Quicksand Pond, hidden off the Rhode Island coast, is a place of lingering mystery and illumination for a pair of 12-year-old girls.

When Jessie Kettel arrives with her family to spend the summer in a rental cottage, she finds an old raft and meets Terri Carr, who tells her about two boys who drowned there and a long-ago murder in a huge house on the edge of the pond. The daughter of those murdered parents survived, and old lady Henrietta Cutting still lives in the house.

Jessie learns that the wrong person was imprisoned for the murders: Terri’s great-great-grandfather. The consequences of this injustice continue to the present, as Terri’s family is still considered “no good.” When Terri is forced to hide from her abusive father in a makeshift camp on the edge of the pond, she and Jessie form a Tom Sawyer/Huck Finn-type friendship. Meanwhile, Henrietta watches the pair through binoculars, struggling to find a way to make her long-ignored voice heard. Gradually, Jessie finds herself becoming “sucked into” Terri’s messy, difficult life, and so she retreats from her friend just when she is needed most. Quicksand is everywhere, it seems.

When Terri is accused of setting fire to the Cutting home, history seems to be repeating itself. Jessie learns some wrenching lessons about discrimination and judgment, and her testimony becomes crucial to her friend’s future.

Newbery Honor winner Janet Taylor Lisle has written a riveting chronicle of a monumental summer, one with no easy answers.

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

Before there was New York with its towering skyscrapers, solarbuses, robot crews and even mechanical snails to clean windows, there was the Old York of wealthy twin geniuses Theresa and Theodore Morningstarr. And before their mysterious disappearance in 1855, the eccentric pair left behind a puzzle that remains unsolved. In award-winning author Laura Ruby’s York, a modern steampunk mystery for tweens, three seventh-graders accept the challenge of the Old York Cipher.

Jewish twins Tess and Theo Biedermann, named after the legendary cipherists, and Cuban-American Jaime Cruz all live in one of the original Morningstarr buildings. When a sleazy real-estate developer buys the property and gives residents 30 days to vacate, the young sleuths decide to solve the cipher to find its treasure and save their homes. Chapters told from their various perspectives reveal each tween’s personality and strengths, from intuitive Tess’ “catastrophisizing” to Theo’s logical mind to artistic Jaime’s fascination with superheroes.

The search for clues takes these clever kids through forgotten parts of the city and into heart-racing adventures. Readers learn more about how codes and ciphers work along with the sleuths, who can’t help but wonder if the cipher is manipulating them. Enthralling details and nonstop action will draw fans to this series opener.

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

Twelve-year-old Joplin lives with her divorced mom and her mom’s friend, Jen, in a basement apartment in New York. She’s bullied at school, and even worse, her best friend has dumped her. The death of Joplin’s famous grandfather—and the spreading of some unsavory publicity about him—gives her peers a golden opportunity to tease her, leaving her devastated and lonely.

In her grandfather’s room, Joplin discovers a metal tin crammed with pieces of an old ceramic platter. The plate, depicting a young girl standing by a pond and a windmill, is repaired and hung in her room. Joplin wishes the girl would be her friend, and the next day, the girl vanishes from the platter and waits for Joplin in the garden, where she introduces herself as Sophie. Around the same time, Joplin befriends Barrett, a boy from school. Suddenly Joplin has two friends, and together they try to return Sophie to being a flesh-and-blood girl in Holland. Their quest takes a sinister turn when they discover they are being stalked by a man who knows Sophie’s secret.

Joplin’s struggle to find her place after her grandfather’s death, both at home and at school, will ring true to readers. The magical platter offers an engaging vehicle to help Joplin sort fact from fantasy, reality from longing, and to learn the true meaning of friendship.

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

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

BookPage Children’s Top Pick, June 2017

Eleven-year-old Lauren Hall is short. And a geek. And also a boy stuck with a girl’s name. That might not be so bad if, like the grandfather for whom he was named, Ren was athletic. And so, even though he’d rather be reading comic books, Ren wakes up early every day to train for the upcoming cross-country team tryouts. If only he liked to run.

