Category Archives: Middle Grade 8-12

Review: Together for Never by Marilyn Kaye

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,
Together for Never by Marilyn Kaye cover shows a girl looking in the mirror, holding up lipstick. The reflection shows another girl, standing behind her in a doorway, arms crossed.

Together for Never
Marilyn Kaye
Holiday House
Published March 14, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Together for Never

The Parent Trap meets Mean Girls when two polar opposites are squeezed into a tiny vacation house just because their parents are dating.

Charlotte is the queen bee of her 8th grade class—popular, confident, always wearing the trendiest clothes—and judging others for what they wear. Lily is a loner who dreams of becoming a writer—and she wants nothing to do with Charlotte and her snobby crowd.

Then Charlotte’s divorced father starts dating Lily’s single mother. Neither one of the girls even notices—until the day they learn that they are going on vacation together. Worse than that, they’ll have to share a small bedroom for two whole weeks. 

When The Parent Trap meets Mean Girls , can two girls ever make peace, or will they drag their vacations—and their parents’ romance—into disaster?  Every teen girl’s nightmare becomes an entertaining, surprising and heartfelt story in the hands of seasoned middle grade pro Marilyn Kaye.

My Review

This is a super quick read at about 150 pages. I liked that the girls were so different from one another– it created a lot of opportunities for misunderstandings and conflicts. The relationships between the girls and their parents were interesting, too. Charlotte’s relationship with her mom definitely broke my heart a bit. You could really feel Charlotte’s need to connect and that plus her mom’s behavior leading to Charlotte trying to act older than she was.

When Charlotte gets involved with the older kids at the beach, I couldn’t help feeling nervous for her. There were clear warning signs that this was going to go badly, but it made sense why she persisted in hanging out with them. I loved the way Lily was strong and independent, but that her independence and not caring what anyone thought about her left her vulnerable to some mistakes, too.

Ultimately, I thought this was a cool story about divorce and blended families as well as peer relationships. For a short book, the author really packed a lot in. Every scene, every page felt essential to the story.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are white. A minor character is gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One instance of mild profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between a boy and girl. He’s older and in high school, while she’s in eighth grade. Lily’s mother makes a comment about needing to look “beneath the suit” to discover that Charlotte’s dad is a good person. Lily feels embarrassed at the double entendre.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A girl is injured in an accident.

Drug Content
Charlotte’s mother pressures her to drink wine with her. Charlotte pretends to enjoy it, but doesn’t like the taste or the pressure.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of TOGETHER FOR NEVER in exchange for my honest review.

Review: Skandar and the Phantom Rider by A. F. Steadman

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , ,

Skandar and the Phantom Rider (Skandar #2)
A. F. Steadman
Simon & Schuster
Published May 3, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Skandar and the Phantom Rider

The Island shall have its revenge . . .

Skandar Smith has achieved his dream to train as a unicorn rider.

But as Skandar and his friends enter their second year at the Eyrie, a new threat arises. Immortal wild unicorns are somehow being killed, a prophecy warns of terrible danger, and elemental destruction begins to ravage the Island. 

Meanwhile, Skandar’s sister, Kenna, longs to join him – and Skandar is determined to help her, no matter what. As the storm gathers, can Skandar discover how to stop the Island tearing itself apart – before it’s too late for them all? 

My Review

I think I might have liked this book even better than the first one? I think the writing is stronger in this one, which makes sense. The characters and their friendships, which was one of my favorite parts of the first book, are still strong and still drew me into the story. I thought the conflicts between them and the ways they navigated them were true to their characters and made sense.

We get a lot more of the politics and structure of the island in this book, too, which was really cool. We got to see some of the clashes in leadership, and we learned more about the history behind some of the relationships– and some of the rifts in relationships– on the island, too. I absolutely loved that.

Skandar grows a lot in this book, too. I really liked the way he wrestled with how to use his abilities and how to respond to the prejudice he faced. He also learned who his allies are and how to find places he fit in even with the prejudice that was happening.

The story ends in a great place, too. It left me satisfied but also really excited for the next book in the series. I’m super interested to see where the story goes next.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Skandar’s friend Flo is Black.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
No profanity. A few mentions of passing gas.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Unicorns have magical abilities based on different elements like wind, fire, water, earth, and spirit. Spirit magic has been illegal, so Skandar and his unicorn are judged, excluded, and blamed for things because of their use of it.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Some battle scenes. One character is imprisoned against their will.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of SKANDAR AND THE PHANTOM RIDER in exchange for my honest review.

Review: A Work in Progress by Jarrett Lerner

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , ,

A Work in Progress
Jarrett Lerner
Aladdin
Published May 2, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About A Work in Progress

A young boy struggles with body image in this poignant middle grade journey to self-acceptance told through prose, verse, and illustration.

Will is the only round kid in a school full of string beans. So he hides…in baggy jeans and oversized hoodies, in the back row during class, and anywhere but the cafeteria during lunch. But shame isn’t the only feeling that dominates Will’s life. He’s also got a crush on a girl named Jules who knows he doesn’t have a chance with—string beans only date string beans—but he can’t help wondering what if?

