Published by Nancy Paulsen Books

Summary:  Seventh graders Karina and Chris have been neighbors for years, but never friends.  When Karina’s grandfather moves in and starts tutoring Chris in math, though, the two discover they have more in common than they thought.  The three are on an outing together one day when a man attacks Karina’s Indian-American grandfather in front of the two kids, pulling a knife and hurling racist epithets.  Her grandfather ends up in the hospital, and all three are traumatized, but drawn closer together.  Karina uses her photography skills to express what she’s feeling, and before long some of her pictures have gone viral. Others in the community come together to show their support, and Karina’s #countmein tag becomes a way for people to share their own stories of how they became part of America.  171 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  With its alternating points of view and “stronger together” theme, this book reminded me a lot of Save Me A Seat by Sara Weeks.  Although it’s a quick read, there’s a lot to discuss, and most kids will find personal connections to the characters and settings.  This would make a great read-aloud or book club choice for fifth or sixth grade.

Cons:  With so much happening in relatively few pages, it felt like the characters lacked some depth.

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Published by HarperCollins

Summary:  What if all the sightings of Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, and other cryptids were the elaborate work of two hoaxing families?  That’s the premise for this story about the McNeils, one of the families who has been investigating cryptozoology for decades–and staging elaborate hoaxes to fund their research.  Youngest son Grayson McNeil is sick of the whole business, and is secretly applying to a boarding school where he can indulge his passion for photography, and maybe get his work in the public eye instead of always sneaking around like his father, grandfather, and older brother Curtis.  But when the other hoaxing family, the Gerhards, kidnap Dad and Gramps just as they are about to complete a big (and well-paying) job, it’s up to Grayson and Curtis to save the day. The Gerhards are hot on their heels, though, including a well-placed spy from Grayson’s school, and it’s a race against time to try to finish up the job.  As their family’s history is on the brink of collapse, Grayson begins to understand why the McNeils have pursued their secret work and to think he may just be one of them after all. 320 pages; grades 3-7.

Pros:  There’s always lots of interest in mysterious creatures like Bigfoot, and this is a book that would be easy to book talk.  There’s plenty of humor and intrigue, and readers will enjoy the behind-the-scenes look at some of the hoaxes.

Cons:  There were quite a few flashback scenes at the beginning of the story that could be confusing to readers and made it a little slow going to get into the book.

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Published by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books

Summary:  This collection of ten short stories follows various middle school kids on their way home from school.  These are kids who are dealing with a lot: sickle cell anemia, parents with cancer, a brother in prison, a grandfather with dementia. But those details are slipped casually into the main action of the story, which generally centers on the more mundane parts of life.  Hanging out with friends, getting up the nerve to tell a girl you like her. Teasing your best friend about his boogers, trying to avoid a new dog in the neighborhood. The characters make cameo appearances in each other’s stories, which may send readers back to the beginning once they’ve met everyone.  Each story also contains a reference to a school bus falling from the sky. It’s mentioned in the first sentence of the first story and the third from the last sentence of the final story, which concludes: “Canton smiled, knowing a school bus is many things. So is a walk home.” 208 pages; grades 5-8.

Pros:  This book seems destined to wind up in the reading curriculum of many a middle school, showing kids what effortlessly amazing writing looks like, and how to create a host of distinctive characters from everyday life in a short amount of space.  This is already a National Book Award Finalist, and it’s sure to win more awards next year.  

Cons:  I’m not a huge fan of the short story format.  I always feel like I’m just getting to know the characters when the story ends.

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Published by Random House Books for Young Readers

Summary:  Eleanor gets annoyed when her Grandpa Joe insists on drilling her and her two younger brothers on survivalist techniques to prepare them for impending doom.  But when she runs across a website with a Harvard scientist claiming an asteroid is heading for Earth, she begins to have doomsday predictions of her own. Enlisting the help of her friend Mack, she forms the Nature Club, using the innocuous-sounding name as a cover to hide her real intentions of preparing her classmates for the end of the world as they know it.  Getting ready to survive Armageddon distracts Eleanor from the fact that visually-impaired Mack is seriously considering going to a school for the blind, and before long she finds herself enjoying meetings of her new club. But as the doomsday clock keeps ticking, fewer people believe her predictions, and Eleanor finds herself taking desperate measures to ensure her loved ones are ready.  Includes an author’s note; information about asteroids; and tips for how to build a survival kit. 368 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  What better group to prepare for a dramatic end to the world than a bunch of middle schoolers?  Stacy McAnulty creates a funny, endearing group of misfits who all have their own reasons for wanting the distraction of the world ending to keep them from their everyday worries.  The fast-paced plot and interesting discussion potential would make this a good book club choice.

Cons:  I didn’t warm up to Eleanor as much as I did to Lucy in McAnulty’s The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl, and I grew increasingly frustrated with her refusal to believe the mounting evidence that the scientist was a quack.

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Published by Kokila

Summary:  When wealthy Lane DiSanti is facing a summer of family separation and boredom, she decides to form a club.  She reaches out to three other girls who are strangers to her: Ofelia, whose mother works for Lane’s grandmother; Aster, who is nervous about starting school after years of schooling with her grandfather; and Cat, whose passion for birds has gotten her kicked out of a girls’ club called the Floras.  The girls band together to help Cat in her quest to get rid of the hat made of real bird feathers that the Floras have used for years. The girls begin a campaign of civil disobedience, with each one facing consequences unique to her situation and influenced by her heritage (Cat and Ofelia are Cuban American and Aster is Bahamaian American).  Told in alternating third-person points of view, the story follows the girls through increasingly daring pranks and the end shows that even getting caught and being separated at summer’s end won’t be enough to slow them down. 384 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  In her follow-up to The First Rule of Punk, Celia Pérez has written a story full of girl power and interesting insights about racism and privilege that could possibly be in line for some awards.  The varying perspectives and quirky characters reminded me of Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo and Hello, Universe by Erin Estrada Kelly.

Cons:  Clearly I’m in the minority, but I wasn’t a huge fan of either of the aforementioned books (that is one bitter review I wrote of Raymie Nightingale), and I didn’t love this book as much as I thought I would based on The First Rule of Punk.  I liked and appreciated it, but it took me awhile to get into it, I had some trouble keeping the characters straight, and I felt like the ending could have been more satisfying.

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