Haven Jacobs Saves the Planet by Barbara Dee

 

Seventh grader Haven Jacobs is a worrier. And right now she's worried about planet earth and what's happening to it because of climate change. She's kept her thoughts to herself, right up until her science teacher Mr. Hendricks showed a film about how climate change was causing the Antarctic glaciers to being melting. After all, what would happen to the penguins if they lost their icy home? This all leads to a full on panic attack, and Haven can no longer hide her fears from her family and friends and frequently finds herself falling down the internet rabbit hole researching articles and videos about what climate change is doing to the world.

All these worries come to head when Mr. Hendricks announces their class project to study the local Belmont River. This is a project he does every year with his class. In fact, two years before Haven's brother Carter was in his class, and he tells her about all the frogs that were there. But when Haven and her class arrive at the river, not only are there no frogs, but there are not even pollution sensitive macros to be found, only macros that can tolerate pollution. 

At the same time, there is a new boy in Haven's class named Kenji, whose father is in charge of the new glass factory, Gemba, where Haven's father finally got a job after being jobless for two years. Her best friend Riley has a crush on Kenji and is also hanging out with another girl more that with Haven. And why isn't her oldest friend Archer speaking to her in person, only texting about the video game he's playing. Haven's life is beginning to get really complicated, and skipping social studies and not doing her homework doesn't help.

The results of the Belmont River project shows that this year it is indeed polluted, and Haven feels like she needs to do something to make a difference in the world, even if it is only cleaning up the river and finding out who is polluting it. With the help of Mr. Hendricks, Ms. Packer, her social studies teacher, her friends and family, a big river clean-up is organized. There's food, fun, and games, and people do volunteer to do river cleanup, and it feels like it is a success. But in the end, Haven realizes they have only contributed to pollution, and not made much of a difference at all. Is there anything Haven can do to have a impact on climate change?

One of the things about a Barbara Dee novel is that as soon as you begin reading, you are quickly pulled into the story and it's easy to continue to the end in one sitting and Haven's story is no different. Haven is an interesting protagonist, and you can really feel her anxiety and her need to do something. I imagine there are lots of kids today who have some degree of eco-anxiety and who will relate to Haven's feelings and her attempts to make a difference on a small scale. Haven's parents are concerned about her and after finding about what's going on in social studies, suggest she see a therapist, who does help her focus more. 

One of the other things I liked about this book is that the adults are presented in a positive, supportive and involved way, with the exception of Kenji's father. It was also nice to see Haven's relationship with her brother change amd mature over the course of the book. And for the most part Haven's friends are also supportive, although she has a hard time liking one of them, Em, until she learns her story. Even so, Em gives Haven an interesting way to help her control nail biting. 

Haven Jacobs Saves the Planet is an inspiring novel that should appeal to middle graders concerned about climate change and show hem that not everyone needs to be a Greta Thunberg to make a difference. 

I haven't done a MMGM in a long time and it's good to be back. You can see all of this week's wonderful MMGM books thanks to Greg at Always in the Middle

I Must Betray You by Ruta Sepetys

 

It's weird to read a book that feels so much like historical fiction and yet the events take place in 1989, one year after my Kiddo was born, and I clearly remember what happened to communism all over Eastern Europe that year. This novel takes place in Romania, which had been governed under the repressive communist dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife since 1965 and the Romanian people were controlled by the secret police called Securitate through the use of mass surveillance, which included turning ordinary citizens into informers, usually through blackmail. 

And that is just what happens to Cristian Florescu, a 17-year-old student who dreams of becoming a writer and who secretly enjoys poetry and philosophy and buys English language stuff on the sly. Then one October school day in 1989, Cristian is pulled out of class by a member of the Securitate, or Secu, who informs him that they know what he has done. Cristian is an avid stamp collector and his crime was having given a Romanian stamp to American teen, Dan Van Dorn, the son of American diplomat Nick Van Dorn stationed in Romania. But later, when he looked through his stamp book, Cristian had discovered an American dollar inside it, which was illegal to possess and the Secu tells him he is now guilty of illegal trafficking. Unless...he agrees to collect information on the Van Dorn family where his mother works cleaning their apartment. In exchange for information, Cristian's grandfather, his Bunu, a rebel in his own right, would receive needed medicine for his leukemia.

And because the Secu blackmailed people into becoming informers, Cristian had learned not to trust anyone, certainly not his best friend Luca, whom he is sure was the one who informed on him about the American dollar, or even Liliana, the girl he is attracted to. But Cristian decides that he will not be the kind of informer the Secu wants, thinking he can undermine the Secu. 

Meanwhile, Cristian learns about the fall of Communist regimes are happening all over Europe - Poland, Hungary, East Germany, Czechoslovakia - secretly listening to Radio Free Europe on his family's forbidden radio. Why, he wonders, can't that happen in Romania? Perhaps if the world knew what was happening in there, things would be different. And Cristian has just the plan to hopefully make that happen.  

Ruta Sepetys has always been an author whose work I looked forward to reading and yet, I was reluctant to read I Must Betray You. Perhaps it was because of current events happening in the world right now, but once I began reading, I couldn't put the book down. Right from the beginning, Cristian is a compelling character, caring, sensitive and intelligent, curious about the world outside of Romania and, like the grandfather he looks up to, as much of a rebel as you can be under a harsh communist regime. And for that reason, I, of course, wanted to find out what happens once he becomes a reluctant informer for the Securitate. 

Sepetys has also drawn a picture of Romania under Ceaușescu's dictatorship that is as chilling as it is scary. Neighbors and friends informing on neighbors and friends, getting up early to stand in long lines to buy meager amounts of food, acquiring and keeping constant count of Kent cigarettes to use for bartering and bribing, never knowing what is being documented that can be used to manipulate or arrest you. Even the bottle of Coke or the Twinkie that Cristian and Liliana secretly share is documented - but how? Who saw it? Who reported it? But the Secu knows, just like they know about the American dollar Cristian finds. 

As with all of her novels, Sepetys has really done her research. She has managed to convey the hardships, the fear, the constant hunger, and lack of trust in the lives of the Romanian people at that time so well that I had to keep reminding myself that this is a story based on reality and not a dystopian novel, because that is almost what Ceaușescu's Romania felt like. 

