J vs. K by Kwame Alexander & Jerry Craft (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 240 pages, grades 3-6). K is new at the Dean Ashley Public School (DAPS), but he’s already making a name for himself with his writing. J is the best artist at DAPS, hoping to win the school’s annual story contest with one of his wordless comics, but worried that K will be stiff competition. Before long, K and J are out to sabotage each other, with K giving J bogus writing tips, and J purposely leaving a notebook full of bad drawing advice for K to find. When they team up on the basketball court, though, they turn out to be unstoppable, leading them to a decision to put their differences aside and work together on creating a graphic story. Although a dark horse wins it all, the two still place in the contest, and it looks like it will be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

This is a cute illustrated chapter book which will undoubtedly appeal to Diary of a Wimpy Kid fans, but somehow I expected more from the Newbery Award winning team of Kwame Alexander and Jerry Craft. The plot was predictable from the beginning, and the authors seemed more concerned with inserting jokes and jabs at each other and making references to their other books than developing interesting characters. I’m sure the names on the cover will sell lots of copies, though, and I would not be surprised to see a sequel.

The Lemonade War: the graphic novel by Jacqueline Davies, illustrated by Karen De la Vega (Clarion Books, 207 pages, grades 3-7). Evan is feeling angry that his younger sister Jessie is skipping a grade and will be in his class at school. He lashes out at her, hurting her feelings. So when he and Scott (who turns out to be the neighborhood bully) team up to sell lemonade, Jessie asks another girl to partner with her for a rival stand. The siblings end up making a winner-take-all bet about which enterprise will make more money. Jessie has business and math smarts, while Evan is more gregarious and makes friends easily. The rivalry grows until things get completely out of hand and the two wind up sabotaging each other…and themselves. Admitting how things went wrong leads them to realize all the business lessons they learned, and they’re able to create a prize-winning project at the Rotary Club’s Labor Day contest.

It’s been years since I read the original version of this book, and it was fun to revisit it, with its innocent introduction to the world of capitalism. Each chapter begins with a definition of a business term that is relevant to the story, and all of that new vocabulary is incorporated into their final project. Many readers will relate to both siblings: Jessie shows signs of neurodivergence with her struggles to read people’s expressions and make friends, and Evan’s academic issues make him worry about getting upstaged by his younger sister. The ending is somewhat lame, and the bully appears to get away with stealing most of their money, but don’t worry, The Lemonade Crime gives him his comeuppance. Thanks to Clarion Books for providing me with a review copy.

No Purchase Necessary by Maria Marianayagam (HarperCollins, 256 pages, grades 5-8). Ajay’s problems start when he gets a 79 on an English assignment. Since his parents expect nothing less than straight A’s, he’s afraid to tell them about his grade. Desperate to make friends at his new school, Ajay accepts a dare from cool kid Jacob to steal a candy bar, only to discover there’s a million dollar prize inside the wrapper. As Ajay’s lies snowball, he’s consumed with guilt but unsure how to make things right. His parents, Sri Lankan immigrants who are struggling to make ends meet while his dad finishes school, put unrelenting pressure on Ajay and his younger sister, compounding his guilt, fear, and frustration. Ajay volunteers to help out at the store where he stole the candy, hoping to erase the security footage that may have recorded his deed, but to his surprise finds that he likes helping the store owner, who is gruff but also kind and supportive. A new friend, Mindy, also eases some of Ajay’s stress. When Ajay’s emotions boil over into a fight with Jacob, he finds himself in a lot of trouble, but some surprising consequences offer him away to start communicating what he needs and to make some changes that help make things easier for him.

I’ve just finished a week of school vacation, which seems like the perfect time for a little light reading, but instead I found myself deep into books about kids with tough home lives and complicated ethical dilemmas. My heart went out to Ajay, and it was easy to blame his parents for the pressure he put on himself, but as the story unfolded, it also became clear how much they were struggling and how fervently they wanted the best for their children. This would make a great middle school book club book that could open up all kinds of discussions about what to do when you make a mistake and how to communicate with friends and family.

The Trouble with Secrets by Naomi Milliner (Quill Tree Books, 336 pages, grades 5-8). Becky is thrilled when her music teacher recommends her to audition on her flute for the all-county band, but her rabbi father tells her she needs to wait until next year so she can prepare for her upcoming bat mitzvah. Disappointed and angry, Becky forges her mother’s signature and goes ahead with the audition. Her older sister Sara is in on the secret, and Becky soon learns Sara’s secret: she’s in love with the new boy at school, the son of a local Protestant minister. Their father has made it clear that he expects all four of his children to only date people who share their Jewish faith. Sara is afraid to tell their parents, especially when their cousin secretly marries outside the faith, causing a huge rift in her family. The story begins with a chapter called “Now,” in which Becky is getting ready for a funeral, then goes back to tell the events leading up to that day. Part two of the book is back to “Now,” which is a time filled with shock and grief, but also slow healing as Becky and her family come to terms with what has happened and learn to move forward into a new normal.

This beautifully written book had me in tears for pretty much the last third or so. Like No Purchase Necessary, it shows readers the destructive power of keeping secrets, even though doing so may feel like the easiest way in the moment. Becky is part of a wonderfully loving family, who lives their Jewish faith every day, although her older siblings Jon and Sara felt a little too good to be true. I also felt like the authors of both of these books kind of went to extremes to communicate their message about secrets, as most secrets don’t involve winning a million dollars or result in the kind of tragedy in this book.

