Category Archives: Middle Grade 8-12

Review: Rise of the Spider by Michael P. Spradlin

Book Review and Content, Historical, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , ,
The Rise of the Spider by Michael P. Spradlin

Rise of the Spider (Web of the Spider #1)
Michael P. Spradlin
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published September 24, 2024

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About Rise of the Spider

Witness the chilling rise of the Nazi Party through the eyes of a twelve-year-old boy in this first book in the action-packed middle grade series Web of the Spider for fans of I Survived and A Night Divided.

1929, Heroldsberg, Germany. Rolf might only be twelve years old, but he’s old enough to know that things have not been good in his country since the end of the Great War. Half of Germany is out of work, and a new political movement is taking hold that scares him. Every night, Rolf’s father and older brother, Romer, have increasingly heated arguments about politics at the dinner table. And when two members of the new Nazi Party, Hans and Nils, move to town as part of the Hitler Youth, Rolf is uneasy to see how enamored Romer is by their promises of bringing Germany to glory.

Rolf doesn’t trust Hans and Nils for a moment. For all their talk of greatness, they act more like bullies, antagonizing shop owners who are Rolf’s friends and neighbors. Yet Romer becomes increasingly obsessed with their message of division, and Rolf watches in horror as his family fractures even further.

When there is an act of vandalism against a Jewish-owned business in town, Rolf fears Romer might have had something to do with it. Can Rolf find a way to intervene before things get any worse?

My Review

This is a sad book. It’s an important story, as it follows the rise of the Nazis in Germany through the eyes of a twelve-year-old boy who can’t believe it’s happening. He realizes how hateful the rhetoric is and how it contradicts his family’s values and beliefs. But he also witnesses someone close to him embrace those ideas and join the movement.

The book is pretty short, and the writing style is simple enough to make it accessible for younger middle grade readers interested in historical fiction. It’s the opening to a new series that will follow twelve-year-old Rolf’s experience in Heroldsberg, Germany each year leading up to when Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany. Creating a window for younger readers to see how Hitler rose to power is a great idea. It’s a moment of history that isn’t often deeply explored with kids that age, but an important one.

I also appreciated the author’s note at the back of the book in which Spradlin discussed his experience seeing the town of Heroldsberg and how his research affected him. This seems like a great fit for upper elementary-aged readers interested in historical fiction and World War II in particular.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are white Germans. A few minor characters are Jewish.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Brief reference to church and synagogue services.

Violent Content
Someone sets fire to a local Jewish-owned business. Hitler Youth members intimidate and threaten shop owners and shoppers. A group of them beat up an elderly Jewish man. (The narrator can’t see the blow-by-blow but knows it’s happening.) At a rally, a group of Nazi supporters attack a man who protests against them. The narrator can’t see specifics but is scared.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Westfallen by Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , ,

Westfallen
Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares
Simon & Schuster
Published September 17, 2024

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About Westfallen

From #1 New York Times bestselling Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants author Ann Brashares and her brother Ben Brashares comes an action-packed middle grade alternate history thriller that asks what it would be like to wake up in present-day America if Germany had won World War II.

Henry, Frances, and Lukas are neighbors, and they used to be best friends. But in middle school, things can change fast—Frances has become an emo art-girl, Lukas has gone full sports bro, and Henry has gone sort of nowhere. But when a dead gerbil brings them together again, the three ex-friends make an impossible discovery: a radio buried in Henry’s backyard that allows them to talk to another group of kids in the same town…on the same street…in the same backyard…seventy-nine years in the past.

The kids in 1944 want to know all about the future: are there jetpacks? Laser guns? Teleportation? Most of all, they want to know about the outcome of the war their dads and brothers are fighting in. Henry and his friends are cautious—they’ve all seen movies about what happens when you disrupt the fabric of time—but figure there’s no harm in telling them a little bit, just enough so they can stop worrying so much. And, at first, everything seems fine. Nothing’s changed—well, nothing so big they can’t contain it, anyway.

Until Henry, Frances, and Lukas wake up on May 6, 2024, to an America ruled by Nazis. They changed history. And now it’s up to them to change it back.

My Review

The radio that connects kids from two different time periods sets up this novel’s unique approach to World War II historical fiction. It allows readers to compare and contrast differences in American suburban life in 1944 versus 2023, which I thought was pretty cool.

The story alternates between Henry’s perspective in 2023 and Alice’s point of view in 1944. These scenes remain pretty short, with sometimes three or so per chapter. While the plot requires a bit of willing suspension of disbelief (for example, the kids convince an adult to help them stage a poorly planned jailbreak), the story stays focused on the actions of its younger characters for the most part. The kids get to be the heroes faced with preserving the victory of the Allied forces and keeping the United States from falling into German control permanently.