Be sure to check the back matter. There is a variety of interesting and informative photographs, an Author's Note that shouldn't be missed, information on Sepetys' Research and Sources, plus an extensive list of sources. And for those who are sharing this book with their class or book club, you can find a Discussion Guide HERE 

This book was borrowed from the NYPL

Violets Are Blue by Barbara Dee

 

One morning in February, 11-year-old Ren wakes up and discovers her dad has left the house and she doesn't hear from him until he lands in NYC, assuming Ren's mom has explained that they were getting divorced. Ren's mom Kelly, an ER nurse, doesn't really want to talk about the divorce, and escapes accepting it by sleeping a lot. Ren copes with these changes in her life watching online extreme makeup videos, especially those of Cat FX, an expert in special effects makeup. 

It turns out Ren's father has met someone who lives in Brooklyn and they are planning to get married in the summer. He invites Ren out for a visit and as much as she doesn't want to like Vanessa, she does. Vanessa is also pregnant, and somewhat into makeup because of her upcoming wedding. and the two have fun shopping for different kinds of cosmetics.

That summer, attending her father's summer wedding (and doing Vanessa's makeup for it), Ren's mom decides they need to move and start over, and since she is going to be attending a new school, Ren decides she want's to be called Wren from now on. At school, she immediately makes a friend named Poppy, who is so impressed with Wren's makeup skill, she talks her into trying out to do the makeup for the school play Wicked. Poppy was hoping for the part of Elphaba, but it goes to Avery, a not very friendly mean girl. Avery has a crush on a boy named Kai, but it seems that Kai is more attracted to Wren. 

Meanwhile, Kelly is sleeping more and more, and blaming it on her long days in the ER and the aching back and knees that come with job. Perhaps that's why she is so short tempered with Wren. Then there are all the pain pills in the medicine cabinet, and the lock Kelly has put on her bedroom door, keeping it locked at all time so Wren can't go in. Wren thinks there might be something wrong with her mom, but doesn't know what. Luckily, Kelly has made a friend in the ER named Krystal, and it starts to become clear that something is indeed wrong when Krystal begins checking up on her and Wren. It all comes to a head when Kelly doesn't show up for opening night of Wicked. All of this leads up to a crisis which Wren is way too young to handle by herself, but thankfully has Krystal and her dad's help.

This is another tough topic book by Barbara Dee who tackled sexual harassment in Maybe He Just Likes You and mental illness in My Life in the Fish Tank. Parents who divorce is also tough enough topic, as is moving to another town and school and starting over, but here Dee takes things one step further and explores the reasons for the broken trust between Wren and her mother, a trust that may never be healed completely. 

I have to confess that at first Wren's extreme makeup interest didn't appeal much to me, but when I thought why, I realized that the extreme makeup was a great metaphor for the secrets Wren and her mother hide from each other throughout the book. Makeup, after all, is used to hide flaws and make us look better than we might without it, in a sense presenting a false face to the world. Wren's having to hide her feelings about her dad and his new life forces her into being secretive about what happens on her visits to Brooklyn (and there are many) and the cosmetics Vanessa sends her, hiding them from Kelly. Meanwhile, Kelly hiding a host of her own problems behind a locked door which is just so telling. 

On a positive note, it was very nice to see a stepmom getting along so well with her husband's daughter from a previous marriage, and Wren acceptance of her and the twin babies she gives birth to is equally good to see. You don't often see that in middle grade novels. Vanessa is so open and accepting of Wren and Wren really needs that.  

Violets are Blue is an emotionally charged novel, and one that I highly recommend. You can also find a useful Reading Group Guide courtesy of the publisher Aladdin/Simon & Schuster HERE

This book is recommended for readers age 9+

This book was an ARC gratefully received from Casey Blackwell at Media Masters Publicity

Be sure to check out the other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday offerings, 

now being carried on by Greg at Always in the Middle

Susie B. Won't Back Down by Margaret Finnegan

Fifth grader Susie B. describes herself as a "butterfly brain" because of her attention and impulse control issues. When it is announced that Student Council elections will be held, she decides she wants to run for president and her best friend Joselyn decides to run treasurer. Together, they plan their strategy, but Susie B.'s motivations aren't exactly presidential - she really just wants to be able to use the microphone for leading the Pledge of Allegiance everyday, fighting for "the rights of all people, all the time," including polar bears and paragraph writers, and for having eternal glory. 

Of course, the most popular kids in fifth grade are also running for office. Susie and Joselyn realize that their best hope of getting elected is to have popular, perfect Chloe and her friends on their side. Only problem is they don't like each other.

Meanwhile, their teacher, Mr. Springer, has assigned the class a hero's project in which each student can choose the hero of their choice. Susie B., who has always disliked being call that, decides it isn't so bad after all when she chooses Susan B. Anthony. Except that the more she learns about her chosen hero, the more Susie B. becomes disillusioned.

The, when Susie B. gets angry and tells Chloe she's mean in class, Joselyn thinks they have lost any chance of winning the election. When she tells Susie to let her deal with Chloe. Susie B. agrees, but it's beginning to look like Joselyn is really having a lot more fun with Chloe and her friends. 

Susie B. records all the day to day fifth grade dramatics in epistolary form in a notebook addressed to Susan B. Anthony, including all the negative information she discovers about her hero/not hero. With the election isn't going well, Susan B. Anthony proving herself not to be the hero Susie B. thought she was, and now feeling like her best friend is abandoning her, Susie is feeling discouraged, but it also gives her the chance to get to know other kids in her class better, including Carson, who turns out to be a great artist and a real help, as well as her opponent Danny Rodriguez, who is pretty nice after all, and really doesn't want to be the golden boy he is forced to be by his parents. 

Susie B. Won't Back Down is a delightful novel about being who you are and finding where you fit in in the world. For Susie, that means being honest with yourself and others, but she still has a lot to learn and paradoxes to grapple with. For instance, can Susan B. Anthony be a hero and not a hero at the same time? Discovering that the people you think are perfect are quite fallible and not always who they appear to be is one of those lessons in life all kids must deal with sooner or later, and fifth grade is the year that Susie B. learns this lesson. And though she may deal with it inappropriately at times, it is a lesson she eventually comes to terms with. 

Although the novel is completely written in letters addressed to Susan B. Anthony, none of Susie B.'s exuberance, honesty, or disappointments is lost. I did like that Susie has an intact family who is supportive and seem to understand her attention challenges, though they don't seem to play a big part in her life and aren't really developed, unlike the character of her half brother, Lock. I did think it odd that though Lock is biracial, it never really figures into the story. However, Lock is the voice of reason in Susie's life, even if she doesn't want to hear what he has to say sometimes. But it is clear that the two love and care deeply about each other.

I wouldn't call Susie B. Won't Back Down a coming-of-age novel per se, but it is certainly the start of that self-discovery process for Susie B, and Finnegan handles it with honesty and humor and a few tears. Don't miss meeting this charming young lady. 

