As usual, award-winning author Gordon Korman’s latest book is a satisfying glimpse into the world of middle schoolers. In The Unteachables, Korman gives us a sort of pre-teen version of To Sir, with Love—a class full of misfit kids that the education system has given up on and the teacher that fights through his own disillusionment to become the mentor the students need.

After 30 years as a teacher, Zachary Kermit is burned out and ready for retirement. But the superintendent, Dr. Thaddeus, wants him out before he can draw a full pension, so he assigns Mr. Kermit the class called SCS-8, or the Self-Contained Special 8th-grade class. Known as the “Unteachables,” Dr. Thaddeus hopes they drive Mr. Kermit to quit before the year’s end. Mr. Kermit knows it’s going to be rough, but he figures he’ll just keep his head down and coast until May.

He is not surprised by the students. There is the slow worker, Parker Elias, social dweeb Mateo Hendrickson, anger-management challenged Aldo Braff, ex-athlete “Barnstorm” Armstrong, potential bully Elaine Okafor, sleep-deprived Rahim Barclay, and new student Kiana Roubini. Through many hilarious and touching escapades, Mr. Kermit figures out that what he really has is a group that just needs help, patience and the recognition that, really, they may be the most teachable of any class.

Written in chapters that explore the viewpoint of each character, The Unteachables is a heartwarming story about not giving up on yourself or others. Another home run for Korman for which all of us, adults and children alike, can cheer.

Jennifer Bruer Kitchel is the librarian for a Pre-K through 8th level Catholic school.

Five years ago, 12-year-old Coyote lost her mom and two sisters in a car crash. Since then, Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have been roaming and rambling around the U.S. in an old school bus.

They live a vagabond life, to be sure, but it’s one that has allowed Rodeo to block out the sorrows and memories of his old life. Not so much for Coyote, who misses the rest of her family immensely. And then she learns that the park in her neighborhood is being demolished, and, along with it, the secret memory box she and her siblings buried before they died.

Rodeo would never agree to go back, so Coyote cooks up a plan to head them back towards home. It’s a risk she feels she must take in order to save her memories and, ultimately, get her dad back to reality.

The trip covers thousands of miles, and the duo picks up a cast of wayward characters along the way—each running to or from various complications—like a gay teen running from her parents, a jazz musician pursuing his lady love and a Latinx boy and his mother who are looking for a new life.

Can you go home again? All the inhabitants of the bus are both wondering that as well as seeking new beginnings.

Author Dan Gemeinhart has a few stellar middle grade readers already; The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise will add to his canon and could possibly garner a few awards. This is not just a story about Coyote’s remarkable journey—this novel solidifies Gemeinhart as a remarkable children’s author.

BookPage Top Pick in Children's, starred review, February 2019

The players, the wicket, the boundary—the sport of cricket was not what Carter Jones was expecting to learn during his first year in middle school in New York. However, Carter gets a lot more than he bargained for in Newbery Honor-winning author Gary D. Schmidt’s Pay Attention, Carter Jones.

Aside from learning cricket, Carter also has to deal with his father getting deployed (again), his three whiny sisters, a dachshund that throws up every time anything exciting happens—and then there’s a surprise English butler. Mr. Bowles-Fitzpatrick’s arrival to the Jones’ household may have been unexpected, but his continuing presence is just plain weird. Paid for by an endowment from Carter’s grandfather, Mr. Bowles-Fitzpatrick decides that life must change for Young Master Jones. The butler encourages Carter to walk the dog every day, to “pay attention” while learning the beautiful sport of cricket and to confront a truth he refuses to face. Life with Mr. Bowles-Fitzpatrick means nothing will be the same.

With Schmidt’s characteristic humor and realistically flawed characters who are tested by heavy, life-changing realities, Pay Attention, Carter Jones is simultaneously hilarious and heart-wrenching. As fantastical as Carter’s situation seems, he is also very real, and anyone who has struggled with the loss of a parent or the realities of growing up will find themselves in this story.

