Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble

Meriano, Anna. A Dash of Trouble. Walden Pond Press, 2018.

Leonora's family owns a bakery, and leading up to Dia de los Muertos, they are extremely busy getting ready for the holiday. Leo is the youngest of five sisters, and she can't understand why she is sent to school instead of being allowed to stay home and help prepare for the event. When she sneaks out of school and returns to the bakery, she discovers that she is part of a long line of brujas, kitchen witches who can bake magic into their food. But her mother still thinks she's too young to begin learning magic, so Leo studies on her own, with disastrously hilarious results.

If you have watched and enjoyed the show Just Add Magic, this is the perfect series for you. Leo learns the consequences of trying things without proper instruction/experience, and as she adds more spells to undo the results of previous spells, things compile and become even more complicated. This is an adorable and precious story with lots of Spanish language and Latinx culture added to the mix. Recommended.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

The House in Poplar Wood

Ormsbee, K.E. The House in Poplar Wood. Chronicle Books, 2018.

Lee and his mother live in one half of their house and together serve Memory. Felix and his father live in the other half of the house and together serve Death. Felix has no memories of his mother, while Lee has never met his father. The twins can interact outside of the house, but when they turn sixteen they, too, will be apprenticed to Death and Memory for the rest of their lives. But both are looking for a way to break the contract.

This is a delightfully spooky and eerie book, perfect for this time of year. The world the twins inhabit is similar to ours, but the differences, including the service to Death, Memory, and Passion, are well thought-out and explained throughout the story. The characters are well-rounded and likeable, so the choice for multiple narrators doesn't hold the typical problem of lack of distinct voices. There is plenty of humor and some intense action sequences, and the plot twists will keep readers turning pages to find out what happens. This book would make an excellent middle school read aloud at this time of year. Recommended.

Recommended for: tween
Red Flags: some intense action; one character dies off page
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Scythe; The Darkest Part of the Forest; Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

Polar Bears: Survival on the Ice

Viola, Jason. Science Comics: Polar Bears: Survival on the Ice. First Second, 2018.

Science Comics is back again with another riveting adventure filled with facts about the life of polar bears. Follow two polar bear pups as they grow up, and learn about these fascinating creatures: their habitat, their habits, what they eat, and how we can protect them. Colorful illustrations and facts and details are great for readers who prefer nonfiction titles, and the graphic novel format makes this book accessible for a wide range of reading levels.

Recommended for: tweens and middle grade
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

The Stone Girl's Story

Durst, Sarah Beth. The Stone Girl's Story. Clarion Books, 2018.

Mayka's father died several years ago, and she and her fellow stone creations are beginning to fade. The marks her father gave them that allowed them to live are starting to wear away, and slowly they are losing their ability to speak, to move, to live. Mayka ventures from her mountaintop home to the valley in search of a stone mason who can recarve their marks, but she soon discovers that there is more to her father's story than she knows.

This is a fantastic fantasy tale with plenty of adventure and interesting creatures to keep readers turning pages. There are plenty of twists and turns in the story which compel readers to keep reading. While there are numerous intense scenes, nothing is graphic or scary, making this book accessible to a wide range of children. The world building is fantastic and Mayka and her friends are well-developed characters. This book would make a great read-aloud for a classroom or a book for a student to savor on their own.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: some intense action
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Wild Weather, Storms, Meteorology, and Climate.

Reed, M.K. Science Comics: Wild Weather: Storms, Meteorology, and Climate. First Second, 2019.

This nonfiction graphic novel presents information about climate change and meteorology, wrapped in the story of a meteorologist who is explaining climate change to his fellow newscasters. The information is presented in a very readable and interesting way, and the illustrations are an integral part of the overall story. The colorful illustrations will draw the eye of tween readers and may spark an interest in science and meteorology. Recommended.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

The Girl with the Dragon Heart

Burgis, Stephanie. The Girl with the Dragon Heart. Bloomsbury, 2018.

