No One Leaves the Castle

No One Leaves the Castle by Christopher Healy, 2023

Recommended for grades 4-8

Fantasy, Mystery

Brief Review

The Lilac, a fourteen-year-old aspiring bounty hunter, has just landed her first contract with the help of her partner, a rookie bard who goes by Dulcinetta the Dulcet-Toned, or Netta for short. Her job is to apprehend the wizard Runar the Unknowable, who has “absconded with the Emerald Axe of Angbar.” Except he didn’t do it. The baron has accused him due to an elitist prejudice against magicians. Later that evening, Runar is murdered at Castle Angbar. The Lilac finds herself in the role of detective, investigating both the theft of the axe and the wizard’s murder. Just before his death, Runar cast a spell, surrounding the castle in a bubble that keeps all the suspects trapped together inside. As the Lilac and Netta interview the Baron, his wife and two children, their four staff members, and their guest, Baron Garridan, she uncovers dark secrets about each of them, but she seems to be making little progress in solving the double mystery or figuring out how to dispel Runar’s bubble, which now threatens to crush the castle. Each of the characters has a distinctive personality and complex backstory, and the continual silly banter will appeal to a preteen reader’s sense of humor without distracting from the elaborate plot and atmospheric medieval-fantasy setting. Strongly recommended for most middle grade readers and potentially teens and adults also.

Longer Review

The Emerald Axe of Angbar has been stolen, and the baron’s butler, Gribbinsnood Flornt, has been sent to procure a bounty hunter. This task is outside of his comfort zone, so he follows the first recommendation he hears. Based on a song performed by the young bard Dulcinetta the Dulcet-Toned, he hires a bounty hunter known as the Lilac. Only after signing the contract does Flornt discover that the Lilac is, in fact, a fourteen-year-old girl who is just starting her career, and that she and the bard, who generally goes by the nickname Netta, are business partners.

Surprisingly, the Lilac quickly succeeds at apprehending the suspect, the wizard Runar the Unknowable. (Despite his name, Runar is not unknowable; he’s actually very famous) But Runar does not have the Emerald Axe in his possession. He tells his captors that the Baron Angbar hates magicians and especially hates him, since he is tutoring the Baron’s son. For the purpose of fulfilling her first bounty hunting contract, the Lilac and Netta travel with Flornt back to Castle Angbar to turn in the suspect. But when they arrive, it turns out that the Emerald Axe is in its display case. The contract specifies that the Lilac was to catch “the individual who absconded with the Emerald Axe of Angbar,” and since Runar did not steal the axe, the baron concludes that he doesn’t owe the Lilac any payment.

For the sake of etiquette, Baroness Hecatina invites the Lilac and Netta to stay for dinner. They are already hosting Baron Garridan. Along the way, the girls have also met the Baron’s children Araminta and Kade, as well as Chef Penumbra, the children’s etiquette teacher Madame Hofflig, and the guard, an ogre named Grymus. During the dinner party, Flornt discovers that the Emerald Axe has gone missing for real. Runar is accused again, and he decides it’s time to “[put] an end to this.” He casts a spell that surrounds the castle in a bubble, trapping the twelve characters inside together. Since he has come to respect the Lilac’s skill as a bounty hunter, he assigns her to solve the mystery.

The mystery quickly thickens. After the Lilac sends each suspect to separate rooms and begins the process of interrogating everyone individually, Runar is found dead. As the Lilac continues questioning everyone and investigating both the theft and the mystery, she uncovers secrets about every single resident, staff member, and guest in the castle. And she has her own secret, which some of her new acquaintances are figuring out at the same time. Meanwhile, Runar’s magical bubble around the castle is slowly closing in. In order to undo the spell, the Lilac must locate a page that was torn from Runar’s spellbook. 

An endorsement from author Adam Gidwitz describes this book as “if Agatha Christie ran the funniest D&D campaign in the world,” and I think that’s an apt description. Each of the characters is as complex and distinctive as if he or she had been created by a different D&D player, and the continual silly banter will appeal to a preteen reader’s sense of humor without detracting from the elaborate plot, full of surprising revelations about each character’s shady backstory. Recommended for most middle grade readers and potentially teens and adults also, because this story will appeal to anyone who likes fantasy medieval settings, complex mysteries, or comedic dialogue. I highly recommend reading this book in a relatively short time frame since there are so many small details that end up being important later in the story.

