New Kid by Jerry Craft
New Kid by Jerry Craft This book was both a delight to read and a hard read as well. It is not so much because of the content or concepts, but because of the flow. Things seemed forced at times; the point is thrown at you more than once to get it across. Is this good or bad? That is up to the reader. Are these nice people? For the most part it does seem like people are good, even the ones who are a bit […]
Walk Two Moons by Sharon Creech
Somehow I never read this as a kid and had always wondered if was any good. I finally picked this up on vacation in August (only £3, bless used bookstores) and it turns out that this is a classic and won the Newbery Medal for a reason. Often when you read a children’s/middle grade book, there’s a preachy tone or a sense they’re trying hard to impart a lesson, and that lack of authentic voice makes the book feel boring and irritating. Walk Two Moons […]
Freestyle by Gale Galligan
Growing Pains by Kathryn Ormsbee and Molly Brooks
The Baby-Sitters Club #12: Jessi's Secret Language by Chan Chau
Frizzy by Claribel A. Ortega and Rose Bousamra
Tidesong by Wendy Xu
The Tryout by Christina Soontornvat and Joanna Cacao
My love of middle grade graphic novels continues to deepen as more and more great books come out. Over the past week I read these six, which almost all came out recently (Tidesong came out in 2021). What really struck me about most of them is the wonderful diversity of viewpoints and experiences, which makes for a varied and rewarding reading experience. Hopefully as the generation of kids reading these grows up, we will see a similar boom in YA and adult graphic novels. Freestyle […]
Ti kniver i hjertet (Ten knives in the heart) by Nora Dåsnes
3.5 stars Tuva is about to start seventh grade (age 11-12 here in Norway) and is very much looking forward to seeing her best friends Linnea and Bao and catching up after a long summer apart. She shares all of her hopes and fears writing and drawing in her diary. When she gets back to school, however, nothing is as she was expecting. Linnea has a boyfriend now, and doesn’t really want to hang out, playing in their secret treehouse in the woods. She just […]
Witch Hazel by Molly Idle
Witch Hazel by Molly Idle seemed like it was going to be something other than it was by the cover and what I had quickly read about it. I had no idea I would need tissues! You see, this is about a young girl and her grandmother and the beautiful times they have. Or had. As you see how the grandmother, Hazel, slowly starts to change as the seasons change. Without coming right out and saying it, you know that she has passed by the […]
The Blue Scarf by Mohamed Danawi
I will start my review off with, there is absolutely nothing wrong with The Blue Scarf by Mohamed Danawi. Is it a bit saccharine-sweet? Sure. But that does not mean it cannot be good. It just means that a reader like me needs to be in the right frame of mind when reading it. And I was. Mostly. Okay, it was too cute for today. But ask me tomorrow. Or ask someone who likes emotion pulling tales and see what they think. Ask someone what […]
