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.

Waiting on Wednesday: Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus

Image: Penguin Random House

Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus. 400 p. Delacorte Press/ Random House Children's Books, July 30, 2024. 9780593900741. 

Happy Wednesday. Oh dear me, it is so hot! Too hot to take the dogs for any kind of a long walk. They are lying on the tile floor trying to stay cool. Waiting on Wednesday features Such Charming Liars by Karen M. McManus. Ms. McManus is a favorite author among seventh and eighth graders at TMS, with her book, One of Us is Lying in constant demand. Such Charming Liars will be published on July 30, so you don't have long to wait! 

Here's the publisher synopsis: The newest mystery from the author One of Us Is Lying, the Queen of thrillers, Karen M. McManus! When mother-daughter grifters set out on their final job, the heist gets deadly and dangerously personal.

For all of Kat’s life, it’s just been her and her mother, Jamie—except for the forty-eight hours when Jamie was married and Kat had a stepbrother, Liam. That all ended in an epic divorce, and Kat and Liam haven’t spoken since.

Now Jamie is a jewel thief trying to go straight, but she has one last job—at billionaire Ross Sutherland’s birthday party. And Kat has figured out a way to tag along. What Kat doesn’t know, though, is that there are two surprise guests at the dazzling Sutherland compound that weekend. The last two people she wants to run into. Liam and his father—a serial scammer who has his sights set on Ross Sutherland’s youngest daughter.

Kat and Liam are on a collision course to disaster, and when a Sutherland dies, they realize they might actually be in the killer’s crosshairs themselves. Somehow Kat and Liam are the new targets, and they can’t trust anyone—except each other.

Or can they? Because if there’s one thing both Kat and Liam know, it’s how to lie. They learned from the best.

I love a good heist story. This one reminds me a bit of Thieves Gambit by Kavion Lewis. Happy reading!

#tbt: The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

Image: Penguin Random House

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott. The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel #1. 376 p. Delacorte Press/ Random House Children's Books, May, 2007. 9780385733571. (Own)

#tbt features The Alchemyst by Michael Scott. When this book released way back in the spring of 2007, students would tell me that the author of this book "plagiarized" from J.K. Rowling, not understanding that Nicholas Flamel is a real person from history. He's a main character in this series, apparently having discovered the means to achieving immortality along with a host of other notable figures from history. He owns a book shop in San Fransisco and his wife, Perenelle, owns the coffee shop across the street. The two are working under pseudonyms. Fifteen-year-old twin siblings, Josh and Sophie each work for one of the couple. A mysterious man named John Dee, backed up by some golum goons, enters Flamel's book shop seeking The Codex. It is then that Josh realizes that his boss is not who he claims he is when he witnesses him using magic to prevent Dee from stealing the Codex.  

There are two problems with Dee stealing the Codex. One, Nicholas has to recreate the elixir every few months, or risk losing immortality and two, it will enable Dee to summon the Dark Elders and destroy the world.

Nicholas and Perenelle were in San Fransisco specifically to discover whether Sophie and Josh were the twins that were prophesied to be the world's saviors. 

Each book in this action-packed series takes place over one day and takes the reader around the physical world and the world of the gods and goddesses of a multitude of mythologies. 

Middle Grade Monday: Dear Student by Elly Swartz

Image: Penguin Random House

Dear Student by Elly Swartz. 296 p. Delacorte Press/ Random House Children's Books, March, 2022. 9780593374139. (Review of arc courtesy of publicist.)

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Middle Grade Monday features Dear Student by Elly Swartz. Autumn is about to start middle school and she is worried. Her best friend, Prisha, moved to California and Autumn's family needed to move into the apartment about her mom's veterinary practice to save money after Autumn's dad decided to join the Peace Corps. He video called her on the first day of school with the advice to seize the day and choose to get involved in one thing at middle school. She's equal parts mad and sad at his desertion. As if these first day worries aren't enough, Autumn tries to help her little sister, Pickle overcome her own. Then, they find a chameleon in the middle of the road. They're about to move it to safety when a boy who is barreling down the road on a bike runs over its tail! What a day this is turning out to be! Luckily, Autumn's mom is a vet, so the three take the poor lizard to her.

Autumn's earnest and thoughtful first-person narration quickly pulls the reader in as she navigates her first day without her best friend. Luckily, she meets Logan, who has moved to Cape Cod from Chicago and Logan seems eager to be friends. Later, she meets the boy on the bike, Cooper, who is also newly transplanted to Cape Cod. It also helps to have Mr. Logan for homeroom and LA. He runs the school newspaper and everyone is wondering who he will pick to write the "Dear Student" advice column. Autumn likes to write, but she's not confident that she could give advice.

