characteristics of cursive by is closer to print, so young readers can decode it Real historical characters are referenced, and readers who are interested might want to pick up Sheinkin's The Notorious Benedict Arnold for more information. There is some tension when neighbors are suspected, but I don't want to give away any twists and turns.

There are plenty of details about life in the 1970s, and popular movies and songs are mentioned frequently. Since I was about Thunder's age at this time, I can tell you they are pretty much spot on, although by this time I am not sure we would have been wearing an orange polyester pantsuits. That seems more 1975. Fashions changed incredibly quickly in this decade!

Readers who love history and are up to the challenge of 368 pages of history and clues, and who enjoyed Durst's Spy Ring or Landis' Capitol Chase, will look forward to this title by the author of Goodbye, Mr. Spalding. 

Heartland

Hoffmann, Jilanne. Heartland. 

July 7, 2026 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus 

Xyla’s Alkorn family has lived on their family farm near Muscalissa, Iowa, for five generations, but Xyla isn’t enamored with farm life. Her single mother, Cassie, won’t tell her anything about her father, and is always stressed because of the amount of work it takes to run a farm. She not only relies on Xyla’s help, but is constantly expecting her daughter to do work AND be appreciative of the family’s agrarian legacy. Xyla would much rather build Lego models and experiment with clocks, but grudgingly does the work. Sadly, she has few skills and is easily distracted, which often results in loss of saleable crops, furthering her mother’s stress. When she finds a locked box, she is determined to break into it, even getting information from the library on how to pick locks. The library in town requires a one hour round trip, but Xyla loves to be there and hang out with the librarian and his dog. Xyla gets into the box and finds her mother’s journals from 1988, but gets caught reading them. Cassie is angry, and Xyla decides she MUST find out who her father is. Her investigation is put on hold when Cassie rents her grandparents’ house to Lucas DeSoto and his children, Mateo and Alegría. Alegría, whose mother recently died, is Xyla’s age, and Cassie expects Xyla to befriend her. The two actually hit it off, and Alegría is even given a job on the farm for the summer, since her father and brother are working. While the Alkorn’s farm practices organic and sustainable techniques, a nearby hog farm, Porca Miseria, does not. After snooping in her mother’s off, Xyla finds her birth certificate, and uses her mother’s phone to contact Cash Kane, her father, who lives nearby and is an attorney for Porca Miseria. Alegría becomes ill, and has also seen a horrifc spill of sewage from the business, where her father is a manager. Xyla meets up with her father, who gives her a phone she has wanted, but doesn’t act the way she would like about the sewage spill. We’ve seen entries from the mother’s diary about the crisis the family farm faced in the 1980s, which survived because of a return to sustainable practices, and see that while things are still hard in the 2020s, it’s still possible to farm in a responsible way. The ending is moderately upbeat, and there are lots of notes on farming issues since the 1970s. 

Strengths: There are not too many books about children growing up on farms, and it would be nice to see more. There are completely different challenges and joys in this lifestyle, and it would be interesting for young suburban students to see them. Xyla’s dislike of farmwork is essential to her dynamic with her mother, and there are many young readers who have parents who have not been in their lives for various reasons. It’s interesting to read the mother’s diaries (which are in verse), and there are also some chapters that are notes from the farm itself, or are explorations of how time has treated certain subjects. Farming in the 1980s was under attack, and there could be a whole novel just on that topic. 

Weaknesses: Xyla uses a lot of creative epithets, like “batfish farts” and “rat’s bumfuzzle” that seemed overly contrived. There were a lot of complicated issues going on in this book, so some things are treated superficially, like Alegría’s fatty liver problem. This comes in at 432 ages, which may be a challenge for some middle grade readers. 

What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want to know the joys and sorrows of family farming and who have enjoyed Swore’s The Wish and the Peacock, Berne’s Going Viral (Tween Era), King’s Me and Marvin Gardens or Cline’s Bridge to Bat City. This resonated with me on a personal level. My uncles sold their dairy operations after my grandmother’s death in 1988, so I understand the dynamics of long held family farms facing issues. During that era, I also visited family in Iowa who were tangentially involved in farming (ran corn shellers, lived on family farms that were being rented out, had farming supply businesses) but had moved away from farming because they couldn’t make a go of it. I saw first hand the effects that WalMart had on businesses in small town Iowa. (Muscalissa must be based on Muscatine and Atalissa?) This was the era of Farm Aid, John Cougar Mellencamp’s Scarecrow, and the loss of a plethora of family farms. It was also a time when a lot of Latine immigrants came to rural areas in Iowa to work in the meat packing industry, and the descendents of German immigrants just a generation or two before didn’t always take this well.  

