By Piranha T.

​Seventh grader Zoey Albro has never had it easy. On top of homework, she has to take care of her three younger siblings every day after school while her mom works at the pizza parlor. But she can’t really complain. At least right now, her mom has a steady job, and Lenny seems like one of her mom’s better boyfriends. The trailer they live in with him is clean, and even if it’s impossible to get a moment of peace from her siblings to do normal things like finishing homework or hanging out with friends, it’s a lot better than the other places Zoey has lived.

If she were an octopus, Zoey often tells herself, everything would be easier. They’re her favorite animal, and she knows all about them: how they have special muscles to change the texture of their skin, their ability to get into smaller places than other animals…they can even camouflage themselves with their environment. Sure, when they’re nervous, they turn bright red, but not even an octopus can be perfect.

But she isn’t an octopus, and she can’t camouflage herself when she doesn’t want to be seen. Her social studies teacher, Ms. Rochambeau, is always nagging at her to hand in homework, but now she has another focus. She wants Zoey to join debate team—which she knows will be full of all the kids who hand in their homework and don’t have to worry about what they’ll eat for breakfast tomorrow morning. It’s the last place Zoey, even with her octopus camouflage, could ever blend in.

Yet it’s at debate team that Zoey begins to find an unexpected place. It’s from what she’s learned at debate team that she begins to question the world around her. And it’s because of debate team that she might just find the courage to stand up and raise her voice.

Because not even an octopus should blend in forever.

The Benefits of Being an Octopus was an eye-opening, deep, and moving read. There is so much in this book I didn’t expect, beyond the themes of class and social judgement. It discusses everything from gun rights to what it means to be a kid struggling in a world where it feels like nothing is open to you. Zoey is such a strong character, full of determination and grit while still being held back by the people and the world surrounding her. She is extremely realistic, and sees the world in such a different, powerful way than most other characters in middle-grade novels, and I loved reading this story through her eyes. The supporting cast is also very realistic—particularly the first time I read this, at the same age as Zoey, this book rang true to me. Overall, I highly recommend The Benefits of Being an Octopus to readers who love thought-provoking books ages nine and up.

By SK

Ten-year-old self-proclaimed natural-born cynic Flora Belle Buckman has studied enough of her beloved comics to know that it is imperative to be prepared for the Terrible Things that can happen to a person. So when her next-door neighbor's birthday present, a Ulysses Super-Suction, Multi-Terrain 2000x vacuum cleaner, accidentally suctions up a hapless squirrel, she doesn't hesitate--she administers CPR. To the squirrel. 

Except....he's not quite an ordinary squirrel anymore. He looks like a squirrel (albeit a slightly bald one, thanks to the vacuum cleaner), and thinks like a squirrel ("Food?"), but now the newly dubbed Ulysses has the powers of a superhero from one of Flora's comics: He can fly! Lift enormous objects! Type! He even writes poetry. 

If Flora knows one thing about superheroes, it's that they always have a job to do, and people to save. And Ulysses' new powers do spark an unexpected chain of events, setting Flora on a wild adventure filled with a variety of quirky characters, including a dramatic divorced romance novelist (who also happens to be Flora's mother); a doctor of philosophy from Blundermeecen; Flora's father, who shares her love of comics; her improbably named, poetry-loving neighbor Tootie; and William Spiver, Tootie's pedantic, eccentric great-nephew who insists that he is temporarily blind. They will face opposition, archenemies, and giant donuts. They will realize that the universe is a very random, very beautiful place. And in the end, Ulysses might just save the day. 

I first read Flora and Ulysses when I was eight or nine, and I remember enjoying it then--but when I recently reread it for a book group, I utterly adored it. The characters are pitch-perfect and irresistibly quirky, and it's an absolute joy to watch them grow and connect over the course of the story. Kate DiCamillo is brilliant, and her writing makes the many wacky characters, events, and unexpected occurrences hang together perfectly with ease, and keeps the story fast-paced and the reader constantly laughing. It's a difficult book to do justice to in a summary, given the quirky premise, but I can honestly say that it's one of my all-time favorites, and a book which I could read over and over, and would bring me joy every time. Filled with madcap wit, wisdom, hilarity, and surprising tenderness, I would highly recommend Flora and Ulysses to readers ages eight and up--it's an excellent read-aloud, audiobook (complete with superhero music!), or book group selection, and is also a delight to read on one's own. 

