#IMWAYR September 20, 2021

It finally feels like school is starting to hum along. With masks and social distancing, but still humming. In writing news, my agent loves my manuscript revisions (yay!) and so I should be out on sub soon. For those of you who don't know what this is, it's what happens after a writer finishes a book and the agent sends it to editors at publishing companies. Sometimes they get back to you right away. More often, it's a time of waiting and writing something new. And of course, lots of reading!

This middle grade book has been on my TBR list since it came out. It's every bit as wonderful as people have said. It's the story of Zoey, a 12 yo whose family situation makes it challenging for her to succeed in school. Her mother's verbally abusive boyfriend has made her mother somewhat absent in the life of her children and Zoey has had to step in. When her teacher notices her throw her homework out in the trash rather than turning it in, she decides to force Zoey into the debate team. Ms. Rochambeau sees herself in Zoey and through her pushing, Zoey is able to not just see herself in a different way, but help her mother and her friend's mother to find their self-worth too. I will admit to being particularly fond of books with great teachers. I hope that Zoey and her teacher find their way into the hands of real kids who need to adjust their own self-view.

I love middle grade fantasy, and Thirteen Witches is a really well done story. It's about a girl named Rosie whose mother has always been distant - almost to the point where sometimes she doesn't know who Rosie is. Her best friend, Germ, is the only one who really knows her, but lately Germ has been acting different, wearing makeup and caring about her clothes, and Rosie feels like she is losing the one person in her life that cares about her. When Germ makes a comment about the happy ending stories Rosie tells, Rosie decides to burn them and grow up. Little did she know that this act will be life changing because it opens Rosie's eyes to the magical world around her full of ghosts and witches. Rosie learns that she is the last in a line of witch hunters and now that she has this knowledge, her life is in danger from the witch who stole her mother's memory long ago.

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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.