​By Piranha T.

The last thing twelve-year-old Flick expects when she moves to the village of Little Wyverns--a far cry from the city life she's grown up with--is a travel agency. And not just any travel agency. Strangeworlds isn't the kind that brings you to the places Flick has always dreamed of going: other continents, countries, cities. Once you've joined the mysterious Strangeworlds Society, you can travel through portals hidden in suitcases into other worlds.

At first, Flick is dubious. After all, if magic were truly real, wouldn't everyone know? But then the Strangeworld Travel Agency's young Head Custodian, Jonathan, shows her some of the other worlds. And Flick discovers, to her astonishment and delight, that it's all true. There are worlds out there--nonsensical worlds filled with eerie forests, scorched deserts, and the most peculiar of impossibilities. Worlds which she can now step into.

And she's going to, because Jonathan needs her help. His father disappeared into one of the suitcases months ago, and he needs Flick's help to find him.

Together, Flick and Jonathan set out on a journey leaping from world to world. But something has been happening to the different places they visit. Things have been changing. And it's up to Jonathan and Flick to figure out what--even as she realizes that all is not as it seems.

Strangeworlds Travel Agency is a fun fantasy novel with the quirky, almost old-fashioned tone of books like The Emerald Atlas and The Box and the Dragonfly. It effortlessly leaps between the modern day and the strangest of strange worlds, carried by two characters--Flick and Jonathan--who make that leap just as effectively, never seeming jarred or out of place in either setting. No matter what Flick does at the travel agency or in other worlds, it always feels natural when she returns home to her irritating younger brother and unpacking moving boxes. I also love the worlds Flick and Jonathan travel into, which are varied, mysterious, and often completely unexpected--they truly made this book come alive. I recommend Strangeworlds Travel Agency to readers ages nine and up looking for immersive, likable fantasy novels.

By Piranha T.
 
For Rahul Kapoor, the beginning of seventh grade isn’t looking good. Yes, it will mean he’ll be able to see his best friend Chelsea even more regularly than he has over the summer. But he’ll also be at the mercy of bullies like Brent, who make fun of him for being Indian American. When he talks to his grandfather, Bhai, a week into the school year, he gives Rahul a piece of advice: find something, and become the best at it. Then nobody will be able to stop him.

No matter how hard Rahul tries, though, none of the activities he tries are quite right—until one of his teachers convinces him to join the Mathletes. Although he’s always dismissed its members as nerds, he begins to realize that math really can be fun. But what if he still can’t become ‘the best at it’? And even if it can, will it really help him figure out who he is?

The Best at It is an awesome, deeply relatable realistic fiction novel. Rahul is an incredibly sympathetic and real protagonist—his journey to accept all the parts of who he is really resonated with me, and I think it would with most middle schoolers, too. I highly recommend The Best at It to readers ages ten 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. 

Indira Story has spent her life in the town of Origin, a character-in-waiting who wants nothing more than to be chosen for a story. So when the Author Borealis arrive and Indira is chosen to go to Fable--home to the school which has trained every Protagonist in literary history--it's like a dream come true. 

But when Indira arrives at Protagonist Preparatory, she's set on the side character track--a far cry from the hero she's always dreamed of being. She's determined to do her best anyway, and impress her teachers, who are all famous protagonists in their own right from Romeo to Odysseus. If she works hard, Indira is sure she can become a protagonist, too. 

Somehow, though, even her best efforts don't seem to be working. She's failing at being just a side character. Indira's future is looking bleak when strange things start happening at Protagonist Preparatory, and she starts putting the pieces together--pieces which someone nefarious is trying very hard to keep hidden. 

Will Indira have it in her to be the hero she's always dreamed of--or will she fail, leaving Fable to a disastrous fate? 

If any part of the above story description sounds the least bit familiar, or even a little cliché, that's the point. Saving Fable plays on the most stereotypical, most traditional, most familiar tropes and mixes them up with a world populated by characters and full of clever literary puns, and the result is extraordinary. There are many books which play off story elements of heroes and books--some favorites of mine include Finding Serendipity and The Thieving Collectors of Fine Children's Books--but Reintgen pulls it off here with spectacular and outstanding flair, full of brilliant jokes and constant humor which is so incredibly self-aware. The brilliant writing craft references, which essentially make up the whole world of Saving Fable, are particularly notable in my opinion, in part because they are so incredibly brilliant but also because they create such an atmospheric, detailed, and truly hilarious world; whether it's references to famous protagonists, brainstorming, or simply the classic hero-versus-antagonist plot, they never fall flat and made me laugh my way through this whole book.

