It’s Cybils time around here at chez Book Nut, which means this is the Middle Grade edition of the Jacket Flap-a-thon. I haven’t forgotten about the drawing for the $25 gift card… you have until midnight (U. S. Central Standard Time) to enter. I’ll pick a winner tomorrow. Follow the link to enter.

And without further blathering, the best this month:

Born to Fly (Delacorte Press): “Ever since she can remember, Bird has loved dreamed of one thing: becoming a P-40 fighter pilot. The fact that she’s a girl has never seemed to matter. At least, not until the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor forces America into war and takes Bird’s dad, the one person who believes in her, far away. When a Japanese American boy named Kenji comes to school, everyone is sure he’s a spy or a traitor. But one night, after he saves her from drowning, Kenji and Bird accidentally discover a real spy in their town, one who’s plotting something deadly. No one believes their story, so Bird and her new friend are forced to try to stop the plot on their own. Their adventure will shake their town, test their friendship, and, if they fail, change the future o the war — and the world. This accomplished debut by Michael Ferrari, the winner of the Delacorte Yearling Price for a First Middle-Grade Novel, has everything: adventure, humor, a satisfying and nuanced portrayal of friendship, and a remarkable heroine who was born to fly.”

This one caught my eye because it makes the book sound adventurous and exciting. Good thing the book really is.

Anything But Typical (Simon and Schuster): “Jason Blake is an autistic 12 year old living in a neurotypical world. Most days it’s just a matter of time before something goes wrong. But Jason finds a glimmer of understanding when he comes across Phoenixbird, who posts stories to the same online site as he does. Jason can be himself when he writes, and he thinks that PhoenixBird — her name is Rebecca — could be his first real friend. But as desperate as Jason is to meet her, he’s terrified that if they do meet, Rebecca will only see his autism and not who Jason really is. By acclaimed writer Nora Raleigh Baskin, this is the breathtaking depiction of an autistic boy’s struggles — and a story anyone who has ever worried about fitting in.”

The best part about this jacket flap copy was that every sentence was written in a different font style and size. It’s disjointed and confusing, and I think works brilliantly, drawing the reader into this unique book.

The Brooklyn Nine (Dial Books): “1845: Felix Schneider, a 10-year-old immigrant from Germany, cheers the New York Knickerbockers as they play Three-Out, All-Out. 1864: Union soldier Louis Schneider plays baseball between battles in the Civil War. 1893: Arnold Schneider meets his hero King Kelly, one of professional baseball’s first big stars. 1908: Walter Snider, batboy for the Brooklyn Superbas, tries to sneak a black pitcher into the Majors by pretending he’s Native American. 1926: Numbers wiz Frankie Snider cons a con with the help of a fellow Brooklyn Robins fan. 1945: Kat Flint becomes a star for the Grand Rapids Chicks in the All-American Girls Baseball League. 1957: Ten-year-old Jimmy Flint thinks bullies and Sputnik are enough to worry about-until the Dodgers announce they’re leaving Brooklyn. 1981: Michael Flint finds himself pitching a perfect game during the Little League season at Prospect Park. 2002: Snider Flint tracks down the strange story of a bat that belonged to one of Brooklyn’s greatest baseball players. One family, nine generations. One city, nine innings of baseball.”

This one was difficult to write up, being a series of short stories. But I think the copy did an admirable job linking it all together. I especially like the two ending sentences.

Love, Aubrey (Wendy Lamb Books): “I had everything I needed to run a household: a house, food, and a new family. From now on it would just be me and Sammy–the two of us, and no one else. A tragic accident has turned eleven-year-old Aubrey’s world upside down. Starting a new life all alone, Aubrey has everything she thinks she needs: Spaghetti Os and Sammy, her new pet fish. She cannot talk about what happened to her. Writing letters is the only thing that feels right to Aubrey, even if no one ever reads them. With the aid of her loving grandmother and new friends, Aubrey learns that she is not alone, and gradually, she finds the words to express feelings that once seemed impossible to describe. The healing powers of friendship, love, and memory help Aubrey take her first steps toward the future. Readers will care for Aubrey from page one and will watch her grow until the very end, when she has to make one of the biggest decisions of her life. Love, Aubreyis devastating, brave, honest, funny, and hopeful, and it introduces a remarkable new writer, Suzanne LaFleur. No matter how old you are, this book is not to be missed.”

There was a toss up between this one, Wild Things and Also Known as Harper. This one won, I think, not only because it was short, but also because it caught just the right tone for the book.

Other books read this month:
Joey Fly, Private Eye in Creepy Crawly Crime
Al Capone Does My Shirts
Neil Armstrong is My Uncle
Strawberry Hill
Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies
A Season of Gifts
Oracle Bones
Also Known as Harper
Wild Things
Fifth Business
Black Angels
Cotillion
The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had