Category Archives: Middle Grade 8-12

Review: The Sherlock Society by James Ponti

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, , , ,
The Sherlock Society by James Ponti

The Sherlock Society
James Ponti
Aladdin
Published September 3, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

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.

Review: Not Nothing by Gayle Forman

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

Not Nothing
Gayle Forman
Aladdin
Published August 27, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Not Nothing

“The book we all need at the time we all need it.” —Katherine Applegate, Newbery Award–winning author of The One and Only Ivan In this middle grade novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Gayle Forman, a boy who has been assigned to spend his summer volunteering at a senior living facility learns unexpected lessons that change the trajectory of his life.

To say Alex has had it rough is an understatement. His father’s gone, his mother is struggling with mental health issues, and he’s now living with an aunt and uncle who are less than excited to have him. Almost everyone treats him as though he doesn’t matter at all, like he’s nothing. So when a kid at school actually tells him he’s nothing, Alex snaps, and gets violent. Fortunately, his social worker pulls some strings and gets him a job at a nursing home for the summer rather than being sent to juvie.

There, he meets Josey, the 107-year-old Holocaust survivor who stopped bothering to talk years ago, and Maya-Jade, the granddaughter of one of the residents with an overblown sense of importance. Unlike Alex, Maya-Jade believes that people care about what she thinks, and that she can make a difference. And when Alex and Josey form an unlikely bond, with Josey confiding in him, Alex starts to believe he can make a difference—a good difference—in the world. If he can truly feel he matters, Alex may be able to finally rise to the occasion of his own life.

My Review

In some ways, this book reminded me of Tree. Table. Book., which came out earlier this year. In that story, a girl befriends an elderly neighbor and learns of her experiences during the Holocaust.

Not Nothing also depicts a close bond between a child and a Holocaust survivor. This time, though, the 107-year-old man narrates the story as if he’s telling it to his lost love, Olka.

The narrative is poignant and gentle even as it tells of hard things: a boy losing his mom when he’s placed in foster care; a family losing their business during the Nazi occupation of Poland; a man separated from his love; and a girl dealing with a parent recovering from a serious illness.

We rarely see main characters, especially in middle grade fiction, who have made terrible choices and now must face the consequences of those choices. This is a brave story that’s also a little bit unsettling. It reminds us that people aren’t one thing. It reminds us that when we judge someone by the worst mistake they’ve made, we miss so many opportunities for good things.

I really appreciated the author’s note that explains why she wrote this book and what inspired the narrative choices she makes in the text. This book offers a lot to think about. I think it also includes a cameo of one of the main characters from Frankie & Bug, also by Gayle Forman.

While this is a heavy story in some places, it’s also hopeful and brave.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Josey is a Jewish Holocaust survivor and the story’s narrator. Several minor characters are queer. Maya-Jade has two moms and is adopted. She is also Jewish. Alex is in foster care. His mom has untreated mental health issues.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
References to slurs and antisemitism/homophobia.

Romance/Sexual Content
A man and woman kiss and become engaged. A couple marries in secret.

Spiritual Content
Alex celebrates Shabbat with Maya-Jade’s family. References to other Jewish holidays and celebrations.

Violent Content
References to World War II and a brief description of the invasion of Poland, destruction of Jewish property, and increasingly oppressive laws under Nazi rule. Brief descriptions of a concentration camp.

Josey references waiting to die several times in the book.

Brief references to Alex’s home life before he was placed in foster care. (He was underweight and not well-cared for.) Brief description of a violent attack against a boy.

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: Pablo and Splash: Time-Traveling Penguins by Sheena Dempsey

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

Pablo and Splash: Time-Traveling Penguins
Sheena Dempsey
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published September 3, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Pablo and Splash: Time-Traveling Penguins

Join time-traveling penguins Pablo and Splash on an unexpected adventure to the time of the dinosaurs in this hilarious full-color graphic novel, perfect for fans of Dog Man and InvestiGators.

Antarctic penguins Pablo and Splash are polar opposites and besties for life. Pablo is a home-bird and a careful planner. Splash is easily bored and hungry for adventure. Sick to her flippers of the harsh, freezing weather, Splash persuades Pablo to go on a beach vacation with her. When they accidentally find themselves in a scientist’s time machine, they end up on the beach….back in the age of dinosaurs! Can Pablo and Splash make their way home before they become dino snacks?

This full-color graphic novel is perfect for animal lovers, reluctant readers, and graphic novel fans!

My Review

This is a fun read. The story follows the duo Pablo (the practical, methodical penguin) and Splash (the creative dreamer) as they decide they need a vacation from the bitter cold of Antarctica. The character differences between the two penguins make for a lot of humorous moments and silliness that young readers will appreciate.

What could make a graphic novel about penguins even more fun? If you said dinosaurs, then this is the perfect book for you. Haha! What’s wild is that immediately when I saw this book, I thought of my nephew, who loves both penguins and dinosaurs and is going to think this is a hoot. So, weirdly, it’s not as niche a market as one might initially think.

Dino lovers will also appreciate that the dinosaur species are easily identifiable, and the story includes a bit of trivia about a few of the prehistoric animals that appear in the story. There are also a few facts about different prehistoric periods, with maps showing changes in land masses.

The book is about 220 pages, so it’s comparable to the length of the InvestiGators series books. Readers looking for a light, goofy graphic novel will get exactly that, with bonus science facts here and there.

This is definitely one I’ll keep around for the late elementary-aged readers in my life.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 7 to 10.