Silke is trying to make the chocolate shop famous by telling the tales of how she and Aventurine (a dragon who has taken the form of a human girl but who can switch back to being a dragon at will) saved the day. Now the royal family want to use Silke as a spy! Will she be able to get them the information they need without revealing her secret (or Aventurine's)?

This is a perfect adventure story for middle grade and tween readers, particularly for those who are fans of Inkheart and similar fantasy adventure tales. There are enough details about the world Silke lives in to delight the hearts of fantasy fans, while the action will keep adventurous readers turning pages. This story would make a great read aloud for an upper elementary classroom.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

Hephaistos: God of Fire

O'Connor, George. Hephaistos: God of Fire. First Second, 2019.

This eleventh installment in George O'Connor's Olympians series focuses on Hephaistos, with a side plot surrounding the story of Prometheus. Full-color illustrations draw the eye to the page, and the action-filled plot will have readers turning pages to discover what happens next. The end matter includes information about various titans and gods and other information regarding particular panels throughout the story.

The Olympians graphic novels are very easy to read and fairly short, but they provide an appropriate amount of backstory about each of the various gods and goddesses. I always make sure my library has one copy of each of the titles in this series as it circulates well. It is popular with fans of the Percy Jackson series but also with kids who simply enjoy mythology. I like that this title can tie in to the nonfiction section of the library as well and may lead kids to read books outside of their normal comfort zone. Recommended

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: "mild fantasy peril;" Hephaistos and Dionysus have a drinking party at one point and Hephaistos gets fairly drunk
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

The Whispers

Howard, Greg. The Whispers. G.P. Putnam's Sons BYR, 2019.

Riley believes in the old tales of the Whispers, forest creatures who can grant wishes if you bring them tribute. He also thinks they know what happened to his mama and how he can take care of what he refers to as his "other problem," aka his crush on an older boy. But he's having difficulty convincing anyone else that the Whispers are real.

This is a whimsical story of a boy who still believes in miracles and fairy creatures, but who is also struggling with a family with a missing member and who hasn't yet come out to anyone and is relentlessly teased. This mashup of contemporary fiction and fantasy makes for a few awkwardly written transitions between the two, and Riley's inner monologue doesn't always read true for a junior high student. Nonetheless, the fantasy element will draw readers in, particularly those who have enjoyed fairy tales in the past.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: some homophobic commentary from Riley's classmates
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Edelweiss for the purpose of review.

Crush

Chmakova, Svetlana. Crush. JY, 2018.

Following up where Awkward and Brave left off, Crush follows Jorge, a quiet guy who is known as the sheriff in school because he uses his size to help others. He has a crush on a friend but doesn't know how to tell her. Will he be able to ask her out to the school dance? And how will his other friends react?

There's a lot to like in this continuation of the series: tons of diversity in the student body and staff at the school, good life lessons, plenty of teen drama. The brightly colored illustrations match the overall happy and hopeful tone of the story. This book is sure to be popular with graphic novel fans. Recommended.

Recommended for: teens and tweens
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

Pink Hair and Other Terrible Ideas

Pyros, Andrea. Pink Hair and Other Terrible Ideas. Capstone, 2019.

Josephine is the less popular of the twins, and she's already reeling from her parents' divorce and trying to navigate the halls of middle school when her mom tells her that she's been diagnosed with breast cancer. Josephine doesn't want to stand out at school, so she tries not to tell anyone, but then her brother, in a show of support, dyes his hair bright pink, and Josephine finds she cannot hide any longer.

This was a great idea for a book, but it ended super abruptly. There were lots of threads of the story that were picked up and then dropped. It reads more like a book for middle grade students (3rd-4th grade), but the main characters are twelve and have crushes and go to boy/girl parties, etc. etc, which makes it hard to place this book in the library.

I wasn't sure why the idea of the principal complaining about Josephine's brother's pink hair was placed in the story when it wasn't fleshed out more later on. The whole football team could have gotten their hair dyed, or Josephine's friends could have done it, or many people from the school or something. It seemed like a major plot point, but then it disappeared, along with most of the details of the mom's cancer and treatments, recovery, etc. The dad wasn't very well rounded, either; readers are told that he is fairly irresponsible and childish, but that's all we get.

