Middle School

The Poisoned King by Katherine Rundell – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

The Poisoned King by Katherine Rundell (9780593809907)

Return to the world of Impossible Creatures with this second book in the series. Christopher is delighted to be called back to help the Archipelago again, this time to save the dragons. It takes a lot to kill dragons, and they only trust Christopher to speak to them and rescue them. As Christopher travels to the magical world, he meets Anya, a girl with a special connection to royal birds and who has lost people to the poison being used to kill the dragons. Now they have a shared quest, to find an antidote and save Anya’s father from being accused of killing the king, her grandfather. 

Readers’ hearts will soar along with Christopher’s in delight at returning to the Archipelago. Second books in series are particularly challenging and Rundell carries this off with grace and style. She gives readers exactly what they were yearning for, a grand adventure with beloved characters as well as new characters to connect with. Anya is a great foil for Christopher in the tale, which is less a tour of the magical land and more focused on a specific quest, yet feels incredibly expansive too. Don’t forget to say some of Rundell’s gorgeous language aloud, particularly her character names for the creatures, they are great fun!

A great sequel in a marvelous series. When does the third come out? Appropriate for ages 10+.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Let’s Get Together by Brandy Colbert – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

Let’s Get Together by Brandy Colbert (9780063092488)

A modern retelling of The Parent Trap, this version focuses on identical twins who meet one another at school for the first time. Kenya has been raised by her father and grandmother. She is confident and doesn’t want anything to change. In fact, the boy she has a crush on has started to notice her, so things are getting even better. Liberty has spent most of her life in a variety of foster homes and finally has found one where she belongs and feels accepted. She is starting a new school and for the first time looking forward to the future. But neither girl expects to meet someone who looks just like them. Now everything is changing whether they like it or not.

Colbert keeps a light touch in this story which could have gotten serious at times. Instead, she continues to pay homage to the original in tone with funny moments between the sisters and an organic growth and blossoming of their connection with one another. With Black characters rather than white girls, this book has a depth to it and a focus on family that is more profound than the original and very welcome. 

Clever use of tropes from the original are freshened in this new twin-focused novel. Appropriate for ages 8-12. 

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Edelweiss and Clarion Books.

The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner – Book Review

| Tasha

The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner (9781547616398)

Finn isn’t having a good end of school. He has missed lots of gym class, hasn’t turned in his poetry project about heroes, and just kicked over a gravestone. He’s in big trouble for that last one. It turns out the grave is that of a local Adirondack High Peaks heroine, so her daughter reaches out to see if they can make a deal. She will drop the charges if Finn climbs all 46 of the High Peaks by Labor Day. Plus, he has to take along the dead woman’s dog who loves to hike. As Finn begins to hike and reach summits, he learns a lot along the way, particularly about his anger towards his father who died recently and was by everyone else’s account a hero.

As I read this book, I was in awe of Messner’s skill. She combines so many disparate elements into a book that feels organic and beautiful. Her use of a verse novel format makes so much sense here, allowing us to feel what Finn does even as he is in denial about much of it. His poetry project weaves its way through the verse, capturing his voice and rage. Finn can’t see himself through most of the book, can’t see the people around him and their support, can’t see his father and the truth about him, can’t find his way through.

This is a book about what nature can do for a person who is lost and not looking to be rescued. It is a book about the various ways that heroes enter our lives, the forms they take that are unexpected and sometimes drooling dogs, the connection that can result in shared experiences. It is about so much at once and yet again, is superbly focused and deftly written. Messner shows her mastery here.

A mountain of heart, a range of emotions, and quite a summit of a book. Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from library copy.

All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson – Book Review

| Tasha

All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson (9781547605897)

Sage’s entire life changed on her thirteenth birthday. It was the day her best friend was killed by a drunk driver as she walked to Sage’s house. Now Sage is lost in her grief and ashamed of the way she treated her friend on the day she died. Sage has joined a counseling group at school with other girls who have experienced recent deaths of loved ones. As Sage and the other girls process their grief together, there are moments of sadness, anger and somehow friendship manages to grow too.

This is one of the best and most piercing depictions of grief for teens that I have ever read. I appreciate that that book moves beyond blame, shame and anger to also show healing and good things happening. Newbery Honor winning author, Watson, has written this book in a dynamic mixture of prose and verse, allowing real feelings to be shown bare and honest on the page. All of the processing of grief and healing feels organic and true as readers see the various shades of blue that grief entails.

One of the best teen novels about grief, get this one in your collection. Appropriate for ages 12+.

Reviewed from library copy.

A Song for You and I by K. O’Neill – Book Review

| Tasha

A Song for You and I by K. O’Neill (9780593182307)

Rowan is learning to be a ranger, taking care of the land and its people with the help of a flying horse. But when Rowan tries to show off their skill and doesn’t listen to cautions, their horse is injured. Stuck now walking everywhere, Rowan is assigned to help Leone, a lone figure who spends a lot of time with sheep. Leone has his own dreams. He plays the fiddle constantly but won’t play for any person at all. As the two of them start their slow journeys together, their friendship begins to grow. Each finds support in one another, creating joy and romance.

O’Neill is author of The Moth Keeper and the Tea Dragon Society. This graphic novel combines a fantasy world with a trans and non-binary coming out story for both main characters. Beautifully told and filled with true moments of connection and romance, this book features characters who are complex and layered.

Beautifully illustrated and compellingly told, this graphic novel will make your heart soar. Appropriate for ages 10-14.

Reviewed from library copy.

