What I've been Reading This Year

Well, I have been on maternity leave from my middle school this year and while I've continued to read middle school books, I don't think I'll ever get around to blogging these individual titles. But I want to remember them so here's what I've been reading lately.

The True Adventures of Charley Darwin by Carolyn Meyer (good!)

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins (great sequel to The Hunger Games)

When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead (I know it won the Newbery and all but it just didn't do it for me--seemed too contrived)

Maze Runner by James Dashner (I was hoping for another Hunger Games, but this one lacked character development in my opinion)

Octavian Nothing Traitor to the Nation Book One by M.T. Anderson (compelling but hard to imagine it being very interesting to kids)

Octavian Nothing Book Two by M.T. Anderson (ditto)

Things Hoped For by Andrew Clements (a pleasant surprise--I liked it a lot)

Marching for Freedom by Elizabeth Partridge (good solid nonfiction)

Butterflies and Moths by Nic Bishop (stunning!)

Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (The final volume of the Dairy Queen trilogy. So good it made me cry to see it end.)

Jumped by Rita Williams-Garcia

Wow. This book is just disturbing. It's a day in the life of three high school girls. One is angry about being benched from playing basketball and plans to beat up another girl after school (for no reason). The girl about to get jumped is innocent and oblivious and self-absorbed. And the third girl knows what's going to happen but is too concerned with her broken fingernail to intervene. It's a mature book—definitely for high schoolers—with lots of urban slang. I'm sure it would be useful for discussions on ethics and right vs. wrong, especially in similar urban environments and rough schools. Mostly this book just depressed me. The two characters at fault here don't ever take responsibility for their actions or grow in any way. They just do what they do and think it's ok. If this is the future of our world it's scary.

A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn

I was excited about this book because of the huge popularity of Alex Flinn's previous fairy tale book, Beastly, which had boys and girls clamoring for it at my middle school. This one is the story of Sleeping Beauty set in modern times. The princess Talia has been asleep for 300 years when a modern slacker teen named Jack finds the hidden kingdom of Euphrasia and decides to kiss the beautiful girl he finds there. Of course, she wakes up in the 21st century to a lot of problems—mainly that her father the king is furious with her. She runs off to Florida with Jack, who doesn't actually like the spoiled princess, and there suddenly becomes diplomatic and kind and brings out a new side in the formerly unmotivated Jack. Normally I can suspend my disbelief and just enjoy fairy tale stories, but I never got into this one. I thought both Talia and Jack changed rather suddenly and their romance seemed forced. And the return to Euphrasia seemed like a tacked on ending that didn't fit with the rest of the story. It wasn't a terrible book—I'm sure that some fairy tale fans will enjoy it—but I didn't find it as satisfying as Beastly or some of my other favorite fairy tale novels. And one more complaint—I am tired of middle school fiction containing scenes of wild drunken high schoolers partying. It's fine in a book like Speak where it's integral to a serious plot, but I just don't think it's necessary in every story about teenagers.

The Frog Scientist by Pamela S. Turner

Many people have heard of frogs being found with extra legs and other strange deformities, but did you know that scientists have found many male frogs that are producing eggs instead of sperm? And did you know that frogs across the world are mysteriously dying out and going extinct? Many people think this is being caused by chemicals that humans use to kill weeds and insects. Dr. Tyrone Hayes is the Frog Scientist who is investigating the effects of these pesticides on frogs. In the excellent tradition of Scientists in the Field books, this is both a profile of a fascinating scientist and a lesson in biology and the scientific method. The writing is excellent, the photographs are stunning, and the fact that Dr. Hayes is a cool-looking African American scientist make this book a winner in every way. This ranks as one of my favorite nonfiction books of 2009. Give this to your middle or high school life science teacher today!

Science Warriors: The Battle Against Invasive Species by Sneed B. Collard III

Can you imagine a place with 13,000 snakes per square mile? That's the reality on the island of Guam. The brown tree snake didn't used to be found there, but it moved in and has taken over the environment and scientists can't get rid of them now. And instead of trying to remove the snake from Guam, they just try to keep those snakes off of boats that go to islands like Hawaii so the snakes won't take over new islands. That's one of the invasive species covered in this book. The author also covers fire ants in Texas, melaleuca plants in Florida, and the zebra mussels in midwestern waters. (Minnesota is doing a great job keeping the zebra mussel out, and that is mentioned here.) This book goes in-depth on each of these invaders, but to keep kids' attention I think perhaps the book should have featured a few more invasive species examples in more general terms. It's a fascinating topic, but I'm not sure how many middle schoolers will stick with this text. But, as always, the Scientists in the Field series has excellent photos and information for kids who want to dig in to some fascinating nonfiction topics.

