The Midnight Children by Dan Gemeinhart

 Ravani Foster lives in Slaughterville, so named because of the slaughterhouse.  He is a quiet kid, and somewhat a sensitive kid who doesn't fit in and gets bullied.   His dad works at the slaughterhouse and on occasion Ravani has to take his lunch to him.  He HATES going to the slaughterhouse.  (and I do too after reading this book).  One night Ravani sees a large truck pull up to the empty house across the street and seven kids climb out and go into the house, but the next day nothing looks different.  The house still looks empty.  As Ravani is coming home from delivering papers, he sees some of the kids and ends up making friends with them, especially Virginia.  Ravani finds out the children have a BIG secret and a dangerous secret and they include him on the secret, but it accidentally gets out and danger is coming. 

Awesome story about friendship and differences in people.  The slaughterhouse descriptions are not exactly graphic, but they are pretty disgusting so I would recommend grades 6 and up.

The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill

 

Stone-in-the-Glen used to be a wonderful town, full of generosity and kindness, but the library burned down, houses burned down, and people started moving away. An ogress moved near the town and built herself a house and was able to grow lovely crops that she decided to share with the town anonymously.  When people started struggling to provide for themselves and were told to take care of themselves, they started becoming a tad selfish and tunnel visioned to only themselves.  The orphans who lived there struggled to provide for everyone, but no one was paying attention, until one of them decided to run away to have one less mouth to feed.  The ogress found her in the woods and took care of her, but returned her to the town.  In doing so, it started a chain reaction of what was really going on and how to get the town back to the wonderful place it used to be.

Lovely story with great themes to teach about.  Great for grades 4 and up.

A Taste of Magic by J. Elle

Kyana lives with her single mom and grandma in the inner-city.  Her mom works several jobs and her grandma kind of runs the house.  When Kyana turns 12 and discovers she is a witch,  she finds out her family has had witches in it for a long time.  She also discovers there has been magic all around her neighborhood, that she now can see.  She starts to attend magic school in the back of a hair salon and she is excited to start to learn all the different skills and specialties she can until the funding for her school disappears. She comes up with an idea to enter a baking contest to win money to fund the school, but when she adds a little magic in things go horribly wrong.

Loved this telling about family, hard work and not judging people from first impressions.  This is the first book in the series of Park Row Magic Academy.  Grades 5 and up.

 

The Swag is in the Socks by Kelly J. Baptist

 

Xavier lives with his Aunt Kat and his sister.  As he turns 12,  his Uncle Frankie Bell gives him a pair of crazy looking socks with some challenge to get out there and do things.  Xavier wants to be part of a service organization at school that his dad was in and Frankie Bell were in.  However, when he applies, because he is pretty quiet and keeps to himself, he doesn't get in.  He decides to work to getting in in the spring and with a little help from Frankie Bell's socks and advice challenges, Xavier starts to break out of his shell.

Love, love, love this book so much!  Xavier's parents are incarcerated, his aunt is raising he and his sister on a low income, but there is so much heart in this book and Xavier works hard and it pays off. Great for grades 4 and up. 

Wave by Diana Farid

 

1987 Southern California...13 year old Ava is looking forward to summer surfing and spending time with her best friend Phoenix.  Her mother, who is a doctor, tells her she has to come volunteer at the hospital where she works, which Ava doesn't love, she has extra practice for her solo part in the 4th of July celebration, she ends up breaking her leg so surfing is out and Phoenix's lymphoma comes back.  The summer does not shape up like she wanted, but it is a realistic portrayal of life.

Written in verse with a mix tape selection at the end, I LOVED this book.   

Attack of the Black Rectangles by Amy Sarig King

Mac is entering 6th grade and his teacher Ms. Laura Samuel Sett is the self-appointed town watch-dog.  He and his friends are surprised, by how she runs her class until they are given copies of a book they chose to read for book club and find some words and sentences blacked out.  Well, of course that gets their curiosity up, so they head to the local bookstore to find an uncensored copy.  They are very confused why those words are not okay, so they begin fighting the injustice of being "protected".  Who gets to decide what is okay for everyone?  On the other side Mac is also dealing with his dad, who says he is an anthropologist alien studying humans.  Mac struggles with keeping his dad's secret or letting his mom know what is going on.  