Saturday Morning Cartoons- Sama Crushes the Code

Stevens, Brin, Mehta, Samaira, and Alvarado, Jenny (illus.) 

Sama Crushes the Code: A Graphic Novel
July 14, 2026 by MIT Kids Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Sama is worried about starting middle school, even though her best friend Nancy is excited about all of the opportunities for joining groups. Since her father is a coder, she has skimmed some of his books, but he tells her it is important to practice all of the small skills. She joins that tech club at school, even though she is wary of the president, Sid, but also meets a new neighbor, Zoe, across the street. They don't start off on the best foot, but after Sama repairs Zoe's hovercraft, she gets to meet Zoe's mother, who is a computer engineer for the Screamzone amusement park. Sid mentions that Sama should look into doing something BIG with coding, and when she sees that her brother's bus driver is stressed, she finds a way to optimize the route with the help of her father and Zoe's mother. Sid still isn't impressed; if Sama had done all the buses, that might be something different. Nancy and Sama haven't been spending as much time together, but when Sama uses the ByteBunnyz game she created to introduce her brother to coding as a way to raise money for the tech group, Nancy helps out and the two reconnect. Zoe joins the tech group, and Sama feels better about middle school, since she has two good friends and an activity she enjoys. 

Strengths: "Kids doing things" is always a great premise for a middle grade book, and seeing kids involved in any STEM activities, especially coding, is always great. Middle school friendships evolve, and the portrayal of Sama and Nancy's different interests taking them away from each other was very realistic. Including Zoe, who shares coding interests with Sama, also makes sense, and it was heartwarming to see that the girls were all able to become friends. The dynamics of the tech club were also interesting, and even though Sid was slightly unpleasant, his disinterest inspires Sama to optimize all of the school buses in the district! I always appreciate supportive parents as well. There is a fair amount of coding information and vocabulary. I will definitely add this to my graphic novel collection. 
Weaknesses: Even though I enjoyed this, the plot and character development fell a little short for me. Perhaps this was due to the graphic novel format, which never has enough details for me. The illustrations were fine; Alvarado seems to have a background in picture books, but did a great job with this format. 
What I really think: There are never enough books about kids involved in computing, so this is a great choice for readers who enjoyed Yang's Secret Coders or Deutsch's Girls Who Code. 

Offsides

Gonzalez, Christina Diaz and Costa, Mari (illustrator). Offside

July 7, 2026 by Graphix

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Palmer is an avid soccer player who has torn his ACL and is out for the season. Luckily, Coach Harris and Coach T of the Jayhawks understand how important the sport is to him, and let him tag along as a "manager". His teammate Al hates having girls on the team (blaming it on his Peruvian father and grandfather's adherence to the antiquated idea that girls shouldn't even play soccer), so tries to sabotage Nicky, who has quit the girls' team and joined the Jayhawks hoping it will better further her career. Palmer's neighbor Fabiola is new to the US and learning English, but is interested in being on the team as well. So is Seba, a boy in Fabiola's English language learners class who is also new to the US. When both Nicky and Fabiola both make the team, Al is worried that his grandfather won't be proud of him playing soccer when he visits. Al's father goes so far as to lie to Vovo about Al's game, claiming it was cancelled. Palmer is asked to write an article for the school paper about having girls on the team, to help everyone accept them. After talking to Nicky about her experience with the poor fields for the girls, the article takes a different direction that manages to make both Nicky and Al angry, but which gets picked up by the local paper. Al finds that there is a field nearby that is for sale, and has a plan to get it turned into soccer fields. He offers Nicky the chance to play the hero is she and Fabiola don't play in a game so that his grandfather can watch the game. This turns into an odd sort of publicity event that involves Seba bringing his neighbor who has a petting zoo, but pressure is put on the mayor to do the right things for sports in the town. Al's grandfather is more accepting of girls playing soccer than Al and his father expect, and the team starts to work together. There is a glossary of soccer terms at the back of the book, and a lot of dual language (Spanish/English mostly, but some Portugese) speech bubbles throughout the book. 

