Middle grade fiction

Wrap-Up Wednesday: Books for Wimpy Kid Fans

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Okay, I’ll admit to a little Wimpy Kid burnout (I actually hid the books in my library for a brief period last winter to get kids to check out something else).  But my literary tastes can be pretty low-brow, and I actually enjoy many of the books in the whole genre that seems to have spun out from this series.  Good news: every book on the list is part of a series (or is the first book in a new series):

The Rat With the Human Face by Tom Angleberger.  Published by Harry N. Abrams.

Lyle, Marilla, and Dave go on their second adventure as the Qwikpick Adventure Society, a quest to see the rat with the human face rumored to live in the basement of an old research facility.  There are just enough quirky details to make this story seem realistic.  By the author of the Origami Yoda series.

The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Kevin Cornell.  Published by Harry N. Abrams.

Miles hopes to keep his prankster reputation when he moves to a new school.  Little does he know his school already has a prankster with capabilities far exceeding Miles’.  The mystery trickster turns out to be the last person Miles would have suspected, and the two of them join forces to pull off the biggest prank ever.

The Worst Class Trip Ever by Dave Barry.  Published by Disney-Hyperion.

On the flight to Washington, D.C., Wyatt and his best friend Matt witness two men acting like terrorists, and decide to take matters into their own hands.  There are plenty of laughs, but also a pretty good adventure story with a number of twists and turns.

Katie Friedman Gives Up Texting (And Lives to Tell About It!) by Tommy Greenwald, illustrated by J. P. Coovert.  Published by Roaring Brook Press.

When Katie Friedman accidentally sends a nasty text about her boyfriend to the boyfriend himself, she vows to give up texting.  On top of that, she gets an offer she can’t refuse if she can get ten friends to join her for a week.  Can she really pull it off?

My Life As A Gamer by Janet Tashjian, illustrated by Jake Tashjian.  Published by Henry Holt and Co.

Derek and his friends get an amazing opportunity to test a hot new video game before it’s released.  He breaks the rules by telling his new tutor some things about the game.  When details about it are leaked to the gaming world, Derek finds himself in hot water.

Katie Friedman Gives Up Texting! (And Lives to Tell About It) by Tommy Greenwald, illustrations by J. P. Coovert

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Published by Roaring Brook Press

 

Summary: After Katie Friedman accidentally sends a snarky text about her boyfriend Nareem to Nareem himself, she vows to give up texting. Her favorite singer, Plain Jane, has spoken out about too much phone time, and when Katie has a chance to meet her, Jane offers her a deal. If Katie can get ten of her friends to join her in giving up their phones for a week, Jane will perform one of Katie’s songs at her concert and give the whole group a backstage tour. The only catch is, Katie can’t tell anyone about the reward. It seems like an impossible task, but Katie’s lifelong dream is to a rock star. Can she possibly find a way to pull this off? Grades 4-7.

Pros: This latest installment in the Charlie Joe Jackson series is the first to be told from a girl’s perspective. Katie is a likeable narrator, and the plot is fast-paced and (aside from meeting your favorite singer) pretty realistic. The arguments for and against texting are interesting and potentially discussion-provoking.

Cons: Some of the heart-to-heart talks between the kids who give up their phones seemed a little unlikely to happen in middle school.

Amazon

Watch the Sky by Kirsten Hubbard

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Published by Disney-Hyperion 

Summary: Jory is tired. Tired of keeping secrets, like the secret that he has a 9-year-old sister whom his family found in their pumpkin patch three years ago. And tired from digging in the canyon behind his house for five hours a night. His stepfather Caleb says the whole family has to dig. He doesn’t say why exactly, but it has to do with the signs Caleb says are all around them. Signs that danger is coming soon. It’s scary, but for the first time in his life, Jory begins to see that there are other people in the world who are different from him and his family. He’s beginning to make friends at school and to learn more about the world around him. So when Caleb tells him the biggest secret of all, Jory wonders if he has the courage to question the life he’s always known.  Grades 4-7.