​But part of what makes this book stand out is that you don't have to get all of these jokes to love it--they're more of an undercurrent which makes it even more spectacular. The characters, including Indira, are also awesome, and all seemed to sparkle with something of their own; together with a fully realized world and a bright and even surprising plot, they created a full and complete story which I couldn't put down. I highly recommend Saving Fable to fans of fantasy ages nine and up, particularly those who have read enough books to recognize both the funny and familiar in its story. 

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.

When things start getting weird at school for twelve-year-old Mila, she repeats what her best friends have told her: it’s not weird. It was just a hug, after all, a birthday hug, but didn’t it last a little too long to be comfortable? But it doesn’t end there. There are more hugs, more strange comments, boys standing a little too close to her, until Mila can’t dismiss it anymore. She can’t even call it ‘flirting’, like her best friend Zara. The same group of boys continues to bother her in a way which isn’t bullying, isn’t teasing, but then, what’s she supposed to call it? She knows she can’t tell her mom, not when she’s having so much trouble at work. And how can she explain it to anyone else when it feels so weird, so personal?

But then Mila begins taking karate lessons, and they help her realize that she’s not defenseless. More than that, maybe she can figure out how to confront the boys, and make herself heard.

Maybe He Just Likes You is a thought-provoking novel which explores sexual harassment, friendship, and reality. Barbara Dee tackles harder topics in this book in a way which is both realistic and accessible, which makes it particularly pertinent. All the characters in this feel extraordinarily well-rounded, especially Mila’s friends; she honestly has one of the most natural friend circles I’ve seen in middle-grade, who don’t always stand by her even when she’s struggling but remain relatable and strong. I highly recommend Maybe He Just Likes You to readers ages ten and up, whether you’re looking for a thought-provoking read or just a realistic fiction novel which feels indisputably true.

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. 

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.
 
Alex Mosher knows he’s never been like other kids. When he sees a dog on the street, instead of playing with it, he dreams up tales of it as a harbinger of death. And while other kids try to forget their nightmares, he writes them down in journals he calls his nightbooks, crafting horror stories just like the ones he loves to watch and read. The kids at school tease him for his obsession with creepy things. At last, Alex decides he’s done with being different, and descends to the basement of his apartment building to burn his nightbooks.

But on the way down, he gets captured by a witch named Natacha, and becomes caught up in a story much more terrifying than the ones he’s always written. Natacha only keeps him alive for his stories, one each night—creepy stories from the nightbooks Alex intended to destroy.

​But Alex knows he isn’t the first kid to get lured into Natacha’s apartment. And now he’s only one of two left. Natacha will keep him alive for his stories, but for how long? And more importantly—can he escape first?

I’m not usually a fan of creepy stories, but after reading J. A. White’s Thickety quartet, I decided to give Nightbooks a try. I’m glad I did. Nightbooks is an interesting and multilayered novel, somewhere between Hansel and Gretel and The Arabian Nights, full of quirks and interesting characters. There were a few twists which took me completely by surprise, in a good way! I like Alex and the supporting cast, from the witch Natacha to her ornery cat, Lenore. Although there were certainly creepier elements in Nightbooks, I think this is definitely a book which can be enjoyed by readers who don’t always like horror as well as those who do. I recommend Nightbooks to readers ages ten and up who like books about stories and unique twists on fairy tales. 

By Piranha T.

Rowan writes letters and sets them free on balloons.

This way, no one he knows will be able to read the secrets he records in his balloon letters. Not his parents, who are determined for him to be the girl he knows he isn’t on the inside—and especially not his dad, who’s hurt him in even more ways than that. Not the girls who used to be his friends but abandoned him last summer, leaving him marooned alone at the beginning of fifth grade. It’s a way of coping with all the hurt and confusion and tangles in Rowan’s life.

Told in the form of these balloon letters, The Ship We Built tells the story of a year where Rowan finds friendship, struggles, and ultimately who he is.