Strengths: Both soccer and graphic novels are popular with my Spanish speaking students, to this will be a big hit. The coaches were the best part of this for me, because they modeled very positive behavior and encouraged the team to support each other and work together. Fabiola and Seba's experiences with language are very true to life. Fabiola often uses her phone to translate her conversations, which I have seen students do, but I appreciated that her mother encouraged her NOT to rely on the phone too much. Nicky is a complicated character who carries a lot of anger that comes from her personal life, and her desired career trajectory is something middle school students envision, and also adds to her frustration and anger. Palmer is fairly philosophical about being out for the season, but is still invested in his team. Gonzalez has clearly spent some time around middle school soccer teams! 
Weaknesses: It's been over fifty years since Title IX, and while the world isn't perfect, it still feels extremely antiquated for boys to complain that girls are on their teams. We've had girls on the football team at my middle school, and no one cared. I thought we were catching up, with books like Lupica's Triple Threat series or Green's Final Season, but just like the real world, I guess we are seeing backsliding in girls' and women's rights. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who liked sports books centering on girls playing for boys' teams, like Marino's Iced Out, or who are interested in the experience of English language learners. I'll purchase this, since there are so few sports graphic novels, but I just wanted to slap Al and his father. They reminded me of a father of two boys I coached in cross country who took offense when I told the boys they needed to run like the girls, because then they might actually win. The father did not take kindly to the fact that the girls WERE doing much better than the boys, or that I pointed this out!

A Girl's Guide to Spying

Webb, Holly. A Girl's Guide to Spying
April 14, 2026 by Rock the Boat
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

This was such a fun book, and SO well researched. I loved the inclusion of information about the Agnes Baden-Powell, who started the British Girl Guides, and her brother Robert, who started the Boy Scouts. It didn't surprise me that girls' badges included things like laundry and child care, but I appreciated the author's note explaining that things were very different in the early 1900s, and that the genders were treated differently.

Set during WWI, we meet Phyllis and Annie Means, whose brother Dan is off fighting in the war. Their parents run a shop, and are reluctant to let them join the Girl Guides because they are known to run about the streets without the proper amount of petticoats! They do join, and are later approached to be messengers for MI5 because the Boy Scouts were unreliable!

The family also takes in a neighboring shop owner whose husband is German. He's been incarcerated, the shop has been attacked, and the daughter, Minna, is welcomed into the guides as well. I loved seeing that the Means family were empathetic, even though Annie still thought that Minna might be a spy.

WWI had devastating effects on British society. Dan comes back missing an arm but feels lucky. I very much enjoyed this book, and it is available in prebind from Titlewave, although not in hardcover. I would love to buy it, but I don't have the readers for WWI historical fiction. Larger collections that can afford this additional purchase should definitely look into it. A bit of a departure from Webb's usual slightly magical titles, but extremely good!

This is available in both paperback and prebind from Follett, and would be a great choice for readers who enjoyed Bunce's Myrtle Hardcastle mysteries or Stevenson's Wells and Wong books. 