Pros: 262 pages, 24 hours. I couldn’t put it down. Caleb is a real creep, but the author makes him human, too, with some understandable reasons for his actions. Jory is such a likeable character, you will be rooting for him right up to the last page.

Cons: Not all of the questions raised are answered by the end of the story.

The Detective’s Assistant by Kate Hannigan

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Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 

Summary: 11-year-old Nell Warne has had a tough life, seeing her mother die, then her two brothers, and finally, her estranged father. With no other family left, she is unceremoniously dumped on her dead uncle’s widow, Aunt Kitty, in Chicago. Aunt Kitty has no interest in taking in an orphan. First of all, she blames Nell’s father for her husband’s murder. And secondly, she’s too busy with her career as the first woman detective in America, working for Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency. But there’s no other place for Nell, so the two of them end up traveling undercover to Philadelphia, Mississippi, and New York City to solve a series of mysteries. Their final case brings them to Baltimore, where Nell proves herself once and for all by helping Aunt Kitty thwart an assassination attempt on the new president, Abraham Lincoln. Grades 4-7.

Pros: The author’s note explains that Kate (Kitty) Warne was a real person, the first female detective in America. Both she and Nell are strong, spunky characters that are fun to read about, and their adventures read like a series of 19th-century Nancy Drew mysteries. The subplot about Nell’s father, Kate’s husband, and their involvement with the Underground Railroad just before the Civil War add interesting historical details.

Cons: Although the letters between Nell and her friend Jemma helped explain some necessary background, they sometimes felt like an interruption of the main plot.

Mystery in Mayan Mexico by Marcia Wells

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Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Summary: Fresh from solving his first case with the NYPD, Eddie Red and his friend Jonah are ready to relax in Mexico on a vacation with Eddie’s parents. But on their first day, a valuable Mayan mask is stolen from the hotel lobby, and Eddie’s father is a prime suspect. Using his photographic memory and drawing skills, Eddie teams up with Jonah and a Mexican girl named Julia to try to find the real thief. When the Mexican police chief puts Eddie’s father under house arrest, Eddie knows he’s running out of time. Will he be able to solve the mystery before his father ends up in jail? Grades 4-6.

Pros: The introduction draws the reader in quickly, with a blood-covered Eddie in a Darth Vader costume calling his parents from a Mexican jail cell, accompanied by an unconscious Jonah. From there, the action shifts back two weeks to reveal how they got there. Eddie’s voice is frank and funny, and Jonah is a perfect sidekick.

Cons: The clue that allowed Eddie and Jonah to finally figure out the solution to the mystery seemed a bit far-fetched.

The Stars of Summer: An All Four Stars Book by Tara Dairman

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Published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers

Summary:  12-year-old Gladys Gatsby has recently launched her career as a restaurant reviewer by publishing a successful review in the New York Standard.  She’s deep into her second assignment when her friend Charissa surprises her with a birthday gift: a whole summer free at Charissa’s family’s day camp.  Gladys is crushed, having planned to spend her summer cooking and writing.  But her parents insist, and off Gladys goes to the unpleasant world of swimming, arts and crafts, and archery.  She fails her swimming test and has to put up with a snobby boy celebrity who’s also at camp against his will.  Things start to look up a bit when she is assigned the morning task of helping the camp cook, and inadvertently winds up remaking the menu.  Meanwhile, her editor has asked her to find the best hot dog in New York City.  The deadline is looming, and Gladys is stuck at camp every day.  Is her career as a restaurant reviewer doomed?  Grades 3-6.

Pros:  With its fun cast of characters and lighthearted but engaging plot, this is a perfect beach read for a hot summer’s day.

Cons:  There were quite a few references to the first book, All Four Stars, so it’s probably better to start with that one.

Cast Off: The Strange Adventures of Petra de Winter and Bram Broen by Eve Yohalem.

