There’s no shortage of books for young readers about grief, but it’s safe to say that Michelle Cuevas’ new novel isn’t quite like any of them. Set in the mid-1970s, The Care and Feeding of a Pet Black Hole is poignant, funny, inventive and downright wacky, and at its center (literally!) is an unforgettable metaphor for the grieving process.

Stella Rodriguez’s world hasn’t been the same since her joke-telling, science-loving dad passed away. As the story opens, she is swinging by NASA headquarters, hoping to ask them to include a recording of her dad’s laugh—alongside other iconic Earth sounds—on the Voyager interstellar spacecraft.

On her return home, Stella discovers that she’s picked up a stray—and very hungry—black hole. She soon realizes that the black hole, which she names Larry (short for cosmic singularity), is also starving for companionship. Stella wonders whether Larry might be her best hope to get rid of now-painful memories and reminders—but when that plan begins to backfire, Stella realizes that perhaps the only way to escape the black hole is to travel through it.

In addition to being a powerful story about how to live with—and through—grief, Stella’s tale is a wild adventure, featuring talking garden gnomes, mutant sweaters, a not-too-annoying little brother and the world’s smelliest hamster. Just like Larry, this book will absorb pretty much any young reader—whether they are coping with a loss, love scientific speculation or just enjoy an imaginative tale.

This article was originally published in the September 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Curses, golden alligators and a blood-red moon form the backdrop for Tumble Wilson (a girl) and Blue Montgomery (a boy), who are searching for their places in life. The second middle grade novel from Cassie Beasley (Circus Mirandus), set at the edge of the Okefenokee swamp in Georgia, imbues the everyday with mystical and magical elements to captivate readers.

Blue’s family has been cursed for over 200 years. However, their curse is unique, because each member of the family receives a different curse, which can cause conflict. Blue’s father’s curse is to always win, and Blue’s is to always lose. But the curses can be altered: When the rare blood-red moon rises, one person in the family can change his or her curse.

After being dumped by his father at his grandmother’s house for the summer, Blue—feeling resentful, sad and abandoned—expects the worst. But the special moon will soon appear, and his granny’s house becomes overrun with kooky relatives, all hoping to meet the golden alligator named Munch and to change their future.

Meanwhile, Tumble has just moved in down the dirt lane, and she’s determined to be a superhero. Misfits Tumble and Blue form a fast bond, and eventually they realize Tumble also has a curse—one that will stretch the bonds of family and friendship.

Throughout this magical book, the setting of rural Georgia wends its enigmatic presence to cast a lasting spell.

This article was originally published in the September 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

BookPage Children's Top Pick, September 2017

“Down, tears. Down! Hold it together. You are Patina Jones. Daughter of Beverly Jones. No junk. No punk.” Twelve-year-old Patina (Patty) has a lot she could cry about, a lot to hold together. Her father died in his sleep a while back, and her mother lost both legs to “the sugar,” so her Uncle Tony and his white wife (called Momly) are raising Patty, who takes care of her little sister, Maddy. And now, Patty must navigate the halls of a new school. In Patina, she shares her smart, bold, razor-sharp black-girl takes on the rich, white-girl world of Chester Academy, where you only stand a chance as long as your face is always selfie-ready.

Patty feels she has no chance at Chester Academy, though she learns that her view of the world is not always right, and her story becomes less about fitting in than about learning to see people in a more generous light.

But what Patty is completely clear about is, in a life of loss, she has track. To her, running is “a way to shut people up. A way to . . . I guess, sometimes even shut myself up. Just turn it all off. Leave everything, all the hurting stuff, the unregular stuff that seemed so regular to me, in the dust.” She becomes the anchor on her relay team, signifying how she, with the help of Coach, is beginning to think beyond herself and be part of a team. “They needed me. Not just my legs. But my support. My energy. We needed each other.”

As in Ghost, Patina’s story ends before the finish line of the big race. But each novel in this projected four-book series passes the baton to the next, so eager readers will just have to await the third installment.

This article was originally published in the September 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Norman Fishbein, “Wormy” to his annoying older brothers, is on a family outing at the mall. Women in elf outfits stand near a huge glass jar of Doozy Dots, encouraging shoppers to guess the number of candies inside. Marcus, the oldest brother, makes his guess. Next, Larry guesses one Doozie Dot higher. Norman guesses a number that wanders into his head: 4,243.

A month later, a letter addressed to Norman arrives. After a skirmish with his siblings, he holds the envelope in his hand. He’s won, and inside is a check for $1,000! His parents need a new roof and a new car, but they allow Norman to decide how to spend his money.