Band Nerd by Sarah Clawson Willis (HarperAlley, 272 pages, grades 5-8). Lucy’s excited to be starting seventh grade at Windley School of the Arts, where she can pursue her love of flute in the school band. It’s clear from the first page that there are some tensions at home, and as time goes on, her dad’s drinking problem creates an increasing amount of chaos. Lucy escapes through her music, putting enormous pressure on herself to beat her rival Tolli for the first chair position in band. As she becomes more obsessed with this goal, her schoolwork suffers, and her parents threaten to send her back to her old middle school. A bungled attempt to sabotage Tolli results in Lucy getting into trouble, which ultimately leads to a conference with school administrators and her parents. As the truth about their family situation emerges, Lucy is able to communicate to her parents how their home life is affecting her and to get help from sympathetic teachers and a counselor at school. Although things don’t turn out exactly as she had hoped, Lucy is back on track for success at school and her family is working to give her the support she needs.

Middle school readers will love this graphic novel, although some of the scenes with Lucy’s dad are difficult to get through. Many of Lucy’s new friends are also dealing with challenging family issues, and this book does a great job of showing kids how to cope and reach out for help.

Speak up, Santiago! (Hillside Valley Graphic Novel, book 1) by Julio Anta, illustrated by Gabi Mendez (Random House Graphic, 224 pages, grades 3-7). Santi is spending a month with his Colombian American abuela Emma to try to improve his Spanish. His parents hoped to raise him to be bilingual, but because he struggled with speech as a baby, they focused on getting him to speak English. Now he’s studying Spanish but is extremely self-conscious about his level of fluency and his accent. At first things go well as Santi meets a group of kids who love soccer as much as he does and seems to be communicating well with his abuela. But when he overhears some of her friends making disparaging comments about his accent, his confidence plummets, and he shuts himself off from both his grandmother and his friends. Abuela Emma has a fall that’s partially Santi’s fault, and the guilt he feels about that leads him to have a heart-to-heart conversation with her and with his friends that gets him back on the right track. When Santi sees his parents at the big soccer tournament at the end of the month, they’re amazed at how much his Spanish has improved, and he realizes that progress is better than perfection. Includes notes from the author and illustrator telling how their own heritages influenced them in creating this book.

I loved this series opener, which not only addresses the difficulties of balancing dual heritages but shows readers not to put too much pressure on themselves when learning new things. Santi makes a lot of mistakes, but he’s able to learn from them and emerges as an extremely likable protagonist. I can’t find a publication date for book 2, but a preview at the end of this book shows that it will feature Sol, one of Santi’s new soccer friends.

Halfway to Somewhere by Jose Pimienta (Random House Graphic, 256 pages, grade 4-8). Nonbinary tween Ave feels torn in two when they move with their mother and younger brother Ramón to Kansas while their father and older sister Cruz stay in Mexicali. Cruz encourages Ave not to assimilate and to keep speaking Spanish, while Ramón embraces English and renames himself Ray. At school, Ave meets some other kids who have connections to Mexico and other countries and learns to value her heritage while enjoying some American activities like running track and hanging out at the comics store. Through flashbacks and conversations with different family members, Ave remembers their past and learns that the split in the family may be permanent. The last few pages show them enjoying life in both places, leaving some ambiguity about which place they call home. Includes a lengthy author’s note about the evolution and creation of this book.

Jose Pimienta explores timely questions of heritage, language, and belonging in this beautifully illustrated graphic novel about a 12-year-old dealing with a lot of big questions about themself and their family. This is the final installment in his Mexicali trio that includes Suncatcher and Twin Cities.

Old School by Gordon Korman (HarperCollins, 288 pages, grades 3-7). Dexter is a 12-year-old who has spent the last six years living with his grandmother in a retirement community while his diplomat parents travel the world. He’s always been homeschooled, receiving an excellent education from a variety of experienced educators in the community. Unfortunately, his grandma never officially registered him as a homeschooler, and in seventh grade, truancy officers catch up with them and force Dexter off to middle school. At first, he’s a complete fish out of water who talks and dresses like an old man, not a middle schooler. But slowly his kindness and handyman skills start to win over some of the other kids. When Dexter fixes a vending machine with his Swiss army knife and gets expelled for having a weapon, the other kids rally to his defense and start visiting him at his home, where they soon befriend many of the older residents. Young and old alike show up for Dexter’s hearing before the school committee, where a few surprise twists result in an unexpected outcome for both Dexter and his school.

Although Gordon Korman is less than two weeks older than I am, he has written over 100 books more than I have. His books, while somewhat formulaic (this one is told in chapters that alternate among several narrators in classic Korman style), are always engaging and funny, perfect for reluctant readers. The homeschooled hero winning over middle school students reminded me a lot of another Korman book, Schooled (2008) I’ve read quite a few middle grade books with girl main characters this year, so I’m glad to have a couple that feature boys.

Extra Large by Tyler Page (First Second, 208 pages, grades 4-8). The summer before seventh grade, Tyler starts to be more aware of his body size. When he wins an extra-large T-shirt, he’s told he’ll grow into it. Shopping for back-to-school clothes, he has to get “husky” jeans to be able to fit into them. His dad decides to give up sugar in an attempt to get back to his high school weight and encourages the rest of the family to join him, not always in the kindest way. Tyler notices kids get bullied for their size and for other body issues, and he’s always relieved when it’s not him, taking pains to be the last to change for gym with the hope that no one will see him with his shirt off. When a new girl gets teased about her ears, Tyler joins in, even though he doesn’t see what the big deal is. As the year goes on, Tyler notices more and more that some of his closest friends can be bullies, and he starts to hang out with other kids who are kinder and make him feel good about himself. He saves money for a new bike, enjoying the way he feels when he’s active, and even gets to enjoy some of his family’s menu changes. By the end of the story, Tyler has learned a lot about accepting himself as he is.

Tyler Page’s memoir is funny and realistic, and plenty of upper elementary and middle school readers will see themselves in the pages. It’s nice to see a graphic novel addressing bullying and body image issues with a boy main character.