Middle Grade Monday: Remarkably Ruby by Terri Libenson

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

Remarkably Ruby by Terri Libenson. Emma and Friends Series. 368 p. Balzer + Bray/ HarperCollins, May, 2022. 9780063139183. (Review of finished copy borrowed from public library.)

Happy Monday! I had a lazy, unproductive weekend. I did take Boo for two three-mile walks each day and went to yoga though. I guess you could say I rested up in preparation for my first full week of school. Middle Grade Monday features Remarkably Ruby by Terri Libenson. This is book number six in the graphic novel hybrid series, Emmie and Friends. I have the first three books in my library and they're quite popular. I lost track of the series though and discovered that this is book six! They don't need to be read in order and I have some ordering to do!

Ruby is shy, clumsy and anxious. She just wants to stay under the radar and not have her goofs broadcast on social media. Her probably former best friend, Mia is everything Ruby is not. She's also running for class president and embarrassed by Ruby. However, Mia struggles with anxiety as well and as her campaign heats up ends up alienating her circle of friends as well.

As with the other books in the series, the balance of text and art is pleasing. Characters and situations are relatable and there's plenty of humor. These books are a great addition to any type of library.

Waiting on Wednesday: My Nest of Silence written and illustrated by Matt Faulkner.

Image: Simon & Schuster

My Nest of Silence written and illustrated by Matt Faulkner. 384 p. Atheneum Books for Young Readers/ Simon & Schuster, October 18, 2022. 9781534477629.

Happy Wednesday! It's a lovely day out there! I should've turned the AC off and opened windows last night as the temps did dip into the lowish 60s. Opportunity lost. I hope you are able to get outside and enjoy the weather! 

Waiting on Wednesday features My Nest of Silence written and illustrated by Matt Faulkner. A true student of history studies the mistakes that were made and can be critical of injustices committed while still loving their country. That includes reading well-researched historical fiction. Japanese American citizens had their property confiscated and were imprisoned after Japan attacked the U.S. Mr. Faulkner's graphic novel hybrid will release this October. 

Here's the publisher synopsis: Told in a brilliant blend of prose and graphic novel, this unforgettable middle grade story about a Japanese American family during World War II is written and illustrated by Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature winner Matt Faulkner.

Manzanar is nothing like home. Yet the relocation center is where Mari and her family have to live, now that the government has decided that Japanese Americans aren’t American enough. Determined to prove them wrong, Mari’s brother Mak has joined the army and is heading off to war. In protest, Mari has stopped talking for the duration of the war. Or at least until Mak comes home safe.

Still, Mari has no trouble expressing herself through her drawings. Mak, too, expresses himself in his letters home, first from training camp and later from the front lines of World War II, where he is fighting with the 442nd Regimental Combat Team. But while his letters are reassuring, reality is not: Mak is facing danger at every turn, from racism within the army to violence on the battlefield.

In turns humorous and heartbreaking, Mari and Mak’s story will stick with readers long after the last page.

Middle Grade Monday: Stuntboy, In the Meantime by Jason Reynolds.

Image: Simon & Schuster

Stuntboy, In the Meantime by Jason Reynolds. Illustrated by Raúl the Third. 272 p. Caitlyn Dlouhy Books/ Atheneum/ Simon & Schuster, November, 2021. 9781534418165. (Review of finished purchased copy.)

Middle Grade Monday features Stuntboy, In the Meantime by Jason Reynolds. Portico Reeves has an active imagination and a lot of anxiety about things he has no control over. His parents are arguing, he's dealing with a bully and cares immensely for the residents in his apartment building aka the castle. The pace of this graphic novel hybrid is fast, with the action broken into ten "episodes" of his life as a superhero along with "commercial breaks" which offer sage advice. 

There's plenty of heart and humor in both the prose and the illustrations. Fans of the author & the illustrator will be delighted by this collaboration. More please. 

Middle Grade Monday Review & Giveaway: Timmy Failure: Mistakes were Made by Stephan Pastis

Image: Candlewick Press

Timmy Failure: Mistakes were Made by Stephan Pastis. (Movie Tie-in Edition) Timmy Failure series #1. 293 p. Candlewick Press, February, 2020.  9781536209075. (Review of finished paperback courtesy of publisher.)

Middle Grade Monday features Timmy Failure: Mistakes were Made by Stephan Pastis. Our narrator, Timmy Failure runs a detective agency, Total Failure, which he hopes will soon become a Fortune500 company. The only problem is, he's a clueless, inept detective. His partner, a polar bear named Total, is only interested in garbage and not much help to Timmy. Still, he soldiers on. School is a nuisance. He has no use for Scantron tests, except to create dot-to-dot pictures, which of course, causes him to fail, much to the consternation of his group. His single mom is caring but trying hard to stay afloat financially and probably doesn't pay enough attention to Timmy. Then, there's the new boyfriend.

There's a lot of humor in this illustrated novel/ hybrid graphic novel, some of it is kind of sad. There's depth too, along with the hijinks. One might believe that Timmy's delusions are a sign of mental instability. I submit that they are a survival mechanism. Thank goodness for the humor! Just as I would melt with sympathy, Pastis lightened the mood. I haven't felt this much emotional whiplash since... Hm, since watching Charlie Chaplin movies.