The Ship We Built is a moving, complicated, and utterly beautiful novel. Rowan is one of the most true protagonists I’ve encountered in fiction; I can clearly imagine speaking to him, meeting him. This book is sometimes hard but more powerful for it, and it truly swept me away. I highly recommend The Ship We Built to readers ages eleven and up.

By Piranha T.

Twelve-year-old Sophie Brown has never owned a chicken in her life. But after moving to Great-Uncle Jim’s old farm, she decides it might be cool to have some. After all, she likes eggs. But then she begins to find Great Uncle Jim’s chickens around the farm, and it soon becomes clear that these are no ordinary birds.

They’re chickens with superpowers.

At first, Sophie doesn’t believe it’s possible. Great-Uncle Jim’s chickens might be unusual, but not that unusual. But when someone comes to steal her chickens, it’s up to Sophie to protect her flock—including those she hasn’t even found yet. Because in the wrong hands, unusual chickens aren’t just unusual. They’re dangerous.

​Told in a series of letters, notes, and other correspondences, Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer is a book about friendship, adventure, and—most of all—chickens. Sophie and the supporting characters are funny, giving this book, despite its more unusual format, a fast pace and humorous inclinations. Kelly Kath’s illustrations, interspersed with the text, add another layer to this novel as well. Although this story may be enjoyed more by those familiar with chickens, it’s a fun book whether or not you have poultry. I recommend Unusual Chickens for the Exceptional Poultry Farmer to readers ages eight and up who like books about normal kids having unusual adventures with a touch of magic, particularly those involving chickens.

​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 SK

​Former best friends Cora Hamed and Quinn McCauley haven't talked in almost a year. That's how long it has been since Cora's older sister Mabel was killed in a school shooting, a tragedy made even worse by the fact that the shooter was Quinn's older brother. 

What sort of traitorous sister would talk to Quinn after that? Cora ignores Quinn completely, throwing herself into school and Quiz Bowl practice--and trying not to think about Mabel's lip gloss and stuffed animals in their shared bedroom which she can't bring herself to pack up. 

No one at school talks to Quinn, and no one in Quinn's family talks about what Parker did. Her mom blames her dad for owning guns in the first place, her dad blames the terrible things Parker read online, and secretly, Quinn is certain that it was her all own fault for not preventing the shooting when she had the chance. It's been almost a year since it happened, and when she thinks of her brother, Quinn is still torn between horror and fury and treacherous threads of love for the boy Parker used to be. 

But soon, none of that will matter. Because Quinn has a plan to fix everything. The only problem is that she needs help from someone else to execute it, someone she trusts who is smart and imaginative and would understand just how important this is. And there's only one person who fits that description.

Cora is a very smart, very logical person who is very sure that she will never be friends with Quinn ever again, and at first she ignores Quinn's attempts to reach out. Besides--time travel? Changing the past to fix the future? It seems impossible--but maybe only the impossible can make things right. And working with Quinn on her plan isn't betraying Mabel, since they're trying to save her, right?

As Cora and Quinn brainstorm, research, and experiment, flickers of their old friendship begin to resurface, and their growing closeness seems like less and less of a problem--after all, soon enough they'll have fixed the past, and there'll be no reason for them not be be best friends anymore. But wormholes are considerably harder to come by than they expected, as is overcoming the grief, anger, and blame which is still between them.  

Time travel itself might not fix everything. But trying to figure it out might just be the key to finally beginning to heal. 

The Shape of Thunder both exceeded my high expectations, and was completely different from what I was expecting, and its exploration of loss, friendship, grief, and healing is original, timely, and ultimately hopeful. The plot is relatively straightforward, yet the story has striking depth, and is written with compassion, eloquence, and a laudable willingness to explore complexity. I really loved Cora and Quinn, each of whom are flawed and struggling, but also full of love, loyalty, and determination, and are distinct both from each other and from the protagonists in the many other books I've read. The supporting characters are also excellent, and Mabel and Parker (or rather, the other characters' memories of them) are particularly skillfully portrayed and interestingly layered. The Shape of Thunder is an excellent selection for book groups or discussion, and the Author's Note includes resources for how to get involved in ending gun violence. A heartbreaking, beautiful story about friendship, tragedy, the love which can tear us apart, and the love which puts us back together again, I would highly recommend The Shape of Thunder to readers ages ten and up. 

Note: Jasmine Warga is also the author of Other Words for Home.