The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

If you read this author's outstanding nonfiction book called Hitler Youth, then you have heard of Helmuth Hubner, the German teenager who was executed by the Nazis for daring to speak against Hitler. In this historical novel Bartoletti takes the facts of Hubner's life and works them into a story that will be eye-opening to many readers. You know from the beginning that Helmuth is imprisoned and could be executed at any time. Through a series of flashbacks you see how he grew from a trusting boy to a teenager who saw through Nazi propaganda and lies and dared to speak against them. Helmuth's weapon was his own intelligence and ability to write. His crime was distributing pamphlets that spoke against Hitler. Readers will see how he secretly listened to British radio broadcasts, selectively involved a few of his friends, and ultimately was betrayed but never lost his courage or moral outrage. Looking back we all like to think we would have done the same, but I think very few people could have shown his bravery. Recommended for readers with an interest in World War II or history in general. This doesn't have war action like Soldier X or Soldier Boys, but it goes a long way in explaining the terrifying conditions in Germany and the reasons for Hitler's rise to power.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I have read several books about teenagers caught between life and death. The Afterlife by Gary Soto, Everworld by Neal Shusterman, and Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin all come quickly to mind. If I Stay is in a class by itself. It's the moving story of Mia who is an outstanding cello player, a good kid, and part of a loving family. Best of all, she's in love with Adam who is a musician in an up-and-coming band. Both are passionate about their music and though they are very different it's what brought them together. The premise of this book is that Mia and her family are in a fatal car accident. Her family is dead and Mia's body rests in a coma while Mia finds herself outside her body deciding whether to live or die. The moving part of this story is how Mia's family and friends pull together to try to bring her back to the living. In the end it is Adam who helps her make the difficult decision she needs to make. There are humorous flashbacks that make this book less serious and also let you see just how rich and full Mia's life was and how much she has lost in the loss of her family. I think it's an outstanding book but it is mature. I would only recommend it to high school students and possibly eighth graders.

Being Nikki by Meg Cabot

This is the long-awaited sequel to Airhead. (Well, it was long awaited by a couple of my voracious 7th grade girls.) In Airhead, a video-game playing feminist teenage girl is killed and her brain is transplanted into the body of Nikki Howard, international modeling sensation (who also happens to have just died of a brain aneurism). Unfortunately for Em, she is now basically held hostage by Stark Enterprises and is unable to tell anyone but her immediate family that she is alive. In this book we see how Em is going on with life in the body of Nikki. She knows that she is constantly watched and that everywhere she goes there are surveillance devices to monitor her. In spite of having a life that many girls would envy, all Em wants is to win the love of her old best friend Christopher. But of course he thinks she is dead and in a surprise twist wants to avenge her death. When Nikki's previously unknown brother shows up and tells her that their mother has disappeared, the book turns into something of a mystery with Stark Enterprise being the bad guy. I loved the book right up to the end, but I hated the ending, which seemed to me like a contrived lead-in to book three of the series. I can't say this was a great book but it was lots of fun which is what books should be, after all.

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Wintergirls takes readers into the mind of Lia, a teenager spiraling out of control. Lia and former best friend Cassie used to compete to see who could lose the most weight. Now Cassie has died from her eating disorder, leaving Lia to feel guilty for ignoring her phone calls and haunted by hallucinations of Cassie encouraging Lia to continue on her destructive path. Lia, who has no friends and struggles with her family relationships, is alone with her own negative thoughts and inner voices telling her she must lose more weight and cut herself. In Anderson's hands it is poetic and insightful and certainly a cut above any other "teen eating disorder" book I have ever read. However, for some reason this didn't fully capture my attention—I kept hoping for a little more of a plot or some other thread to bring me out of Lia's inner turmoil. I know teens will love this book and it will touch their lives deeply, so I do recommend it to readers mature enough to handle the difficult subjects presented.

