Bump

MJ has been struggling since her father died.  They had to move because her mom can't afford their old house anymore, and her mom works all the time.  She wasn't actually too upset about the move until she found out she'd still be attending the same school.  

MJ has done gymnastics for years, and she's actually pretty good, but the other girls on the team bully her constantly.  That's why she decided to quit this year.  Her mom doesn't get it, and MJ doesn't want to explain.

The only thing she's interested in right now is watching Lucha Dominion videos.  Everyone, including her mom, thinks wrestling is fake and a waste of time, but MJ is a little obsessed.  When she discovers her new next door neighbor, Mr. Arellano, actually owns a wrestling school, she can't believe her luck!

Her new mission is to join the school and train to become a wrestler, but it won't be easy.  She's the smallest person there by far, and her mom is not enthusiastic about the plan.  Just as MJ is starting to find her place at Victory Academy,  an inspector for the state athletic association shows up determined to ruin everything.  But MJ isn't going to just give up her new family so easily.

Matt Wallace's new book explores the world of wrestling from a different perspective, and it's an enjoyable read even if you have no interest in the sport.  The climax is a little ridiculous and the epilogue is a bit didactic, but this one will definitely find fans.

The Wide Starlight

When Eli was a little girl, her mother took her out onto the glacier near her Norwegian home, whistled to the Northern Lights, and disappeared.  Search parties never found any trace of her.  Her father even lost a few fingers to frostbite in his search efforts, but Eli's mother was just gone.

Now Eli is sixteen and living in Cape Cod with her father who is continuing his work as a marine biologist in Massachusetts.  She loves her father and her best friend, but she's been aching for her mother all this time.  The stories her mother told her about the North Wind and three treacherous princesses are always with her.  When she hears the Northern Lights will be visible in Cape Cod for one night only, she knows she has to take a chance.  To her surprise, it seems to work, and a cold and wispy version of her mother returns.  

Eli knows she has to keep her mother's return a secret, but then strange things start happening like a group of narwhals showing up in Cape Cod and meteorites falling in her front yard.  When her mother disappears again, Eli finds a note telling her to she will find her mother in the place she last saw her.  It's time to return to the arctic home she knew as a child and uncover the truth once and for all.  

Nicole Lesperance's novel is infused with folklore and magical realism, and it is sometimes difficult to know what is real.  The histories of mother daughter relationships are told through these fairy tales as well the mental health struggles of Eli's mother and grandmother.  This book is beautifully written, but it was a stressful read for more as Eli continues to make more and more dangerous decisions as the book progresses.  The language is beautiful even if the story and the folklore are dangerous.  Recommended.

Hold Back the Tide

Everyone knows what happened to Alva's mother all those years ago, but no one can prove it.  That's why her father is still allowed to walk free, but it's also why they are pariahs.  Alva knows the truth.  She saw her father fire the gun that night, and she's lived every day since in the knowledge her father is a murderer.  

Now that she's old enough, she has plans to run away and make a life in another place.  She's saved money from her job doing transcriptions for the monks, purchased the things she needs, and even secured a job.  She's ready to be rid of her judgemental village and her isolated life on the loch with her murderer father, but just as she's on the verge of freedom, a scream rings through the night and changes all her plans and everything she thinks she knows.

This is a short blurb for Melinda Salisbury's new book, but I don't want to spoil the twist!  I went into this one knowing nothing, and I'm so glad I did.  There are so many things I enjoyed about this book.  Salisbury wrings suspense from almost every page, and the remote Scottish village adds to that feeling.  The two characters who become Alva's greatest allies are boys, but the story never devolves into a love triangle which is refreshing.  There are several scenes of violence and descriptions of horrific injuries and deaths.  It starts a little slow, but once you reach the twist, things get wild!  Recommended for 8th grade and up.

Friend Me

Roisin thought moving to the United States from her home in Ireland would be a great adventure, but it's turned out to be the opposite.  She hasn't made a single friend since arriving in Massachusetts.  Even the one potential friend, the daughter of her mom's new boss, seems to be ghosting her.  Plus, mean girl Zara seems determined to make Roisin's life miserable.

Her older brother has the bizarre ability to make friends with everyone immediately, her mom is always at work, and her dad is still in Ireland finishing a project before joining the rest of the family.  That leaves Roisin alone to deal with all her problems.  

Zara is bad enough in person, but her bullying takes on a whole new life online.  Roisin has no escape from the cruel memes and hateful comments.  Then she connects with Haley online.  They have so much in common, and Haley has survived a bully of her own.  Soon Roisin is spending all her time chatting with Haley online.  They even begin to jokingly talk about how the world would be better without Zara.

When Zara is in a terrible accident, Roisin is worried the police will suspect her because of the chats with Haley.  Roisin wants Haley to delete all the chats, but when she tries to meet with her best friend in real life, Haley is nowhere to be found.  Has Haley been lying about her true identity?  Who is Haley, and what if her comments in the chat were more than just jokes?  