To make matters worse, Ren and his parents have moved into his late grandparents’ house, eight miles away from town and his best friend, Aiden. Aiden isn’t just growing taller; he seems ready to outgrow their friendship, too.

All in all, summer’s a disappointment—until the morning Ren sees pigeons tumbling through the sky above the neighboring farmhouse. The birds belong to his new neighbor, Sutton Davies. Sutton has bright, dyed-red hair and a fierce determination to make her Birmingham Roller pigeons into champions. It won’t be easy to train the kit of pigeons to execute in unison the distinctive backward somersault, especially now that her dad is in the hospital after a car accident. But maybe Ren can help.

Darcy Miller’s middle grade debut features a rural setting in southern Minnesota and engaging characters; especially welcome is a boy narrator navigating shifting social dynamics. Don’t be surprised if readers want to return to the library, eager to find out more about those fascinating birds known as Birmingham Rollers. Roll is a great summer book for pigeon fanciers—or any young reader who fancies a good story.

Deborah Hopkinson lives near Portland, Oregon. Her most recent book for young readers is Independence Cake.

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

It’s hard for today’s digital-savvy teens to imagine life before smart phones. But that’s just what happens when Branton Middle School bans the devices due to student misuse and overuse. It doesn’t take long, however, for students to figure out other ways to keep their hands busy and their thoughts—both positive and negative—passed around.

Soon, yellow sticky notes dot school lockers. Then they start appearing everywhere, with sayings ranging from innocuous and funny to pointed and hurtful to downright mean. What no longer could be said anonymously via text is now sent, just as surreptitiously, on innocent-looking notes (which eventually become banned, too).

The lunchroom clique of Frost and his buddies get caught up in the war of words, and soon their own circle is threatened. New friends arrive, allegiances are formed (and broken), and along the way, the tight-knit group starts to wonder about their future. Will they remain friends? Will people stop taking sides? Will the sticky-note war continue? What happens when the words hit a little too close to home?

John David Anderson has put a contemporary twist on coming of age in the digital age, with a refreshing view of how sticks, stones and words can, indeed, hurt. Posted is a well-crafted middle grade novel addressing the timely topic of bullying.

Shari Green brings readers a touching follow-up to her well-loved middle grade debut, Root Beer Candy and Other Miracles.

Macy McMillan feels like her life is falling apart. First her mom decides to get married, sells Macy’s childhood home and forces her to move in with her new stepfather and younger stepsisters. And now Macy’s gotten into a fight with Olivia, her best friend since transferring to Hamilton Elementary from Braeside School for the Deaf. If only Mr. Tanaka hadn’t assigned that dumb family tree project and Olivia hadn’t started asking about Macy’s dad. And to top it all off, Macy’s mother wants her to help their elderly neighbor, Iris, pack up her huge collection of books for her upcoming move. Iris doesn’t even know sign language, so how can Macy’s mom expect them to understand one another? But soon, through the sharing of handwritten notes, beloved books and message-sending cookies, Iris and Macy have developed a language—and a bond—all their own. This unlikely friendship may be just what Macy needs to make it through the trials ahead.

Macy McMillan and the Rainbow Goddess is brimming with charm and plenty of references to other great books to appeal to the story lover in all of us. Written in verse—a format that serves to heighten the emotional potency of the novel—this heartfelt story shines with genuine hope and the promise that, no matter what challenges lie ahead of us, there is always a bright destination if we keep ourselves open to the unexpected people and opportunities that can help us get there.

Debut author Sarah Jean Horwitz brings to life a fun and frolicking middle grade adventure, packing it full of enough fantasy, humor and heart to make giddy even the most finicky reader.

Felix Cassius Tiberius Carmer III is a magician’s apprentice and an amateur inventor, though his passion truly lies in the pursuit of the latter. But the makeshift family he’s found in the likes of his master, Antoine the Amazifier, and his lovely assistant, Kitty Delphine, is all Carmer has, and he can’t abandon them now, when their show is facing financial ruin. Elsewhere in Skemantis, something sinister is attacking faeries, and one-winged faerie princess Grit is determined to find out what’s going on. Carmer and Grit couldn’t be more different, but they’ll have to figure out how to work together if they’re to solve either of their problems.