Champions of the Galaxy

Okogwu, Tọlá. Champions of the Galaxy
June 30, 2026 by Margaret K. McElderry Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Kola Adesola lives with his family in London in 2025. He’s been training for a space program for a year after his grandfather Gbadero, an aerospace engineer, has recommended him for a government project. His family struggles with his younger sister Simi’s sickle cell anemia, and she is in the hospital when the world shifts: a spaceship hovers over the Houses of Parliament, and the Onni, from the Ada’En system, announce that they have arrived to save the world. Kola’s space program is canceled, but after the Onni demand that children are to be sent with them to serve as champions and prove humanity’s worth in order to be saved, Kola is picked to represent the UK. Home schooled and a bit anxious, Kola doesn’t want to go, but the Onni have offered new technology as recompense, and he hopes they might have something to save Simi from suffering with her illness. Soon he is whisked away and put into a competitive “pod” with Achan, from South Sudan, Thea, from the US, and Dae Jin, from South Korea.They each have skills and complicated back stories, and fight a bit until they realize that is what the Onni want them to do. They are forced to undergo twelve trials, including one that forces them to eliminate one of the group. They refuse to do this, and the Onni are shocked. Their planet has been destroyed by an organization called the Alliance, and the twenty four remaining members of the society include Eika, the leader, and Thusor, who is in charge of Kola’s pod. The Onni group has been in charge of entertainment on their planet, and their top product was a show that traveled to different planets, arranging similar champion games. When more secrets come out about why they are taking children, and what plans are for Earth, Kola and his group have to use all of their wiles to save the planet. Will they succeed?
Strengths: If middle grade fiction has taught us nothing else, it's that only tweens can save the world. The arrival of the Onni is a new reason for them to become champions, which is a fresh twist. The idea that refugees from another planet are looking at what the residents of Earth have done to the planet and have decided to step in to save them is an interesting one, although after reading Falkner’s 2012 Recon Team Angel books, I know never to trust aliens who want to do something for your own good! Kola is an unlikely hero, which readers of science fiction seem to like, and his pod is a diverse group that is able to learn to work together. There are a few twists and turns that tweens might not expect, and there is a satisfying ending that could possibly lead to a sequel.
Weaknesses: I do not feel good about humanity’s chances of survival if we have to rely on today’s tweens. The message of the book was a bit unclear to me. Reality television is bad? People should learn to get along better? Never trust space aliens? This is more of a “me” problem; younger readers will just enjoy tweens saving the world.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed science fiction adventures like Johnson’s Aku: Journey to Ibra, Richter's The Star of Moon Village, Brooks’ Nothing Interesting Ever Happens to Ethan Fairmont, or Bradford’s Virtual Kombat series.

Time Slip Tuesday- Lily Tripp: Diary of an Accidental Time Traveler

Tait, Amelia. Lily Tripp: Diary of an Accidental Time Traveler
May 12, 2026 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus 

Lily lives with her accountant parents in England in 2025... most of the time. She has an odd habit of traveling back in time at New Year's Eve, and has spent a year in Victorian England and another in ancient Rome before returning to the present day after wishing on birthday candles. Whenever she travels, the people in her life stay the same. There are her parents, her best friend Poppy, nemesis Georgia, and crush Ollie. A classmate, Joey, often shows up as well. This year, she is determined to find out how Ollie feels about her at a New Year's Eve party, but before she knows it, she wakes up in 1621. This time, she and her family are servants living in Georgia's house! Ollie is also wealthy, but still talks to her. The two still exchange books. Because of her odd habits, and her attempt to make chicken nuggets, Lily is almost accused of being a witch, but before anything happens, travels to 1972. While she enjoys Jackie magazine, she is appalled by the open gym showers and the braless feminists. Lily eventually realizes that Ollie will never like her, not matter what time period they are in, and that Joey is a better friend than she has imagined. 

Strengths: British protagonist. Check. Time travel to the past. Check. Light romance. Check. This had all of the elements that I would have adored in middle school. Lily takes the time traveling in stride and blends in fairly well with whatever time period she is inhabiting, even though she keeps her modern sensibility. I liked how the supporting characters stayed essentially the same, but changed slightly depending on the setting. This had plenty of humor, and the romance and friend drama that my readers have been asking for. 

Weaknesses: I was never convinced there was a particularly good reason for Lily to time travel, which bothered me. Young readers might not mind as much, but I wanted to know not only why she was time traveling, but how. 

What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who can't get enough time travel books like Saunders' Beswitched or Kelly's The First State of Being, but who secretly miss the late Louise Rennison's Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series.

MMGM- Sleepless and Why Do We Sleep?

It's

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
 at 

Always in the Middle 

and #IMWAYR day 

at

Unleashing Readers

Korman, Gordon. Sleepless

July 7, 2026 by Scholastic Press

ARC provided by Young Adult Books Central

**Spoiler alert!**

If you intend to read the book, you might not want to read the review. There are lots of twists and turns, but they occur early, so I couldn't really write a review that doesn't mention them. You've been warned! 