I think this book would have benefited with more length to tie up the loose ends of the story or with editing to take away the unnecessary subplots (the dad being a giant child, the boy/girl party not actually involving any risque activity, the outlawing pink hair at the school thing, etc. etc.). I like the idea of this book, but it failed on the execution.

Recommended for: middle grade and tweens
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise

Gemeinhart, Dan. The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise. Henry Holt, 2019.

Coyote and her father, Rodeo, are traveling the country in a school bus that has been redesigned inside to be a motor home. They don't talk about their past and they don't intend to return to their hometown. But when Coyote discovers that something precious to her is in danger of being destroyed, she schemes to get herself, the bus, and her father back home in time to save it. Along the way they pick up some passengers, including a young violinist, a teen runaway, and a blue-eyed goat.

This book was immensely readable and entertaining as well as heartwarming. Coyote's love of reading is apparent throughout the story, so readers will walk away with a decent list of books to read next. The story does read a bit like a fairy tale or an after school special in that everything wraps up neatly at the end, but this is not a negative factor for middle grade or tween literature at all. 

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: None
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: This Would Make a Great Story Someday,  The Someday Birds, Ashes to Asheville

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

The Extraordinary Colors of Auden Dare

Bethell, Zillah. The Extraordinary Colors of Auden Dare. Feiwel Friends, 2018.

Auden Dare can't see color, but that's the least of his worries. His world is in the midst of the Water Wars, and his father is away fighting against the enemy over the small amount of water left on the planet. Auden and his mom move into his late uncle's home, and Auden uncovers a mystery there. He's certain this mystery will lead to his uncle's experiments to help Auden see color, but perhaps there are bigger things at stake.

This book started very, very slowly, without much of the explanatory world-building that happens in a story set in a world so different from our own. Auden's voice wavers between sounding like a child and sounding like an adult reminiscing about childhood, so it was hard to discern whether he sounds right for his age. The end of the book certainly picks up its pace and becomes very readable and interesting; it's just disappointing that the first third of the book is such a slog, because many readers will abandon a book if it isn't interesting early enough. The whole issue with Auden being colorblind has led some to say this is a great read alike for The Giver, but it isn't remotely the same kind of story, so I don't think that's an accurate suggestion. I would give this book to kids who enjoyed The War that Saved My Life or possibly the HiLo graphic novels, but I would likely read the first third of the book aloud together until it gets to the interesting parts so that the child would be compelled to finish the story.

Recommended for: tweens, middle grade
Red Flags: some intense action scenes
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

Love, Penelope

Rocklin, Joanne. Love, Penelope. Amulet Books, 2018.

Penelope loves her moms, writing in her journal, spending time with her friends, and the Golden State Warriors. When she finds out one of her moms is pregnant, she starts keeping a journal so she can tell her new sibling everything about life in her house. When a school project prompts Penelope to tell a bit of a lie to her teacher, the only person she feels safe sharing that secret with is her new sibling.

This is a fairly tame, nearly slice-of-life story, as it follows most of a school year and nearly all of the baby's developmental milestones. Penelope's choice to call the baby "you" throughout her letters is a bit unwieldy but nonetheless appropriate for a fifth grader. She and her friends face some bullying and poor decision making by the adults around them, but overall the book is cute and sweet and harmless. I will admit that I cried during the June 26, 2015 entry, but they were tears of joy (like they were on June 26, 2015).





This is a good book to give to kids who enjoy sports. If you, like me, skip over the Quidditch scenes in Harry Potter, then this book will be problematic because there are lots of descriptions of basketball games and basketball players, etc.

Recommended for: middle grade and tweens
Red Flags: one adult character smokes - the cigarette smell plays a small role in several scenes in the story; the smoking character is also homophobic and racist, and although he doesn't use any words that I wouldn't use in front of children, he encourages one character not to spend time with her friends because of his racism and homophobia
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Drum Roll, Please; Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World; My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer

Alan Cole is Not a Coward

Bell, Eric. Alan Cole is Not a Coward. Katherine Tegen Books, 2017.

