Across the Desert

It's summer, and twelve-year-old Jolene spends as much time as she can at the public library.  It's too hot to be outside, and she doesn't want to be in the apartment with her mom.  The highlight of her day is watching the live stream of Addie Earheart's daily flight over the Arizona desert.  She doesn't know Addie in real life, but the two started chatting online once Jolene found the daily flight videos.  

Jolene wants to be a cartographer, and she uses Addie's videos and existing maps to draw out her own version of the desert.  It's almost like having an adventure herself.

Addie is Jolene's only friend.  That wasn't always true, but after the car accident that injured her mother, life was never the same.  Her mom started taking the pain meds prescribed by her doctor, but then she couldn't stop.  Now, it seems like she doesn't care about anything else.  There's rarely food in the house, and most of Jolene's clothes are two sizes too small.  

That's why the daily live stream and the chats are so important, but one day Addie's plane crashes as Jolene is watching.  Then the feed goes blank.  Jolene is the only viewer, and Addie was flying over a vast uninhabited desert.  No one else knows what happened...or even where to look.

As a panicked Jolene tries to reach out to adults for help, it quickly becomes clear no one believes her.  She knows Addie would respond to her chats to let her know if she were safe, but she doesn't.  Jolene can't just leave her friend to die because no one will listen.  That's when she decides to go on the biggest and most terrifying adventure of her life.

I'm a Dusti Bowling fan, and this one does not disappoint.  It's full of the same life-and-death adventure her fans will expect, and she also deals with trauma in a realistic way that is appropriate for middle-grade readers without patronizing them.  Jolene is struggling with the aftermath of surviving a horrible car accident and a stint in foster care, and she's living with a parent who is addicted to opioids.  There are definitely parts of this story that stretch credulity, but Jolene and her internal struggles are very real.  Highly recommended.

Hotel Magnifique

After their mother dies, Jani takes her younger sister and moves to the port city of Durc hoping for opportunities to live a better life.  What she finds is the drudgery of working in a tannery to support herself and Zosa.  They can barely afford the rent in their boarding house, and Jani dreams of returning to their idyllic village in the countryside.

Everything changes when she learns the Hotel Magnifique will be appearing in Durc.  The magical hotel appears out of thin air to take on new guests and staff.  No one knows exactly what happens in the hotel because guests emerge after their trip with no memories other than a feeling of indescribable joy.  

The hotel is also the only place where suminaires can safely perform their magic.

When Zosa is hired to work as a performer, Jani isn't surprised.  She just needs to find a way to extend her own temporary appointment as a maid, she the sisters won't be separated.  Everything in the hotel is more enchanting than Jani could have imagined, but she quickly starts to see that some things seem not quite right.  

For one thing, employee contracts are unbreakable, and she can't find anyone who will talk to her about their lives before the hotel.  Her only ally in the quest for information is the mysterious Bel.  She knows he's a suminaire, but she isn't exactly sure what his job entails.  She only knows she finds him frustrating and increasingly attractive.  Bel warns Jani not to dig too deep; if the Maitre finds out what she's doing in his hotel, the consequences will be dire.  But Jani is determined to find a way to save herself and her sister their beautiful but deadly cage.

Emily J. Taylor's lushly dark fantasy is a world to sink into and enjoy.  There are as many delights as there are horrors in the Hotel Magnifique, and I loved them all.  Jani and Zosa have a strong sisterly bond that never falls into resentment, and the romance element is a light but important part of the plot and Jani's character development.  The conclusion felt a little rushed, but I loved it anyway!  Recommended for grades 7 and up.

Attack of the Black Rectangles

Mac's hometown has a lot of rules.  There's a strict curfew, no junk food, and girls aren't allowed to wear pants to school.  It doesn't matter who argues against these rules, the school and the town council always bow to the whims of Ms. Laura Samuel Sett.  She always has a matter-of-fact answer for everything, and Mac and his friends will be in her 6th-grade class this year.  

Everything seems fine until it's time for literature circles.  That's when it happens.  They discover their copies of The Devil's Arithmetic have black rectangles over certain words and phrases.  Mac's mom and granddad raised him to investigate when things seem wrong, so he and his friends begin a journey to understand what the blacked-out words are and why they are censored.  

They know they are right, but no one other than their parents seems to take them seriously.  Suddenly, they begin to reexamine the rules and search for the underlying truths many people want to ignore.

This is a timely and engaging story about censorship and seeing through the surface to find the truths beneath.  It reads a bit more like a fable, but Mac and his friends still seem like real kids until the very end.  The last chapter is the only time the voice seems less like a 6th grader and more like an adult.  I would still recommend this one as food for thought and great discussion.

Skandar and the Unicorn Thief

Skandar Smith has spent his entire thirteen years dreaming of becoming a unicorn rider.  He's studied and worried and wished for a life different from his own.  His mother died when he was a baby, and his dad has been an alcoholic who can barely hold a job since then.  His older sister Kenna has spent the last year in a depression after failing the exam to make it to the island where the unicorns live.  Though he feels some guilt at the idea of leaving them behind, he can't imagine living a life without a unicorn.

Unicorns had always been a secret of the island until the number of eggs outgrew the number of available 13-year-olds to try for a bond.  Even with a bond, unicorns are bloodthirsty and powerful.  Unicorns that hatch wild...well, they are terrifying and unstoppable.  The bond between unicorn and rider not only gives the rider magic ability but also makes the unicorn less ferocious and gives it a natural lifespan.  