Turtles of the Midnight Moon

Turtles of the Midnight Moon by Maria Jose Fitzgerald, 2023

Recommended for grades 4-8

Magical Realism, Mystery

When Abby Duron travels with her father to his small costal hometown in Honduras, neither she nor her hostess’s granddaughter Barana are very enthusiastic about their families’ expectation that Barana will be Abby’s tour guide and “babysitter”. Barana wants to focus on protecting sea turtle eggs from poachers, and Abby is an aspiring wildlife photographer who would rather explore unhindered. And after all, both girls are almost thirteen, so why should Abby need Barana’s supervision? Within a couple days, though, the girls end up liking each other more than they had expected. Abby is fascinated by the turtles that Barana loves so much, and by Barana’s special connection to Luna, a turtle with a crescent-moon-shaped scar that matches a scar on Barana’s back. Despite being warned to stay away from the beach at night, the two girls team up to catch the poachers. Their new friendship hits a snag when Abby suspects Barana’s older brother Tulu. Told through alternating perspectives, this book includes themes of friendship, family ties, and the value of various kinds of art, including Barana’s poetry and sketches and Abby’s photography. The vivid descriptions of Honduras’s beautiful scenery and wildlife render this mystery novel somewhat slow-paced for its genre, but they add emotional depth and educational value. A hint of the supernatural sets this book apart from the plethora of other middle grade novels about protecting wildlife, especially since many of the pivotal scenes occur at night and there are frequent mentions of the local cemetery. Recommended for middle grade readers who enjoy dual perspectives in literature and stories about wildlife preservation.

Big Tree

Big Tree by Brian Selznick, 2023

Recommended for grades 4 and Up

Adventure, Historical Fiction

Two sycamore seeds are on their own after their mother tree is knocked down. Set in the cretaceous period, this story follow the seeds, Louise and Mervin, on their journey to find someplace safe to put down roots. Mervin thinks they’re supposed to find their way towards the Beautiful Mountain, but Louise senses that some external force is warning her of danger. Like Selznick’s other books, including 2008 Caldecott award winner The Invention of Hugo Cabret, this book alternates text passages with sequences of full-page pencil illustrations. Despite being over 500 pages long, it’s a quick read. It includes quite a few scientific tidbits, not only in terms of the life cycle of trees and the mention of dinosaurs and other prehistoric critters, but also highlights the communication between fungi and forest plants by describing mushrooms as “ambassadors” and has an underwater scene that describes the nearly-microscopic Foraminifera as Scientists because they have served as a source of data about their environment. Recommended for middle grade readers (as well as teens and maybe even adults) with an interest in botany, natural history, or environmentalism. 

The Superteacher Project

The Superteacher Project by Gordon Korman, 2023

Recommended for grades 4-8

Realistic Fiction, Science Fiction

Brief Review

Seventh-grader Oliver Zahn, the “number one rule-wrecker” of Brightling Middle School, knows that something’s weird about the new teacher Mr. Aidact ever since he foils Oliver’s much-anticipated first spitball of the school year. Told from multiple perspectives including four students and the principal, this story follows Mr. Aidact’s rise to popularity despite (or perhaps because of) his many quirks. Only the teachers know who Mr. Aidact really is: an Artificially Intelligent Designated Android Classroom Teacher sent by the Department of Education as a secret experiment. By the time the student body learns about the AIDACT project, their new teacher’s AI has picked up mannerisms, the appearance of emotions, and interests that have endeared him to the majority of the students. This book can boast of many of the same appeal factors of Gordon Korman’s numerous other books. For example, several of the main characters have humorous narrative voices, and like many of Korman’s most popular books, it starts with a seemingly realistic setting before introducing a plot twist that switches the story to an entirely different genre. As an added bonus, this book’s discussion of AI technology is sure to spark discussion about whether the AIDACT project may actually be plausible in real life. Finally, the frequent mention of field hockey and the role of the championship game in the climactic scene will make this book appeal to fans of the sports-story subgenre. 

Longer Review

The new teacher at Brightling Middle School is a little weird. The first person to have a problem with Mr. Aidact is seventh-grader Oliver Zahn, the “number one rule-wrecker” and best spitball-shooter in the school. Oliver has meticulously planned out the first spitball of the school year, but Mr. Aidact somehow manages to catch it midair. It’s also a little weird how Mr. Aidact keeps addressing his students as “pupils”, how many different subjects he teaches, and how nobody ever sees him smile or laugh. Besides that, his student teacher Mr. Perkins is significantly older than him and the two are never seen apart, no matter how many after-school activities Mr. Aidact adds to his workload.

At first, Mr. Aidact isn’t even a very good teacher. He explains things in the same confusing way every time. But then he starts to change his methods and win over students. Oliver’s friend Nathan has never understood ratios until Mr. Aidact rips slats out of a window blind to use as a visual. Unlike everyone else at Brightling Middle School, Mr. Aidact knows the etymology of Steinke Newhouse’s name and doesn’t call him Stinky. He knows the lyrics to all of Steinke’s favorite rap songs, and he turns detention into a trivia club. He even ends up coaching the girls’ field hockey team, which is the pride of the school because it won the state championship in 1974, back when Principal Candiotti was a student.

Told from multiple perspectives including four students and the principal, this story follows Mr. Aidact’s rise to popularity despite (or perhaps because of) his many quirks. Only Principal Candiotti and the other teachers know who Mr. Aidact really is. He is, in fact, a robot who has been designed by the government to function as a teacher, and his student Mr. Perkins is in fact a government engineer who has been assigned to monitor this experimental project and perform maintenance on the robot. Mr. Aidact can access any information available on the internet, which is why he knows every song lyric and every field hockey strategy. And thanks to advanced AI technology, he is able to adapt his behavior to give every appearance of having emotions. But since he is surrounded by middle school students, he eventually also starts to pick up adolescent attitudes and mannerisms. 

