Middle grade fiction

My Life As A Gamer by Janet Tashjian and Jake Tashjian

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Published by Henry Holt

Summary: Derek is back, this time getting a chance to pursue his love of video games. His father arranges for Derek and his friends to be part of a focus group to test a new video game, Arctic Ninja, before it comes out on the market. This makes Saturdays a lot of fun, but during the week Derek is stressing about the upcoming state standardized tests. He’s got a new tutor to help him, but when he tells her some of the top-secret details about Arctic Ninja, he suddenly finds himself in hot water. Derek starts experiencing some familiar feelings of failure, and it’s up to him to figure out how to turn things around.  Recommended for ages 9-12.

Pros: Another winning entry in the “My Life” series. Derek Fallon is Greg Heffley with a heart…and a brain. Short chapters, a large font, and lots of comic-type illustrations will attract Wimpy Kid fans.

Cons: Readers of a certain age may be put off by an icky romance developing between Derek and his friend Carly.

All the Answers by Kate Messner

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Published by Bloomsbury USA Children’s

Summary: Ava’s sweating it out through another math quiz when she hears a voice giving her the right answer. She’s surprised that no one else can hear the voice, but is grateful that it helps her ace the quiz. Eventually she discovers that the voice is coming from the pencil she found in the junk drawer as she was rushing to get ready for school. She and her friend Sophie learn how to use the pencil to uncover answers about the people around them. At first it seems great but then, as so often is the case with magic, complications arise. Ava discovers that knowing people’s secrets isn’t always for the best and learns that she really is brave enough to make it through the tough times in her life on her own. Recommended for grades 4-6.

Pros: Fans of Wendy Mass’s Willow Falls book will enjoy this realistic fiction story with a little magic thrown in.

Cons: Unfortunately, this is just a realistic story with a single magical element. It doesn’t quite come up to the level of Wendy Mass or Lisa Graff’s A Tangle of Knots in weaving magic through the whole story with a big wow at the end.

A Handful of Stars by Cynthia Lord

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Published by Scholastic Press

Summary:  When Lily’s blind dog Lucky goes after Salma’s lunch, the two girls meet and become friends.  Salma is part of the migrant farm community that arrives every summer to pick the wild blueberries in Lily’s Maine hometown.  Although Lily has always known of this group’s existence, she’s never paid much attention to them until she meets Salma.  Salma proves herself a true friend by offering to help Lily raise money to help pay for an operation to restore Lucky’s sight.  In return, Lily offers to help Salma become the first migrant girl to win the annual Blueberry Queen pageant.  Last year’s winner, Hannah, used to be Lily’s best friend before she became so boy crazy, and Lily finds herself with divided loyalties between her two friends.  As the summer draws to a close and the pageant gets closer, Lily finds herself with more questions than answers about her relationships with her friends and family.

Pros:  Cynthia Lord’s many fans will not be disappointed with her latest work.  Once again, she portrays a sympathetic cast of characters faced with realistic dilemmas of growing up.

Cons:  Be careful that you don’t get caught without a box of Kleenex as you navigate your way through the last few chapters.

Finding Serendipity by Angelica Banks.

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Published by Henry Holt

Summary: It’s the last day of school, and Tuesday McGillycuddy, daughter of famous Serendipity Smith, is excited.  When her mom finishes a book, the whole family celebrates with a relaxing vacation, and Tuesday knows the last book in the Vivienne Small series is almost done.  That night, when she and her dad go to say goodnight to her mom, the window of the study is open, and Serendipity has vanished.  Tuesday types a few sentences on her mom’s typewriter.  The words turn into a silver thread that carry Tuesday into a magical world where stories are created.  She and her dog Baxterr find Vivienne and learn to create their own adventures.  But Serendipity is nowhere to be found, and Tuesday’s not sure how to get herself and Baxterr home.  Will the mother and daughter writers figure out their way to “The End”?

Pros:  Not only is this a good adventure story, but it’s a fun introduction to the art of storytelling.

Cons:  Reading the first chapter, I thought this was going to be an awkwardly contrived metaphor for the writing process.  Stick with it, the story really picks up further on.

Catch You Later, Traitor by Avi

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Published by Algonquin Young Readers

Summary:  Pete finds himself suddenly ostracized from his seventh grade classmates when his teacher, Mr. Donavan, denounces Pete’s father as a Communist.  It’s 1951, and the Red Scare is in full swing.  Pete doesn’t believe that his dad, a history professor who loves America, could possibly be a Communist, but he decides to emulate his hero Sam Spade and do a little investigating.  He’s unprepared for what he finds as he digs deep into his family’s history.  When an FBI agent starts following Pete around his Brooklyn neighborhood, danger moves frighteningly close.  There seems to be a secret informant, possibly right in the family.  Will Pete be able to solve all the mysteries before his father loses his job or ends up in jail?

Pros:  A combination historical fiction and mystery, this story is a page turner from beginning to end.