This book is recommended for readers age 9+

This book was an ARC gratefully received from Barbara Fisch at Blue Slip Media.

  

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“Susie is energetic, breathless, enthusiastic, and genuinely, charmingly funny.” —Kirkus Reviews

A Junior Library Guild Selection

Margaret Finnegan is the author of the middle-grade novels Susie B. Won’t Back Down and We Could Be Heroes. Her writing often focuses on themes on inclusion, hard choices, and being true to yourself. She also makes a really good chocolate cake. To learn more, and to download free discussion guides, visit MargaretFinnegan.com.

Twitter: @FinneganBegin

Instagram: @finneganbegin

Check out the fun mock newspaper, The Susie B News--available for download here!

#MMGM: Violet and the Pie of Life by Debra Green

 

Seventh grader Violet Summers, 12, has always thought of her dad as a fun, loosey-goosey free spirit and her mom as a nagging, work driven spoil sport. And to make matters worse, they have been fighting much more than usual. Then, one day, Violet's dad moves out without much of a good-bye and goes radio silent. Meanwhile, at school, Violet's best friend McKenzie Williston talks her into auditioning for the school play The Wizard of Oz. McKenzie really wants to play Dorothy, but is cast as a monkey instead. Violet lands the part as the Lion, and the part of Dorothy goes to Ally Ziegler. Beautiful, talented, biracial Ally happens to be Violet and McKenzie's arch enemy (though Ally is completely unaware of this). McKenzie tries to talk Violet into quitting the play with her, but Violet decides she wants to do it. 

With her father gone, tension between Violet and her mom increases. Violet is sure that if her mom hadn't nagged so much, her father would have stayed. And she is hoping that attending her play will bring her parents together and they can become a whole family again. But the more her dad doesn't respond to her calls and texts, the angrier Violet gets at her mom.

As rehearsals begin for the play, Violet and McKenzie start to drift away from each other. Soon, Violet is eating lunch with Ally and her friends and she discovers that Ally doesn't have the picture perfect life that she and McKenzie always believed she had. 

As Violet's life unfolds, readers also learn about McKenzie's life. Her father had passed away years earlier, and her mother believes in free range parenting, which really amounts to plain old neglect. Her clothes are old and worn, but she had always found comfort in her sleepovers at Violet's house, and gets along well with her mother. Ironically, Mrs. Summers is the stable adult in McKenzie's life. She's is a real estate agent and, unlike Violet, McKenzie is interested in what she does, so Mrs. Summer's is beginning to teach her all about that business.

Parents separating is always hard on the children who inevitably believe it is their fault. Violet's father, who appeared to be a free spirit at first, really is just selfish and immature, behaving more like a spoiled child than a grown man. Her mother does come across as a nag, but as readers get to know her, they will see she is really a caring person who only wants the best for both Violet and McKenzie. 

Violet struck me as quite bratty at first, but she does change over the course of the novel. At first, she lets rehearsals and her father take up so much of her time that she begins to fall behind in school. Luckily, her math teacher is perceptive and quickly realizes that Violet is a math wiz and gives her a special math packet that is more challenging. In fact, one of the ways Violet deals with things in her life is by putting them into graphs, charts and other mathematical diagrams all through the novel.   

The real takeaway from Violet and the Pie of Life is that while math problems always work out just as they should, life doesn't but it does make for an interesting, engaging coming of age novel.

This book is recommended for readers age 10+

This book was gratefully received from the publisher, Holiday House

Be sure to check out the other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday offerings, 

now being carried on by Greg at Always in the Middle

#MMGM: Born Behind Bars by Padma Venkatraman

When she was pregnant with him, Kabir Khan's mother was accused of a crime she did not commit and put into a Chennai jail where he was born. He has lived there since that day, in a cell with several other women besides his mother. Small for his age, no one paid much attention to Kabir until the new warden decides that at age 9, he is old enough to be released. Before he goes, his teacher at the prison school tries her best to prepare him for the outside world, as do his cellmates. 

On the day of his release, Kabir is picked up by a man who says he is his uncle. But it doesn't take long for him to realize that the man is not a relative and that he plans to sell Kabir. Using his wits, Kabir manages to escape and in the process he meets Rani, a Kurava (Roma) girl a few years older than him and living on the streets with her pet parrot. 

Rani take Kabir under her wing, teaching him how to survive on the streets, educating him on India's caste system that makes low caste people like them invisible to others. Together, they manage to earn money for food - Rani tells fortunes and Kabir sings. Kabir knows all about his father and how much his dad loved his mother, but his father never told his parents about his wife before he left for Dubai because she is Hindu and Kabir's father's family are Muslim. Now, Kabir is determined to go to Bengaluru to find his grandparents. 

A stroke of good luck and Kabir's strong sense of honesty enables him to get enough money to buy train tickets to Bengaluru for him and Rani. Sadly, they face caste discrimination buying the tickets and riding the train, but also kindness of strangers helping them. In Bengaluru, they find the mosque that the Khan family worships at and follow a man to his business thinking he might be a relative of Kabir's. But when fighting over water breaks out, Rani manages to help the man save his business. In return, he posts their pictures on social media and luck is once again on Kabir's side. His grandparents see the post and manage to find him and Rani. Soon, Kabir finally has new, clean clothes, enough to eat, a room of his own and he even makes another friend who teaches him how to play cricket. Rani, who hates being confined indoors, is introduced to a woman who runs a school that allows her to live in a tent of her own with her parrot,  and get an education. The woman also knows lawyers who may be able to get Kabir's mother released so that they can be reunited. 

Born Behind Bars is told in chapters that consist of short paragraphs and that are narrated entirely from Kabir's open, honest, observant perspective. Though his eyes, readers learn what jail is like for the women and children who are incarcerated there, and also what life on the streets is like for so many children in India. Kabir's story is a nice mix of good and bad things happening to both him and Rani as Venkatraman explores themes of poverty, tolerance and intolerance of religious and caste differences, justice and injustice, loss and revelation. I also think it may be surprising for young American readers to realize that children can find themselves alone in the world on the streets of India and that it isn't just a thing of the past. 

But is Kabir's luck too good to be true? I wondered that as I read the book and perhaps the story focused on the upshot of his good luck rather than the alternatives. Think what could have been if his fraudulent uncle has managed to sell this plucky, hopeful boy into what would have amounted to slavery.