In a story populated with small boys with impossibly long names, cat automatons and feisty faeries, Horwitz strikes a balance between being humorous and fun and also holding deeper meanings that stretch beyond mere entertainment and make a lasting and important impact on the lives of the young readers. Through Carmer and Grit, kids will learn what it is to surpass what others see as your limitations and embrace them, rather than trying to ignore or hide them. They will see a model of how to work, and even form a friendship, with someone very different from themselves, and the many unexpected benefits that can bring.

Great life lessons and tons of fun await anyone who ventures into this landscape of steam-powered cities and faerie-inhabited willow trees.

The unlikely pairing of a young girl from Minnesota obsessed with bees and an up-and-coming baseball player from the Dominican Republic produces pure magic in Kurtis Scaletta’s latest middle grade novel.

During a family vacation to Florida, Maya’s family catches a Minnesota Twins’ baseball training camp game. One young player notices Maya’s older sister and signs her outstretched baseball. At that moment, Maya decides to become a fan of that player, Rafael Rosales, even though he has the worst statistics on the team.

Multiple storyline undulate throughout to form a coherent whole. The backstory of a young Rafael growing up in the Dominican Republic reveals how he joined the Twins; Maya’s story highlights her concern for the environment (a subplot involves Maya criticizing her father’s company for dubious environmental practices and the surprising results of that criticism); and Rafael’s career in the United States, partially followed through Maya’s sister’s baseball blog, touches upon the dark side of baseball recruiting. As punishment for taking Maya to a baseball game without permission, Maya’s sister loses her blogging privileges. When Maya gives a brief update to the blog, the blog becomes an internet sensation, and the girls become minor celebrities. Through the lens of fame, Maya and her family have to examine their principles and how far they are willing to go for their beliefs.

Rooting for Rafael Rosales hits for the cycle with its multilayered storylines, and Scaletta triumphs with a grand slam.

Christina Baker Kline’s adapts her bestselling Orphan Train for young readers with Orphan Train Girl. The main difference between the two versions, other than length, is the protagonist’s age: In the adult version, she’s an older teenager; in the new version, she’s in middle school.

Molly Ayers is a preteen struggling to fit into her latest foster home, and after stealing a book from the library, she must do 20 hours of community service. Molly’s assignment is to help Vivian Daly, who is nearing 100 years old, clean out her attic. Molly is sure that this old lady will not approve of her, but Vivian turns out to have more in common with Molly than she thought.

Kline reveals their often-parallel stories in alternating chapters. Molly’s are set in the current day and reveals her life as a half-Penobscot Native American finding her way without a tribe to guide her. Vivian’s story flashes back to her arrival in New York with her Irish family and follows her on her journey after she is orphaned by a fire. As Molly learns about Vivian’s story, she begins to find peace in her own situation.

Kline’s prose is fluid and draws readers into the characters, and each chapter’s cliffhanger ending keeps the pages turning. Part coming-of-age novel, part historical fiction, this book will appeal to a wide range of readers.

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

Even when we can’t quite understand it, we know there’s a deep and special bond shared by family. In The Emperor’s Riddle, readers learn firsthand just how strong that bond can be—even with half a millennium of time, half a world of distance and half a life of wisdom separating family members.

When nearly-12-year-old Mia is dragged away from her American friends for an awkward family trip back to Fuzhou, China, the only thing that keeps her excited about her lost month of summer is hanging out with her Aunt Lin. For years, Aunt Lin has been telling Mia about their ancestors’ ties to a young emperor who ruled China more than 600 years ago and had hidden a massive treasure that no one has ever found. But now that Aunt Lin has discovered an incomplete map and a handful of riddles, she and Mia can finally solve it—together.

But when Aunt Lin suddenly goes missing, Mia must solve the emperor’s riddles and finish the map alone, no matter the cost. It’s the only thing that gives her a chance of saving her Aunt Lin.