War Horse by Michael Morpurgo

I love Michael Morpurgo's books, especially Private Peaceful, but I never had read this one before, probably because I knew it was narrated by a horse. But I had a 7th grade student read it and love it so I decided to try it myself. Joey, the horse telling the story, was a farm horse before he was taken to be in the World War I cavalry. In this book you see the horrors of war through Joey's eyes and limited perspective. Joey is repeatedly a victim of human violence but through it all finds numerous kind, empathetic human beings who care for him and love him. Any realistic book about World War I battles might just be too much to take—it was a horrible war. But through the eyes of Joey the story is accessible to kids and readers will definitely sympathize with Joey and hope that he is someday reunited with his beloved master. Recommended for readers who want to read about war but who might not be ready for more gritty books such as Soldier X or Fallen Angels.

Nation by Terry Pratchett

This unique story is kind of a fantasy, but more of an adventure/survival book. It does take place in an alternate reality, but it's a world much like ours without magical creatures or fantasy elements. Mau is a boy living on a small island and his people call themselves The Nation. He is in a canoe on the ocean when a tsunami devastates his island and kills everyone he has ever known. That same tsunami shipwrecks a young British girl on Mau's island and the two strangers slowly grow to be friends, allies, and creators of a new Nation. Both young characters question everything they have ever known—Mau must ask if his Nation's Gods are real and why they would destroy their own Nation. Daphne questions everything she has learned about what it means to be a proper young lady. Both children find they are more capable leaders than they could have ever imagined and together they unearth a secret about the Nation that changes world history. It's a deep story that is both adventurous and moving and will leave readers thinking for a long time. Recommended for both kids and adults.

The Last Invisible Boy by Evan Kuhlman

If you flip through this book is looks like fun. It has lots of cartoon illustrations and short, compact chapters. But when you read the book it's really not fun at all. It is the story of Finn Garrett, whose father died recently and who is grieving so much he fears he is becoming invisible. His hair is actually turning white and doctors and psychologists don't have any answers for why it is happening. Finn's journal chronicles how he remembers happy memories of his father, connects more strongly with his mother and grandfather, and relies on the support of his best girl friend. It's not a bad story and it does have some humor, but at it's heart it's all about healing from grief, which may not be what readers are expecting. I have no idea how kids will receive it—I'd love to have some reaction from middle school readers.

In My Hands: Memories of a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke

I am in awe of Irene Gut, the author of this book. She lived in Poland during World War II and rather than giving in to Hitler and the German army she fought to save the lives of the Jews around her. She was only 17 when war broke out and she was separated from her family and traveling with the Polish army as a nurse. Russian soldiers attacked and raped her and she later was forced to work for the German army as a cook and a housekeeper. Her first act of resistance was to pass food into a ghetto. From there she slowly took more and more risks to save Jewish lives until finally she was transporting Jews to a hideout in the forest, hiding them in her workplace, and harboring them in the basement of the home where she was living and working as a housekeeper for a Nazi commander. She was always fearful for her life but never stopped doing what she thought was right. It was heartening to read about numerous others who also were helping in a time of unbelievable horrors. I would recommend this to 8th graders on up through adults.

Football Genius by Tim Green

Troy White is a football genius. He can watch a football game and predict what the next offensive move will be. It's not ESP or cheating of some kind, his mind just analyzes things and figures out what the opposing team is going to do next. When his mom gets a job with the Atlanta Falcons and Troy gets down on the sidelines he can't resist trying to tell the players and coaches his predictions. Of course, no one believes a kid so he is hauled off the field and banned from football games. This is the story of how he manages to connect with Seth Holloway, a Falcons player, and convince him of his talent. At first I was not a big fan of Troy—he steals a football, sneaks into games, and doesn't go about things in the right way. But somewhere along the way I got into this story and enjoyed rooting for Troy to come out on top (and for Seth and Troy's mom to get together). It was a fun read that I would recommend to 6th or 7th grade football fans.

All the Broken Pieces by Ann E. Burg

Matt Pin was airlifted out of Vietnam, never to see his biological mother and brother again. Two years later he has been adopted by an American family and is struggling with the memories of all that he left behind. He's a good baseball player and has a wonderful coach but he faces racism from some of his teammates. This is the moving story of how he comes to terms with his past and a secret that is too painful to share. It's written in free verse and is easy to read quickly, but it's so well written you may want to slow down and savor every word. Although it's historical fiction, it will also appeal to sports fans due to the baseball theme running throughout the book. A couple of 8th grade boys read and loved this one already so it comes highly recommended.