Oliver and Nathan are the first students to discover Mr. Aidact’s true identity. They start investigating him after he is able to implicate them in a “fool-proof” prank but doesn’t realize that they are responsible for the disappearance of Principal Candiotti’s prized field hockey trophy, despite both incidents happening on the same evening in the same hallway. Although they try to keep the secret, it doesn’t take long for Rosalie Arnette, an academic overachiever and a rising star on the field hockey team, to discover the same thing. And once Rosalie’s mother hears the news, everyone knows. Suddenly, the students and their parents have all turned against their recently-favorite teacher and the project has been declared a failure. But once everyone has had a little time to adjust to the news, the kids decide that they still like Mr. Aidact and they absolutely aren’t okay with the idea of sending him back to the Department of Education to be scrapped for parts. Mr. Aidact feels no need to save himself, so it’s up to the kids to concoct a daring escape plan and convince him to go along with it.

This book can boast of many of the same appeal factors of Gordon Korman’s numerous other books. For example, it includes multiple perspectives and several of the main characters have humorous narrative voices. (Although the characters in this book are not as memorable as, for example, the protagonists of Korman’s Masterminds series) And like many of Korman’s most popular books, it starts with a seemingly realistic setting before introducing a plot twist that switches the story to an entirely different genre. As an added bonus, this book’s discussion of AI technology is sure to spark discussion about whether it maybe is already plausible for a robot like Mr. Aidact to temporarily pass as a human being, and whether that would be a bad or good thing. Finally, the frequent mention of field hockey and the role of the championship game in the climactic scene will make this book appeal to fans of the sports-story subgenre. 

The School for Whatnots

The School for Whatnots by Margaret Peterson Haddix, 2022

Recommended for grades 4-8; Science fiction

Brief Review

When Max was born, his wealthy family decided to protect him from other children’s greed by paying for him to grow up surrounded by “whatnots”. Instead of real human children, Max’s school will be populated by androids. As per the protocol laid out by the Whatnot Corporation, Max won’t find out that his classmates aren’t real until he’s in middle school. On the first day of Kindergarten, he befriends a “bouncy girl” named Josie, and for the next several years, they are inseparable best friends. But then at Max’s end-of-fifth-grade party, Josie makes some cryptic remarks about “whatnot rules” and not being allowed to go to the same middle school as Max. She also leaves a note: “No matter what anyone tells you, I’m real.” After Max tries in vain to contact Josie and starts investigating her disappearance, his parents tell him about whatnots and the Whatnot Corporation slightly ahead of schedule. But Max refuses to believe that Josie isn’t real. And he’s right. Josie is actually a real child from a poor family who was given the opportunity to pose as a whatnot in order to get a quality education. And as Max and Josie both soon find out, Josie isn’t the only fake whatnot. The Whatnot Corporation has even more secrets than anyone knew. Full of memorable characters, suspenseful plot twists, and interesting questions about the nature of friendship and how it is (or isn’t) affected by privilege, this soft science fiction story will appeal to many middle grade readers.

Longer Review

Maximilian J. Sterling was born eleven years ago into a family that could afford to give him everything that money can buy. But there are some things that money can’t buy. It can’t buy genuine friendships, ensuring that a child grows up surrounded by love instead of greed. It can’t buy the experiences that allow a child to learn that “his own soul is more valuable than money.” Or can it? Mrs. Sterling makes the decision to pay for whatnots. Instead of growing up alongside other real children, Maximilian’s school will be populated by androids who look completely human but who always behave perfectly and who will be completely unaffected by the Sterling family’s wealth. And since Maximilian won’t find out that his classmates aren’t real until he’s in sixth or seventh grade, as per the protocol laid out by the Whatnot Corporation, his social development will not be affected by the lack of real peers in his life.

On the first day of Kindergarten, Maximilian immediately befriends a bouncy girl named Josie. She shortens his name to Max, and from that moment on, Max and Josie are inseparable best friends. Years later, at Max’s party for the end of fifth grade, Josie makes some cryptic remarks about “whatnot rules” and not being allowed to go to the same middle school as Max. And then she leaves a note: “No matter what anyone tells you, I’m real.” Max has no idea what she might mean.

When Max repeatedly tries to contact Josie and even sneaks out to go to the house where he believes she lives, his parents tell him about whatnots and the Whatnot Corporation slightly ahead of schedule according to official protocol. But Max refuses to believe that Josie isn’t real. And he’s right. Josie is actually a real child from a poor family who was given the opportunity to pose as a whatnot in order to get a high quality education. And as Max and Josie both soon find out, Josie isn’t the only one. The Whatnot Corporation has even more secrets than anyone knew. 

Haddix is the author of numerous other middle grade novels spanning approximately three decades, and like most of her books, this is a suspenseful soft sci-fi story with numerous plot twists that gradually reveal that the world works completely differently than everyone thought. This story raises questions and offers answers about the nature of friendship, but also about the much more specific topics of the relationship between humans and technology and the degree to which socioeconomic status affects childhood experiences and friendships. It also features a variety of memorable and likable characters, including Max, Josie, their classmate Ivy and her sister Lucinda, Max’s Nurse Beverly, an android named Lola, and Frances Miranda Gonzagaga, the reclusive and enigmatic founder of the Whatnot Corporation.