When he's turned away at the exam door, Skandar can't understand.  How can they just deny him the chance to even try?  But when a stranger shows up at midnight to smuggle him into the next round of the trials, he has to take his chance.  Plus, the stranger is convinced Skandar is the only one who can save the island and the mainland from the Weaver, a rogue magic wielder whose thirst for power could endanger them all.

Now Skandar has his wish, but he has so many secrets to keep, it seems inevitable one will escape.  Will he be able to keep his place in the Eyrie and continue training, or will the Weaver's plot endanger his future?

The series opener from A.F. Steadman is a wild ride and a wonderful reimagining of unicorns.  Instead of ethereal beings of light, they are bloodthirsty carnivores who are difficult to control.  The Eyrie is the perfect magical school for unicorn riders with lots of fun and whimsical details.  (However, I want just one of these magic school books to at least mention the study of language and math.  or do you magically have a mastery of the regular subjects when you get magical powers?)  This is a well-plotted series opener with plenty of twists and false suspicions along the way.  Harry Potter fans will eat this up!  Highly recommended! 

Two Degrees

Akira is happy to recharge her batteries in the California mountains with her dad and her horse, Dodger.  But things quickly go wrong when she sees smoke from a wildfire.  Suddenly her beautiful day turns into a fiery nightmare.   

Owen helps his family run polar bear tours in Manitoba, Canada.  Lately, the bears have been showing up earlier and staying later in the season, which is good for business, but Owen has never really thought about why this is happening.  When he and a friend get stranded miles from town, all the polar bear facts he spouts on the tour become suddenly more applicable.  They have no transportation, no phone, and they are being stalked by a hungry polar bear.

Natalie and her mom have ridden out hurricanes in their Miami home before, but there is something different about this storm.  As the flood waters quickly rise, Natalie is swept away and must fend for herself in a fight for survival in a raging hurricane.

Three harrowing events in three different parts of North America are connected by climate change.  Warmer, drier summers in California lead to increasingly devastating wildfires.  Warmer temperatures in the frozen north mean it's more difficult for polar bears to find and hunt seals.  And warmer air in the ocean means more powerful and frequent hurricanes.  Two degrees seems like such a small change on a hot day, but the change in the global temperature leaves Akira, Owen, and Natalie fighting for their lives.

Alan Gratz's newest book is sure to be a crowd-pleaser with nonstop survival action from the first chapter all the way through to the end.  The many kids who have been affected by climate disasters will relate to the three protagonists in the story.  Gratz likes to connect seemingly unrelated characters in unexpected ways, and this strategy usually works for me.  It felt a little heavy-handed this time, but I don't think young readers will care.  Hand this to Gratz's normal fans and to the I Survived crowd who are ready for the next step.  Highly recommended!

The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea

For generations, Mina's world has been beset by raging storms that take whole villages into the sea.  Those who remain fight over the few resources that survive these storms.  The people believe the sea god is angry.  Every year a beautiful girl is sacrificed to the sea in the hope one of them will finally be the sea god's true bride, the girl who can stop the storms.

Many believe the beautiful Shim Cheong might be the one, but Mina's older brother is in love with her and plans to throw himself into the sea with her, even knowing he will die.  

Mina decides to take Shim Cheong's place to save her brother.  She isn't even sure it will work until she awakens in the Spirit Realm.  This magical city is filled with spirits, ghosts, demons, and even a few minor gods.  Mina soon discovers the sea god in an enchanted slumber.  She must find a way to wake him in order to end the curse on her home, but her time is limited.  If she stays too long in the Spirit Realm, she will become a spirit herself, unable to end the curse or return home.  

She has the help of Shin, a minor god, whose fate has been bound to hers, and an assortment of other spirits and demons.  Mina believes she could be the sea god's true wife and break the curse, but can she follow through if she falls in love with someone else?

Axie Oh's beautiful fairy tale of a story is dream steeped in Korean mythology.  The plot is gentle and meandering, giving way to characters and descriptions, but it's a lovely ride through a dangerous and enchanted kingdom.  The romance is clean enough for a middle school audience and stems from true friendship and devotion.  Recommended.

Witchlings

Every year in the magical town of Ravenskill, witchlings participate in the Black Moon ceremony to be magically sorted into their covens.  Seven Salazar has always dreamed of being in house Hyacinth with her best friend, Poppy.  They plan to become reporters for the local newspaper, and House Hyacinth is the place to be for young writers.  On the night of the ceremony Seven's anxiety mounts as each new coven becomes a closed circle and is accepted into their new house.  Finally, her worst fears are confirmed.  She never even considered this as a possibility.  Seven is a spare.

Every year a few witchlings are left without a coven, without the protection of a magical house. 
Spares don't have the same rights as other witches and they aren't allowed to continue their magical studies, perform higher level spells, or even have real jobs.  To make matters worse, Seven's worst enemy and biggest bully, Valley, is also a spare and technically in her "coven."  The third member of the group is a quiet new girl named Thorn.

To escape her fate, Seven invokes the Impossible Task.  If they can complete the task, the girls will be reinstated in society.  If not...they will be turned into toads!

Claribel Ortega's newest book is full of magic, adventure, and friendship with a diverse cast of characters.  There are definitely shades of Harry Potter here, but the book has it's own perspective, too, highlighting inequities between the social classes and the right to control the rights of those with less the wealthy sometimes feel.  This is solid middle grade fantasy.