A Work in Progress

A Work in Progress
Jarrett Lerner
Aladdin, 2023
368 pages
Grades 5-8
Narrative Poetry

Will's life changes in fourth grade when a school bully calls him "fat" in front of a hall full of kids. Suddenly, Will realizes that the accusation must be true and that he must be a disgusting human being. Will goes home and destroys all of his clothes so that his mother will take him shopping and he can get everything to be baggy on his frame. Will slowly distances himself from his friends and starts a spiral of depression, distorted body image, and disordered eating. Now in middle school, Will is lonely and paranoid, knowing that the world must think that he is a monster. One day, while eating lunch alone behind the school, a boy comes by to ride his skateboard. Markus keeps coming and eventually starts talking to Will and shares his story. Will listens, still reluctant to trust Markus with his own tale, and tries to keep him at arm's length. One day the constant starving himself catches up with Will and he passes out in the hall at school. Will Markus still want to be his friend? Will the other kids hate him even worse? Can Will keep living his secretly miserable life indefinitely?

This is a very sad fictionalized memoir based on the author's actual experiences that will appeal to readers who like this sort of thing. The poems are beautiful and sincere. Reader's hearts will break as they spend time in Will's shoes and will certainly empathize with his situation. Kids with similar troubles will find this book to be a game-changer and others will become more sympathetic to peers after reading. The plot is somewhat linear and clear-cut, making this book an easy, if difficult in content, read. The format is fun. The story appears to be Will's notebook with lined paper pages and sketches throughout drawn by Will. Because of the formating, the book reads very quickly, though packing a large emotional punch. I had to put the book down a few times because I was getting too upset by it, but finally had to finish the story to make sure that Will was okay. I found the parents frustrating for most of the story, but they ended up to be allies in Will's healing once they discovered the extent of his troubles. The ending is ultimately hopeful, though not perfect, and readers will leave with a sense that the troubled protagonist is on the road to recovery. This story will fill a much needed hole in school and library middle grade collections.

The World's Worst Time Machine

The World's Worst Time Machine

Dustin Brady

Andrews McMeel, 2023

185 pages

Grades 3-6

Fantasy/Humor

Liam finds a mysterious box tucked away in the corner of a disappeared neighboring mad-scientist's garage at a lawn sale labeled "the worst time machine ever".  Of course he forks over his last three dollars and brings it home. Liam hopes to connect with Thomas Edison so he can get out of reading his biography book report book. Surprisingly, the machine works! Liam does not go back in time, a historical figure is brought to him-and it is Thomas Edison, only not the right Thomas Edison. This teenager comes from 1933 and prefers to be called "Tommy Twinkles".  Tommy is a wanna-be gangster and tries to convince Liam to help him rob a bank of the future. The situation gets worse when Mom and Dad come down to the basement to investigate the noise and get sucked into time. Luckily, Liam's best pal Elsa is a genius and knows time travel. She runs over to help Liam sort this mess out. Unfortunately, more gangsters arrive and chaos ensues. Will Lia and Elsa be able to send all of the gang back to the 1930's without causing too much disturbance in the universe? And, ever more importantly, will they be able to retrieve Mom and Dad?

Non-stop mayhem and absurdity propel this new series starter right into the hands of reluctant readers. The author of the Trapped in a Video Game and Escape from a Video Game series has a new scenario that will lure in kids who think that they hate reading. Time travel is a cool concept that will intrigue the intended audience and Brady makes this adventure believable and possible. Infused with humor, the plot doesn't stop. Cliff-hanging chapter endings will keep readers moving along. The format is perfect for those struggling with reading. The font is large, the chapters are short, and lots of white space graces the pages. Cartoon-like illustrations are plentiful and will help to suck in the reader. This is a much needed series starter to hand to video-game kids who think they hate to read. It will also be useful for graphic novel readers who need to read something with more text and less dependence on illustrations. Especially since the pandemic, there is an increase in kids who have a hard time sitting still and concentrating on a book. This new edition might be just the thing to turn some of these kids into readers.

