Back of Book: 

She wouldn't be Zhanna. She'd use an alias. A for Anna. A for alive.

When the Germans invade Ukraine, Zhanna, a young Jewish girl, must leave behind her friends, her freedom, and her promising musical future at the world's top conservatory. With no time to say goodbye, Zhanna, her sister Frina, and their entire family are removed from their home by the Nazis and forced on a long, cold, death march. When a guard turns a blind eye, Zhanna flees with nothing more than her musical talent, her beloved sheet music, and her father's final plea: "I don't care what you do. Just live." 

Told in verse by award-winning author Susan Hood (Lifeboat 12) with Zhanna's son, Greg Dawson, this is the moving true story of how piano prodigies Zhanna (alias "Anna") and her sister, Frina, outplayed their pursuers by hiding in plain sight. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Poetry | Historical 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

Poet and author Robin Gow’s moving middle-grade novel in verse Dear Mothman is about a young trans boy dealing with the loss of his friend by writing to his favorite cryptid.

Halfway through sixth grade, Noah’s best friend and the only other trans boy in his school, Lewis, passed away in a car accident. Adventurous and curious, Lewis was always bringing a new paranormal story to share with Noah. Together they daydreamed about cryptids and shared discovering their genders and names.

After Lewis’s death, lonely and yearning for someone who could understand him like Lewis once did, Noah starts writing letters to Mothman, wondering if he would understand how Noah feels and also looking for evidence of Mothman’s existence in the vast woods surrounding his small Poconos town. Noah becomes determined to make his science fair project about Mothman, despite his teachers and parents urging him to make a project about something “real.”

Meanwhile, as Noah tries to find Mothman, he also starts to make friends with a group of girls in his grade, Hanna, Molly, and Alice, with whom he’d been friendly, but never close to. Now, they welcome him, and he starts to open up to each of them, especially Hanna, whom Noah has a crush on. But as strange things start to happen and Noah becomes sure of Mothman’s existence, his parents and teachers don’t believe him. Noah decides it’s up to him to risk everything, trek into the woods, and find Mothman himself. 

Book Number: Stand Alone

Genre: Middle Grade | Poetry | Contemporary | Fantasy | LGBTQIA+ 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

A touching verse novel about a trans boy who finds comfort in writing letters to Mothman after the death of his best friend. 

In the middle of Noah's sixth grade year, his best friend Lewis is tragically killed in a car crash. Lewis was addicted to all things cryptid (especially Mothman), so Noah begins to write letters to Mothman to feel closer to his deceased friend. What Noah never expected is that Mothman would respond back to his letters. As Noah gets closer to Mothman, he also befriends a group of girls who are a bit skeptical of his Mothman obsession but deem it worthy of hanging out with him regardless. Time passes, and the four begin to discover the secrets of Mothman all while Noah is slowly learning how to cope with his grief. 

This book is so sweet and heartwarming. It is also tinged with sadness and grief, but the overwhelming sense of hope that this book bestowed upon me made it all worth it. A trans boy finding solace in writing letters to Mothman is so quirky yet absolutely adorable. It is so sad that Noah relates more to Mothman than his fellow peers, but it's so precious that Noah finds someone that he can relate to, even if it's a giant cryptid that lives in the woods. 

I was happy to learn that this one is actually a verse novel. I wasn't aware of that when I first picked it up, but I feel as though it truly added to the experience. This story is also told in a bit of a multimedia format with letters from Noah to Mothman, Noah's personal thoughts, images Noah draws, as well as some segments told from his friend Hanna's point of view. The way that this book uses fonts and utilizes unique page layouts really enhanced the reading experience while making it super easy to understand exactly whose PoV one is currently reading. 

Noah is a transgender boy who also happens to be autistic. This leads to many kids finding him strange and makes Noah feels as though he is a separate entity than everyone else. The way that Gow pens the letters to Mothman feels so personal and it was easy for me to empathize with how alienated many queer kids feel at such a young age. I'm glad that Noah has many supportive adults in his life that are there for him whenever he needs them. 

