Middle Grade Monday: Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate

Image: Macmillan

Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate. 240 p. Feiwel & Friends/ Macmillan, September 9, 2025. 9781250904362. Review of finished, purchased copy.

Middle Grade Monday features Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate. This sweet, illustrated novel is narrated by Zephryna, a self-proclaimed "Robin Hood of felines." She's an alley cat who has allowed Dasha and her mother, Elizaveta to feed and care for her. They are Ukranian refugees who live in a small apartment. Dasha uses crutches as her legs were injured in the war that also killed her father. She rescues Zephryna's finds, washes them and places them in a little wagon outside their apartment for their owners to reclaim them. If they remain unclaimed after three days, the toys join other rescued toys. They all come to life when everyone is asleep and are led by Pocket, a small, "thimble-born" bear who is over one hundred years old. 

Zephyrina's latest theft was rescued from a dumpster behind an Italian restaurant. This large, cumbersome bear was covered in sauce and rather difficult for her to drag home to Dasha and Pocket. Pocket, a thoughtful, well-read bear, sees something in this new recruit. Unfortunately, so does Picky Vicky, an antique toy dealer who regularly visits scrounging for deals.

There's a lot of humor in this story, but also a lot of depth, which is gently told. There was a fair amount of laughing out loud, but also unabashed tears. I loved this timeless tale. 

Middle Grade Monday and Audiobook Review: All Ears by Stuart Gibbs

Image: Simon & Schuster

All Ears by Stuart Gibbs. FunJungle #9. Unabridged e-audio, ~8 hours. Read by Gibson Frazier. Simon & Schuster Audio, May, 2025. 9781668134696. Review of audiobook borrowed from pubic library.

Middle Grade Monday features All Ears by Stuart Gibbs. This ninth installment does not disappoint. Teddy Fitzroy and his father have been called to investigate an elephant that went missing from a nearby ranch. While there, Teddy receives a call from his best friend, Xavier, who was arrested for trespassing and vandalism on a construction site. His loyalty is divided. His best friend is understandably upset and wants him to come immediately, but he needs to look for clues while they are still fresh. This causes some friction between the two.

As usual, Gibbs weaves a environmental themes (habitat loss, big-game hunting) in with plenty of suspense as well as humor. These plot-driven mysteries remain fresh and fun. 

I had forgotten my promise not to read these with my ears. The narrator is serviceable, but this first-person narrative is told by a teenager, and the voice in my ears is clearly adult.

Middle Grade Monday: One Wrong Step by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Image: Scholastic Inc.

One Wrong Step by Jennifer A. Nielsen. 336 p. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc. March, 2025. 9781338275865. Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher. 

Middle Grade Monday features One Wrong Step by Jennifer A. Nielsen. For the last three years, it has been just Atlas and his dad. His dad is a map-maker and mountaineer and the two have been climbing together for most of Atlas' life. In fact, they were away climbing when Atlas' mother died, something Atlas can't quite forgive his father for. 

In 1939, Atlas and his father join an expedition to Mount Everest. Atlas has brought along a scarf his mother knit for him, hoping to place it at the top of the world and also hoping to find some peace. His hopes are dashed when he's informed that he's not going to leave advance base camp. The organizer of the trip was not happy that he's tagging along and puts his foot down.

When Atlas sees an avalanche near where the climbing party would be and then loses radio contact with them, he decides to mount a rescue. How can he, a sherpa and the inexperienced daughter of a researcher scale the most dangerous part of Mount Everest? 

Major suspension of belief is required here, but the intended audience will buy in. Each chapter begins with a mountaineering definition and a map showing where Atlas is. The chapters are short and suspenseful. 

Fans of Ms. Nielsen's books will not be disappointed.

Middle Grade Monday: The Secret of Honeycake by Kimberly Fusco Newton

Image: Penguin Random House

The Secret of Honeycake by Kimberly Fusco Newton. 368 p. Knopf Books for Young Readers/ Random House Children's Books, January, 2025. 9880593121771. Review of finished copy courtesy of Blue Slip Media. 

