Middle Grade Monday and Audiobook Review: The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly. Unabridged audiobook download. ~ 5 hours. Read by Ramón de Ocampo. HarperAudio/ HarperCollins, March, 2024. 9780063337343. Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library.

Middle Grade Monday features The First State of Being by Erin Entrada Kelly. This time travel story alternates between the year 2199 and 1999. Ridge, the genius son of a scientist perfecting a time travel device in 2199, decides to test it out without authorization, to visit his favorite year in history, 1999. The 2199 parts are transcripts of conversations between Ridge's mother and his siblings as they frantically try to return him to there time and worry about the repercussions of Ridge's actions in the past. 

Most of the book takes place in 1999. Ridge ends up in the Fox Run apartments and catches the eye of twelve-year-old Michael Rosario. Michael is bi-racial (Filipino/ white) and lives with his single mother in the apartment complex. He has a crush on his babysitter, Gibby. He's also anxious and obsessed with the doomsday scenarios around the turning of the century, and has been stealing supplies. When he finds out the Ridge is from the future, and also has a book that maps the next twenty years, Michael is torn between helping Ridge to return to his time and finding out what happens. 

Time travel stories are not my favorite. This one was engaging and featured interesting, fleshed-out characters. It also fleshed out some provocative themes. Ramón de Ocampo's narration moves seamlessly between times and characters. 

The First State of Being won the 2025 Newbery Medal and was a National Book Award finalist last fall. It will appeal to fans of the author as well as fans of time travel books. Happy reading! 

#tbt: Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Image: Penguin Random House 

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan. 384 p. Dial Books for Young Readers/ Penguin Young Readers, August, 2013. 

Today was the first day back from break for TMS students. I dropped my laptop, swipe card and keys off early this morning and went to yoga! Now that I'm retired, I hope to have the time and energy to do what I love best! Talking/ blogging about books for young people! Honestly, my job evolved from librarian to LA teacher as my flexible schedule gave way to a packed schedule, leaving little time for my super-power, Reader's Advisory and little energy after grading, to keep up with my reading.

I will start today with #tbt, which features Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan. Twelve-year-old Willow Chase is rather matter-of-fact about the fact that she doesn't fit in, like anywhere, except in her adoptive home with her "oh so white" adoptive parents. She's a genius with rather specific interests. This is a rather sad, but uplifting story told from multiple perspectives. Willow's first-person narration shifts to third person narration from those around her whose lives she unknowingly transforms.

Counting by 7s was published in 2013 and was named to both School Library Journal and Booklist "Best Books List." in 2015 it received The Hans Christian Andersen Award for Best Novel for Children 12+. The book has been a TMS favorite consistently over the years. Happy reading!

Middle Grade Monday (a day late): The One and Only Family by Katherine Applegate

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

The One and Only Family by Katherine Applegate. 272 p. HarperCollins Publishers, May 7, 2024. 9780063221123. Review of finished purchased copy.

Happy Monday, a day late! I posted this to my school's learning platform yesterday and didn't get around to pasting and posting here. Happy July as well! It was a lovely day out there, so I hope you enjoyed the weather! Middle Grade Monday features The One and Only Family by Katherine Applegate. This is the final book in the quartet called One and Only Ivan Stories. 

Ivan is a silverback gorilla, who is now living in a zoo/ wildlife sanctuary. Life is good. He has his own troop and even has a mate, Kinyani. Ruby lives in the habitat next door and often visits Ivan, and Bob was adopted and visits often as well. Ivan wants to be a good silverback, but grapples with tragedies from his past and worries about the future. Can he be a good dad to his twins? What should he tell them about his past?

Ms. Applegate skillfully juxtaposes humor with intense philosophical questions about conservation and the natural world. The spot art is just lovely. It is best to read all four books to appreciate the growth of this found family. 

Happy reading!

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

Image: Kobo Originals

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~7 hours. Read by Meegwun Fairbrother. Kobo Originals, March, 2018. (Review of e-audio borrowed from public library.)

Happy Tuesday! Teen Tuesday features The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline. This sci/fi dystopian in set in the future, in Canada. Human-caused climate change has resulted in an apocalypse. Not only has the physical landscape changed with rising sea levels, but people have stopped dreaming and this has resulted in mass madness. Government officials realize that Indigenous people seem to be immune and continue to dream, so "Recruiters" have been tasked with rounding them up and bringing them to "facilities" called schools, where they are never heard from again. Our narrator, Frenchie, is a sixteen-year-old orphan who has been part of a bonded band of mostly youth, led by an elder named Miig for the past six years. Surviving in the wilderness is rough and requires constant vigilance. This riveting story is believable and the writing is layered and lovely. Frenchie's story is honest and raw. 