​By Piranha T. 

It's the beginning of another school year, and absolutely nothing is going right for sixth grader Merci Suárez. At Seaward Pines Academy, the expensive private school she and her older brother, Roli, attend on scholarship, Merci feels constantly out of place, whether it's because of the constant bullying of Edna Santos, whose life's mission seems to be to lead her possy of friends to make Merci miserable, or something as small as the massive packages of school pictures all the other families have ordered, while hers opts for the least expensive one. Plus, this year, Merci's been chosen as a Sunshine Buddy--an assigned friend to help new students adjust to Seaward Pines. It's the last thing Merci wants to do, particularly when she definitely doesn't fit in at Seaward Pines herself. 

And everything at home isn't much better. Merci lives with her extended family in Las Casitas, which is usually wonderful. But now she can't try out for the soccer team because she has to watch her twin cousins after school. And her grandfather, Lolo, is starting to act strangely--forgetting their names and getting into strange arguments with his family. 

Merci's life is turning upside-down. But maybe all the changes will help her change for the better, too. 

Merci Suárez Changes Gears is a relatable, fast-paced middle-grade novel. The characters and situations in this book are particularly realistic to me, and felt modern and universally identifiable for middle schoolers. I particularly enjoyed reading about Merci's family--they all interact and bounce off one another naturally, and both their characters and their relationships felt incredibly realistic. I recommend Merci Suárez Changes Gears to readers ages ten and up who enjoy realistic fiction novels. 

By Piranha T.
 
Ellie isn’t looking forward to starting her new school. It’s not because she begrudges the move; her grandfather has Alzheimer’s, and he needs more help than just Ellie’s grandma. And she’s always liked staying in her grandparents’ trailer, even with the squirrels running across the roof every morning.

No, it’s because she knows the kids at her new school won’t see Ellie for who she is. They won’t see a feisty, ambitious kid who knows that someday, she’ll be a famous cook like the ones she admires on TV. They just see the wheelchair. And then they look away.

But then Ellie starts to make friends, for the first time ever. And she discovers the town’s annual pie competition—a perfect chance to prove her baking skills. Maybe this town isn’t so bad after all. And maybe—just maybe—they’ll be able to stay.

​Roll with It is a fun book which talks about disabilities, but only as one facet of this quirky story with a fabulous set of characters. I love Ellie’s determination and dreams, and she, like the supporting characters, is full of quirks which makes her feel like someone I could know—and who I’d definitely want to become friends with. I highly recommend Roll with It to readers ages nine and up.

By Piranha T. 

Thirteen-year-old Nicki Demere has spent the past five years in and out of foster families. The last thing she expects when two US marshals show up is for them to offer her a family and a home. 

But that's exactly what they do. Nicki is one of a dozen kids to be assigned to families on the run from criminals--families who can fly under the radar much more easily with an extra son or daughter to throw off suspicion. She gets a new name, a new history, a new family--and then her job is simply to fit in. 

And Nicki, as Charlotte Trevor, succeeds... mostly. She gets average grades, makes friends (but not too many), and joins her school's mediocre basketball team. But just as Charlotte Trevor can't quite outgrow Nicki Demere, her new family is struggling to escape their own, much darker, past. And when some of the country's most infamous criminals pick up their trail, it's up to Nicki to preserve her new life--and save the closest thing to a family she's ever known. 

Greetings from Witness Protection! is a quirky, relatable tale of family and friendship told through the eyes of a resilient and funny heroine. The unique premise of this book caught my attention and Jake Burt carried it well; I loved watching Nick/Charlotte tackle the challenges that were thrown at her. I also liked the supporting characters, who felt very real, from Nicki's annoying 'younger brother' to the kids she meets at her new school. I recommend Greetings from Witness Protection! to readers ages nine and up. 

​By Piranha T. 

