The Art of Us by Julie Wright - ADVISABLE

The Art of Us by Julie Wright, 272 pages. Shadow Mountain Publishing, 2024. $20.

Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Ireland (17yo) is sure that nothing could be worse than being homeless and living in a public restroom, but at least she has a roof and door that locks. When Kal accidently learns Ireland’s secret, he sees a chance to help someone—to make up for failing to help an old friend. When is it right to keep a secret, and when is it right to howl out loud?

The majority of Wright’s characters all want to do the right thing, and readers get to see where those desires crash into each other. Readers are confronted with the reality that not every “right thing,” as seen by the characters, can coexist. I also love that Ireland, who has next to nothing when readers meet her, is full of humor and love for life despite her circumstances, which adds balance to the serious situations Wright addresses.

Ireland is described as “fair,” and Kal is described as having “olive” skin. The mature content rating is for underage drinking, kissing, innuendo, sexual harassment, and for mentions of drugs, illegal activity, and rape. The violence rating is for mentions of guns, human trafficking, suicide, and murder.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

13 Ways to Say Goodbye By Kate Fussner - OPTIONAL

13 Ways to Say Goodbye By Kate Fussner, 304 pages. Novel in Verse HarperCollins, MAR 2025. $19 

Language: G (0 swears 0 ‘f’) Mature Content: PG (kisses, hand holding) Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SOME 

12yo Nina is still mourning the sudden death of her sister Lily 2 years ago. Lily had made a list of 13 things she wanted to do by the time she turned 13. Nina hopes completing the list herself will give her some closure. 

I loved the travelogue- Nina has to return to Paris to accomplish some of the tasks. There’s an interwoven plot of Nina coming out and falling for a new friend in her art class. It felt superfluous - and almost like a plot device. I also wish there was more context to the flashbacks. Didn’t love the story but would recommend for the Paris adventure. Nina is American, Sylvia is French. 

Lisa Librarian 

Ruin Road by Lamar Giles - OPTIONAL

Ruin Road by Lamar Giles. 368 pages. Scholastic Press, 2024. $17

Language: G (5 swears, 0 ‘f'); Mature Content:  G; Violence: R (bloody deaths)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: SEVERAL

Cade, a 12th grader, is a smart, kind young man who’s working towards an NFL career. He has received a scholarship to a prep school that will help him with his goals. He’s tall, muscled and Black and people seem to always be afraid of him even when he’s just trying to help. One night he gets off of the subway after being accused of trying to steal a lady’s purse when he was only trying to keep her from falling over when the subway lurched. He ends up in a random neighborhood where he’s watched with suspicion by a couple walking their dog and police officers driving by. He enters a pawn shop to get off the street, purchases a $5 Superbowl ring replica and as he’s leaving, he states that he wishes people weren’t scared of him. Little does he know, he made a wish that will come true that will cause tragic consequences.

Cade and his family have integrity and humility even though they’ve done well. The family unit is represented as an important part of life throughout the book. The nuggets of wisdom from Cade’s father were refreshing. The struggle through Cade’s father’s terminal cancer is handled respectfully, honestly and tactfully. I enjoyed this mysterious and interesting YA horror story.

The ethnicities are Black and white.

LynnDell Watson, DHS Librarian, Delta, Utah

I Lay My Stitches Down: Poems of American Slavery by Cynthia Grady and Michele Wood - ADVISABLE

I Lay My Stitches Down:  Poems of American Slavery by Cynthia Grady, illustrated by Michele Wood. NON-FICTION PICTURE BOOK. Eerdmans Books For Young Readers, 2012. $19. 9780802856142

Content: PG (The poems talk about cruel injustices to the enslaved people)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL:  SOME

Grady’s collection of poems use quilting imagery to talk about various experiences of enslaved Africans.  Interesting perspectives are shared by a house slave, a slave fleeing, a blacksmith, a broken hearted mother, and others.

Grady has created a group of very moving poems to express the cruelty of slavery.  The meanings are deep and would be lost on younger children.  Beautiful and colorful folk art illustrations accompany each poem.

PGPowers

Atlas of Extinct Animals by Radek Maly, Jiri Grbavcic and Pavel Dvorsky - ADVISABLE

Atlas of Extinct Animals by Radek Maly, illustrated by Jiri Grbavcic and Pavel Dvorsky. NON-FICTION PICTURE BOOK. Albatros Books, 2021. $25. 9788000061269

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: SEVERAL

Maly highlights many of the animals that have gone extinct due to human nature. It includes a lovely full page illustration showing what the animal looked like. The pictures remind me of an old fashioned 1970's illustration. It is very colorful and unique. The facing page contains an extensive look at the extinct animal, its habitat and what year it went into extinction. It is a very large book and I think it would not fit on a standard library shelf. It might have to be turned on its side. I was impressed with the research that went into each of these animals.