The narrator's performance was well-paced and engaging. Teens who enjoy dystopian literature will find much to admire here. The Marrow Thieves was published in 2017 and won the Kirkus Prize for Young People's Literature and also made the School Library Journal Best Books List, as well as the YALSA Best Fiction list among other honors. A sequel, Hunting by Stars was published in 2021 and I need to read it. Happy reading!

Middle Grade Monday: The Order of Things by Kaija Langley

Image: Penguin Random House

The Order of Things by Kaija Langley. 278 p. Nancy Paulsen Books/ Penguin Random House, June, 2023. 9780593530900. (Review of finished hard cover courtesy of publisher.)

Happy Monday! What a mixed bag of weather we are having! The air quality hasn't been the greatest lately. Between that and the heat, I've noticed that Boo isn't his usual bounding self on our walks, so I've modified them to frequent and less lengthy. It's so humid and damp and I'm being plagued by those little gnats or whatever. Ugh! 

Middle Grade Monday features The Order of Things by Kaija Langley. Eleven-year-old April lives in an apartment in Boston with her single-by-choice Mom. They live right across the hall from Zee and Papa Zee. April and Zee were born within months of each other and are more than best friends. The four of them have formed a family. Things are changing for sixth grade for April though, because Zee, who is a violin prodigy, was accepted into a prestigious STEAM charter school. Not only does she not have her best friend in class, but her teacher has assigned seating and she's stuck next to Asa, who is socially awkward, a bit unkempt and shunned by the only two white girls in April's class.

April and Zee try to maintain life as they knew it, but Zee is driven to be the best and this requires a lot of after school practice and lessons, so April decides to pursue drumming and Papa Zee agrees to teach her. Then, her mom brings Robin to their sacred family dinner and April takes an instant dislike to her.

When Zee has a fainting episode at school, Papa Zee wants him to slow down, but Zee sneaks away to practice in the building's laundry room. April finds him when she goes to do the family laundry and he swears her to secrecy. He also swears her to secrecy when he suffers another cardiac episode and reassures her that it is nothing.

It's not nothing though, and just before Christmas, the unthinkable happens. The family receives support from their community, but April does not know how she will cope without Zee. "I'm dreaming solo from now on." She feels guilt in addition to her grief for keeping Zee's secret. Soon, she's keeping Papa Zee's secret. Then, she discovers Asa's secret and it may be just too much for April to handle.

This novel in verse is told from April's point-of-view. It's well-crafted and immediately engaging, featuring fully formed characters and an authentic sense of community. April thrives in her found family. She's a realistic mix of thoughtful and thoughtless, and confident and uncertain. Readers who love sad books will root for April as she tries to find her footing. I read this in one sitting and just love it. I can't wait for my students to meet April. 

Teen Tuesday and Audiobook Review: All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

Image: Penguin Random House

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~10 hours, 26 minutes. Read by Deepti Gupta, Kamran R. Khan and Kausar Mohammed. Listening Library, March, 2022. 9780593502228. (Review of finished e-audio borrowed from public library.)

Teen Tuesday features All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir. Ms. Tahir made a huge splash with her debut trilogy starter, An Ember in the Ashes. Here she turns from fantasy to contemporary realistic fiction and the results are gut-wrenching and utterly compelling.

Salahudin and Noor are eighteen-year-old seniors living in a small town in the Mojave Desert in California. They are the only Muslims in town and used to be best friends. Noor is an orphan who lost her parents in an earthquake in Pakistan when she was six. Her uncle, who owns a liquor store and was her only living relative, brought her to the U.S., but has banned her from speaking Punjabi or practicing Islam. Though Noor wishes to attend college and eventually study medicine, her uncle's plans for her to work at his liquor store full-time.

Sal's parents own the financially failing Cloud Rest Motel and his mother, Misbah has ignored her health problems due to lack of insurance. His father struggles with alcoholism. Sal learns of the severity of the financial problems when Misbah dies. His father is useless and Sal vows to save the motel, but makes a poor choice in order to do so.

The POV (point-of-view) shifts between Noor and Sal in the present with snippets of the past narrated by Misbah. The result is a feeling of immediacy and utter dread as the story unfolds. Issues of class, race, Islamaphobia, abuse, found family and the criminal justice system collide in a compelling, yet painful narrative. I read this one with my ears and had to stop often due to the intensity of emotions I felt.

