Great Middle Grade Reads discussion

Time sure does have a way of getting away from us when we're having fun. Here it is November, and we haven't talked about the favorite books that were read in September. Oops. That's okay, though. As we discuss our favorite reads from October, we can also include those from September. To that end, looking back over the books you have read, what were your favorite middle-grade reads for September and October? Which books would you recommend to others?

SEPTEMBER'S BOOKS

As for me, there were several standouts for September for various reasons. The first two that stood out for me were Secrets of the Book by Erin Fry and Not If I Can Help It by Carolyn Mackler for having protagonists with disabilities, and most especially for having plot lines that were not based on those disabilities. Not only is it important for children with disabilities to see themselves represented in books, it is even more important - in my opinion - for those children to see the characters doing the same things as characters without disabilities, to know they are more than their disabilities.



The next two books that stood out to me were Not Your Sidekick by C. B. Lee and Melissa (formerly titled George) by Alex Gino. In both books, the protagonists are on the LGBTQ spectrum, with the former having several other LGBTQ characters. While there are certainly many who think children must be "protected" from anything that talks about LGBTQ issues, there are many children in the middle-grade age range who are already questioning their identity and sexuality. As such, the more these children can see themselves represented in the books they are reading, the better.



The final book from September (I know, I know. I'm supposed to pick just one, but I read so may great novels in September that I just couldn't narrow it down any further than this.) is Walls of Glass by J. W. Elliot. This novel tackles racial issues in an Oklahoma town, and there were several times that I had to put the book down and reflect on the scenes I had just read. It was a very powerful book, and I highly recommend it.



OCTOBER'S BOOKS

I was able to narrow down my selection of books from October a little better. Of the three books I selected, the first is Minor Mage by T. Kingfisher. Though there is some debate about whether or not this book qualifies as a middle-grade novel, the author has been very clear in her beliefs that it is appropriate for the 9-12 age range. Indeed, one of the best things I liked about this book was that in the situations faced by the characters, there weren't clear "this is the right response" and "this is the wrong response." Instead, there was a lot of grey, and some situations only have a "best response of those available" even though it isn't a good response. I think it's important that children begin to be exposed to these situations so they can learn how to evaluate situations and responses within the grey.



My next favorite was Strong Like the Sea by Wendy S. Swore. In this book, the protagonist Alexis lives in Hawaii, but refuses to go into the ocean. Her fear is borne of something that happened years before, but still affects her greatly. Her mother works in counterintelligence, and she often creates puzzles for Alexis to solve. At the start of the book, Alexis' mother is off on an assignment, though she checks in with a weekly phone call. Until she misses a phone call. Now, Alexis is struggling to solve the last puzzle her mother created for her, worrying that it might be the last one. This novel doesn't shy away from mental health issues and mental stressors, and how people respond to those stressors. Both Alexis and her father are dealing with their own fears and mental stresses, which are also impacting their own relationship, as well as learning how to handle various situations and that it's okay to rely on others.



And, finally, the top book I read in October is... *drum roll*... Find Layla by Meg Elison. This book was absolutely fantastic and incredibly painful at the same time. It was an illustration of the best and worst of humanity, and I will absolutely remember it for years to come. There were many places where I found myself tearing up and a few places where I felt like my heart was being ripped out. But there were also parts that inspired great hope. Though I would definitely recommend that parents read this book with their children, I think it is important that we don't shy away from these kinds of topics, if for no other reason than to spread awareness. There were so many adults in Layla's life who missed the warning signs and could have intervened sooner. Children can be incredibly observant, and they may see things that adults do not.

Oh my, where did the time go? I only managed one book, which was our Aug BOTM The River Betwen Us. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I just read the book Thirst by Varsha Bajaj. I couldn't get the picture to show up here, but the cover is amazing. It's is about water insecurity and the difference between people that have everything and those that have nothing AND about resilience. It was fantastic! My 4th and 5th graders loved it too.

Kimberly wrote: "I just read the book Thirst by Varsha Bajaj. I couldn't get the picture to show up here..."

To get the bookcover to show up, you have two options:

The first is to click the link above the text box when typing a message that says "add book/author" and search for the book in the popup. Change the selection at the bottom from "link" to "cover" and select the book you want to include.

The second is to type the info yourself. All you need is the name of the book and the Goodreads number, which can be found on its Goodreads page. Using [ and ] to enclose the information, you just type "bookcover:(name of book here)|(number for book here)". For the book you mentioned, the text you would type to get the bookcover would be "bookcover:Thirst|55586848" with a [ and ] at the beginning and end. You can also include a link to the Goodreads page using the exact same information. The only thing you would need to change is "bookcover" to "book". One thing that I have noticed is that, for the bookcovers, you don't have to type the entire book title in because the algorithm is running off of the number you type. For the book links, whatever you type as the book title is what will show up as the link text.

And since it's a pretty cover and going on my own TBR list, here is is for anyone else who might also want a look at it:

In September, I read The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy and Sal and Gabi Break the Universe. I enjoyed reading both. .

In October, I read Stepping Stones by Lucy Knisley and Small Spaces by Katherine Arden. They were also both great! Stepping Stones is a middle-grade book and a Graphic Novel. And Small Spaces is a mystery:)


Also, I add these middle-grade books to my TBR list:)

We are doing a Carnegie Medal group read in the Children's Literature Group (September to December) and my favourite award winners from the Carnegie Medal winners are actually a bit too numerous to mention.

But from the Carnegie Medal winners I did not know anything of and totally loved, my four favourites are

Berlie Doherty, Dear Nobody
Berlie Doherty, Granny Was a Buffer Girl
Sarah Crossan, One
B.B. The Little Grey Men

And there were more, but these were four books that I actually did not really expect to love.

Sorry I missed this post! Been up to my eyebrows in edits. ~CJ

C.J. wrote: "Sorry I missed this post! Been up to my eyebrows in edits. ~CJ"

Lol. It's all good. I didn't realize we hadn't had a post for almost a week into this month and figured you'd been really busy. The only reason I made the post was that I really wanted to share some of the books I'd read. LOL.