New realistic fiction for middle graders

 Do you think middle grade fiction can be escapist?  I'm starting to think that's what I find so appealing about middle grade fiction-going back to a time when the things that I worried about were my grades at school and who liked who.  But some of these middle grade books tackle big topics-domestic abuse, gender identity, and aging-and they still feel escapist to me.  Here are two you might like to escape into!

The first one is called "These Unlucky Stars" by Gillian McDunn.  McDunn wrote a lovely book last year called Caterpillar Summer that was terrific and this new one is also great.  It's about Annie, who feels invisible to her dad and her brother Ray.  They live in a very small town near the mountains of NC that are beautifully described.  Annie believes that all the negative things that happen to her are due to bad luck, because her mom used to blame things on bad luck.  But her mom left the family five years earlier.  Her brother is an optimist and when bad things happen to Annie (and they always seem to), Annie believes it's all because she's unlucky.  Until she does a dare.  A boy dares her to ding dong ditch an old lady, except the old lady has a big scary dog who barks madly, frightening Annie.  The lady falls and is injured (and Annie believes it is all her fault because of her bad luck).  Annie decides that she will try to make up for evil ways and volunteers to help the lady as she recuperates.  The old lady never married and has no children but she does have people who love her and wants what's best for her.  The lady's name is Gloria and she's pretty crusty at first but eventually, Annie gets to know her and care for her.  What's absolutely wonderful about this story is the rest of the characters.  The brother, who Annie believes is immune to bad luck and always happy, until he sets her straight about how he feels about their mother leaving.  There are also supportive, loving members of the community who are always willing to lend a hand to help each other.  I want to live in a town like hers!  This is a wonderful story to talk with kids about things that they are responsible for (their own behavior) and things that adults are responsible for (their own behavior) and how luck is sometimes an impression, not a definite thing.  I think the kids will recognize and enjoy the characters in this book a lot and I can't wait to put it in someone's hands.  

Here's the book trailer!

The second one is "All You Knead is Love" by Tanya Guerrero.  This one is set in Barcelona, which will be an exotic location for most of my students, but it's so beautifully described that it made me feel like I was right there.  We were lucky enough to visit Barcelona a few years ago.  We spent a night there and did some of the walking like the main character, Alba does.  I could almost feel the Spanish heat!  So I LOVED the setting of this one, but like "These Unlucky Stars", what really makes this one great are the characters.  Alba, the main character, is going to Barcelona to spend the summer with her grandmother whom she hasn't seen since she was a little girl.  Her mom didn't really give her a choice about going and Alba can't help but feel that she's being sent away because no one wants her, not her abusive, alcoholic father and not her completely perfect mother, and part of their disappointment in her is because of her appearance.  So Alba goes to Barcelona and finds a community she didn't know she was craving.  Her Filipino grandmother has a big circle of friends that take Alba in and encourage her to find her own space (including her haircut and clothing choices which have been a big source of tension in her family).  Most notably, Alba finds a way to express her own passions and pretty soon, she's helping others find their own way too.  This is a wonderful story about being true to yourself and finding your own voice even if you're not quite a grown yet.  This one is probably better for middle school and up but I loved being able to relive some my own memories of Barcelona and bakeries as well as the intensity of first loves and new friendships.  I can't wait to recommend this one!