Serafina lives in the basement of Biltmore Estate with her pa, staying out of the sight of the rich folk who live upstairs, and heeding her pa's warning to always stay out of the encircling forest. Her pa does maintenance work for the rich Vanderbilts who own the estate, but they don't know Serafina exists. She spends her time prowling the basement and systematically catching the estate's rats. Only occasionally does she venture upstairs to stare around, unnoticed, at the opulence of the Vanderbilts and their guests, or borrow an unattended book from their vast library. 

But when Serafina sees a stranger in the basement--a stranger who wraps his slithering black cloak around a girl from upstairs and subsumes her--Serafina knows she must tell someone what she saw. And when her pa doesn't believe her, Serafina has no choice but to break the rules she's followed all her life and venture upstairs to find someone who will. And she does: she finds Braeden, the Vanderbilts' nephew. 

Serafina knows she has to find the Man in the Black Cloak before he takes more children, and as she gets to know Braeden she discovers he feels the same. Their search will take them out of Biltmore and into the forbidden forest, full of strange, dark magic and whispering secrets. Can Serafina and Braeden discover the Man in the Black Cloak's identity before more children are taken--or will one of them be his next victim? 

Serafina and the Black Cloak is an atmospheric novel full of mystery, secrets, and dark magic. Set in the late 1800s at Biltmore Estate in North Carolina, where the Vanderbilts really lived, this book feels as though it captures both the historical and regional setting in a really cool way. I loved Serafina's determination and personality, and she constantly surprised me in the best possible ways. This book is part-fantasy and part-mystery, as Braeden and Serafina are searching for the identity of the Man in the Black Cloak, but it also shares its touch of creepiness/horror with books such as The Sisters of Straygarden Place and A Path Begins, so if you've liked either of those, I think this could also be enjoyable. I recommend Serafina and the Black Cloak to readers ages ten and up who enjoy dark historical fantasy full of questions and mysteriousness. 

Note: Check out our interview with the author of Serafina and the Black Cloak, Robert Beatty!

By Piranha T.
 
Twelve-year-old Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have been on the road for five years, ever since her mom and sisters died in a car crash in her Washington State hometown. They’ve never gone back there, but they’ve been lots of other places, crisscrossing the country in their beat-up school bus-turned-mobile home named Yager. Coyote’s good with this life—with the passengers they pick up throughout their travels, with fruit punch slushies at gas stations, with the rock of the bus as she’s falling asleep. But when she hears the town she grew up in is destroying a childhood park—one where she and her sisters and mom buried a memory box only weeks before they died—she knows she has to get back there and rescue it before it’s destroyed.

The catch: Rodeo won’t go back there for anything. So Coyote has to get him to drive from Florida to Washington, in less than four days, without him realizing what she’s doing.

Along the way, they pick up a motley crew of travelers. They’re all running away, but they’re running towards something, too. And Coyote is going to need all of their help if she wants to rescue the memory box in time.

I read The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise in one sitting, which I think accurately represents how engrossing it is. Coyote is one of the most distinct protagonists I’ve met in realistic fiction novels, full of quirky details and a powerfully unique narrative which reflects her lifestyle and her personality. Each of the characters in this story has their own struggles and challenges, but Gemeinhart writes it in a way that makes it filled with hope for all of their futures, making this novel enjoyable, thought-provoking, and uplifting all at the same time. Coyote’s story feels new and different, and I love it. I highly recommend The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise to readers ages nine and up.

​By Piranha T. 

Eighth grader Nicki Ames knows that Ava is her best friend. That's how it's been since third grade: Nicki and Ava sleeping over at each other's houses, partnering up in classes, and hanging out after school. When their gym teacher tells everyone to pair up with their best friend, Nicki doesn't have to consider. 

Only Ava walks over to Britney--one of the popular girls--instead. 

Maybe Nicki's been abandoned in front of her whole class. Or maybe Ava is just branching out, right? Maybe Nicki is reading into it too much. Ava will just explain everything soon, and the world will be normal again. 

But she doesn't, and it isn't. Ava barely talks to Nicki, leaving her confused and unsure. If Ava is being a bad best friend, does that mean Nicki should just wait for her to come around? Or is this her opportunity to strike out on her own? 