This article was originally published in the February 2019 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Gail Carson Levine’s Newbery Honor-winning novel Ella Enchanted, originally published in 1997, has become a classic in children’s literature. Fans will eagerly return to the kingdom of Kyria for this prequel featuring Evie, a 15-year-old healer. Once again, the fairy Lucinda performs some meddlesome magic, and this time she transforms Evie into an ogre after the girl rejects a proposal of marriage from her best friend, Wormy. Evie is given just 62 days to accept a marriage proposal or she will be forced to remain an ogre forever—an unpleasant prospect since ogres smell bad and have ferocious appetites!

Evie is determined not to eat any humans in her orge form (especially not her mother or Wormy), and she is equally set on regaining her human form by finding someone else who’s willing to propose to her. And to do that, she must learn the art of persuasion. Evie sets off on her quest, and things start to look up (at least for a time) when she meets a handsome merchant named Peter. 

In this enchanting story, Evie’s adventures test her resolve in many ways (most especially when it comes to curbing her ogre appetites). But no matter her shape or the size of her meals, she remains true to the call of healing and to her family and friends.

A tale split between a narrative in the modern day and one in World War II shows the very best of people in the worst of times. Anne O’Brien Carelli’s Skylark and Wallcreeper gives young readers a fictional but personal look at the lives of young French Resistance fighters, one of whom grows up to be an elderly survivor of Superstorm Sandy in 2012.

Before readers meet Collette as a resistance fighter, she is introduced in the modern era as an old woman who lives in a nursing home due to her struggles with dementia. Collette’s granddaughter Lily is stranded at the care facility as Superstorm Sandy dumps tons of water on parts of New York and New Jersey, causing massive flooding and power outages. When the evacuation order is given, the residents get moved, but not before Lily’s grandmother tells her to grab a mysterious red box and a packet of letters.

Later, while on a food foraging mission for the nursing home’s residents, Lily loses the mysterious box and its precious contents. Now on a mission of her own, Lily braves the turmoil of the storm in order to rescue her grandmother’s treasure.

Through her search, Lily learns that her grandmother disguised herself as a boy to secretly convey messages for the resistance army, at great personal peril. As the narrative shifts back to Collette’s childhood, the German soldiers and French police patrol the town all hours of the day and night, and one night things do not go as planned. Will the French Resistance be jeopardized?

Carelli’s parallel storylines plow deep into loyalties of friends, family and country and create two compelling portraits of heroes in action.

“Once upon a blank piece of paper, where anything could happen” begins Samantha Berger’s rollicking meditation on self-esteem, Rock What Ya Got. Soon after an artist picks up a pencil and begins to draw, a lively, jubilant girl named Viva with a mop of frizzy hair appears on the page. When the artist―not quite satisfied with her creation―decides to erase and start over, defiant Viva grabs the pencil and announces, “Excuse me, Lady Artist, ma’am, but I like me the way I am.”

Thus begins a spirited back-and-forth between the illustrator and her subject, as the artist tries to adjust various things: first Viva’s hair, then her body and finally the background of the pages. Illustrations by Kerascoët (a pseudonym for a French husband-and-wife art team) energize this artistic spat, showing humorous alternative versions of Viva as a princess, ballerina, weightlifter, gymnast and mermaid. Meanwhile, Viva advocates for her original self, saying, “Be your best you and rock what ya got. Don’t let anyone say what you’re not.”

Observant readers will notice striking similarities between Viva and the artist, who finally realizes that Viva’s message, “Rock What Ya Got,” is something she wrote long ago as a child―and something she must never again forget.

Berger, whose many books include Crankenstein and Martha Doesn’t Say Sorry, delivers a vital message in a lighthearted way. This creative contemplation about both the artistic process and one’s sense of self-worth packs the perfect visceral and visual punch for young readers.

Melanie Sumrow’s debut novel, The Prophet Calls, takes on powerful topics amid the taboo setting of an ultra-religious, cultlike community.

Thirteen-year-old Gentry Forrester lives with her father, three mothers and numerous siblings and half-siblings in the remote foothills of New Mexico, where they patiently wait for the apocalypse, when God will take her and the rest of the Chosen home to the celestial kingdom. Gentry feels lucky to be a part of this holy group, and she does her best to obey the laws of the Prophet and “keep sweet” as he commands. But when the Prophet outlaws music, the one thing that makes the spirited and strong-willed Gentry feel like herself, everything in her carefully constructed life begins to unravel, and soon she’s faced with an impossible choice: leave the community and the only life she’s even known or risk losing herself.

