Intrepid fifth-grader Mia Tang gets a crash course in capitalism when she oversees the front desk at the motel that her Chinese-American parents operate. Loosely based on author Kelly Yang’s experiences as a new immigrant to America, this story shimmers with good cheer, working-class realities and Mia’s unshakeable belief that people can make a difference if they pull together.

To help her family, Mia occupies the manager’s stool at the front desk, but folks aren’t too sure about her until she proves her managerial skills. Mia improvises by putting out a tip jar and makes improvements like creating a better key system.

Despite the Tangs’ hard work, they’re barely making a living because of the motel owner’s shady, untruthful tactics. Beyond this unfairness, Mia experiences racism towards herself in school, and towards one of the African American tenants at the motel. Front Desk also highlights a variety of immigrant hardships through the many visitors the Tangs give free respite to, at the great personal risk of losing their positions at the hotel.

But Mia learns just how powerful her pen can be to right the wrongs in her own backyard, and that honest and persuasive writing can make people come together for the greater good. Front Desk delights with its spunky main character who offers young readers lessons in being fearless.

From debut author Amy Makechnie comes a small-town romp as remarkable as its titular character.

Guinevere St. Clair has no ordinary life: Her mother can’t remember anything after the age of 13. But this unfortunate situation only seems to have increased Gwyn’s spunkiness. So when her father announces that the family will be moving back to their hometown of Crow, Iowa, in hopes of jogging her mother’s memory, Gwyn embraces the change. But soon she’s caught up in a mystery she didn’t anticipate and uncovering secrets from her mother’s past that she’s not quite sure how to deal with. Ready or not, Gwyn is about to learn that sometimes tending to feelings, both her own and those of the people around her, is more important than getting answers.

Makechnie’s rural Iowa setting is populated with unique and memorable characters, and she takes on serious topics with honesty and grace, always balancing the sadness with enough love and laughter to keep hope alive. And overall, that’s what this story is about: maintaining hope for a better future when it seems impossible. Even if the better future you get doesn’t look exactly like the one you had in mind.

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

With flying fish that fling themselves onto the doorsteps of its rainbow-colored homes, Allora is a charming seaside town unlike any other. But this quiet and quirky town also has a heartbreaking past—one that brings together the characters of The Boy, the Bird, and the Coffin Maker.

Thirty years ago, Alberto the carpenter lost his wife and three children to a plague that ravaged Allora. Alberto built five coffins—one for each family member he’d lost and one for himself. But Alberto survived. Now an old man, he notices that some food has suddenly gone missing from his home. He discovers that the thieves are Tito and Fia, a small, hungry boy and an unusual bird. After many weeks, Alberto befriends the pair and convinces them to live with him rather than in an abandoned shed on the outskirts of town. Tito reminds Alberto of his own children and his long-forgotten happiness, and he begins to teach Tito carpentry, how to read and how to grieve his dead mother—whom Alberto built a coffin for just weeks ago. When Tito reveals that he and his mother originally came to Allora to escape his abusive father, Alberto is determined to protect him.

With magical realism reminiscent of Gabriel García Márquez, author Matilda Woods has crafted a tender tale about the power of kindness in light of tragedy, accompanied by magical illustrations from Anuska Allepuz. Woods’ simple yet beautiful prose is open, honest and bears the soul of each of her characters.

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

When a girl is left on the steps of the Mostly Silent Monastery in Washington, D.C., wearing a shirt adorned with a picture of a bicycle, the practical Sister Wanda names her Bicycle.

Living with Sister Wanda and the mostly silent monks, 12-year-old Bicycle has found a contented existence, which reaches near perfection when she rescues a battered bicycle, lovingly dubs it Clunk and spends every spare moment cycling around town. Sister Wanda, worried that Bicycle has no friends, arranges for her to attend a friendship camp. Dismayed, Bicycle plots out a cross-country route to San Francisco to see her cycling idol, Zbig Sienkiewicz, and slips away on trusty Clunk.

Bicycle’s subsequent adventures have a modern fairy-tale charm. She and Clunk encounter a succession of quirky yet good-hearted characters, such as Griffin, a Civil War-era ghost, and the chef Marie Petitchou. Each chapter captures a snapshot of Americana: Bicycle leads a horse to the finish line at the Kentucky Derby, is mowed down by pigs on parade in Missouri and crosses the Continental Divide. Readers willing to suspend disbelief and roll with the silliness are rewarded with an enriched understanding of America’s vast landscapes and more than a couple easy-to-digest life lessons.

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

Lucy can’t remember the moment when lightning struck her four years ago, but now the 12-year-old has a gift for numbers. Her favorite is pi, and she can recite the digits to the 314th decimal place. While her doctors call her condition acquired savant syndrome, Lucy just knows she’s a reclusive genius with obsessive-compulsive disorder who’d rather hang out in online math chat rooms than leave her house.

After finishing all of her homeschool requirements needed to graduate, the tween thinks she’s ready for online college. Her perhaps even wiser Nana, who’s raised her since Lucy’s mother died, thinks differently. In Stacy McAnulty’s electrifying debut middle grade novel, Lucy unwillingly heads to seventh grade. She knows it’s going to be a long year, but when a school service project at a local animal shelter forces the math whiz to interact with other socially awkward kids, she begins to solve a problem that seems to defy logic—making friends.

