So if you like middle grade fiction, there are so many new books coming out this fall. Two of my favorite authors have new books, YAY!! And they are both wonderful (the authors AND their new books).
The first one is by Holly Goldberg Sloan, who wrote Counting by 7s, which is still on my top ten favorite books of all time. She's written several others as well, including this new one, which is called "Finding Lost". It's about Cordy, a middle schooler, who lives with her mom and her perpetually cheerful younger brother, Geno in coastal Oregon. They are living in a small caretaker's house on the edge of a bigger property, for which her mother acts as a caretaker. The owners are rarely there, which makes living in the caretaker's house seem all the more miserable. The caretaker's house is a former boatshed and has a leaky roof, poor insulation and poor internet access. They live there because since Cordy's dad died in a boating accident, money has been tight. Cordy's best friend is also a lot busier than usual-she's training to be a swimmer and hopes to go to the Olympics one day, and Geno spends a lot of time with his best friend, so Cordy is often left by herself. One day when she's out walking, she finds a little dog and takes him home. The dog, who they call Lost, isn't claimed by anyone but ends up helping Cordy find new interests and new friends. It's a really great story with big themes of family, grief, the evolution of relationships, healing, and finding your way through hard things. I think the kids are going to love this one, I know I did.
The second one is by Dan Gemeinhart and I've been a big fan of his for a while. His new one is called "Busted" and get ready for a wild ride. It's about Oscar, who lives with his grandfather in a retirement home called Sunny Days. Oscar has lived there all his life and there are positives and negatives to that. On the positive side, he's surrounded by old people who adore him so it's like having 40 grandparents all at the same time. On the downside, there are a lot of funerals. But Oscar takes it in stride and works hard to be helpful and kind to everyone. The book opens with the funeral of Mr. Howell, the owner of Sunny Days. Oscar is introduced to Mr. Howell's granddaughter, Natasha, who comes to the funeral wearing a dress covered with sunflowers, ripped jeans and a lot of gum. It turns out that Mr. Howell's son, Natasha's dad, is taking over the Sunny Days and his speciality is turning small failing businesses into successful ones. Natasha is brash and exuberant to Oscar's calm and thoughtful demeanor. One of Mr. Howell's first changes is to raise the rent, which had not been raised in quite some time but the increase in rent, for Oscar and his grandfather, means that they are going to be priced out of their apartment. Oscar wants to help and proposes ideas that are either unfeasible or not lucrative enough. Oscar is on his way to take out the trash when he is approached by one of the newer residents, Jimmy Deluca. Oscar has been warned to steer clear of Mr. Deluca, but Mr. Delcua offers Oscar a solution to the rent problem. Oscar just has to help Mr. Deluca leave Sunny Days. It turns out that Mr. Deluca is a monitored resident, which means he wears a bracelet to make sure he doesn't leave, so Oscar's first task is to get past the security guard and find the tool to remove the bracelet. Oscar thinks that's the whole task but it turns out that Mr. Deluca has a lot more than that in mind. It also turns out that Natasha finds a way to join this band of merry men. There are some gigantic plot twists, ravioli, an epic poker game, karaoke, Cuban cigars, and stolen cars. There are themes of choices and forgiveness, how hard it is to forgive yourself, found family, and classic cars and music. This is such a fun story to read and the characters are interesting people that I wanted to be friends with. I can't wait to put this one in kids' hands.
Comments
Post a Comment