After pondering model airplanes, a new bike or a drum set, Norman decides the family needs a holiday at a fancy hotel on Miami Beach. For once, even his cantankerous brothers are overjoyed.

A blizzard nearly cancels their flight, but with help from Uncle Shlomo’s truck, the family makes it to the airport and the beach. When the boys meet three sisters at the hotel, the youngest secretly befriends Norman, and the plotting begins. The two team up to keep their siblings from making their lives miserable. They befriend an aging comedian, Mort Ziff, and manage to save his job. Best of all, Norman and Amy become friends.

Award-winning author Cary Fagan has his pulse on the familiar concerns of younger siblings. With accessible language, humor and fresh characters, Fagan creates an impeccable and unsentimental portrayal of family life in the 1960s.

Billie B. Little is the Founding Director of Discovery Center at Murfree Spring, a hands-on museum in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Meika Hashimoto spins a nonstop extreme adventure in her coming-of-age novel.

Twelve-year-old Toby is hiking the Appalachian Trail, and he’s determined to complete his journey from Velvet Rocks to Katahdin alone—a promise he made to his best friend, Lucas, who is not so adventurous as Toby. But along his trek from New Hampshire to Maine, Toby finds himself among others instead of keeping to his solo mission, especially when a mangy old dog, Moose, shows up after Toby is rescued during a violent storm. Toby has no idea that his rescuers—two older teen hikers named Denver and Sean—will play critical roles in his life, and the last thing he expects on the trail is for Moose’s owner to show up.

Hashimoto punctuates her gripping novel with a flurry of facts and the sights and sounds of one of the most challenging aspects of the world’s longest hiking-only footpath. With this first-person narrative, Hashimoto will capture the attentions of middle grade readers, as Toby is not only riddled with internal struggles but also pushes himself to a near-impossible quest. Hashimoto surrounds her cast with wild animals as well as the mercurial yet hazardous weather conditions that are characteristic of the northern sector of the Appalachian Trail. While readers don’t have to be familiar with this aspect of the trail, it certainly helps and will only prove to enhance Toby’s many great outdoor encounters.

The Trail is perfect for extreme adventure enthusiasts.

“My mother is ruining my life,” notes fifth-grader Allie West.

Many kids come to that same conclusion, but Allie really can’t escape her mom, who is the principal of her elementary school. Allie is stuck at school all day, long after everyone else has headed home, which is why she’s such good friends with the kindly custodian.

Allie has several things on her mind, especially the fact that her best friend, Chloe, hasn’t spoken to her for months, ever since Allie mistakenly got her in big trouble—with the principal. Allie desperately wants to make things right and also hopes to be chosen for the school math team, of which Chloe just happens to be captain.

Confessions from the Principal’s Kid has plenty of heart and soul, especially since author Robin Mellom actually was a principal’s kid and weaves some of her own memories into the story. “This novel is not a memoir nor an autobiography,” she writes, “but it was inspired by my experiences as an After.” Afters are the handful of faculty kids forced to hang out after school while their parents finish up their duties. Not only do the Afters know every nook and cranny of the school, their bonds go deeper than Allie realizes, especially Allie’s friendship with a bullied boy named Graham.

Like Allie, this tale is full of fun, pluck and longing as she learns to navigate difficult social situations while discovering the true and sometimes tricky meanings of friendship and loyalty.

This article was originally published in the August 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

With her debut novel, Patricia Forde crafts a richly imagined future society, the development of which feels all too plausible in today’s climate.

As Wordsmiths, young Letta and her master, Benjamin, are charged with the task of maintaining the List, a collection of 500 words that make up the only language available to the residents of Ark. John Noa formed Ark after the great Melting, when the world was flooded and the land destroyed. This new society was meant to be a safe haven, and Noa their savior, creator of a world free from the ignorance of those who would deny the realities of the harm that humans have caused the planet. But when Letta meets a boy named Marlo and is drawn into his world of beauty and art, she begins to doubt whether Noa’s intentions are as pure as she once thought or, worst of all, if he’s actually been lying to them all along.

This is a story with a message and a purpose, one full of relevance and originality. With this novel, Forde reminds us that words do hold power, both to heal and to destroy, and that because of this we should be mindful of how we employ them. This is a love letter to the ways love and art can lift our spirits and replenish our souls in a world that often seems dark.

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read a Behind the Book essay from Patricia Forde on The List.

This article was originally published in the August 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.