Mickey is bored because he doesn't sleep. He and his hairless dog, Baldie, because of his bad allergies. They often go out at night, because his parents are working a lot after losing money in a bad real estate deal. With nothing better to do, he takes up running. Skye, on the other hand, uses her sleepless time for art projects, knitting, and reading. Levi, who has asthma, has several different social media accounts, and claims that some of them live in other countries, since he's posting in the middle of the night. Thea gets tired of sitting at the peanut free table but loves theater, and practices singing in a sound proofed treehouse, and Levi invents things. After Skye beats Mickey at the local science fair, the two meet when Baldie sneaks under Skye's fence. The two kids compare notes about their sleep, and eventually meet Levi when is out walking his dog, Bub. Mickey tries out for the football team once he's good at running, and after saving a game (and irritating Carlo, a teammate who bullies him), he stays out all night with the team and sees Thea outside in the week hours of the morning. Levi has posted a video of Thea singing, and she manages to flush him out by posting a Sodoku puzzle on social media. Once the five kids all know about each other, they convene, and try to figure out what they all have in common. It turns out that all five get allergy shots from the same man, Dr. Malachi. Since Skye has an appointment, all the kids go, and ask the doctor what has caused their sleeplessness. Malachi admits to giving them a special shot, but says that it is for the good of humanity, so that they can have an Uninterrupted Life and do great things. Everyone but Thea wants to stay on the shots, but Thea is adamantly opposed. When Dr. Malachi's office is empty, the group tries to hunt him down. They find an address, but there is a rather angry man there who yells at them about Spindle-Top. This turns out to be a luxury apartment building, but the doctor is gone. They go back to the former apartment and find out that the angry man is Dr. Malachi's son, James. When someone tries to break into the tree house, Mickey identifies the culprit as Beans, another member of the football team. He admits to getting the shots, and the kids sneak out to try to confront Dr. Malachi. He's gone again, but at least James, who has met the children there, is taken away and gets some psychological help. The kids have found the serum, but have to decide whether or not to have it analyzed so they can keep taking it, and eventually decide to destroy it, dumping it on the tree. Mickey and Skye are worried that they won't get to spend time together, since Skye's mother was the real estate agent whose actions caused Mickey's parents to lose their money, but Mickey's parents tell him that none of that is Skye's fault. The children still don't sleep for a while, but eventually the serum wears off. The tree at Thea's house, however, is permanently changed by the serum!

Strengths: First of all, this is a great premise, and more realistic than the somewhat similar Midnighters by Scott Westerfeld or The Eighth Day series by Salerni. Told from multiple perspectives, we see how the different children use their extra time. I would totally be like Skye, who even starts to learn Greek and Latin! The children all have different challenges to work around so they can do things undetected, but this is done in a way that makes perfect sense. Mickey's parents work at night. Thea has a soundproofed tree house. Levi has to evade his older sister, and uses Bub as an excuse for being out. I love that attention to detail. I picked up pretty quickly that they all had allergies, maybe because I took allergy shots for six years; I'm just sad mine never gave me extra hours in the day. The hunt for Dr. Malachi took the book in a different direction, and added an element of suspense. This is a fun book with absolutely solid writing. Korman should give master classes on writing middle grade fiction. 
Weaknesses: I'm not personally a fan of multiple points of view, so would rather have had this from a third person omniscient perspective, but it wasn't confusing the way it was written. Just a preference. 
What I really think: Korman just keeps getting better and better. Faker, Snoop, and Sleepless are probably my three favorite books that he has written, even though Restart will probably be considered his finest work. My condolences to him on the death of his friend, Barry Pekilis, to whom the book is dedicated. 

Evans, Cathy and Plavinskaia, Polya. Why Do We Sleep?

February 3, 2026 by Cicada Books

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central 

Tweens LOVE to sleep these days, but do they know the benefits that sleep has for their growing bodies? Why Do We Sleep? takes a surprisingly deep dive into the science and psychology of sleep for middle grade audiences in this large format, picture book style nonfiction title. 

There is a helpful table of contents for navigating the book, although there is not index or source notes. The explanation of circadian rhythms might be new information for young readers, as will the different sleep stages. Several pages are devoted to why the brain dreams, and includes possible explanations for some common dream topics. There are descriptions of different sleep styles around the world; I'm glad I don't work in Japan, because falling asleep at my desh would not be a pleasant experience! 

There is helpful information about different types of insomnia, and the reasons some people might suffer from it, as well as two pages of different sleep disorders like narcolepsy and restless leg syndrome. Sleepwalking and night terrors are also discussed. Some attention is given to the sleep habits of animals, as well as to their dreams. New parents might take some comfort in knowing that orca mothers and babies don't sleep at all for the first month, since the baby needs to keep swimming in order to stay warm and afloat! 

Many children would benefit from the tips on how to sleep better, which include staying away from screens, establishing a routine, and living a healthy lifestyle. A helpful flow chart walks readers through some actions they might take. It was interesting to see that I my chronotype is a "lion" because I go to bed early and also wake up early. Most of my students seem to be wolves, since they like to sleep in. 