Middle Grade Monday features The Secret of Honeycake by Kimberly Fusco Newton. This historical fiction is set in 1930 and is narrated by Hurricane, a quiet tween who is familiar with loss. She lives with her nineteen-year-old sister, since her mother died of tuberculosis. Her father died in the Great War. She hates school and is convinced her teacher hates her as well, but she confides all this in her journal. She takes comfort in running with her dog along the beach and the fact that her sister, Bronte, will speak for her. Only Bronte has TB and needs to go to a sanatorium to recover and Hurricane must leave her beloved dog and beach to live in the city with great Aunt Claire. She is fussy and her house is unforgiving, but her chauffeur is kind and gets her. 

Hurricane's voice is achingly relatable as she navigates the uncertainties in her life. I highly recommend this gentle, first-person novel for tween readers. Absolutely lovely.

Middle Grade Monday: Popcorn by Rob Harrell

Image: Penguin Random House

Popcorn by Rob Harrell. 288 p. Dial Books/ Penguin Young Readers Group, September, 2024. 9780593697924. Review of book borrowed from public library.

It's picture day for seventh grader, Andrew Yaeger and he's anxious. It doesn't take much for Andrew to feel anxious. He even has a scale of anxiety, with a kernel of popcorn as the barometer for how anxious he feels. His mom is anxious as well. She wants a good school picture and has even gotten Andrew a new shirt. She's also starting a new job that day as well, one that pays better. Maybe the family will even be able to move to a larger apartment. Things have gotten a bit cramped since G., Andrew's grandmother moved in. He loves G., but sometimes she doesn't recognize Andrew and now he has to sleep on the couch.

This charming, touching, often hilarious novel is told from Andrew's POV and accompanied by spot art and comic panels that add humor to the narrative. It takes place during one school day. Andrew's voice is authentic and immediately relatable. His best friendship with Jonesy is changing, thanks to her being a star on the basketball team, but they are trying to keep things going. Thankfully, he has teachers and the school nurse around who notice and care. 

I can't think of a reader who wouldn't love this book. Popcorn won the Schneider Family Book Award for Middle Grade Fiction this past January. I think it will begin showing up on many state book lists soon. Highly recommend!

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt. Unabridged audiobook, ~ 3 hours. Read by Zachary Roe. Clarion Books/ HarperCollins Publishers, December, 2021. Review of audiobook borrowed from public library.

Teen Tuesday features Orbiting Jupiter by Gary D. Schmidt. I first read this with my eyes back in August of 2016. It was published in fall of 2015. I was still giving stars to my GR posts and gave five with the comment: Okay, officially gutted. I swear, there are not many authors who can do what Gary D. Schmidt does in so few words. The economy, beauty, imagery and heart in his writing is astonishing.

After I read Jupiter Rising, I realized that I couldn't really remember the details of Orbiting Jupiter. It was, after all, about 2500 or so books ago, so I decided to reread it with my ears. 

This is the first-person narration by Jackson Hurd. A sixth grader who lives on a dairy farm with his parents, who have agreed to foster Joseph Brooks, a thirteen-year-old who has fathered a child, spent time in a juvenile detention facility and doesn't like to be touched or approached from behind. Jackson and his parents give Joseph the space and time he needs, but also chores, such as milking the cows, which he also needs. Unfortunately, other adults in the community, have prejudged Joseph, starting with the school bus driver, so Joseph and Jackson walk to school in the bitter cold.

As Joseph slowly thaws with the Hurds, they learn his story and are more committed than ever to helping him. All Joseph wants is to see his baby, who is in foster care since her mother, Maddie, has died.

This emotionally intense, character-driven novel packs a punch. Have tissues handy. The narrator was different than the one for Jupiter Rising. He was measured and fine, except he mispronounced the name of a character several times, which annoyed me. 

