Waiting on Wednesday: Finding Lost by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Image: Penguin Random House

Finding Lost by Holly Goldberg Sloan. 208 p. Rocky Pond Books/ Penguin Young Readers, October 7, 2025. 9780593530252.

I attended a fall publisher preview with Penguin Young Readers this afternoon and my tbr list grew. There is a lot to look forward to coming from PYR this fall! However, Ever since I read Counting by 7s, I absolutely adore Holly Goldberg Sloan, so this news stood out for me.

Publisher synopsis: A stray dog leads to major change for Cordy and her grieving family in this heartwarming new novel by the beloved author of Counting by 7s.

Cordy Jenkins is searching for something that will change her life, and for the safety that vanished when her father died. She is convinced that if she just tries hard enough, she will find part of what her family lost, and that it will stop her mom from wanting to leave the small town she and her little brother have always called home. What Cordy finds is a muddy, hungry little dog with bad breath. And he’s the start of her family’s new beginning.

Holly Goldberg Sloan writes novels about family and friendship that open your heart and make you laugh out loud. You will fall in love with Cordy and her family as quickly as they fall in love with the stray pup named Lost. Full of unforgettable moments, this is a tender story of making peace with the inevitable truth that change is a constant, and that after profound loss there is still always the possibility of unexpected joy.

Waiting on Wednesday: We Fall Apart by E. Lockhart

Image: Penguin Random House

We Fall Apart by E. Lockhart. 320 p. Delacorte Press/ Random House Children's Books, November 4, 2025. 9780593899168.

Can't wait for this one. 

Publisher synopsis: The invitation arrives out of the blue. 

In it, Matilda discovers a father she’s never met. Kingsley Cello is a visionary, a reclusive artist. And when he asks her to spend the summer at his seaside home, Hidden Beach, Matilda expects to find a part of herself she’s never fully understood.

Instead, she finds Meer, her long-lost, openhearted brother; Brock, a former child star battling demons; and brooding, wild Tatum, who just wants her to leave their crumbling sanctuary.

With Kingsley nowhere to be seen, Matilda must delve into the twisted heart of Hidden Beach to uncover the answers she’s desperately craving. But secrets run thicker than blood, and blood runs like seawater.

And everyone here is lying.

Middle Grade Monday: Rebellion, 1776 by Laurie Halse Anderson

                                                        

Image: Simon & Schuster

Rebellion 1776 by Laurie Halse Anderson. 416 p. Atheneum Books for Young Readers/ Caitlyn Dlhouy Books/ Simon & Schuster, April 1, 2025. 9781416968269. Review of a finished copy borrowed from the public library. 

Middle Grade Monday features Rebellion 1776 by Laurie Halse Anderson. Thirteen-year-old Elsbeth works for a crotchety, old, loyalist judge in Boston, and feels lucky to have that job. She and her father recently moved to Boston from Philadelphia after her mother and siblings died from smallpox. Her father is a sailmaker and she is tall for her age, so she works for the judge and puts up with his abuse. But then, the Redcoats are routed from Boston and loyalists are evacuating. What will happen to Elsbeth? Her father wants her to evacuate, but she wants to stay. 

This first-person narrative drew me in from the start. Elsbeth is plucky, smart and feisty. Through Elsbeth, Anderson conveys the danger and uncertainty of the seige of Boston. As if the battle between the colonists and British was not enough, smallpox is rearing its ugly head in Boston. The resistance to vaccination is eerily similar to modern day antivaxers. 

Anderson is a masterful researcher, but also skilled in making her characters relatable. I loved this. 

ARC Review: Afia and the World of Wonders by Maria Araujo

Image: Scholastic

Afia and the World of Wonders by Maria Araujo. 304 p. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc., April 15, 2025. 9781338856736. Review of arc courtesy of publisher.

Afia and her identical twin sister have a few moments of freedom at the market the evening before their coming-of-age ceremony. Aya is looking forward to the ceremony and taking her place in the family business. Afia, not so much. When she meets a mysterious wood carver, she is intrigued by his wares, but her sister intervenes, but not before he injects some doubt in Afia.

During the ceremony, Afia decides to run away, away from the protection of her village and into the land of the unknown, guided by this mysterious wood carver. She is introduced to the queen of the realm and is entranced, but a pesky cat-faced being pesters her.

This Alice in Wonderland retelling, set in West Africa is just familiar enough and different enough to be beguiling. The art in the arc was unfinished, but intriguing. This was so much fun!