I have always enjoyed reading Padma Venkatraman's novels set in India and this is no exception. The writing is beautiful, the story is poignant, and Kabir is a character you won't soon forget. He is honest, with an engaging sense of humor regarding his circumstances (I loved his private nicknames for the women with whom he shared his jail cell) and the challenges he faces on a daily basis. It is, in short, an enlightening, compelling novel.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+

This book was an eARC gratefully received from NetGalley.com

Be sure to check out the other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday offerings, 

now being carried on by Greg at Always in the Middle

Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

 SPOILER ALERT!!

Fighting Words 

by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Dial Books/Penguin BFYR, 2020, 272 pages

Trigger Warning: Sexual Abuse and Attempted Suicide

Life has not been easy for Della, 10, and her sister Suki, 17. They are both in foster care now that their mother is in prison for blowing up a hotel room cooking meth. Six years ago, they had been taken in by their mother's former boyfriend, Clifton, but he has now been arrested and is about to go on trial for child sexual abuse. Suki caught him attempting to sexually abuse Della and filmed what was going on while calling the police. Now, Della is expected to testify at Clifton's trial, but Suki insists that it must be filmed and not done in person. Their new foster mother, Francine, is an old hand at fostering kids and really seems to be on Suki and Della's side. Living with her is the closest to a normal life that they have ever experienced. There is enough food to eat and no one abuses them. They go to school regularly, although Della struggles with the work, but also makes friends with a girl named Nevaeh (heaven spelled backwards) and stands up to a boy in the class named Trevor who is always harassing the girls for wearing or not wearing a bra. 

And so it is in just such an atmosphere that Della begins to narrate their story, seemingly searching for something that she may have missed. Francine, who know exactly what has happened to the girls, keeps asking them if they want to talk to a counselor, but their case worker never follows through with that. Then, Suki attempts suicide, suffering from PTSD and unable to continue to be strong for herself and Della. As the pieces to what happened to Suki while living with Clifton begin to make sense to Della, she decides that she would rather testify in the courtroom at his trial instead of on a recording. She also finds the strength to report what Trevor has been doing to the girls in her class, right under the teacher's nose.  

Fighting Words ends well, but I think it needed a positive ending for it to be considered a middle grade novel. There is a lot of heavy stuff going on in Suki and Della's story, but Brubaker Bradley has included enough humor that it doesn't diminish the experiences of the sisters, but it sure is needed for some relief. I found Della to be a wonderful unreliable narrator (after all, she's only 10). And I was glad this didn't turned into an ugly foster care story. It's always encouraging to read about a positive foster care situation, and while Francine is a little rough around the edges, she is a real softy with her heart in the right place. 

I loved the irony of Della using the word "snow" whenever she was using "colorful language" and she did that a lot. I used to teach in the Bronx and Della's "snowy" language and defensive attitude reminded me of some of the kids I had in my classes, making her such an authentic character for me. I think Brubaker Bradley did a stellar job presenting Della and Suki's story, getting what happened across without being terrible graphic except for the one incident involving Della. But, in the end, I think this book needs trigger warnings - it is definitely not for every middle school reader. 

This book is recommended for readers age 10+

Billy Miller Makes a Wish by Kevin Henkes

Billy Miller Makes a Wish 

written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes

Greenwillow Books, 2021, 192 pages

It's June, school is out, and Billy Miller is a rising third grader. It's also Billy's eight birthday and just before he blows out the candles on his cake, he wishes that something exciting would happen. Ten minutes later, a police car and an ambulance arrive on his street for the first time in Billy's life. Could it be that his wish came true so quickly? But when his elderly neighbor is taken away on a stretcher, Billy wonders if this happened because of his wish. Suddenly, Billy has an uneasy feeling, especially knowing his Papa would be going away the next day to adult art camp for a week. And when the neighbor, Mr. Tooley, passes away, a very distressed Billy is sure it is his fault. When his Papa reassures Billy that Mr. Tooley dying had nothing to do with him, Billy feels immensely relieved. Maybe now he can begin to enjoy his summer vacation.

But as the first week of summer progresses, more exciting things happen. First, there's the bat in the basement incident. Billy had just been thinking about bats while helping his Mama clean the basement when suddenly there was a real bat flying around. Then, there are the old letters written by his Mama and Papa to each other that Sal, Billy's little sister, finds in the basement and decides to play postman with, delivering them to all their neighbors. Imitating their postman, Sal also decides to give herself some purple tattoos using Billy's new birthday permanent markers. This is followed by the fire that starts in the fireplace when Mama tries to burn the letters that the neighbors have kindly returned, and why is Mama so tired all the time? It's only the first week of summer vacation and Billy is wondering whether all this excitement could be because of that one birthday wish that is causing a lot of guilt and regret for this caring, sensitive boy.

Billy Miller Makes a Wish is an interesting look at Billy's reactions to events that are out of his control and how, without Papa being there to reassure him, he feels responsible for what happens anyway. I think Billy is such a wonderfully drawn character. He's optimistic, kind and very patient with his little sister Sal, who is a really rambunctious little girl. As calm and introspective as Billy is, Sal is energetic and impulsive, a sister that knows her brother will let her use his new birthday markers even before he uses them himself. Mama and Papa are also patient and understanding and they form a family that just might be modeled on Kevin Henkes' own family. 

Like its predecessor, Billy Miller Makes a Wish is a gentle, funny, and relatable chapter book. And like that first book, the story slowly unfolds so that each of the twenty chapters read like an episode, yet they form a coherent whole and are perfect for young readers transitioning to chapter books. To add to the story, Henkes has included black and white spot illustration throughout the book. And yes, there is a surprise ending, though adults sharing this book with kids may figure it out long before the end, and maybe it promises more Billy Miller stories while he is still at this young, innocent age. 

If you enjoyed the first Billy Miller book by Kevin Henkes, The Year of Billy Miller, and even if you didn't read it, you are sure to like his newest adventure, which can also be read as a stand alone chapter book. 

You can find an Educator's Guide for both Billy Miller book HERE

This book is recommended for readers age 7+

This book was an eARC gratefully received from NetGalley

The One Thing You'd Save by Linda Sue Park, illustrated by Robert Sae-Heng

The One Thing You'd Save by Linda Sue Park,

illustrated by Robert Sae-Heng

Clarion Books/HMH Publishing. 2021, 72 pages

Have you ever wondered what you would save in a fire? No? Well, I have and it turns out, when faced with that reality, I tried to save my computer.* 

Linda Sue Park has posed the same question in her latest work of fiction. It all begins when middle grade teacher Ms. Chang gives her students a homework assignment challenging her students to think about the Most Important Thing they would rescue if their home were burning. But it can only be one thing, size and weight don't matter, and it doesn't have to be family members or pets because they are already safe, much to the relief of one student who would want to save her slowly walking arthritic Nana.