In my opinion, The School for Whatnots gets a little corny near the end, mainly because the discussion of friendship gets a little too vague and nebulous despite being identified as the driving force behind all of the characters’ decisions and motivations. I also felt that the pacing was inconsistent and that some of the surprises occurred too early in the story, while the climactic scene taking place in a labyrinth full of androids ends up taking up nearly half the book. But my overall impression of this book is that its appeal factors far outweigh these quibbles and that it will be very popular with its target audience. Strongly recommended for any middle grade readers with an affinity for stories with plot twists.

The Beatryce Prophecy

The Beatryce Prophecy by Kate DiCamillo, 2021

Recommended for grades 3-8; Historical Fiction, Adventure

Brief Review:

When Brother Edik, a monk of the Chronicles of Sorrowing, discovers a girl curled up with the “demon goat” Answelica, she can’t tell him anything about who she is or where she came from besides her name, Beatryce. But she knows how to read and write, and that means she’s someone special and she’s probably in trouble. In fact, Brother Edik is pretty sure that one of his early prophecies is about her and that she’s destined to unseat the king. The monks send her away, along with Answelica, and she makes a group of friends in an orphaned boy named Jack Dory, a strange man who lives in the woods and no longer has a name, and Brother Edik, who eventually comes after her. The Beatryce Prophecy combines elements of medieval historical fiction, fantasy, and adventure (with some comic relief, mostly thanks to Answelica) to tell a story that will appeal to fans of any of those genres as well as any readers who have enjoyed DiCamillo’s other books. Her characteristic writing style is clear throughout this book in the simple, straightforward dialogue but nuanced imagery, repetition of specific words and phrases, and emphatic themes including the friendship, storytelling, the value of literacy, and the power of names. Highly recommended for most middle grade readers, many teens and adults, and families looking for a good all-ages book to enjoy together.

Long Review:

As a monk of the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing, Brother Edik’s main responsibilities are to write prophecies and to feed Answelica, a bad-tempered goat who likes to butt people in the backside hard enough to send them flying through the air. One day, Brother Edik finds a child curled up with Answelica in her pen. The girl can’t remember where she comes from or why she’s there; she knows only that her name is Beatryce. Brother Edik quickly discovers something else about her: despite the fact that it’s against the law for girls to know how to read and write, Beatryce can. She’s clearly someone dangerous to have around. Someone is going to come looking for her. The best thing Brother Edik can do is to cut her hair and instruct her to pretend to be a boy and not to talk.

Meanwhile, a twelve-year-old boy named Jack Dory lives alone in the village where he ended up after his parents were killed by a robber four years ago. For much of that time, he was cared for by a kindly elderly lady called Granny Bibspeak, but now she is dead too. When an ill soldier staying at the inn insists that he needs a monk to write down his confessions for him, the innkeeper’s wife suggests that Jack Dory can take the message and bring back a monk. So Jack travels through the forest to visit the monks of the Order of the Chronicles of Sorrowing. 

Although Brother Edik wants to keep protecting Beatryce, the other monks, including Father Caddis, see this as the opportune way to get rid of Beatryce. Since she can read and write, they will provide her with writing supplies and send her along with Jack Dory. But unbeknownst to Beatryce, Jack has been instructed not to bring her back. Beatryce promises that after she writes the man’s confessions, she will write a story for Brother Edik about a mermaid with a jeweled tail that he had told her about. (It was a decorative back on his mother’s brush) 

As Beatryce and Jack Dory journey back to the village, along with Answelica, (whom the monks are also glad to send away) Beatryce starts to remember things about her family and backstory. She and Jack Dory bond, so much so that when they’re back in the village and Jack finds out that the king’s soldiers are after Beatryce, he helps her and Answelica escape into the forest. Beatryce brings with her the sword of the soldier whose confessions she was supposed to write.

In the woods, they encounter a jovial but mysterious man who Beatryce immediately trusts, mostly because he sings a beautiful song about Answelica. He tells them to call him Cannoc, although he acknowledges that it isn’t his real name because he “gave up his name quite some time ago”.He helps Beatryce and Jack Dory hide. While they are safely concealed, Beatryce begins to teach Jack his letters.

What Beatryce doesn’t know is that one of Brother Edik’s first prophecies was about her. It says, “There will one day come a girl child who will unseat a king and bring about great change.” But even without knowing the prophecy, Beatryce has remembered enough about her past to decide that she should go confront the king. She intends to give him the sword, which she now knows is the very one that killed her brothers, and make the king “account for what he has done”. 

The Beatryce Prophecy combines elements of medieval historical fiction, fantasy, and adventure (with some comic relief, mostly thanks to Answelica) to tell a story that will appeal to fans of any of those genres as well as any readers who have enjoyed DiCamillo’s other books. Her characteristic writing style is clear throughout this book in the simple, straightforward dialogue but nuanced imagery, repetition of specific words and phrases, and emphatic themes including the friendship, storytelling, the value of literacy, and the power of names.