This fast-paced story by Sheila Averbuch will appeal to middle grade grade readers.  Zara is a truly heinous bully for readers to hate, but they should also be suspicious of Roisin's online friendship with Haley.  The tech aspect is an interesting twist even if some readers will see it coming.  This book also deals with some of the more realistic perils of online friendship without being preachy.  Recommended.

It's My Party and I Don't Want to Go

Ellie Katz only has a few months until she turns thirteen and has to face her greatest fear, her bat mitzvah.  The idea of standing in front of a hundred people to recite her haftorah and Torah portions as well as making a speech is horrifying.  She can't even imagine having the nerve to light the candles on her cake!  But she's also too anxious to tell her parents and older sister Hannah she doesn't want the big party Hannah enjoyed a few years ago.

Instead she decides to sabotage her own bat mitzvah behind the scenes.  She enlists her best friend Zoey to be her lookout and general assistant.  She's relieved when her first few efforts seem to be working, but then everything backfires and she's more the center of attention than she was before.  She knows she will never survive this party or live beyond her thirteen birthday.

Ok, I think this is a great idea for a book.  Anxiety and panic disorder are definitely relevant topics for middle grade readers, but this book is just too ridiculous.  It's difficult to have sympathy for Ellie when she never really considers anyone else or the consequences of her actions.  Her best friend's beloved pet could be dying, but Ellie can't even pause for a moment to show concern, and her efforts to sabotage her party could have lasting financial and emotional impacts on other people, but she only stops just short of horrifying behavior.  Plus, it's difficult to believe a girl who can't talk to her supportive and low key parents would be able to do things Ellie does to avoid the party.  For middle grade books about anxiety, I would recommend The World Ends in April by Stacy McAnulty, The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead, or Guts by Raina Telgemeier. Guts is the best of the three; it's accessible, entertaining, and affecting.  

The Year of the Buttered Cat

Thirteen years ago when Lexi was a baby, something happened that left her with almost no control over her body.  Her brain is fine, and she's happy to have parents and older siblings who treat her like a regular person and find ways to communicate with her, but it's frustrating to not have her own voice.

Her best means of communication is by moving magnetic letters on a cookie sheet.  She can't get all her thoughts across, but it's relatively effective.  Now that she's thirteen she wants to undergo a risky brain surgery that could help her gain some control over her body and her voice, but it could also take away some of the control she already has.  Everyone, even people who don't really know her, has an opinion about the surgery, but Lexi insists it's her decision.

As Lexi and her parents wait through the hours leading up to the surgery, she thinks back to when she was five years old and so many things became clear to her.  

Lexi is convinced if she can just figure out what her gifts are, she will gain control of her body.  She believes her body is just slow coming in, like some kids take longer to learn to talk or read.  This is also the year she meets to new friends, sisters in her homeschool French class who accept Lexi and have the patience to communicate with her.  It's also the year a mysterious letter shows up, and she knows it has something to do with her.  And we can't forget about the family cat who also disappeared during this time.  Well, it's more her therapy dog's cat than a regular family cat, but that's a long story.  

This is a fictionalized memoir written by Susan Haas with assistance from Lexi Haas to tell the story of life with a physical disability.  Lexi comes across as intelligent and strong willed and her mother as a champion for her daughter who also struggled in the beginning to accept help.  The cause of Lexi's disability is finally revealed, and an afterword goes into greater detail.  This book is a great reminder that difficulty in communicating does equal a lack of intelligence or understanding.  Recommended.

Lupe Wong Won't Dance

Lupe Wong is determined to be the first female pitcher in the MLB, but she has to make it through seventh grade first.  When her uncle promises to arrange a meeting with Mariner's pitcher Fu Li, Lupe is dedicated to making all A's.  Fu Li is Mexinese like Lupe, half Chinese and half Mexican, and she looks up to him.  She's putting in the work in all her classes and on track to meet her idol.

She never thought P.E. would be the problem, but that all changes when the coach announces they are starting a square dancing unit, and everyone has to participate.  Lupe is usually the best at sports; she even pitches for the boys' baseball team, but dancing is not on her agenda.  She also has a history of fighting for a good cause, and this seems like a perfect candidate for her next campaign.  Despite her best efforts, square dancing is commencing.

Even if she hates it, she's determined to be one of the best in class to get her A and meet Fu Li.  She's got her best friends Andy and Niles to support her, but she also has some enemies in the class, and sometimes it seems like the whole system is working against her.  

Guadalupe Wong is a charming grump of a character, and the book is full of humor and quirky characters.  Lupe embraces both her Chinese and Mexican heritage and lobbies for more cultural diversity in her school.  Author Donna Barba Higuera deftly navigates Lupe's lingering grief over her father's death as well as incidents of racial insensitivity and bullying.  This will appeal to sports fans in particular and readers in general.  Recommended.