The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty

The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl by Stacy McAnulty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Empathy, charity, and math! I read this because it was on Nebraska's Golden Sower list for middle grades and my son selected it to read. This was a good book about a student with a very different perspective of the world making friends with other very unique characters. The kids are also trying to change the world for the better so there are a lot of positive things in the book. And I love books about a love for math though admittedly I have not read enough of these. I will rectify that soon.

James's Review (age 9): 

Rating: 5 of 5 stars

 I loved this book! I thought all the things that happened to lightning girl because of the strike were so cool and creative. I liked how each character had a completely different personality. I loved relationships and conflict to characters. Spoiler Alert! I thought it was a fun plot twist when she fell in love with a dog named "Pi" as the math term, while doing her cougars care project. 

View all my reviews

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I loved this story, just loved the magic and the sorrow and the hope-- it's strangely very 2020 despite being written some years ago. Beautiful writing about love. I recommend it for adults and children alike. And high praise- the story reminds me a bit of Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea series.

But (I am so harsh but) so much of the story depended on the old- no one told anyone anything trope.

View all my reviews

Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman

Book Scavenger by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A dangerous and exciting adventure in San Francisco as two friends try to break codes and solve a literary puzzle. Slow start, but fun exciting midway on.

View all my reviews

Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks, Gita Varadarajan

Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks, Gita Varadarajan
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Cute story about new friendships, new cultures, and developing sympathy and understanding.

View all my reviews

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate

The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I think I like this book because it's fundamentally about how powerful just trying to do something helpful can be. It's about the things that motivate us to try. It's about love and sacrifice! It's about the natural world and what we owe it. Really enjoyed this one!

View all my reviews

Sounder by William H. Armstrong

Sounder by William H. Armstrong
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is not a book about a boy and his dog. It ripped my heart out. The writing is excellent. It feels too heavy and possibly subtle for children, but maybe for high schoolers.

View all my reviews

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a very good kids' book about what it's like to have dyslexia and learning disabilities, how to be a good friend, and how to get help when you need it. Well-developed characters. Strongly recommend for middle grade.

View all my reviews

Wishtree by Katherine Applegate

Wishtree by Katherine Applegate
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sweet and funny children's book about inclusion, friendship, environmentalism, and best of all- a busybody tree. Highly recommend.

View all my reviews

Real Friends by Shannon Hale

Real Friends by Shannon Hale
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After my 8-year-old son read this I saw that it had good reviews from adults so I read it too. I could really relate to some of Shannon Hale's childhood experiences and I think this is a wonderful book about how difficult it is to be a kid and to form friendships as a kid. I think especially as adults, we romanticize elementary school as the simple time when making friends is easy before popularity because a roadblock but it's true that elementary school often means that children are completely indelicate about forming or breaking off friendships. It's also a reminder that these breaks can be extremely painful.

View all my reviews

The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene

The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

My impression as an adult is that it’s outlandish. Drew puts herself in mortal danger and her father doesn’t even mind. However, I appreciate what the book suggests about values with regard to money and inheritance.

View all my reviews

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A middle school coming of age story about a girl struggling with religion, female puberty, and preteen/teen gossip. Well worth the read even as an adult. Extremely realistic depiction of middle school.

View all my reviews

Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott

Jo's Boys by Louisa May Alcott
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This one is the worst of the bunch. It seems mostly occupied with telling you what became of an endless list of characters from the last book, Little Men. They were all children back then and at least had actual personalities. As adults, we just see small snippets of their lives mostly as they meet their significant others. The scenes mostly lack any real depth.

A large portion of the book is about stalking. Tom is obsessed with Nan, and she makes it really clear that she is not interested. He doesn't give up and tries to become a doctor just to please her even though he's worried he might kill patients because he doesn't really care about medicine. Jo is hiding from fans and reporters because apparently back then writers were the Kardashians of the world. Josie stalks an actress, who rewards Josie by offering to train her. Then Tom inexplicably gets engaged to a woman Dora that's primary good quality is that she is not Nan. Is this healthy? I don't think so.

And then Emil, whoever he is, gets shipwrecked. EYE ROLL. More mini-romances follow. And then Alcott's favorite move, the big tragedy.

View all my reviews

Little Men by Louisa May Alcott

Little Men by Louisa May Alcott
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

More of a children's book than Little Women. The boys have little adventures, and none of them have very distinct personalities except Dan. The famous Jo March is so changed she's basically unrecognizable. Alcott follows her old formula and throws in a family death but it's not so central to the story this time so it's not very moving.

View all my reviews

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

What we now call Little Women (400 pages) was originally “Little Women” (200 pages) and “Good Wives” (200 pages).

Little Women, Part 1, ends with Meg’s engagement and nothing very memorable happens except: Amy gets in trouble for pickled limes, there is a terrible fight between Amy and Jo, there is a bad run of scarlet fever, and Meg gets engaged. The only love story is Meg’s and it is not very moving.

Everything you remember being great about the story of the March girls actually happens in Part 2, Good Wives, when all the women are grown up. Meg is suffering from being a new mother (there are blogs for that now, Meg!), Beth is doing the thing for which Beth is famous, and Jo and Amy are having exciting artistic pursuits and love stories. It's missing a little depth but it's a wonderful and moving story as well as highly entertaining.

View all my reviews