#IMWAYR November 11, 2019

Each week I try to 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. I am currently a first round Cybil judge for the middle grade fiction, so expect to see a lot of middle grade fiction for the next few weeks. A lot of middle grade fiction.

Here's what I read this week:

Middle Grade

When Maggie's grandmother lost her memory due to dementia, she started to question whether our brains are enough to hold on to the things that are important to us. Instead, she found items to hold on to- things that would hold meaning for her. But as her collecting and saving starts bringing on feelings of resentment and anger whenever the slightest item is moved or touched, her parents realize that Maggie needs some help with holding on and letting go.

When Aven moved to a new city, not only did she have to start over in making new friends, she also needed to go back to proving to her new classmates that she was capable even though she was born without arms. Once she found a few good friends with their own challenges, everything became easier. But now Aven is starting high school with a whole new set of problems that goes along with it. A wonderful sequel to an amazing book. It may be appreciated more by an older middle grade reader because so much of the book revolves around dating.

When Carolina and her family have to leave Puerto Rico to move in with her aunt, uncle, and cousin Gabriella, Carolina isn't sure that living in Upstate New York is right for her. Her mother wants her to abandon her Spanish language and her love of painting to "fit in" with her cousins popular friends, but Carolina is more comfortable with Jenn, the social outcast who is into fairies and whose father is an artist. When Carolina finds a cabin abandoned in the woods, it's Jenn who is as excited as Carolina about fixing it up. But when the camp they are attending is threatened to close, holding on to the past becomes important to everyone.

Grace is a collector and when she visits her grandfather's new building over the summer she finds boxes and boxes of buttons. All she wants is to tell her best friend Ellie about them, but Ellie is a spotlight taker and instead of the buttons becoming something to share, the two girls go to war as part of a fab that sweeps the school. A good mid-middle grade story about friendship that will make everyone want to collect buttons!

Eleanor has been preparing for the end of the world for her whole life because of her grandfather being a survivalist so when she reads on a website that a world ending asteroid is supposed to hit at the beginning of April, she knows just what to do. Encouraged by her best friend, she starts sharing her news with others but only a small group will listen. Will the world end in April? This one you will need to read to find out.

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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.