Amal Unbound

When Amal's mother has yet another baby girl, she is so depressed she can't get out of bed, let alone take care of the family.  It falls to Amal as the oldest to stay home from school and keep up with all the chores that keep the household running.  Each day she sees her dream of becoming a teacher slip further away.  She also feels a simmering frustration that her parents are so upset about the birth of a daughter.  Did they feel this way when Amal was born?

One day on her way back from the market, Amal is struck by a car, a rare sight in her tiny village.  The driver doesn't apologize, and the situation escalates, but Amal doesn't realize he is Jawad, son of the village landlord.  She has often heard of the family's cruelty and power but never seen it for herself.

Now Jawad calls in her father's loan in retribution for the incident.  It's either the money, which they don't have, or send Amal to be his servant.

Her father promises to get her back, but the longer she spends in servitude, the more she realizes all her dreams of getting an education and becoming a teacher may be over.

Aisha Saeed's new middle grade book is painful look at the plight of girls in Pakistan.  An author's note a the end of the book explains that Amal is inspired by Malala Yousefzai's story and the plight of many people still trapped in indentured servitude with no hope of ever paying their debts.  This book reads a bit like a fairy tale at times without the magical elements, but it's perfect for middle school and upper elementary kids to get a glimpse into another life.  Highly recommended.  Plus, that cover is absolutely gorgeous!

The Forgotten Book

Emma is happy to be back at her German boarding school with its ancient castle and lovely grounds.  She's also happy to see her hypochondriac absent-minded father who is the school's headmaster.

She's spent the summer making plans to have successful school year, including making progress with her crush, Frederick, and starting a secret society.  But a visitor with no plans to leave causes some serious problems.  Darcy de Winter is a former student and some of the family who owns the property, which pretty much means they can't kick him out.  Emma would feel compassion for him since he's looking for clues about his missing sister, but he's just too awful.

But Emma has something else to distract her.  While cleaning out an unused room in the castle she finds a book.  It seems to be a chronicle of Stolzenburg castle written by different authors over the years.  At first, Emma is just interested in the story, but then she makes a startling discovery.  Anything she writes in the book comes true. 

At first writing in the book is fun, but then things start to go wrong.  Could the book have something to do with Darcy's missing sister?  Plus, she's spent years pining for Frederick, but now she's beginning to wonder about him, and the more time she spends with Darcy trying to unlock the mystery of his missing sister, the warmer her feelings become.

Many of the characters in Mechthild Glaser's book are taken from Pride and Prejudice and Emma by Jane Austen which is kind of fun, but it also takes a lot of the tension out of the story.  I've read modern updates of these stories that really work, but the relationship between Emma and Darcy just seems forced to me.  Darcy is ridiculously rude to everyone in the beginning of the book, and he's a twenty-year-old graduate.  Emma is a sixteen-year-old student with all the silliness and immaturity of a normal teenager.  That age gap alone is pretty creepy.  Plus, they have nothing in common.  The parallels work better for other characters, and I pleased to find that no one had to end up married to the Wickham character.

The mystery and supernatural elements of the story are the parts that work best.  I hate to say it, but I think this would have worked better without the Jane Austen angle. 

Lovely, Dark, and Deep

After returning from the trip of a lifetime to Africa with her Auntie Ruth, Viola Li suddenly and inexplicably develops a severe case of photosensitivity.  Was it the malaria meds?  Auntie Ruth thinks so and is crushed with guilt.  But maybe it was just spontaneous.  The doctors don't know anything other than Viola's case is extreme.

Plus, it came on in a horrifyingly embarrassing way.  Viola has a goal to do 50 bake sales to support 50 different causes by the time she graduates.  her awesome baking skills combined with her intensive writing and research will get her into her dream college to pursue journalism.

Viola was hoping to sell red bean baos to some Firefly fans when a guy bearing a strong resemblance to Thor shows up wanting to sell his comic at her booth.  Just as she's getting worked up to tell him how sexist the art is (even if Thor is distractingly hot), she has her first reaction to the sun and passes out.

As her crisis management parents try to manage Viola and her new condition, she's realizing more every day that all her future hopes and plans may be over. 

And Thor, AKA Josh?  One minute he seems too perfect and the next he disappears, but as their relationship develops, she realizes he's not the sexist she thought he was and that Josh has issues of his own to deal with.

Can Viola find a new life and a new hope for herself in the dark?

First, I love Justina Chen!  North of Beautiful is one of my favorites!  I liked that this book doesn't have an unrealistic ending.  Sometimes things happen and we have to reevaluate and dream new dreams, but that doesn't mean we give up on life.  Chen tends to write her love interests as almost preternaturally perfect.  I'm not saying that's a bad thing, but Thor may give readers unrealistic expectations!  Also, the constant references to Firefly may be confusing for people who haven't seen the show as many times as Viola (and I) have. 

Overall, the message of not giving up on yourself or becoming trapped by fear is a good one, and this is an engaging read.  Recommended for grades 8 and up.

Best. Night. Ever.

Seven 7th graders, seven points of view, one school dance.

Carmen is frustrated because her band Heart Attack is about to have their big break without her.  She's stuck at her cousin's wedding in an ugly green dress and bad cell service.

Genevieve is filling in for Carmen as lead singer, but she's so nervous, she might pass out or throw up instead of sing on stage. 

Ellie is so excited for her first dance.  She's got a dress from her mom who died a few years ago, and one of the cutest and most popular boys asked her to the dance.

Ryan is hoping tonight will the be the night his best friend and longtime crush, Mariah, will finally notice him.