Maus: A Survivor's Tale Volume 1: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman

Art Spiegelman's father, Vladek, survived many horrors during the Holocaust, including being imprisoned at Auschwitz. Years later he was a crotchety older man living in New York when his son interviewed him about his life experiences. This graphic novel tells his story alternating between the sometimes difficult father-son relationship of the present and the gripping survival stories from the past. It starts out before the war when Vladek was a prosperous young man and the reader gets a sense of how gradually the repressive Nazi measures took effect. It's an amazing story for all ages and one that could really bring the Holocaust to life for mature teen readers. This book is only part one—to find out what happened in Auschwitz you must read Maus II.

Anything but Typical by Nora Raleigh Baskin

Jason is a 12-year-old with autism. He knows that his brain functions differently than other kids' brains, but still it is hard to change his behaviors in ways that will make him fit in better with his peers. The greatest joy in his life is his writing, and he posts his stories on a website called Storyboard. A fellow writer named PhoenixGirl reads his stories and strikes up a friendship with him. Jason finds out that her real name is Rebecca and he has some illusions that she might be his girlfriend. But when he finds out that he and Rebecca will both be attending a Storyboard users conference in Texas he fears that she will see what he is really like and not be his friend anymore. While not heavy on plot, the strength of this book is the first-person look inside the mind of a bright, struggling autistic boy. I would recommend it to readers who like to get inside of different characters heads and understand how they think and act. (By the way, the autism spectrum teacher at my middle school said it's the best middle school fiction book with an autistic character she has ever read.)

Claudette Colvin: Twice Toward Justice by Phillip Hoose

This biography of a relatively unknown civil rights pioneer should be in every middle and high school library. I had heard of Claudette Colvin because I read Freedom Walkers by Russell Freedman, but I had no idea of the real story behind this 15-year-old girl who was arrested for not giving up her seat on a Montgomery bus months before Rosa Parks came along. Instead of being hailed as a hero, Claudette was actually ostracized and vilified by most of her fellow students. She faced criminal charges and was shortly after expelled from school due to her unplanned pregnancy. She could have given up the fight for justice but the next year she was the key witness in the federal lawsuit that officially ended bus segregation in Alabama. She risked her life to testify and never really got much credit for her efforts. Author Phillip Hoose tracked down Claudette Colvin in New York City and personally interviewed her numerous times for this book. It's well-written and absorbing and a great example of using primary sources. Recommended for readers of all ages—including adults.

Written in Bone by Sally Walker

Imagine if someone found your body 400 years from now. What would they know about you? What could they learn from your skeleton? Believe it or not, scientists and anthropologists can learn a lot from human remains and this book tells about several mysterious bodies found in Virginia and Maryland. All the bodies were from people who died in the 1600s during the time in which Europeans were colonizing the "new world." In most cases historians knew absolutely nothing about the individual people found, but scientists were able to learn how old they were, whether they were male or female, how hard they worked, what country they came from, how long they had been in the colonies, and what diseases they suffered from. In some cases they have been able to figure out exactly how they died and who they were. This book is not only brilliantly written by award-winning author Sally Walker, it's full of stunning photographs and information about how these scientists do their jobs. A great choice for social studies teachers as well as curious middle or even high school readers.

Forever Princess by Meg Cabot

This is the 10th and final book in the Princess Diaries series. Mia has grown up and matured and is now turning 18. In the beginning she finds herself telling lies to everyone—her parents, her boyfriend, and even her best friends. She lies about her college acceptances (she got in to every college and she thinks it's because she's a princess) and her senior thesis (which is really a steamy 400 page romance novel). Most importantly, she's lying to herself in thinking that she is in love with her current boyfriend, J.P. But when former boyfriend Michael returns from Japan she can't deny her real attraction to him. One of the most satisfying parts is that she and former best friend Lilly resolve their issues and Mia concludes that her oldest friends are the most important ones in her life. It's a believable and happy ending to the series and those who have read all of the books will not want to miss this one. Meg Cabot is, as always, funny and hip and in touch with teen girls. However, as a middle school librarian I have to say that a major plotline of this story is whether or not Mia will have sex after prom. She is the only remaining virgin among all of her friends and it is discussed a great deal. While Mia ends up making thoughtful decisions, the attitude of her friends toward sexuality is pretty flippant. I have always thought that Meg Cabot was writing for teenagers, not little girls or tweens, and that is definitely the case here. I have not seen this mentioned in any other reviews and I think it's a significant part of this book.