Bad Best Friend is one of the most realistic, relatable novels I've read in a long time. Everything from conversations to characters to events feels spot-on and complicated in all the right ways. Nicki's struggle to decide who she is beyond Ava--and whether she wants to find out--never felt forced, and I like her as a character for her many layers and feelings which often conflicted with one another. Her family dynamic was also extremely well-drawn. I highly recommend Bad Best Friend to readers ages ten and up looking for an incredibly authentic and engrossing realistic fiction novel. 

By Piranha T. 

More than anything, Riley Oh has always wanted to have magic. Her sister, Hattie, does, just like everyone else in their community of Korean-American witch clans hidden out in the middle of LA. But Riley is a saram--someone born without magic, an ordinary human, adopted by the Ohs soon after she was born. And though her adoptive family is awesome--particularly Hattie, who's Riley's age and the best sister ever--the rest of the Gifted community definitely doesn't think she belongs. 

So when Riley and Hattie discover a spell which allows them to share Hattie's magic between them, they're ready to perform it, no matter what. But everything changes when the spell doesn't go as planned--and it turns out the cost might be Hattie's life. 

Riley's last hope to save her sister is a bargain with the Cave Bear Goddess, but of course agreements with immortals can never be simple. Not only does she give Riley a task she has no idea how to complete--finding the Godrealm's last fallen star--she also has a time limit. If Riley can't find the star, and fast, Hattie will be gone forever. 

With the help of friends, a magical scooter, and the last person Riley ever would have expected, it's up to her to find the last fallen star and bring it to the Cave Bear Goddess before her time is up. But as Riley begins to uncover secrets which were never intended to be revealed, she has to decide what it really means to belong--and what she's willing to give up to fit in. 

The Last Fallen Star blends myth with the modern day in a story full of action, adventure, and awesomeness. Riley is a brilliant protagonist who I love--she's determined, funny, and immensely relatable, and I'm glad there will be two more books about her to enjoy! I also love her relationship with Hattie--the strength of the love between them is palpable throughout and one of the best sister relationships I've read. Graci Kim creates a complete world which feels real, with a cast of unique supporting characters who are all interesting and fun. Perhaps the most standout part of this book is the plot--every time I thought I knew just a little where it was going I was wrong, and a constant flow of action, surprises, and laughs made this book speed by until I couldn't believe I'd reached the end. I highly recommend The Last Fallen Star to readers ages ten and up who love fantasy adventures with strong characters, a fast-paced plot, and a fully realized world. I can't wait for book two! 

By SK

Aspiring writer Jo March is excited to start eighth grade, but she's also unsure what the year is going to bring--how might she have changed by the time school is over? After all, she feels like a much different "J" than she was last year. But with her sisters Meg, Beth, and Amy at her side, she knows she can face anything--even if Amy is irritating sometimes. 

And the year does turn out to be a good one. The four sisters have fun creating Halloween costumes, decorating hospital rooms for the holidays with their mom, Marmee, telling ghost stories, and more--even if worries about their dad, who's deployed overseas, and Beth, who's in remission, are always present. And when their neighbor's grandson Laurie moves in partway through the school year, they quickly discover a new friend to include in their adventures. Jo is even recruited for her school's newspaper club by a girl named Freddie, where she hones her writing skills and meets other writers. 

Jo and Freddie bond over their shared love of writing, and Jo begins to realize that she's attracted to her new friend, which feels....confusing. Things are made even more so when Laurie tells Jo that he likes her--she doesn't want to ruin their friendship, but she knows she simply isn't attracted to him. 

Jo's family has always been close and supportive--but will they treat Jo differently if she tells them she's gay? What if her world does change this year after all? And is change necessarily a bad thing?

There have been many adaptations of Little Women over the years, but while I was at first a bit dubious about the idea of having a version set in the modern day, I ended up really enjoying Jo. The characters are distinct, realistic, and relatable, and I really appreciated how Gros deftly makes them believable modern kids while staying true to Lousia May Alcott's original characters (I especially liked Jo, a talented budding writer and caring, loyal sister who's determined to be her true self). Similarly, many of the themes and story threads from Little Women are included, but their transposition into the current day feels natural and not at all jarring. I don't read graphic novels too often, but I quite enjoyed this one, and would recommend it to readers who usually read traditionally formatted books as well as graphic novel fans. I read it in a book group where we compared and discussed several different versions of Little Women (both books and movies), which was super interesting--I would highly recommend doing so to other book groups! Jo is an excellent pick for readers ages nine and up looking for a fast, fun, satisfying read. 