Tess is the drummer for Heart Grenade, Carmen's best friend, and Mariah's worst enemy.  They've been competing for years, and tonight could end in a huge blowup.

Ashlyn is Ellie's soon to be stepsister and her total opposite.  She's grounded, so she has to miss the dance.  Plus, she's babysitting so Ellie can go.  So ridiculous!

And Jade...well, let's just say Jade is out for revenge.

This is a fun story from seven middle-grade authors.  I'm linking to the publisher page which has information about all of them.  What a fun book full of misunderstandings and middle school drama.  The best part is, by the time you get to the end, there is no clear-cut villain.  Perfect for 6th and 7th graders!

Ban This Book

When Amy Anne Ollinger goes to the school library to check out her favorite book again, she is shocked to discover the book has been banned.  It's not just From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, either.  There's a whole list of books one person has decided are not appropriate. 

Her librarian, Mrs. Jones, invited Amy Anne to attend the school board meeting to talk about why she loves her favorite book, and Amy Anne prepares a speech, but when the moment comes, she is too nervous to speak up.  It's a problem she has at home, too.  Her younger sisters are so demanding that Amy Anne just has to give up what she wants to accommodate them and keep the peace. 

To assuage her sadness, Amy Anne's father buys her a copy of her favorite book, and suddenly people are interested.  Along with a couple of friends, she starts collecting books on the list.  That's when the idea for the Banned Books Locker Library begins.  If the school board takes the books away, the BBLL will provide them.

The situation escalates as more books are removed from the school library without following the reconsideration guidelines, and the BBLL gets more sophisticated.  While Amy Anne is a champion of reading rights, she is also a rule follower at heart and lives in constant terror of being discovered. 

Full of delightful characters (including an amazing librarian!) this novel is will appeal to readers of all ages and to those who buck at arbitrary decisions made by those in power.  Unfortunately, situations like the one in this book happen all over the country, and Alan Gratz handles the situation perfectly.  This book advocates for reading choice but also quietly maintains that some books are better saved for later and that parents do have the right to direct their children's reading choices but not anyone else's. 

Amy Anne is a fourth grader which may limit the appeal to middle school kids, but if they can look beyond this, they will find a wonderful story about standing up for a cause and for yourself.  Highly recommended!

Also, I have to give a shout out to Mixed-Up Files.  It was one of my favorite books as a kid and the first book I bought with my own money, so I definitely felt a kinship with Amy Anne.

Rebound

Charlie Bell is still reeling from his father's sudden death.  He's getting in trouble at school and with his best friend, Skinny, and his relationship with his mother is struggling.  She's at the end of her rope, so she decides to send Charlie to live with his grandparents in Washington, D.C. for the summer.

He doesn't want to go, but she doesn't give him a choice.  Charlie wanted to spend the summer hanging out with his two best friends, Skinny and CJ.  Maybe he likes CJ a little more than he wants to admit. 

Once he gets to D.C, people start calling him Chuck (which he kind of likes), and he gets reacquainted with his cousin Roxie.  When he's not doing chores and getting lectured by his grandfather, he's learning how to really play basketball with Roxie and discovering he might actually like the game. 

He's also learning some things about his father.  Just like Chuck, his dad also read comic books.  Reading his dad's old Black Panther comics helps Chuck feel closer to him.

This prequel to The Crossover is also told in verse with several comic panels mixed in to show Chuck's fantasy version of himself. 

First, I just have to say that I love Crossover by Kwame Alexander.  It is amazing and wonderful!  This book was just ok for me.  I wanted to love it.  I started reading with excitement and joy in my heart, but it just didn't have the same impact.  Sometimes the poetry was amazing; sometimes it was not.  Plus, the dialogue was just confusing if there were more than two speakers.  (What do you have against quotation marks, friend?)

That said, the comic panels really worked, and I will certainly recommend this to kids.

Greetings from Witness Protection

Nicki Demere is an orphan living in the foster care system when two U.S. Marshalls show up at her group home.  They want Nicki, not for any crimes she's committed, although she does have a juvenile record.  No, they need Nicki for a pilot program within witness protection. 

A criminal organization is looking for a mother, father, and son.  Adding a daughter to mix might throw them off.  If she accepts, Nicki Demere will cease to exist.  No more absent father, no more court-mandated therapy, no more criminal record, but that also means no contact with her former life and the friends she has in the system. 

It's an easy decision.  Nicki, now Charlotte, has a new family and a new life in Durham, North Carolina, and she has the street smarts to help keep them all safe.  Surviving witness protection is all about blending in, and Charlotte has plenty of experience with that. 

But the stresses of living with a new family, and a younger brother who definitely does not want her around and pretending to be a new person even with her friends are getting to her, and that means her kleptomania is flaring up.  She doesn't steal things to have them or to sell them.  It's just for that instant release she feels once she's taken something.  But if her new family finds out she's a thief, will they still want to keep her around?

Of course, none of this will matter if their enemies find them, and they are working very hard to do just that so they can eliminate this problem permanently.

I really enjoyed this new book by Jake Burt.  It checks plenty of boxes for young readers and handles Nicki's kleptomania particularly well.  The witness protection angle is something different that will draw kids into this perfect balance of mystery and school story.  My only issue is the use of social media.  Any mention of social media can instantly date a book which is probably why plenty of authors make up their own instead of using existing ones, but this one is starting out behind the times.  I'm pretty sure no one in 7th-grade blogs about anything, and I know they don't use Facebook.  It's for old people.  That said, I think kids will be willing to overlook this because the rest of the story is so great.  Highly recommended.