And when a dirty dog with its own special condition needs saving, Lucy feels a bolt of kindness and empathy as she finds she has other gifts besides math. Filled with numbers—including a concluding math section on pi and Fibonacci facts—the ups and downs of middle school and gentle humor, this story of Lucy’s struggles and newfound answers will resonate with anyone who’s ever felt like an outsider. And hasn’t every middle schooler?

After the sudden death of her beloved father, 13-year-old Briana has more than just her grief to contend with. Her mother has shut down—closing herself off and not wanting to get up or leave her bedroom. Her younger brother, Aaron, is on the autism spectrum and now needs much more of her time. And then there’s the issue of her second heart.

As Briana navigates life without her father, she believes she hears him speaking to her through what she thinks is a second heart inside of her. But she’s not always clear about what her father’s messages mean.

It’s hard enough trying to find her way through owning a second heart, but now Briana must pick up the slack where her mother and Grandpa Ben can’t fill in. And in the process, she’s trying to succeed at school and, hopefully, impress that guy she has her eye on.

Throughout The Girl with More Than One Heart, Briana reflects on happier days with her late father—and to be honest, before her brother was born—and those memories propel her to find her own way, to “be her own” (as her second heart tells her) and embrace her new life.

David Almond, the award-winning author of such acclaimed titles as Skellig and Kit’s Wilderness, has penned a clever, touching novel that explores big themes through the tiniest of protagonists with The Tale of Angelino Brown.

Bert and Betty Brown live an ordinary life, Bert as a bus driver and Betty as a school cook. Each of their days look much the same as the last, until one day something completely unexpected happens: Bert finds an angel in his shirt pocket. And just like that, the arrival of this heavenly being with a penchant for sweets transforms their world, making everything a little bit lovelier than it was before. Even the other drivers at Bert’s bus station and the students at Betty’s school are taken by little Angelino’s charms as they begin to teach him about the world. But not everyone believes in angels or thinks them lovely, and soon Angelino is facing threats from shadowy figures. Can his new friends keep him safe, or will this little creature provide the salvation?

In his signature witty style, Almond has crafted a tale that expresses universal truths that all of us, especially adults, need reminding of from time to time. In this luminous story, those gone astray are given second chances, and grown-ups are reminded of the joy and wisdom of childhood. Ultimately, this book is a celebration of and a love letter to the incomprehensible beauty of the world, and the power that beauty has to transform us, if only we allow it.

Lynne Rae Perkins, winner of the 2006 Newbery Medal for her novel Criss Cross, delights with her new book, Sisters of the Salty Sea. Perkins’ charming black-and-white illustrations are matched by gentle, evocative language that sparkles like summer sunlight on the sea—which happens to be the destination of the Treffreys’ long-awaited family vacation. Alix and her older sister, Jools, have never been to the beach. When their parents plan a first-time-ever beach trip, Alix is excited but nervous. She’s never been anywhere new, and she’s expecting swaying palm trees and a turquoise sea.

Sadly, there is not a single palm tree in sight, and the ocean is a foamy gray, but the trip provides plenty of adventures for the sisters, from discovering horseshoe crabs to helping release a falcon at a wildlife station and eating their first fried periwinkles—snails by any other name.

Perkins’ sensory details, paired with her endearing illustrations, provide a refreshing break from the usual page turners that are served up for young readers. Alix is an easily relatable character—part spunky, part shy—and not yet sure of herself. The novel’s themes of family, friendship, growing up and trying new things are a perfect fit for Perkins’ middle grade audience.

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

Writing superstars Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead have long excelled at crafting insightful, emotionally rich stories for young readers. Their first collaboration—Bob, a novel about (what else?) a most unusual friendship—is something wonderful indeed.

For the first time in five years, Livy is traveling from Massachusetts to Australia to visit her grandmother. The last time she visited, she was only 5 years old, so there are certain details she doesn’t recall—like the small green creature living in the spare room’s closet. His name is Bob, and he’s been waiting very patiently for Livy’s return, spending his days building (and rebuilding) a Lego pirate ship and reading the dictionary. No one else can really see Bob (most people are convinced he’s a strange sort of chicken), and Livy’s memories of their prior time together are hazy at best, but new clues—and a new crisis—send the two friends in search of answers. Perhaps they saved one another once, and perhaps they can do so again.

Chapters alternate between Bob’s and Livy’s points of view, offering just the right blend of mystery and cozy magic in a rewarding story about how friendships—and people—evolve over time. Bob and Livy come to appreciate and love one another now while also feeling bittersweet about who they were then—and their fairy tale-like story proves that when friends get together, magical things can happen.

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

BookPage Children's Top Pick, May 2018

History comes alive in Ellen Klages’ captivating novel Out of Left Field. In 1957 San Francisco, 10-year-old Katy Gordon is an ace pitcher who makes a Little League team while disguised as a boy, only to be told she’s ineligible when the coach discovers she’s a girl.

