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.

Playing with Fire by April Henry

 

As a man sets a fire in a car to get rid of evidence, it spreads all over the nearby forest.  Natalia and Wyatt were doing an easy hike.  He wanted her to come because she had lived there all her life and never hiked!  As they were getting ready to leave, Wyatt sees the fire and turns them around.  Natalia HATES fire since she was trapped in one when she was 11.  As she Wyatt, and several other people band together to figure out a to get out, they are pushed towards another fire that was already burning.   Luckily for Natalia and all the others Wyatt seems to know a lot about the woods and she seems to know a lot about medical things, since she wants to go into medicine.  The question becomes will they get to a part that the fire can't get them and who will not survive along the way.

Intense story with a mystery/ thriller vibe, but not necessarily with the murder-mystery that it typically has.  I like that it brought up a lot of Natalia's character traits that were due to her history and what happened to her as a child, it showed her that she was a  strong girl.  I also was rooting for her and Wyatt to become a thing.  

 

The Gilded Girl by Alyssa Colman

 

Set in 1906 New York, Emma is a wealthy girl sent to school to learn how to kindle her magic so she can keep it forever.  Izzy on the other hand is a maid, who has magic, but will not be able to keep it since she is poor.  Emma's father is killed in an accident and she is then penniless.  She is put to work at the school to pay off her debts.  She and Izzy decide they will learn how to kindle their magic and keep it and in the process start an almost revolution for those who are less fortunate to have the rights to keep their magic.  

I liked the story.  It was okay, but not the best.  I really can't point to any one thing.  It had plenty of intrigue, girl power/ confidence, a talking cat, and an evil head mistress.  I would recommend it to my magical loving students.  

rez dogs by Joseph Bruchac

 

Malian was visiting her  grandparents when COVID-19 shut the country down.  Her parents decided to leave her there and she attended school online (when her internet was working) so that her grandparents didn't catch the illness.  One day a dog showed up and becomes her friend and protector.  It brings out stories from her grandparents of animal stories from their tribe and   also memories of their growing up years and her parents as well and how they were treated.  

I really enjoy learning about the Native American culture.  Bruchac always does a great job of bringing to light little known  information and writes in a way kids (and adults) can understand.  I think the general public needs more of this information and I was shocked that social services would still come in like they had in the past to remove kids without just cause. 

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. 

  

From the Desk of Zoe Washington by Jenae Marks

 

Zoe just celebrated her 12th birthday with a baking party.  As she gets home she collects the mail and finds a letter addressed to her from her father.....who is in prison.  She doesn't tell her mom, but reads the letter and decides to write back to him.  She has never had a letter before and her mom won't talk about him.  Zoe and her dad start corresponding with one another and Zoe keeps it from her mom, but does end up telling her grandma, who is staying with her during the summer.  As Zoe starts to get to know her father and his crime, she begins to question if he is innocent and she and her neighbor start to investigate to prove him not guilty.  

This book has many great qualities such as, diversity, loss of friendship because of a misunderstanding, and reconciliation of friends and family.  On top of that Zoe is interested in baking so there are a lot of fun elements on top of the serious subjects.