Death by Toilet Paper

From Publisher's Weekly…
Sydney Taylor for Older Readers

Benjamin Epstein, 12, is having an epically bad year. His father’s death left the family saddled with medical bills, his mother loses her job, and his grandfather, Zeyde Jake, arrives unexpectedly to live with them, displaying pronounced signs of Alzheimer’s. Then, the landlord posts an eviction notice on their apartment door. Benjamin, however, is a mensch, determined to keep the promise he made to his dying father that he would take care of his mother. A contest buff, he pins his hopes on winning a $10,000 prize for the best new slogan for a brand of toilet paper. This is a profoundly sad story about a boy made to carry a heavy burden that ends, mercifully, on a hopeful note. Gephart (Olivia Bean, Trivia Queen) leavens the sadness with bathroom humor, but there’s a disconnect between the lowbrow humor and the heavier elements of the plot. Still, Ben is a character kids will root for, and he’s surrounded by family and friends who help him see things will be okay, a message that may comfort readers facing similar circumstances. Ages 9–12. 

Excellent book!  Good for middle school.  

Greenglass House

From Publisher's Weekly…
National Book Award Long List, Edgar, Agatha

Twelve-year-old Milo’s Christmas looks ruined when five eccentric guests arrive at his parents’ inn on the first day of vacation. But his new friend Meddy has other ideas, and soon the pair is investigating a series of thefts and creating alter egos based on the role-playing game Odd Trails. Milo’s new persona allows him to imagine his Chinese birth family without the guilt he usually feels toward his loving adoptive parents when he does so. The mysteries surrounding the guests and their connections to the inn unravel slowly, but Milo—with his resentment of the unexpected, his growing empathy, and his quick powers of deduction—is a well-drawn protagonist. Likewise, the fictional port of Nagspeake, whose daring smugglers face off against ruthless customs agents, makes for a unique and cozy setting, where Milo’s parents’ inn provides a refuge for “runners,” as the smugglers call themselves. The legends and folktales Milford (The Broken Lands) creates add to Nagspeake’s charm and gently prepare the ground for a fantasy twist. Ages 10–14. 

Excellent!  Complicated with lots of characters which requires close reading.  

Storm

From Publisher's Weekly…
2015 Sydney Taylor teen winner

Napoli (Skin) draws from the story of Noah's Ark in this account of a Canaanite girl, Sebah, with a big problem: rain, which sweeps away her family, home, and the ground beneath her feet. Sebah and a boy named Aban climb a tree to survive, but soon they must abandon that refuge and set out on a raft across the ever-rising sea. That's when they see an enormous ark floating above them—but only Sebah is strong enough to climb aboard. Despite the novel's biblical origins, it's light on religion. Sebah's prayers (to Ba'al) are rare, and she's more concerned with hiding from Noah's irritable family than with the Mighty Creator that gives Noah instructions. Sebah bonds more readily with the easygoing bonobos who let her share their cage than the humans twisting themselves into knots to follow the rules of a baffling God. Her own survival, always, is paramount. Napoli's focus on Sebah's immediate circumstances allows her to grow organically as a character, bringing a satisfying realism to this familiar story. Ages 14–up. 

Very unique story that I thoroughly enjoyed reading!  But, not appropriate for younger middle schoolers.  Good for YA.  

The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, and the Fall of Imperial Russia

From Publisher's Weekly..
Siebert, YA NF Award

Making vibrant use of primary sources that emerged since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Fleming (Amelia Lost) brings to life the last imperial family of Russia. Writing with a strong point of view based on diary entries, personal letters, and other firsthand accounts, she enriches their well-known story with vivid details. The narrative begins in February 1903 (with some flashbacks to the meeting of tsar Nicholas and German-born tsarina Alexandra) and also features primary sources from peasants and factory workers—including an excerpt from Maxim Gorky’s 1913 memoir—that help to affectingly trace the increasingly deplorable conditions and growing discontent that led to the Russian Revolution; key figures such as Rasputin and Lenin are profiled in some depth. Fleming’s fulsome portraits of Nicholas and Alexandra, along with her depiction of their devoted relationship, highlight the role their personalities played in their downfall, as well as that of their beloved country. A wonderful introduction to this era in Russian history and a great read for those already familiar with it. Ages 12–up. 

Wonderful book!  Reads like fiction.  Good for LBJ Library.