Cons:  With 293 pages, lots of plot twists, and multiple historical references, the suggested audience of 8-12 seems a little young.  Grades 5-8 is probably more appropriate.  Also, do NOT judge this book by its cover, which features what looks to be a forlorn alien.

Stella by Starlight by Sharon M. Draper

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Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers

Summary:  In the opening scene, Stella and her younger brother Jojo see nine members of the Ku Klux Klan burning a cross in the distance.  The reader is immediately drawn into Stella’s world, the segregated town of 1932 Bumblebee, North Carolina.  She is part of a loving family and tight-knit community who endure many hardships.  The KKK burns a neighbor’s house down, her friend Tony is beaten by two white men, and her mother is permanently crippled by a snakebite that the white doctor refuses to treat.  But there are happy times, too, like the visit from a traveling storyteller and the day the entire town escorts Stella’s father and his two friends to vote in their first election.  Through it all, Stella works hard on her writing as she struggles to record what she sees and hears.

Pros:  Based on the lives of the author’s father and grandmother, this is a fascinating historical novel about the harsh realities of the segregated South during the Depression.  The love and community spirit are every bit as powerful as the difficulties Stella and her friends and family encounter.

Cons:  Be sure to discuss this book with kids as they read it.  Some of the events could be disturbing.

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson

~ Janet Dawson ~ 7 Comments

Published by Dial Books

Summary:  Astrid and her best friend Nicole seem to be drifting apart as they get ready to enter junior high. When her mother takes the two girls to the roller derby, Astrid discovers her passion.  She tries to convince Nicole to sign up for roller derby camp with her, but Nicole prefers ballet.  Astrid goes anyway, and the four weeks of camp turn out to be life-changing for her.  As the youngest and least experienced member of the group, she has the hardest time getting into shape, and spends more time lying on the rink floor than skating.  But she also makes a friend, dyes her hair, and gets a new derby name.  By the time the girls get to do an exhibition bout, Astrid is still the weakest player, but she’s learned enough to be able to contribute to her team at a crucial moment.

Pros:  Middle grade readers will cheer for Astrid as she learns how to be herself and to navigate the tricky waters of girls’ friendships.  Fans of Raina Telgemeier’s Smile and Sisters will love Roller Girl.

Cons:  Graphic novels like this take too long to create…I can’t wait to read the next installment of Astrid’s story

Honey by Sarah Weeks

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Published by Scholastic Press

Summary:  Because Melody’s mother died when she was a baby, Melody’s never really missed her.  She and her father are so close that the two of them seem like a complete family.  But one night, the phone rings, and Melody hears her dad call the person on the other end “Honey”.  He tells her it was a wrong number, but she’s sure he has a new girlfriend, and with the help of her best friend Nick, sets off to figure out who it is.  There are a couple teachers at his school, including her awful fifth grade teacher Miss Hogan, plus the new hair salon owner who it turns out was Melody’s mother’s best friend.  The mystery is slowly solved and along the way, Melody learns more about her mother, her father, and herself.

Pros:  Like Sarah Weeks’ Pie, this is an immensely satisfying book with likeable characters and a plot that unfolds at just the right pace to keep the reader guessing to the end.

Cons:  Although plenty of third, fourth, and fifth graders would love this book, there’s no big “hook” to use in a book talk.

Moonpenny Island by Tricia Springstubb

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Published by Balzer + Bray

Summary:  Flor and Sylvie have always been inseparable friends, the only two girls their age who live year-round on Moonpenny Island.  But at the end of the summer when they are both 11 years old, things start to change.  Sylvie suddenly announces that she is leaving the island to attend private school on the mainland.  Flor’s parents are fighting almost every day, and her older sister Cecelia acts like a stranger.  As Flor starts school as the only sixth grader, she has never felt so alone.  But as summer slowly moves to fall and winter, she begins to discover life on her own terms and to reach out to friends she never knew were there.

Pros:  Beautifully written, with an almost magical island setting and memorable characters.  Give this to fans of Because of Winn-Dixie.

Cons:  Some readers may find the plot slow going.

The Only Game by Mike Lupica

~ Janet Dawson ~ 4 Comments

Published by Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

Summary:  12-year-old Jack is a baseball superstar, part of a team that is poised to go all the way to the Little League World Series this year.  So it comes as a shock, to say the least, when he tells his coach after the first practice that he is quitting.  His parents wonder if his decision is related to his older brother’s fatal accident the previous fall, but Jack assures them it isn’t.  His old friends from the team are upset, so Jack starts hanging out with some new friends: Cassie, the star of her softball team, and Teddy, a boy who gets picked on for being overweight and unathletic.  With their help, he slowly finds his way back to baseball and healing from the loss of his brother.

Pros:  Like all Mike Lupica books, this story has a winning combination of likeable characters, an emotionally charged plot, and plenty of sports action.

Cons:  As in all Mike Lupica books, the junior high characters talk like they are about 27 years old.