The one most important thing these students pick vary from a cell phone to call 911 and a dad's wallet to have money once they are out of their burning home, to an ugly blue sweater, to a Mets-Cubs program, to a sketchbook full of flaming dragons. One student silently decides they would take nothing, glad to see their total dump-of-a-building burn down. 

But as the students begin to go into why they would save what they think is their one most precious thing the tone of the discussion changes. That ugly blue sweater links three generations of a family together. One grandmother knit a blue sweater for the girl's father, then another grandmother unraveled it and made a sweater for her. A collection of 93 china animal figurines, prizes in boxes of tea, connects two friends to each other more deeply than meets the eye.

Slowly, the discussion about objects becomes one of memories attached to those objects. I loved reading that process, and how the student's stories evolved. Even Ms. Chang, who thought she would save her 18 grade books and class pictures, changes her mind about what's important. In the end, what makes this book so interesting is what the students and teacher learn about themselves and their classmates.

In her Author's Note, Linda Sue Park calls this a collection of poems, but it really reads like a coherent whole. At first, it may seem confusing, but it won't take long to figure out the different voices of the students and the teacher, who actually has her own font. Park has used an ancient traditional Korean poetic form called sijo (SHEE-zho). But while sijo generally has three lines of thirteen to seventeen syllables, she didn't stick strictly to that structure, proving how organic nature of poetic forms can evolve over time. 

Artist Robert Sae-Heng's grey-toned illustration are sketched in shades of grey, black and white reminding me of the kind of charcoal that burnt wood becomes and giving the accompanying class discussion an after-the-fire atmosphere. And although the discussion takes place in the classroom, as each student talks about what they would rescue, Sae-Heng has given readers an intimate view into their rooms at home showing their meaningful item, for example, the blue sweater:

The One Thing You'd Save is a thought-provoking, conversation generating work. Even though my young readers are way too young for this book, I asked them the same question Ms. Chang asked her students, and the answers were just as amazing. There's a lot to think about in this slender novel-in-verse that asks a question we have all probably thought about at one time or another.   

So...what do you hold most precious that you would want to save in a fire?  

You can find a useful discussion guide for this book HERE

This book is recommended for readers age 8+

This book was an eARC gratefully received from NetGalley

*Did I save my computer? Indirectly, yes. The fire wasn't in my apartment, but fire balls dropped into my bedroom air conditioner and a fireman came charging in and knocked it out of the window, along with my windows, curtains, and a bunch of books I had on the window sill. Luckily, my air conditioner wasn't plugged in or it would have resulted in an electrical fire, which would have been devastating for everyone in the building. I couldn't disconnect the computer I wanted to save from the cable modem, so I put it under the desk and left. If I had left it on the desk, it would have been destroyed by water damage coming from the apartment with the fire. The next day, I went out and bought an external drive for backup. What would I save if this happened again? The scrapbook I made of my Kiddo's life, which I put in an easy to grab place. 

Unsettled by Reem Faruqi

 

Middle schooler Nurah Haqq, 13, and her older brother Owais are not too happy when their father decides to uproot his family, moving them from Karachi, Pakistan to Peachtree City, Georgia. For Nurah, it means leaving behind beloved grandparents, even if her Dadi (grandmother on her father's side) who has Alzheimer's no longer remembers her name, and best friend Asna, and so, so many of the things she loves about living in Karachi. 

Arriving in Peachtree City, the family lives in one room in an extended stay hotel. Like her brother Owais, Nurah is a swimmer, and finds relief from feeling alone and overwhelmed at the pool in the Recreation Center. Both decide to tryout for the swim team, and that's when Nurah makes her first real friend, a girl named Stahr, who shows up on the second day of tryouts completely covered in a long sleeve shirt and tights, just like Nurah. It turns out that Stahr is covering the black and blue bruises because father regularly hits her with his belt. The two new friends begin have lunch together at school and get to know each other's secrets. Stahr lives 8 houses away from the house the Haqq family buys and moves into. When her mother is late getting home, Stahr goes to Nurah home, and apparently develops a real liking for the foods Nurah's mother serves them at teatime.  

Later, when Nurah's mother has a miscarriage and becomes depressed, it is Stahr's mother, Penelope, who has had a number of miscarriages, that shows up at their house, helping her mother get over the loss, and becoming her mother's first American friend. 

In Karachi, Nurah was one of the loudest in school but in Peachtree City, she's very quiet, At one point, however, Nurah stands up to the two bullies who relentlessly pick on the school bus monitor, a man who stutters and has lost his left arm. The bullying stops, but the boys try to make Nurah pay later. But when she should use her voice, Nurah lets her jealousy over her brother's swimming ability get the best of her, and she keeps silent after seeing two older boys going into the Rec Center's men's locker room, knowing their intention is to teach Owais a lesson. 

Acknowledging her own complicity in the attack on Owais is a pivotal moment for Nurah, who begins to realize that standing out by being her true self and being true to herself is more important than trying to conform to being someone she is not. 

Written in lyrical free verse, Unsettled is a powerful story loosely based on the author's own move from United Arab Emirates to the United States when she was 13. I loved the details that Faruqi has included  which give this book a feeling of authenticity. I especially love food details because food is like a shorthand way of telling readers so much about a culture - what they eat, when they eat, how it is prepared. But readers will also find a number of other important thought-provoking themes touched on in Nurah's story, including abuse, bullying, colorism, depression, and memory loss, as well as adjusting to a new country and a different way of life. Yet, I think most readers will feel empathy and hope rather than overwhelmed by it all. 

I thought Nurah was a wonderfully flawed, yet inspiring character in this coming of age novel, and I felt that Faruqi did a great job of fleshing out her other characters, although I wish I had gotten to know Nurah's Baba better. It was because of his job they made such a big move, yet he didn't feel developed enough. 

Nurah's story has so many poignant moments in it, moments that are specific to being uprooted from everything that you love, moments that are specific to a newly arrived-in-America Muslim girl, and moments that everyone can relate to, all of which makes this such a compelling book to read. 

I couldn't recommend this book highly enough and the good news is that you will find a delicious sounding recipe for Nurah's Aloo Kababs that she brings in her lunch and which I am definitely going to try. 

Unsettled will be available on May 11, 2021.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+

This book was an ARC received from the publisher Harper/HarperCollins

Amina's Song by Hena Khan

 

We first met Amina Khokar, a middle grader living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in Amina's Voice. She's a Pakistani American and even though she has perfect pitch and a beautiful singing voice, she also had crippling stage fright. With the support of family, especially her uncle Thaya Jaan visiting from Pakistan, and friends, Amina was able to ultimately perform in public.