I didn’t expect the book to be a series opener, so when the setup for the next book emerged in the final chapter, that took me a bit by surprise. I’m curious to see where the series goes and would love to see it explore other possible alternate histories in the same time periods.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Lukas is Jewish. Henry is biracial.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Henry sees evidence that someone beat up a child. Jewish people are forced to work and/or imprisoned.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Greta by J. S. Lemon

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Magical Realism, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , ,

Greta
J. S. Lemon
Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
Published September 10, 2024

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About Greta

J. S. Lemon’s middle grade debut is an utterly transformative, fiercely original, and surprisingly funny story about consent, friendship, healing, and a beauty that transcends all else. 

Greta Goodwin’s life is changing. On top of moving to a new neighborhood far away from her best friend, Lotti, she’s also starting middle school. Greta isn’t totally ready for boys, bras, and bad cafeteria food. She still feels like a little kid compared to those female classmates who have suddenly matured over the summer. Girls who are now objects of curiosity, scorn, and entertainment for everyone else. So Greta adopts a new “Do not call attention to yourself.”

But at her first-ever middle-school party, a boy does pay attention to Greta. At first it feels good. And then it feels awful. Aggressive. Abusive. In the aftermath, Greta can’t make sense of what’s happened, let alone talk about it—even to Lotti. Impossibly, Greta’s body starts to change, and in a vastly different way from everyone else’s.

What follows leads Greta to believe the world might finally see her as she truly ethereal, powerful, and free. Reminiscent of Kafka’s Metamorphosis and sensitively told, stunning modern classics like Fighting Words and The Thing About Jellyfish, Greta will transform readers just as Greta herself is transformed.

My Review

I feel like this is one of those books that will make people uncomfortable simply by existing. A middle grade book that discusses sexual assault? Pretty shocking, sure. Is it as shocking as how often this kind of thing happens, though?

One of the things I really appreciate about this book is that the attack is presented only briefly. It focuses primarily on what Greta feels and how she responds, keeping her experience centered.

I love the symbolism of her transformation. She’s beautiful, before and after, and it feels like an expression of her true self rather than some kind of punishment or harm done to her.

For me, one of the hard things about the book is that the harm doesn’t get directly addressed. That feels uncomfortable. (Too often true in real life, and that’s also uncomfortable.) It also feels uncomfortable to me that the transformation separates her from her friends and family. Greta is happy, so she doesn’t view this as a bad thing. But for them, it is a kind of change that means they give up the kind of relationship they had with Greta.

What’s interesting to me about that is that those other kinds of resolutions– the perpetrator being confronted, the family hearing Greta’s story, etc– are things that would satisfy us as readers and observers.

Instead, the outcome of the story centers Greta’s healing and wholeness in a way that isn’t beholden to anyone else in her life. Once I saw that, I couldn’t stop thinking about what a powerful experience that is for someone who has been harmed. To remain centered in their own story. To experience a healing transformation and feel more whole and more oneself. Wow.

Conclusion

Greta is an unusual, imaginative book that probably won’t appeal to everyone. What it does really well, though, is keep the assault survivor’s story centered in the narrative, allowing her to experience healing and wholeness. It’s a powerful story perfectly tempered for a younger audience.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Greta’s little brother has an unspecified learning disability.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to changing bodies because of puberty. Greta sees Lotti making out with a boy. Kissing between boy and girl. Brief description of forceful kissing and groping.

Spiritual Content
Greta senses something happening in her body, a transformation that feels more true to who she is.

Violent Content
See above.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Jaden Powers and the Inheritance Magic by Jamar J. Perry

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , ,

Jaden Powers and the Inheritance Magic
Jamar J. Perry
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published August 27, 2024

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About Jaden Powers and the Inheritance Magic

In this magical middle grade fantasy perfect for fans of The Marvellers and Amari and the Night Brothers, a shy boy must step up and become his own hero after his best friend disappears at a magical school. 

Jaden and Elijah have been best friends since they were born. They’re so close that Jaden doesn’t even mind that he’s constantly living in talented, high-achieving Elijah’s shadow-well, he doesn’t mind much.

But then Elijah disappears, leaving behind nothing but a cryptic note asking for Jaden’s help. The next day, Jaden is invited to attend Elijah’s fancy private boarding school. Only, it turns out it’s not a boarding school at all. It’s a school for magic! Somehow, before Elijah vanished, he used his note to transfer part of his own magic into Jaden, a feat that is supposed to be impossible.

Determined to find his friend, Jaden agrees to attend the school and learn to control his new powers. But a sinister force is threatening to destroy the whole magical world. And if Jaden doesn’t stop it, he’ll be the next to disappear.

My Review

The pacing of this story went differently than I expected. In some ways, that is a strength for the book because it’s a strong difference from books like Amari and the Night Brothers and other magic school stories. There were a couple of moments where the story started to feel too similar to another boy-with-magic story, so I appreciated the ways in which it diverged from other books.

I loved the friendship between Jaden and Elijah, which is at the center of the novel. Perry celebrates that deep friendship bond and brotherhood between the two boys without any qualifiers, and I found that refreshing and, frankly, beautiful.

The cast is heavily male. I would have enjoyed seeing a little more diversity here, though there’s some value in a story that leans heavily into exploring different kinds of relationships between boys or men. I think having at least one of the critical characters be female would have added a little more balance, though.