The name theme was probably the aspect of this book that I found most interesting. Initially, neither the characters nor the reader know anything about Beatryce other than her name, which she repeats frequently. To her, it summarizes her entire identity even before she remembers enough about her family to know what her identity is. When Jack Dory lost his parents and found Granny Bibspeak, she asked him his name over and over again, evidently “trying to tell him that his parents were gone, dead, but that he himself still lived.” Cannoc did the opposite; he deliberately relinquished his name for the sake of changing his identity. The emphasis on names is additionally underlined by the unique and arguably silly names of other characters like Granny Bibspeak and Answelica. 

I highly recommend this memorable and distinctive novel not only for middle grade readers, but also as a fun, light read for older readers and as a family read-aloud for all ages to enjoy together. I definitely think it’s a major contender for next year’s Newbery award and will almost certainly make my personal best-of-the-year list.

Cuba in My Pocket

Cuba in My Pocket by Adrianna Cuevas, 2021

Recommended for grades 4-8; Historical Fiction

Brief Review:

It’s 1961 in Santa Clara, Cuba, and life has been turned upside down by Fidel Castro’s rise to power and the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. Twelve-year-old Cumba Fernandez and his family and friends live in fear of Fidel’s soldiers, especially since Cumba is old enough to be forced into joining the garrison. His parents decide to protect him by sending him to Florida. In order to successfully escape Cuba, Cumba needs falsified documents claiming that he will be studying in America. Once in Florida, Cumba must navigate all the challenges of life in a new country with a different language. With the help of various new friends, he gradually acclimates, but all the while, he misses his homeland and fears for his family’s safety. Much of the book centers around Cumba’s conflicting desires to hold onto his memories and relationships, but also to “forget where [he came] from in order so [he] can bear being in a new place.” For middle grade readers who don’t necessarily know much about Cuba or its role in the Cold War, this book is an eye-opening picture of what life is like amidst such extreme political turmoil. Although Cuba in My Pocket doesn’t say much about communism itself or the greater context of the Cold War, it has a lot of educational value for the context it will offer to students when they encounter those topics elsewhere.

Long Review:

It’s 1961 in Santa Clara, Cuba, and life has been turned upside down by Fidel Castro’s rise to power and the failed Bay of Pigs invasion. Twelve-year-old Cumba Fernandez and his friend Serapio play a game called AFDF (Antes de Fidel, Despues de Fidel) in which they try to one-up each other’s examples of how life “before Fidel” was better than life “after Fidel”. AFDF may be a joke, but Cumba and his family and friends are truly afraid of Fidel’s soldiers, especially since twelve is old enough to be forced into joining the garrison. Cumba’s family decides to protect him by sending him away to Prima Benita, a relative who lives in Miami. Eventually, he is to be joined by his younger brother Pepito and the rest of the family. 

The Cuban government is making it difficult for people to leave. People who flee Cuba are called “gusanos” and are considered “a worm and a cobarde”. The only way to get Cumba out of the country is to produce falsified documents claiming that he is traveling for school. By the time Cumba actually escapes Cuba, he is being actively pursued by a sinister soldier named Ignacio who has given him a deadline for joining the garrison. But Cumba’s departure is successful and he arrives safely in Miami. He brings with him a “caja de muertos”, the unlucky double nine domino, which he carries around in his pocket for most of the rest of the book as a pessimistic reminder of the losses and dangers he is enduring. As long as he’s an exile from his home country and his family is still living under an oppressive government, Cumba isn’t safe or happy.

Once in Florida, Cumba must navigate all the challenges of life in a new country with a different language. His new school doesn’t accommodate his limited English vocabulary, and Cumba is overwhelmed. But he quickly befriends Alejandro and Valeria, two other Cuban refugees who are staying with Prima Benita. Just when things are starting to get easier and Cumba has even befriended a classmate, Prima Benita puts him into foster care in order to take in more refugee children. 

Although Cumba isn’t happy leaving Prima Benita, Alejandro, and Valeria, his new home in Key Largo turns out to be comfortable and happy. His foster parents are generous and supportive, and Cumba is reunited with his friend Serapio, who also fled Cuba. But the situation back in Cuba isn’t improving and Cumba’s parents are even in jail for a while. Cumba doesn’t want to give up hope, but there’s a part of him that still believes what he told his cousin earlier in the book, that you have to “forget where you come from so you can bear being in a new place.”

For middle grade readers who don’t necessarily know much about Cuba or its role in the Cold War, this book is an eye-opening picture of what life is like amidst such extreme political turmoil. Although Cuba in My Pocket doesn’t say much about communism itself or the greater context of the Cold War, it has a lot of educational value for the context it will offer to students when they encounter those topics elsewhere. It also has some interesting themes, most notably seen in Cumba’s internal conflict as he tries to reconcile his Cuban identity with his desire to be free of Cuba. At one point, Cumba struggles to keep up with writing letters to his brother because it’s difficult to appreciate the opportunities in his new life when he’s preoccupied with everything he’s left behind.

