SUBSCRIBE
SUBSCRIBE
SLJ Blog Network +
  • 100 Scope Notes
  • A Fuse #8 Production
  • Good Comics for Kids
  • Heavy Medal: A Mock Newbery Blog
  • Teen Librarian Toolbox
  • The Classroom Bookshelf
  • The Yarn
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About/Contact
  • Fusenews
  • Reviews
  • Librarian Previews
  • Best Books
    • Top 100
    • Best Books of 2022
    • Best Books of 2021
    • Best Books of 2020
    • Best Books of 2019
    • Best Books of 2018
    • Best Books of 2017
    • Best Books of 2016
    • Best Books of 2015
    • Best Books of 2014
    • Best Books of 2013
  • Fuse 8 n’ Kate
  • Videos
  • Press Release Fun

Tag: middle school novels

January 27, 2021 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: Amber and Clay by Laura Amy Schlitz, ill. Julia Iredale

This is a book positioned to impress, that then sneaks over and steals your heart. Hermes would be proud.

May 7, 2020 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: Fighting Words by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

Not every 12-year-old is going to be ready for the abuse and pain addressed in Bradley’s latest. But for those kids that want a book can be honest with them about the world, written at their age-level, with funny parts and a happy ending where things get better, this is that book. It ain’t easy but it’s there for you.

August 15, 2019 by Betsy Bird

Review of the Day: Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds

Good news. I know exactly what to do with this particular middle school book. You need to weigh it down with awards, so many that it can no longer stand under its own weight and is forced to stagger to the display unit that stands front and center in the library where all the best books go. Then, and only then, will it have found its true home.

More Recent Posts

Review of the Day: The Mighty Odds by Amy Ignatow

July 22, 2016 by Betsy Bird

The Mighty Odds By Amy Ignatow Amulet Books (an imprint of Abrams) $15.95 ISBN: 978-1-4197-1271-5 Ages 10 and up On shelves September 13th If you could have one weird superpower, what would it be? Not a normal one, mind you. We’re not doing a flight vs. invisibility discussion here. The power would have to be […]

Review of the Day: The Hired Girl by Laura Amy Schlitz

October 6, 2015 by Betsy Bird

The Hired Girl By Laura Amy Schlitz Candlewick Press $17.99 ISBN: 978-0763678180 Ages 12 and up Bildungsroman. Definition: “A novel dealing with one person’s formative years or spiritual education.” A certain strain of English major quivers at the very term. Get enough Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man shoved down your gullet and […]

Review of the Day: Goodbye Stranger by Rebecca Stead

March 19, 2015 by Betsy Bird

Goodbye Stranger By Rebecca Stead Wendy Lamb Books (an imprint of Random House Children’s Books) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-385-74317-4 Ages 10-14 On shelves August 4th After much consideration, I think I’m going to begin this review with what has to be the hoity toity-est opening I have ever come up with. Gird thy loins, mes amies. […]

ADVERTISEMENT

Review of the Day: Cuckoo Song by Frances Hardinge

January 13, 2015 by Betsy Bird

Cuckoo Song By Frances Hardinge Amulet Books (an imprint of Abrams) $17.95 ISBN: 978-1419714801 Ages 10 and up On shelves May 12, 2015 I was watching the third Hobbit movie the other day (bear with me – I’m going somewhere with this) with no particular pleasure. There are few things in life more painful to […]

Review of the Day: The Great Greene Heist by Varian Johnson

May 1, 2014 by Betsy Bird

The Great Greene Heist By Varian Johnson Arthur A. Levine Books (an imprint of Scholastic) $16.99 ISBN: 978-0-545-52552-7 Ages 10 and up On shelves May 27th What is the ultimate child fantasy? I’m not talking bubble gum sheets or wizards that tell you you’re “the chosen one”. Let’s think a little more realistically here. When […]

Review of the Day: I Kill the Mockingbird by Paul Acampora

February 18, 2014 by Betsy Bird

I Kill the Mockingbird By Paul Acampora Roaring Brook Press (an imprint of Macmillan) $16.99 ISBN: 978-1-59643-742-5 Ages 10 and up On shelves May 20th It’s probably fair to say that there is no American classic written with an adult audience in mind that is quite as beloved of children’s book authors as To Kill […]

Review of the Day: The Riverman by Aaron Starmer

February 3, 2014 by Betsy Bird

The Riverman By Aaron Starmer Farrar Straus & Giroux (an imprint of Macmillan) $15.99 ISBN: 978-0-374-36309-3 Ages 11 and up On shelves March 18th When a book has worked its way into your cranium and is making a home for itself within the darker recesses of your very soul, the natural inclination is to talk […]

Read More Posts »

ADVERTISEMENT

Archives

ADVERTISEMENT

  • External Links

    • A Fuse #8 Production Reviews
  • Trending on the SLJ Blog Network

    A Fuse #8 Production

    Publisher Preview: Ellen Myrick Presents Small Presses (Part Six!)

    by Betsy Bird

    Good Comics for Kids

    Archie & Friends Chills and Thrills #1 | Preview

    by Brigid Alverson

    Teen Librarian Toolbox

    Book Review: The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson

    by Karen Jensen, MLS

    Heavy Medal

    And now there are 70 Heavy Medal Mock Newbery Suggestions

    by Emily Mroczek-Bayci

    Follow This Blog

    Enter your email address below to receive notifications of new blog posts by email.

    Primary Sidebar

    • News & Features
    • Reviews+
    • Technology
    • School Libraries
    • Public Libraries
    • Age Level
    • Ideas
    • Blogs
    • Classroom
    • Diversity
    • People
    • Job Zone

    Reviews+

    • Book Lists
    • Best Books
    • Media
    • Reference
    • Series Made Simple
    • Tech
    • Review for SLJ
    • Review Submissions

    SLJ Blog Network

    • 100 Scope Notes
    • A Fuse #8 Production
    • Good Comics for Kids
    • Heavy Medal
    • Neverending Search
    • Teen Librarian Toolbox
    • The Classroom Bookshelf
    • The Yarn

    Resources

    • 2022 Youth Media Awards
    • The Newbery at 100: SLJ Celebrates the 100th Anniversary of the Award
    • Special Report | School Libraries 2021
    • Summer Reading 2021
    • Series Made Simple Spring 2021
    • SLJ Diverse Books Survey
    • Summer Programming Survey
    • Research
    • White Papers / Case Studies
    • School Librarian of the Year
    • Mathical Book Prize Collection Development Awards
    • Librarian/Teacher Collaboration Award

    Events & PD

    • In-Person Events
    • Online Courses
    • Virtual Events
    • Webcasts
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Subscribe
    • Media Inquiries
    • Newsletter Sign Up
    • Content Submissions
    • Data Privacy
    • Terms of Use
    • Terms of Sale
    • FAQs
    • Diversity Policy
    • Careers at MSI


    COPYRIGHT © 2022


    COPYRIGHT © 2022