A typical adventure/survival story for middle grade readers, Off the Map by Meika Hashimoto will reaffirm the value of keeping one’s head in a stressful situation. Hashimoto tells the story of Marlo, her dog Cheerio, and her best friend Amos. Marlo has been abandoned, first by her dad and then by her best friend Amos; consequently, she feels unlovable and confused by why Amos left her stranded in the lunchroom at the end of the school year. When Marlo’s mother, a river guide in Alaska, suggests a canoe trip on the Yukon River, Marlo is super excited to escape into the wilderness to use herRead More →

Message Not Found by Dante Medema is a romantic mystery that keeps the reader intrigued with every turn of the page. Medema tells the story of two “ride or die” friends: Vanessa Carson and Bailey Pierce. A lover of Disney princesses and blue raspberry flavored Pop Rocks, Vanessa dreams of being a writer someday. Bailey, on the other hand, hopes to follow in her parents’ footsteps to work in computer coding and artificial intelligence. One night, the girls trade Pop Rocks therapy for champagne drinking and ice cream eating as they share secrets and commiserate about boys and Bailey’s breakup. When Vanessa receives a textRead More →