#IMWAYR October 9, 2017

Each week I join Jen from Teach Mentor Texts and Kellee from Unleashing Readers to share all of the reading I've done over the week from picture books to young adult novels. 

As a first-round panelist for the middle grade Cybils category, I have a ton of books that jumped to the top of my TBR list. I'm also still reading books for school. 

Here's what I read this week:

Middle Grade

This historical fiction novel takes place at the end of segregation. At the end of the summer Charlie learns that his local friends have all changed schools because his local school "is going downhill." Turns out downhill means the school is being desegregated. Armstrong is one of the boys who will be bused in. Told from alternating points of view, you may want tissues for this one. I would recommend this for an older middle grade reader because of the descriptions of first kisses.

Four lives come together in this book about fate and friendship. When Virgil gets trapped at the bottom of the well trying to rescue his pet guinea pig, he thinks hope is lost. Fortunately the universe is sending some new friends to find him.

This book felt familiar - girl starts middle school and her best friend is becomes friends with someone else and is acting older, which leaves the main character behind. In this friendship story, the new friend is a bully who targets Karma's food and the hairs growing on her face in order to widen the gap between Karma and her former best friend. I thought the mustache was an interesting element in this story. I would have liked to see Karma struggle a little more with the issue of being half Sikh and wanting to cut her hair. 

I'm so glad I included this book in my 4th grade character study because it forced me to read it again and it's a book I have loved since I was in middle school. Bradley Chalkers is the school bully and the bad behavior kid. Nobody likes him, and he doesn't like them. That is until a new school counselor and a new student named Jeff challenge Bradley's reality and make him wonder whether he could be the kid in the class with the gold stars. If you loved Wonder, Fish in a Tree, and Finding Perfect, you will love this book.

This book is also part of my 4th grade character study. Edward Tulane is a fine porcelain rabbit who thinks very highly of himself, his clothing, and his pocket watch. He thinks very little about anything else. When he is accidentally thrown overboard and is found and owned by a series of adults and children, he starts to learn what it truly means to love and to be loved.

_______________________________

Stacy Barnett Mozer is a teacher and a middle grade author. If you like what she's been reading follow her on Goodreads. Please leave a comment below. 

It's Monday, what are you reading?