Mysteries from the CYBILS list! Middle grade fiction

 So my colleagues and I are busily reading the books on our CYBILS list.  It's a little daunting at this point-there are 107 books on our list (that's the usual thing) and they all have to read by at least 2 people by the end of December.  Trying to get everyone copies of each book is a completely different issue, one luckily I don't have to deal with!  That's the job of the amazing Sheila Ruth. 

Anyway, I've had a little extra time on my hands this week - I managed to catch some icky bug from one of those rotten PreK kids (who sat on my lap for an hour weeping copiously).  So I've put my time to good use.  Here are two of my new favorites and these are both mysteries!

Maizy Chen's Last Chance by Lisa Yee is such a wonderful, heartfelt story.  It's about Maizy, who lives in Los Angeles with her mom, a food stylist.  They have driven across country to Last Chance, Minnesota to come and spend time with her grandparents.  Her grandfather is very sick and they are hoping that he will get better with some extra attention.  Her grandparents run a Chinese restaurant in town that has been there for over 100 years.  Her mom and her grandparents have very different ideas about a lot of things and so there hasn't been a lot of visiting back and forth during Maizy's life.  Maizy's grandfather starts teaching her poker and when he gives her a lesson on tells, she starts applying this to lots of different things in her new life.  She is surprised how racist some of the people in Last Chance are-in LA, she'd never really noticed it but her best friend in LA sets her straight on that.  Her grandfather starts telling her about how his great grandfather came over from China and how that racism is really nothing new.  One day, the restaurant's mascot, a wooden bear named Bud disappears but a ransom note is left with racist comments.  Maizy sets out to find out what happened to Bud but also, what happened to her grandpa's best friend, Werner, who has a butcher shop in town and makes really amazing bratwurst, and what happened to the young men who's pictures are on the wall of the restaurant and why her grandmother is so angry at her mother and how did it happen that her family ended up in Last Chance, Minnesota.  I really liked this story.  Maizy is a wonderful, complex character and family is amazing.  This was a fun story to read and I know my students are going to love it.  I'm apparently not the only one who loved it, it's a National Book Award finalist!

And here is the wonderful Lisa Yee reading the first chapter!

The second one is called Drew LeClair Gets a Clue and it's written by Katryn Bury.  It's about Drew who struggles with asthma as well as making friends and social interactions.  In the opening chapter, Drew's mom is leaving the family to go and live with her new boyfriend and Drew sees this as a complete betrayal.  Luckily, Drew has an awesome, supportive dad who runs a bakery and pastry shop (LeClairs Eclairs).  She also has a best friend named Shrey who is struggling with Drew and their relationship.  Shrey tried to kiss Drew and wonders if the reason that she didn't like it is because she's gay.  Drew isn't so sure about that either but the thing that is the real mystery to both of them is Ella Baker Shade, a new online thread that shows negative things about different kids at the Ella Baker Middle School-cyberbullying to the highest degree.  Drew is very much into true crime (blame her dad) and psychological profiling, so she puts her skills to work.  Shrey and Drew are joined by Trissa, another bullying victim and they start narrowing down the list of suspects.  But when Drew profiles both Shrey and Trissa, she's sure that she's ruined their friendship forever.  This is a wonderful mystery with interesting, relatable characters and adults that feel like real people (it's surprising with middle grade stories how many of the adults feel cartoonish even with the kids are fairly realistic).  I think the kids are going to love this one too.