The Bridge Home

The Bridge Home
by
Padma Venkatraman

 From the publisher:
When Viji and her sister, Rukku, whose developmental disability makes her overly trusting and vulnerable to the perils of the world, run away to live on their own, the situation could not be more grim. Life on the streets of the teeming city of Chennai is harsh for girls considered outcasts, but the sisters manage to find shelter on an abandoned bridge. There they befriend Muthi and Arul, two boys in a similar predicament, and the four children bond together and form a family of sorts. Viji starts working with the boys scavenging in trash heaps while Rukku makes bead necklaces, and they buy food with what little money they earn. They are often hungry and scared but they have each other--and Kutti, the best dog ever. When the kids are forced from their safe haven on the bridge, they take shelter in a graveyard. But it is now the rainy season and they are plagued by mosquitos, and Rukku and Muthu fall ill. As their symptoms worsen, Viji and Arul must decide whether to risk going for help--when most adults in their lives have proven themselves untrustworthy--or to continue holding on to their fragile, hard-fought freedom.

This was a hard one to put down and a very quick read. It was somehow both painful and uplifting. What these children go through is horrible, yet they persevere and stay true to each other. I love stories about families-by-choice. I think this book will open the eyes of some of our middle school students to what happens out in the world. Maybe it will make them a little more grateful for everything they have in their lives. I loved the main characters and found the story gripping. One of the parts I really appreciated was when Viji realized that even though she hated it when others didn't think Rukku could do things, she was also not helping her to live up to her potential. I loved the way the sisters took care of each other. And I loved Arul's faith in the midst of homelessness, extreme poverty, and horrible working conditions. I'm so glad the 4 found each other! They each had abilities that helped in their little family. I was very happy to find an adult in the book that was good and trustworthy, but sad there was only one. I really enjoyed reading it and I'm going to imagine that Viji not only becomes a teacher when she grows up, but a special needs teacher.

Areas of concern:
*An abusive father
*Running away from home
*Extreme poverty and hardship
*Several bad adults who were trying to take advantage of the children
*The death of a beloved character

Suggested Ages:
Booklist - Grades 5-7
Kirkus Reviews - Ages 10-14

Out of My Mind
by Sharon M. Draper

 From the publisher:
Melody is not like most people. She cannot walk or talk, but she has a photographic memory; she can remember every detail of everything she has ever experienced. She is smarter than most of the adults who try to diagnose her and smarter than her classmates in her integrated classroom - the very same classmates who dismiss her as mentally challenged because she cannot tell them otherwise. But Melody refuses to be defined by cerebral palsy. And she's determined to let everyone know it - somehow.

I really liked this book and it gave me all the feels, however there were some things that really bothered me. I didn't appreciate the portrayal of most of the teachers. Maybe it is just that our school is special and inclusive, but we love our special needs kids here - staff and students, alike. I have an elementary age special needs granddaughter in another city who has had amazing SpEd teachers and GenEd teachers who have loved her and taught her. So I really hated that even the "nice" teachers were a little clueless. I also didn't like the ending and thought it was unnecessary. I would rather have had the kids at school be more accepting and gone on with that storyline. That being said, I really did like the book and loved Melody. I can't imagine what it would be like to have so much intelligence and be trapped in a body you can't control. And our middle school students LOVE this book and they won't notice the things that bothered me. I think they will probably just learn from it and expand their minds on how people with disabilities should be loved, respected, and treated with kindness. I will highly recommend this to my students, as they have recommended it to me.

Suggested Ages:  
Booklist - Grades 5-8
Publisher's Weekly - Ages 10+

Turtle Boy

 From the publisher:

Turtle Boy
by M. Evan
Wolkenstein

"Seventh grade is not going well for Will Levine. Kids at school bully him because of his funny-looking chin. His science teacher finds out about the turtles he spent his summer collecting from the marsh behind school and orders him to release them back into the wild. And for his bar mitzvah community service project, he has to go to the hospital to visit RJ, an older boy struggling with an incurable disease. Unfortunately, Will hates hospitals.

At first, the boys don't get along, but then RJ shares his bucket list with Will. Among the things he wants to do: ride a roller coaster, go to a concert and a school dance, and swim in the ocean. To Will, happiness is hanging out in his room, alone, preferably with his turtles. But as RJ's disease worsens, Will realizes he needs to tackle the bucket list on his new friend's behalf before it's too late. It seems like an impossible mission, way outside Will's comfort zone. But as he completes each task with RJ's guidance, Will learns that life is too short to live in a shell."