From the endpapers decorated with starry night skies to the scary black and blue backgrounds on the night terrors pages, the illustrations are largely dark, which are quite befitting to a book about sleep! The text on these pages is white, which makes it easier to read. There are some pages in brighter colors, and all have a jam-packed, collage type feel to them. My favorite is the illustration of a mother bear and her two cubs curled up for hibernation under a snowy landscape that shows smaller animals in neighboring burrows. There are also a number of sheep hidden throughout the pages for the readers to count... although, hopefully, this will not put them to sleep! 

Just Ask Elsie

Koontz, Ari. Just Ask Elsie
June 16, 2026 by Feiwel & Friends
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Elsie is attending a Sunday school class at the Unitarian Universality church, where the kids are learning about puberty. Most of it feels awkward to Elsie, and it's even worse when her mom and dad (who is transgender) want to discuss what was covered. When people at her school find out that she is attending this class, she's made fun of by some students, but others ask her questions. She gets notes in her locker, and after consulting with Nate, her biological father, posts answers on her locker. She tells her mom and dad, who ask if she inquired about posting these things, since she could get in trouble. She eventually does, and is told that her information conflicts with the school sanctioned curriculum, where students get just one hour of instruction at the end of fifth grade. Elsie, who is just starting to realize that she might be attracted to girls, feels that the administration is really objecting to the LGBTQIA+ content. With the help of one of Nate's friends, she starts a zine to address some questions, and during an assembly, encourages her peers to pepper the principal with sex education questions on a wide range of topics. This gets her in more trouble, but when her parents all come to school, they mention that perhaps the ACLU could get involved. In the end, the decision is made to allow Elsie to answer questions with the help of the school counselor, and post answers by the counselor's door, out of the way of the main hall.
Strengths: I can't say that I have ever read a middle grade book with a character who goes to a Unitarian Universalist church, even though I have many friends who do. The class is a good one, and there is a laundry list of topics that it covers right in the beginning. Elsie acknowledges that while the class is awkward, talking with her parents would be worse. She makes a very reasoned attempt to inform her classmates, and I appreciated that she reached out to all of her parents for help at different times. Having her applying to a different school worked well for the plot, and added some tension. Fifth grade seems like a time when children are starting to figure out to whom they are attracted, and Elsie's exploration of her own feelings seems age appropriate. The author is from Ohio, where there is very little sex education mandated on any school level. It is a difficult topic, and not everyone agrees that this is the responsibility of public schools, so this book could start some good conversations.
Weaknesses: I could never buy into Elsie's motivation for spreading information, especially since it might have imperiled her acceptance into a school she really wants to attend. The parents' interactions with the principal also didn't really ring true to me. There would have to be district policy about posting things, and the principal wouldn't have much control over what was taught. Younger readers will not have these objections and will appreciate Elsie's outspoken perseverance to educate her classmates.
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Lukoff's Different Kinds of Fruit or McCullough's Code Red If you are considering purchasing this for an elementary or middle school library, I would make sure to read the book so you know what it contains. 

Liberty's Forgotten Hero: The Revolutionary Life of James Forten

Grant, Kesha L. and Williams, Anastasia Magloire (Illustrator).
Liberty's Forgotten Hero: The Revolutionary Life of James Forten
June 16, 2026 by Lee & Low Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Born in Philadelphia in 1766, James Forten had an interesting and very different view of a young United States. His father was a sail maker and political activist, and James saw how other Black people were treated differently. He went to London when he was young, and got a different perspective, and returned to the US to work with the abolitionist movement. He also had his own sail making business, and rallied Black men to defend Philadelphia during the War of 1812. Along with William Lloyd Garrison, he founded the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833, and supported the newspaper The Liberator. He died in 1842.

The illustrations are brightly colored and have a lot of details of daily life during this period of history like clothing, buildings, etc., and support the text well. My only quibble with them is that they seem a bit heavy and flat. They are digitally rendered, which may account for this. They are fine, just not a style I personally prefer.

