More middle grade magic!
Still reading for the CYBILS award, but coming down the end of the pile. Today I found this really great one lurking! It's called "If you meet the Devil, Don't Shake Hands" by Sylvia Whitman. I'd never read anything by Whitman before, so this one was a very pleasant surprise. The narrator is Gavin, a worrier who is in middle school. His best friend, Javi, is an excellent support system because Gavin's dad has been deployed in the military and Gavin's worrying has really ramped up. He has a big (annoying) sister and his mom, but Javi is his closest ally. Javi lives upstairs from Gavin and they are in and out of each other's homes all the time. But when Javi's mom sends Javi a text that the Devil has returned, Javi's grandfather, who left when Javi's mom was a little girl. A magician and card sharp and general rogue. Gavin goes with Javi to his apartment as support for him. But the man sitting at the table doesn't seem that...