Determined to prove that girls should be allowed in the organization, Katy heads to the library to learn about women who have played baseball. Her research unfolds like a scavenger hunt, with Katy writing about and interviewing several sports pioneers. “Anyone who says girls can’t play baseball is just ignorant about the history of the game,” one former player tells her.

Klages masterfully weaves in a multitude of historical details, addressing complex issues in sophisticated yet engrossing ways. In school, Katy learns about current events like the launch of Sputnik 1, the arrival of a new baseball team (the San Francisco Giants) and the civil rights movement. When Katy is assigned to write about a hero, she makes baseball cards featuring the diverse female players she’s learned about (they’re included in the back of the book along with other historical notes). “There had been a lot of girls like me, and I felt like we were sort of teammates,” Katie says. Out of Left Field is a grand-slam salute to the power of persistence, research and the pursuit of justice.

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

Everything starts with a French horn and a wish for 11-year-old Augusta “Gusta” Neubronner once she moves to Gramma Hoopes’s Orphanage in 1941.

Her papa abruptly vanished during their bus trip from New York City to see her grandmother at her orphanage, leaving her to fend for herself until Gramma Hoope takes her in. Gusta can’t help but apply what she’s learned from her activist father and his connections with immigrant workers and union organizers when she learns of an uncle who’s out of work and can’t pay for a factory-related surgery. Her good intentions—including plans to sell her beloved French horn for cash as a last resort—are met with opposition, and soon Gusta has even more to contemplate when she learns of buried secrets that could threaten her grandmother’s orphanage.

Inspired by Nesbet’s mother’s childhood, The Orphan Band of Springdale is a story filled with thought-provoking metaphors and a host of colorful characters. Nesbet’s narrative has a lilting quality that makes her storytelling both unique and attractive, and young readers will appreciate her well-rounded characters as well as a small but highly engaging group of antagonists. Nesbet also incorporates factual information of the era to highlight relevant themes of injustice, immigration and the labor movement. The Orphan Band of Springdale is a heartwarming and educational read.

Just when 12-year-old Bea feels as though she’s lost her place in the world, a grandmother she barely knows takes her on the road trip of a lifetime in Rebecca Behren’s latest historical novel, The Last Grand Adventure.

It’s 1967 and Bea and her grandmother, who calls herself Pidge, are on a secret mission: They’re traveling from California to Kansas in hopes of reuniting with Pidge’s sister, who happens to be Amelia Earhart. They plan to reach the house where “Meelie” was born by July 24, on what will be the legendary aviator’s 70th birthday.

Behrens, who’s written about Alice Roosevelt (When Audrey Met Alice) and Roanoke’s lost colony (Summer of Lost and Found), makes this outlandish premise both believable and thrilling. Pidge reveals a handful of letters she’s received over the years, reportedly written by her long-lost sister, filled with intimate childhood details that only family could know. The letters reveal fascinating tidbits of Earhart’s life as well as actual quotes from the aviator herself, supplemented by a series of helpful author’s notes at the end.

Bea, meanwhile, is reeling from her parent’s divorce and her father’s remarriage. With her mother traveling as a journalist, Bea lives with her father, new stepmother and younger stepsister, Sally, who idolizes Bea—much to Bea’s annoyance. Wondering where she fits into this new family configuration, Bea jots down her many fears in a worry journal.

She begins to fill an adventure journal as well when she’s sent to help her increasingly forgetful grandmother adjust to her new retirement home. With little money or food, Pidge and Bea stowaway aboard a train, hitchhike, fly aboard a small plane and more in a desperate attempt to reach Kansas in time.

As they journey, Bea not only gets to know her grandmother but learns invaluable lessons about her own life. She begins to appreciate her mother’s career and to understand that her new stepsister might actually be a gift instead of a burden. Most of all, she learns that she’s a “capable Earhart Girl.”

The Last Grand Adventure is a tightly-plotted, beautifully written homage to the power of sisters, adventure and the enduring mysteries of history.

Brodie is a very good dog. He loves his boy wholeheartedly and will defend him with his life. That’s actually exactly how Brodie suddenly finds himself in a dog’s version of heaven, a place with wide expanses of grass for endless running, rolling and playing with other happy dogs. This is a transitional world, the place where dogs chill after they have died in our world and before they are ready to go to the Forever place. But something’s not right here for Brodie. He’s not interested in moving on to Forever. He wants to go back to his boy.

Author Dan Gemeinhart vividly captures the physical sensations of a dog’s existence. Brody senses before he thinks; his narrative flows in visceral waves of experience. These sensory pleasures are no match for the emotional sturdiness of Brodie’s good heart. Although he has no memory of his own death, he knows that he left his boy in a dangerous situation. Despite being warned that Brodie could lose his soul forever if he returns to our earthly world, Brodie takes the plunge—accompanied by an affable pit bull and appropriately snarky cat—and discovers that there are new dangers he must face while navigating the world in a ghost body. Other ghostly, yet evil animals are eager to devour their fresh souls. And Brodie has only pieces of memory to lead him back to his boy. In the end, this story is a beautifully rendered homage to the bond between lonely children and their devoted pets.