Orbiting Jupiter was named a Publishers Weekly Best Book, an ALA Notable as well as quite a few state award lists. It has become a TMS favorite over the years and a book I highly recommend. Happy reading.

Teen Tuesday: Louder Than Hunger by John Schu

Image: Candlewick Press

Louder Than Hunger by John Schu. 528 p. Candlewick Press, March, 2024. 9781536234206. (Review of arc courtesy of publisher.)

Happy Tuesday! Today is the final day of the school year and the heat wave is settling in. Best bet is to stay inside and read! Teen Tuesday features Louder Than Hunger by John Schu.

Jake is a lonely, miserable eighth grader. He has been relentlessly bullied by his peers for years and his only friend is his beloved grandmother and an angel he sometimes talks to. Jake's tormentors are not just classmates though. He has a voice inside his head that tells him he's not good enough, and it's getting loud and scary. He finds comfort in volunteering at a nursing home and it is one of his favorite patients who notices Jake's weight loss. She alerts Jakes parents and he is admitted to a residential treatment facility. He definitely does not want to be there following a schedule, getting weighed daily and, ugh, eating. He is resistant to treatment, but makes some friends. 

This verse novel is Jake's journal. It's a compelling, heartbreaking, yet hopeful read. The book is based on the author's own struggles with being bullied, and suffering from OCD and disordered eating. Back matter contains an author's note with organizations that can help. I started out reading Jake's story with my ears and the performance was fine, but I realized that there was much I was missing (line breaks, angry scribbles and such) by not reading it with my eyes, so I switched. This book helped me get out of my reading slump. Highly recommended.

#tbt: Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

Penguin Random House

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko. 228 pg. Tales from Alcatraz #1. G.P. Putnam's Sons/ Penguin Young Readers, March 30, 2004. 9780399238611.

Coming in very late to post a #tbt, because one of my favorite authors posted that one of my favorite books of all time turns twenty this week! #tbt features Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko. The year is 1935, right in the middle of The Great Depression. Moose Flanagan's out-of-work electrician father, takes a job on Alcatraz Island. The catch? He also needs to double as a prison guard and his family needs to move into an apartment on the island. Moose's older sister, Natalie, has what would now be diagnosed as autism, but was not well understood at the time. His mother hopes to get her accepted to a special school and Moose is tasked with keeping her out of trouble, which means he often cannot play baseball with other children who live on the island. He also has to contend with the warden's spoiled daughter, catch the ferry each day to school and worry about the the prison's most notorious inmate, Al Capone.

This face-paced, hilarious, historically accurate story captured my heart immediately. It won a Newbery Honor, though I was hoping it would win the medal. Ms. Choldenko wrote three sequels to Al Capone Does My Shirts, each one cemented Moose Flanagan's place in my heart as a favorite character. All of her historical fiction novels are well researched and contain extensive back matter. Fun fact: read the author's note in Al Capone Does My Homework for a surprise.

Middle Grade Monday a Day Late: Moonflower by Kacen Calendar

It has been a minute since posting and while I posted this to my school's learning platform yesterday, I didn't get around to the blog until today. Beginning-of-year craziness, I guess. 

Image: Scholastic Inc.

Moonflower by Kacen Callender. 272 p. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc., September, 2022. 9781338636598. (Own)

Middle Grade Monday features Moonflower by Kacen Callender. Twelve-year-old Moon is non-binary and selectively mute. In fact, they feel like an alien, not born of this world, but of the stars, where they escape to each night. When they tell their Earth mother that they don't want to be in this world any longer, she puts Moon into therapy.

This first-person narrative is a riveting, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful depiction of adolescent depression.

Middle Grade Monday: Seven Clues to Home by Gae Polisher and Nora Raleigh Baskin

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Seven Clues to Home by Gae Polisner and Nora Raleigh Baskin. 198 p. Alfred A. Knopf/ Random House Children's Books, June, 2020. 9780593119617. (Review of finished, purchased copy.)

