Reviewed by Olivia

Rating: High Five!

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Ida B., anything by Katherine Applegate, Kira-Kira, Be Light Like a Bird, Wonder, and other inspiring stories.

Synopsis (from Amazon): 
Heidi’s brother, Donald, is 16 and Autistic. She has always loved playing with him, but now she's 11 and her life is changing. She’s embarrassed to have her brother around and doesn’t want her friends to know about him. High school boys bully him. When the kids at her school find out about him, she gets bullied too. It’s not fair. No one seems to understand. But Heidi needs to understand too. She can't change her brother, but she can change how she feels about him, and she can get people to see why her brother is special.

Reviewed by Olivia

Rating: High Five

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Ida B., Pinky Pye, A Mango-Shaped Space, Be Light Like a Bird, Odin's Promise, and Mayday.

​Synopsis: Jackson and his family have fallen on hard times. There's no more money for rent. And not much for food, either. His parents, his little sister, and their dog may have to live in their minivan. Again.
Crenshaw is a cat. He's large, he's outspoken, and he's imaginary. He has come back into Jackson's life to help him. But is an imaginary friend enough to save this family from losing everything?

Reviewed by Olivia

Rating: High Five

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Mayday, Lost in the Sun, the Thing About Jellyfish, and other compelling realistic fiction books surrounding a tween's struggles with death. 

Favorite Quote: "Be light like a bird, and not like a feather."

Synopsis (from Amazon): After the death of her father, twelve-year-old Wren finds her life thrown into upheaval. And when her mother decides to pack up the car and forces Wren to leave the only home she's ever known, the family grows even more fractured. As she and her mother struggle to build a new life, Wren must confront issues with the environment, peer pressure, bullying, and most of all, the difficulty of forgiving those who don't deserve it. A quirky, emotional middle grade novel set in Michigans Upper Peninsula, Be Light Like a Bird features well-drawn, unconventional characters and explores what it means to be a family and the secrets and lies that can tear one apart.

Reviewed by Olivia

Rating: High Five!

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Lost in the Sun, The Thing About Jellyfish, and anything by Jerry Spinelli.

Synopsis (from Amazon):
Wayne Kovok lives in a world of After. After his uncle in the army was killed overseas. After Wayne and his mother survived a plane crash while coming back from the funeral. After he lost his voice.

Wayne has always used his love of facts to communicate ("Did you know more people die each year from shaking a vending machine than from shark attacks?"). Without his voice, how will he wow the prettiest girl in school? How will he stand up to his drill-sergeant grandfather? And how will he share his hopes with his deadbeat dad? It's not until Wayne loses his voice completely that he realizes how much he doesn't say.

Reviewed by Olivia

Rating: High Five!

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Smile, ​Blackbird Fly, and the Whatever After series (it has a similar feel).

Synopsis (from Goodreads):
There's a new set of twin boys on the scene, and like Sammie and Charlie, these twins are almost identical. Charlie's friends, and the popular kids, are quick to accept the cuter boy. But when a bonfire on the beach gets out of control, Charlie's group blames it on the other twin. Both Sammie and Charlie know he isn’t the boy to blame, but will they have the courage to come forward to tell the truth and double-cross the popular kids? 

Reviewed by Olivia

Rating: High Three
Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Lost in the Sun, the Honest Truth, and Fish in a Tree.
Synopsis (from Amazon):
After her best friend dies in a drowning accident, Suzy is convinced that the true cause of the tragedy must have been a rare jellyfish sting-things don't just happen for no reason. Retreating into a silent world of imagination, she crafts a plan to prove her theory--even if it means traveling the globe, alone. Suzy's achingly heartfelt journey explores life, death, the astonishing wonder of the universe...and the potential for love and hope right next door.

​

Reviewed by Olivia

Rating: High Two 1/2
Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of The Thing About Jellyfish, Fish in a Tree, and the Honest Truth.
Synopsis (from Amazon):
Everyone says that middle school is awful, but Trent knows nothing could be worse than the year he had in fifth grade, when a freak accident on Cedar Lake left one kid dead, and Trent with a brain full of terrible thoughts he can't get rid of. Trent’s pretty positive the entire disaster was his fault, so for him middle school feels like a fresh start, a chance to prove to everyone that he's not the horrible screw-up they seem to think he is. 
 
If only Trent could make that fresh start happen.
 
It isn’t until Trent gets caught up in the whirlwind that is Fallon Little—the girl with the mysterious scar across her face—that things begin to change. Because fresh starts aren’t always easy. Even in baseball, when a fly ball gets lost in the sun, you have to remember to shift your position to find it.

Reviewed by Olivia

Rating: High Five!
Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Every Soul a Star, a Mango Shaped Space, Locomotion, and Kira-Kira.
Favorite Thing About the Book (this is usually a unique "touch"): the way the "2nd Favorite Songs for Now" reflect the mood of the chapter.
Synopsis (from Amazon):
Apple has always felt a little different from her classmates. She and her mother moved to Louisiana from the Philippines when she was little, and her mother still cooks Filipino foods and chastises Apple for becoming “too American.” When Apple’s friends turn on her and everything about her life starts to seem weird and embarrassing, Apple turns to music. If she can just save enough to buy a guitar and learn to play, maybe she can change herself.

​It might be the music that saves her . . . or it might be her two new friends, who show her how special she really is.

Reviewed by Olivia

Rating: High Five!

Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of Almost Identical, anything Jerry Spinelli or Wendy Mass, and Counting by 7s. 

​Favorite Quote: “Everybody is smart in different ways. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing it is stupid.”

Synopsis (from Amazon):Ally has been smart enough to fool a lot of smart people. Every time she lands in a new school, she is able to hide her inability to read by creating clever yet disruptive distractions.  She is afraid to ask for help; after all, how can you cure dumb? However, her newest teacher Mr. Daniels sees the bright, creative kid underneath the trouble maker. With his help, Ally learns not to be so hard on herself and that dyslexia is nothing to be ashamed of. As her confidence grows, Ally feels free to be herself and the world starts opening up with possibilities. She discovers that there’s a lot more to her—and to everyone—than a label, and that great minds don’t always think alike.

Reviewed by Olivia

Rating: High Five
Who I'd Recommend to: Fans of the Spy School series, Smile, and stories about middle-school age girls (with an interesting twist.)
Synopsis (from Amazon):
This debut tween novel stars the hilariously fresh Charlie Cooper as she tries to ditch her middle-child reputation and make cool friends at her new school in Los Angeles.
But being cool isn't as easy as it looks—especially when her dandruff-ridden psychologist tasks Charlie with finding the biggest loser in school and becoming her friend. In public.
As Charlie says, "Just kill me now, please."