On the whole, I am glad to see this book added to the collection of magic school middle grade literature. Jaden Powers and the Inheritance Magic is a fun story that celebrates the power of friendship and trusting your heart.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Jaden and several other key characters are Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Some characters have the ability to perform magic. Some magic can be harmful and threaten the stability of the world.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Jaden hears his best friend has drowned and must attend his funeral. Someone asks permission to view Jaden’s thoughts. The spell is painful to him, but he is willing to endure it if it will help him find his best friend.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Sherlock Society by James Ponti

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, , , ,

The Sherlock Society
James Ponti
Aladdin
Published September 3, 2024

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About The Sherlock Society

In the tradition of Nancy Drew, four kids and one grandfather in Miami tackle a decades-old mystery in this first book in the action-packed and funny Sherlock Society middle grade series from New York Times bestselling, Edgar Award–winning author James Ponti! 

Siblings Alex and Zoe Sherlock take their last name as inspiration when choosing a summer job. After all, starting a detective agency has to be better than babysitting (boring), lawn mowing (sweaty), or cleaning out the attic (boring and sweaty). Their friends Lina, an avid bookworm, and Yadi, an aspiring cinematographer, join the enterprise, and Alex and Zoe’s retired reporter grandfather offers up his sweet aquamarine Cadillac convertible and storage unit full of cold cases.

The group’s first target is the long-lost treasure supposedly hidden near their hometown Miami. Their investigation into the local doings of famed gangster Al Capone leads them to a remote island in the middle of the Everglades where they find alarming evidence hinting at corporate corruption. Together with Grandpa’s know-how and the kids’ intelligence—plus some really slick gadgets—can the Sherlock Society root out the conspiracy?

My Review

This upbeat, fun mystery was a hoot to read. I really enjoyed the way that Ponti broke down the investigation into questions that each kid in the Society focused on answering. That gave everyone a role and helped create balance within the group. I also enjoyed Alex and Zoe’s grandfather. He was knowledgeable and entertaining without stealing the spotlight.

I liked the Florida setting, too. I’m not super familiar with the Everglades, but I’ve been there, so I had a grid for the kinds of scenes the story described. The bits of history about the city of Miami and South Florida added a nice touch to the book, too. There were things I knew and some new-to-me facts as well, which was great.

I’m super late to the party because this is the first book by James Ponti that I’ve ever read. His writing is really easy to read, and the characters—who are simple in a good way—did a great job chasing down clues and pushing the story forward. I liked this one a lot.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Yadi is Latine.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. The kids discover a site where someone dumped chemicals that killed several animals.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

I’m sharing this post as a part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday. Check out other blogs with posts about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle with Greg Pattridge.

Review: Love is in the Hair by Gemma Cary

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Love is in the Hair
Gemma Cary
Delacorte Press
Published August 27, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Love is in the Hair

A feminist coming-of-age comedy that follows the endless humiliations, unrequited obsessions, and all-consuming friendships of fifteen-year-old Evia Birtwhistle as she leads a body hair positive revolution at her school.

Fifteen-year-old Evia Birtwhistle can’t seem to catch a break. At home, she must deal with her free-spirited mom, and at school she’s the target of ridicule for stating basic truths: like that girls have body hair!

When her BFF Frankie—who has facial hair due to her PCOS—becomes the target of school bullies, Evia decides that enough is enough and creates the ‘Hairy Girls’ Club.’

Leading a feminist movement at school is not easy. Boys often look at Evia like she’s a total weirdo, and the self-proclaimed ‘smoothalicious’ girls start their own campaign in retaliation. As Evia struggles with feeling strong enough to lead, and questions how to be a good friend to Frankie, she falls back on the best thing she has—hope. Her message is simple: We CAN make this world a more accepting, less judgmental place for girls to live in…one hairy leg at a time!

My Review

This book delivers on its promises. It’s funny and deftly explores societal ideas about body hair as well as the reasons why someone would want to raise awareness and challenge norms versus wanting the choice to blend in with others.

I like Evia’s group of friends, especially Frankie, though she doesn’t appear a lot in the story. Frankie challenges Evia to explore nuances and understand that people may feel differently than she does about their bodies and to accept that. Her other friends, Karima and Lowri, round out the group.

Evia also has a crush on her friend’s older brother. I thought the way that played out in the book also showed a lot of depth and rang true as an experience from those early high school days. Evia is fifteen in the story, and Cary definitely nails that moment in adolescence in the way she writes about characters and relationships.

Overall, this book is well-positioned to reach readers aging out of middle grade and preparing for their own high school journeys. Give this book to readers looking for a smart, funny book about challenging societal norms and speaking up for yourself.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Frankie has PCOS. Two of Evia’s other friends are lesbians.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
A kiss between a boy and girl. Someone posts sexually explicit images on Evia’s social media account.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A group of girls bullies another girl. They make a social media video showing them pinning down another girl and cruelly cutting her hair on one side of her head close to the scalp.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.