Please Pay Attention by Jamie Sumner - ADVISABLE

Please Pay Attention by Jamie Sumner, 240 pages. Atheneum BYR (Simon), 2025. $18.

Content: PG (school shooting mentioned)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

6th grader Bea has cerebral palsy. She enjoys school and life with her adoptive mom. All of this is threatened when a shooting occurs at her school killing a few students and her teacher.

The portrayal of Bea’s trauma is honest and compassionate. Readers will like to see Bea’s personality shine through the pages. There are unflinching portrayals of physical handicap difficulties, and other students dealing with anxiety or Neurodiverse challenges. A gay couple lives next door to Bea and she interacts with them frequently.

J. Smith, Teacher Librarian

The Loudest Silence by Sydney Langford, - OPTIONAL

The Loudest Silence by Sydney Langford, 301 pages. Holiday House, 2024. $20

Language: R (89 swears, 6 ‘f'); Mature Content: PG (kissing); Violence: PG (cyber bulling, punches)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

A few months before making a big move from Oregon to Florida with her family, 16yo Casey, who hoped to one day be a professional singer, woke up to find that she had lost most of her hearing. When Casey's friends find about her hearing loss, they all desert her. Determined not to be hurt again, she plans to hide that she is Deaf-Hard of hearing and make no friends at her new school in Florida. But Lela has other ideas. She brings Casey into her circle of friends anyway: Hayden, Paz, and Cesar.  Soon Casey is bonding with Hayden over a shared love of music. Hayden also has secrets he is keeping. Although his family expects him to be a soccer star like his father and brother before him, he wants to star on Broadway. Hayden is also dealing with generalized anxiety disorder. Casey and Hayden begin to confide in each other. They find love and support with each other as they are both dealing with a disability. When they both decide to be brave and share things with their other friends, they find acceptance and support there as well.

Overall, I enjoyed the book, which is told from the dual perspective of Casey and Hayden. I liked that Casey found a place where she felt at home. I liked that the focus is on two kids dealing with disabilities while still trying to follow their dreams. They both find needed love and support from their friendship. I liked that the book describes when ASL is used and touches on some aspects of Deaf culture and community. The book touches on some aspects of ableism and cyberbullying. Casey describes herself as being bisexual. The relationship between Cesar and Casey is antagonistic until the last few chapters of the book. Then I feel that suddenly, and without any lead-up, there was a change between them.

Casey is white with a Polish father, Hayden is Cuban/Italian-American, Lela and Cesar are Colombian-American, Paz is Ethiopian-American

Reviewer: A. Snow, Librarian

Dust by Alison Stine - OPTIONAL

Dust by Alison Stine, 320 pages. Wednesday Books (St. Martin’s Press), 2024. $20.

Language: PG (5 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: SOME

At first, unschooling was a relief—Thea no longer had to deal with those who made fun of her and her disability. But then unschooling became an excuse for Thea’s father to move the family to a failing farm in Colorado, and living a simple life turned into doing everything the hard way. As Thea (16yo) fights to understand the world around her, she discovers that it may be too late and that the dust storms might kill them all before she ever gets a chance to really live.

The world around Thea is dry and bleak with nothing around, and the feeling of that landscape is felt through the slow-going, expository writing. It isn’t boring per se, but most of the book is not action-packed as the challenges pile up gradually. Thea is hard of hearing, somewhere between hearing and deaf, and Stine gives readers that experience through Thea’s perspective. Overall, the story was well-written, and persistent readers will see that.

The majority of characters are implied White. The mature content rating is for kissing, scary elements, mentions of CBD oil and nudity, and innuendo. The violence rating is for child abuse and mentions of guns and murder.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino - ADVISABLE

Give Me a Sign by Anna Sortino, 320 pages. G.P. Putnam' (Penguin), 2023. $12

Language: PG-13 (19 swears, 0 'f'); Mature Content: PG-13 (underage drinking, teenage kiss, innuendo; Violence: PG (police encounter where a character is injured and arrested)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SOME

17yo Lilah, a soon-to-be high school senior, is struggling with her identity as a Deaf person who has been raised in a hearing world. She struggles to follow conversations with her hearing friends, but she also doesn’t feel “Deaf enough.” The only time when she really fit in was at Camp Gray Wolf, a summer camp for the deaf and blind. She gets the opportunity to return the camp as a junior counselor. Camp Gray Wolf is staffed by a diverse group, including Isaac (who helped her learn ASL years ago) and Mackenzie (who is hearing and studying to be an interpreter). It’s not quite as easy to fit in now as it was as a camper, but Lilah does her best--with a little help from Isaac. On top of this, Camp Gray Wolf is out of money and might be shut down after this summer. Over the course of the camp, Lilah gains acceptance, falls in love, makes friends, learns responsibility, and gains empathy for the other campers and counselors.