At the heart of this novel is Gentry’s love for her family and for the beautiful music that brings them together. The questions that Gentry faces—questions of identity and belonging, when to bow to authority and when to stand up for what’s in your heart—are universally relatable. Gentry is a protagonist you can’t help but cheer for, and her journey from fear to doubt to empowerment is powerful, affecting and not to be missed.

This article was originally published in the November 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Rising seventh-grader Cassie is looking forward to a summer of competitive swimming and hanging by the pool with her best friends—away from her 17-year-old sister, Julia, who’s a new mom to 6-month-old Addie. Ever since Addie arrived, Cassie’s life has been put on the back burner, and she longs for the closeness she and Julia shared before Addie was born. So when Julia confides in Cassie that she and Addie are leaving without telling their parents, Cassie takes the chance to potentially rekindle their relationship and joins them on a road trip with no planned destination.

Suzanne LeFleur’s Counting to Perfect is a gorgeous novel that illustrates the enduring bond of sisterhood. Tackling issues of teen pregnancy and its aftermath, LeFleur’s wise and honest young characters show warmth and compassion in a muddled situation. Both Cassie and Julia are strong despite their flaws, and there is no question that their bond will remain unbroken.

This optimistic story is a great pick for young readers dealing with their own family issues.

This article was originally published in the November 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

BookPage Children's Top Pick, November 2018

Ten-year-old Caleb Franklin longs to be anything but ordinary, which feels impossible in his quiet hometown of Sutton, Indiana. But one night, Caleb and his 11-year-old brother, Bobby Gene, trade their toddler sister, Susie, for a large bag of fireworks.

Never fear—their mom soon retrieves little Susie, but the boys manage to keep the fireworks. Their summer really ignites when the brothers meet an older teen in foster care named Styx Malone, who hatches a plan to help the boys repeatedly “trade up” their loot—with the goal of eventually buying a moped—in what he calls a “Great Escalator Trade.”

Award-winning author Kekla Magoon’s The Season of Styx Malone is an old-fashioned summer adventure and coming-of-age story that ever so gently touches on the racial prejudice faced by its three African-American protagonists.

Caleb and his brother live in a parent-protected bubble that they’re more than ready to burst, and their mom dismisses Styx as “a handful of trouble.” But to Caleb, this smooth-talking, deal-making newcomer represents everything he feels he’s missing in his small town.

But as the three boys’ adventures multiply, they also become more dangerous and questionable. The boys are soon stowing away on trains and stealing a motor from an auto parts warehouse. Still mesmerized by Styx, Caleb begins to wonder about his friend’s motives and deeds, noticing that “Styx made it sound like breaking the rules wasn’t really so bad as long as you didn’t get caught.”

As the boys’ secretive exploits build toward an inevitable climax, readers will enjoy being part of Magoon’s thoughtful novel about the pleasures and constraints of friendship, family, trust and betrayal.

This article was originally published in the November 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

In Bryan’s Red Hook neighborhood of Brooklyn, the worst thing you can be is soft. Back down from a fight, apologize or just talk your problems out—you’re soft.

But Bryan’s a good kid. He’s quiet, studious and totally bananas for comic books. It still kind of irks him when his big sister calls him soft, but the last thing he wants in his life is more drama. He’s seen plenty of that as the projects are brimming with it. His in-and-out-of-jail dad hangs out on the corner, all but courting it. But Bryan? Nah. Give him the latest Black Panther comic, a quiet room to read in, and he’s perfectly content, soft or not.

But when Bryan meets Mike, everything changes. Things get tight. At first, it’s a good tight—the tightness of friends who bond over comics and common interests. But when Mike starts urging Bryan to skip class or to hop the subway turnstiles and run from the cops, their relationship turns a new kind of tight, a tense tight, like a rope threatening to snap any moment.

