The Book Search

I've been diving back into middle grade fiction after a bit of respite.  I found several on Netgalley that have been languishing in my To Be Read pile so it's great to be able to dig up a few gems!  Here's what I've been reading! The first one is called "Behind the Canvas" by Alexander Vance.  It's his second book (although I didn't read the first) and I really love his voice.  This story is about a girl named Claudia who feels like she doesn't fit in.  She really likes art and all her classmates think she's weird.  The weirdness comes to the forefront when her class is on a trip to the Florence Museum of Arts and Culture and she notices a boy with vivid blue eyes in one of the paintings.  Except no one else can see him.  She sets forth on a quest to free the boy from an evil sorceress and ends up walking through some of the most famous paintings in the world.  It's a super fun and thrilling adventure but what I really liked were the foot...

This week I've been trying to finish up reading the new Sunshine State Young reader books.  This first one I liked a lot. It's called "Freaky Fast Frankie Joe" by Lutricia Clifton.  Frankie Joe lives in a trailer park and has lots of friends, all of whom are retirees.  Frankie Joe's mom has made some questionable choices and suddenly, Frankie Joe's dad is there to pick him up and take him to his house.  As they are driving, Frankie Joe finds out that his dad has remarried (actually, he never married Frankie Joe's mom) and has four sons there.  Frankie Joe finds that some things are better at his dad's house (Lizzie, Frankie Joe's stepmom is a great cook), most of the people are very nice and are willing to pay for Frankie Joe's speedy bicycle skills.  But some are not so great, including his oldest half brother.  Frankie Joe makes an elaborate plan to run away to get back to his mom.  But things change and so does Frankie Joe.  It would be gr...