I think this book is very timely with all of the book challenging going on in the world.  I would put this right up there with Ban This Book by Alan Gratz.  

 

This Might Get Awkward by Kara McDowell

Gemma's best friend is gone to camp for the summer and Gemma is hanging out at the beach when a ton of kids from school show up blocking her in.  She tries to leave, but gets roped back in by her long time crush Beau Booker, who tells her just to pretend they are together.  As she and Beau head back to the beach he ends up knocking himself out in the water and she is the only one to see it.  She saves him, but he is put into a medically induced coma for his brain swelling to go down.  Everyone now assumes she is his girlfriend and due to her social anxiety she just can't correct anyone.  

Fun book.  Reminded me of the movie While You Were Sleeping, but for teenagers. Clean romance with some plot twists.  Gemma is raised by her dad, Beau's brother has some "issues" and Gemma learns to deal with her anxiety and make some friends. 

 

 

Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee

 Valor Luck's employer has passed away recently, but they were supposed to travel on the Titanic to America.  Val decides to continue with their plans, even though she is Chinese/ British and is looked down upon.  She is denied boarding, but sneaks on board and assumes the identity of her employer by wearing a veil and claiming she is a recent widow.  Her brother Jamie is also on board and as she finds him to propose her plan, she wants them to audition for the Ringling Brother's Circus.  The owner is onboard, but Jamie is not interested in auditioning or going to America.  As Val and her brother work out the details, the prejudice of Chinese and her lie of who she is begins to catch up to her, then the unthinkable happens.  

Good historical account of Chinese passengers, who are never brought up in accounts of the Titanic.  Interesting back story and kept me interested, but most of the story is at the beginning, not much about the sinking and then the afterwards left me wanting more. 

Gold Spun by Brandie June

 Eleanor (Nor) is homeless and lives with her 3 brothers in the woods.  They survive by hoaxing people with a magic elixir.  One day as she is scoping out the town on her return to her brothers she runs into a man in the woods who is lost, as she pick-pockets a gold ring she seals her fate.  On her return home she encounters a couple of men who have captured a fairy and she helps the fairy escape.  The fairy, Pel, tells her he owes her a favor and gives her a way to contact him along with a rope of gold.  This gives her an idea of a con, spinning straw into gold.  She and her brothers work up the con and go to town to make some money, when the man she pick-pocketed shows up.  He is the new king! He recognizes her and his ring and sees her conning his people.  He takes her to the castle to spin gold for the court and Nor has to call on Pel to help her.  

A wonderful retelling of Rumpelstiltskin.  June does a great job of adding in details and filling in the story.  It left me hanging at the end and I'm glad to report there will be a second book to make a duology.  

 

Gone to the Woods: Surviving a Lost Childhood by Gary Paulsen

 Gary Paulsen shares his growing up starting when he was five.  His mother had him entertaining men at bars for her in Chicago, his grandmother intervenes and sends him to live with his aunt and uncle in Minnesota.  His uncle takes him under his wing, teaching him the woods, farming, and how to be a man.  Sadly, his mother swoops back in and takes him across the sea to the Philippines to live with his dad, who is in the Army.  His mom and dad fight a lot and Gary escapes by hiding in the basement and creating hisself a place of his own.  As his family moves back to the states, Gary continues living a hard life trying to escape his house and going out on his own.  

Great story giving us a glimpse into the life of the man Paulsen is today and where some of his stories came from.  Has some deep issues that may not be for younger readers.  

Frankie and Bug by Gayle Forman

 Bug usually loves the summer because she spends it with her older brother, Danny, on Venice Beach.  This summer, however, her older brother wants to be called Daniel and not have to hang out with her, so her single mother has to find a solution for Bug.  Frankie, an 11 year old boy from Ohio, comes to spend the summer with his uncle, Phillip, who lives in the same building as Bug. As Bug is dealing with feeling betrayed by her brother for pulling away, and resentful that Frankie is here taking away attention from Phillip, she learns about herself and how things are not always what they seem and everyone has problems they are dealing with that you can't always see on the outside.  