With Tight, the poignant tale of a young Puerto Rican-American struggling to find his place in a world awash in drama, author Torrey Maldonado questions the macho masculinity that has ensnared and imperiled American boys for so long. He shows us how hard it can be to overcome our anger and break free from cultural norms, no matter how outdated or dangerous they may be.

With its understated prose, evocative dialogue and much-needed message, Tight is essential reading.

You may know author Connie Glynn as Noodlerella from her famous Youtube channel. Over 900,000 followers tune in as the pink-haired blonde belts out Disney songs, makes magenta mac and cheese, and dishes about relationships and daily life.

Glynn’s debut novel, Undercover Princess—book one of the Rosewood Hall Chronicles—introduces a world of dazzling settings, engaging characters and plenty of intrigue. Glynn’s on-screen honesty and perky princess persona are embodied in the book’s heroine, 14-year-old Lottie Pumpkin.

Lottie has one prized possession, a glittering tiara that was a gift from her now-deceased mother who raised her to be kind, brave and unstoppable. Her dying wish was for Lottie to one day attend Rosewood Hall. Amazingly, Lottie wins a scholarship to the ivy-covered “Hogwarts meets Hollywood” boarding school.

As soon as Lottie arrives at Rosewood, rumors begin to fly. Her classmates think she’s the reclusive princess of Maradova, not a sweet country girl from Cornwall. But Lottie has learned the true princess of Maradova is Ellie Wolf, her black-haired, angst-filled roommate. Ellie has fled to Rosewood in order to soak up a few years of normal life before taking on the responsibilities of royalty. Since Lottie has dreamed of becoming a princess and Ellie longs to be ordinary, a perfect switch is devised. Unfortunately someone, a malevolent someone, learns their secret.

Glynn has created a rich, vibrant world in Undercover Princess. Readers will readily embrace the boarding school and royalty storylines, the hints of romance, and the intriguing realm and mystery of Maradova. Faced with numerous crises, Lottie struggles but manages to remain true to her kind, brave, unstoppable self.

Debut author Beth Turley brings readers a heartwarming tale of a 10-year-old girl who sees magic in the world around her and even finds a way to create some herself.

Hannah Geller is a star speller and the only girl in her fifth-grade class who has pimples on her face. Her best friends, Courtney and Ryan, have always been there for her. But lately someone has been writing mean notes about Hannah, and Courtney is starting to become distant. Things aren’t much better at home with her parents and their constant fighting. In the midst of all this, Hannah finds herself less and less able to escape from the sad thoughts in her head, and she wishes her life was a happy story more than ever. But this is her reality, and if she wants things to get better, she’ll have to find the courage to let go of the words she keeps trapped inside so tightly.

With sage wisdom and delicate feeling, Turley pens a story that is equal parts melancholic and hopeful. At the center of it all shines an unforgettable heroine who demonstrates to young readers that one can be both tenacious and gentle, sensitive and strong. Every page calls to mind an ordinary magic in the world, from the first crisp air of fall to the luck of a heads-up penny, and with Hannah as a guide, readers can’t help but open their eyes and their hearts a little wider.

In Louisiana’s Way Home, award-winning author Kate DiCamillo expands on the story of Louisiana Elefante, a fan-favorite character from 2016’s Raymie Nightingale.

When Louisiana’s Granny wakes her in the middle of the night, she claims it’s the day of reckoning and says they have to leave town. After a long, eventful drive across the Florida-Georgia state line, Granny’s toothache forces them to stop in a quirky small town with a motel, a church and a friendly boy with a pet crow. Louisiana desperately wants to return to Florida and reunite with her best friends, but Granny has other plans. As Louisiana learns something new about her past and grows closer to the people of the town, will she be able to choose between making a new home and returning to her old one?

Louisiana tells her story in first person with unaffected charm, gentle warmth and keen observation, making it easy to see why the townspeople immediately embrace her. The magic of DiCamillo’s storytelling is in its simple, believable realism. Some people are kind, some are less so. The world can be harsh, even terrible, but it can also be beautiful. The way Louisiana notices, takes in and shares this wisdom is what makes DiCamillo one of our finest storytellers. This lovely story of independence and community will resonate with readers of all ages.

This article was originally published in the October 2018 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.