Happy Monday! Today's rainy morning was perfect for hunkering down and reading! I had appointments earlier, but brought my current book with me for the waiting rooms. We had a run of beautiful weather here in northern NJ, so the rain was good. I forgot to shut the sprinkler off though.

Middle Grade Monday features Seven Clues to Home by Gae Polisner and Nora Raleigh Baskin. I learned about this book on a Twitter discussion about books that released during the pandemic, but didn't get the marketing they deserved despite good reviews, and thus, didn't do that well. I hadn't heard about it and am a fan of both authors! 

Joy and Lukas became bffs way back in second grade when Joy discovered that they both had summer birthdays within days of each other. She asked, "What are the odds of that?" Lukas endearingly tries to figure it out. He's a math guy. From that point on, they always celebrated together with a scavenger hunt to their gifts. But Joy is dreading the approach of her thirteenth birthday because it marks the first anniversary of Lukas' death. She has been grieving deeply for the past year and never did open the envelop he left at her house as her first clue. She decides to open it and set out on a belated scavenger hunt.

The nonlinear story shifts from the previous year to the present and POV shifts from the present day, present tense narration by Joy to Lukas' story of how he planned the gift and the hunt. They both reflect on their growing closeness and the fear that it might ruin their friendship if the other doesn't reciprocate. The story is moving and emotionally intense and perfect for middle school readers who love sad, sad books like Suzanne LaFleur's Eight Keys or Wendy Mass' Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life.

There was one nit that pulled me out of the story, but no tween reader will notice, nor will many adults, since most drive cars with automatic transmission. (I suppose not many who work in publishing even drives a car.) "The tires grind over the gravel; she steps on the clutch, flips the shifter into park, and shuts the engine." (p.107) As someone who has driven manual vehicles most of my adult life and whose four sons all learned on manual transmission (very painful with lots of rage, but gratitude now), let me just say, there is no park. You shift the car into first gear and put on the emergency brake. It pulled me right out of the story and made me wonder why that little detail of a clutch was even there. The sentence works without it. Again, small nit that most won't notice.

Middle Grade Monday: Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

Happy Monday TMS Readers and welcome back! I hope you had a wonderful spring break. Middle Grade Monday features Other Words for Home by Jasmine Warga. Jude lives in a seaside town in Syria with her parents, beloved grandmother and older brother, Issa. She dreams of becoming a movie star, but the war is coming close and Issa longs to join the resistance in Aleppo. Jude's pregnant mother wishes to flee Syria, but her father refuses to leave.

This emotionally resonant story is told in first-person blank verse in five parts. Readers follow Jude's journey from Syria to Cincinnati, where she and her mother go to live with her uncle, who is a medical doctor and his family. His daughter, Sarah is not at all pleased and Jude wonders how she will ever fit in.

Other Words for Home was named a Newbery Honor, an SLJ Best Book and an ALA Notable Book. It belongs in every school, public, and classroom library. Highly recommended. 

Middle Grade Monday: Dinged by Tommy Greenwald

Image: Abrams Books

Dinged by Tommy Greenwald. 288 p. A Game Changer companion novel. Amulet Books/ Abrams, September, 2022. 9781419755156. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Happy Monday! It is a wet and dreary Monday here in northern NJ. The pups were miserable plodding through the dark and the rain to do their business, but they sure do love to be towed-dried at the end. 

Middle Grade Monday features Dinged by Tommy Greenwald. Freshman Caleb Springer has it made. He not only made the varsity football team, but is its quarterback. His whole life has been all football all the time, and he's a rare natural talent that is expected to go all the way to the pros as his father did. Only his dad is showing some disturbing signs - forgetfulness and explosive anger, and Caleb is concerned after having his bell rung twice during the season.

