Summer of Brave

 

LOVE!!!

So happy to have 3 in a row that I really enjoyed - this one ticks all the boxes - great content, realistic characters, good flow, not too long. 

Lilla is feeling pressure on every side and instead of confronting things she stays quiet and goes along with things.  But really she's lying to herself and others.  When her friend Viv declares it the "summer of brave" she challenges Lilla to stand up for herself.  Tell her parents how she feels about the magnet school, tell the boy she likes how she feels, and confront the harassment that made her feel ashamed and afraid.

Very powerful message of empowerment for middle grade girls.

The One Thing You'd Save

 

Short book love!  Another short book that packs a punch.  I remember doing an exercise like this after my 8th grade year.  It does really make you think about what is important and why.  I really didn't even notice that it was poems until the author's note.  Even better - good discussion starter, introduction to a form of poetry, and accessible for most readers.  Score!

Sunshine

 

This book packs a lot of punch into a small package, which I love.  Too many middle grade books are hitting the 300+ page mark and that can be overwhelming for many of our younger middle grade readers.  This was a perfect length.

Ben is going to spend a week with his mother who left him and his dad when he was 3.  He thinks that maybe if she sees him maybe she'll come back.  The island and his mom are not what he was expecting at all.  While there he discovers the truth about why she left and develops insight into Sunshine - his imaginary dog.

This one is solid and will find a good audience - meaty without being overwhelming.

Dead Wednesday

 

I am thinking that if I was on an award committee this year that included fantasy books I would be inclined to give this a second read.  There was something haunting about it (excuse the pun).  I think it reminds me a bit of Spinelli's Hokey Pokey but I think I liked this better.

Every year the 8th graders have what is called Dead Wednesday.  On that day they are given a card with the name and information of a teenager who died the previous year - in a car accident usually that was influenced by alcohol, carelessness, etc.  After receiving the cards the students receive black shirts and are basically considered "dead" for the rest of the day.  The intent - to make them think about their choices and consequences.  In reality, most students use it as an excuse to pretty much do whatever they want because all the adults are supposed to ignore them because they're "dead".  

But Robbie (nickname Worm) actually meets the girl he's assigned to - Becca - and she changes his life.

This took me a little bit to get acclimated to but then the pacing, mystery, and a clever ending really made the book something special.

The Last Fallen Star

 

I am a super fan of Rick Riordan Presents and how it is promoting different cultures, authors, and their stories.  While I may not really be familiar with Korean stories I love that they are highlighted in this book.

Riley has always wanted to be a part of her gifted clan.  But, she was adopted, and she shows no signs of having inherited the needed gifts.  When her adopted sister is initiated into the clan they decide to do a forbidden spell to share Hattie's gift with Riley.  But everything backfires and now her parents may lose their gifts as a result.  So Riley decides to make a deal with the goddess to find the Last Fallen Star to keep it out of the wrong hands.  But things aren't always what they seem - people she thought were evil, people she thought were good - everything she has ever known is challenged.  

Can Riley find the Last Fallen Star and is she willing to sacrifice whatever it takes to save the ones she loves?

I did enjoy this quite a bit and can't wait to add it to the growing collection of stories that honor other cultures.