Middle Grade

The Order of Things / Kaija Langley

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The Order of Things
By: Kaija Langley
Genre: Middle Grade, Novel-In-Verse
Number of Pages: 288
Published: June 6, 2023
Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Dates Read: June 13, 2023 - June 14, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

11-year-old April has been best friends with Zee since they were born only a month apart. They live across the hallway from each other in their apartment building and together, along with April’s mom, and Papa Zee – the four are a family. This school year though, things are changing. Zee has gotten into the new charter school specializing in music for his violin and April is staying behind at their old school.

But, when tragedy strikes and Zee passes away, April is forced to relearn what it means to continue after losing everything she once knew.

I went into this quite blindly. I’m a sucker for novel-in-verse books, especially middle grade because they seem all the more powerful to me for some reason. I saw this one on NetGalley and immediately requested to read it without much else. That being said, after reading it, I fully read the description and I do think it needs to be changed up – it gives away 95% of the book. When I recommend this, I’m going to try and suggest they not read the description to not give anything away.

Besides the description being too much, I’m still going to be recommending this book to many others. It was beautiful and full of representation. This story talks about ways people deal with the pain of losing someone and what it means to speak up at the right time. This is all done in a way that, though a bit simplified for middle grade, it will still require some tissues.

*Thank you Nancy Paulsen Books and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Love Report / BéKa & Maya

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The Love Report
By: BéKa & Maya
Genre: Middle Grade, Graphic Novel
Number of Pages: 192
Published: June 13, 2023
Publisher: Astra Publishing House
Dates Read: June 12, 2023
Format: Paperback

BBFs Grace and Lola try to figure out the mystery of romance by observing those around them at their middle school.

This was cute. Was it the best story I’ve ever read? No. But, it’s middle grade kids figuring out what love means to them – it’s cute. Plus, the illustrations are vivid and adorable to look at.

The girls learn about all types of other female characters and their history. Even learning about their prejudgement of some simply based on rumors. The boys’ characters aren’t as flushed out, but since this is the first book of a series, I’m hoping to know more about them later on.

This book was originally written in French and set in France. Even though it was translated into English, I still thoroughly enjoyed the background, especially the lunch/park scenes as those are very French.

I’ll be looking out for the next book of this series to read for sure. It’s adorable and there is much room for the characters to grow.

*Thank you Astra Publishing House and Publishers Weekly for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Eyes and the Impossible / Dave Eggers

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The Eyes & the Impossible
By: Dave Eggers
Genre: Middle Grade
Number of Pages: 256
Published: May 9, 2023
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Dates Read: May 4, 2023 - May 7, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

Johannes, a free dog, lives in an urban park by the sea where it’s his job to be the Eyes for the park’s three elders, the Bison. His friends – a seagull, a raccoon, a squirrel, and a pelican – are Assistant Eyes, observing the comings and goings of the park who report their findings to Johannes, who then gives their, along with his own observations, to the Bison.

But changes are happening at the park – a new building means more humans, and more humans means more Trouble Travelers. And then there were the new animals called goats that literally appeared as a boatload. Upon their arrival, new, shocking revelations change Johannes’ whole world.

After I read Pax by Sara Pennypacker, I’ve kind of been on the hunt for another middle grade, animal book. I know there’s all kinds of these out there, but this one… it’s the way that Johannes’ voice is written I believe, that just gives me a warm, good feeling in my chest.

It was fun to hear Johannes and his friends explain things from the humans – sometimes they’re way off and it would give me a good giggle (like their viewpoint on time is way off, everything is 1,000 years and it’s just adorable).

This is going to be a book I can see myself recommending to anyone who just wants a chill, feel good book with animals. I’ve already talked about it pretty much nonstop since I got to work this morning. I know animal books are hard, and can be weird, but this one is cute and adorable.