Nice book about a girl growing up in the 80's, whose Salvadorian father has passed away, and a single mom whose family has pretty much disowned her.  Frankie is actually a girl, who feels like a boy and is struggling with her identity.  Frankie's dad wants her to get it out of her system, but mom seems supportive and sends her to stay with her gay uncle.  

Life in the Balance by Jen Petro-Roy

 Veronica loves playing softball and is getting ready to try out for an All-Star League.  After coming home one evening her parents tell her that her mom is an alcoholic and will be going into rehab for several months to get better.  Veronica can't believe it and is ashamed and doesn't tell her best friend because her parents are divorcing so Veronica doesn't want to add anything else.  As if that wasn't enough her dad starts working a second job to pay bills and tells Veronica they may not be able to afford the softball league.  Veronica works on how to make money to play softball and ends up telling another girl at school what is going on with her mom and finds there are others like her with alcoholic parents. 

Veronica is dealing with a LOT.  Seems very real with her anger, frustration, fear, and just typical teenager confusion about finding yourself.  It was an okay book for me.  

Hold Back the Tide by Melinda Salisbury

 Disclaimer:  I listened to the audiobook.

Alva lives with her dad, who is a murderer.  He killed her mother when she was 8.  Now she is 15 and she tries to make sure he doesn't kill her by making herself very useful.  He is in charge of checking on the loch and he has nets in, but keeps finding them cut.  As she repairs them for him and replaces them she notices the loch is loosing water quickly from the paper mill in town and sees a hole in the bank that she thinks is an otter den.  As she and her friend Marren start to discover there are things her dad hasn't told her and she sees a large, white, skeletal being, her dad becomes extremely cautious to the point of locking her in the house.  She and Marren wonder what in the world is going on?  What was the creature?  Where did it come from?  And mostly what really happened the night her mother died.

Could not stop listening.  Wow.  What a ride.  So many things were thrown in that when I thought I had it figured out, I was WRONG!  Was a little slow to start and I kept thinking get to the point, but don't quit it is AMAZING.  

Rule of Three's by Marcy Campbell

 Maggie's life is going along pretty well, she has two best friends, Olive and Rachel,  one of which seems to be pulling away.  Her parent's "almost divorced" several years ago, but seem fine now and suddenly a boy shows up, Tony.  Tony is her dad's son! Her half-brother!  His mom is in rehab for drugs and she sent him to live with them while she gets her life together.  On top of that her grandmother is dealing with Alzheimer's and will have to move into a memory facility.  Maggie is trying to hold it all together.  She loves designing and when a school contest comes up to decorate parts of the school she and her two friends sign up.  They are called BFF, but Rachel doesn't seem to be up to participating, which just leaves her and Olive to finish the project.  Maggie's life comes to a head and she blows, but in the end pulls everything back together and realizes what is truly important.

It was okay.  It wasn't a book that I just loved and I had to make myself go back to keep reading.  Not my fav...

The Elephant in the Room by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Sila and her family moved to the US around 8 years ago.  Sila's mother had an issue with her immigration papers and returned to Turkey to clear things up thinking she would only be gone a few days.  It is now a year later and her mother can't seem to get things fixed.  Sila and her father are making due.  Her father is a auto mechanic and she attends school, but she has become withdrawn and her teachers and counselor become worried.  She doesn't share with them what is going on with her mother.  As she is paired up with an autistic kid, Mateo, they have trouble communicating, until a chance encounter with a man.  Her dad is called to fix an old truck for a man named Gio, whose wife was Sila's 2nd grade teacher.  Gio has recently won the lottery and his wife has passed away.  A connection forms with Gio and Sila and he ends up buying an old circus elephant and houses it on his large estate.  Sila and Mateo end up becoming friends through helping Gio take care of Veda (the elephant).

A lovely story about lonely people bonding and perfect timing.  I listened to the audiobook and didn't want to stop.  Great character development, real problems, a look into immigration problems and learning not to judge people.