The Witch of Woodland

The Witch of Woodland

Laurel Snyder

HarperCollins, 2023

Grades 5-8

Fantasy

Turning thirteen isn't easy. Especially when your best friend is growing away from you and your mother decides that you must be Bat Mitzvahed, even though your family isn't particularly religious. Luckily, Rabbi Dan is a pretty cool guy and willing to work with Zippy, even though she has had no training in Hebrew and little knowledge in Judaism, beyond the high holy days. What Zippy is really interested in is witchcraft, forcing her into "weirdo" status at school. After finding a strange red book Zippy manages to cast a spell delivering a new friend with wings. Miriam is very kind and the two girls immediately hit it off. Is Miriam an angel? Rabbi Dan gives Zippy a book about magic creatures in Judaism to help her in figuring it all out. The friendship goes sour when Miriam seems to be zapping energy from Zippy.  Could she really be a dybbuk? Another piece of the puzzle is that Zippy suddenly understands Hebrew and become the star of her Bat Mitzvah class. What is going on? And what does Miriam do when Zippy is at school or at home? The mystery is solved, but not before Zippy is transformed in many ways and realizes that growing up is not as horrible as it seems.

Laurel Snyder is an unpredictable author. Her 2017 Orphan Island is one of my favorite books ever and she has proven to be an eclectic author who crosses genres and ages. I love this new offering in that it touches on a topic rarely seen in children's lit: Judaic mysticism. Readers will learn about all kinds of magical figures from Jewish folklore, all within the framework of a coming of age story. Realistic fiction fans will enjoy Zippy's struggles with her best friend and parents as she is navigating the choppy waters of puberty. Fantasy readers will love the magical bits and be interested to discover exactly what Miriam is. Zippy is not your normal protagonist. She feels a bit more Harriet the Spy than your average hero and is definitely someone that I would have loved to hang around with at that age. Kids interested in witchcraft will snatch this book up and want to break out some spells of their own. It was nice to see Judaism represented in a very relatable and contemporary way and will make many kids in my community feel represented. A heartfelt book featuring a new idea and a very readable plot that will appeal to the target audience.

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
Holly Jackson
Delacorte, 2019
387 pages
Grades 9-Up

Mystery
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder series

Connecticut high school senior, Pippa, is determined to get into Columbia and that means that she must have a stunning capstone project. She decides to research the murder of Andie Bell, a popular high school senior who was killed by her boyfriend five years previous. The convicted killer, Sal Singh, committed suicide days after Andie's disappearance, but Pippa is not convinced that he did the deed. For one thing, Pippa knew him as a family friend and he was just too decent a person. She starts her investigation with Sal's younger brother Ravi, who also is convinced of his brother's innocence and joins Pippa in her investigation. Pippa contacts many people connected with Andie Bell and discovers that the dead girl had secrets. Several suspects emerge, yet just when Pippa thinks she has figured it out, another piece of evidence points to someone new. As she pries deeper, Pippa receives threatening notes, eventually fearing for her own safety. How far is she willing to go to get to the truth? And what really happened to Andie Bell?

Who doesn't love a good murder mystery? A long-time resident on the bestseller list, this series starter reflects the current teenage mystery trend. We can't keep our four copies on the shelf and, in fact, every copy of all three books in the series are currently checked out. This mystery does not disappoint. There are red-herrings, danger, and surprises around every turn. The circumstances behind the murder are scandalous enough to delight teen readers and keep them turning pages. I did not figure out the scenario behind the murder, but it was gettable and the ending satisfies. I found it unnecessary that the original British book was edited and changed for an American audience. Today's kids are used to Harry Potter and can handle British phraseology. Keeping the main character's name as Pippa clues in the reader that it is a British book and some of the terms remain, making the Connecticut settling a little jarring. That said, teenagers probably won't care. They will love the quickly moving plot and the tenacity of the main character. The book feels a bit long, but reads quickly, as some of the content is in transcript form. The middle schoolers in my library are clambering for this book, but be aware that there are some mature situations involving sexual encounters and drugs, though it never gets too graphic.