Mature teen fans of the author's Ember in the Ashes Trilogy will most definitely want to read All My Rage, as will fans of contemporary realistic fiction. This is a story that will stay with me for a long time. 

I'm so glad I read this with my ears. The three narrators were pitch perfect. 

Arc Review: Once Upon a Camel by Kathi Appelt

Image: Simon & Schuster

Once Upon a Camel by Kathi Appelt. Illustrated by Eric Rohmann. 326 p. A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book/ Atheneum Books for Young Readers/ Simon & Schuster, September 7, 2021. 9781534406438. (Review of arc courtesy of Blue Slip Media.)

Zada is an elderly camel who lives in the desert in Texas with her found family headed by kestrels, Pardo and Perlita. She's awakened abruptly one morning by a hysterical Perlita babbling about an approaching mountain. Turns out, that mountain is a dust storm, a haboob (Yes, I had to look that up), and it's heading toward the cottonwood tree the family have made their home. What's more, Pardo and Perlita have two unfledged chicks in their nest that need protecting! 

The frantic kestrel parents entrust the care of Beulah and Wims to Zada before they are blown upwards into the windstorm. The two chicks nestle down into the hair on top of Zada's head and the trio sets off to the Mission. While Zada has made the trip to the mission many times, never has she done so in the middle of a windstorm and never on such achy legs and certainly not with two fidgety chicks balanced on her head! But she is an honorable camel and a fine auntie and will not Pardo and Perlita down. But what to do to keep Wims and Beulah occupied? She tells them stories.

This is when the narrative flashes back from 1910, West Texas to Smyrna, Turkey in 1850. Do the math, Zada is old! Together with Asiye, Zada was born into the Pasha's racing stables and are destined to race for him. Under the tutelage of gentle Teodor, the two camel best friends thrive and strive to be their very fastest in service of the Pasha. How then, does Zada end up in America? You'll need to read this luscious, atmospheric story-within-a-story to find out. 

And, did you notice in the publication information up top that the book was illustrated by Eric Rohmann? This was the whipped cream and cherry on top of your favorite sundae! Here's a photo of one particularly arresting bit of art among many:

I'm a huge fan of Ms. Appelt. Her books are basically automatic purchases for me. I love her unhurried storytelling. It's rich and lyrical and perfect for reading aloud. She must've done a tremendous amount of research. I spent a fair amount of time looking up unfamiliar words, including the pronunciation of Asiye's name. Young readers' vocabulary will be enriched as Ms. Appelt steeps the reader in two countries/ cultures. 

There are moments of danger and suspense. There will be tears but there are many moments of humor, much of it laugh-out-loud. I closed the book with a satisfied sigh and cannot wait to reread it with my ears. 

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.

Picture Book Review: A Piglet Named Mercy by Kate DiCamillo

A Piglet Named Mercy by Kate DiCamillo. unpgd. Illustrated by Chris Van Dusen. Candlewick Press, April 2, 2019. 9780763677534. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

One of the things I miss most about being a K-8 librarian is regularly reading aloud to a group of younger children. The Mercy Watson books were always an automatic purchase and my students would wiggle with anticipation when they learned there was a new one. Instant attention. They loved seeing the familiar details like the piece of toast that depicted the page number at the bottom. Truthfully, I never wondered how Mercy ever became part of the Watson family. She just was. Silly me.

Becoming reacquainted with Mr. & Mrs. Watson and their neighbors, the Lincoln sisters was an absolute delight. Kate DiCamillo's simple, understated storytelling entrances. Chris Van Dusen's retro illustrations are pure fifties suburban utopia. Chubby, rosy-cheeked Mrs. Watson wondering about being ordinary while vacuuming her perfect little home. Mr. Watson washing his perfect pink car and trimming his perfect green hedges. One night a truckload of pigs rumbles down the street, hits a pothole and out bumps a tiny piglet. She makes her way to the Watson's porch where they find her while retrieving the morning paper. Too heart-meltingly delicious! Of course, Mr. Watson is eating a piece of...hot, buttered toast! Of course, the Lincoln sisters are aware of the new arrival. Of course, Eugenia Lincoln does not approve. Of course, Baby Lincoln (oh what a delightful name!) saves the day by bringing warm milk in a bottle!

I mentioned earlier this week in another review that a great series cocoons readers in the comfort of the familiar while introducing new words or concepts. Baby Mercy with her piggy snout, double-chin and pleading eyes entrance the childless, ordinary Watsons immediately. It is love at first sight for them and anyone who reads this lovely story of the creation of family and unconditional love.