By Piranha T.
 
Maybe it’s because she’s spent most of her free time in her dad’s record shop, but twelve-year-old María Luisa O’Neill Morales, known as Malú to her friends, loves punk rock. It’s the rhythm to her life, the thumping music which she pumps through her headphones while making zines, which she dances to in her dad’s apartment above his record store, and which she wishes was playing at home with her mom. But Malú’s mom doesn’t get punk rock; instead, she’s determined for Malú to embrace her Mexican heritage and become a little señorita, which is definitely not punk.

But everything changes when her mom has to temporarily move to Chicago for work—and Malú has to come with her. That’s two whole years away from her friends, her dad, and her life. At her new school, Malú gets bullied for her love of punk rock and her aversion to all things Mexican, as if to better prove Chicago is not the place for her. 

Then her school announces a talent show, and Malú decides to try out punk herself. She starts a band with a couple of classmates to show the school her kind of music. Even as they face kickback, Malú and her bandmates—or are they friends? –keep going, because they have a song to share with the world.

And maybe it’ll help Malú figure out how to be punk and Mexican, at the same time.

The First Rule of Punk is a fun story about music, friendship, and standing out. Malú is a funny, sympathetic and determined main character with a streak of rebelliousness who I wanted to succeed. I particularly like how Celia C. Pérez (author of Strange Birds) weaves so many elements—punk rock, family, divorce, heritage, friendship, and more—into a seamless and natural story. I recommend The First Rule of Punk to readers ages nine and up.

By Piranha T.

“The exile of the princes of Lacharra didn’t begin with swords or spells. It began inside the castle kitchen with a quest for cloves.
It began with me.”
                  -from The Flight of Swans by Sarah McGuire

​When the King of Lacharra returns to the castle with a pale-haired woman without a name and eyes full of deception, only twelve-year-old Princess Andaryn doesn’t fall to the enchantments she weaves about the royal family. And when Ryn defies her, hoping in the doing to free her family from the Queen’s devious power, it instead gives her the chance to kill Ryn's six older brothers under false pretenses.

In desperation, Ryn makes the only bargain the Queen is willing to strike. She will be silent for six years—one for each of her brothers—if she allows them to go free.

And the Queen does set them free, but in the form of six black swans. They will regain their human forms only on the night of the full moon, and, after six years, will remain that way forever.

Only Ryn knows what the Queen has done, and she is unable to tell the story to any other. As the years pass and she travels across the land, she is pursued by the Queen’s fearsome Hunters and she herself pursues what she hopes will be a way to save her brothers. But as she learns more about the curse, she begins to wonder: who is the Queen, really?

The Flight of Swans is an effortless, brilliant fantasy novel. Based off the fairy tale Six Swans, this is one of my favorite fairy-tale retellings, adhering to the original story while expanding in unexpected directions. Sarah McGuire crafts a mysterious, multilayered landscape and world, with unusual magic, interesting history, and intriguing creatures. The Queen herself is a mystery who kept me wondering until the end, with her strange history and cunning mind. And Ryn is a courageous, bold protagonist who won’t stop at anything to save her brothers, who reminded me of heroines like Kara Westfall and Ella from Ella Enchanted. This book was engaging and fast-paced, despite taking place over a long period of time, with a twisting plot which kept me guessing. I highly recommend The Flight of Swans to readers ages twelve and up who love awesome main characters, complex worlds, and brilliant retellings of fairy tales! 

By Piranha T.
 
When twelve-year-old Emmy Willick is sent to a boarding school in England, she knows she’s not going to fit in. After all, she knows those kinds of schools are populated by kids who have been in the system all their lives, who take Latin for fun and know everyone in their dormitory, and the school’s name--Wellsworth—hardly does anything to dissuade that notion. Her mom tells her it’s ‘the best’, just like she’s said about all the other horrible schools she’s sent Emmy to, but she always thinks she’s right. After all, her whole job is to give parenting advice. And Emmy’s dad…well, her dad disappeared nine years ago, and she thought he was gone for good. But only a few days before she learns she’ll be going to Wellsworth, she receives a mysterious letter which leads her to a strange set of medallions in the attic—medallions with belonged to her father.