This first-person novel is interspersed with text messages and color commentary by a bantering duo of high school sports journalists. Caleb is instantly appealing as he thoughtfully leads a team of boys that are older and bigger than he. The football action is crisp. The romance between Caleb and Nina is sweet. The ever-present danger of traumatic brain injury and the effects of repeated head injury are ominous, and will hopefully cause readers to reflect. They will root for Caleb as he ponders his path.

Dinged should have wide appeal among middle school readers, not just fans of sports novels. Mr. Greenwald's writing is consistently crisp. His plots move briskly, but also contain depth and his characters are engaging and relatable. And, that cover sure is arresting! Back matter includes an author's note and a list of resources about traumatic brain injury. Highly recommended!

#tbt: Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach

Image: Sourcebooks

Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach. Felton Reinstein Trilogy #1. 311 p. Sourcebooks Fire/ Sourcebooks, June, 2011. (Own)

Happy Thursday! Did you enjoy the break in the heat that we had here in northern NJ yesterday? I was able to take Boo for a nice long walk, which was nice because I hadn't been getting my steps in because of the heat.  

#tbt features Stupid Fast by Geoff Herbach. This book introduces Felton Reinstein, a sixteen-year-old with one friend and no interest in sports until puberty suddenly hits and he has grown incredibly tall and become "stupid fast." Now the football coach is inviting him to train with the team and the track coach wants him to run. Oh, and a beautiful girl moved in next store for the summer. Before you think things are looking up for Felton, I need to mention that his family has some pretty heavy baggage.

Felton's voice in this first-person narrative is at once utterly endearing and infuriating. He's so guileless, so naive, that I wanted to protect him and yell, "Wake up!" at once. If you're a mature teen reader who enjoys sad books with a side of hilarious, you will enjoy the entire Felton Reinstein Trilogy.

Stupid Fast was published in 2011. It was named to the YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults list and won a Cybils Award for YA Fiction as well as some state awards. Nothing Special was published in 2012, and I'm with Stupid was published in 2013.  Happy reading!

Middle Grade Monday and Audio Review: The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S. (as told by his brother) by David Levithan

Image: Penguin Random House

The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S. (as told by his brother) by David Levithan. Unabridged e-audiobook,~4 hours. Read by Everette Plen. Books on Tape/ Listening Library/ Penguin Random House, February, 2021. 9781984885517. (Review of downloadable e-audio borrowed from public library. Own the hc.)

Happy Monday! One week of summer break is in the books! How many books have you read so far? I've read five. I'm still a bit short of trying to get back to my book-a-day, but they were good books, and I spent lots of time in my garden, with my dogs and practicing yoga.

Middle Grade Monday features The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S. (as told by his brother) by David Levithan. In this first-person narrative, Lucas tells the story of finding his brother, Aidan in the attic six days after Aidan's disappearance. The attic had been searched several times. The entire town was out looking for Aidan and everyone wants to know what happened. Aidan says simply that he entered a world called Aveinieu through the doors in an old dresser. No one believes him, especially Lucas, because Aidan has a reputation for fooling him over and over. But Aidan sticks to his outlandish story despite the fact that everyone thinks he ran away and despite the fact that he's being bullied about it at school.

David Levithan, an award-winning author of YA books, makes his middle grade debut in this thoughtful, leisurely-paced mystery, which, at its heart, is a story about brotherhood and listening.

New-to-me narrator, Everette Plan sounded appropriately youthful and he delivered a thoughtful, well-paced performance. 

Teen Tuesday (a day late): You + Me+ Him by Kris Dennison

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

You and Me and Him by Kris Dinnison. 288 p. Clarion Books/ HarperCollins Publishers, July, 2015. 9780544301122. (Own.)

I've been very sick and very busy since last Thursday and I'm so-o behind and scattered! I posted this to my school's learning management app yesterday and forgot to post to my blog. So, here I am a day late and a dollar short. I didn't have the energy to post a Middle Grade Monday post. I basically slept the weekend away and went to school on Monday because I had no fever, state testing is going on and there are no subs. 

