Kids can do it all, but it's ok to ask for help! Middle grade fiction 2022

 I've been a librarian now for 12 years and I was a classroom teacher for 20 years before that.  As the librarian, I've made an effort to read the latest books.  I've also been lucky enough to have the opportunity to read for two different book awards (which pushes you to read all the latest books) and it's really interesting to see some of the gigantic changes in children's literature over the last few years, in response to cultural changes.  One of the changes is the conversation about social issues and middle grade fiction is brilliant at opening those conversations.  Here are two (not brand new, but pretty new) books that you might want to read.

The first one is called Finding Junie Kim by Ellen Oh.  It's about Junie, a middle schooler, who is struggling with some big things.  The first is bullying.  The kids in her neighborhood and at her school bully her relentlessly.  They use Asian ethnic slurs and tropes to intimidate and anger her and it makes her feel terrible.  In the past her big brother offered some protection, but he's in high school this year.  Everyone around her tells her to just ignore the bullying.  On the first day of school, someone vandalizes the school gym with ethnic slurs directed at Asians, African-Americans, Hispanics, everyone and the school tries to take action but Junie's friends feel like it's not enough.  Her friends decide they want to do something more, but Junie feels that they should just continue to ignore it and it causes a big rift with her friends.  Second, isolated from her friends and feeling unable to talk to anyone in her family about the bullying, Junie falls into a deep depression and a big confrontation with the bully causes Junie to contemplate some terrible actions.  Luckily, Junie's family is able to find a good therapist to help get Junie talking about the things that are really bothering her and her teacher assigns a family history project that gets Junie talking to her grandparents about their lives in Korea during the war.  Her grandfather's story, in particular, deals with friendship and forgiveness, which leads Junie and her friends back to each other.  The kids embark on a project that they want to share with the whole school to talk about what bullying and racism is really like.  I loved this book because of the different points of view.  Junie's grandparents have very different views of the war (and in the author's notes, Ellen Oh explains that one of the stories is based on her own family stories) but each of them carry a weight of injustice and helplessness and courage that move the family and the story forward.  The kids in the book also share some of their views on racism (and the themes of injustice, helplessness, and courage run through these stories too) and how different groups of people deal with different kinds of racism, but it's still racism.  Junie's battle with mental health is a wonderful part of the storyline too-one that's been absent in children's literature for the most part, until the last year or two.  This would be a terrific read aloud for opening conversations about racism and cultural assumptions people make based on the way you look.  

Here's what Colby Sharp thought.

And here's the beautiful cover.

The second one I read last night (the joy of summer vacation! ).  It's on the Sunshine State Young Reader 3-5 award list for 2022-2023.  It's called Carry Me Home by Janet Fox.  This one is about Lulu who helps take care of her little sister, Serena since her mom died of cancer.  The family was left with debilitating medical bills and her dad was devastated by the loss.  He left the girls with a curmudgeonly aunt for a month and came up with a plan that included living in a Chevy Suburban while he worked to support them.  Things go off the rails when her dad disappears and Lulu is terrified that she and Serena will be separated and placed in foster care.  People of the community are kind and supportive and there is a happy ending.  I found this story really compelling-I really liked Lulu-her deep connection to her sister, her sorrow at losing her mom, her suspicion of strangers, her concern for her dad.  It brought up a lot of questions for me, like how realistic a portrayal of homeless is this?  Are there services in my community like the ones that are described in the book?  I'd like to hope that every community would be as kind and welcoming as the one in the book describes but the number of homeless people I see around my town make it seem like that's maybe not the case.  I really loved Lulu's determination to keep things going for herself and her sister.  But the characters who step forward to help out are also wonderful.  I think this one is an interesting addition to the SSYRA 3-5 list.  The topic of homelessness that revolves around  poverty based on medical bills is different from a book like Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate, which was also about homelessness based in poverty but their family poverty was unspecified.  My students like books about family crises and I found it impossible to put down, so it will be interesting if they find it as compelling as I did.  

Here's the author explaining how she got her idea for the book.

Here's the beautiful cover.