The Ribbon Skirt by Cameron Mukwa – Book Review

| Tasha

The Ribbon Skirt by Cameron Mukwa (9781338843262)

Anang wants to make a ribbon skirt to wear at an upcoming powwow, a skirt that is traditionally worn by Anishinaabe girls. Anang is two-spirit and nonbinary. While they have some concerns about wearing a ribbon skirt, they decide to follow their dreams. Helped along the way by spirits, turtles and crows, Anang steadily gathers the items they need for their skirt. Supported by their family and friends, Anang must also deal with a girl who used to be a close friend but now is more like a bully. It’s up to Anang to stay strong, follow their path and create their perfect skirt.

Mukwa is also a two-spirit Anishinaabe and this is their debut book. Written with a wry sense of humor, an honest take on support and fear, and a delight in the spirits helping, this graphic novel has a winning combination. The illustrations are bold and colorful, making the graphic novel all the more approachable for young readers.

A timely and joyful look at being nonbinary and living your dream life. Appropriate for ages 8-12. Reviewed from library copy.

Oasis by Guojing – Book Review

| Tasha

Oasis by Guojing (9781250818379)

JieJie lives with her little brother in a barren wasteland that they trek across for water and to reach the phone that lets when call their mother who works in a far off city. One day, the children discover the broken parts of a robot in a trash heap. JieJie uses skills her mother taught her to fix the robot and her little brothers asks the robot to be his mom. The AI boots into mother mode and soon the three of them are living a better life together, but what will happen when their real mother returns?

Done in pencil illustrations that capture the dark desolation, this graphic novel looks towards the light. Color is introduced only sparingly, offsetting the darkness but never taking it fully away. The story is hauntingly told, the answers are never easy and the humanity of robots and humans alike is the center of the tale.

Another simply beautiful read from this author. Appropriate for ages 8-12.

Reviewed from library copy.

The School Between Winter and Fairyland by Heather Fawcett

| Tasha
Cover image for The School Between Winter and Fairyland.

The School Between Winter and Fairyland by Heather Fawcett (9780063043312)

Autumn and her family are servants at the Inglenook School, a magical boarding school for wizards. Her family cares for the magical monsters in the menagerie, including plant-loving gardening dragons, wisps who need to be clubbed before they are gathered up, and a grumpy Boggart who loves Autumn more than anyone. But Autumn has a mystery to solve, her twin brother Winter disappeared almost a year ago, and she is certain that he isn’t dead. The Boggart spotted him in the school kitchens, but she is not allowed to venture much into the school itself. Meanwhile, Cai Morrigan, the boy prophesized to one day kill the Hollow Dragon, needs Autumn’s help. It turns out that he is terrified of dragons to the point that he can’t stay conscious around them. The deal is that he must help her find Winter while she helps him stop fainting dead away. Now the two of them must search the school and discover hidden parts while also entering the dangerous forest and dealing with dragons big and small.

It is inevitable that people will compare this to Harry Potter due to the magical boarding school at its center, but this middle-grade fantasy novel is something quite different. With a broad sense of humor about monsters, posh wizards, and older brothers, the book also takes on serious subjects like discrimination against different magics, the treatment of those who are different, and one girl’s determination to find her brother no matter what.

The characters are marvelously written. From the powerful and gruff Gran who raises Autumn and her siblings to the brothers who are both heroic and terrible to the family dog who just knows everyone loves him to the dark Boggart who loves deeply and hates to use his full powers. There are monstrous delights throughout the book, the creatures beautifully detailed and fascinating.

A grand fantasy full of twists, magic and mucking out stalls. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from e-galley provided by Balzar + Bray.

The Swallow’s Flight by Hilary McKay

| Tasha
Cover image for The Swallow’s Flight.

The Swallow’s Flight by Hilary McKay (9781665900911)

From the dawn of World War II through the course of the war, four young people grow up. There is Ruby, born with speckled birthmarks on her face, who is bullied for them and spends much of her time alone or in her family’s British news shop. There is Kate, who has a constant cough and anxiety and who is looked after by her older siblings until they have to leave the house. In Germany, Erik and Hans grow up as best friends living in the same building. They tend to swallow chicks together, dream of working in a zoo and pastry shop, and spend time at the airfield. As the war progresses and the Nazis take over, they become part of the Luftwaffe. The girls are also impacted by the war, rescuing a dog who has been released by his owner, moving to safer areas due to the bombing, and helping neighbors understand what is happening in Europe. Both the English and German characters have loving uncles who appear in their lives, fix things and set things up and then disappear again. As these characters survive the war, their lives impact upon one another in tragic and unexpected ways.

I am a great fan of McKay’s work. Her writing takes on serious issues yet she manages to truly show the deep humanity of all of her characters through small memorable moments that impact their lives. It may be a wild and drunken Christmas that ends with a crash, it may be saving a diminutive elderly woman with fierceness and physical strength, it may be rescuing a very smelly dog from the streets, or it could be visiting with women who have staunch victory gardens and a tendency toward hoarding. Each one of these is so well written and described that the scenes are vivid and the moments uniquely special.

The characters themselves are also beautifully written, each with their own tone and style. It is particularly noteworthy to have two German characters from World War II who retain their humor and humanity through the entire story. They are written with a deep empathy for the situation of the German people during the Nazi regime and an eye towards also showing that families did what they could to save neighbors. The English girls are a delightful mix of bravery, steadiness and wild adventures that keep the book lighter than it could have been.

Another gorgeous read from McKay, this time illuminating both sides of World War II. Appropriate for ages 9-12.

Reviewed from copy provided by Margaret K. McElderry Books.