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. 

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. 

 

 

In the Key of Us by Mariama J. Lockington

 

Andi Byrd is dealing with the loss of her mother and having to move in with her aunt and uncle.  Her aunt is expecting a baby, so Andi wonders how she will fit in to their family.  Andi is sent off to music camp for the summer.  She plays trumpet, mostly by sound, she is not as skilled at reading music.  

Zora Lee Johnson has been to music camp many years and she is skilled enough to keep her first chair flute every week. Zora's parents have super high expectations for her and she feels like she has so much pressure to achieve(which she deals with by cutting),  but her dreams may include something different, like dancing.  

Both girls end up in the same cabin and are put together for Zora to help Andi in reading and learning the music.  As they begin working together, each one helps the other in ways they never expected. 

The book is told in two voices, Andi and Zora.  However, there is actually a third voice, the camp.  It is told in verse in-between the main two voices.   Lockington also wrote For Black Girls Like Me.

I like the fact that this book deals with loss (death of a parent),  pressure from parents, and again that you never know what people are going through and we should all be kind.  

Jennifer Chan is not Alone by Tae Keller

 

Jennifer Chan moves to a small town in Florida from Chicago with her mother.  Her dad had died when she was younger.  She happens to move across the street from Mallory Moss.  Mal is best friends with Reagan and Tess.  Mal really cares what people think of her and being accepted.  When Mal meets Jennifer for the first time, Jennifer shares that she trusts Mal enough to tell her she believes in aliens, yeah, those kind of outer space aliens. Mal knows that is not something she can share with her friends because it will be bad for Jennifer.  As school begins Mal notices Jennifer is not really fitting in anywhere, and she feels bad, but not enough to do anything.  Soon Jennifer is missing(did she run away or did aliens abduct her?) and Mal decides it is up to her to find her.  

Told in part present and part past (great for teaching flashback) it is a struggle of fitting in, making the right choice, and not always knowing what others are going through.  Mal also struggles with figuring out who she is, who she truly is.  Is she a mean girl or just making mistakes?  Very relatable for middle schoolers.  I also think that this book is not all perfect people, perfect ending, etc.  

To me this book was okay,  however it is setting with me and I'm thinking on it.  I would recommend it to my students.  

Thanks a Lot, Universe by Chad Lucas

 Told in two voices, Brian and Ezra.  Brian keeps to himself, and Ezra is popular.  Brian's dad leaves the family and his mother tries to commit suicide.  Brian and his younger brother are placed in foster care, which they run away from.  Ezra realizes he has a crush on Brian and is worried about him.  Ezra contacts Brian and helps him and  his brother get to safety with a teacher of theirs.  As Ezra deals with his feelings and coming out, Brian is dealing with his family and trying to figure out what will happen to him and his brother.  

The characters are deep and real.  This is not a glossed over book and I enjoyed seeing the thoughts and interactions.  

Lupe Wong Won't Dance by Donna Barba Higuera

 Good Gravy!  Lupe's school is having a square dancing unit!  Yuck!  She will do anything she can to get rid of it, BUT she has to make an A in every class to meet her hero, pitcher Fu Li Hernandez.  She wants to be a player in the MBL one day, and he is Chinese/ Mexican like her, so she looks up to him.  Her uncle has said he will introduce her to him this summer as long as she makes all A's.  Will square dancing keep her from her goal?  The lengths she goes to is entertaining, as well as eye opening.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book, very entertaining and also has some good lessons about acceptance and learning to get along with others.  Highly recommend for girls and boys.

Rivals by Tommy Greenwald

The whole book is written in a flashback along with different formats (newspaper, blog, interviews, etc), and this book tells the story of two schools from the same town...Walthorne North Middle and Walthorne South Middle.  Both teams have competitive captains of their basketball teams, but the question is what lengths are they willing to go to win?  As reporter Alfie Jenks digs into the two rivals, she brings up somethings that  are not exactly on the up and up.

This is probably a great book for middle guys, just wasn't my thing.  It is also from the author of the popular Game Changer, so I'm probably in the minority. :)

The Deepest Breath by MEg Grehan

 Stevie is 11 and gets very interested in whales, dolphins, and all kinds of sea creatures.  She lives alone with her mother and sits with two boys, one of whom she has known since she was little, and a girl, Chloe.  She really thinks Chloe is nice and she doesn't like Andrew, who she's known forever, "like that".  When she talks to or looks at Chloe she feels a "fizz" in her chest.  What does that mean?  She's not sure and she doesn't know how to tell her mom, so she goes to the library to find a book about it.  

Written in verse this book explores a girl struggling with her crush on a girl.  It doesn't go very deep and is pretty surface just dealing with her feelings and trying to understand herself.  Mom and others are very accepting.  