Emilee-Teacher Librarian

Wildlife Of The Artic For Kids by Wayne Lynch - AVISABLE

Wildlife Of The Arctic For Kids by Wayne Lynch. 128 pages. NON-FICTION. Fitzhenry Whiteside, 2024. $20. 9781554556298

Content: PG (animals eating other animals, animal death)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: SEVERAL

Wildlife of the Arctic for Kids takes the reader on an interesting and informative trip through the Arctic. Many Arctic mammals are discussed including bears, wolves, foxes, caribou, weasels, hares, and others.  Arctic birds such as loons, cranes, puffins, snowy owls and more are also featured with Interesting facts.

Lynch is very thorough with beautiful pictures and easy to understand facts.  His love of the Arctic is evident.  Although it is not a quick read, it is well worth the time.

PGPowers

Your Letter by Hyeon A Cho - ADVISABLE

Your Letter by Hyeon A Cho, 270 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL. Ize Press (Yen Press), 2024. $15.

Language: PG (3 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Changing middle schools is difficult for Sori, not only because it’s mid-term but because she expects the students around her to be as mean as the students she left behind. Then Sori finds letter number one taped to the bottom of her desk—leading to more letters around the school and an unseen friend.

Kindness doesn’t have positive results for Sori at first, but she persists in doing the best she can with the circumstances she is in. The negative results affect her life, but Sori does not let them change who she is at heart. Beautifully illustrated, Sori’s story is an uplifting one about kindness being unexpectedly passed along and eventually returned.

The characters are Korean. The mature content rating is for illegal activity and partial nudity. The violence rating is for assault.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Second to None by Destiny Howell - OPTIONAL

 

Second to None by Destiny Howell, 336 pages. Scholastic DEC 2024. $8 (paperback)

Content: G (shift shenanigans only)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SOME

DJ and his crew of “fixers” are prepared to help all over school in the right ways. Unfortunately, his nemesis Lucky is ready to help bad things happen.  And now that Mariposa is in charge of Lucky’s crew, things go to worse. There is more to the seedy underbelly of his middle school than DJ could even dream.

I would recommend this to boys who like hijinks books with humor, but the 300+ pages is going to scare most of them off. It isn’t funny enough or dangerous enough to keep their attention.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Shaken by James Preller - ESSENTIAL

Shaken by James Preller, 240 pages. Feiwel (Macmillan), 2024. $18

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ESSENTIAL, HS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Kristy may only be in middle school, she already plays on the high school’s varsity soccer team - and she is their first good hope to win the playoffs. A bad move and kick to the head later and Kristy can barely get out of bed, let alone face a soccer ball. No one seems to understand the state her concussion left her in - she can’t just shake it off and “get back out there”. Her teammates, her parents, most of the kids at school (when she can make it to school) are all putting pressure on her. Only her doctor and her psychologist are actually listening, it feels. 

Wow - Preller dissects another important issue.  If you haven’t read his YA works, you really should. And I not only have a lot of soccer girls at my school, but I remember a teacher who daughter played soccer and received a severe concussion several years ago and Preller feels like he talked to this mother and daughter to write this book! Would be great for any coach of any sport to read.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

When We Flew Away by Alice Hoffman - OPTIONAL

When We Flew Away by Alice Hoffman, 304 pages. Scholastic 2024. $20

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SOME

What was Anne’s life like before WWII arrived on the scene and she and her family hid in the Annex?

Hoffman has taken the pieces from Anne’s pre-hiding parts of her diary and some family history and turned it into a full blown speculative novel about her life in Amsterdam leading up to WWII. In her postscript she acknowledges that most of it is her own fabrication.  I wish the book had been about any other Holocaust victim than Anne Frank. There are so many other stories that deserve to be told.  I feel like it is “easy money” to use Anne’s name instead.  I would pass this up for Code Name Kingfisher  or Sky Over Rebecca, which are recent Holocaust novels not evoking Anne Frank.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Is It Okay to Pee in the Ocean? by Ella Schwartz and Lily Williams - ADVISABLE

Is It Okay to Pee in the Ocean: The Fascinating Science of Our Waste and Our World by Ella Schwartz, illustrated by Lily Williams, 96 pages. NON-FICTION. Bloomsbury, 2023. $21.99.