Teen Tuesday features You and Me and Him by Kris Dinnison. This 2015 debut is the first-person narration of self-proclaimed fat girl and high school junior, Maggie Bowers. She's comfortable with her weight even if her mother continually nags her over it. She has a fun job at a record store and a bff in Nash, the only out boy at high school. The two are soul mates who always have each other's back. They are gobsmacked by the arrival of a cute new boy named Tom. Tom is handsome, confident and, when he approaches Maggie and Nash, they can't believe it. Then Nash calls "Dibs!" Tom shows a genuine interest in both of them, choosing to sit with them at lunch over other offers from up-the-high-school-food-chain. 

Tom, they learn, has moved a lot. So much so that he effortlessly blends in. He's equally friendly to everyone and Nash can't get a sense of whether he is gay. Maggie falls into an easy friendship with Tom, but when Tom's interest seems to veer toward romance, Maggie panics. She's definitely attracted, but Nash called dibs and he is the most important person in her life. When a former best friend turned popular girl tries to reconnect, Maggie is curious and Nash is adamant about not trusting her.

At turns hilarious and poignant, Maggie's voice is charming as she muddles through the complications in her life. She's self-reflective and likes to keep most people at a distance. This love triange is unique for a couple of reasons: it's mostly unrequited- Nash likes Tom, Tom likes Maggie and Maggie refuses to like Tom out of loyalty to Nash. While there are the usual YA tropes, make no assumptions.

Teen Tuesday: Layoverland by Gabby Noone

Image: Penguin Random House

Layoverland by Gabby Noone. 304 p. Razorbill/ Penguin Random House, January, 2020. 9781984836120. (Review of finished purchased copy.)

Teen Tuesday features Layoverland by Gabbie Noone. Our narrator in this superb debut is seventeen-year-old Bea, a snarky, prickly cynic who keeps everyone at arm's length and doesn't suffer fools lightly. She's ugly-crying in her car after a fight with her sister when she's hit head-on by another car. When she awakens, she's on a plane bound for...where now? She's wearing the unfortunate outfit she had on and her mascara is running but can't be wiped off. Turns out, Bea died instantly and is on board a plane headed for the afterlife. Only Bea has some unresolved issues and doesn't have a connecting flight to her final destination. She's stuck at the airport, has to sleep in an airport motel and all her food is encased in jello. She's been given a job and has to help thousands of souls find out what their unresolved issues are and help them move on before she herself can move on. To make matters worse, the dude who plowed into her is also stuck in Layoverland and it's Bea's job to help him move on. No way, Bea is determined to make him suffer. There's a problem though. He's very cute. 

So, this is a coming-of-age story even though the protagonist is dead. Hilariously funny and yet surprisingly deep and poignant. I just loved the voice in this sparkling debut. 

Middle Grade Monday and Arc Review: Tornado Brain by Cat Patrick

Image: Penguin Random House

Tornado Brain by Cat Patrick.304 p. Penguin Young Readers Group, May, 2020. 9781984815316. (Review of arc courtesy of publisher.)

Middle Grade Monday features Tornado Brain by Cat Patrick. Our thirteen-year-old narrator, Frankie, lives in Long Beach, a Washington State seaside town, with her twin sister in an inn that her mother runs with her boyfriend. Frankie is autistic and has ADHD. In order to avoid taking medication, she's working very hard to control her emotions. But it's difficult and she's not always successful. She recently lost her only friend, Colette, to her sister, Tess. Tess is the nice one, the easy one. Frankie can be prickly.

Ever since a tornado touched down near her school when she was five, Frankie has been obsessed with them and a show about tornado chasers. She relates to them as she feels her brain often twists around like a tornado. When Colette goes missing, Frankie learns that she may've been the last person Colette saw. Frankie is determined to follow the few clues Colette left behind even if it gets her in trouble with the police and her family.