This Full House by Virginia Ewer Wolff

I have waited a long time for this final installment in the Make Lemonade trilogy. It has been years since I have read Make Lemonade and True Believer, but the pleasure of reading those books came back to me as soon as I started reading. LaVaughn is an inner city girl who dreams of getting out of the projects and going to college. She's now in her senior year and accepted into a "women in science" program that may be her ticket to college acceptance. She's feeling regret about the way she once treated a boy named Patrick and she's still babysitting the two children of Jolly, a teen mother who she worked for in the first book of the trilogy. Oh, and her best friend Annie is pregnant. All the lines of the story come together when she comes to suspect a connection between Jolly and the head of her science program. Unfortunately, the coincidence is too great to believe, but the writing is so good and the characters so real that it didn't really matter to me. I was just interested in seeing LaVaughn through to college and achieving her dreams. There was a strong theme of acting according to your conscience and doing the right thing. And Wolff doesn't shy away from the complexity of figuring out what the right thing is. It's not always clear and it certainly can cause pain. The free verse format makes this a quick read and even when using dozens of scientific terms, Wolff makes it all sounds like poetry.

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

This book has it all. For those who like horror and suspense it's dark and creepy, and the book begins and ends with an attempted murder. But at the same time it's also got humor and heartwarming family moments, a sweet friendship between a boy and a girl, and it becomes a tearjerker on the final page. It's hard to believe that an author could take such a ridiculous sounding plot and put so much substance to it, but Neil Gaiman did it. Nobody Owens (Bod for short) survives the murder of his entire family when as a toddler he wandered into a nearby graveyard. Now he is being lovingly raised by the dead residents of the graveyard and the mysterious Silas who is neither alive nor dead. Bod is human but has been given some special powers in the graveyard. His early adventures are within the graveyard, but as he gets older he longs to see a little more of the world and even go to school. Eventually he finds out that the man Jack who killed his family is still after him and he will not ever be safe until he confronts this enemy. It's really a story of growing up, moving away from the "family" that raised you, confronting your fears, and moving into the wider world. It will be a popular middle school book and would be a great read-aloud. And of course, it won the Newbery Medal for 2009.

We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball by Kadir Nelson

I don't like baseball, and while I vaguely know about the racial injustices in American baseball I had never actually read a book about the Negro Leagues before I read We Are the Ship. From the first words on the page I was drawn into the story—not because of the baseball but because of the history and human drama. The author writes as if he was one of the many players in the Negro Leagues, and this narrative voice drew me in. I could see the crowded buses, the restaurants and hotels that turned away black players, and the clowning moves of some of the early players. The artwork in this book is stunning and took the author/illustrator eight years to complete. This book is written at a perfect level for middle school students, but I'm afraid that they won't pick it up because at first glance it looks like a picture book for younger readers. If this book made me want to keep reading, anyone who actually likes baseball will be absolutely riveted. It should be read by anyone of any age who wants to learn about the history of the Negro Leagues. Teachers, this book would make a fantastic read aloud, either the whole thing or any one of the nine chapters (Nelson calls them "innings"). I was happy to see that this book won both the Coretta Scott King Award and the Sibert Award for children's nonfiction. It deserves it!

Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee

First of all I should say I liked this book a lot. I cared about the characters and wanted to see them through to the end. The main character, named Maybe (short for Maybelline), is on the run to California looking for her biological father and trying to get away from her beauty-pageant-crazed mother. She's with two good friends—Ted, a flamboyant character and true friend who gets himself a job as the personal assistant to a former Hollywood starlet, and Hollywood, an aspiring film student and secret admirer of Maybe. I loved these three teens' friendship and how they all had a distinct path they were on in finding who they are. I also liked the way the story came together with Hollywood's award-winning documentary film. I don't think this book is too mature for middle school, but it is definitely a notch up from Lisa Yee's other books. The scene where Maybe's future stepfather tries to rape her was surprising and a little jarring for me, but it served as the catalyst to send her on her journey to California. While not a comedy, the book is infused with humor throughout and not a heavy problem novel like many YA books. It is populated with memorable secondary characters that stay vividly in your mind. I would recommend this for teens from 7th grade up through high school.