I am a sucker for books that are billed as "If you liked Wonder, you will like this". And yet, they never live up to the billing. I had a really hard time with this book and had to force myself to finish it. I will say that I am very glad I did finish it, but, boy, that first 2/3rds was rough going. It is hard for me to like a book when I don't like the main character, and Will is not very likeable through a lot of the book. RJ, on the other hand, is a wonderful, loveable character. I probably would have quit reading if it wasn't for RJ. The last 1/3rd of of the book was very good and I even teared up at parts. I ended up liking the book, but I feel like it will be a hard sell for my middle schoolers. I hope I'm wrong and that they keep reading until the end like I did because it has a lot going for it and teaches some beautiful lessons. I loved the supportive adults in Will's life, and the friends who mostly stuck with him even when he wasn't being a good friend himself. I loved the immense progress Will made. So yes, read this book and stick it out because it will be worth it.

Areas of concern:

*Triggers could include a dead father and a dying friend.

Suggested Ages:

Publisher's Weekly - Ages 10+

School Library Journal - Grades 5+

Find Layla

Find Layla
by Meg Elison

From the publisher:
"A neglected girl’s chaotic coming-of-age becomes a trending new hashtag in a novel about growing up and getting away by an award-winning author.

Underprivileged and keenly self-aware, SoCal fourteen-year-old Layla Bailey isn’t used to being noticed. Except by mean girls who tweet about her ragged appearance. All she wants to do is indulge in her love of science, protect her vulnerable younger brother, and steer clear of her unstable mother.

Then a school competition calls for a biome. Layla chooses her own home, a hostile ecosystem of indoor fungi and secret shame. With a borrowed video camera, she captures it all. The mushrooms growing in her brother’s dresser. The black mold blooming up the apartment walls. The unmentionable things living in the dead fridge. All the inevitable exotic toxins that are Layla’s life. Then the video goes viral.

When Child Protective Services comes to call, Layla loses her family and her home. Defiant, she must face her bullies and friends alike, on her own. Unafraid at last of being seen, Layla accepts the mortifying reality of visibility. Now she has to figure out how to stay whole and stand behind the truth she has shown the world."

 In the musical Wicked, when Elphaba and her sister get to Shiz University, the headmistress comes out personally to greet them because they are daughters of the governor.  When she sees Nessarose, who is in a wheelchair,  she says, "What a tragically beautiful face!" and then Elphaba introduces herself by saying, "I'm the other daughter, Elphaba.  I'm beautifully tragic.".   This book reminds me of Elphaba, it is beautifully tragic.  It is also vulgarly tragic and appallingly tragic.  There are children in our country, and many more than we care to recognize, that are in Layla's situation.  Living in horrible conditions, being brutally bullied on a daily basis, lacking adequate nourishment, shelter and security.  It is tragic.  I wish I had answers and ideas to overcome this tragedy but I do not.  Hopefully, reading books like this will help us recognize and get help for children in Layla and Andy's situation.   Do I recommend this book to all middle schoolers?  Let me just say that I wouldn't have let my daughters read it at a very young age because it is so disturbing and has so much bad language in it.   However, the bad language wasn't gratuitous in any way - as Layla would say, "That's life".  Fortunately that isn't MY life, but it IS her life so that is the kind of language she hears and uses.  I would recommend it to 8th grade and up as long as they are prepared for the content.  It is heartbreaking and sad, but you will want so badly for Layla to find safety and happiness.  It is gripping and you won't want to put it down.  That being said, I didn't love the ending, because while some things seemed rushed, other questions remained unanswered.  A big shout-out to caring, compassionate social workers who are overworked and underpaid.... pretty much like teachers.  

Areas of concern:

*A lot of bad language, including the *f* word over 15 times.
*Intense bullying with very few consequences.
*A hideously bad mother who takes neglect to an extreme.
*Middle school kids being very vulgar.
*Horrible living conditions for 2 children.

Suggested ages:

Kirkus Reviews - Ages 14-18
School Library Journal - Grades 7-10 

From the Desk of Zoe Washington

From the Desk of
Zoe Washington
by Janae Marks

From the publisher:
"Zoe Washington isn’t sure what to write. What does a girl say to the father she’s never met, hadn’t heard from until his letter arrived on her twelfth birthday, and who’s been in prison for a terrible crime?

A crime he says he never committed.

Could Marcus really be innocent? Zoe is determined to uncover the truth. Even if it means hiding his letters and her investigation from the rest of her family. Everyone else thinks Zoe’s worrying about doing a good job at her bakery internship and proving to her parents that she’s worthy of auditioning for Food Network’s Kids Bake Challenge.

But with bakery confections on one part of her mind, and Marcus’s conviction weighing heavily on the other, this is one recipe Zoe doesn’t know how to balance. The only thing she knows to be true: Everyone lies."

