In her debut novel, Claire Fayers creates a swashbuckling voyage in a vividly imagined fantasy realm where the sum of the world’s knowledge is kept on an island and protected by a sisterhood of librarians.

As a child, Brine Seaborne was found in an abandoned rowboat with no memory of where she came from. Now 12 years old, Brine is fed up with being the housekeeper for a grumpy magician, with only his insufferable apprentice, Peter, for company. So when she and Peter are forced to flee the magician’s house due to a ploy gone horribly wrong, Brine sees it as a chance to finally discover where she came from. Before long, Brine and Peter find themselves aboard the legendary pirate ship known as the Onion, sailing to find Magical North, a place shrouded in myth and legend. 

This rollicking, high-seas adventure is a celebration of girl power and a testament to the magic of storytelling.

This article was originally published in the July 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Twelve-year-old Wren Baker longs to be brave, and she certainly needs all the courage she can muster. Her mother has been hospitalized for depression, and her father has left to tend to her in Ohio. This means that Wren is suddenly living with an aunt and a cousin named Silver whom she’s only just met. Wren also feels responsible for her younger brother, Russell, who has Asperger’s and who needs her now more than ever.

In Cecilia Galante’s adept hands, these relationships are admirably and deeply explored. Not only are these characters wonderfully authentic, The World from Up Here is full of multiple adventures, including a ride in a glider plane and a runaway horse—experiences that anxious Wren never dreamed she could handle. There’s also mystery, in the form of Witch Weatherly, a hermit who lives on the top of Creeper Mountain—whom Silver is determined to meet, and who ends up playing a pivotal role in Wren’s ongoing family drama.

Wren learns that she can reach unimaginable heights, heeding the glider pilot’s advice: “Take a look. . . . It’s not every day you get to see the world from up here.”

ALSO IN BOOKPAGE: Read our Q&A with Cecilia Galante for The World from Up Here.

This article was originally published in the July 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

BookPage Children's Top Pick, July 2016

Nora Raleigh Baskin’s latest novel focuses on how four young teens turn tragedy into hope after the events of September 11, 2001.

Two days prior to the events of 9/11, four random middle schoolers lead very different lives: Will is white and lives in Pennsylvania; Sergio is black and lives in New York; Aimee is Jewish and recently moved to California; and Naheed is Muslim and lives in Ohio. Will, Sergio, Aimee and Naheed are all dealing with personal and familial issues, and they are unaware that the next 48 hours will totally alter their perspectives on life and provide an opportunity for them to stand up for what is right.

It’s not difficult for adults to recall what life was like before and after 9/11, as well as where they were or what they were doing when Flight 11 flew directly into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. But as Baskin states, “For young students today there is no ‘before 9/11.’ ” With Nine, Ten: A September 11 Story, Baskin offers middle grade readers a small glimpse of how the world suddenly changed on that fateful day. Parallel narratives with journal entry chapter headings and the use of shifting, profound scenes during the events of 9/11 keep Baskin’s plot constantly moving. The result is an absolutely stunning read.

This article was originally published in the July 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Classic elements of gothic literature combine in Michelle Chalfoun’s delightful first book for middle grade readers, as a girl moves to a new part of the country and encounters a mostly empty mansion, a dying old man and a secret treasure map.

Maria Mamoun spends most of her days alone, reading or watching TV when she’s not in school. She doesn’t complain about missing her overworked, single mom. She doesn’t complain when bullied by a girl gang in her Bronx neighborhood, either. However, when things get really nasty, her mother makes the decision to uproot them both, and Maria finds herself like a fish out of water living on an island in New England.

With her usual good spirits, she befriends the elderly gentleman her mother cares for, and he gives her tantalizing hints about an old sea captain and his buried treasure. When Maria finds a treasure map in the rafters of the cottage where she and her mother live, Maria dreams of finding the treasure so she and her mother will never have to leave the shore Maria has come to love.

Soon Maria transforms her dreams into action. She befriends a troubled boy, and together they figure out the mystery of the map and plot to sneak out at night when a clue will be visible in the sky. Maria’s overwhelming desire to find the treasure clouds her judgement, and she makes poor moral choices because of it. The Treasure of Maria Mamoun eventually reveals exactly what is most treasured.

Nell Dare is a young city girl with big plans for her summer vacation in New York City. She and her best friend are interning as junior zookeepers in Central Park, but when Nell's father mysteriously goes away, Nell must accompany her botanist mother to Roanoke, North Carolina, to study an ancient grapevine. At first Nell is upset by the change of plans, until she and her mother settle into a seaside cottage and Nell meets Ambrose, a local boy who dresses in period costume. Ambrose teaches Nell about Roanoke’s unusual history, including the story of the lost colonists, a group of English settlers who went missing in the late 16th century. While hunting for ancient artifacts, Nell and Ambrose evade Lila, a Roanoke native with a know-it-all attitude, who is on her own quest to uncover evidence of the lost colony. Then Nell and Ambrose embark on a dangerous course for answers that may cost Nell her life.

Summer of Lost and Found is about a young girl trying to navigate around her parents’ problems. When Nell’s father abruptly leaves, and Nell’s mother refuses to disclose why, Nell conjures up her own solution to her family’s unusual separation. Her friendship with Ambrose is built on mutual sadness as Ambrose’s father had also left the family, albeit under much different circumstances. Ambrose is the more compelling character in this story, and savvy readers will figure out his secret early on, although that won’t dilute the fun of this enjoyable mystery.

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

Charlie’s got a case of second-fiddle-itis. With her parents busy in their careers and her older sister away at college, she’s barely on anyone’s radar. One day she’s ice fishing with some neighbors and pulls in a small fry, which promises her one wish in exchange for being released. The Seventh Wish starts out with the trappings of a fairy tale, but things get real very quickly.

Author Kate Messner (All the Answers) packs this book with points of interest, from Charlie’s passion for Irish dance to the world of ice fishing in upstate New York to, surprisingly, drug addiction and recovery. It never bogs down in heavy issues—there’s a very funny running gag about a student who keeps misplacing her flour “baby” from home ec class—but manages to communicate a lot about family dynamics, trust and the point at which wishing loses its power. Despite feeling like she barely casts a shadow, Charlie has a network of friends who support her once she’s able to be open with them.

The Seventh Wish would be a great pick for young book club readers, with its frank discussion of how we perceive drug use and addiction versus the reality that many experience. It’s also a new take on a classic fairy tale that reminds us to be careful what we wish for . . . and prepare to deal with whatever life gives us in return.

Maggie the worrywart is starting middle school—but her worries go beyond school. The news reports on a murderer in their neighborhood. The neighbor’s rabbits may soon be someone’s dinner. The neighborhood bully might get a gun for his birthday . . . well, there’s just not much that Maggie finds calm about her little world.

With her omnipresent worries, stream-of-consciousness thinking and constant “deal making” to ensure her safety (for example, she must do everything in even numbers to ensure her preferred outcome), Maggie’s not unlike most tweens, really. But her OCD demeanor definitely impacts her two sisters and everyone around her. She worries when Dad doesn’t come home on time—“Please don’t let Dad’s plane crash, please don’t let Dad’s plane crash,” she repeats. And everyday occurrences take on weighted meaning in Maggie’s overwrought life. Several short chapters focus on Maggie’s mantras and behaviors as she checked that all the doors are locked and that no one is under the bed.

Life is hard when you’re 11, and everything around you is changing—not all for the better—and you realize that many things are not within your control. While this book may be relatable to others anxious about school, friends and the community at large, the repetitiveness of Maggie’s behaviors and stream-of-consciousness writing may be off-putting to some.

Lisa Graff’s National Book Award nominated A Tangle of Knots was a delight, and the story continues in A Clatter of Jars. It may be surprising to readers to find that the main character is not the same, but as Graff so beautifully untied the “knots” in the earlier book, so does she bring all shards together in the new one.

It is five years after A Tangle of Knots, and the central characters are all present at Camp Atropos for Singular Talents. In this world, which is in all other respects like our own, people may be born with one unusual Talent. The abilities range from levitation of objects to being able to make the perfect cake for everyone you meet. The kids in Cabin Eight will discover that their Talents—or in some cases, their secrets—will soon be necessary to solve a mystery.

Graff’s writing is consistently excellent, and she once again deftly weaves each character’s story together until the denouement. Sometimes the reader can see where the disparate pieces will knock into each other, but sometimes not. It’s as if each character is a glass jar rattling against another until they all settle down. Graff’s prose and plot construction is as pleasing as ever, and A Clatter of Jars will appeal to a wide range of readers. 

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

Newbery Medalist Karen Cushman crafts a spellbinding tale teeming with an endless array of magical delights and charming characters, including a shape-shifting mouse and a wizard whose chosen method of soothsaying is with cheese.

Grayling meets these quirky characters and many others on her journey to discover the dark force that has been targeting the kingdom’s magic makers. Grayling and her motley crew must crisscross the kingdom in search of her mother’s stolen grimoire, the spell book they hope will hold the key to restoring peace and tranquility in the kingdom. And although she and her companions face innumerable dangers and trials along the way, Grayling soon realizes that her greatest challenge is to believe in herself.

In this world, magic is commonplace but no less enchanting. This adventure story has the feel of a classic fable, and Cushman’s writing brims with grace and warmth.

This article was originally published in the June 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Trust is a challenging concept for 12-year-old Ben Coffin, who has spent most of his life in foster care with people constantly coming and going like a revolving door. But how can a boy’s life not change when a stray dog enters, even “a girly little dog” named Flip? In When Friendship Followed Me Home, Paul Griffin brings his hard-hitting, realistic fiction, once reserved for teens, to the middle grade set.

Meeting Flip is equally as important as meeting spunky Halley, dubbed the “Rainbow Girl” for the colorful accessories she wears to complement her appearance after chemotherapy treatments. Together, the trio forms a fierce bond, but when tragedy strikes the only home that has made Ben feel safe, he is left to forge his own way again.

People come and go from Ben’s life, but they all have a meaningful impact and give him the sense of belonging he needs—and deserves. Even hardened readers will find it impossible to keep a dry eye at the bittersweet ending, which is full of love’s magic.

This article was originally published in the June 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Claire Legrand’s Some Kind of Happiness explores life’s awkward silences, ruined moments and hidden truths.

Eleven-year-old Finley navigates life like a prisoner. Held captive by a darkness from within, she struggles with terrible thoughts, night sweats and unexplained bouts of panic. Though overwhelmed by depression, she hides it well. Even her parents, busy with their lives and failing relationship, don’t know. The chronic sadness is Finley’s secret—as is Evermore, a land of her invention where twisted trees, trolls and a dark castle let her escape to a magical realm. 

When Finley is sent to live with grandparents she’s never met, she feels even more like a stranger in her own skin. However, once she sees the forest behind her grandparents’ house, she recognizes it as her Evermore—a wild place, a real place where she can be herself. Cautiously, she invites her cousins—and the Bailey boys, whom they’ve been told to avoid—into her world, and soon the summer’s trajectory takes on a life all its own.

Legrand’s greatest strengths are her elegant restraint and her visceral portrayal of her characters from the inside out.

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 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Things aren’t at all simple in Wolf Hollow, and that’s the great strength of Lauren Wolk’s first novel for middle school readers. Wolk has created a fascinating world in the mountains of Pennsylvania in 1943, where heroine Annabelle announces in the opening line, “The year I turned twelve, I learned how to lie.”

Throughout this novel, Annabelle is learning how to see the world, especially after she wins a camera and a lifetime supply of film and processing. Before long, the camera is borrowed by Toby, a hobo-like World War I veteran who forever transforms Annabelle’s vision, and whose photographs play a pivotal role in the unfolding drama.

Annabelle is being tormented by a new classmate in the one-room schoolhouse she attends. Betty Glengarry, a “dark-hearted girl who came to our hills and changed everything,” not only threatens Annabelle and her younger brothers, but her bullying spirals so completely out of control that a girl named Ruth suffers a horrifying accident.

Betty points a finger of blame squarely at Toby, prompting a tragic cascade of events in which only Annabelle is left to expose the truth. As Annabelle soon realizes, “The truth was so tightly braided with secrets that I could not easily say anything without saying too much.”

Wolf Hollow is fascinating and fast-paced, driven by Wolk’s exquisite plotting and thoughtful, fine-tuned writing. Reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird, this isn't a book full of happy endings; instead, it gives young readers a ringside seat at real-life moral complexities. As Annabelle explains, “The year I turned twelve, I learned that what I said and what I did mattered.”