While I personally didn’t find this to be a particularly interesting book, I feel that it’s worth recommending for its educational value, its representation of Cuba and (by extension) Cuban Americans, and its themes of hope, identity, memory, and moving forward into a brighter future.

A Soft Place to Land

A Soft Place to Land by Janae Marks, 2021

Recommended for grades 4-8; Realistic fiction 

Expected publication date is September 14; this review refers to an Advance Reader’s Copy from NetGalley

Brief Review:

Twelve-year-old Joy Taylor feels as if she’s lost everything. Since her father lost his job, her family had to sell their house and move into a small apartment where she has to share a room with her little sister, and she can’t get the piano that she needs in order to work towards her dream of becoming a film score composer. Then a neighbor girl named Nora lets her in on a secret: The kids in the building have a secret Hideout where they have regular game nights and where they can go anytime they need privacy. Nora also helps Joy start a dog-walking business, which Joy hopes will make it possible for her to buy a piano and pay for her own piano lessons after all. Then Joy makes a terrible mistake and accidentally spends a night in the Hideout. When her mother comes looking for her, she discovers the Hideout, and the kids are no longer allowed to hang out down there. All of the kids are furious except for Nora, and even Nora gets in a fight with Joy later. The next day, Nora doesn’t show up to help Joy walk dogs, and Joy drops a leash and loses a dog. In the final chapters of the book, Joy must find the missing dog, repair all of her damaged friendships, and find some way to replace the Hideout. Thanks to its believable characters, emotional and introspective writing style, and themes of secrecy and escape, this book will appeal to a wide audience.

Long Review:

This book has been on my to-read list for a long time because I enjoyed the author’s previous book, From the Desk of Zoe Washington, which was on my runners-up list for the best middle grade novel of 2020. This newer book does not disappoint. It follows twelve-year-old Joy Taylor during a particularly challenging spring and early summer. Her father has lost his job and the family is struggling financially, so they’ve sold their house and moved into an inexpensive apartment where there’s much less space. As much as Joy loves her six-year-old sister Malia, she doesn’t like sharing a bedroom, and she definitely doesn’t like overhearing her parents fight all the time. And they can no longer afford the piano Joy wants so that she can build her musical skills and one day be a professional film score composer. 

The silver lining is that all the residents of the new apartment building welcome Joy and her family into their tight-knit community. Joy is immediately befriended by Nora, a cheerful aspiring filmmaker who is in her grade at school. There are three other kids around Joy’s age in the building, and Nora lets Joy in on their secret: There’s a trapdoor in a storage closet that leads to a basement room that the kids call the Hideout. None of the adults even know it’s there. Over the last ten years, kids have been cleaning and decorating it, having secret game nights there, and using it for alone time when necessary. From that point on, Joy regularly goes to the Hideout, sometimes to hang out with her new friends, and sometimes just for privacy. 

Joy also quickly bonds with Mae, the elderly woman who lives next door, and her dog Ziggy. Mae ends up asking Joy to walk Ziggy for her. Joy’s parents aren’t easily persuaded, but with Nora’s help, Joy not only gets permission to take on the responsibility of walking Ziggy, she also takes on other dog-walking clients. Joy hopes to save up enough money to get her own piano and start taking piano lessons again. Meanwhile, Nora is working on writing a screenplay and wants to earn money for the equipment to actually film it. 

Meanwhile, Joy has been writing notes back and forth with someone else in the Hideout. The person seems depressed and Joy wants to help, but she doesn’t know who it is. As Nora points out, it might not even be one of the kids in their friend group; it might one of the older kids who used to hang out in the Hideout and still goes down there occasionally. Joy sees this situation as a mystery and wants Nora to help her, since Nora knows everyone in the building better than she does, but Nora is reluctant. Then the mystery note-writer tells Joy not to worry about him or her anymore, which Joy takes as an ominous hint that they’re about to do something desperate and she has to hurry up her investigation. But she’s already eliminated most of her own friends, so she isn’t sure where to look next.

Then Joy makes a terrible mistake. Distraught over her parents’ struggling marriage and tired of putting on a brave face for her sister’s sake, Joy hides in the Hideout so long that she accidentally falls asleep and spends the night down there. Since she has her cell phone with her, her mom tracks her to the storage closet and notices the trapdoor leading to the Hideout. Now Joy and all of her new friends are in trouble for keeping this secret from their parents, and the building supervisor says that the room isn’t even up to code; they aren’t allowed to go there anymore. 

All of the kids are furious with Joy except for Nora. But then Joy finds out that Nora was the depressed person she’d been writing notes to in the Hideout, and she’s furious that Nora didn’t let her know sooner. They have a fight and then Nora doesn’t show up to help Joy walk the dogs. Joy thinks she can handle the dog-walking herself, at least for one day, but it turns out that two leashes in each hand is just too many. She drops Ziggy’s leash and can’t find her neighbor’s dog again.

In the final chapters of the book, Joy must find Ziggy and repair all of her damaged friendships. It turns out that some of the kids weren’t quite as angry as she’d thought, but there’s only one way to make amends with Nora, and that’s to find some replacement for the Hideout. Together with the other kids, and with some help from the building supervisor and her parents, Joy creates a new (but not secret) Hideout. 