I liked the representation of Deaf culture and that it was written by a Deaf author, the cute romance, the length of the book, and that it is kind of a Hi-Lo book at 720 Lexile. I didn't like that there were big consequences for breaking curfew ,but no one cared that the counselors went out drinking, including several who were underage. The swears also seemed unnecessary - thrown in to up the maturity. The main character is presumed white, but her love interest is part Dominican and speaks Spanish along with English and ASL. The head counselor is also hispanic. There are side characters with other races, disabilities, and sexual orientations.

Lindsay Blowers, Teacher 

Sleeping Spells and Dragon Scales by Wendy S. Swore - ADVISABLE

Sleeping Spells and Dragon Scales by Wendy S. Swore, 304 pages. Shadow Mountain Publishing, 2024. $19.

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

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Believing in fairies made Fairy Door Trail an obvious hangout for Alaina, and her best friend—and skeptic—Liam didn’t mind tagging along. One day, they stumbled into what could have been a fairy circle and most likely, accidentally offended a fairy. Since that day, Alaina and Liam drifted apart, and Alaina has had  to deal with being cursed. But now Liam is showing signs of being cursed, too, and he needs Alaina’s help.

Swore’s writing sits in the beautiful space between reality and fantasy. Both characters and readers know that fantasy and fairy tale creatures are not real, but they still want to believe they might be. There is magic in believing and in recognizing the fantastical parts of reality. In the book, Alaina and Liam’s English teacher gives an assignment for the students to write their lives as fairy tales, and it has made me look at my life a little differently—with a little more hope and a little more recognition for my main character and heroine status.

Alaina is implied Latina and has an autoimmune disorder, Liam has a chronic neurological disorder, and Doctor Titus is Kenyan. The mature content rating is for mentions of kissing and for near-death experiences. The violence rating is for some mild fantasy violence imagery.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett - OPTIONAL

The Tainted Cup (Shadow of the Leviathan #1) by Robert Jackson Bennett, 413 pages. Del Rey (Penguin Random House), 2024. $29.

Language: R (256 swears, 67 “f”); Mature Content: R; Violence: R

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - NO; ADULT - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

As investigator’s assistant, Dinios (20yo) is sent to the scene of a murder—his first. He faithfully engraves the information needed for the investigator, Ana, and reports back, but the case is far from over. Murders in the same strange manner pop up, prompting officials to bring Din and Ana in on those cases, but time is of the essence: the wet season is coming, bringing destruction with it.

I absolutely love the eccentric Ana, who is a type of Sherlock Holmes, and her assistant, Din, who is her perfect Watson. The mystery tangles and unfolds masterfully, though I got worried as I started to run out of pages. While the conclusion is satisfactory plot-wise, I can hardly sit still due to the anticipation of seeing these characters solve another mystery. Besides the characters, I also love the world Bennett has built. Furthermore, I am impressed with Bennett’s ability to make the complex world and magic feel so easily understood; from the first chapter, I found myself immersed in a world that made sense despite its newness.

Dinios is described as having darker skin than another character, and races are mentioned but they are not the same as the races in our world. The mature content rating is for mentions of drugs, prostitutes, sexual harassment, and sex; alcohol use; innuendo; brief discussion of animals mating; and nudity. The violence rating is for blood and gore, assault, murder, assassins, and fantasy violence.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen

Food Fight by Linda B. Davis - ADVISABLE

Food Fight by Linda B. Davis, 238 pages. Fitzroy Books, 2023. $16. 

Language: G (0 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (some non-physical bullying) 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

6th grader Ben has a terrible relationship with food - in fact there are only ten foods that he can bring himself to eat. He has been diagnosed with ARFID (Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder), but his parents don’t really understand and now that he is in middle school. One of the kids has picked Ben as his bullying target - specifically because of his eating choices (or non-choices). When the whole grade goes on a weekend trip to a immersive retro farm experience, Ben has no idea how to keep his food issues under wraps. Do his best friends have his back or are they ready to side with the bully? 