Will’s best shot at attracting Jules’s attention is by slaying the Will Monster inside him by changing his eating habits and getting more exercise. But the results are either frustratingly slow or infuriatingly unsuccessful, and Will’s shame begins to morph into self-loathing.

As he resorts to increasingly drastic measures to transform his appearance, Will meets skateboarder Markus, who helps him see his body and all it contains as an ever-evolving work in progress.

My Review

I feel like this graphic novel was an unusual choice for me, but the topic and the fact that it’s told in verse really made me want to read it.

The story itself has some truly heartbreaking scenes. It shows the terrible power words can have when they’re weaponized against someone. It shows the power the words we use about ourselves have over us, too. My favorite thing, though, is its message about the power of friendship. I loved the message about how being truly seen by another person can be a huge step toward healing.

I also love the message about all of us being a work in progress, that we are changing all the time. That we have the power to change. It’s such a powerful, hopeful message. This is definitely a book worth reading, whether you’ve experienced the kind of bullying or loneliness Will has or not.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Characters are white. Will struggles with body image and disordered eating.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Will has a crush on a girl at school.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A boy calls Will fat in a cruel way, and he begins saying cruel things to himself. He stops eating at one point.

Drug Content
None.

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

Also, it’s Marvelous Middle Grade Monday! Check out the other MMGM posts at Always in the Middle.

Review: The Secret Life of Bees by Moira Butterfield

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Middle Grade 8-12, Nonfiction, , , , , ,

The Secret Life of Bees: Meet the Bees of the World with Buzzwing the Honeybee
Moira Butterfield
Illustrated by Vivian Mineker
Words Pictures
Published May 11, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Secret Life of Bees

Follow Buzzwing the honeybee on a beautifully illustrated journey through the world of bees filled with amazing science and intriguing folklore.

Welcome to my honey hive home.
It’s where I live with my family.
I’m small and fuzzy and striped black and gold.
I’m Buzzwing the hard-working honey bee!

Did you know that bees love to dance? Or that they have an amazing sense of smell to help them find the best flowers? In THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, Buzzwing shares with you all the details of her life as a bee, in and out of the hive, starting with the day she was born.

Learn the secrets of this worker bee’s tiny world, including:
The bee life cycle.
Bee anatomy.
How bees collect nectar and make honey.
What happens inside the hive.
The different types of bees.
Why bees are so important to humans.
How bees can thrive in the city.
Bee folk tales from around the world.

With things to search for and find throughout, tips for making your own environment welcoming to bees, and even a poetry-writing exercise, THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES is brimming with reasons to admire and respect the hardworking honeybee.

Sumptuous and detailed illustrations have pride of place in this magical guide to bees that mixes natural history with a splash of fantasy—a book to be pored over time and again.

My Review

I’ve actually had this book for a long time, but somehow I missed reviewing it on my blog before now. I thought of it when I did my post on great books on the environment for kids in April for Earth Day, and I was surprised that when I looked, I hadn’t posted a review.

So now here I am, reviewing. At last!

SECRET LIFE OF BEES is one of those slightly deceiving books– from the outside, it looks all cute and maybe a little bit silly. But inside, it’s packed with a ton of real information about how bees live. There are descriptions of different types of bees and where they make their hives. There is a really great breakdown of how a honeybee hive operates.

Another great thing that’s included are short folktales or stories about bees. So the book really covers a lot of bases in terms of teaching kids about bees as an animal, some folk tales about them, and the last section of the book discusses conservation and what we can do to help protect bee populations.

SECRET LIFE OF BEES is a book that we’ve picked up off our shelf to read many times. The pictures are really engaging, and it’s truly packed with great information. I think any young readers interested in gardening or nature or conservation will love it.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
All about bees.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
None.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Flip Turns by Catherine Arguelles

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

Flip Turns
Catherine Arguelles
Jolly Fish Press
Published September 13, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Flip Turns

Thirteen-year-old Maddie just wants her classmate, Lucas, to leave her alone. He keeps asking her out—as if she hasn’t already said no a thousand times! Focusing on her competitive swim team, the Electric Eels, Maddie tries to ignore him, hoping he’ll go away.

But then, when someone starts sabotaging Maddie’s family-owned pool—glass on the deck, ketchup in the pool, followed by a “code brown”—Maddie worries it’s her “admirer” trying to get even. After Maddie’s parents rule the problems at the pool just harmless pranks, Maddie and her best friend Ez decide to investigate on their own. Could it be Lucas? And how can Maddie get him to leave her alone once and for all? The future of the Electric Eels and Maddie’s family legacy are on the line.

My Review

I’ve been hearing about this book a lot on Twitter, so I was really excited to check it out. Plus the characters being on a swim team and the main character dealing with unwanted romantic attention both caught my eye– I wanted to see how those played out in a middle grade book.

