The Wrong Way Home by Kate O'Shaughnessy

How I Came Across It... *After reading The Lonely Heart of Maybelle Lane and Lasagna Means I Love You, I was excited to read this author's third novel. The novel was released on April 2, 2024. What It's About - Five Things You Need to Know... *The only life Fern really remembers is living at the Ranch.

*The Ranch is run and "ruled" by Dr. Ben.

*During the middle of the night, Fern's mother wakes her and tells her they are leaving the Ranch.

*After driving through the night, Fern and her mother end up in small ocean side town.

*Fern is upset about leaving the only place she has even known, but now must adjust to a new normal while trying to figure out why they left their "home". What I Thought of It - Five Observations/Reflections... *One aspect of Kate O'Shaughnessy's novels that I appreciate is how different each story is from the one before it.

*This plot grabbed my attention and I was quite curious about what the Ranch was and why Fern and her mother were there.

*The transition between life on the Ranch and life in the "regular" world was described with heart, grace, and truth.

*The development of characters once Fern and her mother settled in the new town was quite a strength of the overall story.  I enjoyed reading about them and getting to know them.

*The "climax" of the plot was quite exciting and provided for several turn the page moments.
Who Should Read It... *I would think the best audience for the story would be readers in grades five and above. I especially think the middle-school student would relate to Fern's adventure and conflicting feelings about her living conditions. If you have read O'Shaughnessy's earlier books, I'm sure you will enjoy this story as well. Happy Reading!

Rating...

4 out of 5 stars

Hummingbird Season by Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic

How I Came Across It... *I obtained a copy of this middle-grade novel from the publisher Bloomsbury. The book was released in February of 2024. I knew nothing of the story, but was interested and intrigued by the cover and title. What It's About - Five Things You Need to Know... *The story centers around Archie during the time of Covid-19.

*Archie and his family are forced inside like the rest of the world.

*Archie and his brother must transition from "regular" school to "new" school.

*As Archie tries to navigate through his new normal, he begins to take notice of a hummingbird residing outside his window.

*The hummingbird brings Archie a sense of peace and purpose during an uncertain time, but then the hummingbird disappears and turns Archie's world upside down. What I Thought of It - Five Observations/Reflections...

*When I first started the novel in verse, I thought I was in for an enjoyable and thoughtful story.

*I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but as I continued to read, I found myself irritated with story and having flashbacks of that time with my own class.  

*For me as a reader, this story hit close to home and maybe was too soon to read.  I kept having to put the book down because I found myself in a mood that wasn't pleasant for me.

*For some reason, Archie and his family seemed to annoy me when I knew I was supposed to have sympathy for what they were going through.  

*The story has received many positive reviews, so maybe it just wasn't for me, was too difficult to read because I was a teacher during Covid-19, or I wasn't in the right frame of mind.
Who Should Read It...

*This is a tough one for me to answer. I'm not really sure who would be the best audience for Archie's story. In my opinion, an older elementary reader and/or middle-school student would be best. Older readers who went through Covid-19 might find the story to be therapeutic. This definitely might be a story I revisit at some point in the future to see if it affects me differently than the first time. Happy Reading! Rating...

3 out of 5 stars

Kareem Between by Shifa Saltagi Safadi

How I Came Across It... *Putnam Publishers/Penguin Random House sent me an ARC of this upcoming middle-grade novel that will be released in September of 2024. I spent a couple of June summer days enjoying this story about a young boy named Kareem. What It's About - Five Things You Need to Know... *Kareem has a goal of becoming the quarter back for his middle-school football team.

*The current "star" of the football team tells Kareem he can help him get on the team, but only if Kareem completes his homework and projects for him.

*Kareem then becomes stuck between doing what the football player wants and a new student that is also close to Kareem's family.

*When his mother must travel back to Syria, Kareem feels even most lost and confused.

*Throughout the story, Kareem is faced with several difficult decisions and feels caught "between" some hard life choices. What I Thought of It - Five Observations/Reflections... *This story was told in verse and quite beautifully written.  

*I enjoyed getting to know Kareem and could really "feel" what he was going through.

