So I guess I'm a little behind on updating the blog... since it's been since APRIL that I posted last. Sheesh, it's not even like I have work to blame it on anymore. But ok, here are two amazing new middle grade realistic fiction books.
The first one is by a favorite author, Jeanne Birdsall. If you don't know, she wrote a series of books about a family called the Penderwicks, that was just wonderful. Her newest book is called "The Library of Unruly Treasures" and it's also just a treasure. Birdsall has a real gift for writing characters that are interesting and kind and smart, people that I'd like to be friends with and this book is exactly that, except this one also has magical creatures. It's about Gwen, who's lived a life of upheaval, her parents are divorced and neither of them really seems to want a girl like Gwen around, so one summer, she ends up going to stay with her great uncle Matthew who she doesn't really remember and doesn't have very high hopes for. But Uncle Matthew is delighted to have a guest, especially one who looks almost exactly like his own daughter, Nora, who is in England, studying. Like any sensible girl, Gwen goes to the local library and finds it be wonderful-it was actually built by a distant relative (who kind of looks like Gwen too) and it turns out, it has magical creatures called Lahdukan living there. With the help of Uncle Matthew's dog Pumpkin and Julia, the girl next door, Gwen is able to conquer some of her deepest fears and help the Lahdukan in many ways. This is a lovely adventure story, with exciting plot twists, terrific dialogue, interesting characters, and lovely solutions to the problems. I loved this story and if you like a nice book that isn't scary and has wonderful, interesting characters, you're going to love this one too.
The second one is a much harder reader, not harder because of the vocabulary, harder because of the content. It's called "The Freedom Seeker" and it's written by Ruchira Gupta. It's about Simi, who lives with her parents in a small village in India. Her grandparents live close by on a farm, where her dad works. Her mom is a nurse and Simi is good student and great field hockey player. She's so good, she's been asked to be the captain of her team. Except that things are getting strange in her village. She's always know that her parents married for love and that her mom is a Hindu and her dad is a Muslim, but they follow mostly Hindu traditions (except for some beef kabobs sometimes), but one day, some of the boys on the team start making fun of her for being Muslim and telling her she should go back to Pakistan. Things escalate, and suddenly, her home and village don't really seem that safe anymore, even if she tries to solve things peacefully. After a terrible beating, her father decides to emigrate to the US. It's not easy-he can't go directly there, he has to go and cross the border from Mexico. He finds a job and tells Simi and her mom to come and join him. But things have changed in the time since he left and the way that he came is no longer available. Simi and her mom have to cross the desert on foot instead. This is sometimes a difficult story to read-the hardships that are described are echoed in the news reports we see. The systems that Simi passes through are all too easy to believe and her strength of character serves her well. This book has big themes of family and loyalty but also to bullying and nationalism and how people can choose to look at immigration as a scary problem or a kind solution. I thought this was a wonderful story and I hope lots of kids get a chance to read it.
Usually this time of year, I'm knee deep in middle grade speculative fiction as part of the CYBILS award list, which is super fun. But this year, they are taking a break (sad face emoji) but I'm still finding some fun things to read, it's just not the overwhelming glut I'm accustomed to, with stacks of books on hold for me at my local library and the stacks of books on my coffee table giving me the stink eye every time I sit down. Luckily, here are two amazing ones that just came out. The first one is in a category I like to call "not exactly speculative fiction". There are no ghosts or magical creatures in these books, but the kids face obstacles that I hope are not realistic. This one is called "The Free State of Jax". It's written by Jennifer Nielsen, an author whose work I admire greatly. Jax is a kid who has lived with his grandmother since he was a little boy. But his grandmother developed Alzheimer's disease and he was sent to ...
I have SOOO many books to read. My TBR pile is tragically large. Thank goodness I'm retired so I can devote my time to reading! Here are two of my newest favorites. The first one is a science fiction tale by Rebecca Stead called "The Experiment". Nathan is a pretty regular sixth grader with a best friend named Victor, except for one teensy little thing-Nathan and his parents come from another planet. For the most part, Nathan's life is like everyone else's-but there are a few eccentricities like how his mom weighs all of his food (and subtracts the things he doesn't eat), she keeps a log book with data about their life, they have Zoom meetings with other alien families and their kids, and then there's the pink toothpaste that Nathan has to brush with 5 times a day. But some weird things have been happening. Some of the kids have disappeared from the Zoom meeting without an explanation and now Nathan is growing a tail. A furry, orange...
Sooooo many new middle grade fiction titles are coming out this fall. Check out these two new ones. The first one actually came out in May but Netgalley was kind enough to keep it on the shelf until a few weeks ago. It's called "The Curiosities" by W. H. Eatons, which is actually three people- Mark Wheaton and his two kids, Rowan and Wyatt. It's about two kids, Marlow and Zack, who just moved to a new small town with their mom, an exogeologist (a scientist who studies rocks from other planets) who works at the Rocket Propulsion Lab. It's also about the cats who live in the neighborhood, who are talkative, friendly, and capable of a great many things. The problem begins with a hum that a creature notices. The creature is unidentified until quite late in the book but is referred to occasionally. The hum seems to be disrupting insects and birds and eventually the people of the town. When the middle school science teacher, Ms. Layla, dis...
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