Middle Grade Monday and Audiobook Review: Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow

Image: Disney Books

Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow. Unabridged e-audio, ~8 hours. Read by Will Collyer.  Disney Hyperion, January, 2023. 9781368095822. (Review of e-audio borrowed from public library.)

Happy Monday! The steamy, cloudy, buggy, thunderstormy weather continues here in northern NJ. Middle Grade Monday features Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow. This was a rare book for me, in that I went into it knowing very little about the plot. I liked the riff on "Simon Says," and saw the title mentioned in a few childlit discussions as a possible Newbery contender, so I didn't read reviews or anything else about the book. I'm glad, because I didn't already know, since it's front and center on the front flap and in most reviews.

Most kids don't want to move household, let alone way out to the boondocks to a town called, I kid you not, Grin and Bear It, Nebraska. But that's okay with Simon. The town is in the middle of a national quiet zone due to the presence of a team of scientists trying to make contact with aliens through an array of huge telescopes, so all electronics are banned. There's no Internet, no cable and not even a microwave to be found. And, that's okay with Simon. That means no googling the new kid.

He hopes to fly under the radar and try to get his life back to normal. His parents are trying to do everything in their power to help Simon, and he appreciates that. He feels a little guilty about that and other things.

His first impressions of Grin and Bear It, are good. He quickly makes friends with Kevin and Agate. Agate is autistic and her large family has a farm where they raise angora goats and service dogs. Agate seems to intuit that Simon needs one and tasks him with a puppy to raise. She also has a scheme to save the scientists, who funding may be in jeopardy. Settling into this small town is not as easy for his parents, his undertaker mother is stuck with an inept assistant who either loses bodies or takes the wrong one. His deacon father ruffles the feathers of the church ladies when a squirrel gets into the communion wafers.

Hilarity and hijinks distract from the underlying secret that Simon gradually reveals. Simon is an endearing character who is easy to root for. Secondary characters are equally endearing and the sense of community is strong. Ms. Bow deals with a timely topic deftly and age appropriately.

New to me narrator, Will Collyer delivered a measured and thoughtful performance. Readers who love sad books will love Simon Sort of Says. I'm putting this on my reread pile. Highly recommend.

Middle Grade Monday: The Canyon's Edge by Dusti Bowling

Image: Little, Brown and Company

The Canyon's Edge by Dusti Bowling. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~3 hours, 5 minutes. Read by Casey Holloway. Hachette Audio, September, 2020. 9781549134456. (Review of e-audio borrowed from public library.)

Happy Labor Day! I hope you've been enjoying your holiday weekend! Middle Grade Monday features The Canyon's Edge by Dusti Bowling. A number of my students are fans of the author's debut, Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus and its sequel, Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus. The Canyon's Edge is very different. It's written in verse with sections of prose. The mostly present tense stream of consciousness and use of flashbacks are very effective in setting the mood and instilling tension.

Nora and her father head out to the Sonoran Desert to celebrate her birthday with a hike and climb into a slot canyon. Nora's father chose this celebration to be far away from civilization and danger, because a year earlier, the family were celebrating at a restaurant when a man dressed in cammo entered and began shooting, killing Nora's mother and wounding her father. Both are grieving, suffering from PTSD and have withdrawn from the world. Nora has been homeschooled, but is ready to return.

Unfortunately, the desert also contains danger. They are hiking in the slot canyon when a flash flood roars through. Nora's father pushes her up to safety, but is swept away by the strong current. Nora is left alone with no supplies and many decisions to make. Does she attempt to climb out of the slot and find their car? If so, what then? They were parked in the middle of the desert. Does she climb back down into the slot and follow the trail hoping to find her father? Luckily for Nora, she's an experienced hiker/ climber. Even without equipment, she knows to look out for danger, such as snakes and scorpions and, worst of all, another flash flood.

The audiobook was effectively performed, but I think I should've read this one with my eyes to appreciate the various breaks and poetry forms. 

The Sonoran Desert setting is vivid and tension runs high throughout this intense, edge-of-your-seat survival adventure that you won't want to miss.

Teen Tuesday: Dear Justyce by Nic Stone

Image: Penguin Random House

Dear Justyce: a novel by Nic Stone. 266 p. Crown Books for Young Readers/ Random House/ Penguin Random House, September, 2020. 9781984829665. (Review of finished purchased copy.)

Happy Tuesday! Teen Tuesday features Dear Justyce: a novel by Nic Stone. In this sequel to Ms. Stone's critically acclaimed debut, Dear Martin, seventeen-year-old Vernell LaQuan Banks, Jr. (You better call him Quan) is awaiting trial for the murder of a police officer. It's a crime he did not commit, but he was at the scene. He has an arrest record, an overworked, possibly incompetent public defender and knows he's looking at hard time in prison.

