Category Archives: Middle Grade 8-12

Review: Boy vs. Shark by Paul Gilligan

Book Review and Content, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Historical, Memoir, Middle Grade 8-12, Nonfiction, , , , ,
Boy vs. Shark by Paul Gilligan

Boy vs. Shark
Paul Gilligan
Tundra Books
Published October 15, 2024

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About Boy vs. Shark

A hilarious middle-grade graphic memoir about boyhood, toxic masculinity and a shark named Jaws. For fans of Guts and New Kid.

In the summer of 1975, 10-year-old Paul Gilligan doesn’t have a whole lot to worry about other than keeping his comic books untarnished, getting tennis balls off roofs and keeping up with the increasingly bold stunts of his best friend, David.

And then Jaws comes to town.

Suddenly everyone is obsessing over this movie about a shark ripping people to pieces. And if you haven’t seen it, not only are you missing out, you’re also kind of a wimp.

Needless to say, Jaws leaves young Paul a cowering mess, and underlines the growing gap between him and David as well as the distance between where he stands and the world’s expectations of a boy’s “manliness.”

And when Jaws himself becomes a kind of macho Jiminy Cricket for Paul, what is a scared and overwhelmed boy to do?

My Review

I really like the way that the author handled references to the movie Jaws in the text. Some of the characters verbally reference different scenes. After Paul watches the movie, he relates what happens in some of the scenes with balloon animals as characters. The absurdity of the images helps keep the content from being scary and overwhelming. I thought that was a really nice touch.

I also appreciated the complexity of the relationships in the novel, especially Paul’s relationship with his dad. Paul’s dad embraces some toxic ideas about who Paul should be as a young man, which causes Paul a lot of stress. At the same time, though, his dad imparts a strong ethic of personal responsibility, which helps guide Paul through a difficult situation.

It’s always great to see three-dimensional parent characters in Kidlit, and in this instance, the fact that the ideals Paul’s dad holds up as masculine are not all good or all bad makes it easier to understand Paul’s feelings of confusion and hurt when he doesn’t perfectly fit his father’s ideals.

I really enjoyed this graphic memoir. The use of the movie worked really well to illustrate the theme, and Gilligan creates a compelling balance of humor and heart in his exploration of masculine values and growing up.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 12.

Representation
Paul’s best friends are an Asian American boy and a Black boy.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
References to plot points from the movie Jaws. Some bullying in which an older boy makes comments about a younger kid. A boy manipulates others into stealing something from a store.

Drug Content
In one scene, a boy has a bottle of wine under his shirt, which he drops.

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 Wild Robot by Peter Brown

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The Wild Robot (The Wild Robot #1)
Peter Brown
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Published April 5, 2016

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About The Wild Robot

When robot Roz opens her eyes for the first time, she discovers that she is all alone on a remote, wild island. She has no idea how she got there or what her purpose is—but she knows she needs to survive. After battling a violent storm and escaping a vicious bear attack, she realizes that her only hope for survival is to adapt to her surroundings and learn from the island’s unwelcoming animal inhabitants.

As Roz slowly befriends the animals, the island starts to feel like home—until, one day, the robot’s mysterious past comes back to haunt her.

From bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Peter Brown comes a heartwarming and action-packed novel about what happens when nature and technology collide.

My Review

Okay, so I’m probably one of the last people to read this book, especially now that it’s been made into a movie. The good news is that making something into a movie usually helps to motivate me to read the book if I haven’t already. I like to read the book first so that my first experience with the story is in the author’s words.

I picked up a copy of The Wild Robot while shopping for my birthday last year. Near Christmas, I found myself in a pretty fierce reading slump, and an illustrated book with short chapters seemed very appealing to me at that moment, so I started reading.

And from the first few chapters, I was hooked on the story. Really, once we got to the animals and their reactions to Roz, I began to deeply invest in what was happening. I love the way that the simple illustrations convey emotion. My heart squeezed at the image of the robot standing at the top of a tree. The robot holding a gosling while he fell asleep was so sweet.

I love the way the book balances an open look at natural order with a more anthropomorphic one about the value of community, familial love, and relationships. The animal characters include predators and prey, and while nobody gets eaten on scene, it’s referenced around the story’s edges. Roz adopts a gosling and raises him until he can join the other geese. She explores what it means to be a mother and what it means to raise someone well.