Now, Amina and her family are spending their summer vacation visiting family in Lahore, Pakistan. Amina has fallen in love with the country and has become very close to her cousin Zohra, Thaya Jaan's daughter. Just before they leave Pakistan to return home, Thaya Jaan challenges her to "show people in America the beauty of Pakistan. They don't know this place like you do now." How, Amina wonders, is she supposed to the that?

Back home, Amina and her friends are starting 7th grade, but to her disappointment, no one seems interested in hearing about her trip to Pakistan. However, when her history teacher gives the class an interactive learning assignment on the first day of class, Amina may have just found the outlet she needs for carrying out Thaya Jaan's challenge. Students must pick a person from history who has made a positive contribution and thoroughly research them, to the point of becoming the person they pick by the end of the term.  

Amina is excited to pick Malala Yousafzai, but when she presents her initial report to the class, it isn't her accomplishments that the class focuses on, but rather the oppressive conditions by the Taliban in Pakistan with regard to women and girls. Again, Amina is disappointed and frustrated. What can she do to help people know the Pakistan she loves so much?

Meanwhile, Amina meets Nico, a new kids in school who is also very much interested in music and has a real talent for mixing to create different sounds. Encouraged by her music teacher, Ms. Holly, Amina has been playing around with composing songs to express herself. She's been keep a diary of her thoughts and feelings for a while, recognizing that her experiences have changed her, but unable to express them quite the way she wants. Could a song be the answer with Nico's help?   

On top of that, Amina learns that her uncle Thaya Jaan has become ill again and will require delicate heart surgery.  Seventh grade is proving to be a year of changes, challenges, identity questions and more for 12-year-old Amina Khokar, all of which makes for a very satisfying sequel. 

In Amina's Voice, most of the conflicts in Amina's life were external, but in Amina's Song, they are more internal, having to do with who she is and is becoming. Though Amina is changing and growing up, she narrates her life with the same open honesty as in Amina's Voice, even when things aren't going as well as they could. And she is still somewhat flawed, which makes her a very interesting character. I felt she is a more confident girl and I liked especially liked seeing the changes she goes through, even challenging some of her mother's control. I have to admit, the way she handled the history project and her uncle's challenge surprised me and at first seemed so out character, but then I also cheered her on for it, even if her teacher was not receptive. 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Amina's Song and wondered if there might be a third novel in the making, since this one left a few loose ends that could be tied up nicely. Meanwhile, I highly recommend this to fans of Amina's and to those who haven't met her, though I might consider reading book one first. There are references to it in Amina's Song, but they are made clear in Amina's Voice. 

This book is recommended for readers age 9+

This book was an eARC gratefully received from NetGalley

The Sea in Winter by Christine Day

 

Maisie Cannon, 12, has been taking ballet since she was four-years-old, but now she is on a long recovery road after injuring her ACL trying to do an en pointe routine she just wasn't ready for. Now, with the support of her family - mom, stepdad, and younger brother Connor - and lots of physical therapy, Maisie's knee has mended enough that she is permitted to take a family hike along the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State. And Maisie is hoping that she will be able to return to ballet in time to audition for a summer dance program. She is so consumed with when she can return to the dance studio, that her grades in school are suffering. 

On top of all that, best friend Eva is convinced she will be accepted into her first choice summer program, but seems totally oblivious to what is going on with Maisie, unlike their friend Hattie. Hattie is concerned that she hasn't heard from Maisie, who is avoiding her text messages. Hattie is also the best dancer of the three friends. At the same time, Maisie has been unaccountably irritated at her parents and Connor, and she is beginning to feel oddly disconnected from herself and those around her. And she's in denial about how serious the pain in her knee is.   

As her family heads out for their road trip during midwinter break, Maisie's dark moods don't improve, nor does the pain in her knee. During the tip, Maisie learns the history of her Native American ancestors. She is Makah on her mother's side, who grew up on northwestern part of Washington State. Maisie's dad was Piscataway, growing up on the Chesapeake Bay. Her stepdad, Jack Leith, is an enrolled citizen of the Lower Elwah Klallam Tribe, and know everything about Klallam and Pacific Northwest history. 

While the family digs for clams, and hikes through the area, Maisie's mother talks to her about how she was able to deal with the sudden death of her husband, finding strength in her Makah heritage. Jack also shares his personal history as part of the Klallam community and what a difference it made in his life, which was at one time heading in the wrong direction.

Despite being careful, Maisie trips and falls, seriously re-injuring her knee, undoing all the hard work she put into healing it. Will she be able to recover and dance again, or will she have to find a new course? And can she mend the friendships she has sabotaged?

When I began reading The Sea in Winter, I expected it to be about a younger girl than Maisie because of the cover and it took me a few pages to readjust my thinking. Once I did that, I was completely hooked on Maisie's story. It is narrated in the first person by her and gives the reader a lot of insight into her thinking and feelings, as well as her struggles. Maisie is heading down a dark path, but luckily she has parents who love her and recognize what is happening. I have to admit that at first I thought Maisie was a bit selfish, but as her emotional state became clearer, I began to feel much more empathic towards her. 

I really liked that Day gave her an intact family that is supportive, warm and loving, and a stepdad who really cares for her as though she were is own child without trying to replace her biological dad. Little brother Connor is a bundle of energy and can be a bit annoying, but it is clear he adores Maisie and the feeling is mutual. Family goes a long way in helping Maisie's recovery and I think the Native histories her parents tell her about also help her to finally begin to have the strength to really heal.

Day's description of the people and places in Maisie's life are so realistic, including the road trip the family took from their home in Seattle to the tip of the Olympic Peninsula. I could almost feel the cold and taste the razor clams the family digs up and cooks. 

The Sea in Winter is a compelling, heartwarming story about facing the loss of a dream and finding your life again after a traumatic injury. I can't recommend it highly enough. 

This book is recommended for readers age 9+

This book was an eARC gratefully received from NetGalley

Three Things I Know Are True by Betty Culley

 

            ***Spoiler Alert***

Jonah Carrier, 17, had always been a daredevil, unlike his best friend Clay LeBlanc. It was Jonah who climbed the cell tower barefoot just because it was there to do, while Clay refused. So when Jonah found a gun belonging to Clay's dad in the LaBlanc attic, he couldn't resist putting it to his head and pulling the trigger, despite Clay's warning that it might be loaded.

It was.