Adding to the appeal, there's plenty of visual humor in the copious spot art, featuring round-eyed characters. Mistakes were Made was originally published in 2013. My library's copy hasn't been checked out in a while. Perhaps the Disney movie will re-ignite interest in the series. I hope so. Timmy Failure endears.

Thanks to Candlewick Press, I am hosting a giveaway. Comment on this review by Wednesday morning, April 1 and you're entered for a chance at winning a movie tie-in edition of Timmy Failure: Mistakes were Made! U.S. & Canada only and no P.O. Boxes. I can give away two copies. Please understand that delivery may be delayed slightly.

Waiting on Wednesday: Just Jaime by Terri Libenson

Just Jaime by Terri Libenson. 256 p. Balzer + Bray/ HarperCollins Publishers, May 7, 2019. 9780062851062.

Publisher synopsis: Friends. Frenemies. Middle school...

The last day of seventh grade has Jaime and Maya wondering who their real friends are. Jaime knows something is off with her friend group. They've started to exclude her and make fun of the way she dresses and the things she likes. At least she can count on her BFF, Maya, to have her back...right?

Maya feels more and more annoyed with Jaime, who seems babyish compared to the other girls in their popular group It's like she has nothing in common with Jai anymore. Are their days as BFFs numbered?

Libenson's companion novels, Invisible Emmie and Positively Izzy are quite popular at my school as are graphic novel hybrids. 

Middle Grade Monday and Review: Positively Izzy by Terri Libenson

Positively Izzy by Terri Libenson. 220 p. Balzer + Bray/ HarperCollins Publishers, May 1, 2018. 9780062484970.

I don't know about you, but graphic novel hybrids have become popular at my school. This companion novel to Invisible Emmie is sure to please even if your students haven't read the firs. Emmie makes some appearances, but it's not essential to know what went on in Invisible Emmie to enjoy Positively Izzy.

Izzy's POV is told with illustrated, often hilarious prose. "I try to pay attention to Ms. Bloom, but her voice is so bland, I feel like I'm listening to the hum of an electric fan." (p. 43) She's a creative, free spirit whose interests lie in drama rather than in math and science. She's the middle child of three girls and her nurse mother works very hard to support the family. When Izzy blows a take-home exam, she's grounded the very day she's to perform in a talent show. She sneaks out with the help of her younger sister.

Brianna's POV is told through illustrated panels and speech bubbles. She labels herself a "brain" despite disliking the tendency of people to label. She lives with her single mother but her father lives in the same town. They are both teachers and Brianna is ambivalent about the fact that they are both "cool" and she is anything but. She reluctantly says yes to her mom when a performer in a skit can't make the evening's talent show. She's paired with an annoying boy from her advanced classes and suddenly can't see herself performing in front of the entire school.

Izzy lives for that. Readers will think they know where the story is going but are in for a surprise and will have to reread parts of the book to get the ending. I'm not entirely sure that I do, but Positively Izzy is a fun book. In fact, I don't think it will sit for long. A fifth grader spied it on my desk the other day and asked to check it out and I wasn't even done reading it! There's a bright pink Post-It note with her name on it on the cover for when I catalog the book for our collection.

This is an amusing, charming, gentle, relatable middle grade read.

Review: Sherlock Holmes and the disappearing diamond by Sam Hearn

Sherlock Holmes and the disappearing diamond by Sam Hearn. Baker Street Academy #1. 160 p. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc., March, 2018. 97813381913152. (Review from finished copy courtesy of publisher.)

Books about adult fictitious characters like James Bond or Sherlock Holmes  as children are moderately popular at my school library. Graphic novel hybrids are very popular so I expect this new series will hit a sweet spot. It sure is entertaining. 

Set in the present day, it is John Watson's journal. He's the new kid at school having been traveling Europe with his physician parents. He's settling in nicely thanks to popular Martha Sutton taking him under her wing. He's intrigued by the elusive and enigmatic Sherlock and intimidated by annoying James Moriarty. And then there's Baskerville, the lovable hound. A jewel heist is thwarted while John and his friends are on a class trip to the British Art and Antiquities Museum. Or is it?

James' journal is a mix of cartoon panels, journal entries and newspaper clippings. There's plenty of action and humor to keep readers interested. There are plenty of clever allusions to "real" Holmesian characters to keep aficionados amused as well.

Teen Tuesday: Thornhill by Pam Smy

Thornhill by Pam Smy. 544 p. Roaring Brook Press, August, 2017. 9781626726543. (Review from purchased finished copy)

If you enjoy graphic novel hybrids or gothic horror, check out our Teen Tuesday feature. Thornhill by Pam Smy. Two stories are told in this debut, one in pictures and one in prose. The pictures take place in the present time and the prose is the diary of a girl who resided at Thornhill back in the days when it was an orphanage. It's a boarded up dilapidated wreck now but Ella, who has just moved in across the street spies a girl in the upstairs window and, because she is lonely, investigates.

This one is dark, creepy and disturbing. Dread grows as the diary entries unfold and the visual story is equally suspenseful, helped along by the tones of black and shadows. Atmospheric and a perfect choice to lure a dormant reader.