Representation
Main characters are a boy and girl penguin. There’s a female scientist who appears briefly.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. The penguins run from a scientist who appears to try to capture them. The capsule they hide in takes them on a journey with a destination of the sun, and they panic as the interior of the ship gets hotter and hotter before they’re able to change course.

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

Check out the weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday at Always in the Middle with Greg Pattridge.

Review: How to Make a Movie in Twelve Days by Fiona Hardy

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

How to Make a Movie in Twelve Days
Fiona Hardy
Kane Miller Publishing
Published September 1, 2019

Kane Miller Website | Bookshop | Goodreads

About How to Make a Movie in Twelve Days

‘How to Make a Movie in Twelve Days’ is the story of what happens when 11-year-old Hayley Whelan tries to bring her horror-movie vision to the big-screen over the summer holidays.

Friendships will be tested, the fake blood will flow, and the snacks budget will be well and truly blown in this wonderful, heart-warming reel of contemporary Aussie MG.

My Review

How to Make a Movie in Twelve Days is a companion novel to How to Write the Soundtrack to Your Life. I read the other book first, though this one takes place first. They’re only loosely connected, so I think you could read them in any order.

Truthfully, I think the other novel is more compelling. I found Murphy (the main character in How to Write the Soundtrack to Your Life) immediately resonated with me. I enjoyed Hayley as the main character of this book, but I guess I didn’t find her as moving. By the end of the book, I felt like I understood her and loved her, but it was a connection that developed more slowly for me.

One of the things I do love about this book is that it focuses on Hayley’s grief over the loss of her grandmother. The movie was a project that they talked about working on and planned out together, so finishing it is part of Hayley’s grief process.

Her grandmother sounds like quite a character, too. She had quirks and bad habits, but she supported Hayley’s interest in filmmaking and celebrated her ideas and successes. I like that Hayley’s memories of her include hard moments or moments when her grandmother was rude or abrasive. That made her character seem well-rounded, even though she never appeared on scene.

I also enjoyed the scenes that explained Hayley’s filmmaking process, from her film schedule to her finding locations and props to her editing process. There was enough detail to keep me oriented to what was happening, but not so much that it overwhelmed me or slowed down the story.

On the whole, I enjoyed the book and the fact that it followed a young filmmaker and a group of kids making a movie about a carnivorous, terrifying rosebush. It’s a fun story for middle-grade readers who enjoy making their own movies or summer adventures.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
A few characters are indigenous. One is Latine.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to characters dating one another. In one scene, a couple is spotted holding hands.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to bullying. A boy hurts his back and his ankle. A five-year-old is hospitalized with abdominal pain.

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: Skyriders by Polly Holyoke

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

Skyriders (Skyriders #1)
Polly Holyoke
Viking Books for Young Readers
Published March 7, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Skyriders

An Amazon Best Book of the Month!

Wings of Fire meets Skandar and the Unicorn Thief in this epic fantasy adventure set in a world where human and skysteed share a deep bond of friendship and love.

When monsters emerge to attack the empire, it’s up to Kiesandra and her beloved winged horse N’Rah to prove to herself and the imperial army that she has what it takes to lead them to victory . . . and survival.

Thirteen-year-old Kiesandra’s best friend isn’t human, but that doesn’t stop her from sharing jokes and secrets with her winged horse, N’Rah. She, like every other person with a skysteed, can communicate with N’Rah through her mind. Their bond is critical when one day, monsters from long ago reemerge to ravage a nearby village. No one knows how to fight the fearsome chimerae except Kie’s uncle . . . and now Kie.

Injured in the battle, Uncle Dug makes her promise to bring his attack plan and weapons to the capital. Kie reluctantly agrees. At the palace, she and N’Rah attempt to gain the trust of the royals and train the army in Dug’s lessons. But how can a young girl and her skysteed convince anyone that only they know how to defeat the deadly monsters?

Buzzing with action, heart, and friendship, this first book in the Skyriders series show that kids can achieve the impossible—especially with flying horses on their side.

My Review

This book made me feel like I was reading fantasy from an earlier decade (but in a really good way). Some of the language was a little nostalgic. For example, Kie refers to her skysteed (winged horse) as “Dear N’Rah” in some intense moments.

While Kie is a great fighter, her passion is for her work as a courier and running her family’s apple farm back home. So when she has to drop everything and journey to the capital in a desperate bid to get generals to change battle tactics for fighting the chimerae, which everyone believed to be extinct, she’s not very happy about it. Especially since she has to leave her injured uncle and his skysteed behind.

A lot of the critical characters in the book are skysteeds, which I enjoyed. They had slightly different ways of thinking about things or approaching things than the human characters. I liked that the bond between skyrider and skysteed had to be continually nurtured. It felt like a real relationship, and the issues between skysteeds and skyriders highlighted the importance of communication and relationship-building.

The only thing I wish was different about the book is the pacing of the ending. A lot happens in the last forty pages or so, and it’s a really important chain of events. It felt a little bit rushed, since so much happened in so few pages, and I wish things had unfolded a bit more slowly. I felt like rushing through made the events seem smaller or less crucial than they were.

That said, I’m still really looking forward to reading the second book, which I also have on my shelf, so look for that soon! This is definitely a series for fans of Wings of Fire or Skandar and the Unicorn Thief.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Characters are from a variety of (made up) races.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Brief references to gods and goddesses worshipped in the world. Long ago, a powerful mage helped forge the agreement between humans and skysteeds. Skyriders can communicate telepathically with their skysteeds. Humans called Scourge Masters control the chimerae, possibly through some dark magic. Chimerae are created to destroy humans.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Brief battle violence. Kie’s uncle and others close to her get severely injured, and she isn’t immediately sure whether they’ll recover.

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.