One daredevil act and the lives of two families are suddenly changed in ways that they never could have imagined. For 15-year-old Liv Carrier, her brother's act means a heartbreaking journey from denial to acceptance. At first, and understandably, Liv might seen rather immature, losing interest in and acting out at school, trivializing Jonah's life support machines by giving them silly names - even referring to his gunshot would as his boo-boo. These defense mechanisms help Liv keep her anger and disappointment at bay and protect her from the pain caused by Jonah's act. 

But Liv, who knows her brother better than anyone, is asked to help with Jonah on a particularly difficult day. Liv is convinced that he is still there inside and begins to care for him more and even begins to advocate for him. She constantly touches and talks to him, finding ways to entertain him that elicit responses from him. But even as Liv finds purpose in caring for Jonah, she finds herself shouldering some of the responsibilities that should have been taken up by their mother. Nikki Carrier refuses to get involved with Jonah, focusing on the machines keeping him alive and escaping by going to work everyday. But as word of the shooting gets out, so do gun rights advocates, who go after the Carriers, blaming them for Jonah's behavior, and Liv finds herself feeling the need to protect her mother from them.

Meanwhile, Clay is no longer welcomed at the Carrier home because his family is being sued by Jonah's mother in the hope of getting a settlement to help pay for his medical costs. But Liv and Clay begin meeting at the Kennebec River where all used to play a game they called Three Things I Know Are Truth with one rule only - the answers have to be truthful.

Fortunately, Liv has a lot of support. The nurses who care for Jonah, Clay, and even Jonah's fight for life helps her. Gradually, though, as Jonah's condition worsens, and after he dies of pneumonia, Liv plays a final game of Three Things I Know Are True with herself, finally facing her pain and anger at Jonah for what he did. This allows her to let go of feeling responsible for her mother forcing her to become responsible for herself.

This book doesn't really have a neat ending, instead Liv comes to realize that life doesn't run smoothly, but is like the eddies in the nearby Kennebec River that go in all directions, but that even if you can't control it, you can at least take responsibility for your own life. 

Three Things I Know Are True is a heartbreaking coming of age story about a side of a tragic gun accident we don't often see - the impact it has on family members, and how it extends to friends and neighbors. And while they may feel distant or not developed, it's because they are indeed fading out of Liv's life, with only two exceptions. But this is Liv's story and it is told entirely in the first person by her, in carefully arranged lyrically expressive free verse poems. One of the things that I really liked was the way she ran the Kennebec River through the story and the big role it played in Liv's life.

Three Things I Know Are True is an emotional story about a problem that is all too common in our society today and Betty Culley has put a face on it you won't soon forget.

This book is recommended for readers age 13+

This book was borrowed from a friend.

MMGM: My Life in the Fish Tank by Barbara Dee

 

On the first day of school, the four Manning kids line up for their Annual Kid Photo, just like always. But by November, things were no longer "just like always" when the family gets a phone call that college student Gabriel Manning is in the hospital after having a car accident. Not only that, but Gabriel has also been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and his siblings - Scarlett, 16, Zinia called Zinny, 12, and Aiden, 8, are asked to keep it private.

After he is transferred from the hospital to a residential care facility,  it doesn't take long for Gabriel and his diagnosis to take over the lives of all the Mannings. Mom takes a leave of absence from her teaching job and spends her time on the phone dealing with Gabriel's situation. Dad begins staying at work longer and longer, rarely even eating dinner with his family. Scarlett's moodiness increases, pushing Zinny out of her life and the often out the room they share, and Aiden becomes obsessed with the How To project his teacher has assigned his class. And Zinny, who has a real interest in marine biology, begins to hang out in the lab with her science teacher, Ms. Molina, during lunch as her relationship with friends Maisie and Kailani begins to deteriorate because she refuses to talk to them about Gabriel. 

When Zinny is invited to join the Lunch Club held by the guidance counselor, Mr. Patrick, Maisie is adamant that she not go, but Zinny decides to go just once. Then, Ms. Molina tells Maisie she can only hang out and set up the fish tanks for the class crayfish study if she also goes to Lunch Club. Once her friendship with Maisie and Kailani ends, Zinny figures why not? There, she discovers that she isn't the only one with family troubles, problems and issues. And slowly, Zinny even begins to become friends with some of the Lunch Club kids while still keeping Gabriel's bipolar diagnosis a secret. 

Meanwhile, things at home aren't much better. Zinny finally takes things into her own hands and begins to buy groceries and make dinner for her family. She also tries to help Aiden with his How To project by leaving humorous suggestions for him, but he can't decide what to do and the teacher rejects his most outlandish suggestions. 

The Mannings occasionally visit Gabriel as a family, but Scarlett refuses to go. Then Zinny discovers that Scarlett is seeing a counselor and has told friends about Grabriel's bipolar diagnosis. In the middle of all this, Ms. Molina recommends Zinny for a place in a competitive camp to do marine biology research for four weeks - all expenses paid. 

There is a lot happening here, including Zinny that worries, understandable so, that she might also be bipolar. Can the people in her life, including her new friends in Lunch Club and Mr. Patrick, help Zinny move on with her life without feeling like she is betraying Gabriel?

My Life in the Fish Tank is a family story that looks at how mental illness is not just about the person with the diagnosis, but impacts the family in all ways. I liked that it was narrated by Zinny, whom I thought old enough to observe what she sees and feels, but young and inexperienced enough to not always understand it all. 

I thought Dee really captured the way the Manning parents shut down. So often when something like mental illness happens within a family, parents seem to forget they have other children who still need them. Zinny's parents are clearly depressed and kudos to Scarlett for getting her mother to go to counseling. It is interesting how quickly the family becomes isolated from friends and neighbors, and then from each other, even though they are all concerned and worried about Gabriel. Should people be open about mental illness when it happens to a family member? Each family must decide that for themselves. Family dynamics differ and what may be ok for one may not be for another family.

I particularly likes Dee's treatment of time. It does seem that when bad things happen, time does funny things. As Zinny says: "...one thing you notice, when those bad things happen, is that calendars and clocks stop making any sense...It was like, after it happened, we were in a different time zone from everybody else." And Zinny's narration does jump back and forth in time, as she recalls different times she observed Gabriel's bipolar behavior - times when he was feeling on top of the world and taking dangerous risks, other times when he was depressed and sleeping too much. 

Barbara Dee really knows how to handle some very difficult topics, like sexual abuse (Maybe He Just Likes You) and mental illness, but in the end, she always offers hope to the reader that when life turns you upside down, with help, you can turn right side up again.  