Throughout the book, the introspective writing style and Joy’s personality are so believable that it’s easy for a reader to become emotionally invested. Each new problem that arises evokes so much empathy that it’s hard to complain about how nicely and neatly everything comes back together in the end and that things get a little cheesy when Joy and Nora make up. (Spoiler alert: Not only does Joy find Ziggy safe and sound, make a new Hideout, and rebuild all her friendships, but her parents reconcile their arguments and a neighbor offers Joy the use of his piano and Dad realizes he can find the money to pay for Joy’s lessons. The only thing Joy doesn’t get back is her old house, and she’s decided that she’s happy in the apartment after all.) Besides being interesting, well-written, and emotionally engaging, this book also deserves credit for the sensitive way it portrays financial struggles. Joy’s parents are sensible but apologetic about the things the family has had to give up, and Joy’s own attitude toward money is as practical as could be expected from a preteen. Despite the change that Joy’s family has suddenly undergone, there’s no sense that Joy looks down on any of her new neighbors who are presumably not very well-off. 

Highly recommended for middle grade readers who like realistic contemporary fiction. Will have particular appeal for dog-lovers, readers who share Joy’s interest in movie scores, and kids whose living situation is similar to Joy’s. (There are plenty of books and movies about kids who live in houses, and there are plenty about kids who live in abject poverty, but not so many about kids who live in small but habitable apartments) But even kids who don’t relate to any of those specific details will likely understand and appreciate Joy’s need for her own special space and will enjoy this book’s themes of secrecy and escape, as well as its depiction of the kind of secret Hideout every kid wishes they had.

Recipe for Disaster

Recipe for Disaster by Aimee Lucido, 2021

Recommended for grades 4-8; Realistic Fiction

Brief Review:

Twelve-year-old Hannah Malfa-Adler is tired of being told that she isn’t really Jewish. After her best friend Shira’s bat mitzvah, Hannah decides that she’s going to have her own bat mitzvah. Her parents say no, but with the help of her Grandma Mimi and her estranged Aunt Yael, Hannah begins studying Hebrew and preparing for her bat mitzvah. But in the meantime, Hannah’s sudden interest in her Jewish heritage has caused tension within her family and also with Shira, who thinks that Hannah is lying about the bat mitzvah. As her friendship with Shira deteriorates, Hannah befriends a new girl, Vee, but she later damages that new relationship by insinuating that Vee isn’t “really Jewish”. When sudden tragedy strikes Hannah’s family, it forces her to change her plans for her bat mitzvah, but it also provides the catalyst for Hannah to repair relationships with both her friends and (spoiler alert) finally even to help her mother and Aunt Yael make peace with each other. Although this book is mostly in prose, it includes sections in verse, and all of this is interspersed with recipes. Food plays a significant role in the book, sometimes just by setting the tone, but occasionally by providing metaphors. While the basic plotline is fairly typical of middle grade novels, the food theme and the book’s format give it a memorable and meaningful twist. Full of feel-good messages about family and self-identity. 

Long Review:

Twelve-year-old Hannah Malfa-Adler is tired of being told that she isn’t really Jewish. Her maternal grandmother is Jewish, and Grandma Mimi has always said that makes Hannah and her brother Sam technically Jewish, but it’s true that they don’t go to synagogue and that Mom doesn’t even consider herself Jewish. And at Hannnah’s best friend Shira’s bat mitzvah, Shira tells all their friends that Hannah isn’t really Jewish. Hannah decides she’s had enough and she announces that they’re wrong and she actually is going to have her own bat mitzvah.

With the help and support of Grandma Mimi, Hannah starts secretly studying for her bat mitzvah with her estranged Aunt Yael. She’s never understood why Mom and Aunt Yael have completely cut ties, but Aunt Yael seems like a good person to have on her side. But in the meantime, Hannah’s sudden interest in her Jewish roots has caused tension in her family and with Shira. Since Hannah has never been as dedicated to the Jewish religion as Shira has been, Shira finds Hannah’s sudden desire for a bat mitzvah “honestly kind of insulting.” And she knows how much work it is to prepare for a bat mitzvah, so she doesn’t believe Hannah is actually doing it. The girls have been best friends since they were four, but now Shira decides that they need a “break” from each other. 

Even before then, when Shira started sitting by her new boyfriend in class, Hannah found herself partnered with the new girl Victoria (or Vee for short). Vee is Guatemalan, but to Hannah’s surprise, she’s also Jewish. For a few months, their friendship seems to be off to a good start, but things fall apart when Hannah finds out that Vee’s Jewish identity doesn’t come from her biological mother. Despite her own identity crisis over whether or not she’s Jewish enough, Hannah questions Vee’s Jewish-ness. Now Hannah is in a fight with each of her best friends over essentially the same issue.

When sudden tragedy strikes Hannah’s family, it forces her to change her plans for her bat mitzvah, but it also provides the catalyst for Hannah to repair relationships with both her friends and (spoiler alert) finally even to help her mother and Aunt Yael make peace with each other. 