Alan's older brother Nathan torments him constantly, so when Nathan comes up with another CvC (Cole versus Cole), Alan has to agree to go along. Each brother has a list of seven tasks and one week in which to complete them. If Alan doesn't agree to do this, Nathan will tell the whole school that Alan has a crush ... on a boy.

To be honest I really, really didn't like this book at the beginning. The brother is just SO cruel, and forcing a middle schooler to compete in this brother vs brother thing or face being outed is just over the top. To make matters worse, Alan and Nathan's father is extremely unkind to his children. He calls Alan "goldfish" because he's forgettable and unimportant and Nathan "pig" because he's messy. He rules over their house with an iron fist, and regardless of what we find out at the end, this makes for a rough beginning of the story.

The middle of the book shows Alan trying to finish his tasks, eventually learning a few things and developing a backbone, and finally we get the *big reveal* where we find out everything that caused this family to be such a mess (which I won't discuss here because spoilers). So there's a reason the father is a cruel heartless dictator and a reason Nathan is following in his footsteps. It does have a happy-adjacent ending, but wow the beginning of this book is rough. I think this is one I would recommend as a "read together" book instead of an independent reading book.

Recommended for: tweens and their grown-ups
Red Flags: bullying, emotional abuse
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt; Better Nate than Ever by Tim Federle

The Bookshop Girl

Bishop, Sylvia. The Bookshop Girl. Peachtree Publishers, 2018.

Property Jones was abandoned in a bookshop when she was just five years old, and since then she has lived with the owners of the shop, who have raised her as their own. Their shop isn't doing well, until one day they discover that they have won a competition and stand to inherit The Great Montgomery Book Emporium! But with this new shop also comes a big mystery, and it's up to Property to get to the bottom of it.

This is a nice, clean read for middle grade students. I found the idea of a five year old being abandoned in a book shop, and then simply taken in by the family, a bit of a stretch (why didn't five year old Property know her name or who her parents were?), but the target audience for this book will not have a problem with that in the slightest. Otherwise, it's a fun, light mystery set in a bookshop and will appeal to many readers.

Recommended for: middle grade
Red Flags: None
Overall Rating: 3/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library, Book Scavenger, The Mysterious Benedict Society

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

The Darkdeep

Condie, Ally. The Darkdeep. Bloomsbury, 2018.

Nico's drone is sent into the mist in an area that is prohibited. Naturally, he follows it in, and accompanied by a couple of friends as well as a frenemy, Nico discovers a mysterious island where strange and scary things are happening. The group tries to uncover the secret of the darkdeep.

This is touted as Stranger Things for kids, and that's a fairly accurate description. This is scarier than Goosebumps, but not too scary to recommend to most tweens (10-12 year olds and older). There is little backstory and scanty character development, but both of those things are sacrificed for the sake of the spooky action, which is the focus in this story. The scary, paranormal phenomena will keep kids turning pages. Recommended.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: bullying, "minor peril"
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

The Witch Boy

Ostertag, Molly. The Witch Boy. Scholastic, 2017.

Aster is being raised to be a shape-shifter, along with all of the other boys in his family, but he is drawn time and again to the lessons in witchcraft the girls are learning. He is teased by the other boys for wanting to do girly things, and his elders caution him not to be like his grandfather, who was into witchery and was cursed. But when boys start mysteriously disappearing, it's up to Aster and his skills in witchcraft to get to the bottom of it.

I LOVED this story. From a graphic novel perspective, the panels are colorful and engaging, and the color palette perfectly matches the tone of each section of the story. It's just the right amount of scary for a tween audience. The story itself is very interesting, both in concept and in pacing. There is plenty of character development and just enough world building so the reader can follow the plot. This story, though, is mostly about Aster, a boy who wants to do girl things. In the end, his desire to do girl things is accepted rather than shunned, and he finds out some surprising things about his relatives along the way. His only friend outside the family has two dads, and that is mentioned in passing throughout the story because it is shown as perfectly normal (which it is). This is a great book to give to kids who enjoy the many Rick Riordan series, Harry Potter, or any other fantasy story involving magic. Highly recommended.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: some mild fantasy violence; witchcraft (like, lighting candles and mixing potions and all that - if your family won't read Harry Potter, you won't want to read this, either)
Overall Rating: 5/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The Iron Trial, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone,

After Zero

Collins, Christina. After Zero. Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, 2018.

