Middle grade fiction

The Honest Truth by Dan Gemeinhart

~ Janet Dawson ~ 2 Comments

Published by Scholastic Press

Summary:  “The mountain was calling me.”  12-year-old Dan is running away from home with his dog Beau.  As the story unfolds, the reader learns that Dan has had cancer for 5 years.  He was in remission, but the cancer has returned.  Unable to face more treatment, he has decided to fulfill a life-long dream to climb Mount Rainier, even if it means he dies in the attempt.  Most chapters are told by Dan, but there are short half chapters (e.g., Chapter 9 ½) that tell what’s happening back home from the point of view of his best friend Jessie.  Some of these half chapters include Jessie’s memories, which serve as flashbacks that flesh out Dan’s story.  There may be a few tears at the ending, but there is a bit of hope there, too.

Pros:  Dan encounters numerous obstacles, including confronting a gang of kids who beat him up and rob him, getting kicked off a bus in the middle of nowhere on a cold snowy day, and having to rescue his dog from falling down a crevasse.  Readers will have a tough time putting this book down until they find out whether or not Dan makes it to the summit of Rainier, and more importantly, back down again.  Fans of The Fault in our Stars will enjoy this.

Cons:  I’m not a fan of The Fault in our Stars.  Like the characters in that book, Dan and Jessie did not ring true to me.  Dan was a little too into reflecting on his life and writing about it (in haiku, no less) in his journal.  Although Jessie and Dan call themselves “best friends”, there was definitely a romantic, you-and-me-against-the-world quality to their friendship that didn’t quite ring true for 12 year olds.  While the book was a quick read for me, the characters didn’t engage me, leaving me to ultimately not care a great deal what happened to them.

Smashie McPerter and the Mystery of Room 11 by N. Griffen, illustrated by Kate Hindley

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Published by Candlewick

Summary:  Room 11 is having a bad day.  Not only do they have Mr. Carper, a.k.a. the worst substitute in the world, but someone is going around gluing things to people, and the whole class gets in trouble for it.  Then the worst happens…Patches, the new hamster, disappears!  Smashie didn’t really want to get a hamster (she thinks they have creepy feet), so she’s a prime suspect.  She and her best friend, Dontel, decide they better do everything they can to solve the mystery.  Smashie dons her Investigation Suit, and Dontel sharpens up his scientific reasoning as they attempt to figure out just what happened to Patches.

Pros:  Candlewick is getting a reputation for its one-of-a-kind children’s books, and this one fits the bill.  Sure, it’s a great mystery, perfect for third, fourth, or fifth graders, but it’s also got a level of humor that adults will enjoy as well.  “There are days when the only thing that gets me through is the thought of a glass of wine and two hours’ research with a copy of GQ,” announces Mr. Carper.  And he’s just one of a whole host of quirky and appealing characters that populate Room 11.

Cons:  Do nine-year-olds need this much quirkiness?  Smashie sometimes came across as too much of an oddball to really ring true.  I wonder if elementary readers will appreciate the kids in this story or just think they are weird.

The Way to Stay in Destiny by Augusta Scattergood

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Published by Scholastic Press

Summary:  Theo’s spent his whole life on a farm in Kentucky with his grandparents.  But now the farm’s been sold, and he’s living in Destiny, Florida with his Uncle Raymond, whom he met for the first time a few weeks ago.  Uncle Raymond doesn’t seem to like him much, which makes sharing a room at the Rest Easy boarding kind of tough.  But Theo’s determined to make the best of his situation.  For starters, there’s a piano at the Rest Easy, which Theo can play by ear (even though his uncle hates piano music).  Then there’s his new friend Anabel, who’s an even bigger Atlanta Braves fan than Theo.  She signs him up for her extra credit school project, which is to figure out if Braves players ever spent time in Destiny.  Now Uncle Raymond thinks he wants to move.  Can Theo figure out a way to stay in Destiny?

Pros:  The characters are memorable and likable (even Uncle Raymond by the end of the story), and the writing is beautifully evocative.

Cons:  There’s not much to the story.  The description promises a mystery and an adventure.  I’m not really sure what the mystery was and any adventure was pretty tame.

The Terrible Two by Mac Barnett and Jory John, illustrated by Kevin Cornell

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Published by Harry N. Abrams

 Summary:  Miles is the new kid at school.  He’s hoping to establish himself as the best prankster there, a title he held in his last school.  His pranks keep backfiring, though, and he finally learns why: Niles, the apparently goody-two-shoes kiss-up kid is actually a prankster extraordinaire in disguise.  The two eventually put aside their differences and team up to become “The Terrible Two”, ultimately bringing their nemesis Principal Barkin to his knees.

Pros:  You can’t go wrong with a prankster, and two pranking geniuses are sure to be appreciated by the elementary school crowd.  Both Miles and Niles have their different charms, and humor abounds throughout the story.  Short chapters and plenty of illustrations will keep reluctant readers engaged.

Cons:  The whole slacker-kid-outwitting-the-adults thing has become practically its own genre, spawned by the wimpy kid.  It’s starting to seem a little tired.

The War That Saved My Life by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

~ Janet Dawson ~ 8 Comments

Published by Dial Books

Summary:  Ten-year-old Ada has spent her entire life in a one-room apartment, kept prisoner by her mother who is ashamed of Ada’s club foot.  When parents are ordered to evacuate their children to the country at the start of World War II, Ada sees her chance to escape and manages to get evacuated along with her younger brother, Jamie.  They are reluctantly taken in by Susan Smith, a woman who is dealing with her own grief and isolation and does not want any children in her home.  Slowly, though, the children and their guardian learn to live with each other, and Ada discovers the world around her that she has been locked out of all her life.  She assists during the Dunkirk evacuation, discovers a spy, and survives nightly air raids.  But her greatest test of courage comes when her mother reappears and demands to take the children back home.

Pros:  I got this book right before two snow days.  Thank goodness, because I could not put it down.  Ada, Susan, and Jamie are fabulous multi-dimensional characters.  The author does not whitewash their lives or their reactions to events, which only makes them more endearing.  Compelling historical fiction for fourth and fifth graders.

Cons:  There didn’t seem to me to be adequate explanation as to why the children’s mother was so horrible.  True, she was poor, uneducated, and apparently coerced into having children by a husband who then died, but it was hard for me to get a handle on why she was so hateful.