The illustrations included in this book are so darn cute! Noah will draw pictures of him, Lewis, and Mothman that he often sends to his pen pal. The art style is so precious, and I'm so glad that these images made it into the final version of this book. They added a special touch to this already unique book. 

This book includes many themes of growing up, discovering pieces of oneself, and finding the people that just get you. At its core though, is grief and the impossible journey of learning to cope with the loss of a loved one. Noah writes to Mothman because Lewis believed so fervently in him and it becomes Noah's lifeline. The journey it takes for Noah to realize the true reason he is writing these letters is a challenging one, but it portrays grief so accurately. 

Overall, "Dear Mothman" is a wonderful verse novel that I will hold dear to my heart. It features the sweetest trans, autistic boy by the name of Noah who is going through some pretty hard times after he loses his best friend in a tragic accident. The themes are really powerful, and I think kids who have lost a loved one or grappling with their identities could really benefit from reading this one. The premise is a little bit quirky, but I think that makes this one that much more interesting of a read. 

Back of Book: 

Set against the backdrop of WWII, this achingly beautiful middle grade novel in verse based on American history presents the dual perspectives of Claire, a Midwestern girl who longs for college even as she worries for her soldier brother, and Karl, a German POW who’s processing the war as he works on Claire’s family farm. This poignant and moving story of an unlikely connection will stay with readers long after the final page.

It’s October 1944, and while Claire’s older brother, Danny, is off fighting in World War II, her dad hires a group of German POWs to help with the apple harvest on their farm. Claire wants nothing to do with the enemies in the orchard, until she begins to notice soft-spoken, hardworking Karl. Could she really have something in common with a German soldier?

Karl, meanwhile, grapples with his role in the war as he realizes how many lies Hitler’s regime has spread. But his encounters with Claire—the serious girl with gentle eyes—give him hope that he can change and become the person he wants to be.

Inspired by the little-known history of POW labor camps in the United States, this lyrical verse novel is told in alternating first-person poems by two young people on opposite sides of the war. Against a vivid backdrop of home front tensions and daily life, intimate entries reveal Claire’s and Karl's hopes and struggles, and their growing attraction to each other even as the war rages on. What are their chances of connection, of redemption, of peace?

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Poetry | Historical 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

A middle grade novel told in verse about a girl who dreams of being a nurse. . . and the German boy that invades her family's orchard. 

It's 1944 and Claire's brother Danny is across the sea fighting against the Nazis. So when a troop of German POWs arrive to help out around Claire's family orchard, she is beyond annoyed. She wants nothing to do with the enemies within her orchard, but her father assigns her to work with a young boy by the name of Karl. Working alongside him, Claire begins to realize that Karl is more humane than she every could have imagined and that she might even like him. Meanwhile, Karl begins to question everything that has been drilled into him as one of Hitler's youth. Both teens have to grapple with the decisions of their past and the possibilities of their futures as the war continues to wage across the ocean. 

I really liked the poetry in this one. I felt that Claire and Karl both had distinct voices and it was super easy to follow their story lines. I appreciate how Claire's poems were left aligned and how Karl's were right aligned, also. I felt that these poems were packed with emotion, and I felt myself tearing up towards the end. 

One of the things I found really cool about this story is how much of it was based in history. It is true that neither Claire nor Karl is real, but there were many people that went through similar circumstances during World War II. I've never read a book that dove into POWs working on farms to replace boys who were serving in the war. It makes sense that this was done, but I've never come across this before. The fact that VanderLugt also spent a bunch of her childhood at her grandfather's orchard also really helped breath life into the setting as well as the character's thoughts toward the trees. 

The emotional turmoil that Claire and Karl both have to bear is what really makes this story tick. They both have to come to terms with the fact that everything they've heard about their enemies isn't explicitly true. These things take time, of course, and I enjoyed watching their growth throughout this tale. 

