The Truth as Told by Mason Buttle (Katherine Tegen Books, 2018) by Leslie Connor has such a sympathetic character. I couldn’t wait to find out what had happened.
Mason is the biggest, tallest kid in seventh grade. He also has a sweating problem. And writing is extremely difficult for him. Of course, that means he’s bullied. But Ms. Blinny believes he has stories in him and lets him use a computer that translates his spoken words into text. Maybe Lieutenant Baird can read those printouts and will believe Mason’s oft-told story of what he knows about his friend Benny’s death.
Life gets better with a new funny friend, Calvin. But when Calvin goes missing, the Lieutenant suspects Mason for this too.
The book is a National Book Award Finalist and is on a number of “Best Book” lists for 2018.
Read more about the author here.
I’ve recommended another of her books here.
Tag: MMGM
Somewhere Among
Somewhere Among (A Caitlyn Dlouhy Book, 2016) by Annie Donwerth-Chikamatsu is such a good book. It’s told in verse and the sparse language works so well.
Ema has a Japanese father and an American mother. Usually, she gets to spend the end of the summer in California with her mom and Grandpa Bob and Nana. But this year, her mother is expecting a baby and needs rest, so beginning in June, she and Ema will stay with Jiichan and Obaachan in western Tokyo. And it’s not going to be easy–especially with Papa working so far away. Then shortly after school starts, the whole world changes with the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001.
Listen to Ema herself:
At home
with Mom and Papa
I am
between
two cultures
two languages
two time zones
every day.
Everywhere I go
here or there
I am different.
Doesn’t that just pull your heartstrings?
Read about the author and her family here.
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus
Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus (Sterling Children’s Books, 2017) by Dusti Bowling was so good.
Thirteen-year-old Aven was born without arms, but loves making up stories about what happened to her arms. It’s a fun joke with her friends, but when she and her family have to move because her dad lost his job and Aven has to go to a new school, she doesn’t feel like joking. Or eating lunch in front of anyone. And the “looks” and stares are hard.
Her new home is a rundown Western theme park in Arizona which has some mysteries. Eventually she meets Connor who has his own struggles and they start investigating those mysteries plus create some excitement of their own. The two also ending up helping each other.
Aven is funny, interesting, and a good friend. I like her parents and how they’ve encouraged her.
This really is a sweet book, but not too sweet. 😉 Go here and read about all the awards and lists this book has been chosen for.
Dusti’s second book, 24 Hours in Nowhere, comes out in September. Read about it here.
Chasing Secrets
And another historical for you: Chasing Secrets (Wendy Lamb Books, 2015) by Gennifer Choldenko, who never disappoints. I still remember crying over Notes from a Liar and Her Dog.
It’s 1900 in San Francisco and thirteen-year-old Lizzie Kennedy would rather be with her physician father than going to Miss Barstow’s finishing school. And even though Aunt Hortense doesn’t think it is appropriate she is interested in science, Lizzie goes whenever she can. But dead rats are appearing everywhere. Could the plague have arrived?
Besides secrets, the story involves mysteries, sneaking around, a new friend, danger, and more. Lizzie even learns a thing or two.
Check out Gennifer’s stupid author photos here or see her other books here. You’ll be glad you did.
Is It Night or Day?
I love learning about history via historical fiction–it just brings it alive. Is It Night or Day? (Farrar Straus Giroux, 2010) by Fern Schumer Chapman is a recent discover for me. The book is inspired by the author’s mother’s experiences, who was one of twelve hundred children rescued from the Holocaust by Americans through the One Thousand Children project.
It’s 1938 and twelve-year-old Edith has to travel alone from Germany to America as the anti-Semitism is getting worse. She’ll be staying with family she’s never met in Chicago. Is that scary or what?
See if the opening lines of this book don’t just grab you: “The first long train trip I ever took in Germany was my last. Now I see that it was a funeral procession. The mourners traveling with me were my father, my mother, and Mina, a Christian girl who lived with my family and was as dear to me as my big sister, Betty. We were burying my childhood.”
The author creates such sympathy in the reader’s heart for Edith. Wow! It’s an unforgettable story and definitely a good read.
Read about Fern Schumer Chapman’s other books here.