With her debut novel, Maria D. Laso (who died in 2015) offers a rich story populated with colorful characters, a setting so vivid you feel as if you could step right into the pages, and heaping doses of humor and heart.

Possum Porter has had to endure a change that no young child should: the loss of her beloved Mama. Now that it’s just her and Daddy, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to ensure that no more change comes their way. But when a new teacher, Ms. Arthington, comes to their small town, it looks like Daddy might have different plans. He wants to send Possum to school for the first time, which is an atrocity considering that Mama already taught her everything she needed to know during their lessons at home. Worst of all, Ms. Arthington seems to be eyeing a new suitor—Possum’s very own daddy. To prevent more change from uprooting her life, Possum must find a way to prove that she already knows everything she needs to, all while keeping Daddy out of her new teacher’s clutches.

Laso’s writing shines with all the charm of a small Southern town, and each character, from nosy and meddlesome Miss Nagy to Possum’s cherished canine companion, Traveler, has a personality as genuine as it is distinct. At the heart of it all lies an unforgettable heroine with all the grit, spunk and charm fit to share the ranks of such treasured predecessors as Scout Finch and Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Sussy introduces readers to her best friend, Guy, as he valiantly runs to her house to retrieve her jacket on a cool fall morning, even if it means missing the bus. Four years later, when they are both 10 years old, their friendship still endures. They decide to adopt a leopard gecko and name her Matylda. It’s Guy who knows all about lizards and how to feed them live crickets. It’s Guy who is kind, inquisitive and thoughtful and by whom Matylda feels most understood. And so, when a freak bicycle accident takes his life, the readers, as much as Sussy, are devastated by the loss. Guy always put Sussy first, and now Sussy is trying her best to take care of Matylda while grieving the one person she cared for most —an incredible task for any child.

Matylda, Bright & Tender is a heartbreaking story about loss and grief narrated by Sussy with childlike honesty and openness. Sussy’s response to her grief is to funnel her anger and guilt over Guy’s death into the care of this lizard, which consumes her. Although Guy’s accident is neither graphic nor drawn-out, parents will want to read this book along with their child to aid discussion and to respond to questions about life and death.

This is a beautiful story told with hope and light exploring how life endures despite loss.

Kimberly Giarratano is the author of Grunge Gods and Graveyards, a young adult paranormal mystery.

Maybe Flora and her younger brother, Julian, came from the ocean or the television or even the horizon. The multiracial 11-year-old girl doesn’t remember much before being adopted two years ago, but when her classroom pet mouse has babies, she begins to wonder about her own birth. With no early memories and no record of a birth mother, Flora is certain she never was a baby. So how did she begin?

In Forever, or a Long, Long Time, Caela Carter examines the aftermath of foster care and adoption through the lens of Flora, who is repeating the fourth grade, can’t talk when her words get “stuck” and has trouble always believing Person (her secret name for her white adoptive mother) is her forever mom. Additional layers of this untraditional family are revealed through Julian, with his fake smiles and food hoarding, and their black adoptive father and his daughter from his first marriage.

The siblings’ memories become even more critical when Flora and Julian discover postcards sent from a former foster placement. In an effort to find out more about their past and prove to Flora and Julian that they really were babies, their adoptive mom takes them on a road trip to previous foster homes. Sometimes the answers just lead to more questions; there’s no saccharine ending here. But in learning about herself, Flora begins to make sense of her life now and what it means to be a family. Her story is heartbreakingly realistic and hopeful.

Cao Wenxuan, bestselling Chinese author and 2016 recipient of the prestigious Hans Christian Andersen Award, presents a timeless, emotional tale of loss, heartache and the ultimate power of friendship and connection to overcome any hardship.

Sunflower is a city girl with a country girl’s name, and her arrival with her father at the rural Cadre School that sits across the river from the tight-knit village of Damaidi certainly causes a stir. While her father spends his days at the school and his nights in meetings, Sunflower explores the countryside in solitude. With no other children on her side of the river with whom to share her daily adventures, she spends her time observing the villagers and wondering about their ways of life. But when tragedy strikes, Sunflower finds herself living among the villagers, taken in by the poorest family. It is here that she meets Bronze. Rendered mute by the trauma of his own tragic experience, Bronze nonetheless connects with Sunflower through a mutual understanding all their own, and the two become inseparable, existing within the realm of simple understanding that only pure, beautiful childhood friendships can offer.