You can find an excellent reading guide for My Life in the Fish Tank HERE 

This book is recommended for readers age 9+

This book was an eARC gratefully received from the author.

Be sure to check out the other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday offerings, 

now being carried on by Greg at Always in the Middle.

The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar

Nishat Ahsan is a 16-year-old Bangladeshi girl living with her family - her Ammu (mom) and Abbu (dad), and younger sister Priti - in Dublin, Ireland. Nishat has known for a long time that she is a lesbian, but now she's tired of hiding it. To spare her parents the future disappointment that they will never have a big Bengali wedding for her, on the day of Sunny Apu's engagement party, Nishat decides it is time to come out to her parents. It does not go well. As Sunny Apu later tells Nishat "Muslims aren't gay."

Nishat also has an interest in henna, a family tradition, and has been practicing on herself and Priti, and she getting pretty good at it. When Sunny Apu's wedding rolls around, Nishat does the henna on herself and Priti. At the wedding, she meets and is attracted to Flavia, a biracial Brazilian Irish girl, who admires Nishat's henna designs and later turns out to be a classmate. But Flavia is also Chyna Quinn's cousin, and Chyna is Nishat's former friend, now mortal enemy and a bully.

At school, Nishat, Flavia and Chyna are in the same Business class and when it is announced that the students will be required to develop a business, and to make it interesting, it will be a competition with a prize of 1,000 Euros. Nishat decides to set up a henna business with friends Jess and Chaewon, but when Flavia and Chyna show up at school with a henna design on their hands, she is more than a little upset. Flavia is a talented artist, and has copied Nishat wedding design perfectly. The two cousins decide their class project will also be a henna business.  

To complicate matters for Nishat, Jess and Chaewon decide they feel left out of the henna business and decide to strike out on their own, her parents are barely acknowledging her, convinced that she has chosen to be a lesbian, and her crush on Flavia is in a constant state of flux. Sometimes it's on, sometimes it's off, sometimes Nishat thinks Flavia feels the same way, sometimes she thinks maybe not, but Chyna's presence always overshadows things. Luckily for Nishat, Priti always has her back - or does she?

The Henna Wars is a very engaging novel, the kind of story that hooks you from page one. I found that when I had to stop to do other things, I couldn't wait to get back to Nishat's story. Since she and her family are Bangladeshi, the author has included lots of Bengali culture and tradition, including the art of henna. This always gives a novel so much character and depth, and a real sense of authenticity. For me, it was another one of those books that was a sliding glass door into Nishat's world, to paraphrase Rudine Sims Bishop. And I was happy to be invited in. 

But Jaigirdar has also explored a number of important themes. Her main theme is family and Nishat's relationship with her parents and her sister. Up until she came out, the family seemed to be close knit and very loving. Her parents believe Nishat chose to be gay and can't understand why she doesn't just change her mind. Nishat and Priti are sisters and best friends. They share a bond that is enviable, with few secrets that aren't shared. And while Nishat can be a little impulsive, Priti is often the voice of reason for her.  

The other relationship in Nishat's life is her friendship with Jess and Chaewon. Interestingly, they are friends in school, but never socialize away from school. And perhaps the most important relationship that is looked at is Nishat's obsession with Flavia and what it does to her relationships with Priti, Jess and Chaewon. And of course, at the center of everything is Nishat's Bangladeshi heritage, her Muslim religion, and always feeling different.

The Henna Wars is a debut novel for Adiba Jaigirdar and she has really hit it out of the ballpark with Nishat's story. It is one of the most satisfying novels I've read in a long time and had just the ending I needed it to have. Don't miss it!

This book is recommended for readers age 14+

This book was borrowed from the Brooklyn Public Library

MMGM: We Dream of Space by Erin Entrada Kelly

It's January 1986 and the nation was being geared up for the launch of the space shuttle Challenger, a more than average historical event since it would include schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe as part of the crew. It is an exciting time for Ms. Salonga, science teacher at Park Middle School in Park, Delaware and on January 2, she begins a month long unit called Space Month. This is met with varying degrees of enthusiasm by the three Nelson Thomas siblings, Cash, 13, and twins Bird and Fitch, 12, all of whom have Ms. Salonga's class, though not together. 

At home, each of the Nelson Thomas siblings have learned to navigate around and out of the dysfunction the exists there. Parents Tammy and Mike constantly bicker with each other. When not doing that, Tammy escapes into a book and Mike continuously watches television. 

Bird, who is interested in science and engineering, loves to take things apart and put them back together again, carefully writing and illustrating her own manual for each item. She is also  obsessed with Space Month and the impending launch and hopes to become an astronaut someday. 

Fitch is obsessed with playing video games at the local arcade and couldn't care less about the space launch. When an unpopular girl from his class invades his space at the arcade, he loses his temper at school and ends up suspended for a few days. 

Cash has already been dropped from the basketball team he loved because of low grades and is repeating 7th grade, a fact best friend Brant never stops reminding him about. He breaks his wrist January 1st and spends the month angry and frustrated by the limitations wearing a cast causes.   

As the lives of the Nelson Thomas siblings begin to spin out of control, and they begin to behave and think more like their parents, Kelly literally builds up the tension day by day in anticipation of the day of the space launch (January 28). Each day is told from the perspective of each sibling, so readers learn about them, their thoughts and activities first hand. Knowing what happened to the Challenger only adds to the feeling of apprehension readers may feel for Bird, Fitch, and Cash. Is their story leading to an explosive end, like the Challenger, an end to Bird's dreams of becoming an astronaut, Cash's desire to be good at something, or Fitch's ability to control his temper? Or will these three siblings discover that they could form the family they have been wanting all along by themselves? 

*Possible Spoiler Alert* I have never been disappointed with a book by Erin Entrada Kelly. She can craft a story that is compelling  from beginning to end, with characters that are realistic and relatable. In We Dream of Space, space is a wonderfully fitting metaphor for what the Nelson Thomas kids are seeking - the space for their dreams to be valued and realized. Readers are not left with a nice tidy ending, but with the ambiguity of possibility. What Bird, Fitch, and Cash will do in the future is entirely up to them and each other.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+

This book was borrowed from the Queens Public Library

Where were you at 11:39 AM on January 28, 1986? I was at the Clinique counter in Saks Fifth Avenue with a friend, where there was a television mounted on the wall and I looked up just as the Challenger exploded. I have to say, it was traumatic to see. I've thought about it so often ever since. I can only imagine how the schoolchildren who watched this tragedy happen must have felt. I don't watch space launches anymore.

Be sure to check out the other Marvelous Middle Grade Monday offerings, now being carried on by Greg at Always in the Middle.