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Targeted for middle grade readers, Blood in the Water by Tiffany D. Jackson features twelve-year-old Kaylani McKinnon. Given her focus on being strategic about #operationFREEDAD, Kaylani has no time for frivolity. So, when her mother suggests a summer of fun at the vacation home of a family friend in Martha’s Vineyard, this Brooklyn-based girl is resistant. After all, she has pre-law camp to consider if she hopes to get her wrongfully accused dad out of prison. When Kaylani arrives, she is even more certain that this place is not her jam. As the ferry docks in the town of Oak Bluffs, Kaylani feels like DorothyRead More →

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Pablo Cartaya’s recent novel targeted to middle grade readers, A Hero’s Guide to Summer Vacation features a family dealing with grief and loss. Gonzalo Garcia lost his father when he was twelve, and after being known as the kid with the dead dad, he lashes out. Now, a year later, he prefers to be alone in his thoughts and drawings. He converts photographs of landscapes that he takes with his iPad into terrifying drawings of monsters, “the most frequent being a creature with menacing green eyes emerging from the fog. Those green eyes follow him everywhere he goes. Grief knows no hiding place” (3). WhenRead More →

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Given the past two years, with a war waging between Russia and Ukraine, Swimming with Spies by Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger is an especially relevant novel for middle grade readers. This historical fiction text tells the story of the annexation of Crimea in 2014—a time when “Russkyi mir, the violence and blood and criminality and corruption,” threatened Ukrainian’s language, culture, and tradition. The stars of this story are Sofiya, Ilya, Cedric, Anna, and Petro, twelve-year-old classmates who have to decide whether they will work together as well as determine the degree to which nationalism plays a role in identity. Additional characters serve as significant support staff inRead More →

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With his book Wolves at the Door, Steve Watkins writes a horrific reminder of the effects of war. Painting with historical accuracy, he captures the lives of eleven-year-old Asta, her nine-year-old sister Pieta, and their eventual ten-year-old friend Gerhard. The three are thrust in the midst of the last days of World War II, in the harsh winter of 1944-45 when more than two million people desperately fled the northeastern German province of East Prussia, just weeks ahead of the Soviet Red Army invasion. The trio of youth are traumatized by the Königsberg bombing and fearful of more planes and more bombs. Although Asta typicallyRead More →

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Although Ruth Behar’s historical fiction novel for middle grade readers is titled Across So Many Seas, the author could just as easily have named it Across So Many Generations. Set in four locations over multiple centuries and following the lives of four twelve-year-old girls, Across So Many Seas tells the story of the Jewish expulsion from Spain in 1492. The first segment is told from Benvenida’s viewpoint and captures a time when the high arts, such as reading, writing poetry, and singing sacred prayers in the synagogue were left to men. Still, Benvenida seeks freedom and autonomy. Her mother encourages her to “always live theRead More →

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Gale Galligan’s graphic novel for tween readers, Fresh Start shares the story of siblings Ollie and Cat Herrison. Because the sisters are the mixed race children of a father who works internationally, they move frequently. Ollie has always seen this move in a positive light since she can start over in a new place without carrying the baggage of embarrassing moments. However, once she enrolls at Chestnut Falls Middle School in Virginia and begins to make new friends, she isn’t sure. Besides communicating key themes about social development, friendship, and the tumultuous years of early adolescence, Galligan coveys the importance of cultural connection. Being Thai,Read More →

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Tracey Baptiste’s recent novel, Boy 2.0 will likely appeal to readers who love science, who express themselves through art, or who themselves struggle with identity issues. By using allusions to artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Eduardo Kobra, and Banksy and through discussions about art and the political statements it makes, Baptiste captures the reader’s interest and develops her main character Win Keegan, aka Coal. Thirteen and an artist, Coal keeps his eyes open for canvases, selecting vacant lots or other spaces to raise awareness. Coal is also a foster child who wonders what happened to his most recent guardian, Tom. A psychotic break marks Tom asRead More →

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Because of her mom’s spirit of adventure, Molly Teng has moved eight times in her 13 years of life. Now, she just wants normalcy, consistency, and a place to call home. By the time her mom, Dot, drags her to Buckeye Creek, Texas, Molly has reached the end of her rope. Bell Harbor, Maine, just had a more comfortable vibe; it was a place where life was peaceful and simple. Now, she’s in a new place, forced to make new friends, and trying to avoid “the zaps.” For Dot Teng, everything is an opportunity, but for Molly, “everything is something to be navigated” (23). WhenRead More →

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With allusions to people like Mary Bethune, Claude McKay, Langston Hughes, Jessie Redmon Fauset, James Weldon Johnson, and Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Kwame Alexander commemorates Black History with his latest book: Black Star. But this novel in verse for middle grade readers goes beyond that preservation to tell the story of Charlene (aka Charley) Cuffey. The only thing Charley enjoys more than listening to her Nana Kofi tell stories about courageous ancestors and epic journeys is playing baseball with Willie Green and Henry Jones. With Grandpa’s inspiration, it’s impossible for Charley not to dream big. Charley’s mother, on the other hand, admonishes her asthmatic daughter for “getting allRead More →