I enjoyed the different characters and the way they pull together when faced with an unknown threat or pull together to help one of their own community members. This is a sweet story and a pretty quick read. If you haven’t read it yet, definitely check out The Wild Robot.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
The main character is Roz, a robot. Most other characters are animals.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A hurricane sinks a ship carrying boxes of robots. Some robots get destroyed before they reach the island. Roz accidentally kills a family of geese. The story references predator animals eating other animals. At one point, robots fight the island’s inhabitants. One uses a gun to subdue others.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. All opinions are my own.

Review: Show Me a Sign by Ann Clare LeZotte

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Show Me a Sign
Ann Clare LeZotte
Scholastic Press
Published March 3, 2020

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About Show Me a Sign

Deaf author and librarian Ann Clare LeZotte weaves an Own Voices story inspired by the true history of a thriving deaf community on Martha’s Vineyard in the early 19th century.
Mary Lambert has always felt safe and protected on her beloved island of Martha’s Vineyard. Her great-grandfather was an early English settler and the first deaf islander. Now, over a hundred years later, many people there – including Mary – are deaf, and nearly everyone can communicate in sign language. Mary has never felt isolated. She is proud of her lineage.

But recent events have delivered winds of change. Mary’s brother died, leaving her family shattered. Tensions over land disputes are mounting between English settlers and the Wampanoag people. And a cunning young scientist has arrived, hoping to discover the origin of the island’s prevalent deafness. His maniacal drive to find answers soon renders Mary a “live specimen” in a cruel experiment. Her struggle to save herself is at the core of this novel.

My Review

I’ve read the other two books in this series, and both reference back to the trauma Mary endures in this book. All three stories are powerfully told. Mary is a compelling character. She’s strong and determined, confident in what she knows is right.

Each book in the series explores different aspects of how the Deaf were treated during the early 19th century while centering Deaf voices and experiences. Now that I’ve read all three books, I feel like I have a better understanding of why the second and third books went in certain directions, and I can’t help but appreciate them even more than I did when I first read them.

The setting and time period felt so real to me, from the descriptions of Mary’s home and daily life to the values and beliefs her family held. I love Mary’s relationship with Ezra Brewer and her best friend, Nancy. Both of those relationships taught her things and offered support in sometimes unexpected ways.

I think readers who enjoy historical novels, especially those set in the northeast United States, will love this first book in the series by Ann Clare LeZotte.

Content Notes for Show Me a Sign

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Mary and many of her community members are Deaf.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
References to racist language, but Mary doesn’t state the words. Some characters make their prejudice against indigenous or black people clear.

Romance/Sexual Content
Mary is embarrassed/uncomfortable when a doctor examines her spine from her neck to her bottom and her throat to her breast.

Spiritual Content
Mary and her family attend church and pray. She and her best friend make up a ritual they hope will help lay to rest the spirit of Mary’s brother, who died before the story begins. Mary speaks to a person who works for her father and lives with and is part of the Wampanoag tribe. They compare spiritual beliefs and beliefs about the land and whether the land can be divided into parcels and owned.

Violent Content
References to Mary’s brother’s death. He was trampled by a horse and carriage in an accident. References to a man beating a child to punish her for her behavior.

Someone kidnaps a girl, imprisoning her against her will. Some scenes show or reference physical abuse and neglect. (A woman hits a girl’s ears. The girl has bruises in other places. She doesn’t receive enough to eat and is forced to labor all day and locked in a room at night.) A man performs medical exams (not sexual) on a girl without her consent.

Drug Content
References to alcoholism and adults drinking alcohol.

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: Coyote Queen by Jessica Vitalis

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Coyote Queen
Jessica Vitalis
GreenWillow Books
Published October 10, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Coyote Queen

When a twelve-year-old decides that she must get herself and her mother out of a bad situation, an eerie connection to a coyote pack helps her see who she’s meant to be—and who she can truly save. The Benefits of Being an Octopus meets The Nest in this contemporary middle grade novel about family class, and resilience, with a magical twist.

Twelve-year-old Fud feels trapped. She lives a precarious life in a cramped trailer with her mom and her mom’s alcoholic ex-boxer boyfriend, Larry. Fud can see it’s only a matter of time until Larry explodes again, even if her mom keeps on making excuses for his behavior. If only Fud could find a way to be as free as the coyotes roaming the Wyoming countryside: strong, smart, independent, and always willing to protect their own.

