Published by Knopf Books for Young Readers

Summary:  When Henry Davis walks into Barbara Ann’s fifth grade class on the first day of school, she feels like she already knows him.  Before long, they’re good friends, and Henry confides to Barbara Ann that he’s been visited by a ghostly boy named Edgar who seems to live in his new house.  The two begin investigating, soon joined by two other kids in their class, Renee and Zack, and discover that Edgar died during the flu epidemic of 1918. Henry’s 102-year-old neighbor offers a few more clues, and eventually the other kids have a ghostly encounter or two with Edgar.  When Henry gets dangerously ill and ends up in the hospital, Barbara Ann fears history will repeat itself, and discovers how important Henry’s friendship has become to her. 240 pages; grades 4-6.

Pros:  A ghost story is always an easy sell; this one is also a nice friendship subplot about kids who have had trouble connecting in the past finding each other.  Edgar is a pretty benevolent ghost, but there are a few creepy moments that many scary story fans will enjoy.

Cons:  Maybe the current state of the world has made me immune to fictional horrors, but once again I found this story a lot less scary than reviewers had led me to believe it would be.

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Published by Dutton Books for Young Readers

Summary:  When a fisherman friend accidentally catches a great white shark, Lucy and Fred are among the first to go see it.  Fred is excited by anything having to do with science, and Lucy has a connection to sharks because her late mother studied them and even swam with them.  The two of them are working on a field guide about the wildlife they find in their hometown of Rockport, Massachusetts, and they plan to include information and drawings of the shark.  When tragedy strikes, though, the field guide project is put on hold, and Lucy must deal with another huge loss in her life. Fortunately she’s surrounded by community–her dad, neighbors, teachers, and friends–who each offer her a chance to heal in their own unique ways.  When Lucy gets the opportunity to help continue the shark research her mother started, she realizes it’s a chance to move forward into her new life. 384 pages; grades 5-8.

Pros:  The beautiful writing, memorable characters, and moving story make this award material for sure.  Kate Allen captures the feeling of summer on the Massachusetts shore, with just the right amount of nostalgia for the 1990’s.  Lucy’s drawings of different sharks grace the beginning of each chapter.

Cons:  Out of 37 non-graphic middle-grade books that I’ve read this year, ten feature a main character dealing with the loss of a parent and/or sibling.  That’s a lot, isn’t it? When I got to the Bridge to Terabithia moment of this book, I almost gave up and  chucked it into the library book drop.  I’m glad I persevered, but I wonder how many 11- and 12-year-old readers will.

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Published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers

Summary:  It’s bad enough that Caitlyn’s mom has decided to move to Vermont right before Caitlyn starts seventh grade.  But when Caitlyn starts school at Mitchell, she finds she’s part of a group called The Originals, the first kids to go through the tiny community school that opened eight years ago.  Caitlyn’s arrival in seventh grade isn’t the only big news–class clown Paulie Fink has mysteriously disappeared. Caitlyn hates the school at first, and can’t believe there are no lockers, that she has to sit with a kindergartener at lunch, and that her class is in charge of looking after a bunch of goats.  When her classmates decide to create a reality show to find out who the next Paulie Fink will be, Caitlyn reluctantly takes on the role of leader, creating challenges to find out who can take Paulie’s place. When budget troubles threaten to close the school, she is surprised at how much she wants to keep it open.  Interspersed with interviews, emails, and texts, Caitlyn’s narrative shows how she grows and changes throughout the first months at her new school. 368 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  I wasn’t a huge fan of Ali Benjamin’s The Truth About Jellyfish, so my expectations were low for this book. I was pleasantly surprised by the fun and interesting characters.  The format and the reality show idea will appeal to readers. I may have found another fifth grade book club book.

Cons:  Caitlyn comes across as a bit of a brat at the beginning of the book, but readers who persevere will learn the reasons for her behavior and see some positive changes as the story goes on.

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Published by Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books

Summary:  After Genesis’s family gets evicted from their Detroit apartment–again–her father mysteriously finds them a rental in swanky, mostly white Farmington Hills.  Genesis loves the fancy new house, but is apprehensive about going to school, where even the few kids of color are lighter skinned than she is. She is extremely self-conscious about her skin color, due to her father’s negative, often drunken, comments about her taking after him,, and this leads her to try everything from steel wool to bleach to lighten it.  Slowly, though, Genesis begins to make friends and to discover her talent and passion for music. When her family is threatened with eviction yet again, Genesis is afraid she’ll lose the opportunity to perform in her school’s talent show. But ultimately, it’s the talent show performance that finally wakes her father up to the damage he’s doing to his family and the reasons he is doing it.  While the ending isn’t neat or completely happy, it is hopeful for both Genesis and her parents. 384 pages; grades 5-8.

Pros:  A powerful debut novel.  As in New Kid, a sympathetic narrator shows readers what it’s like to be a person of color in a wealthy, predominantly white environment.  Any middle school reader will identify with Genesis’s struggles between wanting to fit in and being true to herself. I sailed through this in about two days, leaving a Kleenex-strewn couch in my wake.  A contender for some awards, for sure.

Cons:  The family’s sudden move from impoverished Detroit neighborhoods to upscale Farmington Hills seemed unrealistic.

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Published by Henry Holt and Co.

Summary:  Jingwen is struggling with his family’s move to Australia (a.k.a., Mars) from an unnamed Asian country where his parents both worked as bakers.  After his father’s death (yes, another 2019 middle grade novel about dealing with the loss of a family member), Jingwen’s mother decided to follow Dad’s dream to pursue a better life in Australia.  His younger brother Yanghao embraces the new language, while Jingwen resists learning it, weighted down by guilt over his perceived role in his father’s death. When he and Yanghao secretly make a cake one night while his mother works the late shift, he feels happier than he has in months, and decides he will make all the cakes his father dreamed of featuring in the bakery he wanted to open, Pie in the Sky.  Nights of secret baking and eating form the backdrop of the story as Jingwen slowly adjusts to his new home and comes to terms with his grief. 384 pages; grades 3-7.

Pros:  Despite Jingwen’s loneliness and grief, this story actually has a lot of humor in it.  Comic-style illustrations appear on every page, and Yanghao provides almost constant comic relief. Jingwen is able to often realized the absurdities of many of the situations he’s in, and his narration is funny in a way that tweens and young teens will appreciate.  At the same time, native English speakers will gain a deeper understanding of what life is like for ELL students, and those who are struggling with the language will feel a kinship with Jingwen.

Cons:  Jingwen received no ELL instruction, and seemed to be in a sink-or-swim situation at school.  I find it hard to believe that 21st-century Australia doesn’t do better for kids.

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