Overall, I found "Enemies in the Orchard" to be an easy, enjoyable read. I got a glimpse of an experience during World War II that I've never witnessed before, and learned a bit more about a side of American history that I didn't know. The poetry was nice, the emotions felt real, and I was never bored. I would totally recommend to readers interested in a different type of WWII book or those who appreciate heartfelt poetry. 

Back of Book: 

RUN RUN RUN. That’s what twelve-year-old Annie loves to do. When she’s barefoot and running, she can hear her heart beating. . . thump-THUMP, thump-THUMP.

It’s a rhythm that makes sense in a year when everything’s shifting: Her mother is pregnant, her grandfather is forgetful, and her best friend, Max, is always moody. Everything changes over time, just like the apple Annie’s been assigned to draw a hundred times.

Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech masterfully weaves this tender and intuitive story told in free verse about a young girl beginning to understand the many rhythms of life, and how she fits within them. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Poetry | Contemporary 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Kek comes from Africa. In America he sees snow for the first time, and feels its sting. He's never walked on ice, and he falls. He wonders if the people in this new place will be like the winter – cold and unkind.

In Africa, Kek lived with his mother, father, and brother. But only he and his mother have survived, and now she's missing. Kek is on his own. Slowly, he makes friends: a girl who is in foster care; an old woman who owns a rundown farm, and a cow whose name means "family" in Kek's native language. As Kek awaits word of his mother's fate, he weathers the tough Minnesota winter by finding warmth in his new friendships, strength in his memories, and belief in his new country. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Poetry | Contemporary 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

From the prolific author of The Moon Within comes the heart-wrenchingly beautiful story in verse of a young Latinx girl who learns to hold on to hope and love even in the darkest of places: a family detention center for migrants and refugees.

Nine-year-old Betita knows she is a crane. Papi has told her the story, even before her family fled to Los Angeles to seek refuge from cartel wars in Mexico. The Aztecs came from a place called Aztlan, what is now the Southwest US, called the land of the cranes. They left Aztlan to establish their great city in the center of the universe-Tenochtitlan, modern-day Mexico City. It was prophesized that their people would one day return to live among the cranes in their promised land. Papi tells Betita that they are cranes that have come home.

Then one day, Betita's beloved father is arrested by Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) and deported to Mexico. Betita and her pregnant mother are left behind on their own, but soon they too are detained and must learn to survive in a family detention camp outside of Los Angeles. Even in cruel and inhumane conditions, Betita finds heart in her own poetry and in the community she and her mother find in the camp. The voices of her fellow asylum seekers fly above the hatred keeping them caged, but each day threatens to tear them down lower than they ever thought they could be. Will Betita and her family ever be whole again?

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Poetry | Contemporary 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

This uplifting New York Times bestseller reminds us that if we’re open to new experiences, life is full of surprises.

Fans of Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech’s Love That Dog and Hate That Cat will love her newest tween novel, Moo. Following one family’s momentous move from the city to rural Maine, an unexpected bond develops between twelve-year-old Reena and one very ornery cow.

When Reena, her little brother, Luke, and their parents first move to Maine, Reena doesn’t know what to expect. She’s ready for beaches, blueberries, and all the lobster she can eat. Instead, her parents “volunteer” Reena and Luke to work for an eccentric neighbor named Mrs. Falala, who has a pig named Paulie, a cat named China, a snake named Edna—and that stubborn cow, Zora.

This heartwarming story, told in a blend of poetry and prose, reveals the bonds that emerge when we let others into our lives. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Poetry | Contemporary 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Celi Rivera's life swirls with questions. About her changing body. Her first attraction to a boy. And her best friend's exploration of what it means to be genderfluid.

But most of all, her mother's insistence she have a moon ceremony when her first period arrives. It's an ancestral Mexica ritual that Mima and her community have reclaimed, but Celi promises she will NOT be participating. Can she find the power within herself to take a stand for who she wants to be?

