Middle Grades Pick: Rhyme Schemer

Rhyme Schemer
by K.A. Holt
Chronicle Books
2014
162 pages
ISBN: 9781452127002

This charming novel in verse is a great read aloud book; it will resonate with any reader who knows a bully and let's face it: everyone knows at least one bully.

Kevin Jamison is being bullied at home by his older brother. Kevin takes his anxiety and anger out on other kids at school. Everyone thinks Kevin is rich; both his mom and dad are doctors but there's five kids in all: Patrick, Paul, Philip, Petey and Kevin, the youngest and the only "K" name. He feels like a non-person in his family.

Kevin spends a lot of time in Principal Hartwick's office for various pranks and bullying incidents. Kevin thinks in rhymes, poems and rhyme schemes. To get back at the principal Kevin becomes "The Poetry Bandit." He rips pages from old books (from the library, oh, horror!) and circles words on the page to make a poem. He leaves his poetry/art hung up all over the school. The principal is not amused but can't pin it on Kevin (pun intended). Each time Kevin visits the principal's office, he composes an ode to the principal's ugly tie of the day. Each ode is hilarious.

The librarian sees potential in Kevin. She tells him about an open mic night and promises to take him if his parents will agree.

Petey is in a rock band but their band has no name and no song. Kevin keeps coming up with names for the band which he shares in his notebook. Later, Petey realizes Kevin's notebook has some good material for songs for his band.

As Kevin learns to embrace his poetry, he becomes empowered. Once his brother gives him a chance, Kevin shines.

Readers will love Kevin and his poetry antics.

Highly recommended for grade 5-up. Great for anti-bullying programs and class discussions.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Book Release: My Year of Epic Rock

My Year of Epic Rock
by Andrea Pyros
Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
2014

Available September 2, 2014

visit the author's website

Kirkus reviews

Guest Post: Author Andrea Pyros

Andrea Pyros, author, My Year of Epic Rock 
August 12, 2014
For Books by Pamela Thompson 

Food Allergies & Feeling Left Out 

I started working on My Year of Epic Rock, which features a main character with food allergies, right after I discovered my then one-year-old daughter had multiple allergies, including to eggs, dairy and nuts. Since she was still so young, I knew I’d be able to protect her by cooking for her, carefully reading labels and bringing her own safe foods if we were out and about, but what would happen when she got older and saw all her classmates eating birthday treats or talking about how some awesome pizza parlor that she couldn’t visit, or she had to decide whether or not to eat a snack offered to her by a teacher or friend? 

What was middle school was like for kids with food allergies, I wondered. Studies show that about a third of schoolchildren with allergies are bullied because of their dietary restrictions, which is pretty awful. Being different during those years isn’t easy. You get picked on for being tall or short, the new kid, the best student or the worst. For kids with food allergies, they stand out because of what they can’t eat, and even though food allergies are increasingly common in people under 18, it can still be a lonely and isolating condition. 

The thing about not fitting in, though, is that after the initial “ouch” of it, it can be really freeing. You live through having someone tease you, or not want to hang out with you anymore, and you realize you can survive and move on and make new friends and discover cool stuff about yourself. That’s what I was hoping to explore in My Year of Epic Rock. Not that food allergies suck (even though they do!), but how once you get over your desire to fit in, you might find a way to an even better place, even if you can’t eat a PB&J sandwich. 

Tales From a Not-So-Glam TV Star (Dork Diaries, 7)

Tales From a Not-So-Glam TV Star
by Rachel Renee Russell
with Nikki Russell and Erin Russell
Aladdin
2014
320 pages
ISBN: 9781442487673


Rachel Renee Russell just keeps getting it right; this time, with the help of her two young daughters. They each co-wrote the book with their mother and their voice shines through and captivates. This Dork Diaries delivers!

Nikki Maxwell is back and she's true to her loveable dorky self. When she gets a phone call from famous  television producer Trevor Chase to meet him at the local Bad Boyz concert to discuss recording her band's song, Nikki accepts back stage passes for herself and her BFFs Zoey and Chloe. The girls are told to pick up their passes at the box office. There's only one problem: MacKenzie! Mean girl MacKenzie just happens to be at the box office when they show up and she swipes their passes and masquerades with her friends as Nikki's entourage. A cranky security guard denies Nikki and her BFFs access into the concert, even though they tell him their passes are either stolen or missing. The girls sneak in and are mistaken as backup dancers and glammed up by the make up and hair team. An outrageous run in with all parties  backstage turns into a true melee until Trevor Chase shows up and sorts everything out.

He offers Nikki a reality tv show, much to MacKenzie's seething chagrin! Everywhere Nikki goes with cameras following her, MacKenzie is sure to show up and try to steal Nikki's thunder. Lucky for Nikki, each time she ends up  on top with more and more fans.

