Tag: contemporary middle grade

cover of Half Moon Summer
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Half Moon Summer

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Half Moon Summer (Peachtree Publishing, 2023) by Elaine Vickers is such a great book! And I love that not only is it in two points of view, but that one is in verse–really makes it easy to keep the characters apart in my head.

Could a half-marathon help two 12-year-old kids with both of their problems?

On September 23 in Half Moon Bay, California, two babies were born. Baby Drew only quit crying when placed in baby Mia’s bassinet.

Now it’s the summer before both turn thirteen and for the first time the two are reunited and start running together to train for a half-marathon. Drew is running because of his father’s diagnosis. Mia hopes running will solve her family’s housing problem.

The author made me sympathetic toward both characters.

Elaine Vickers is an award-winning author of picture books, middle grade, and young adult novels. Read more about her here and see her other books here.

cover of Coyote Lost and Found
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Coyote Lost and Found

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Coyote Lost and Found (Henry Holt and Company, 2024) by Dan Gemeinhart is the sequel to The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise. It was so lovely to be with many of the characters from the first book, and fun meeting new ones. My only disappointment was we didn’t see Coyote’s grandmother again.

Coyote and her father, Rodeo, are actually living in a house, but Coyote still hangs out in the bus. And life changes yet again when she finds a hidden box…that contains her mother’s ashes. When she confronts Rodeo, the two decide to spread the ashes. There’s one problem. The location to spread them is written down in a book. And Coyote is pretty sure she got rid of the book last year. She can’t tell Rodeo that, so Coyote devises a journey to rediscover the poetry book. Of course, complications ensue.

The book came out in March.

Dan’s newest book is coming out this month. Aimed at readers ages 3-6, his first picture book is called Once Upon a Friend. Read about it on Dan’s book page.

cover of When Sea Becomes Sky
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

When Sea Becomes Sky

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

When Sea Becomes Sky (Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2023) by Gillian McDunn is super good. I don’t think I’ve fallen in love with a middle grade book so much as this one. And been so surprised.

It’s summer and siblings Bex and Davey are spending time in the salt marsh and discover an underwater hand. It’s part of a statue, but development may destroy not only their favorite place, but this amazing piece of artwork, so the two have to do something.

The book is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection, a Kids Indie Next List Pick (March/April 2023), an Amazon Best Books March 2023 and Editors’ Pick, plus a Southern Book Prize Finalist.

Learn about Gillian here and check out her five other books here.

cover of Orbiting Jupiter
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books, YA Novels

Orbiting Jupiter

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Need a good middle grade read? Easy. Read a book by Gary D. Schmidt (two-time Newbery Honor winner). Orbiting Jupiter (Clarion Books, 2015) was no exception. It’s labeled young adult, but the main character is in sixth grade. I think if it was published now, it probably would be labeled middle grade, although there are definitely tough topics.

Sixth-grader Jack and his family are taking in an eight-grader. They’ve been warned, Joseph tried to kill his teacher, and he has a 3-month old daughter he’s never met. But when Joseph comes, Rosie, the cow loves him. According to Jack, “You can tell all you need to know about someone from the way cows are around him.” Does that mean having Joseph in their lives is easy? No. But you’ll have to read it to see what happens.

This is such a heartfelt heart-breaking book–a mixtures of sadness and joy.

Read about Gary and his books here.

cover of Coyote Queen
Posted in Award Winners, MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Coyote Queen

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Coyote Queen (Greenwillow Books, 2023) by Jessica Vitalis is a fascinating story of one girl’s experience with poverty, domestic violence, and magic.

Twelve-year-old Fud, Felicity Ulyssa Dahlers, and her mom have always been on their own. Until Larry. Who makes the rules. And has an uneven temper and is super easy to anger. When the new neighbor girl tells her about a beauty pageant where the prize money is enough to get them away from Larry, Fud knows she has to apply and win.

Read the compelling first line: “Before the coyote stuff happened, I would have told you that magic didn’t exist.”

The story is set in Wyoming where Fud sees, and experiences, coyotes in a very unique way. The book just came out, but already it is a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.

Inspired by some experiences when Jessica was a child, this is her third book. Read about her other books here. And check out her fun facts on Jessica’s about page here.