Elise keeps tallies in her notebook - one tally mark for every one word spoken aloud. She tries her best to stay at zero every day. If she doesn't speak, then she won't make a mistake. If she doesn't speak, she won't embarrass herself or others. Ellie's silence, though, is affecting her life at school, and once her mom clues in to the fact that things are not as rosy as Ellie is making them seem, Ellie is faced with a family secret that may prove louder than her silence.

This is an #ownvoices story according to the author information in the back of the book, and I can only barely imagine the frustration of a child or teen who is dealing with selective mutism. I was glad that the author highlighted this very real struggle that some people are facing, as well as the difficulty some students have when transitioning out of a homeschool environment and into a public school. The ending isn't a Disney-esque rosy picture where everything wraps up perfectly, but it is satisfying. Well-developed characters and a measured plot make this an ideal middle grade story. Recommended.

Recommended for: middle grade, tweens
Red Flags: bullying
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The Red Pencil, The One and Only Ivan, The Benefits of Being an Octopus

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

This Would Make a Good Story Someday

Levy, Dana Alison. This Would Make a Good Story Someday. Delacorte Press, 2017.

Sara is all set to spend her summer with her two best friends, who together have decided to reinvent themselves before middle school. Then she finds out that her family has won a cross-country train trip, so she, her moms, her older sister and sister's boyfriend, and her younger sister are going to be on a train for practically the entire summer. Moreover, one of Sara's moms is writing a book about their trip, and Sara does NOT want every silly or funny or embarrassing thing she says or does put in this book. With her summer ruined, Sara is ready to clam up and get through the entire train ride, but she didn't expect to find friends along the way.

This book is set in the same universe as the family Fletcher stories; this story is about Frog's friend Ladybug's family, even though the narrator is the middle daughter instead of the youngest. It is a cute and fun story with plenty of hilarious moments and some parts that are sad enough that you may wish to have tissues nearby. This is a great middle grade or tween road trip story and is worth adding to every library's collection.

Recommended for: tweens, middle grade
Red Flags: none come to mind. This is a clean read.
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The Someday Birds, Everything I Know About You, Book Scavenger

The Silver Mask

Black, Holly. The Silver Mask. Scholastic Press, 2017.

Callum Hunt, who carries within him the soul of the most evil mage ever, is in prison while the Magisterium tries to figure out what to do with him. Master Joseph wants to turn Callum loose in the hopes that he will complete the work Constantine started. Most of the Magisterium wants to keep Callum in prison for life or possibly execute him. Callum himself isn't sure what he wants; he's certain he's not the resurrected Constantine, but that's about the only thing he's sure of.

This book picks up where the third book left off, and leaves off at a cliffhanger which sets the stage for the fifth and final book in this series. The similarities between this series and the Harry Potter series make it an excellent read-alike for tweens who enjoyed Harry Potter. This may also be a good series to start a reader on if they think Rowling's books look a bit too long or overwhelming. This is a fast-paced story that keeps the reader turning pages, and while it is certainly helpful to have read the first three books in the series, I found that I could pick this one up and get back into the story even though it has been probably a year or more since I read the third book.

It is worth mentioning that this book goes further than Rowling did by having the Dumbledore-esque character actually be gay (or at least he's a man who is interested in men; it's possible that he is bi- or pan- or something else). It was only a brief mention in passing as the character spoke with Callum, but he did say that he was in love with a man at one point.

Bottom Line: The series is good, and it's very readable. It's not my favorite series of all time, but I could easily book talk these books to tweens and entice them to give them a try.

Recommended for: tweens
Red Flags: fantasy violence (a mostly undescribed battle scene, a few deaths and near deaths)
Overall Rating; 3/5 stars

Read-Alikes: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows