UngiftedBy Gordon Korman Donovan Curtis is the class clown and the first to cause mayhem and destruction in Hardcastle Middle School. With the assistance of his two best friends, both named Daniel, Donovan has raised the ire of teachers, principals and even students. Known for his antics, Donovan is definitely not academically inclined. When Donovan […]
Yours Sincerely, GiraffeBy Megumi Iwasa, Illustrations by Jun Takabataka Giraffe is bored and longs for a friend. Pelican is bored and offers to deliver letters. Although Giraffe has never written a letter, he decides to give it a try. Pelican flies Giraffe’s letter beyond the horizon to a faraway place called Whale Sea. Seal is the […]
Beartown By Fredrik Backman Beartown is a small town with big dreams. Fredrik Backman takes us into this small community nestled amongst the trees, with a heavier storyline than his usual lighthearted, humorous fiction; maybe that’s because there’s so much riding on the outcome of this tale. Regardless, I was quickly drawn in and I […]
Words in Deep Blueby Cath CrowleyThis is a beautiful book made even more lovely by the fact that I listened to it as an audiobook, the Australian accent putting me right in Australia, the setting for this tale. Rachel Sweetie and Henry Jones grew up together in Gracetown until Rachel moved to Sea Ridge with […]
by Rob Buyea Featuring a mixed up group of sixth graders, this novel explores the struggles faced by each student and how they evolve to become better human beings by their teachers. When they first enter class, the students discover their assigned teacher is replaced by retiree Mrs. Woods, a no-nonsense straightforward educator. Along with […]
FeedBy M.T. Anderson Titus lives in a future where information no longer comes through a device; rather, it infiltrates the brain directly through a “feed”. Advertising and entertainment pop right into people’s heads. People can “chat” each other through the feed and often are not accustomed to speaking out loud. Titus and his friends are […]
New BoyBy Tracy Chevalier The Shakespearian tragedy of Othello is reimagined in Tracy Chevalier’s mesmerizing book, New Boy. When Osei arrives at his new school in Washington D.C. in the 1970s, he is the only black boy on the playground. This is not a new experience for him. Osei’s father is a diplomat from Ghana […]
The Magic Misfits by Neil Patrick Harris The Magic Misfits is a fun, quirky middle grade book by actor Neil Patrick Harris. It begins with Carter, a young boy who lives with his Uncle Sly, a street con artist who forces Carter, a young magician, to assist him with his pick-pocketing. Having had enough […]
William Wenton and the Impossible PuzzleBy Bobbie Peers William Olsen has been living in Norway for the past eight years. When William’s grandfather disappeared, William and his parents had to leave England and now they are in hiding. William longs to know the secrets that sent his family underground. He also longs to go back […]
The Explorer By Katherine Rundell In a small plane, four children travel over the Amazon jungle. Each has a good reason to be on an excursion without their parents and will meet their adults at their destination. But when the pilot has what appears to be a heart attack, Fred, Con, Lila and her little […]