This is a longer picture book that would have enough information for research. The inclusion of an afterword and a great timeline is very helpful. There is also a list of Forten's family and their accomplishments. I will purchase this for my middle school library and think it will get a lot of use along with other biographies like Meadow and Law's Jimmy's Rhythm & Blues: The Extraordinary Life of James Baldwin from a Harlem Boy to a Legendary Writer and Civil Rights Advocate, Zietlow Miller and Jordan's Unstoppable John: How John Lewis Got His Library Card--and Helped Change History, and Chamber and Baker's Shirley Chisholm is a Verb.

Poetry Friday- Slow Burn

Grant, Katy. Slow Burn

April 16, 2026 by West 44 Books
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

In this short novel in verse, thirteen year old Baylor is sent by his mother to spend the summer with his noncustodial father, Rob, who has never really been part of his life. Rob has taken a seasonal job as a fire spotter in Arizona, and is living at a fire lookout tower in Arizona. It's close quarters, but the view is spectacular, and Baylor starts to think it might not be too bad of a summer, even with an outhouse! He gets a chance to talk to his father, and even learns how to use an Osbourne Firefinder and helps with spotting. There are plenty of difficult time; when the two are wrestling, Baylor gets the better of his father, who gets angry and painfully pulls Baylor's ear. There's also an awkward "facts of life" talk, when Rob (who is white) tells Baylor he doesn't want his son to make the same "mistake" that he did. Baylor's mother (who is Black) has always said that he was one of the best things in her life, even though being a young, single mother had its challenges. Since he's struggled a bit with being biracial, Baylor doesn't need more complications. There is a thunderstorm that is quite frightening, and the two do have to report a small fire, but Rob explains to Baylor that some fires are let burn in a controlled way to manage the environment. Rob and Baylor have a big blow up when Rob accuses Baylor of being a "mama's boy" and claims that he has not been involved in Baylor's life because his mother doesn't want Rob around. When a tree is struck by lightning and a fire starts, Rob is badly burned, and Baylor has to get help. Rob is okay, and the father and son have to figure out a way forward with their relationship.
Strengths: It is much more realistic and interesting to portray contentious relationships with middle grade parents, and there are many young readers who don't live with both of their parents. There are also a lot of children who are biracial, and Baylor does have some thoughts about his background, but they are not the point of the whole story, which more closely mirrors modern reality. Rob isn't the best father because he doesn't have practice, and he doesn't always have the best reactions to Baylor, but he stops short of being mean and abusive. The inclusion of fire spotting was interesting, and gives a unique background to the father and son bonding struggles.
Weaknesses: I would have liked to see more of Baylor at home with his mother, so that the contrast with his father's treatment of him would be more pronounced. We do hear that his mother and her family and friends are very supportive, but seeing him at home would have added another level of interest.

What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who want a short, easier to read book with more emotional depth, like Fontes' Benito Runs (Surviving Southside, another Hi Lo series) or Watson's Living Rough. Interestingly, there are two other middle grade novels about fire spotting, Rose's The Burning Season or Downing's Controlled Burn. 