He writes a series of letters to his friend, Justyce. The two met on a playground one night while trying to escape difficult times at home. The two boys were bright, loved school and loved to read. Quan had an aptitude for math and hopes for the future despite experiencing the trauma of witnessing the violent arrest of this father when he was eleven. Justyce had a mother who expected him to excel and supported him; Quan's mother sided with the teacher who accused him of cheating on an algebra exam. As Quan began to lose hope, the school-to-prison pipeline became an increasing reality.

Dear Justyce is a difficult read. It's raw. It's sad. It's intense. It's important. You don't really need to read Dear Martin before reading Dear Justyce, but you should. Both books belong on every kind of library shelf. 

Middle Grade Monday and Audiobook Review: Tristan Strong Destroys the World by Kwame Mbalia

Image: Disney Books

Tristan Strong Destroys the World by Kwame Mbalia. Tristan Strong #2. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~9 hours. Read by Amir Abdullah. Listening Library, October, 2020. 9780593149614. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library.)

Middle Grade Monday features Tristan Strong Destroys the World by Kwame Mbalia. This sequel to Mr. Mbalia's debut blockbuster, Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky is even better. That's saying something because I loved the first book. If you've read it, you will definitely want to read the sequel and if you haven't, what are you waiting for?

Tristan Strong has been back from Alke for a month, still staying on his grandparents' farm and still training with his grandfather. He's still filled with self-doubt and acknowledges that he's probably suffering from PTSD. After a "friendly" sparring match gets a bit rough, Tristan's grandmother is kidnapped and taken to Alke. Reluctant as he is to return to Alke, he has to rescue his grandmother! He hopes to get advice from John Henry, but he is a shell of the man Tristan came to admire. So, it's up to Tristan, Ayanna and the irrepressible Gum Baby to get things done. 

Mr. Mbalia seamlessly weaves African mythology and African American folklore into a seat-of-your-pants adventure. While often humorous, there is real trauma here both cultural and personal. Perceptive readers will appreciate the power of storytelling and remembering. The mind-blowing ending of this installment will leave readers panting for the next!

Amir Abdullah's performance does not disappoint! It's perfectly paced and emotionally engaging. 

#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. 

Middle Grade Monday: The Eleventh Trade by Alyssa Hollingworth

The Eleventh Trade by Alyssa Hollingsworth. 304 p. Roaring Brook Press, September, 2018. 9781250155764. (Review of purchased finished copy.)

Middle Grade Monday features The Eleventh Trade by Alyssa Hollingsworth. This impressive debut is the first-person narration by Sami, newly arrived in Boston with his grandfather, Babi and Babi's beloved musical instrument, his rebab and very little else. The two fled tragedy in Syria and Babi busks in the streets of Boston for their livelihood. When the rebab is stolen, Sami feels guilt over the theft and, with the help of some new-found friend finds it in a pawn shop, where he must buy it back for $700. He convinces the owner  to hold it for him and embarks on a series of trades to earn the rebab back. 

The present tense narration builds suspense and Sami's story of immigration is heartbreaking. Sami's attempt to learn English and deal not only with his apparent PTSD but also life in yet another new country are vividly depicted and highlights his resilience. Readers will empathize and ache for Sami as his subterfuges begin to damage his relationship with his beloved Babi. Readers who loved Refugee or Nowhere Boy will enjoy The Eleventh Trade but really, this is a book everyone should read. 

Teen Tuesday: Speak: a graphic novel by Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak: a graphic novel by Laurie Halse Anderson. Illustrated by Emily Carroll. 384 p. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, February, 2018. 978037400289. (Review from copy borrowed from public library.)

Teen Tuesday features Speak: a graphic novel by Laurie Halse Anderson. Illustrated by Emily Carroll. The novel, Speak, was published nearly twenty years ago, in 1999. It won a Printz Honor. I recall saying to a colleague, "This should be required reading for every rising eighth grader, boys and girls, before heading to high school." Since then, I have reread it several times and find it just as (sadly) relevant and powerful.

Melinda has lost her voice after an awful attack at a big high school summer bash. She starts her freshman year as an outcast because she called the police, not to bust up the party, but to report the attack. She could not speak of it - not to the police, her parents or her best friends. 

Laurie Halse Anderson reworked her novel to accommodate the graphic novel format and updated it to reflect the technology that wasn't available back then. Emily Carroll's haunting black and white illustrations depict Melinda's isolation and loneliness. 

When Speak: a graphic novel published, I was out of budget money.Speak: a graphic novel  will join her sister, Speak at TMS in the fall. Both are must-reads for teens.