Ms. Swartz excels at writing gentle novels featuring tweens coping with a variety of issues including mental health problems. She nails the dynamics and drama of middle school, and also manages to weave in some larger societal issues, such as animals rights in an engaging way. And who doesn't love whoopie pies? Recipe include! Readers will root for Autumn as she finds her voice.

Thanks to Wunderkind PR for the opportunity to read and review Dear Student. My dear students will love to meet Autumn. 

Waiting on Wednesday: Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus

Image: Penguin Random House

Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus. 368 p. Delacorte Press/ Random House Children's Books, August 30, 2022. 9780593175903.

Waiting on Wednesday features Nothing More to Tell by Karen M. McManus. I reviewed her latest yesterday on Teen Tuesday and while her books have a more mature bent to them, so many of my students have discovered them and are recommending them to me as well as their friends. This one might skew a bit too old for my crew though.

Publisher synopsis: Four years ago, Brynn left Saint Ambrose School following the shocking murder of her favorite teacher—a story that made headlines after the teacher’s body was found by three Saint Ambrose students in the woods behind their school. The case was never solved. Now that Brynn is moving home and starting her dream internship at a true-crime show, she’s determined to find out what really happened. 

The kids who found Mr. Larkin are her way in, and her ex–best friend, Tripp Talbot, was one of them. Without his account of events, the other two kids might have gone down for Mr. Larkin’s murder. They've never forgotten what Tripp did for them that day. Just like he hasn’t forgotten that everything he told the police was a lie.

Digging into the past is bound to shake up the present, and as Brynn begins to investigate what happened in the woods that day, she begins to uncover secrets that might change everything—about Saint Ambrose, about Mr. Larkin, and about her ex-best friend, Tripp Talbot.

Four years ago someone got away with murder. The most terrifying part is that they never left.

Middle Grade Monday: Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood edited by Kwame Mbalia

Happy Monday! I hope you enjoyed the cold, yet sparkling weekend. Everything was coated in ice on Saturday, so I didn't get my miles in. My driveway was pretty slick, so the dogs and I stayed close to home. My bird feeders were very busy all weekend with all manner of wintering birds-cardinals, bluejays, juncos, chickadees, house finches, sparrows, grackles, starlings and the occasional red-bellied woodpecker. I get a great deal of joy watching them visit. Oh, and Saturday marked six months since my husband's death. I had been anticipating it all week, but between the ice and tackling more closets, I actually forgot until son #3 called to see how I was.

Image: Penguin Random House 

Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood edited by Kwame Mbalia. 320 p. Delacorte Press/ Random House Children's Books, August, 2021. 9780593379936. (Review of finished purchased copy.) 

Middle Grade Monday features Black Boy Joy: 17 Stories Celebrating Black Boyhood edited by Kwame Mbalia.Seventeen Black male authors, including the editor contributed to this luminous story collection. Some are well-known, such as Mr. Mbalia (Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky), Jason Reynolds and Jerry Craft. Others are new-to-me. Each story was unique and entertaining. The subjects run the gamut from the first day of school to saving the universe to coming out to family to debating the best superhero.

The nice thing about reading a story collection is the variety and the fact that if a story doesn't have appeal, you can skip it. Or not. They are short enough and you never know; you might end up enjoying it. I read every one and, while I have some favorites, each one was unique. The cover illustration by the incomparable Kadir Nelson makes me smile every time I see it.

Black Boy Joy was a Washington Post Best Book of 2021, a Boston Globe Best Book, a New York Public Library Best Book, a Chicago Public Library Best Book, an Amazon Best Book and all the review journals put it on their Best Book lists. Well-deserved. This book belongs in all collections. 

Waiting on Wednesday: Family of Liars by E. Lockhart

Image: Penguin Random House

Family of Liars by E. Lockhart. 320 p. Delacorte Press/ Random House Children's Books, May 3, 2022. 9780593485859.

I, for one, am very excited by this sequel! I loved We Were Liars!

Publisher synopsis: 

A windswept private island off the coast of Massachusetts. A hungry ocean, churning with secrets and sorrow.
A fiery, addicted heiress. An irresistible, unpredictable boy.
A summer of unforgivable betrayal and terrible mistakes.

Welcome back to the Sinclair family.
They were always liars.

Waiting on Wednesday: Dear Student by Elly Swartz

Image: Penguin Random House

Dear Student by Elly Swartz. 304 p. Delacorte Press/ Penguin Young Readers, February 15, 2022. 9780593374122. 