A dazzling story told with the sensitivity, humor, and brilliant verse of debut talent Aida Salazar.

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Poetry | Contemporary | LGBTQIA+ 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

A middle grade novel in verse that explores many questions that young girls experience when it comes to going through puberty and growing older. 

Celi Rivera's life has gotten way more complicated recently. Her chest is no longer flat and her mima is obsessed with honoring her changing body despite the embarrassment this fills Celi with. On top of all the physical changes, Celi can't help but feel attracted to a skater boy by the name of Iván despite the fact that he is mean to her genderfluid best friend Mar. When every aspect of her life seems to be changing, Celi tries to bottle up her feelings and avoid her problems. But eventually, she's going to have to face her fears and sort out her feelings. 

I love "Land of the Cranes" by Salazar, so I was curious to check out some of her other works. This one didn't move me as much, but I think the topics that were explored in this one are equally as important. Children that are born biologically female all have to deal with growing breasts, menstruation, and all of the other physical aspects of puberty; there isn't enough books that openly talk about these things, especially in middle grade books. 

Mar's journey as a genderfluid youth was also really interesting to follow. Especially when the cultural aspects were brought into the story. Mar is a xochihuah, which means that they possess both female and male energies within themselves. I've heard people like this talked about in Native American cultures, but I've never heard it explored from a Latinx perspective. This made this book a fresh and interesting look into genderfluidity. 

It was unfortunate to see Celi get involved with some of the people that she did and start to drift away from her best friend, Mar. I must say, I cannot relate to being overtaken by hormones as a preteen. I can't even begin to imagine craving the attention of a boy that young, but I'm sure that many young people can relate to such feelings. I'm glad that Celi eventually came to realize how toxic her relationship with Iván is; there is so much more to liking someone than physical attraction and I feel this is a lesson that so many people need to learn. 

Overall, I think that stories like "The Moon Within" are super important both for their open discussion on puberty and the cultural ties. Coming to terms with one's self is a life long process, and I feel books like this will help kids feel less alone. Since this book is written in verse, it is a really quick read and therefore, should be accessible to many children who need a story like this in their lives. 

Back of Book: 

When Billie Jo is just fourteen she must endure heart-wrenching ordeals that no child should have to face. The quiet strength she displays while dealing with unspeakable loss is as surprising as it is inspiring.

Written in free verse, this award-winning story is set in the heart of the Great Depression. It chronicles Oklahoma's staggering dust storms, and the environmental—and emotional—turmoil they leave in their path. An unforgettable tribute to hope and inner strength.

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Poetry | Historical 

Review: 🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

Ever since Ellie wore a whale swimsuit and made a big splash at her fifth birthday party, she’s been bullied about her weight. To cope, she tries to live by the Fat Girl Rules–like “no making waves,” “avoid eating in public,” and “don’t move so fast that your body jiggles.” And she’s found her safe space–her swimming pool–where she feels weightless in a fat-obsessed world. In the water, she can stretch herself out like a starfish and take up all the room she wants. It’s also where she can get away from her pushy mom, who thinks criticizing Ellie’s weight will motivate her to diet. Fortunately, Ellie has allies in her dad, her therapist, and her new neighbor, Catalina, who loves Ellie for who she is. With this support buoying her, Ellie might finally be able to cast aside the Fat Girl Rules and starfish in real life–by unapologetically being her own fabulous self.

