Category Archives: Contemporary

Review: Going Overboard by Caroline Huntoon

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Going Overboard by Caroline Huntoon

Going Overboard
Caroline Huntoon
Feiwel & Friends
Published May 27, 2025

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About Going Overboard

From author Caroline Huntoon comes a sparkling new middle grade novel, Going Overboard, a reverse-Parent Trap story where tweens Piper and Colton must force their parents to break up, or their lives will change forever.

Piper Shapiro has the best mom in the world: Noura, a single parent by choice who always has a plan, whether it’s for a spontaneous Saturday adventure or helping Piper navigate middle school as a nonbinary kid. They’re a package deal, and they tell each … Continue reading →

MMGM Review: Setting the Stage by Lindsay Champion

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Setting the Stage by Lindsay Champion

Setting the Stage (Cast vs Crew #1)
Lindsay Champion
Pixel+Ink
Published October 21, 2025

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About Setting the Stage

SERIES LAUNCH! The full story of a junior high musical production, told exclusively from the POV of the kids backstage. It’s High School Musical, from behind the scenes…without the high school.

Every cast depends on its stage crew. But what happens when they hate each other? SETTING THE STAGE is the first act in a trilogy that tells the whole story!

Eighth grader Ella Amani has been waiting her whole life to be the stage manager of the middle school … Continue reading →

Review: When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

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When Stars Are Scattered by Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed

When Stars Are Scattered
Victoria Jamieson and Omar Mohamed
Dial Books
Published April 14, 2020

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About When Stars Are Scattered

A National Book Award Finalist, this remarkable graphic novel is about growing up in a refugee camp, as told by a former Somali refugee to the Newbery Honor-winning creator of Roller Girl.

Omar and his younger brother, Hassan, have spent most of their lives in Dadaab, a refugee camp in Kenya. Life is hard there: never enough food, achingly dull, and without access to the medical care Omar knows his nonverbal brother needs. … Continue reading →

Review: Silenced Voices by Pablo Leon

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Silenced Voices by Pablo Leon

Silenced Voices: Reclaiming Memories from the Guatemalan Genocide
Pablo Leon
HarperAlley
Published September 2, 2025

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About Silenced Voices

In this moving intergenerational tale perfect for fans of Messy Roots and Illegal, Eisner-nominated creator Pablo Leon combines historical research of the Dos Erres Massacre with his own experiences as a Guatemalan immigrant to depict a powerful story of family, sacrifice, survival, and hope.

Langley Park, Maryland, 2013.

Brothers Jose and Charlie know very little about the life their mother lived before she came to Maryland. In fact, Clara avoids even telling people she’s from Guatemala. So when Jose grows … Continue reading →

MMGM Review: North for the Winter by Bobby Podesta

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North for the Winter by Bobby Podesta

North for the Winter
Bobby Podesta
First Second
Published September 2, 2025

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About North for the Winter

From Pixar star animator Bobby Podesta comes a middle-grade classic holiday story about Virginia, a girl who must help one of Santa’s reindeer back to the North Pole before Christmas.

What would you think if you saw a reindeer fly? When this happens to Virginia, she isn’t sure what to do – she’s just lost her mom, she’s in a new city, and everything seems so hard. But when she reluctantly confesses what she saw … Continue reading →

Review: The Rez Doctor by Gitz Crazyboy, et al

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The Rez Doctor by Gitz Crazyboy

The Rez Doctor
Gitz Crazyboy
Illustrated by Veronika Barinova
Coloring by Azby Whitecalf
Lettering by Toben Racicot
Highwater Press
Published September 10, 2024

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About The Rez Doctor

Young Ryan Fox gets good grades, but he’s not sure what he wants to be when he grows up. It isn’t until he meets a Blackfoot doctor during a school assembly that he starts to dream big.

However, becoming a doctor isn’t easy. University takes Ryan away from his family and the Siksikaitsitapi community, and without their support, he begins to struggle. Faced with more stress than he’s ever experienced, he turns to partying. … Continue reading →