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Published by Dial Books

Summary: When Petra de Winter’s wealthy father threatens to kill her, she runs away and hides on board the Golden Lion a ship sailing from the Netherlands to the East Indies.  Bram Broen, the mixed-race son of the ship’s carpenter discovers her and helps her stay hidden.  She disguises herself as a boy, which turns out to be fortunate when she is eventually discovered.  After surviving a keel hauling, she is put to work as the surgeon’s assistant, using skills she learned back home in Holland.  Told in alternating voices, Petra and Bram relate a story that includes piracy, mutiny, and lots of adventure.  Grades 5 and up.

Pros:  While more of a middle school book, good fifth grade readers will enjoy this page-turning adventure.  It would also make an exciting read aloud.

Cons: Pretty much every aspect of life for anyone living in 17th century Europe who wasn’t  wealthy, white, and male.

The Worst Class Trip Ever by Dave Barry

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Published by Disney-Hyperion

Summary:  Wyatt’s on his way from Miami to Washington, DC for an eighth-grade-class trip when his friend Matt notices some strange behavior from a couple of guys on the plane.  Thinking he may be intercepting a terrorist attack, Matt grabs one of their backpacks and manages to steal a dangerous-looking device from it.  This gets both Matt and Wyatt in a heap of trouble from their teachers, and it also makes them the target of the two men who proceed to chase them through DC, trying to get their device back.  Before long, Victor, Cameron, and Wyatt’s crush, Suzana, have found out what’s going on.  When the two men take Matt hostage, the adventures really begin, and don’t end until Wyatt has flown into the White House on the inside of a dragon kite.  Grades 4-7.

Pros:  I knew this would be a light, funny story from humorist Dave Barry, but I didn’t expect it to actually have an exciting plot.  Wyatt’s voice is perfect for narrating this middle school tale, and readers will enjoy the humor and adventure.

Cons:  I found the humor more of a chuckle than laugh-out-loud.

Lost in the Sun by Lisa Graff

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Published by Philomel Books

Summary:  Trent is about to start sixth grade, but he can’t get past an event that happened to him six months previously: while playing hockey, he a puck off his stick hit a boy in the chest, killing him.  The boy had an undiagnosed heart condition, but Trent is burdened by the guilt that he killed someone.  His guilt manifests itself as anger, at his divorced parents, his new stepmother, his teachers, and his classmates.  His only friend is Fallon, a girl with a scar slashed across her entire face.  As the school year progresses, Trent grows increasingly convinced that he is unlovable and worthless, and his behavior starts to escalate out of control.  But Fallon and a few understanding adults in his life refuse to give up on him, and he begins to understand that others around him are dealing with difficult emotions as well. Grades 4-7

Pros:  Mature elementary school students will find Trent’s story compelling.  All the characters are realistically drawn and sympathetic in their own individual ways.  Discussing this book could help readers understand that behavior is not always an accurate reflection of a person’s character, and that sometimes those who seem most unlikeable are the ones who need the most compassion.

Cons:  There’s a little PG language.

How to Speak Dolphin by Ginny Rorby

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Published by Scholastic Press

Summary:  Since her mother died suddenly two years ago, Lily has had far too much responsibility for her four-year-old autistic half-brother, Adam.  Her stepfather, Don, is a doctor and is overwhelmed by responsibility as well, causing him to make unreasonable demands upon Lily.  When the family discovers a dolphin at the local aquarium that seems to help Adam, Don is determined to keep the dolphin in captivity.  Lily and her new friend Zoe, who is blind, realize that the dolphin belongs in the wild.  Will Lily be able to speak up for what is right for the dolphin, even if it may mean hurting Adam?

Pros:  Fans of Cynthia Lord’s books, particularly Rules, will enjoy this book which looks at how a child with autism affects the whole family.  The dolphin story will appeal to animal lovers.

Cons:  The message that keeping dolphins in captivity is evil was hammered home a little too thoroughly.