Even though being a pop princess and a reality show star sounds glamorous, Nikki can't find time for Brandon without cameras following her. As she becomes more famous, she is pushed away from Brandon and she worries about it.

Girls will cheer on Nikki! It's nice to see the underdog achieve success and trump the beautiful and evil girl. Nikki is charming, adorable, and dorky. She will encourage all of us to embrace our inner dork. The Dork Diaries series picks up speed with each book, gaining more and more of a worldwide following. It has everything a young reader could ask for: a perky, funny, captivating protagonist, an evil, manipulative villain--MacKenzie, two sidekicks who truly have Nikki's back, a cute and sweet love interest--Brandon, quirky parents--Nikki's father owns an extermination service and drives around in a van with a giant cockroach on top, and a cast of minor characters--each enriching the story and Nikki's character.

This is a winning book that is sure to please.

Highly, highly recommended grade 5-up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Teen Pick: Fat Boy vs. the Cheerleaders

Fat Boy vs the Cheerleaders
by Geoff Herbach
Sourcebooks Fire
2014
320 pages
ISBN: 9781402291418

Available May 6, 2014

Geoff Herbach tells a story like no other YA author can--he tells it with outrageous humor, spot-on teen dialog, and believable snark.

Gabe Johnson is the butt (pun intended) of the whole school's jokes. They call him names, they laugh at his butt shaking dances, and jocks go out of their way to defeat him. Popular cheerleaders Janessa and Emily  take cheap shots at Gabe calling him Chunk. This band geek is about to explode, and when he does, he will enrage fellow band students to stand up to the cheerleaders and jocks.

When the funds from the coke machine are diverted from Gabe's school band to the cheerleaders for a new dance team, Gabe makes a stand...this is not just a stand. It is of epic proportions. Gabe LOVES band--and now the principal is cancelling summer band camp so the cheerleaders can have their dance team? With the help of his friends and supporters, Gabe stirs the entire school and community of small town Minnekota Lake into an uproar.

The novel is told in the form of Gabe's statement to his attorney Henry Rodriguez. Gabe finds himself needing representation after an unfortunate series of events.

The character of Gabe is believable, loveable, and he turns out to be harder than steel instead of soft as a marshmallow. This fat boy is mad and working on himself. He won't be the butt of their jokes forever, he decides. The only reason he's the center of the mean kids' wrath is that he makes himself the center of it. Gabe realizes he has more than one fight on his hands. He just needs to convince himself that he is capable of changing himself. Once his mindset has changed, the kids can't get to him anymore.

Readers who love an underdog will love Gabe and his journey to become a winner. They will be rooting for him and his cause.

Highly recommended grade 9-up. Language. Mature situations. On-line bullying.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this ARC from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Sweet Tween Pick: Frosting and Friendship

Frosting and Friendship
by Lisa Schroeder
Aladdin
2013
216 pages
ISBN: 9781442473966

Frothy, friendly, feminine and flirty, Frosting and Friendship is a fun read for tweens who love adventures in food!


Lily joins a mother-daughter book club with her mom and is excited until...she realizes that the host of each month's  meeting has a bake a beautiful culinary confection. Lily is so doomed! Her baking disasters have haunted her for years. She considers herself a zero when it comes to baking and wishes that the other girls would allow the hostess to simply buy a dessert from the store or local bakery. The other girls are emphatic: the dessert must be home-made. Lily has only two months to learn how to bake and the bar is set for high standards.

Lily's mom assures her that two months is a long time, and they can figure this baking thing out together. Lily is still not sure and spends her time practicing with her garage band. When the school announces that it's having its Spring Fling, the band is excited to try out for it. Lily is torn between spending time with her band mates and practicing or learning to  bake something over the top in order to wow The Baking Bookworms.

Those two endeavors  would be enough for any tween to balance, but then Lily agrees to help plan and host a surprise  birthday party for her friend Sophie.  Being pulled in three different directions is not pleasant and something has got  to give.

Each short chapter is has a cute title: "Music Lovers Cupcakes: A Perfect Harmony of Chocolate and Vanilla" and "Lollipops : Happiness on a Stick." This is a quick read and should appeal to girls, reluctant readers and "Koodies"--kids who are foodies.

For a sweet, sweet time reading, Frosting and Friendship takes the cake (yes, pun intended). Fans of Schroeder's culinary themed  books It's Raining Cupcakes and Sprinkles and Secrets will like Frosting and Friendship.

Recommended grade 5 and up.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Chick Pick: Paradise

Paradise
by Jill S. Alexander
Feiwel and Friends (MacMillan)
2011
248 pages

This is the second novel for Jill S. Alexander. Her first, The Sweetheart of Prosper County, was a 2010 Texas Lone Star title. Her refreshing characters, witty dialog, strange and quirky surroundings, small town angst, Texas-isms, and memorable details make Paradise a great southern gothic read.