I’ve never been part of a swim team or anything like that, but I loved the opportunity to read about a team. The story hit just the right balance between describing meets, races, and different strokes and making everything very accessible to readers who aren’t familiar with the sport.

I found Maddie’s character so relatable, especially as she deals with Lucas, the boy who won’t stop asking her to go out with him. She tries to be chill and calm, but inside, she’s really uncomfortable. She worries that whatever she does will just escalate his behavior. When the pranks start happening at the pool, she worries that’s exactly what is happening.

Maddie’s best friend Ez is also great. She’s a high-achieving, outspoken girl who helps Maddie face her fears and energizes her to do things that Maddie feels anxious about. She’s not pushy or over-the-top. I felt like those two were a great pair.

I also liked the way the story juxtaposes Lucas, who does not respect Maddie’s space or boundaries, with Nico, who does. While Nico isn’t perfect, he offers Maddie space when she needs it and takes responsibility when he’s wrong. I thought putting those two very different experiences with boys side by side helped create a bigger picture of relationships and how to navigate them in a healthy way.

Conclusion

All in all, I really liked FLIP TURNS. It has a little bit of intensity, but not too much for the target audience. It gently but clearly introduces ideas about boundaries and respect in relationships, which is a great message for middle school readers. And it’s all wrapped up in a fun, mysterious story.

I think fans of CHIRP by Kate Messner or THE QUEEN BEE AND ME by Gillian McDunn will really enjoy this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Maddie has anxiety. Nico is half-Latino. Maddie’s older sister is dating a girl. Two of the girls on her swim team are dating. Maddie’s best friend has alopecia.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Someone puts poop in the pool.

Romance/Sexual Content
A boy is making unwanted advances at Maddie. She’s told him no multiple times, but he continues pursuing her romantically. Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Maddie’s parents’ pool business receives a series of pranks, some obnoxious, others dangerous. Maddie finds glass next to the pool. A girl collapses after inhaling chlorine fumes.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Betrayal by the Book by Michael D. Beil

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

Betrayal by the Book (The Swallowtail Legacy #2)
Michael D. Beil
Pixel+Ink
Published April 18, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Betrayal by the Book

A writer’s conference brings twelve-year-old Lark’s favorite writer–and a suspicious death–to Swallowtail Island, in the second book in this middle grade mystery series by an Edgar Award-nominated author.

Swallowtail Island is hosting the Swallowtales Writer’s Conference. Lark’s ecstatic to be chosen as a “page” for her favorite author, Ann E. Keyhart.

But they say you should never meet your idols. When Keyhart arrives with her personal assistant in tow, she is nothing but a terror. And within a few hours, the assistant is dead! But the explanation isn’t sitting well. Not when lots of people had reasons to want to be rid of Keyhart, and especially not after it’s revealed the assistant recently completed a hot new novel and the file’s vanished from her computer.

Then Lark finds out the assistant had a bird–the match to the one she found hidden in her mom’s book–and she needs answers. It looks like Swallowtail Island still has secrets to reveal, and Lark’s going to uncover them.

A gripping new chapter in the Swallowtail Legacy series, Mike D. Beil spins another clever clue hunt that seamlessly slips in alongside the best classics of middle grade mystery.

My Review

I read the first book in this series, WRECK AT ATA’S REEF last year, and really enjoyed it. So, I was excited to see that this second book was coming out this year. Like the first, it’s set on a small island, and features some of Lark’s many family members.

I really liked that the story takes place during a writer’s conference at which Lark is a volunteer helper to her favorite author. Though the conference itself stays more in the background, it still managed to hit a lot of key moments from a conference: panels, hurt feelings over harsh feedback, encouraging words from a beloved author, and disorganized statements from someone clearly underprepared.

I had very strong suspicions about who was responsible for the assistant’s death even before I read the first page of the story, and I was right. So, that made it a little difficult for me to enjoy Lark’s journey unraveling the clues.

I also expected the bird figurine to tie into the mystery somehow? It remained pretty separate, though. Because that thread began in the first book, I kind of wonder if it’s something that will be the center of a mystery in the next book in the series? I haven’t heard anything, so I don’t know.

All in all, I think I’d have enjoyed this one a bit more if I hadn’t figured out the mystery so quickly. I still enjoyed the island community and Lark’s role as a conference volunteer. I’m not sorry I read the book. The series still makes me think of the Northwoods Mysteries by Margi Preus.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Lark wonders whether she’s attracted to a boy on the island.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Lark responds to a scream and sees the dead body of a woman who has apparently died of an allergic reaction. (No blood, just open blank eyes, clearly not breathing, cold to the touch.)

Drug Content
Ann Keyheart gets drunk in several scenes and slurs her words or behaves rudely.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of BETRAYAL BY THE BOOK in exchange for my honest review.

Middle Grade Mondays!

Greg at Always in the Middle does a Monday roundup of posts about middle grade books and news. Check out today’s Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays!