Middle Grade

Eagle Drums

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by Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson
First sentence: “Sweat trickled down his back.”
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Content: There are some intense moments and talk of death. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore, but I’d give it to the older end of the age range. I read this book for the Cybils, and this is a reflection of my opinion and not that of the whole panel.

Pina (that “n” isn’t right, but I don’t know how to make the letter on my keyboard) is the son of Iñupiaq people, who live by themselves and work hard to survive each year. His two older brothers went missing, presumed dead, a couple of years ago, and so his parents are loathe to let him leave. And yet, they need obsidian for their spears and knives. So, they send Pina to the mountains. There he meets Savik – one of the Eagle Gods – who tells him: come with me and learn what we have to teach you, or die. So, Pina makes the only choice he can (the one his brothers didn’t make): he goes with Savik. He lives in the mountains, and learns singing, dancing, storytelling, and how to build a gathering place. All because the Eagles want to be remembered, and want their people to gather together.

This is based on a folk legend of how the Iñupiaq Messenger Feast (which is still held) began. It reads like an extended folk tale: often the prose calls the main character “the boy” and while the tasks he is given aren’t impossible, they are daunting and he has to Overcome them to return home. I liked the book, but I am not sure it’s meant for children. Sometimes that happens when a main character is a child’s age, the publisher thinks it’s for kids. But I can’t imagine a 10- or 12-year-old sitting down to this one and actually enjoying it. It lacks action, it lacks conflict (except for the main conflict of getting Pina back to his parents), it lacks humor. That’s not to say it isn’t worthwhile: it is, very much so. I just am not sure it’s a kids’ book.

The Greatest Kid in the World

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by John David Anderson
First sentence: “Zeke’s letter informing him that he might be the greatest kid in the world came while his brother was baking in the driveway.”
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Content: There are a ton of pranks and less-than-stellar behavior, which may or may not give some kids ideas. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.
I read this book for the Cybils, and this is a reflection of my opinion and not that of the whole panel.

Zeke is one of those kids. You know the ones: they’re smart, but almost too smart for their own good. (He tried to lead a revolution in his fifth-grade class, convincing everyone to go commando, until the teacher stopped him.) So when he got a letter saying he’s been chosen as a finalist in the “world’s greatest kid” competition, he thinks it’s a prank. Seriously: his single mom works hard to barely make ends meet, his older sister who is supposed to be watching Zeke and his younger brother doesn’t care… they’re the picture of a dysfuntional family. 

But they agree to do this competition, and over the days that Zeke is being filmed, he makes some realizations. Like maybe he really likes his family, after all. And maybe expectations for what is “great” aren’t necessarily what people thing they are. 

Oh this one was delighful. The family felt so real, from the struggles of the mom trying to make ends meet, to the exsperation of the older sister, to Zeke just trying to entertain himself for the summer. I also thought the whole competition, while silly and unreal, was handled really well. I think Anderson is exploring what it means to be “great” and the ways in which small things can be great as well. I love the way Zeke develops a relationship with his camaraman, and the way he is with his younger brother. Oh, and the ending made me ugly cry in the best way. 

I really loved this one.

The Gray

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by Chris Baron
First sentence: “All my plans for the summer are ruined.”
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Content: There is bullying, and an inference of sexual assault, as well as descriptions of anxiety. I read this book for the Cybils, and this is a reflection of my opinion and not that of the whole panel.

Sasha has a problem with anxiety. He gets what he calls “the gray” and disassociates. In one of these moments, when he was being bullied, he hit an ex-friend with a book and injured him. As a result, his parents decide to send him to stay with his Aunt Ruthie in the country. He doesn’t want to – there will be no friends, no video games, no Wi-Fi, and hardly any cell service. He figures that it won’t do him any good. But, once he gets there, he finds that there are friends and bullies, just like back home. There is his connection with Aunt Ruthie, who is still grieving over the death of her husband. While his anxiety isn’t cured, Sasha finds a way to handle his anxiety, and that maybe the country isn’t terrible.

I liked this book well enough. I liked the way Baron described someone having a panic attack, and the way anxiety was portrayed. I didn’t care for the bullies, though I thought Sasha did his best to handle them. I liked that nature was a healing place. But I didn’t love it. There was nothing in particular, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Not a bad portrayal of anxiety, and I’m sure it will help kids recognize and be able to deal with it.