Like Ben, I am mystified why Darren is so obsessed with what Ben does or does not eat. That issue isn’t addressed at all. Watching Ben struggles was painful - but I am glad it was a boy for once, not a girl addressing these issues - from what I see in middle grade lit, kids might think that girls have to deal with mean kids, eating issues, and self-esteem. 

Cindy Mitchell, Library Teacher, MLS 

The Fire, The Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla - ESSENTIAL

The Fire, The Water, and Maudie McGinn by Sally J. Pla, 324 pages. Quill Tree (Harper), 2023. $20

Language: G (0 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG (implied physical abuse); Violence: OG (one violent scene - no blood)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ESSENTIAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

13yo Maudie loves her summers with her dad in his mountain cabin.  During the school year it used to be her and her mom, but now her mom has married and Maude does not feel comfortable around her mom’s new husband.  Plus Mom is always trying to make Maudie “normal”. Not trying to understand Maudie’s autism and how she ticks. But summer becomes a disaster when a forest fire destroys everything except for what they have on their backs. Now she and Dad are headed to Dad’s hometown - a small beach town near the Mexico border. There Maudie sees surfers - a finds a female surfer willing to coach Maudie after an initial misunderstanding. Maudie decides to keep her surf lessons secret from Dad until the day of the big festival and surf contest.  And all summer she worries about what will happen when she has to return to live with her mom and stepdad.

I’ve been trying to figure out of Maudie reads as a younger character because her Mom has always kept her close. Watching her struggle to decide keep her secret about her stepfather’s physical abuse or not is painful - the secret also unfolds slowly, hard to read at the beginning.  But I was personally enthralled.

Cindy Mitchell, Library Teacher, MLS

Show Us Who You Are by Elle McNicoll - ESSENTIAL

Show Us Who You Are by Elle McNicoll, 304 pages. Crown (Random House), 2022. $17. 

Language: PG (9 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (Car Accident - not graphic) 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH 

12yo Cora's best friend is Adrian. Adrian has ADHD, and Cora has autism - Adrian says they are "under the same umbrella." Adrian's dad owns a company called Pomagranite, which creates AI versions of people: famous ones people can pay to meet, or regular people who have agreed to let themselves be imaged, so they can "live forever." Because she is neurodivergent, the company wants to interview and image Cora, her father is against it, but it might be the only way she can continue to connect with the friend she lost. 

McNicoll's science fiction novel is so timely and realistic. AI is a hot topic right now and this exploration of how it could be used was fascinating. I loved that Cora's autism was a personality feature, rather than a disability and that she became her own champion. I loved Adrian's energy and adored their friendship. Highly recommended. The characters are default white. 

Lisa Librarian 

A Different Kind of Normal by Abigail Balfe - OPTIONAL

A Different Kind of Normal by Abigail Balfe, 240 pages. NON FICTION. Crown Books for Young Readers (Random), 2022. $23. 

Language: G (0 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG-13 (puberty discussed); Violence: G 

BUYING ADVISORY: MS, HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

35yo Abigail Balfe is Autistic; however, she did not always realize that. Growing up in England she merely thought she was a little different than other children. She did not know the words neurodivergent or neurotypical.

Abigail creatively captures her growing up years and trying fit in. She writes about everyday issues of growing up and how being different affected her. She tackles topics such as school, emotions, family, friendships, puberty, sensory sensitivities with humor and amazing drawings. Abigail effectively captures her life being neurodivergent. I like this book and the format. If I were teaching autobiographical writing, I would use this as an example or mentor text. It will have a very specific audience.

Bryant Baird Librarian SLC School District 

Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt - ADVISABLE

Good Different by Meg Eden Kuyatt, 288 pages. Scholastic Press (Scholastic). 2023. $19.

Language: G (0 swears 0 'f'); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (Selah hit another student resulting in a bloodied nose.)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

13yo Selah has a list of rules. Rules she must keep in order to appear as normal as the other 7th graders. They call her weird. But when she gets home, she can put on soft clothes, flap her hands if she needs to and write the poems she loves so much. She knows there is something different about her, but her mother won't acknowledge it. But when she and her friend Noelle attend a fantasy-con, Selah meets other people who are "on the spectrum" and she suspects she might not be completely alone. 