I'll Give You the Sun

From Publisher's Weekly..
2015 Printz Award and Stonewall

Twins Noah and Jude are inseparable until misunderstandings, jealousies, and a major loss rip them apart. Both are talented artists, and creating art plays a major role in their narratives. Both also struggle with their sexuality—Noah is gay, which both thrills and terrifies him, while Jude is recovering from a terrible first sexual experience at age 14, one of two important reasons she has sworn off dating. Nelson (The Sky Is Everywhere) unravels the twins’ stories in long chapters that alternate between their perspectives. Noah’s sections are set when the twins are 13, Jude’s at age 16, giving readers slanted insights into how their relationship deteriorated and how it begins to mend. The twins’ artistic passions and viewpoints suffuse their distinctive voices; Noah tends toward wild, dramatic overstatements, and Jude’s world is wrapped up in her late grandmother’s quirky superstitions and truisms. Readers are meant to feel big things, and they will—Nelson’s novel brims with emotion (grief, longing, and love in particular) as Noah, Jude, and the broken individuals in their lives find ways to heal. Ages 14–up. Agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (Sept.)

Excellent read, but not appropriate for younger middle schoolers.  

The Right Word: Roget and His Thesaurus

From Publisher's Weekly….
2015 Siebert Award

The award-winning team behind A River of Wordstakes on the story of British physician Peter Mark Roget, author of the eponymous thesaurus. Bryant draws a clear line from the dislocations of Roget’s youth—the death of his father in 1783 and the family’s frequent moves thereafter—to his need for order as he starts making lists of words. “Words, Peter learned, were powerful things. And when he put them into long, neat rows, he felt as if the world itself clicked into order.” Yet Roget wasn’t merely a reclusive scholar. He meant for his thesaurus to have a democratizing effect: “I want everyone to be able to use my word book, not just doctors, politicians, and lawyers, but cobblers, fishmongers, and factory workers.” Sweet envisions Roget’s work as a shadow box crammed with the wonders of the natural world, adorned with exuberant hand-lettered typography. Together with Bryant’s sympathetic account, Sweet’s gentle riot of images and words humanizes the man behind this ubiquitous reference work and demystifies the thesaurus itself. Ages 7–up. Author’s agent: Alyssa Eisner Henkin, Trident Media Group. (Sept.)

What a beautiful story and illustrations!  Too young for ms, but maybe I'll get it anyway as it's a Caldecott Honor book.  

All the Light We Cannot See

From Publisher's Weekly…
2015 Alex Honor Award
Finalist 2015 National Book Award for Fiction

In 1944, the U.S. Air Force bombed the Nazi-occupied French coastal town of St. Malo. Doerr (Memory Wall) starts his story just before the bombing, then goes back to 1934 to describe two childhoods: those of Werner and Marie-Laure. We meet Werner as a tow-headed German orphan whose math skills earn him a place in an elite Nazi training school—saving him from a life in the mines, but forcing him to continually choose between opportunity and morality. Marie-Laure is blind and grows up in Paris, where her father is a locksmith for the Museum of Natural History, until the fall of Paris forces them to St. Malo, the home of Marie-Laure’s eccentric great-uncle, who, along with his longtime housekeeper, joins the Resistance. Doerr throws in a possibly cursed sapphire and the Nazi gemologist searching for it, and weaves in radio, German propaganda, coded partisan messages, scientific facts, and Jules Verne. Eventually, the bombs fall, and the characters’ paths converge, before diverging in the long aftermath that is the rest of the 20th century. If a book’s success can be measured by its ability to move readers and the number of memorable characters it has, Story Prize–winner Doerr’s novel triumphs on both counts. Along the way, he convinces readers that new stories can still be told about this well-trod period, and that war—despite its desperation, cruelty, and harrowing moral choices—cannot negate the pleasures of the world. (May)

Excellent book, but a little mature for ms.  

Neighborhood Sharks

From Publisher's Weekly
2015 Siebert Honor

Drama and intrigue infuse Roy’s study of migrating great white sharks. Each year, the sharks return to San Francisco: “While their 800,000 human neighbors dine on steak, salad, and sandwiches, the white sharks hunt for their favorite meal.” With violence and wild beauty, one of Roy’s sharks attacks a local elephant seal, sending forth a bubbling gush of blood. Elsewhere, Roy playfully compares the characteristics of a shark’s body to those of a jet plane, and cutaway images display a shark’s internal anatomy. Roy’s reverence for her subject is evident in her majestic underwater scenes, while light humor and rich content round out a standout resource for shark enthusiasts. Ages 7–11. Agent: Stephen Barr, Writers House. (Sept.)

Good, but a little young for middle school, more like a picture book than information book.