*Thank you Knopf Books for Young Readers and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Indigo & Ida / Heather Murphy Capps

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Indigo & Ida
By: Heather Murphy Capps
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary
Number of Pages: 312
Published: April 4, 2023
Publisher: Carolrhoda Books (Lerner Publishing)
Dates Read: April 2, 2023 - April 3, 2023
Format: ARC / Paperback

Trigger Warnings: Racism, bullying, white privilege, transphobia, references to lynching

After eighth grader Indigo intentionally gets herself detention trying to expose an unfair school policy, she gets an assignment that causes her to stumble across a book by journalist and activist Ida B. Wells – with private letters by Ida tucked inside. While reading the letter, Indigo gets inspired to investigate more into her school’s policies – and she notices that the school’s disciplinary policies seem to be enforced harsher on students of color. 

When Indigo reports on this issue, her friends tell her she’s overreacting and her classmates tell her she’s too aggressive, loud, and annoying.

By continuing to read Ida’s letters, Indigo realizes she’ll have to choose between keeping quiet and taking the easy way out or possibly standing alone to fight for justice.

An inspiring middle grade novel about a young journalist being inspired by Ida B. Wells as she finds her voice to stand against the injustice taking place at her school. So much happens in this book that I sometimes found it hard to believe it all took place in one week! But this covers a few heavy topics and the author does so in a way that makes it easier for middle grade readers to understand – segregation, lynching, racism, protests, white privilege, transphobia (just to name a few).

I believe young readers will enjoy this book as it addresses many issues they see today and is written in a way they can understand and relate to. Indigo is also an amazing example of a young person standing up for what they know is wrong – even if they’re standing alone.

*Thank you Carolrhoda Books and LibraryThing for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review

Bea Wolf / Zach Weinersmith

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The cover of graphic novel "Bea Wolf" with a little girl with a teddy bear head with cape on as she stands on a golden stack of sweets and treats and stuffed animals
Bea Wolf
By: Zach Weinersmith
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade
Number of Pages: 208
Published: March 21, 2023
Publisher: First Second
Dates Read: February 27, 2023 - February 28, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

In this middle grade retelling of Beowulf, a gang of troublemaking kids must defend their treehouse fort, Treeheart, from a boring, fun-hating adult, Grindle who can turn the kids into boring teens and adults with just a touch of his finger.

Just going to start this off with the claim that I don’t believe I ever read Beowulf – there may have been a time in high school when I should have read it when we were in the unit of classics, but I tended to fight against being told what to read at that time.

I wanted to read this one graphic novel because of the cover – I immediately fell in love with the little girl on the cover. The illustrations were gorgeous and beautiful to look at and that’s what kept my attention the most.

Since this was a retelling, Zach Weinersmith used the formatting and style methods from the original Beowulf, which they talk about at the end in a note (which I was laughing at their call out to being either a librarian or a future writer as to why exactly you were reading a super long note written by the author in the first place)

This will be a different reading style for Middle Grade readers, but I believe once they get started on reading it, they will get the rhythm of it and they’ll fly through it in no time with giggles erupting with every page.

Bea Wolf is fun for everyone, all ages will be laughing at the shenanigans of the kids from Treeheart and their allies.  

*Thank you NetGalley and First Second for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

The Moth Keeper / K. O’Neill

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The Moth Keeper
By: K. O'Neill
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade
Number of Pages: 272
Published: March 7, 2023
Publisher: Random House Graphic
Dates Read: February 20, 2023
Format: ARC / eBook

Anya is finally a Moth Keeper, the protector of the lunar moths. Lunar moths help the Night-Lily flower to bloom once a year and her village uses the flower’s nectar to thrive and survive. But, the nights in the desert are cold and lonely, and Anya finds being a Moth Keeper isn’t exactly what she thought it would be. She finds herself wondering what it would be like to feel the sun’s warmth. One day, she decides to stay up during the day to experience the sun and her village and the lunar moths are left to deal with the consequences of her choice.

I absolutely adored the Tea Dragon Society series, so I knew as soon as I saw K. O’Neill had a new graphic novel coming out, so I needed to read it as soon as possible.

It wasn’t a disappointment.

This is a story about burnout and loneliness that is written alongside beautiful artwork from K. O’Neill that is done in such a way that younger audiences will be able to understand the message too.

Overall, this is a beautiful and gentle graphic novel that I can see those of all age groups loving and enjoying – both for the story and for the art.

*Thank you Random House Graphic and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review