*The story is based on some real-life events that occurred in our country in 2017.  I didn't remember these events happening and it was quite educational to read about Kareem's family dealing with some harsh realities.  

*I'm not a huge fan of football, but did enjoy the football analogies related to the events happening to Kareem, his family, and his friends.  

*This is the type of story to be shared with young readers because not only will they enjoy Kareem's journey, but will learn quite a bit along the way.
Who Should Read It... *Even though the story centers around a seventh grade character, I think the novel could be shared with readers in grades four, five, and six. Of course it would be perfect for kids in middle school because they will be able to relate and connect with Kareem and his fellow characters. Happy Reading! Rating...

4 out of 5 stars

Carter Avery's Tricky Fourth-Grade Year by Rob Buyea

How I Came Across It... *Delacorte Press and Random House Children's Books sent me an ARC of Rob Buyea's upcoming middle-grade novel. The book will be released in September of 2024. This was my first middle-grade read of the summer reading season and what an awesome story to kick off my reading with. Such an enjoyable story! What It's About - Five Things You Need to Know... *Carter is starting fourth grade and isn't excited about the upcoming school year.

*He has had a rough go of it in elementary school and isn't looking forward to getting Ms. Krane as his teacher.  She is supposed to be the meanest teacher there is.

*Carter is also dismayed to find out Missy is in his class because they DO NOT get along.  Could anything else go wrong?

*Just as Carter gets use to his new teacher, he finds out she is pregnant and may not be able to finish the year with the class.

*Once Ms. Krane is gone, Carter has some big decisions to make for himself, for his new teacher, and even for Missy, his class enemy.
What I Thought of It - Five Observations/Reflections... *I am a huge Rob Buyea fan so I was quite excited to receive his upcoming novel in the mail.

*As soon as I began Carter's story, I knew I was in for a real treat.

*Being that I have taught fourth grade for many many years, I could totally relate to Carter's story and his experiences in his fourth-grade classroom.

*There were so many heart-warming moments woven throughout the pages of Rob Buyea's upcoming novel, but for me the most touching were the scenes with Carter's grandmother.  Oh, what a lady she was.

*I know that my fourth grade readers will be able to connect with Carter and his classmates and learn so much from the lessons they learned.  I can't wait to share this story with my upcoming class.
Who Should Read It... *Obviously, this novel must be shared with all fourth-grade readers. I'm looking forward to sharing the novel with my class either as a class read aloud and/or a book club selection. The story would also work with readers in third grade along with kids in fifth and sixth grade. Happy Reading!

Rating... 5 out of 5 stars

The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai

How I Came Across It... *I was in need of one more audio book to wrap up my school year commute. I have had this title on my TBR list for quite some time. I decided to take the plunge and listen to the story during my last couple of weeks of the school year. What It's About - Five Things You Need to Know... *The novel is told in two stories

*The first story is about Yale's life in 1985 taking place in 1985.

*The second story is about Fiona's trip to Paris in 2015.

*The characters do overlap during the two time frames, but the actual stories are quite separate.  

*The main story during 1985 centers around the Aids epidemic in Chicago and the effects that has on the characters then and years later.
What I Thought of It - Five Observations/Reflections... *I was hoping to really enjoy the story, but found it slow and didn't always engage me.

*I enjoyed the development of the characters and what was happening to them during the tragic years when AIDS first appeared in our country.  

*The secondary story in Paris, years later, wasn't as interesting to me and didn't always understand the connection back to 1985. 

*The writing was beautiful, but the plot moved along a bit too slow for my taste.  

*The ending was quite emotional, but I felt like I waited during the whole story to feel some emotion.
Who Should Read It... *As you can tell, this was not the story for me.  I know it received quite a bit of praise and reward, but I found the plot to be quite slow, and didn't connect with many of the characters.  I'm not sure what reader would find the story engaging and a page-turner.  Happy Reading!  

*Many readers have given this novel either 4 or 5 stars. It wasn't for me, but that doesn't mean it won't grab other readers and bring them into a futuristic world of survival, love, and betrayal. Happy Reading! Rating... 3 out of 5 stars