At first, Wellsworth seems like any other school Emmy has attended. There’s difficult coursework, mean kids and nice kids, and competitive interscholastic sports. But with the help of her new friends, Jack and Lola, she learns that her dad went to Wellsworth, too, and for the first time, she’s on the edge of learning something about him. As she begins to dig deeper, though, it becomes clear that his disappearance might have had something to do with his time at the school after all. And then there’s the mysterious and dangerous Order of Black Hollow Lane…

It’s up to Emmy, Jack and Lola to learn the truth about Emmy’s father and the Order of Black Hollow Lane…before the Order stops them from doing just that.

​The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane is a fast-paced mystery novel with lots of twists. Emmy, Jack and Lola are a great trio of main characters, all of them interesting and sympathetic. The slow reveals in this book, especially around Emmy’s father and the Order of Black Hollow Lane, are well-paced and interesting, often raising more questions than they answer in a really cool way. I recommend The Mystery of Black Hollow Lane to readers ages nine and up. 

By Piranha T.

Why did Mrs. Olinski choose this particular sixth grade Academic Bowl team?

The question has been posed to Mrs. Olinski many times, and despite no dearth of good answers—their quickness to learn, their willingness to study, their ability to work together—none of them can quite explain how she decided to pair Noah Gershom, Nadia Diamondstein, Ethan Potter and Julian Singh. She doesn’t know herself.

But the lives of these four unlikely sixth graders began to collide long before Mrs. Olinski began preparing her team for the Academic Bowl, and these are the stories which unfold as overlapping flashbacks while they ascend through the ranks of the Academic Bowl championship.

​Noah accidentally becomes best man at a wedding. Nadia rescues sea turtles on a trip with her grandmother. Ethan takes a ride on the bus with someone he’s never met before, and Julian makes a choice backstage in the school auditorium. These are the tales which lead up to Mrs. Olinski’s decision: tales of their differences, their friendships, and the experiences they all have in common.

I first read The View from Saturday years ago, and rereading it, I’m not surprised it stayed with me. E. L. Konigsburg expertly crafts four intersecting stories, one for each character, which delve deeply into Noah, Nadia, Ethan, and Julian, so as a reader, you know each of them intimately. Although at first these stories seem unrelated, they pull together in a truly amazing way. I especially love the elements of the Academic Bowl—having participated in a similar competition, it felt extremely realistic to me. I highly recommend The View from Saturday to readers ages eight and up. 

By Piranha T.

Ever since the disastrous raft ride when Ned’s twin brother died, the villagers have whispered that the wrong boy live. They claim his brother was the smart one, the funny one, the hardworking one; Ned, on the other hand, has a stutter and keeps silent whenever possible. But he can’t stay fully out of sight. His mother, Sister Witch, is the keeper of a powerful, unpredictable cloud of magic. And when she’s away and a group of bandits arrive to steal it, it falls to Ned to protect it.

Áine has a different reason to want to keep the magic away from thieves. Her father, the Bandit King, is searching for it, and she knows if he finds it, the consequences will be disastrous. Ever resourceful, when her path collides with Ned’s, she helps him keep the magic safe. But her top priority is keeping her father. And she’ll do anything it takes to keep him away from the magic.

Ned and Áine’s journey leads them through a dangerous forest, down a rapidious river, and into the presence of the ancient Speaking Stones. But many forces are gathering to steal the magic. And if Ned and Áine are to have any hope of holding onto it, they will have to enlist the help of another power…

Many years ago, I read The Girl who Drank the Moon, by the same author, and loved it. Somehow, it has taken me all these years to finally read the novel The Witch’s Boy. I’m glad I did. It has the same quirky narrative, interesting characters, and unusual magic which I loved so much in The Girl who Drank the Moon. While not making the story overly complex, Kelly Barnhill weaves the stories of many characters and then brings them all together. I love her world and the cantankerous nature of her magic. The characters are also excellent, especially Ned and Áine. I recommend The Witch’s Boy to fans of fantasy and well-drawn characters ages nine and up.