Although this middle grade novel is mostly in prose, it includes sections in verse, and all of this is interspersed with recipes. Food plays a significant role in the book, sometimes just by setting the tone, but occasionally by providing metaphors. It also contributes to the plot, since Hannah’s family does a lot of baking. A side plot revolves around Sam’s struggle to persuade his parents to let him go to culinary school. And Aunt Yael tells Hannah that her appreciation for food and traditional family recipes is quintessentially Jewish. (It is worth noting that this book never explicitly points out that “Jewish-ness” can be defined differently depending upon whether one is talking about genealogy, cultural heritage, or religion) The food theme ties together everything else that’s going on in this book.

This middle grade novel follows a fairly common plotline about a girl who accidentally damages her relationships with family members and friends by making a couple thoughtless comments and telling a few too many untruths, but who then learns how to repair those relationships. But the additional side plots, the messages about self identity and family, and the cooking theme all add together to make this book something a little more memorable and meaningful than all of the other stories out there with similar plot points. 

Houdini and Me

Houdini and Me by Dan Gutman, 2021

Recommended for grades 4-6; Fantasy, historical fiction

Brief Review:

Eleven-year-old Harry Mancini lives in the same house once inhabited by Harry Houdini, which is probably why he knows so many biographical details and fun facts about the famous escape artist. But he never expected to be tricked by Houdini himself. After a moment of poor judgement lands him in a week-long coma, Harry finds a flip phone among his get-well gifts and starts getting text messages from Houdini. Houdini is curious to know if he’s still famous a century after his death, but he soon reveals that he wants to ask a lot more of Harry. He wants to perform a “metamorphosis” and switch places with him. Harry is transported back to 1921 where, as Houdini, Harry must perform an escape stunt. Later, Houdini wants to repeat the switch, but this time, it’s going to be permanent. And he’s not taking no for an answer. Gutman’s portrayal of Houdini as an “egomaniac” with no regard for Harry’s life is a little concerning, as it probably doesn’t accurately reflect the character of this real historical figure. Aside from that, this book is a fun read, although the reading level is a little too low and it’s a little too short to fully explore the escapism theme. This slightly spooky time travel adventure may have some appeal for fans of those genres and reluctant readers, but I wouldn’t recommend it very highly to a more general audience.

Long Review:

Eleven-year-old Harry Mancini lives in the same New York City house once inhabited by the famous escape artist Harry Houdini, which is probably why he knows so many biographical details and fun facts about Houdini. The book opens with an expository chapter that includes some of Harry’s knowledge about his idol, (the shared first name, he says, is a coincidence) and foreshadows the supernatural elements of the rest of the story.

One day, while Harry and his best friend Zeke are hanging out at their favorite park together, Zeke persuades Harry to try putting some coins on a nearby train track to see them get flattened. Predictably, their stunt goes wrong and lands Harry in the hospital. He wakes up from a week-long coma to find get-well cards and gifts, including a flip phone that doesn’t seem to actually have service. His mom had always refused to let him have a cell phone, so Harry keeps the mysterious gift a secret. Then he finds out that his otherwise nonfunctional phone is evidently haunted by Harry Houdini. Late at night, Harry and Houdini text back and forth.

At first, Houdini seems to be simply curious about life in the 21st century, and in particular, he’s interested in knowing if he’s still famous. But Harry soon learns that Houdini has a more specific request. He wants to do a “metamorphosis” like the magic trick he used to do with his wife Bess, but this metamorphosis will be far more elaborate. He persuades Harry to switch places with him for an hour. Harry spends an hour in 1921 as Houdini and Houdini spends an hour in modern New York as an eleven-year-old boy. But what Harry didn’t realize is that his hour as Houdini would include performing an escape stunt. So when Harry is safe and sound back in his own body in the 21st century, he refuses to repeat the switch. Houdini isn’t going to take no for an answer, though. He’s determined to pull his greatest escape stunt of all by escaping death. And this time, he intends for the “metamorphosis” switch to be permanent. 

This fun time travel story is a little too short to fully explore its escapism theme, (although Houdini frequently points out that his escapes give people hope that they can escape from their own problems) and the book devotes far fewer pages to the actual Metamorphosis switch than to setting up the scenario. It’s a little too shallow and fast-paced for a lot of readers Harry’s own age, but will still hold plenty of appeal for slightly younger readers or for reluctant readers. 

I also have some concerns about the way Houdini was portrayed. Although Gutman clearly did his research in terms of Houdini’s biographical details, he made the creative decision to portray Houdini as an “egomaniac” with no regard for Harry’s life. This is indeed backed up by some biographers, but it seems like a stretch (and an unethical one at that) to suggest that he would have been callous and narcissistic enough to manipulate Harry into sacrificing himself for the sake of Houdini’s ultimate escape.

This slightly spooky time travel adventure is worth reading for those who are fans of any of those genres, and it might be a good suggestion for a reluctant reader who needs something fast-paced and easy to read, but I wouldn’t recommend it very highly to a more general audience. Since Gutman is pretty popular, most public libraries and elementary school libraries would probably do well to get this book anyway, but if you’re just looking for gift ideas for a middle-grade family member, you might want to skip this one.