Waiting on Wednesday features Dear Student by Elly Swartz. Here's the publisher synopsis: Starting Middle School is rough for Autumn after her one and only BFF moves to California. Uncertain and anxious, she struggles to connect with her new classmates. The two potential friends she meets could not be more different: bold Logan who has big ideas and quiet Cooper who’s a bit mysterious. But Autumn has a dilemma: what do you do when the new friends you make don’t like each other?

When Autumn is picked to be the secret voice of the Dear Student letters in the Hillview newspaper, she finds herself smack in the middle of a problem with Logan and Cooper on opposite sides. But before Autumn can figure out what to do, the unthinkable happens. Her secret identity as Dear Student is threatened. Now, it’s time for Autumn to find her voice, her courage, and follow her heart, even when it’s divided.

Dear Student releases February 15. I'm a big fan of Ms. Swartz. Her debut novel, Finding Perfect, is very popular at TMS Library.

#tbt: Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Peña

Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Peña. 256 p. Delacorte Press/ Random House Children's Books, August, 2008. 9780385733106. (Own)

Happy Thursday. #tbt features Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Peña. Biracial and sixteen, Danny feels like he doesn't fit in. His dad is gone and he's too dark for his white relatives and the kids at his prep school and too white for his Mexican relatives who live in National City. Add to that, the fact that he doesn't speak Spanish and while he's an ace pitcher, he's losing control of his game. Something's got to give. So his mother sends Danny to spend the summer between his junior and senior years with his father's extended family in National City.

Danny isn't always the most appealing character. He does make some questionable choices and there is one especially breathtakingly violent scene, but mature teen readers will be hooked, especially fans of baseball. The art and psychology of pitching are wonderfully conveyed here.

Mexican Whiteboy was published in 2008. It was Mr. de la Peña's second book, after his debut, Ball Don't Lie. In 2016, he won the Newbery Medal for his picture book, Last Stop on Market Street.

A note about covers. I usually try to find the original covers on the publisher website and link back to the page. In this case, only the newest cover iteration was available on PRH website. Though I see the appeal, I'm not a fan. There was another cover in between the original and #3. They are below.

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Sunkissed by Kasie West

Image: Penguin Random House

Sunkissed by Kasie West. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~ 529 minutes. Read by Phoebe Strohl. Listening Library, May, 2021.9780593399552. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library.)

Teen Tuesday features Sunkissed by Kasie West. Ms. West is a favorite author among romance fans at TMS and this is a perfect summer romance to read - frothy, fluffy and fun.

Avery wasn't terribly happy about her parents' planned summer getaway to a remote family camp that had no wi-fi, until she caught her best friend kissing her ex. Now, she can't wait to get away from the drama and apology texts. Once at camp, she gets off on the wrong foot with Brooks, a swoony musician who fronts the dinner band, but has higher musical aspirations. It shouldn't matter, as employees are forbidden from fraternizing with the guests, but Avery and Brooks seem to constantly cross paths. Eventually, Avery helps Brooks with lyrics to a song he's writing and a friendship develops. 

I wondered if summer family camps like this even existed any more. It's such a Catskills throwback. Hence the Dirty Dancing comparison. And, for such a strict rule, punishable by firing, the employees seemed to have lots of down time to flaunt the edict. This will likely not bother the target audience at all. 

Phoebe Strohl's performance was well-paced and she sounded appropriately youthful. Fans of Ms. West's books will not be disappointed. I'm definitely adding this to my school library's collection.

Waiting on Wednesday: Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon

Image: Penguin Random House

Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon. 304 p. Delacorte/ Random House Children's Books, June 1, 2021. 9781524718961.

Publisher synopsis: Evie Thomas doesn't believe in love anymore. Especially after the strangest thing occurs one otherwise ordinary afternoon: She witnesses a couple kiss and is overcome with a vision of how their romance began…and how it will end. After all, even the greatest love stories end with a broken heart, eventually.
As Evie tries to understand why this is happening, she finds herself at La Brea Dance studio, learning to waltz, fox-trot, and tango with a boy named X. X is everything that Evie is not: adventurous, passionate, daring. His philosophy is to say yes to everything—including entering a ballroom dance competition with a girl he's only just met.

Falling for X is definitely not what Evie had in mind. If her visions of heartbreak have taught her anything, it's that no one escapes love unscathed. But as she and X dance around and toward each other, Evie is forced to question all she thought she knew about life and love. In the end, is love worth the risk?