Language: G; Mature Content: PG (bodily functions); Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS – ADVISABLE

APPEAL TO: SEVERAL

In a very conversational tone, this book covers facts about urine (for which the author agrees to “use the term pee” and invites the reader to say a couple of expressions to get used to it) - what it is composed of, how it is produced and expelled from the body, and how it interacts with our environment, especially the ocean. Each of the nine chapters is titled with a question which is then answered with text and sidebars and illustrated with black-and-white drawings and several hands-on experiments to try at home. Many academic terms are introduced (unfortunately without any pronunciation keys) and explained. Middle grade readers will find many fascinating facts about urine, the renal system, sources of pee in the ocean, the importance of oceans, sources of ocean pollutants, and what can be done to minimize ocean pollution. Curious minds will be well rewarded with this offering.

Reviewer: P.K. Foster, MLS, elementary school teacher-librarian

Perfect Girl by Tracy Banghart - ADVISABLE

Perfect Girl by Tracy Banghart, 304 pages. Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan), NOV 2024. $20

Language: R (100+ swears, 13 “f”); Mature Content: PG-13 (kidnapping, drinking, making out mentioned); Violence: PG-13 (druggings, dead victims implied, lots of fear)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Something is going on with Jessa’s good friend Tiny and Jessa, the good girl, is desperate to bring together her girlfriends to see if they can get through to Tiny to help her. Their slumber party night attracts unwanted guests - not only Jess’s brother, who knows better, but Tiny’s controlling boyfriend, and the creepy neighbor who also goes to Jessa’s school. It also turns out to be the night of a giant storm that knocks out power and phones all over. Then Jessa is kidnapped - and enters into a totally different kind of nightmare.  Someone thinks Jessa is the perfect girl and has gone to great lengths to groom her into the perfect wife. Jessa has had enough!

Fans of a Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and such should enjoy this psycho-fueled romp. Not quite a middle school library book, though. Bummer. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Diet Soda Club by Chaz Hayden - ADVISABLE

Diet Soda Club by Chaz Hayden, 320 pages. Candlewick, 2024. $19

Language: PG-13 (35 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

15yo Reed does all that he can to keep it together.  After his Dad dies, his mother has only barely kept it together, especially in light of his 10yo sister Beatrice dealing with life-long spinal muscular atrophy and all of its related issues. Then Mom disappears with a new boyfriend and Reed has no one to help him with Beatrice AND no money, either. Reed tries increasingly risky schemes to bring in some cash so that he and Beatrice can eat, pay the rent, survive. And he pulls Helena Shaw, who used to be his best friend, into his schemes. He doesn’t trust Helena, not only is she a very uptight student body president, but he feels betrayed by her from long ago.

This is another book where the main character is only 15, but what he is involved in feels more 17-ish. The cover and title does it no justice - they give no clue to the disaster in the making that awaits inside. I will have to find that one student willing to read it who will then tell others about it.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

For She is Wrath by Emily Varga - OPTIONAL

For She is Wrath by Emily Varga, 400 pages. Wednesday Books (St. Martin’s Press), 2024. $20.

Language: R (20 swears, 4 “f”); Mature Content: R; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SOME

After being framed and wrongfully imprisoned, Dania let her anger grow with every passing day and failed escape attempt. Noor has been planning her quiet escape longer than Dania, but Noor’s careful tunnel was dug in the wrong direction. With the girls working together, they vow to get out and get revenge.

The first half of this book is a fantasy version of The Count of Monte Cristo, which adds an element of fun in comparing the two and seeing how Varga built upon the original vengeance story. One of the biggest differences stem from the roles of Dania’s betrayers and how interactions with those characters force Varga to take the second half of the story in different directions than Dumas took his. The heart of the story is about the cost revenge demands, whether we are willing to pay it, and whether it’s possible to ever take it back.

Dania is described as having “brown” skin. The mature content rating is for illegal activity, kissing, innuendo, mentions of drugs and sexual harassment, nudity, and sex. The violence rating is for assault, blood and gore, mentions of torture, and murder.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

All the Jingle Ladies by Beth Garrod - ADVISABLE

All the Jingle Ladies by Beth Garrod, 352 pages. Scholastic, 2024. $12 (paperback)

Language:G  (3 swears,  0 “f”); Mature Content: G (kissing only); Violence: G (none)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

15yo Molly Bell hates Christmas.  Well, really she hates the viral song and video her parents recorded when she was 5yo.  She wants to be a songwriter - but that kid of sell-out song. Now that song is in the hot new romcom for the Christmas season and Molly’s family has been invited to the premiere. Disaster strikes and when Molly hides in a closet, she finds it already occupied by a very hot boy - and they’re locked in. 

Cue all kinds of secrets, misdirection, hijinks, and romantic gestures. Plenty of pages for fun and drama.  I kind of forgot that Molly is only 15 - the situation reads more like a 17yo.  But it is all so cute, that it won’t matter. Great for any holiday romance display.