You are Here: Connecting Flights

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edited by Ellen Oh
First sentence: “With a line this long, you’d think we were waiting to get into Disney World, or Six Flags, or something cool.”
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Content: There are instances of racism, and some instances of bullying. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.
This book is read for the Cybils and reflects my opinion and not the opinion of the panel as a whole.

In this collection of connected short stories, the authors follow a series of Asian American kids in an airport as everyone is delayed due to a rainstorm. There are a myriad of experiences – from being held up in the security line to experiencing racism from security guards to just figuring out family dynamics – and they all take place within the airport.

I usually am not a fan of short stories, but I liked this collection. I liked the different experiences of each of the kids and their families. I liked how the stories interconnected, so it felt like a more cohesive whole than many short story collections. And I liked that they were all immediate, everything taking place in one location over a short period.

A good book.

Hazel Hill is Gonna Win This One

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by Maggie Horne
First sentence: “I’ve been told that it’s impossible to know everything, but I think I’ve found a loophole.”
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Content: This talks about sexual harassment and bullying, and has adults who don’t listen to/believe children. That might be triggering for some. It’s in the Middle-Grade section (grades 3-5) of the bookstore but might be more appropriate for the older end.

The only thing Hazel Hill has looked forward to the whole of her seventh-grade year was the speech competition. She lost out in sixth grade to Ella Quinn, but this year Hazel knows she will win. However, she is thrown off her objective one day when Tyler – a dude in her homeroom class – tells her that Ella Quinn, whom he has just broken up with (again), told him that she had a crush on Hazel. Which sends Hazel into a panic: she hasn’t told anyone she was gay! Is this real? What’s going on with Ella?

The answer is that Tyler has been sexually harassing Ella, and she’s trying to deal with it. As Hazel becomes friends with Ella (and her best friend Riley), she decides that Something Needs to Be Done about Tyler. The problem is that no adults are listening to or believing them.

It’s a bit more complex than that, and it has more to do with Hazel learning to have friends again, but that’s the gist. A boy is making girls’ lives difficult and adults don’t believe the girls, because they’re “just kids.”

I really loved this one. I’m always here for books about fierce girls, and this one is a good one. I liked the tone that the book took, and the focus on Hazel learning to be a friend helps ease the hardness of the subject matter. I loved Hazel’s relationship with her parents, as well as her acceptance of her own sexuality (even if she’s not ready to be out, yet). There are funny bits and happy bits, and it’s just an affirming book. Such a good read.

Moning Sun in Wuhan

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by Ying Chang Compestine
First sentence: “It feels as though hours have passed since the waitress took my order.”
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Content: There is talk of the COVID pandemic and the death of a parent. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) of the bookstore.

Twelve-year-old Mei and her father are just surviving since her mother died a year ago. They go to work and school, and even though Mei likes to cook, she doesn’t really find any joy in it. Then, in January of 2020, a strange new disease crops up in their town in Wuhan. Suddenly Mei is cut off from her dad and friends. So, she figures out how to put her talent for cooking and organizing to help her neighborhood out in the early days of the lockdown.

So, I wanted to like this one. I appreciate that stories are starting to be told about the pandemic and I appreciate it being told from the perspective of the place where COVID started. But this one was just kind of… blah. It lacked any real conflict, and even the anxiety surrounding those first days of the pandemic. I get that it’s for younger kids, but it just wasn’t great.

That said, it’s good that it’s out there.

Lasagna Means I Love You

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by Kate O’Shaughnessy
First sentence: “Dear Nan, You died on a Tuesday.”
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Content: There is talk of death and dying, and the main character is processing grief. it’s in the middle grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

Mo has lived with her grandma, Nan, all her life. And since Mo’s mom passed when she was six, Nan has been her guardian and basically only family. So, when Nan suddenly dies, Mo is a bit unmoored. Even more so when her mom’s brother, Billy, refuses to take Mo in, and she ends up in the foster care system. Nan’s last advice to Mo was to get a hobby. By chance, Mo stumbles across a cookbook full of family recipes, which gives her an idea: she’s going to collect family recipes, learn to cook them, and hopefully find a family recipe (and a family) of her own.

I appreciate that this book is aware of its privilege: Mo is a white kid and gets taken into a pretty well-off white home. She does recognize that this gives her privileges she might not have had otherwise (or that her friends from her old neighborhood in Brooklyn don’t have). But, at its heart, it’s a story of found family. And that’s always heart-warming. I thought O’Shaughnessy was good at portraying grief in both a way that seemed accessible as well as believable. And I liked the characters that surrounded Mo. Sure, a kid opening a one-night-only flash restaurant on New Year’s Eve is probably pretty unrealistic, but hey: I liked the thought and the spirit and the community that it built. A solid read.