My students and I adored Ms. Yoon's first two books. We can't wait for this one.

Waiting on Wednesday: You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus

Karen M. McManus's mystery/ thrillers are favorites among my seventh and eighth graders. I featured The Cousins yesterday and can't wait to hear what her fans think about her latest. While gathering info about that book, I learned that she has a new one coming in the fall! There's not even a cover yet, but I'm psyched!

 

Waiting on Wednesday features You'll Be the Death of Me. The publisher says the book was pitched as "Ferris Bueller's Day Off meets a murder mystery" and features the alternating perspectives of "three friends" who skip school and witness a crime they can only solve by facing what they've been hiding from one another-and themselves. I can't wait!

#tbt: Saving Maddie by Varian Johnson

Image: Penguin Random House

Saving Maddie by Varian Johnson. 240 p. Delacorte/ Penguin Random House, March, 2010. 9780375895920. (Own.)

Happy Thanksgiving! I'm a little late posting b/c I was prepping my turkey! I hope you all have a wonderful day! #tbt features Saving Maddie by Varian Johnson. This book was published in 2010 and was the first book of the author's that I read. After devouring it at the beach, I read My Life as a Rhombus and his debut, Red Polka Dot in a World Full of Plaid.

Saving Maddie centers around two preacher's kids, Maddie and Josh. Josh has always had a crush on Maddie, but she's been gone for five years. Suddenly, she's back in town with a reputation for being bad, so bad that she was kicked out of school. Josh is a "good boy." He also thinks that Maddie can be redeemed, even if it means lying to his parents to do so. 

Saving Maddie was named a Bank Street College Best Book in 2011.

#tbt: Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

Image: Penguin Random House

Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. 256 p. Delcorte Books/ Random House Childrens Books, September, 1999. 9780385323062. (Own.)

In anticipation of the announcement of the Youth Media Awards in Philadelphia on Monday, #tbt features Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. Bud, Not Buddy was Curtis' second book. It was published in 1999 and won both the 2000 Newbery Medal and the Coretta Scott King Award. You may remember, that his debut novel, The Watson's Go to Birmingham, 1963 won a 1996 Newbery Honor. 

Ten-year-old Bud Caldwell is tired of being tortured by his new foster brother. When he fights back, he's punished by being locked in a shed. He escapes, takes his revenge on Todd and hits the road with his suitcase and his rules for having a "funner" life. He's going to look for his father using a few clues in the suitcase his mother left him. Humorous and heartbreaking, this historical fiction paints a realistic picture of life during the Great Depression.

Review: The Root of Magic by Kathleen Benner Duble

Image: Random House

The Root of Magic by Kathleen Benner Duble. 216 p. Delacorte Press/ Random House Children's Books, June, 2019. 9780525578505. (Review of finished copy courtesy of Blue Slip Media.)

"Are we going to die?" sure is attention-grabbing. This is the question Willow's younger brother, Wisp asks from the backseat of their family's car, and also the first line of the book. They are heading home from Willow's hockey game in Canada and it's snowing. Hard. Like "blizzard of the century" hard. Willow flinches because no one is supposed to talk about death around Wisp. He has an undiagnosed, potentially fatal illness. Willow's mom has devoted all of her time, energy and attention to Wisp to the detriment of her marriage and possibly, her relationship with her daughter. Willow feels a toxic cocktail of guilt and anger swilling beneath the surface of her studied calm and competence. 

The car slides off the roadway and crashes through the bridge railing leaving the three passengers terrified as it teeters over a freezing rushing river. Miraculously, a couple arrive in a tow truck. They are able to rescue the family, but the car and all of their belongings crashes into the river. They are brought to the town of Kismet, Maine where Cora, owner of a bed and breakfast has rooms prepared for them. She even places a bucket next to Wisp in case he needs to vomit. This foresight puzzles Willow. It isn't long before other weird coincidence begin cropping up. Worst of all, there's a hospital and a doctor in this tiny town in the middle of nowhere giving Willow's mother more medical straws to grasp at. Something is off in this town and Willow intends to get to the bottom of it.

As a medically trained adult, the deadly, undiagnosable illness as a plot contrivance drives me bonkers. As a kid, I would've eaten it up though. So setting that aside, this was a suspenseful present-tense read featuring a fierce, intelligent little girl caught in the middle of one terrible problem, followed by another and then a third difficult dilemma. The dreamy, otherworldly setting is compelling and the main characters are interesting. Young readers who like magic and thinking about fate vs. free will will love this book. Fans of Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting might enjoy The Root of Magic.