Girl from the Ashes

Brown, India Hill. Girl from the Ashes
July 7, 2026 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Carter John is often in trouble, even though he doesn't mean to be. His teacher, Mrs. Williamson, doesn't understand that he has gotten taller, and his voice is deeper, so he just seems louder. He is also struggling with the fact that there is no recess in middle school, and he can't burn off his excess energy. His best friend, Gianna, sticks up for him. Her former best friend, Amanda, calls her "babyish" and makes fun of everything from her clothes and school supply choices to her smaller size. When Carter John and Gianna get to work together on a project about a historical figure, they are excited, and head to the public library to do research. They don't like the library as well as their school media center, because it is dark and purported to be haunted. They think about doing a report on Ron McNair, but Carter John gets kicked out for being loud. He runs into more trouble at school, and when he is serving a short detention in Mrs. Williamson's room, there is a fire, caused by a mysterious girl he has seen around. He puts it out, and gets blamed for it, although he knows he didn't do it. Mrs. Williamson warns Gianna's parents that Carter John is a bad influence on Gianna, but Gianna's parents understand the relationship that the two have. The mysterious girl shows up more and more, and her voice echoes with threats against anyone who crosses the two friends. They find out more information about their local library, which was called the Promise Branch library and was segregated in the 1950s. When it was desegregated in 1965, local people weren't happy, and a man set the branch on fire, trapping a young Cora Belle inside and killing her. Cora Belle was an avid reader who was frequently denied service because she was Black, just like Ron McNair. Carter John's grandparents introduce him to Cora Belle's relatives at church, and he finds out more about the history of the library. Fire follows him, and Amanda accuses him of setting a fire in her front yard. When Cora Belle shows up in Carter John's bedroom, she wants him to burn down the library, but he doesn't want to, knowing that having a library is beneficial. He goes to the library at night and has a confrontation with her. Luckily, Gianna comes to help out, and the parents believe the kids. There is a memorial made for Cora Belle, and her ghost is put to rest.
Strengths: I love the combination of horror and history, which Hill always does well. It amazed me how recent the history seemed, with the new branch of the Thompsonville library being built in 1965 and having issues with racism during the height of the Civil Rights Movement. There is information about Ron McNair and the Challenger Disaster as well, and Mrs. Hammond, the school librarian, talks about being a student when that happened. The book also addresses the way that students who may be neurodivergent are sometimes treated by teachers who don't fully understand the way they operate, and Carter John's experience with being reprimanded may resonate with middle school students. Gianna's struggles with Amanda will as well, since friendships often undergo changes in this age group.
Weaknesses: This wasn't very scary. Cora Belle wasn't as threatening as the ghosts in books by Dan Poblocki or Mary Downing Hahn, and the fires focused attention on Carter John's behavior more than the history. It didn't quite make sense for Cora Belle to want to burn down the library, since she was a big reader. There were several things that didn't come together as much as I would have liked.
What I really think: It would have been interesting to have a historical note about historical instances of segregated libraries. This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Hill's The Forgotten Girl or The Girl In the Lake, or other historically connected spooky stories like Ireland's Ophie's Ghost, Cummings' Trace or Davis' The Lonely Below. 

Monster Down Deep

Dominy, Amy Fellner. Monster Down Deep  

June 2, 2026 by Pushkin Children's Books

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Cassie and her father live on the coast of Southern California, where her father is an aquarist for the small Mayim Aquarium. Her mother, who was also interested in the well being of the ocean and its creatures, was killed in a car accident when Cassie was three. There has recently been a yacht crash in the area that resulted in the loss of a lot of expensive jewelry, and the Royce family has offered a million dollar reward for the return of a particularly elaborate $50 million dollar necklace. Cassie, along with her Hunter Pro Series 2 metal detector named Sylvia (after marine biologist Sylvia Earle), is determined to find the item. What she finds instead is Blue, a very odd fish, whose point of view is shared in some chapters. Blue is caught in a fishing net and a lot of seaweed, and seems to understand when Cassie communicates with him. Cassie is not happy to see a “Mystery Thief", a boy her age who is also looking for the necklace, but gets to know TJ, who is staying along the beach with his uncle while his father and pregnant mother are back home in Carlsbad while the mother is on bedrest. Cassie spends a lot of time on the beach, nominally supervised by local artist Miss Mary, and when she sees Blue being menaced by a seven gill shark, she immediately goes to her father for help. Unfortunately, he is in a very important meeting with the new directors of the aquarium, but manages to save Blue. Since Blue is very unusual, he becomes a cause celebre in the news, but also isn’t treated well by the new directors. Will Cassie be able to continue to search for the necklace but also save Blue? 

Strengths: Treasure hunts are always popular, and the ocean is an interesting place for them, which we see in novels like Rodriguez’s Treasure Tracks or Collard’s Double Eagle. Combining this activity with saving an unusual fish and an interesting small aquarium makes for an intriguing story. I was glad to see that Cassie didn’t fight with TJ the entire time, but learned to work with him. There is a little bit of friend drama with two of Cassie’s sometimes friends, both realistically named Emma! Cassie’s family is Jewish (as are many of Dominy’s characters, going back to her 2011 OyMG), as are the owners of the aquarium, and I enjoyed how the Jewish concept of tikkun olam was explained and demonstrated.
Weaknesses: This almost verged into fantasy, with Blue seeming to understand Cassie’s communication, but it remains a realistic fiction book. While it is admirable that Cassie wants to save Blue, releasing him back to a dangerous situation in the ocean while ignoring the recommendations of her father made me uncomfortable. It didn’t help that the dead parent trope was embraced even though it did nothing to enhance the plot. The ending is happy, but a little unbelievable. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed aquatic preservation adventures like Dimopoulos' Turn the Tide, Baskin’s and Polisner’s Consider the Octopus, Kelly’s Three Blue Hearts, or Pyron’s Octopus Moon.