Audiobook: Barely Floating

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by Lilliam Rivera
Read by Victoria Villarreal
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Or listen at Libro.fm
Release date: August 29, 2023
Content: There are a couple of mild swear words. It will be in the Middle-Grade section of the bookstore.

Nat has been out-swimming kids at her neighborhood pool for ages. She uses the money to go with her friend to the Anime Con. But one day, she catches a performance of the synchronized swimming team the L.A. Mermaids and she’s hooked. The problem? Her activist parents think synchronized swimming is too white and too focused on appearance for Nat to participate in. The solution? Lie to her parents, get her older cousin involved, and use her money to join the team anyway.

This is going to end badly. (Mild spoiler, there, but you see it coming).

On the one hand: this was so full of representation! There’s a not-skinny Latinx girl at the center of it, someone who is strong and fierce and not the person you think of when you think of synchronized swimming. There’s a boy on the team! It’s made up of not-super-rich kids! And, yet I was super anxious the whole way through because Nat was making some Choices. I get the choices – she felt like she couldn’t do anything else because her parents, who said they were open-minded, didn’t want to listen to her. But ALSO, from a parent’s perspective: AAAAAAHHHHH really!? How did she not get caught sooner?? How clueless are you?! So, mixed feelings to say the least. I did love Villarreal’s narration, though. She was a delight to listen to and brought all the characters to life. Will kids like this? Maybe? I love that the main character is a non-white girl who doesn’t fit the usual swimming stereotype. And maybe kids will like all the subterfuge she goes through to get what she wants.

I hope it finds its audience if only so we get more books like this.

Simon Sort of Says

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by Erin Bow
First sentence: “People are always asking why my family came to the National Quiet Zone.”
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Content: There is mention of school shootings, trauma, and anxiety. It’s in the Middle-Grades section (grades 3-5) of the bookstore.

Simon O’Keeffe – the son of a Catholic deacon and an undertaker – has told a lot of stories about why his family moved to the National Quiet Zone, but none of them the real one: he’s the only survivor of a school shooting in Omaha, and his family needed to get away from everything. This is possible in a town where most electronics have been banned so that scientists can hear possible messages from space. This is only important because one of Simon’s new friends – Agate – wants to fake a message from aliens, so that the mom of another friend – Kevin – will feel a sense of accomplishment. That’s the idea, anyway. What this book is really about is the process of healing from trauma and coming to accept what has happened.

Oh this book was a delight. Funny – it genuinely made me laugh in spots – irreverant (Jesus Squirrel!), but heartfelt and hopeful. Yes, Bow deals with difficult subjects, but she does so in a way that is age-appropriate. I’m not entirely sure that Kevin’s helicopter scientist white mom and laid-back Filipino dad weren’t stereotypes, which is a downside. And the book was very white – it is a small town in Nebraska, but still. Otherwise, though, it’s a delight of a book to read.

Race for the Ruby Turtle

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by Stephen Bramucci
First sentence: “If there was one thing Jake Rizzi didn’t want to do on the last Saturday morning of the summer, it was pack a bag for the rainiest town in the whole state of Oregon.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Review copy provided by the author.
Release date: October 3, 2023
Content: There are some intense moments because adults are being terrible. It will be in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

Jake has recently been diagnosed with ADHD, and after an incident at the craft fair (let’s just say there was damage done), he’s being carted off to his Great-Aunt Hettle’s place. Once he gets there, he discovers a mystery involving a possibly mythic Ruby red-backed turtle, which coincides with a local festival. Hettle’s being cagey about everything, but Jake suspects there’s more to this story. So, can he and his new friend Mia figure it out before the adults do?

This was a lot of fun! Bramucci mixed a kid learning to deal with ADHD (but less of the “he’s a problem, let’s fix it” angle!) and a good mystery/environmental story. I liked that Jake was an animal lover and that his great-aunt Hettle got out of the way and let Jake be Jake. Sure, he makes mistakes – and has an epic fight with his new friend Mia – but he learns and grows, and yes, the two kids were able to outsmart the grown-ups.

It’s a fun book, one that embraces the importance of being kind and protecting the environment. You can’t ask for anything better than that.