Molly is white; Jay is depicted as black on the cover (I did not pick that up from the book); there is a side LGBT romance brewing.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

The Factory by Catherine Egan - OPTIONAL

The Factory by Catherine Egan, NOV 2024. $9 (paperback only)

Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (kids are punished by spending extra time in their pods)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SOME

8th grader Asher is lucky to be one of eight new kids chosen to join a top secret experimental program. As the secret love child of an important senator, Asher told again and again how lucky he is - especially because his mother is in trouble with some very shady characters and this will help her get out from under her debt. From the very beginning Asher finds the experiment to be suspect - they teens are immersed in fluid and it feels like something vital is being pulled from their bodies. Asher is determined and desperate to expose the experiment.

Egan has set this in a dystopian near future.  In flavor it reminds me a lot of Will Sleator’s science fiction from the 1990’s.  Since it is only in paperback, I may buy it and see how it does in the short term.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

A Witch’s Last Resort by Travis Nichols - ADVISABLE

A Witch’s Last Resort (The Terribles #2) by Travis Nichols, 213 pages. CHAPTER BOOK. Random House, 2023. $13.99.

Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL – ADVISABLE

APPEAL TO: SEVERAL

Most of the monsters have settled down on Creep’s Cove, way far out in the middle of the ocean. The monster kids attend Stubtoe Elementary and Elise, a greenish skinned girl with raven hair and a long nose, has just arrived at the island where her mom runs a seasonal resort for witches and sorcerers. She learns about a crazy complicated game the young monsters and monster-adjacent humans play at recess, helps build a greenhouse, debates why witches are better than scientists, and spends a day at her mom’s spa with a couple of randomly chosen classmates. Some chapters feature other characters, such as Bobby, a blob, and Lizzy, a reptilian creature, having a playdate; and Vlad, a vampire, getting braces.

This “collection of stories”, as the author calls the chapters, includes some that address the reader directly with second-person pronouns and some that tell the story through comic strips. One chapter is written completely in an unintelligible symbolic language and another as a complete-your-own adventure with the reader playing the part of a new student at Stubtoe. No matter the style, you will find humor, clever monster references, illustrations, and a lot of heart and friendship throughout. 

Reviewer: P.K. Foster, MLS, elementary school teacher-librarian

The Dark! Wild Life in the Mysterious World of Caves by Lindsey Leigh - ADVISABLE

The Dark! Wild Life in the Mysterious World of Caves by Lindsey Leigh. 98 pages. NON-FICTION Penguin, 2024. $16 9780593662595 

 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: MANY 

Everything you wanted to know and didn't know you wanted to know about caves, from cave bugs to cave leeches. 

 This is a look at the animals that live in the world's most shadowy spaces. Fully illustrated with bright colors and fun art, this book will appeal to anyone who has an interest in caves. The information is laid out logically and in an entertaining manner that will suck in readers. A great way to present nonfiction! 

Michelle in the Middle 

Wild Wave by Rodman Philbrick - ESSENTIAL

Wild Wave by Rodman Philbrick, 194 pages. Scholastic, 2024. $19. 9781338882315

Content: G (mild danger)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL

APPEALS TO: MANY

Middle schooler Nick is at the local nature preserve working on a final assignment before school lets out for the summer when first an earthquake and then a tsunami hits. Running into the nearby forest, Nick barely survives, along with Jess, a popular girl from his school who gives tours at the refuge. Through all the chaos, the debris, the danger of forest, the two are hoping they can find a way out.  Things become even more desperate when they find a boat that has been flung into the trees with their science teacher and her husband aboard.  If their teacher doesn’t get her medication, her life will become very dire indeed.

Philbrick just gets better and better at weaving his disaster/survival stories. He keeps the tension high, without resorting to gimmicks and tricks. Hatchet is still popular in middle school and the length is perfect for any reader.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

Dear Dad by Jay Jay Patton - ADVISABLE

Dear Dad by Jay Jay Patton, 128 pages. Graphic Memoir Graphix (Scholastic), 2024. $15 

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL 

Jay Jay's dad has been in prison for as long as she can remember. She has tried to stay in touch with letters and an occasional phone call, but it's been difficult. Now her dad is coming home but they have to move. Jay Jay's life is about to change a lot. 

 Since this is a memoir, the feelings are genuine. Even though the situation is difficult, the message is positive. Jay Jay and her father were able to develop Photo Patch-an actual app that helps connect children to incarcerated parents. Jay Jay doesn't dwell on the negative, but focuses on moving on. A good read for kids in a similar situation or to build empathy. Jay Jay and her family are black. 

Michelle in the Middle