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Poetry | Contemporary 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Sometimes life explodes in technicolor. In the spirit of Judy Blume, award-winning author Aida Salazar tells it like it is about puberty, hormones, and first love in this hilarious, heartwarming, and highly relatable coming-of-age story. Perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds, Kwame Alexander, and Adib Khorram. For Elio Solis, eighth grade fizzes with change--his body teeming with hormones. His feelings that flow like lava. His relationship with Pops, who's always telling him to man up, the Solis way. And especially Camelia, his first girlfriend. But when betrayal and heartbreak send Elio spiraling toward revenge, he doesn't anticipate that a fight to prove his manhood and defend Camelia's honor will lead to dire consequences--or that Camelia's not looking for a savior. Crackling with comedy and unflinching candor, Ultraviolet digs deep into themes of consent, puberty, masculinity, and the emotional lives of boys, as it challenges stereotypes and offers another way to be in the world. It speaks directly to tweens' and young teens' lived experiences and will make them feel seen.

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Poetry | Contemporary 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟 

A middle grade verse novel exploring first love, puberty, and the struggles that all boys experience as they grow older. 

Elio Solis has always been scared of girls. But suddenly, he sees Camelia in a new light and his world begins to glow brighter. Soon, Elio and Camelia are dating and they have to work through all of the tense feelings that come with tween love. 

I recently read "The Moon Within" by the same author. This book has very similar vibes, but rather than a female protagonist, "Ultraviolet" explores puberty and young love from a boy's perspective. I've never read another book that explores puberty from a male point of view, so that was very refreshing. I think it is very important that everyone feels seen in every stage of their lives, and this book works towards remedying that. Our society tends to force men and boys to shackle their true feelings, so having books that show that it's alright to be vulnerable is very important. 

The rawness and honesty in this book is much appreciated. Elio deals with so many complicated feelings, especially when it comes to how he should be treating Camelia, what he should do with his first sexually charged feelings, and his hatred and confusion towards the toxic masculinity of his classmates and pops. I think many kids can see themselves in a character like Elio, even if they don't relate to every single circumstance he goes through. 

For me though, this book had a few things that just rubbed me the wrong way. One of them being cockfighting, which is like dog fighting, but with roosters. I just don't really see why this was needed. I know it was trying to showcase Elio's dad's masculinity and how toxic it could be, but cockfighting seemed a bit of an extreme way to do this. I also wasn't a huge fan of Elio's teacher that told him that Camelia may be his soulmate. That made me a tad uncomfortable. This book also features cheating, which I always hate in books, even though it was showcased in a horrible light and can be viewed as a warning to children never to cheat. Those are the main ones, but so many things in this book had me asking some odd questions. 

Overall, I really appreciate what "Ultraviolet" set out to do. The messages about young love, consent, toxic masculinity, puberty, etc are very solid, but this book didn't come without its issues. It was a fine read, but I think I could use another book that covers similar topic matter to be my go-to recommendation. 

Back of Book: 

Newbery Medal winner Sharon Creech crafts a truly endearing story, one that is imbued with happiness, wonder, and an appreciation for all the little things that make life big. With beautiful, fresh new cover art, this is a gem of a book.

In the winding stone tower of the Casa Rosa, in a quiet little village in the Swiss Alps, lives one very unlikely angel—one that is still awaiting her instructions from the angel-training center. What happens to an angel who doesn't know her mission? She floats and swishes from high above, watching the crazy things that "peoples" say and do. But when a zany American girl named Zola arrives in town and invades the Casa Rosa, dogs start arfing, figs start flying through the air, lost orphans wander in, and the village becomes anything but quiet. And as Zola and the angel work together to rescue the orphans, they each begin to realize their purpose and learn that there is magic in the most ordinary acts of kindness. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Poetry | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

"What story do you want to hear, my hearts?" Elsie asks her two daughters, Stella and Luna. 

"Mama, tell us your story," they answer. 

And so Elsie begins, sharing the story of her youth as a strong-willed middle child and a newcomer to an unwelcoming country, and along with it the mythical tale of Mayari, daughter of a god, who works four times as hard as everyone else to forge her own path. 

In this sublime novel-in-verse, Cookie Hiponia Everman weaves together Pilipino mythology and an immigration story much like her own to create a touching portrait of family and strength. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Poetry | Contemporary | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