Remedy by Eireann Corrigan

 Cara has been sick her whole life.  She can't remember her dad, she lives with her mom and doesn't see any other family.  They move around a lot and she sees a lot of doctors.  She doesn't really have a diagnosis.  When she starts her freshman year and is only present for 18 out of 45 days, the assistant principal gets involved with her attendance.  Her mother comes unglued, how dare he!  Cara wants to go to school, but just doesn't feel well.  As she tries her best to go to school, and prepare for semester exams, she ends up fainting and in the hospital.  Her mother quickly takes her out and finds a new doctor, Dr. Eric.  As Cara makes a friend in her peer tutor, she comes to realize something is not right with her mom, medicines, and that she also finds her grandparents.  

Kind of obvious to me what was going on early on in the book.  It was an okay book, but I would say it would be geared more for high school and up just based on the topic.  

Starfish by Lisa Fipps

 Ellie has a nickname at school, Splash.  Her older sister actually started it, which is very hurtful, her mother is constantly telling her about her food, weighing her, watching what she eats, limiting her choices and talking about bariatric surgery for weight loss.  Her older brother picks on her as well, with mean jabs.  Her best friend is moving to Indiana and she has no other friends at school, and gets picked on constantly with no teacher intervention.  The only one who seems to be on her side is her dad, except he takes her to a therapist!  Ellie ends up making a new friend, Catalina, her new neighbor.  She also learns to stand up for herself at home and school.

Told in verse, this book was sad and empowering.  I love the fact that overweight kids and "skinny" kids will see themselves in this book and hopefully will create empathy for others.  I think that kids wanting a sad book will definitely have it in Starfish.

What Comes Next by Rob Buyea

Thea lost her best friend Charlie and a terrible accident during spring break.  She can't even go back and finish 6th grade, so her parents homeschool her.  Her family decides to move to another town to give her a fresh start and her dad decides to get a new dog.  They go to the rescue to pick out a dog and Thea ends up selecting, a little dog with a lazy eye...just like Charlie had.  They name him Jack, or Jack-Jack, or Jackson.  They all call him various versions of the name. :) Thea has gone mute since the accident, but slowly Jack gets her talking again and then she meets her little sister's teacher Ms. Stacey, who helps her out, but also introduces her to Rory.  With all their help, she is able to start living again.

By the end of the book there are so many ties that I didn't see coming.  I just love that it is a window into grief and how people handle things differently.  The little supernatural touch of the dog is just perfect.

 

A Taste for Love by Jennifer Yen

 Liza Yang lives in Houston where her mom owns a bakery and her dad owns a restaurant next door.  Liza feels like she is expected to be perfect like her sister, but she feels anything but.  Her mom is CONSTANTLY trying to set her up with a "nice, Taiwanese or Chinese boy", but Liza wants to choose her own boyfriend.  As Liza finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her and dumps him, she meets a boy who steps in  to protect her from his lashing out.  

Liza's mom has an annual baking contest and Liza wants to enter, her mom says no, but she can be a judge.  Little does Liza know her mom is stacking the contestants with all boys!  As Liza is dealing with her mom and her set-ups, she finds people are not always what they seem or what you expect.  

I am NOT a romance book person, but this was actually a fun read.  I would definitely recommend it for my romance readers, but really anyone looking for a fun read.  Great Houston life mentioned and very reminiscent of Jenny Han books!

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.  

Shaking up the House by Yamile Saied Mendez

Ingrid and Winnie Lopez have lived in the White House since they were toddlers.  Their dad is the first latinx president in the office.  As they are getting ready to transition to the new family moving in, they decide to welcome them with a few friendly pranks.  Skylar and Zora Williams are twins whose mom is the first African American Woman president-elect.  Their family will be moving in before the Lopez's move out.  As Ingrid and Winnie pull their first friendly prank, Skylar and Zora take it the wrong way and decide to retaliate.  As the two sets of girls go back and forth with their pranks, neither know the other's intent and things get a little out of control and start to cause a ruckus in the house!

It was okay.  Didn't love it and seemed pretty silly.  
 

Turtle Boy by M. Evan Wolkenstein

 Will is starting 7th grade.  He was supposed to get community service hours over the summer in preparation for his bar mitzvah, but he didn't so now he has to start visiting a 16 year old in the hospital.  He does NOT want to do that, he HATES hospitals.  His dad died when he younger in the hospital.  Will also has a health issue and his chin and mouth area will need surgery.  Because of his chin deformity he wears his hoodie around his face, but a couple of boys at school started the nickname Turtle Boy.  He also really likes turtles and has captured 4 in the nature preserve behind the school and has them at his house.  As he and the boy in the hospital, R J, begin to become friends, RJ shares with Will his bucket list for Will to work on.  One thing at a time, and eventually will realizes that RJ is terminally ill.  

LOVE THIS BOOK!  So many great things to say... compassion, empathy, doing hard things, dealing with death, not fitting in, overcoming fear, standing up for others even when you're scared, etc. This would be a great book for a book study group or even a read aloud.  

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.