Chasing Lincolns Killer: The Search for John Wilkes Booth by James L. Swanson

Most people know that Abraham Lincoln was shot by a man named John Wilkes Booth, but you might not know that after the shooting it took the nation's best police officers and detectives twelve days to finally track down the killer. This book does a great job of detailing the events of those fascinating days—including the day of the assassination and the steps Booth took to prepare for killing the president. Booth had a group of co-conspirators, none of whom were particularly smart or all that helpful to him. Only one was with him on his 12-day spree. He got pretty lucky in escaping into Maryland and then found a series of sympathetic people to help with his wounded leg, feeding him and his one companion, and getting them on a boat to Virginia. I found the play-by-play action to be fascinating and I think a reader interested in crime, action, or Abraham Lincoln will race through this book.

I'll Pass for Your Comrade: Women Soldiers in the Civil War by Anita Silvey

This book is both fascinating and frustrating. It tells the stories of many women who, disguised as men, fought in the American Civil War. This was not an isolated thing—we know for sure that hundreds of women did this for various reasons. Some for adventure, others to follow husbands or brothers, and others to escape from poverty. The stories that we do know about these women are fascinating. The frustrating part is that we will never know the details of most of these women's lives. There are many tidbits in this book (such as women giving birth as prisoners of war) that are so intriguing, yet we never can know the details of their dramatic lives (How did they hide it? What happened after they gave birth? What did their families back home think of them?). Silvey has researched these women for years and what is known is well-told in this book. It's particularly fascinating to look at the photos of some of these women, both in uniform and in traditional dress.

She Touched the World: Laura Bridgman, Deaf-Blind Pioneer by Sally Hobart Alexander and Robert Alexander

This biography of Laura Bridgman was fascinating. Years before Helen Keller became famous for her accomplishments, Laura went blind and deaf at the age of two. At that time no one had ever taught someone to read and communicate who had both of these disabilities. Laura was lonely and hard to deal with until she was sent away to a blind school to learn from Dr. Howe. She learned finger spelling quickly and from there the world was opened up to her. According to this book she was one of the most famous people in the U.S. in the early 1800s. She showed the world that all people, no matter what their challenges, should be given the opportunity to learn and live a meaningful life. The techniques Dr. Howe developed with Laura went on to be used with Helen Keller and many others after her. One of the book's authors is herself blind and deaf and in the final chapter she explains how life is different for people today with these disabilities. This book flowed well, was easy to understand, and could be appreciated by readers in 5th grade on up through adults. Recommended for people who like to read about people overcoming big challenges.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson

Finally a book that I could not put down! I have not been very excited about very books published in 2008, but this one was fantastic. It's set during 1776 when patriots and loyalists were fighting it out over liberty. But we forget that many people in the colonies were slaves and neither side was talking about truly giving freedom to all people. Isobel and her sister Ruth are supposed to gain their freedom when their mistress dies but instead they are sold to a New York couple loyal to the King of England. They are transported to New York City, forced to work extremely hard, and treated poorly by their new owners. This is Isobel's story as she struggles to find a way out of slavery while all around her soldiers are preparing for war and her only friend is imprisoned and near death. When her sister, Ruth, is taken from her she loses hope but later regains it. Isobel is a determined, believable character and her situation is both heartbreaking and hopeful. The horrors of slavery are not glossed over, and there's lots of history here, so I think it will be most appreciated by readers seventh grade and up through adults. Social studies teachers should definitely read this one.

Bodies from the Ice: Melting Glaciers and the Recovery of the Past by James M. Deem

I am a big fan of James M. Deem's books, especially Bodies from the Ash about Pompeii, so I was excited to read this one. It covers all kinds of frozen bodies, from the famous European Ice Man to the child sacrifices of the Andes Mountains to George Mallory, who died scaling Mt. Everest. The book has beautiful photography throughout which makes it fun to browse through. There are several children's books about frozen mummies, but what sets this apart is the focus on melting glaciers and climate change. There's lots of science here, so I recommend it to teachers as well as to students.

Snatched by Pete Hautman and Mary Logue

Roni is a high school reporter who gets involved in a missing person case. Her classmate, Alicia Camden, is beaten one day and disappears a few days later. The police are on the case, but it's Roni and her sidekick Brian who take big risks and do some crazy things to solve the mystery. Brian and Roni aren't really friends, but they are both smart and determined and they need each other to really figure things out. I enjoyed the humorous relationship between them and the clues and strategies they use to solve the mystery. I definitely recommend it to middle schoolers who like mysteries. And if you like it, read Doppelganger and Skullduggery, the two sequels.