Told in spare yet glimmering prose, this story is a testament to all that love and loyalty are able to overcome, be it cultural divisions, unthinkable losses or the crushing weight of loneliness. These two children serve as an example for kids and adults alike of the power of genuine love and loyalty to traverse boundaries and reach across divides, both those that are created by society and those that are self-imposed. In a time when our divisions seem to be drawn more forcefully than ever, Bronze and Sunflower’s unlikely bond serves as a beacon of hope.

This coming-of-age story opens with a lightning-bolt moment—literally the moment a young mother is struck by lightning and taken from her two toddlers. The narrative then flashes ahead 10 years—to 10-year-old Claire and 13-year-old Abigail, enjoying their usual summer at their lake house. But this year, everything is different: Dad and his new wife are expecting a baby.

This novel-in-verse alternates between Claire and Abigail’s voices while incorporating the perspective of the lake itself. Throughout these stanzas, Claire tries to come to terms with Abigail growing up: She’s calling herself “Abi” now, has taken a definite interest in boys and is distancing herself from her little sister. With nothing but change at every turn, Claire feels the seams of her family loosening. Growing up is hard; growing apart is even harder. 

Novels-in-verse must work double duty: The story must be compelling and the verse accessible and worthy of the story. Helen Frost, a Printz Honor-winning author, has done so seamlessly. Her mastery extends to her use of varied poetic forms, including acrostics, which incorporate lines from some of Frost’s favorite poems. 

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

Charlie Ross is not looking forward to starting sixth grade, since his best friends will be attending different schools. His dad says new kids from a black housing development will be coming to Charlie’s all-white Wonderland Avenue School. Armstrong Le Rois is not looking forward to starting sixth grade either. Waking up at 5:30 every morning to take a bus to attend an integrated program at Wonderland is not his idea of fun. Charlie and Armstrong butt heads more often than not, but a weeklong class camping trip gives the boys an opportunity to build a friendship. 

Inspired by his own childhood experiences, debut author Steven B. Frank spins a tale that goes beyond racial issues. In first-person juxtaposed narratives, Armstrong and Charlie captures the viewpoints of two preteens caught in the shifting tide of school integration. While sprinkling his tale with popular vintage games, music and food of the 1970s as well as uproarious humor, Frank weaves in a poignant “out of every conflict comes an opportunity” theme based on Charlie and Armstrong’s relationship. Replete with unforgettable moments, young love and unexpected plot turns, this is a hilarious, heartwarming and timely read.

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

Calling all Alfred Hitchcock fans: In her debut novel, British writer Lisa Thompson has brilliantly borrowed the director’s Rear Window plot, adapting it into a middle grade novel called The Goldfish Boy. Not only is this a riveting mystery filled with twists, turns and red herrings, it’s an emotionally complex tale centered on a 12-year-old narrator suffering from severe OCD.

Matthew Corbin feels safest in his home, where he constantly worries about germs and feels responsible for the death of his baby brother. He wears latex gloves and refuses to go to school, so his parents are in the process of lining up therapy. Meanwhile, Matthew watches his neighbors, taking notes about their comings and goings.

When a toddler goes missing, Matthew is the last to see him, and he knows what all the neighbors were doing at the time of the disappearance. He works diligently to solve the case, eventually joining forces with a lonely neighborhood girl, Melody, and a former friend, Jake, who’s been bullied so much that he’s become a bully himself.

Despite the severity of his problems, Matthew is an energetic, likable character whose adolescent voice and increasing self-awareness ring true. Rare is the book that manages to be an entertaining page-turner while also offering meaningful insight into a serious disorder. The Goldfish Boy manages to do both in a masterful way.

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

Chet is a big, mean bully who likes to spend his time harassing Virgil. Virgil is shy—painfully shy—but desperately wants to catch the attention of Valencia. Valencia is deaf, overprotective and plagued by a recurring nightmare, which she hopes to interpret with help from Kaori. Kaori is psychic and, along with her little sister Gen, knows that something is terribly, terribly wrong. In Hello, Universe by Erin Entrada Kelly, these four tweens—some friends, some enemies, some strangers—come together under unexpected circumstances.

On his way to visit Kaori for a psychic reading, Virgil has an unpleasant run-in with Chet, which results in his backpack, complete with guinea pig Gulliver, being thrown to the bottom of an abandoned well. After climbing down to reach Gulliver, Virgil realizes that he is trapped, and no one knows where he is. Through a series of coincidences, some new friendships and just a bit of luck, things in the universe come together to bring hope to the boy trapped in the well.

Folklore, fairy tales, astrology, mysticism and dreams all mingle together to create a wonderful, fantastical and unique world. It’s impossible to identify the perfect reader for this story, because there is so much for every reader contained within.

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