Published by Scholastic Press

Summary:  Roisin is struggling to adjust to seventh grade after moving to Massachusetts from Ireland.  A bully named Zara is making her life miserable, so when she discovers a new friend online, she is thrilled.  Haley has dealt with mean girls as well, and always seems to have time to listen to Roisin’s problems and offer sympathetic advice.  But when Zara has a potentially fatal accident and Haley seems unmoved, Roisin begins to have some questions.  Attempts to track Haley down in person prove unsuccessful, and Roisin finds herself in an increasingly dangerous situation.  She realizes she will have to risk reaching out to the people around her to find out who Haley is…and to survive their friendship.  272 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  Kids who are looking for a fast-paced adventure will enjoy this social media-based thriller, and will get some positive messages about bullying as well.

Cons:  Roisin’s final showdown with Haley requires a little suspension of disbelief…but it did make for an exciting last few chapters.

Published by Quill Tree Books

Summary:  Efrén calls his mom Soperwoman, both because of the delicious sopes she makes for him and his 5-year-old twin brother and sister, and because of all the ways she makes his family’s life work.  Amá and Apá both work long hours to afford the one-room apartment the family shares, but Efrén and his siblings always go to school with neatly pressed clothing and homemade lunches.  But one day Amá doesn’t come home from work, and the family learns she has been deported to Mexico.  Suddenly 12-year-old Efrén must take care of everything at home while Apá works round the clock to try to bring Amá home.  Since Apá is also undocumented, it falls to Efrén to cross the border into Tijuana to give Amá the money she needs.  His trip there reveals both the desperate conditions of the people living there and the near-impossiblity of Amá making it back to the U.S.  There’s not a fairy-tale ending for Efrén and his family, but he discovers he has some of his parents’ strength and becomes determined to speak out about their situation.  272 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  I love the cover of this book, yet I still hope that future editions will have part of it obscured by a number of medal stickers, including the Newbery and Pura Belpré.  Efrén’s voice is honest, his family’s resilience is inspiring, and many readers will learn about a desperate situation all too familiar to a large number of American kids.    

Cons:  A quick review of the contemporary middle grade novels I’ve reviewed this year reveals kids dealing with the following issues: homelessness (2); bullying (2 because of homophobia, 2 because of racism, and 1 due to health issues); child abuse (2); sexual harassment (4); and parents in jail, murdered by a random shooter, and now, getting deported.  Welcome to 2020 America.

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Published by Random House Books for Young Readers

Summary:  When Felix and Benji find a wallet belonging to billionaire Laura Friendly, they return it–after first “borrowing” $20.00 to buy themselves hot dogs and ice cream.  As a reward/punishment, Ms. Friendly offers the boys $10 million.  But there’s a catch: first they have to spend $5,368,709.12 in a month (the amount you’d have by starting with a penny and doubling it every day for 30 days).  There are some rules: no real estate, no vehicles, no charities, and no gifts.  At first, the boys are thrilled to buy whatever they want, but they soon learn the ancient lesson that money can’t buy happiness.  The “no gift” rule makes them look selfish, and spending millions just on themselves proves increasingly difficult.  When tragedy strikes, the boys realize that many of the best things in life have no price.  The end finds them wiser, but no richer…well maybe just a little bit richer.  336 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  This improbable but fun tale taps into our love/hate relationship with money, and could lead to some interesting discussions.  Sure to appeal to upper elementary and middle school kids.

Cons:  I was expecting some sweeping revelation about Laura Friendly, but there was nothing spectacular.

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Published by Levine Querido

Summary:  Matt’s happy to have switched from flute to bass drum for marching band. Not only will he stop getting teased for playing a “girl’s instrument”, he’ll get to be in the drum line with his best friend Eric.  The boys are excited to learn that the band will be participating in the big World of Amazement band competition.  When they find out that the DefenderCon comic event is right next door the same weekend as the competition, they hatch a plan to escape on the last day of the trip to attend the convention.  Sean, a trumpet player who’s best friends with the biggest bully in the band, finds out about their plan, and wants in.  When Eric learns that he’s moving at the end of the school year, it suddenly becomes even more important for the two friends to get to DefenderCon–without Sean.  The trip to the World of Amazement turns out to be a day no one is likely to forget anytime soon, and nothing turns out the way Matt or Eric could have possibly imagined. But each boy proves his loyalty to the other one in amazing ways, and it seems as though their friendship will endure even when they’re living on opposite sides of the country.  272 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  As a former band geek myself, I enjoyed pretty much everything about this book.  “We’re proud of being in the band, even though we’re also super embarrassed about being in the band.”  Exactly.  But what I loved the most was Matt and Eric’s friendship.  There are many middle grade books about girl best friends, but it’s rare to see a boy friendship like this one.  And they have to deal with a lot of bullying and homophobia because of it (they have a funny and heartfelt conversation about being gay, and decide they are not).  I also got a kick out of (and could relate to) Matt’s earnestly lefty Unitarian parents.

Cons:  I felt that World of Amazement could have been more creatively named. 

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Published by Harry N. Abrams

Summary:  Maddie Polansky’s pretty sure seventh grade will suck, with art class offering the only bright spot on an otherwise dismal daily schedule.  So when she hears that unopposed mayoral candidate Lucinda Burghart is planning to cut the school’s arts funding, she feels desperate enough to try to do something about it.  After learning that the only qualification to run is to be a registered voter, she starts asking around.  To her surprise, Janet, her 23-year-old babysitter, agrees.  Janet is struggling to find work and figures she has nothing to lose.  There’s one obstacle after another, though, beginning with the required 350 signatures to get on the ballot. Although Maddie considers herself the most unpopular kid in the class, she realizes she needs allies and finds ways to convince other kids who are passionate about the arts to join Janet’s campaign.  They all have plenty to learn as they make their way through the fall, and, as we all know, there can be some interesting surprises on Election Day.  Includes a six-page author’s note with ideas and websites for getting involved in community activism and politics.  304 pages; grades 3-6.

Pros:  Woven into this fun, slightly snarky middle school tale is a wealth of information about civics and elections, and a pretty heartwarming message encouraging kids to become activists.  The illustrations on almost every page keep things moving along at a good clip, and it’s nice to see some of the stereotypical middle school mean girls turn into human beings as the story progresses.

Cons:  Maddie’s parents, clueless almost to the point of negligence, never move beyond ridiculous one-dimensional characters.

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