Friday Memes: The Root of Magic by Kathleen Benner Duble

Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader and Friday 56 is hosted by Freda's Voice.

Image: Penguin Random House

The Root of Magic by Kathleen Benner Duble. 214 p. Delacorte Books for Young Readers/ Penguin Random House, June, 2019. 9780525578505.

Publisher synopsis: A deeply felt sibling story set in a town where people have a mysterious magical power and one girl is determined to discover what it is, for readers of Lauren Myracle and Ingrid Law. 

Willow knows the unknown is scary. Especially when your little brother has been sick for a long time and nobody has been able to figure out why. All Willow wants is for her brother to get better and for her her life to go back to normal. 

But after a bad stroke of luck, Willow and her family find themselves stranded in an unusual town in the middle of nowhere and their life begins to change in the most unexpected way. Willow soon discovers that the town isn’t just unusual—it’s magical—and the truth is more exciting that she ever imagined.

Will Willow find that this could be the secret to saving her family—or discover that the root of magic could lead them to something greater?

First Line: "Are we going to die?" Wisp asks from the depths of his blankets in the backseat.

Page 56: "Someone always finds you," Topher says with confidence. "Layla and James found you, didn't they?

Willow isn't sure how to respond to this. While it's true that they were found, it is also possible that they wouldn't have been. And then what would have happened? Willow shivers. She doesn't want to ever think again about the car tilting on the bridge that night and the rushing waters below them.

#tbt: Soldier's Heart by Gary Paulsen

Image: Penguin

Soldier's Heart: being the story of the enlistment and due service of the boy Charley Goddard in the First Minnesota Volunteers by Gary Paulsen. 108 p. Delacorte Press/ Penguin Young Readers, October, 1998. 0385324987. (Own)

#tbt features Soldier's Heart: being the story of the enlistment and due service of the boy Charley Goddard in the First Minnesota Volunteers by Gary Paulsen. This novella is a work of historical fiction set during the Civil War. Fifteen-year-old Charley Goddard lies about his age and enlists in the First Minnesota Volunteers with dreams of being a hero. Once on the battlefields however, the violent reality of gun battle and death stuns Charley. Yet, he must go on. Seeing battle after battle and being injured himself. Charley returns home at age nineteen changed in heart and soul. Neither his physical nor mental injuries heal, leaving him unable to work and wishing for release. An author's note explains that Charley Goddard really did exist but that certain events in his life were changed to fit the storytelling. 

Fact Friday: It's Trevor Noah: born a crime: stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah

Image: Delacorte Press

It's Trevor Noah: born a crime: stories from a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah (Adapted for Young Readers). 295 p. Delacorte Press/ Random House Children's Books, April, 2019. 9780525582168. (Review of finished copy borrowed from public library.)

Fact Friday features It's Trevor Noah: born a crime: stories from a South African childhood by Trevor Noah. The Daily Show comedian was born in South Africa under apartheid where races were strictly segregated and consequences for crossing racial lines were brutal. Yet, Noah's black mother met and fell in love with a white man and they had Trevor, who grew up wondering where he fit in. In this memoir, he candidly discusses the ups and downs of his unique childhood and the events that would shape the entertainer he became. 

#tbt: The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott. The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel Book #1. 400 p. Delacorte Press/ Random House Children's Books, May, 2007. 9780385733571.

#tbt features The Alchemyst by Michael Scott. The Alchemyst is book one of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series. This sweeping six-book saga features many figures from various world mythologies as well as prominent historical figures, such as Flamel, who have chosen to become immortal. There is a prophecy about a twin brother and sister in a book called The Codex. Flamel believes twins, Sophie and Josh Newman may be those twins and he hopes to awaken their latent magic and recapture The Codex, which was stolen from him. The fast-paced globe-trotting will keep readers engaged and guessing.

#tbt: The Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis

The Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. 224 p. Delacorte Press, Random House Children's Books, September, 1995. 9780385321754. (Own.)

#tbt features The Watsons go to Birmingham, 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis. This was Curtis' debut and what a splash he made, winning both a Newbery Honor and a Coretta Scott King Honor. Kenny is the middle sibling in the "weird Watson" family. He narrates the story of the summer his parents decide to pack up the family car and drive south to visit with family. They have decided to leave their eldest child, Byron with his maternal grandmother to straighten him out. Kenny's voice is lively and often laugh-out-loud funny as he dryly comments on the antics of his family. Readers learn a great deal about the Jim Crow south and the dangers faced by people of color at the time. Still, readers will be unprepared when the story takes a tragic turn.