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Uniquely wired, Lena Lennox carries her worries around like an extra backpack. So, when the counsellor at Cranberry Bog Middle School selects seven students for a pilot program to test the concept of mindful meditation, Lena is among those invited to set aside their anxious thoughts. As the plot unfolds in Betsy Uhrig’s novel for middle grade readers, Mind Over Monsters, the seven, who “look like someone’s attempt at a diversity ad” (21), discover some up sides to the app as well as some mysteries. The first mystery surfaces when pieces of “weirdly cold” junk remain after a meditation period in the Facing One’s FearsRead More →

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G.F. Miller sets out to explore early relationships in her book Not If You Break Up with Me First. The novel follows two best friends: Eve McNeil and Andrew Ozdemir. The pair has “seen each other through growth spurts, family drama, and broken bones” (9). However, hormones and other life changes occur during the summer between seventh and eighth grade. When Andrew returns from a Florida trip taller, stronger, and with a deeper voice, Eve’s parents are struggling to hold their family together. At school in Andrew’s circle of friends, talk of Legos and video games has shifted to talk of which girls the boysRead More →

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When they encounter big feelings, young people often feel confused. What do they do with their anger, resentment, jealousy, or love? To help tweens better understand these overwhelming emotions that are capable of causing damage if not handled with care, Aida Salazar pens Ultraviolet. In particular, this novel in verse examines puberty, gender, first crushes, and rites of passage for young boys of color. It encourages a society that provides space to explore emotions, vulnerability, and hormonal confusion rather than burying them behind attitudes of being “macho” or “manning up.” Afraid of bees and plagued by other irrational fears, Elio Solis tries to understand hisRead More →