Paisley is the youngest daughter of Texas-born-and-bred-and-damn-proud-of-it mother Diane Tillery, a wannabe Martha Stewart with an attitude as big as the state of Texas itself. Diane has big plans for daughters Paisley and older sister Lacey--no small town marriages for them, no sir. These girls are going somewhere! They won't be stuck in the middle of nowhere married to some redneck cowboy loser.

The girls, of course, have no intention of following Mother's careful planning. Lacey wants to go to beauty school and get a business degree to help her manage her own salon. Paisley, in true, spunky cowgirl Texas fashion, is the drummer for a country rock band. She is weeks away from hitting the big time at the Texapalooza festival in Austin where all the bands play and some even get "discovered" by talent agents from Nashville, L.A., and New York.

Enter Gabe. He's new to town from Paradise, Texas, and answers the band's ad for a singer. Not only does he sing, he plays a mean accordian--yep, the old-timey accordian but with a hep-cat attitude and mean cowboy rocker finesse. Paisley is instantly smitten. Too bad she never knows that Cal, the guitarist, is infatuated with her. Cal writes song lyrics--included in the book--about being in love with Paisley and the heartache he feels when she latches onto Gabe--now known as Paradise to all the band members.

Uncle L.V. flies a couple of small planes, and the band uses his hangar for band practice. I truly expected him to be a drug runner--he seemed silent, brooding, and plotting, but he never turned out to be the drug kingpin I thought he would be.

Lacey and Paisley sneak around and their father helps cover for them. At Texapalooza, the band blows the doors off the competition and stars are born. The surprise ending was unexpected and poignant.

Girls will love Paisley and her cowgirl swagger and likely be enthralled by Paradise with his dark good looks and rock star demeanor.

The cover left a lot to be desired. The cover art is ho-hum at best, and the back cover has two quotes about the earlier book--The Sweetheart of Prosper County--but no information about Paradise. The publishing company dropped the ball on packaging this gem of a story. Girls will not likely choose this book themselves--due to the cover and back cover quotes. They will miss out if they pass this one up.

Recommended grades 9-up. Sexual innuendo, mature situations, lying, sneaking around, alcohol, partying, some good old boy situations--ya'll know what I'm talking about, wink.

Quirky Girl Pick: Ten Miles Past Normal

Ten Miles Past Normal
by Frances O'Roark Dowell
Atheneum (Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division)
2011
211 pages

Fresh, offbeat, and funny, Ten Miles Past Normal will have readers and librarians enthralled. This book may be picked by savvy state library associations as the best of 2011.

Janie Gorman doesn't want to be known as the Goat Girl, but it's hard to shake that name when she sometimes smells of goat poop and other rich farm smells. Living on a small goat farm with her pseudo-hippy parents and "getting back to nature" blogger mother, and making natural goat cheese sounded like fun when Janie was nine; now that she's in high school, being awakened at dawn by an industrious rooster and feeding goats before school is not as much fun as she had once thought it would be.

Janie has yet to find her high school niche; she longs for a place to fit in. When she is offered bass guitar lessons by a boy named Monster, she gives it a try. The funny thing is, Janie was born to play the bass! Now, she's one of the "cool" Jam Band kids.

The Goat Girl is now the Jam Band bass girl. Ten Miles Past Normal is a fun read and a real page turner. It's nice to see that normal girls living normal lives can be an interesting read for teens--girls don't have to have super-powers or paranormal boyfriends to be entertaining.

Highly, highly recommended grades 7-up.
No language, no sex.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

High School Pick

Freefall
by Mindi Scott
Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster), 2010
315 pages

Seth McCoy has an abundance of problems: a mother who isn't at all a mother or authority figure, a brother full of anger, bandmembers who argue all the time, and a ton of guilt and self-hatred for letting his best friend die last summer. Not only that, he's mad at childhood friend Kendall and he's trying to win the favor of a new girl Rosetta who has troubles of her own.

It's amazing how close the edge can be in a freefall. Seth's brother Jared feels betrayed when Seth quits the band in favor of school. Seth finally decides to straighten up and fly right, returning to school and taking extra classes in order to graduate on time. He confronts his own stage fright and joins a new band. Rosetta and Kendall help him see that it was not his fault that Isaac died. Able to grieve and move on, Seth is a victor.

A coming of age novel for the 21st century. Dirty, gripping, and raw, but finally equally uplifting and soaring. Mindi Scott scores with this novel.

Highly recommended grades 9-12.
Not for middle school readers: sex, violence, drugs, alcohol, parties, and language

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher but did not receive any financial compensation for my review of blogpost.