I really enjoyed this book because it was sweet and very readable, but also because it made me think and research.  I love it when books do that!  To me, this book is first and foremost a story of forgiveness.  Zoe is very mad at her next-door neighbor/best friend Trevor.  For quite some time in the book, we have no idea why she is mad at him.  Even her parents and grandma don't know and wonder what happened.  All they know is how upset and sad she is about it.  Trevor, himself, has no idea what he has done and tries to still be friends with her but Zoe won't have anything to do with him.  At one point her mother tells her,

"You're the one holding all this pain inside of you, which hurts you more than it hurts Trevor.  If you can forgive him, it might help you let go of the pain.  And you'll get your friend back.  It's a win-win."  

When Zoe finally tells Trevor why she is so mad and he apologizes, she has this insight:

"But it was like when you drew something in pencil and then tried to erase it - the pencil lines would mostly go away, but sometimes the indent would still be there, so you could sort of see what had been erased.  That's how Trevor's apology felt - like he was trying to erase my pain by saying he was sorry, but he couldn't make it all disappear."

Then later she has this insight:

"Maybe the pencil marks couldn't be erased, but at some point you could decide to turn to a new page."

I love that!  And what makes it even more interesting is that juxtaposed on Zoe and Trevor's story is the story of how Zoe's mom can't forgive Zoe's biological father.  He is in prison for murder, but continues to declare his innocence.  I love the things this book teaches about forgiveness!  I appreciated the supportive family that didn't always agree but always loved (although I had grave misgivings about a grandma going behind a mother's back, even though it was done in love).   

I also love how timely this book is and welcomed learning more about how POC (and particularly MEN of color) are wrongly imprisoned far more often than white men.  I had heard about The Innocence Project, but enjoyed learning more and studying more after I finished reading.  

I think this is a wonderful middle grade novel that was both entertaining and educational.  

Suggested Ages:

Publisher's Weekly - Ages 8-12

School Library Journal - Grades 4+

The Clockwork Scarab

From the publisher: "Evaline Stoker and Mina Holmes never meant to get into the family business. But when you’re the sister of Bram and the niece of Sherlock, vampire hunting and mystery solving are in your blood. And when two society girls go missing, there’s no one more qualified to investigate. Now fierce Evaline and logical Mina must resolve their rivalry, navigate the advances of not just one but three mysterious gentlemen, and solve murder with only one clue: a strange Egyptian scarab. The stakes are high. If Stoker and Holmes don’t unravel why the belles of London society are in such danger, they’ll become the next victims."

Wow, Blogger has really changed their formatting and I don't like it! I couldn't get the picture in the correct spot or add a caption to it. But here is the review:
The premise for this series is really fun and the ending was incredibly exciting, but the rest kind of dragged. I hope it was just because it had a lot of set-up and world building to do. Maybe the rest of the series won't begin so slowly. I do not like Steampunk and I was quite confused by the world-building and had trouble picturing this weird London in my head. I did like the characters and thought they were very well done and look forward to seeing them develop through the series. I think this series would be good for older or more mature middle schoolers just because of the world building and Victorian language. 

 Areas of concern: 

*A young woman is murdered by electrocution in front of our 2 main characters. 

*The 2 main characters face some very intense situations including one being kidnapped 

 Suggested Ages: 

Publisher's Weekly - Ages 12+ 

School Library Journal - Grades 8+

Black Brother, Black Brother

 From the publisher:

Black Brother, 
Black Brother
by Jewell Parker
Rhodes

"From award-winning and bestselling author, Jewell Parker Rhodes comes a powerful coming-of-age story about two brothers, one who presents as white, the other as black, and the complex ways in which they are forced to navigate the world, all while training for a fencing competition.

Donte wishes he were invisible. As one of the few black boys at Middlefield Prep, he feels as if he is constantly swimming in whiteness. Most of the students don't look like him. They don't like him either. Dubbed the "Black Brother," Donte's teachers and classmates make it clear they wish he were more like his lighter skinned brother, Trey. Quiet, obedient.

When an incident with "King" Alan leads to Donte's arrest and suspension, he knows the only way to get even is to beat the king of the school at his own game: fencing. With the help of a former Olympic fencer, Donte embarks on a journey to carve out a spot on Middlefield Prep's fencing team and maybe learn something about himself along the way." 

I liked this book well enough to read it in one sitting, but it was very formulaic and I was seeing scenes from The Karate Kid in my head the whole time I was reading it. However, I think it is perfect for its middle school audience. I loved the main character and his entire family and was sickened by the racism and colorism he experienced at his private school. This book is perfect for our time and I will gladly recommend it to one and all.

Areas of Concern:
*Severe bullying that gets ignored by teachers and administrators
*Racism and colorism

Suggested Ages:
Publisher's Weekly - Ages 8-12
School Library Journal - Grades 4-6