When Larry comes home with a rusted-out houseboat, Fud is horrified to hear that he wants to fix it up for them to live on permanently. All she sees is a floating prison. Then new-neighbor Leigh tells Fud about Miss Black Gold, a beauty pageant sponsored by the local coal mine. While Fud doesn’t care much about gowns or talents or prancing around on stage, she cares very much about getting herself and her mom away from Larry before the boat is finished. And to do that, she needs money, in particular that Miss Black Gold prize money.

One problem: the more Fud has fantasized about escape, the more her connection to the coyotes lurking outside her window has grown. And strange things have started happening—is Fud really going color-blind? Are her eyebrows really getting bushier? And why does it suddenly seem like she can smell everything?

Jessica Vitalis crafts a moving and voice-driven novel about family and resilience, with a fantastical twist. Coyote Queen is perfect for readers of The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise and The Elephant in the Room.

My Review

I just recently read Unsinkable Cayenne by Jessica Vitalis, but Coyote Queen has been on my list for a long time. I’m really glad I finally got to read it.

One of the things this book does so well is that it puts the reader right in the middle of a complex family situation. Fud (short for Felicity Ulyssa Dahlers) recognizes the danger in the situation she lives in, but she feels powerless to get her and her mom away from her mom’s boyfriend and his explosive temper.

Through the story, Fud faces situations in which she asks herself whether what’s happening is abuse. It doesn’t feel so clear when she feels she’s in danger, but no one has harmed her yet. Where is the tipping point? Those are awful questions for a child to face alone, and yet to many do.

This sensitive story explores those feelings of isolation and the pressure of trying not to add burdens to the adults in the family. It’s so easy to understand why Fud does what she does.

The magical realism element is an unusual choice for a contemporary novel, but I really think it works here. Fud’s transformation creates a powerful visual showing that her body knows when she’s feeling threatened. If she learns to listen to those cues and respond by setting boundaries or getting to a safer place, her body responds by calming down, too. I love that metaphor and the message of trusting our bodies to know when we’re in danger. It’s something we probably don’t talk about enough with our kids.

Readers who enjoy novels about relationships or the transition to middle school will enjoy Coyote Queen.

Content Notes for Coyote Queen

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Fud is in a family with low income and lives with someone who displays violent outbursts.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
References to Fud’s mom and boyfriend kissing.

Spiritual Content
Fud begins noticing changes in her body, like color blindness, bushier eyebrows, and a desire to bite people she perceives as a threat.

Violent Content
A man displays violent outbursts. A group of girls bullies another girl, calling her unkind nicknames and ostracizing her. A girl attacks another girl, knocking her to the ground and hitting her. Someone pushes a girl down the stairs.

Drug Content
Scenes show an adult drinking alcohol.

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: A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus

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

A Place to Hang the Moon
Kate Albus
Margaret Ferguson Books
Published February 2, 2021

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About A Place to Hang the Moon

Set against the backdrop of World War II, Anna, Edmund, and William are evacuated from London to live in the countryside, bouncing from home to home in search of a permanent family.

It is 1940 and Anna, 9, Edmund, 11, and William, 12, have just lost their grandmother. Unfortunately, she left no provision for their guardianship in her will. Her solicitor comes up with a preposterous plan: he will arrange for the children to join a group of schoolchildren who are being evacuated to a village in the country, where they will live with families for the duration of the war. He also hopes that whoever takes the children on might end up willing to adopt them and become their new family–providing, of course, that the children can agree on the choice.

Moving from one family to another, the children suffer the cruel trickery of foster brothers, the cold realities of outdoor toilets, and the hollowness of empty tummies. They seek comfort in the village lending library, whose kind librarian, Nora Muller, seems an excellent candidate–except that she has a German husband whose whereabouts are currently unknown. Nevertheless, Nora’s cottage is a place of bedtime stories and fireplaces, of vegetable gardens and hot, milky tea. Most important, it’s a place where someone thinks they all three hung the moon. Which is really all you need in a mom, if you think about it.

Fans of The War That Saved My Life and other World War II fiction will find an instant classic in A Place to Hang the Moon.

