Category Archives: Middle Grade 8-12

Review: Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage

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Three Times LuckyThree Times Lucky
Sheila Turnage
Dial Books
Published May 10, 2012

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Mo LoBeau, rising sixth grader in the tiny town of Tupelo Landing, turns detective when a local man turns up murdered. Mo and her best friend Dale figure they can locate the killer before that nosy outsider detective has time to finish his lunch at the café. After all, Mo already has experience searching for things, most particularly her “Upstream Mother” who set Mo on a raft and sent her down the river to the Colonel and Miss Lana as a baby. Mo and Dale follow clue after clue in the murder investigation, even as a hurricane barrels … Continue reading →

Review: The Star Thief by Lindsey Becker

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The Star Thief by Lindsey BeckerThe Star Thief
Lindsey Becker
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Available April 11, 2017

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About The Star Thief
Honorine’s life as as maid at the Vidalia mansion is rather dull, dusting treasures from faraway places and daydreaming in front of maps of the world. But everything changes when she catches two brutish sailors ransacking Lord Vidalia’s study, and then follows a mysterious girl with wings out into the night….

Suddenly, Honorine is whisked into the middle of a battle between the crew of a spectacular steamship and a band of mythical constellations. The stars in the sky have come to life to defend themselves against … Continue reading →

Review: Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan

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Amina's Voice by Hena KhanAmina’s Voice
Hena Khan
Salaam Reads/Simon & Schuster
Published March 14, 2017

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Now that Amina is in middle school, it seems everything is changing. Her best friend Soojin wants to hang out with Emily. Amina remembers Emily making fun of her and Soojin in elementary school. Soojin wants to celebrate becoming an American citizen by changing her name, and she wants Amina to help her pick something “American.” Amina struggles to find her own place in the shifting world. Soojin encourages her to sing a solo for a chorus concert, but Amina worries she’ll freeze up and be unable to speak. Then she learns she’ll have to speak … Continue reading →

Review: Giant Smugglers by Matt Solomon and Chris Pauls

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Giant Smugglers
Matt Solomon and Chris Pauls
Feiwel & Friends
Published May 17, 2016

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Thirteen-year-old Charlie stands up to a bully and soon finds himself on the run. When he ducks into an abandoned warehouse, he discovers someone else already hiding there: a giant! Charlie soon learns that the giant is on his way to meet his family, but an evil doctor and his team of scientists are close to finding him. If they find the giant, they’ll harvest growth hormones and use them to make a fortune on athletes and soldiers. Charlie vows to help his new friend escape and to keep him from becoming anyone’s science experiment.

The story moves quickly, … Continue reading →

Top Ten Tuesday: Top YA Books Coming in Spring 2017

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Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Today’s theme: books coming out in spring 2017 I can’t wait to read. Here’s my list…

Best Books in Spring 2017

Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett

Alex, Approximately by Jenn Bennett – April 4, 2017

A teen spin on You’ve Got Mail? Sign me up! Film geeks who’ve been happily chatting it up online end up in the same town– only she can’t stand him. She doesn’t know it’s him she’s been pouring her heart out to via the web, but eventually, she starts to feel, well, something. Is it worth trading in her perfect online romance for an … Continue reading →

Review: See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng

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See You in the Cosmos
Jack Cheng
Dial Books
Published February 28, 2017

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From Goodreads

11-year-old Alex Petroski loves space and rockets, his mom, his brother, and his dog Carl Sagan—named for his hero, the real-life astronomer. All he wants is to launch his golden iPod into space the way Carl Sagan (the man, not the dog) launched his Golden Record on the Voyager spacecraft in 1977. From Colorado to New Mexico, Las Vegas to L.A., Alex records a journey on his iPod to show other lifeforms what life on earth, his earth, is like. But his destination keeps changing. And the funny, lost, remarkable people he meets along the way can … Continue reading →