Chirp

 When Mia and her family moved back to Vermont the summer after seventh grade, she's happy to leave Boston behind.  Her broken arm is healing after a bad fall from the balance beam in gymnastics, but she isn't really back to normal yet.  The doctors have cleared her to go back to the gym, but Mia wants nothing to do with her former obsession, and it's about more than just being nervous about the balance beam, but she isn't ready to admit the truth to anyone yet. 

Her concerned parents force her to sign up for two summer activities, and she reluctantly chooses Warrior Camp which is inspired by a reality TV competition.  She doesn't want to do gymnastics, but it could be fun to increase her strength again and compete with other kids.  She also joins Launch Club where kids are working on projects for a young entrepreneurs competition. To Mia's surprise, she quickly makes new friends and realizes Launch Club might be perfect for helping her grandmother's new business.  

Before her stroke, Gram's cricket farm was starting to grow.  Now, Mia's parents want her to give up the business to rest and recover, but Gram has never been one to relax.  She fought her way into the top ranks as an entomology professor in a field full of men, and now she is determined to show the world the crickets are a sustainable and delicious form of protein.  And Mia is determined to help her!

Gram is recovering from her stroke, but it seems like someone is sabotaging the cricket farm.  Mia and her new friends feel convinced all the bad luck is really just the work of a saboteur.  As they work together to find new ways to promote and improve the farm, they also work to uncover the truth about all these "accidents."  But they are racing against the clock and against Gram's budget to find the truth.

Kate Messner's new book combines a solid mystery with information about entomophagy and entrepreneurship.  This is a perfect pick for kids who like to learn something while they read.  The secret of Mia's past and the inappropriate relationship her former coach forced on her blends seamlessly into the story, and it is handled perfectly.  Mia's broken arm removes her from his efforts to groom her before things get more physical.  It's helpful for Mia, and young readers, to know they aren't alone, and Messner shows how other characters including other students and older women Mia admires dealt with similar issues.  Highly recommended.