Good Different is a beautifully written novel in verse, I highlighted so many passages! Selah has a kind and perceptive English teacher, a best friend who doesn't understand, and a grandfather who knows just what she's going through. I loved that she found ways to express herself that felt safer than talking. I would hope schools today are quicker to identify neurodiversity in kids than Selah's was, she only needed a few simple accommodations. Includes an author's note as well as resources for autistic folks, a list of books by autistic authors, and helpful resources for educators, The cover shows Selah as white, no other race or culture was evident in the text. 

Lisa Librarian 

All He Knew by Helen Frost - ADVISABLE

 All He Knew by Helen Frost, 254 pages. Farrar Straus Giroux Books for Young Readers, 2020. $18

Language: G (0 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG (abuse, death of children) ; Violence: PG (threats, talk of war, child slapped)

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Due to a high fever, Henry has been deaf since the age 4. Economically stressed from both the Great Depression and now the start of World War II, Henry’s family doesn’t have the means to educate a deaf child, so Henry is sent to a state institution for “unteachable” children. Conditions here are terrible, but Henry makes friends and learns to survive. After several years a young man named Victor comes to work at the facility. He can see Henry’s intelligence and doesn’t just stand by to allow conditions to stay the same.

This story is loosely based on actual events in the author’s family’s past. Frost writes a beautiful novel-in-verse of a child who never loses hope, and of the family that continues to love him. The abuse, death, and violence that are part of the plot are handled delicately and without a lot of detail, as seen through the eyes of young Henry, who doesn’t fully understand what’s going on around him. While the setting is dark, Henry’s innocence and spirit never dim. This is a quick yet powerful read that sheds light on actual events from U.S. history, and includes themes of kindness, acceptance, hope, and choosing peace over violence. The characters in this novel are implied to be white.

Tammie H., Librarian 

Welcome Back, Maple Mehta-Cohen by Kate McGovern - ESSENTIAL

 Welcome Back, Maple Mehta-Cohen by Kate McGovern, 278 pages. Candlewick Press, 2021. $17 

Language: G (1 swear); Mature Content: G; Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL-ESSENTIAL; MS-ADVISABLE

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

Intelligent, creative Maple Mehta-Cohen, has always faked her way through school, hiding the fact that when she looks at words, she can’t understand them. But her fifth grade teacher noticed and now she has to repeat fifth grade, while her best friends move on to sixth grade. Maple feels embarrassed, and as she starts fifth grade again, she secretly tells Jack Wells, who is new and also in the lowest reading group, that she is repeating fifth grade as a special teacher’s helper. Now she is in the middle of a story of mystery and intrigue, not unlike the stories that she loves to create.

This was a cute story about learning differences, discovering your talents, family and friendship. Maple is a storyteller, and the author does a great job of having one voice for the narrative, and another voice for Maple’s stories. I felt like some of the characters should have been more developed, but Maple is well developed and it’s her story, so that is good. This story would be an essential read aloud for any older child with a learning difference to help them discover that their disability is not the most important part of who they are. Maple is a Hin-Jew, as her parents call her - Dad is Indian; Mom is Jewish.

Reviewer: J. Rosskopf 

A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll - ESSENTIAL

A Kind of Spark: Being different doesn't mean your voice doesn't count by Elle McNicoll, 179 pages. Penguin Random House, 2020. $17 

Language: G; Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (Bullying, verbal abuse, used of the “r” word) 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ESSENTIAL 

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE 

11yo Addie is Autistic. She's very smart, loves to read and wants to be a good student, but her teacher, Mrs. Murphy, has no patience with Addie, tearing up her writing and treating her differently than the other students. When Mrs. Murphy tells the class about Witch Trials that happened in their Scottish Village over 300 years ago, one of the students says Addie would have been killed then as well, and Mrs. Murphy laughs along with the others. No wonder Addie has meltdowns in class. Eager to learn more about the witch trials, Addie reads what she can in the library and, feeling a kinship with them, decides to ask the Village Council to erect a memorial to the witches. Although she is told no, Addie is undaunted. She won't give up until they take her seriously, and not set her ideas aside because she is autistic. 

I’m so happy to see more books about neurodiverse kids, where they are the main character. Addie is great, I loved her right away. It was difficult to read about Ms. Murphy’s treatment of Addie. I liked the realistic depiction of middle grade friendships, and unfortunately the bullying was typical as well, children can be very mean to each other, especially when they see similar behavior from the adults in their lives. McNicol’s "ownvoice" debut is engaging, heart breaking and perfect for upper elementary or middle grade students.

Lisa Librarian