My Review

I have so many things to say about this book I’m having a hard time figuring out where to start. I love the way it’s written from the perspective of all three children. In the beginning, I wasn’t sure that would work, but it actually truly does. It makes them feel like a unit and yet the narrative zooms in on one child’s thoughts or feelings at critical moments in the story.

The book feels firmly anchored in WWII England, and not in a romanticized way. William, Edmund, and Anna face hunger, see families affected by missing family members serving in the military, worry about German invasion and air strikes.

Yet the story also celebrates a love of literature and mentions several beloved children’s stories. In particular, Anna finds comfort in The Little Princess, which holds some parallels to the children’s lives and experience. It also celebrates found family and the power of sibling bonds in a beautiful way.

A Place to Hang the Moon is the first book by Kate Albus that I’ve read, but it absolutely won’t be the last. Fans of historical fiction or sibling stories will not want to miss this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Main characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Two boys bully the main characters, using a slur to describe them. Some characters use a slur meaning German people.

Romance/Sexual Content
A girl has an obvious crush on William. Her attention makes him uncomfortable.

Spiritual Content
The children participate in a Nativity play at Christmas at the local church. They celebrate Christmas together.

Violent Content
The opening scene is a funeral wake for the children’s grandmother and former guardian. References to war. The children are aware of other places being bombed and invaded by the German army. In some scenes, children worry that bombs will fall on the place they’ve been evacuated to. Brief reference to an internment camp in which Germans living in England have been imprisoned. Another character dies (offscene).

At one point, the boys go to a farm to participate in a rat extermination event in which a group of boys use sticks, clubs, and other weapons to strike and kill rats. They earn money for each kill. William and Edmund feel pretty disturbed about the whole thing.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Vanquishers: Rise of the Wrecking Crew by Kalynn Bayron

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

The Vanquishers: Rise of the Wrecking Crew (Vanquishers #3)
Kalynn Bayron
Bloomsbury USA
Published October 8, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Vanquishers: Rise of the Wrecking Crew

In the heart-stopping conclusion to the Vanquishers series by New York Times bestselling author Kalynn Bayron, it is time for the final stand against the undead.

San Antonio is on lockdown, taken over by the new hive. No one can deny that the undead are back now, but the Vanquishers found out the hard way: when they learned that an old friend is behind the latest string of attacks.

As the Squad hide out at an abandoned combat training facility, honing their vampire-butt-kicking skills, they begin to suspect that they’re not alone. And when a vial of Dracula’s blood–able to give unrivaled power to the vampire that consumes it–is stolen from the bunker, the Vanquishers race to recover it before it falls into the wrong hands.

The Vanquishers have always been Boog’s family, the ones she trusts the most. But what does it mean when a former Vanquisher, one of her heroes, is now hunting the enemy?

My Review

I got ridiculously behind on my reading this past fall. This book is the third and final installment of a series that’s been a lot of fun to read by an author who has such incredible range. We’ve seen Kalynn Bayron write compelling middle grade fantasy, a powerful historical fiction reimagining of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, and a young adult thriller that was a wild ride, and, of course, the unforgettable young adult fantasy she’s widely known for. And she rocks all of it! Amazing.

The Vanquishers series is a lot of fun. It’s got a supernatural vibe with a cast of great characters in a tight-knit community. I love the community element, and it’s really well-balanced. The adults don’t outshine the kids by being present, but they are present. There are lots of different kinds of families and generations represented. The adults have their own backstory and their own drama happening, but the kids take centerstage and deliver the big moments of the story.

This one is also a great length at just over 200 pages. The back cover copy indicates it’s the finale of the series, but the story contains an epilogue that hints at a new story. Maybe there’s a spin-off coming?? Honestly, I hope that even if this series is really and truly over, we get more paranormal middle grade books from Kalynn Bayron.

The Vanquishers: Rise of the Wrecking Crew is set in the real world (plus vampires), but I could still see it appealing to readers who enjoyed Witchlings by Claribel Ortega.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Boog and several other characters are Black. One character is nonbinary. One has two dads.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Vampires exist in this story world. Some characters are part of an elite group trained to kill vampires with silver, etc.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Several vampires are vanquished in the course of the story. They turn to dust afterward.

Drug Content
A vial of Dracula’s blood can bestow powerful abilities to a vampire who consumes it.

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.