It's Monday What Are You Reading is hosted each week by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts. If you are a person who loves kidlit, all you need to do to join is to blog about books you are reading on Monday, add your link to either of those two blogs, and post using the hashtag. I hope you will join in!
It's August, which means my summer has hit its half way mark. I had two goals this year, to add a post every week for #IMWAYR and to finish the two manuscripts I owed my agent. I am excited to say that manuscript one sits in her inbox as of this morning. Now I get to not think about whether or not she likes it as I move on to manuscript number two. Wish me luck!
Reading is never really a goal for me, its a way of life. Here are the books I read this week.
Middle Grade
I cannot tell you how excited I was to get this one on NetGalley. The Trouble With Robots is about a team of middle school kids who are part of a robotics class. Unlike Team A, who always seems to have it together, Team B is a disaster. They are even disqualified from their first meet and their leader, Evelyn, is at risk for losing her leadership position and is worried her moms will be disappointed in her and she'll never see her best friend, who has moved and is on another robotics team, again. Enter Allie, a troubled student who has been assigned to robots club as a final chance to stay at the school. Evelyn and Allie could not be more different, but learning to work together will not just change their team, it will change each of them. This story is told from alternating points of view of Evelyn and Allie. Readers will adore both of them and will root for Team B. This is a definite must read when it comes out in September.
Maxine has a figure skating competition coming up, but instead of staying focused on skating, the bullying she is dealing with from a boy in her school because she's Chinese is the only thing on her mind. And worse, her supposedly best friend thinks the jokes are funny. When a new girl arrives on the figure skating scene who is really good, Maxine can only see Hollie as added pressure. But finding a way to face her bully may also involved finding ways to make new friends. This is a fantastic middle grade story about how to stay strong and find your voice. It's definitely a must read for upper elementary and middle school classrooms.
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Stacy Barnett Mozer is a third grade teacher and a middle grade author. If you like what she's been reading follow her on Goodreads. Please leave a comment below.
This sounds intriguing. I'll have to put it on my list to check out in the fall.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't familiar with this book. As a bookseller, after I read your review, I couldn't help but think of some of our customers who this book would be perfect for!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed both of the books that you have shared here, thanks for this post I am going to add them to my lists.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on finishing your manuscript, Stacy—that's so exciting!! And it looks like you've been reading some great books too—I made note of The Trouble with Robots. Thanks so much for the wonderful post!
ReplyDeleteGood luck with your second manuscript Stacy. Both of these books sound wonderful.
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