 

Samira Surfs by Rukhsanna Guidroz

 Samira and her family are refugees from Burma.  They have escaped to Bangladesh where there was no room for them at the refugee camp so they live outside of town.  Samira's grandparents drowned while crossing a river on their escape and it haunts Samira, to the point she is scared of water.  She and her older brother help the family bring in income.  He works in a cafe and she takes hard-boiled eggs to the tourists at the beach and sells them.  She sees girls her age surfing in the ocean and wants to do that, but she is scared of the water.  As Samira develops friendships with the girls she overcomes her fear and begins to surf.  A contest is made for surfing and Samira wants to enter, but her mother won't let her at first and eventually relents, but then the judges won't let her because she is a refugee.

Good story about refugees, muslim restrictions for girls, and family working together in love.  Written in verse it reads quickly and is a great book for kids to see how others live. 

Violets are Blue by Barbara Dee

 12 year-old Wren's parents have divorced, her dad moving far away with his new wife and baby, and her best friend seems to hate her.  Wren's mom decides they need a fresh start so they move to a different school and job.  Wren's mom is a nurse and works a lot, which Wren is used to.  As she starts at a new school Wren's mom wants her to get involved and make friends.  Wren ends up doing the make-up for the cast of the school play to get her mom off her back.  She is really into costume make-up and her new step-mother sends her stuff all the time, but Wren hides it from her mother to not cause her mom to feel bad or angry.  Things seem to be falling into place for Wren when she starts to notice her mom is napping all the time, locking her bedroom door and sometimes tells her she is working when she isn't.  As Wren discovers her mom's secret addiction, things turn upside down again and Wren wonders if things will ever be "normal" again.

GREAT book.  Highly recommend.  Barbara Dee does it again, delving into teenagers dealing with their parents choices while also dealing with their social acceptance.

The Monsters of Rookhaven by Padraig Kenny

 Mirabelle lives in a big house with her family....family of monsters, but she is different.  She has no talent like the others, unless you count not sleeping or eating a talent.  All monsters come in from the Ether, it's kind of like being born.  Tom and Jemima, Jem, are running away from their uncle who was raising them, but abusive. Their parents are both dead and they have to steal and run to survive.  As their car runs out of gas, they discover Mirabelle's house and look to seek shelter there, but in the process stumble upon a weird, but wonderful situation.  Tom is sick and needs to recover and Mirabelle and Jem become friends, but as one of the house's inhabitants, Piglet, escapes to the outside world he attracts an evil they have never seen and one that can't be killed.  

I didn't care for the book at first because it had too many British English words like petrol and ration books and I didn't think kids would know what that was, but as I kept reading it was a superb story.  I really loved Kenny's creations and reminded me a little of The Graveyard Book by Gaiman.  Would definitely recommend to readers who won't be put off by the vocabulary.  

A Thousand Minutes to Sunlight by Jen White

 

It seems there is a plethora of anxiety/ depression books for middle schoolers and I’m glad. I think mental illness needs to be addressed for this age and the fact that it looks different for everyone. As Cora’s best friend moves all the way across the country, she is worried about school, she has no other friends, she had a panic attack and feels like she is a weirdo no one likes and everyone makes fun of. After running away from school she is put with a “friend” Patrick, who Cora thinks is a weirdo. She feels he is a forced friend. Her brain, Brain, tells her a lot of negative things and as Cora and her therapist work through things, she begins to realize that she can do things and can be in charge of Brain. I liked the story and will recommend this to students not only for anxiety, but for making friends.

Just Like That by Gary D. Schmidt

 

Meryl Lee Kowalski has just lost her best friend, Holling Hoodhood, in a car accident.  She is struggling to deal with the loss of him and just can't face all the places and things they did together, so her parents send her off to a boarding school on the east coast.  Matt Coffin has no family or parents and has run away from New York to the same town Meryl is in.  He has some really bad men that are trying to find him and he doesn't want to get anyone else involved in his life.  As Meryl attends school and Matt is befriended by the head mistress of the school their lives intersect and they both learn about dealing with their loss and they find friendship in each other and other people.

LOVED this book.  Kept me reading until the early morning hours to find out what happens to Matt and Meryl.  Has a great historic vibe to it, but not overwhelmingly so.  The characters are very relatable and both grow and develop throughout the book.