Author Kat Zhang flexed her adept young adult literature muscles with her phenomenal The Hybrid Chronicles trilogy. Her first foray into the middle grade arena perfectly embodies that challenging period of childhood when we’re all first learning to trust ourselves—no matter our insecurities—while convincing our families to do the same.

Justin Barisich is a freelancer, satirist, poet and performer living in Atlanta. More of his writing can be found at littlewritingman.com.

Three Pennies by Melanie Crowder is a gorgeously told orphan’s tale, with an old-fashioned ring that pairs with modern elements to create a fast-moving, carefully structured plot.

Eleven-year-old Marin Greene lives in a foster home in San Francisco where she tries to tell her fortune using the I Ching book that once belonged to her mother, who abandoned Marin at age 4. When a single, lesbian surgeon named Dr. Lucy Chang hopes to adopt Marin, the preteen becomes more determined than ever to reunite with her birth mother, despite the appeal of this extraordinarily kind, loving physician.

With short chapters that keep the action rolling, the story unfolds from multiple viewpoints that include Marin, Dr. Lucy and Gilda, a hardworking social worker who gives readers an informative peek into the thorny world of foster care. Marin also has a guardian angel in the form of an owl who watches her carefully, adding yet another uniquely wise voice to the mix.

Neither Marin’s nor Dr. Lucy’s life has gone as planned (the doctor loved a woman who died), but when an earthquake strikes, they realize that they’ve found each other. Three Pennies is an enjoyable reminder that despite the many “topsy-turvy changes that come with this life,” unexpected guardians are often waiting to guide us.

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

Eleven-year-old Joe Grant, who has never felt rain or sunshine, often wishes “my real world was as big as the one in my head.” As the only person in England with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), Joe was born without an immune system and has spent most of his life in a “bubble,” a specially designed hospital room in London. In his first novel for children, author Stewart Foster offers a glimpse of the highs and lows of this difficult yet remarkable life.

Joe tells his own story, countering fatigue, fear of getting sick, endless therapies, isolation and even occasional thoughts of death with dreams of being a superhero. Like most boys his age, he enjoys sports and video games, and like anyone, he craves friendship. Joe looks forward to visits from his older sister and Skypes with Henry, a boy in Philadelphia who also has SCID. But the predictability of Joe’s world is shaken when Henry, thanks to a suit designed by NASA, has the chance to walk outside. Joe begins to wonder if his new daytime nurse, an Indian immigrant named Amir, could assist with a similar adventure.

Readers, particularly fans of R.J. Palacio’s Wonder, will admire Joe’s strength, courage and hope. His tender story reaffirms humanity.

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

BookPage Children’s Top Pick, May 2017

Clayton Byrd is a bluesman. Despite his young age—and the fact that he can’t quite get those blue notes to wail like his grandfather and best friend, Cool Papa Byrd, can—he knows he’s a bluesman. He can feel it deep down in the pit of his stomach.

And like a true bluesman, when his grandfather dies, Clayton turns to music for solace. One problem: His mother has hidden his harmonica because he keeps falling asleep in class. Faced with the loss of his grandfather and a mother whose pain blinds her to his needs, Clayton recovers his harmonica and takes a note out of Cool Papa’s songbook—he hits the road.

But on his way to join up with Cool Papa’s backing band, the Bluesmen, Clayton runs into a pack of wayward youths who spend their days on the subway, dodging the police and dancing for spare change. Drawn by the beat-boxed rhythms that accompany their dance, Clayton adds his harmonica melody to the mix and quickly finds himself embroiled in their less-than-sunny subterranean world.

When his plan to join the Bluesmen goes bust and he finds himself holed up in a police station, waiting for his mother to pick him up, Clayton begins to grasp the desperation and despondency that births the blues anew in each generation.

In Clayton Byrd Goes Underground, three-time Coretta Scott King Medal winner Rita Williams-Garcia has crafted an endearing family drama with all the wit, wisdom and resonance of the best blues songs.

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