Jung, Mike. Unidentified Suburban Object.

Jung, Mike.  Unidentified Suburban Object.  Scholastic/Arthur Levine  2016  265p  $16.99  ISBN 978-0-545-78226-5      ms  Science fiction  VG-BN

The reader begins by thinking that this story is about finding one’s roots.  Chloe is the only Asian-American student in her school.  She is constantly compared to a famous Korean violinist because she is good at the violin and is Korean. Or is she? Her parents will never talk about their childhood in Korea or have anything to do with Korean culture. When Chloe has a school project about family ancestry, this creates a problem. Eventually her father tells her and proves that they are actually aliens from another planet. Chloe’s life crashes in around her until her best friend helps her find perspective. It’s a great coming-of-age story with a twist.

Readers of all backgrounds can associate with Chloe’s feelings and her wish to embrace her past.  The alien twist comes as a shock to the reader, but as her friend gets her to understand, what difference does it make if she is the only Korean student or the only alien?  Girls will love it!                      

Summary: Chloe is searching for identity.  As the only Asian-American student in her school, she wants to know more about her Korean heritage, until her father tells her that they are actually aliens.  This shakes Chloe’s entire foundation. Middle school.         

Family-Fiction, Minorities-Fiction                                                                                        --Joan Theal

Toffler-Corrie, Laura. My Totally Awkward Supernatural Crush.

Toffler-Corrie, Laura.  My Totally Awkward Supernatural Crush.  Macmillan/ Roaring Brook Press  2013  342p  $17.99  ISBN 978-1-59643-733-3  ms/jr  Supernatural  E-BN   

On her birthday Jenna did not get what she wanted. Instead, she ends up at this fast food place that is decorated cowboy style, with peanut shells on the ground.  As a gift from her parents she gets the ugliest large, round silver pendant with hieroglyphic writing around the disc.  Her disappointment is not noted, however, before she looks up from the table and sees the boy who saved her last night when she was on the roof trying to save David, the boy she was babysitting.  The surprise on her face alerts her family that something is up with Jenna as she stares at the waiter, whose name is Luke.

 
Luke happens to be a new kid at her middle school who can sing like an angel.  When the try-out for Fiddler on the Roof is announced, Jenna, Adam and her friends audition and are chosen.  And it turns out that Luke has not been truthful about who he is and why he is here on Earth.  

This middle-school story is full of laughter, tears and heavenly surprises. David, who is nine years old, is full of mischief and causes all kinds of trouble, but he is also endearing and likable.  Luke is cute and has a story like no other, which is linked to the bad guy Adam.  This heavenly delight of a story is a must-read.   

Summary: Jenna is not sure why she babysits her next door neighbor’s son who is nine.  He is always out to get her, and as expected, he has pulled a fast one on her and she finds herself on the roof of his house trying to get him to safety when all of a sudden she feels herself slip off the roof.  Then the most unexpected thing happens as she feels herself float down to the ground! 

Angels-Fiction, Middle schools-Fiction                            --Magna Diaz

Baskin, Nora Raleigh. Runt.

Baskin, Nora Raleigh.  Runt.  Simon & Schuster  2013  208p  ISBN 978-1-4424-5807-9 ms    VG    Realistic fiction

Bullying exists in middle school just the same way it exists in the animal kingdom.  In this creative treatment of a contemporary topic, author Nora Baskin draws a parallel between the pecking orders in the world of dogs and in the world of young teenagers.  Throughout the story she changes the point of view, thus sharing the thoughts of everyone involved in her portrayal of the bully and the bullied.  Elizabeth eternally carries the smell of her mother’s kennel to school, and triggers the bullying when she brags about her poetry-writing skills in English class one day.  Her ex-friend Maggie pulls off cyber bullying to the max when she creates a person2person page about “Smelly-Girl”, who is, of course, Elizabeth.  Elizabeth discovers the page devoted to her on the internet and must choose between seeking revenge and accepting the taunt.

After Stewart urinates on Matthew’s sneakers in the boys’ bathroom at school, Matthew punches him in the nose and is suspended from school.  It is during his stay-at-home period of introspection that he realizes that he accomplished little by hurting the perpetrator because he is miserable at home.  The author successfully leads the reader to despise middle-school cruelty, and older readers will wonder how they ever survived middle school.  The best part of this book lies in the early pages, in which each stage of bullying finds a parallel story in Elizabeth’s mother’s dog kennel, as dogs find their positions in their world in much the same way that humans do.  Baskin does not need to evoke sympathy for Stewart by showing his confusion at growing up in a house with a sister who is a special-needs student.  Readers will despise him too much to try to understand him.

On page 116, the word “an” is missing before “offer”, and there is a spacing error on page 119.  Capitalization of “internet” is found on some pages and not on others. 

Summary: Elizabeth and Matthew, as the victims of bullying, navigate the ensuing pain and embarrassment in a world where there are no clear-cut solutions, and they find that developing coping skills and inner strength is more important than seeking revenge.             

Bullying-Fiction, Middle School-Fiction               --Martha Squaresky

Ferraiolo, Jack D. Quick Fix.

Ferraiolo, Jack D.  Quick Fix.  

Abrams, Harry   291p $15.95     978-0-8109-9725-7 2012  ms    E-BN        Realistic Fiction

This is a sequel to The Big Splash, in which the middle-school Mafia run by Vinny Biggs lost its chief hit man.  Now a seventh-grade detective, Matt Stevens has multiple clients all hiring him to find the same mysterious wooden puzzle box.  It appears that the contents are being used to blackmail the organization’s kingpin (Vinny).  Can Matt find the box, figure out just what was in the box, determine who is the blackmailer, and not become a target for water-gun-toting middle-school goons?

 

This title has loads of hysterically funny situations requiring some pretty quick thinking.  As the reader is led to come to one conclusion, a new wrinkle is introduced to keep him or her guessing.  The conclusion screams for a third title, in which Matt will attempt to clean up Franklin Middle School for good.  Middle-school readers will love this title, especially boys.                 

Middle-School Stories, Humor–Fiction                        --Joan Theal

Flake, Sharon G. Pinned.

Flake, Sharon G.  Pinned.     Scholastic/Grolier  228p  $17.99    978-0-545-05718-9 2012  ms/hs VG-BN       Conflict   

Autumn has a wild crush on Adonis, a wheelchair-bound, grade-A student in her school.  But as long as she is having academic difficulty, he has no use for her.  This novel traces a year in the academic lives of Autumn and Adonis.  Chapters alternate in their perspectives between the two characters.  The story is engaging because Autumn is an endearing character, and Adonis is an interesting character as well, with his drive for achievement and his determination to be the best student he can be.  Secondary plot lines involve another character who cheats on tests and is browbeaten by her parents to achieve academically, and did not come to Adonis’s aid when he really needed her.  Although the action of the novel lags at times, Autumn’s personality and voice will keep the reader turning the pages until the end.                 

Romance–Fiction, Special Education–Fiction, Middle School-Fiction                                                             --Carol Kennedy