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The Two Lives of Lydia Bird by Josie Silver

Frances is in 7th grade. She enjoys Nordic skiing and plays soccer in the summer, spring and fall. She also loves writing, reading and spending time outside.

Lydia Bird and her husband of more than a decade both believe their love is completely indestructible. Unfortunately, on Lydia’s 28th birthday their theory is proven wrong when Freddie dies in a tragic car accident. After the accident Lydia spends her time wallowing in her home and crying her eyes out. However, regardless of how overcome she is with emotion, she knows Freddie would have wanted her to live a full happy life even if he weren’t with her.

With the help of her friend Jonah and sister, Elle, she is reintroduced to the and even gives dating a try.  Things are getting better for Lydia until she’s introduced into an alternate reality where Freddie had never been in a car crash.  Lydia battles between devoting herself to a world where the love of her life is still with her and one where she can have a new start with someone in her real life.

This romance novel, by Josie Silver, will sweep you up in a whirlwind of humor, sadness, and joy.  Perfect for anyone who is looking for a page turning sequence of events that will always keep you on your toes.

Find it in print here.

The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

My name is Buck and I am in 6th grade. I enjoy soccer, time with my friends, and playing with my pug, Peppa.

The Marrow Thieves is a fictional novel written by an Indigenous Canadian author. The book tells the story of Frenchie, a teen who loses his family members and is on his own, trying to escape the Recruiters. The setting is the 2050s and the world has been badly affected by global warming. Many people become stressed by the environmental changes and start to emotionally suffer as their lives change. Most people lose the ability to dream, but not the Indigenous people. The Recruiters are government agents sent to round up Indigenous children to take them to special school where they hold them captive. They also extract their bone marrow there because it holds the key to being able to dream. The people who have their bone marrow taken die in the process. Frenchie is running and is found by a group of indigenous people who are also on the run. They become his family.

Most of the story is about the relationships between the individuals of the group as they travel searching for more Indigenous people while trying to escape the Recruiters. The story is also about preserving their native culture, which has been lost over time. Remembering their native language and culture is important for their survival. This is based on historical events, as a reflection of residential schools were opened in Canada for Indigenous children in 1876. The schools were made to promote learning English and white culture. However, this also meant separating the children from their own people, languages and traditions. The last school was closed in Canada in 1996.

In the end, this story is really about doing whatever it takes to preserve the things that are important as individuals and as a community. I enjoyed this book because there was action, the characters were described very well, and the book had an important message. There was some objectionable language in the book, as well as a couple of graphic scenes. I would recommend this book for ages 13 and up.

Find it in print and ebook here.

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

Hi, I am Sarah. I am fourteen years old and an avid reader; it is one of my favorite things to do. Inspired by authors’ creations of magnificent places and surprising havens built by simple letters, I aspire to be an author and, meanwhile, nurture the love to write.

Leigh’s world is shattering around her, but she does know one thing for certain: when her mother committed suicide, she turned into a bird. 

Not metaphorically or anything like that. 

Her mother is literally a bird. 

After her mother (the bird) visits in the middle of the night with a package for her, Leigh travels to Taiwan to meet her maternal grandparents for the first time in her sixteen years of life. Her world unspooling through grief and confusion and a wrecked web of broken relationships, she journeys through the city in search of her mother, some kind of constant – and winds up chasing after ghosts, uncovering long-buried secrets, and learning her family’s history as it slowly disentangles. 

Tumbling between past, present, and a world of memories, The Astonishing Color of After is a spectacular narrative of one girl’s journey through grief and loss, and her struggles to adapt to that mother-shaped hole in her life. 

I enjoyed this book immensely and found it to be a beautiful and impactful story. It encompassed many topics associated with grief, but in such a fantastical and original way. Leigh’s artistic talent and colorful view of the world makes for a refreshing yet relatable narrator, and her story gives voice to those personal battlefields, unseen and unheard and yet so prevalent in our society.

Find it in print, ebook, and eaudiobook here.

The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson

My name is Espen. I like to play sports such as soccer, baseball, skiing and biking. I also like to play video games and watch TV.

The Great Greene Heist was written by Varian Johnson on May 27, 2014, it is an awesome book with a very interesting story line.  The book is about a character who is in middle school and his name is Jackson Greene. He is a con artist but he insists that he is retired. Then he is faced with a school president election between Keith Sinclar, his arch nemesis, and his crush who won’t talk to him because of something he did beforehand. You’ll have to read the book to figure that out.  Jackson decides to rig the vote counting machine in favor of his crush, Gaby.  But at the same time, Keith’s dad bribes the principal, Dr. Kelsey, to rig the machine, tipping the vote in Keith´s favor.

Jackson and his best friend Charlie try breaking into the room where the school keeps the voting machine. With the help of a team of students, they almost pull their heist off right away, but the lock on the door is the same as the one on the principal’s door. It’s the Guttenbabel 4200, the only lock Jackson cannot pick.  How will he and his friends do it?  Will they break the lock?  Will they somehow switch it out with a different one?

Read the book and find out.

Find it in print and ebook here.

Tales from a Not-So-Graceful Ice Princess by Rachel Renee Russell

My name is Simone, I’m 13 years old and I’m going into 8th grade. I enjoy skiing, playing volleyball, skateboarding and I have a love for fashion.

Tales from a Not- So- Graceful Ice Princess is the fourth book in the Dork Diaries series, and by far my favorite! This book is about growing up, dealing with mean girls and gaining confidence. Nikki, the main character, has to perform in an ice performance for her physical education class. Whoever wins the competition gets a prize of 3000 dollars to the charity of their choice.

Nikki’s crush named Brandon volunteers at their local animal shelter, which is in danger of closing. If the shelter closes something will happen to Brandon that she can’t let happen. Even though Nikki is not the best at ice skating and, has an arch-nemesis named Mackenzie who is trying to ruin it all for her, she needs to compete in the show.

Mackenzie somehow always knows how to do everything better than Nikki so she wants to compete against Nikki for the same charity try to win over Brandon.

I definitely recommend this book for middle schoolers because it’s a very easy read but super drama packed! I’ve read every single one of the Dork Diaries series and this one is definitely the best.

Find it in print here.

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

My name is Simone, I’m 13 years old and I’m going into 8th grade. I enjoy skiing, playing volleyball, skateboarding and I have a love for fashion.

The One and Only Ivan is an amazing read about animal cruelty and the difficulties that zoo animals have to live. The chapters are very short, about 1-2 pages and it’s all like poetry. This kind of reading style was very easy to understand and comprehend. I loved this book because I care a lot about animals and their well-being.

This book is inspired by a true story about a silver back gorilla that lived in a concrete box for 27 years at a mall. In this book he has friends, a little girl, a stray dog named Bob, an old elephant named Stella and a baby elephant named Ruby. Stella immediately forms a connection with Ruby but sadly Stella is very ill because of the neglect all those years. Her dying wish is for Ivan to save Ruby and get her out of the mall so she can live freely unlike the rest of them.

The One And Only Ivan is written in the perspective of the gorilla, Ivan. The book shows how he feels and acts being caged. Although this topic is very sad, the author finds a way to make the book very optimistic and hopeful. People of any age could read this book because it has a very heartfelt meaning and is very easy to read, Hope you read it and enjoy it!

Find it in print, ebook, eaudiobook, and CD here.