It's sometimes hard to follow Frankie's logic and her roundabout way of speaking. Readers will grow to appreciate her tenacity as she persists in seeking answers even when the adults around her insist that she's wrong. 

Tornado Brain is available to borrow through Inter-Library Loan (ILL) and is available through ebccls in an e-book format. The e-audiobook is available to place on hold. I might reread this one with my ears because it's narrated by a favorite audiobook reader of mine. 

#tbt: The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. 320 p. HarperCollins Publishers, January, 2012. 9780061992254. (Own)

#tbt features The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. I'm breaking my ten-year or older rule again to pair this beloved title with its companion, The One and Only Bob, which was featured on Middle Grade Monday. The One and Only Ivan was published in 2012 and won the 2013 Newbery Medal. The novel is based on a true story and is told from Ivan's point of view in short chapters and gorgeous figurative language. 

As I mentioned on Monday, the book was adapted for film and will stream on Disney+ in August. The book remains popular as more than half of the copies owned by BCCLS libraries are currently checked out. Our local public library owns two copies that are both checked out. Our electronic collection has a waiting list for both the e-book and e-audio. I've read the book both with my eyes and ears. In this instance, my preference is for print due to the darling illustrations and interesting use of white space.

Middle Grade Monday and Arc Review: Bad Best Friend by Rachel Vail

Image: Penguin Random House

Bad Best Friend by Rachel Vail. 308p. Viking/ Penguin Random House, March, 2020. 9780451479457. (Review of arc courtesy of publisher.)

Middle Grade Monday features Bad Best Friend by Rachel Vail. Ava and Niki have been bffs since third grade when Ava moved to Maine from Los Angeles. Niki sort of dumped Holly for Ava back in third grade and now, it seems Ava is dumping Niki to belong to the popular group headed by Britney. The reader follows Niki, through her first-person narration as she navigates life without Ava and deals with life at home, where her fourth grade brother is having issues of his own. 

Ms. Vail's strengths as an author shine here. She has created a community of interesting characters with relatable problems. She mixed in humor and affection, resulting in a fun, fast read. If you love stories about family, school and/ or friendship, you will love Bad Best Friend! So endearing!

Middle Grade Monday and Audiobook Review: Home for Goddesses and Dogs by Lesley Connor

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

A Home for Goddesses and Dogs by Lesley Connor. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~8 hours. Read by Patricia Santomasso. HarperAudio, February, 2020/ 9780062971449. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library.)

Middle Grade Monday features A Home for Goddesses and Dogs by Leslie Connor. Thirteen-year-old Lydia and her mother were very close. So close that her mother homeschooled Lydia in order to maximize the time they spent together before she died of a progressive heart condition. Arrangements had been made for Lydia to live with her Aunt Brat and her wife Eileen. The two live on a farm in rural Connecticut with Elleroy, their landlord. Lydia is grateful that this aunt, her "last of kin," is willing to take her in and resolves to be helpful and accommodating. When Aunt Brat and Eileen adopt a difficult dog a week after Lydia's arrival, Lydia can't help but wonder whether the two have a habit of rescuing lost things. Lydia's not a dog person and Guffer is a difficult dog to love. He runs off into the woods and has accidents in the house. She also needs to attend school for the first time in ages and make friends.

As with all of Ms. Connor's books, the pace is leisurely and the focus is on the characters. Each character is interesting and fully realized. Lydia is wise beyond her years, introspective and so kind and open. While animal abuse is a painful topic, I appreciated the detailed description of recovery and healing and how complicated it is. Lydia's road to recovery and healing was not without complications either. New-to-me narrator, Patricia Santomasso's performance was engaging and her pacing reflected the pace of the narrative. Readers looking for a sad book with a resilient narrator will love A Home for Goddesses and Dogs.