More new middle grade speculative fiction for CYBILS!

Reading for the CYBILS is SO much fun!  It can feel a little overwhelming sometimes, but I always find books that I never would have read, if it weren't for the list!  Including these two gems.

I'm a big fan of novelty and by that I mean plots or characters that are really different from anything I've read before and both of these books fit that bill!  The first one is called Poppy and Marigold and it's written by Meg Dendler.  She's written a number of books but this is the first one of hers I've read.  Her website is here if you want to check it out.  It's about a girl named Poppy, who lives in a dystopian world, where people are segregated by the color of their skin.  Poppy's skin is blue and the Blue Society is steeped in technology and rule following.  There are 50 rules that all Blue citizens must follow and they repeat them every day at school.  There are also hard consequences for rule breaking but Poppy is a good student and an obedient daughter.  Grandmother, however, often does things a bit oddly-for example. Gran likes to cook and bake instead of having her food manufactured at home.  One day, Poppy decides to go out picking berries so she and Gran can do some baking and is frightened by bear.  Poppy is so afraid, she runs blindly and when she finally stops running, she realizes she has no idea where she is or how to get AND she has accidentally crossed over into Orange territory, which is punishable by death.  She meets a girl who is Orange and it turns out she's really kind.  Her name is Marigold and she takes Poppy to her home.  Poppy is welcomed there as an honored guest and she's surprised to find that Orange people are smart and giving and hard working, which is really different from the things that she's learned in school and heard from people in her own Blue community.  Marigold helps Poppy sneak back, with a promise that they won't tell anyone.  Poppy goes back to school but feels changed and starts wondering if maybe her teachers and parents have things wrong.  A war breaks out and Blue is invaded by Red, the aggressive group of people and both Poppy's parents leave to do help with the war effort.  Poppy's grandmother comes to stay with her and they believe they will be safe, but Poppy worries about Marigold and her family.  Poppy goes to tell her and is surprised that they already know about the invasion.  When Poppy's  is overrun by Red soldiers and it doesn't feel as safe to be at home, Poppy tells her grandmother about Marigold and they decide the best thing to do would be to go there.  This is an exciting story to read but it also has some really big ideas about racism and prejudice and people thinking that they can only be one thing or another thing, but not a combination of things.  I think this could be a really great read with middle graders.  

The second one has such great characters!  It's called The Curse of the Deadman's Diamond.  It's written by Christyne Morrell.  I hadn't read any of her work before either, but I'm definitely going to look for more of them, because I thought this one was terrific.  This is a link to her website, if you're interested.    It's about Charlie who has grudgingly moved to Florida from New York City.  Her grandmother has died and Charlie misses her terribly.  Her dad has decided to make a big change in his life by moving to Florida because in NY, he was a bigh powered lawyer who worked all the time.  Charlie misses her friends and playing piano and the culture of NY.  The house they're moving into is an old house and hasn't been lived in for a long time.  The place is dirty and looks like things have been trashed. In addition to hating the big bugs and humidity of Florida, there's also a legend that their house is haunted and cursed.  Charlie finds this interesting and so does the girl she meets first, Sarah, who works at the local conveience store.  At the store, Charlie also meets some of the other neighborhood kids, who seem intent on bullying her.  Charlie is visited by the ghosts and the ghosts start to think that she might be someone who could free them.  The mystery unfolds in the most charming way and the characters develop in such a wonderful way.  There are themes of family and what you might do to protect your family, of regret and how some people believe that ghosts are helpful and how some really aren't, about communication between family members and how trying to protect people may actually be harmful.  I think kids are going to love this one because of the great main character ( the supporting characters are terrific too), the ghosts, and the mystery of it all.  Don't miss this one.