Waiting on Wednesday: The Survivor Wants to Die at the End by Adam Silvera

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

The Survivor Wants to Die at the End by Adam Silvera. 720. The Both Die at the End #3. Quill Tree Books/ HarperCollins Publishers, May 6, 2025. 9780063240858.

Waiting on Wednesday features The Survivor Wants to Die at the End by Adam Silvera. I really loved They Both Die and the End and The First to Die at the End. Here's the publisher synopsis: Paz Dario stays up every night, waiting for the Death-Cast call that would mean he doesn’t have to keep faking his way through this lonely life. After a devastating day, Paz decides he’s done waiting around for Death-Cast. If they say he’s not dying, he’ll just have to prove them wrong. But right before Paz can die, a boy saves his life.

Alano Rosa is heir to the Death-Cast empire that encourages everyone to live their best lives, but he doesn’t feel in control of his own existence thanks to his father. And with a violent organization called the Death Guard threatening Alano, his End Day might be closer than he thinks. It’s time to live.

Fate brings Paz and Alano together, but it’s now up to the boys to survive the tragic trials ahead so no one dies at the end.

This book contains themes that some readers may find difficult.

Happy reading!

Teen Tuesday Audiobook Review: Skyhunter by Marie Lu

Image: Macmaillan

Skyhunter by Marie Lu. Unabridged audiobook, ~12 hours. Narrated by Natalie Naudus. Macmillan Audio, September 2020.  Macmillan Young Listeners, September, 2020. 9781250777485. Review of downloadable audio borrowed from the public library. 

I don't know how I stumbled upon this audiobook, but I'm so glad that I did. I've been a huge fan of Marie Lu since reading her debut, Legend. I haven't read everything, but I have read a lot of her books. My students are huge fans of the Legend series, as well as her Warcross duology. A quick glance at the publication date tells me that this is one of many books that were lost in the pandemic. For me, I was a fifth/ sixth grade LA teacher in September of 2020, so I lost touch with books that were releasing then. 

This is the first-person story of Talin, a young, elite fighter for Mara, one of the last nations defending itself against the onslaught of the Karensa Foundation. Talin and her mother are refugees in Mara, having fled their native Basea some ten years earlier. Against all odds, Talin has been chosen to become a Striker, an elite fighter and first line of defense against the ghosts, zombie fighters that the Karensa Foundation use.

This plot-driven dystopian hits the ground running and doesn't let go. Suspense runs high and the world is totally believable. Fans of Ms. Lu will love this. I'm kind of sad that I'm retired now and can't grab the students who would love this book!

Middle Grade Monday and Arc Review: Spelling It Out by Margaret Finnegan

Image: Simon & Schuster

Spelling It Out by Margaret Finnegan. 208 p. Atheneum Books for Young Readers/ Simon & Schuster, May 13, 2025. 9781665969673. Review of arc courtesy of Blue Slip Media.

This story takes place in 1985, but is narrated by an adult Ben Bellini, who reminisces about his summer of freedom spent in San Francisco with his grandmother. After twelve-year-old Ben wins his sixth grade spelling bee, then his school's bee without much preparation or worry, he finds himself disappointed to lose the regional bee. He worries that liking spelling might get him labeled a nerd, but he really likes the adrenaline rush of competing. 

He lives in Southern California with his older sister and younger brother and rather overprotective parents. When his grandmother, a retired maverick architect, calls with the offer of having Ben stay for the summer so that a friend of hers can coach him, his parents are appalled and Ben is intrigued. This friend of Gran's actually won the National Spelling Bee some time ago! 

After his parents secure promises that Ben will be well supervised, Ben is placed on a plane to San Francisco. Only, his Gran isn't at the gate, and doesn't arrive for quite a while. This is just the first of many little slips to come.

And Gran's friend, Roger? He is nasty and abusive and doesn't seem interested in coaching Ben at all. When he finds refuge at the public library, he meets a kindred spirit. Asha spends her days there studying for the spelling bee!

I'm not sure why this coming-of-age novel had to be narrated by adult Ben, but readers who enjoy character-driven, gentle novels will find him very relatable. He's insecure, but smart and perceptive. He wants to do the right thing, but it takes him a while to realize what that is. He needs to learn to stand up to Roger. He needs to learn how to be a good friend. Most of all, he needs to realize that something is truly wrong with his grandmother. 

Contemporary readers' minds may be blown by Ben's freedom in a big city as much as by life before cell phones and gps. They will also appreciate the humor and heart. 

Spelling It Out will be released on May 13. Happy reading!