Efren Divided, by Ernesto Cisneros

     Another book in this season's Oregon Reader's Choice Award (ORCA) books, Efren Divided is the freshman book (meaning his first one) by author Cisneros. This book tells the story of Efren and his family - his two younger siblings, and his mom (Ama) and his dad (Apa). Although Efren and his brother and sister were all born in the United States, his parents were not, and Efren has an underlying fear that one day something will happen to one or both of them - specifically, that they will be deported to Mexico. When his worst fears come to pass, Efren finds himself trying to care for his siblings, stay caught up in school, and pretend he isn't missing his parent terribly.  Meanwhile his other parent has to rely heavily on him to keep the house together and bring the deported parent back home. That is a lot to ask of anyone, but especially a 7th grader!

    The first few chapters of this book seemed really young, like Cisneros wasn't sure how to write a middle grade book, but was instead writing for a middle elementary reader. Not that that is a bad thing, but it took me a while to get into his writing, as it seemed a bit younger than much of the other books you and I read. But Cisneros was able to get a nice flow going, and the story was a very powerful one. It reminded me of an OBOB book from a couple of years ago, The Only Road, by Alexandra Diaz, only for a slightly younger audience. Immigration is a very current topic these last few years in the United States, as we as a country struggle with who is allowed to cross our borders, how long they can stay, if they are allowed to work, how to pay for their health care and education, and more. Efren shines the light on the human element of these issues, and is a good primer for anyone wanting to think more about these issues that are currently being decided for you by adults. It's good to remember that there are real people behind the stories we hear online and read in the papers. Well done, although not an amazing first effort. But an important topic to write and read about. 4 paws!

Daisy Woodworm Changes the World, by Melissa Hart

     The second chapter book by Eugene, Oregon author Hart, and as good as her first, Avenging the Owl. Hart draws upon her own life experiences as she crafts the story of Daisy, sister to brother Sorrel (a.k.a. Squirrel), who has Down's Syndrome (as does Hart's brother). Daisy is trying to "change the world", per a class assignment in school, and in doing so faces challenges from a bully, her family, and simply the world itself. She leans on friends, some not so friendly, and her own resilience to make the changes she and Squirrel dream about. Mostly, Daisy changes herself.

    I enjoy Hart's writing, and love how she ties in parts of herself into the story. The obvious parts, such as having a brother with Down's, is more obvious, as she shares this info on the author's page at the end of the story. But some not so obvious parts are Hart's love of running, for example, and how Daisy is on a track team in the story. Hart has visited Briggs as an author, and even helped with OBOB last season by being a volunteer moderator for our region! Avenging the Owl was an OBOB book a few years ago, and I'm certain Daisy will be one as well. A cute story whose tone reminded me of Because of Winn Dixie, and a book you are sure to enjoy! 4 paws!

Pet, by Akwaeke Emezi

     This was not a book on my pug radar, but it arrived in a small box of free books from a Rainbow Book Company sent to my human because of his links to librarians and libraries. If this first book from this package is any indication of the other books sent, WOW!!!

    Pet is a fantasy story that tells of Jam, a young person living in Lucille, a futuristic town where "monsters" have been eliminated by adults. Jam's mom, Bitter, is an artist, and paints a creature into a painting that Jam accidently falls and bleeds on, and the painted creature comes alive. The creature's function is to hunt "monsters", and Pet, the painting, tells Jam that she is supposed to help in the hunt, because the hunted is someone Jam knows. The story is less confusing than I am probably making it sound, but it's also like nothing I've read before in many ways. There is a theme of child abuse in the story, so it's pretty heavy in that way. But Emezi's writing is spectacular! This may well be one of the best books I have ever read, and as a reading pug, I read a LOT!

    Jam appears to be transitioning between genders, but this is barely mentioned in the story, and is treated as if it isn't out of the ordinary. I love that part, as it really normalizes something that we, today, are still trying to come to terms with in our society. Emezi doesn't make it a major theme of the book, but it is there and adds to Jam's strengths, I think. The bulk of the story occurs around Pet, Jam, her friend and family, and the "monster".

    If strong subject matter doesn't worry you, read this. And then read it again. And then go out and read Bitter, book two in this story line. This is more than just one of my favorite books of the year, it's one of my all-time favorite books. Ever 5 paws!

Maya and the Rising Dark, by Rena Barron

  The Oregon Reader's Choice Award is one given out to the book voted best of the year in three age categories, much like OBOB. Unlike OBOB, ORCA books are chosen by readers, young and old, who must read at least two of the ORCA books in any age category before voting for their favorite (or the best book!). It's another Oregon reading promotion program, like OBOB, but doesn't require teams or competition to participate.

    There are 8 books in this season's ORCA list for middle school, and Maya and the Rising Dark is one of them. Author Barron tells the story of Maya, a young girl living in Chicago who starts to see weird beings around her town - werehyenas, for example. She quickly finds herself trying to survive, and eventually save her father, from the collision of two worlds - hers, and the Dark. Similar to a Percy Jackson adventure, or any of the newer adventure stories on Rick Riordan Presents label, Barron creates an adventure-filled story that ties African mythology to the modern day.

    Unfortunately, it didn't work very well for me. I don't want to say the same would happen for you, because this book gets really good reviews all over. But I have to admit I found the writing a little inexperienced, meaning the story idea was solid, but the writing at times jumped without offering enough details about why it was jumping, or where, or tying it to the overall story in a satisfying way. I don't want to give you the impression that you shouldn't read this, and that you will probably enjoy it. It's not that I didn't enjoy it - I did. Just not a lot, and not as much compared to some of the other titles I mentioned. I imagine author Barron getting better with more writing, but for this one, a middling           3 paws is all I can offer. This book is okay, but there are stronger books you could read.

Wink, by Rob Harrell

    Wink is one of this season's ORCA books, and a really good read! Harrell tells the story of himself, or a fictionalized version of himself, as a younger boy when he was diagnosed with cancer...in his eye. The author writes a story that is funny and real at the same time, something not easy to do with such a serious subject. One of the beautiful things about books is that they can act as windows, allowing you, as a reader, to experience things that you might not have to experience in real life. In this case, cancer. Books also act as mirrors, so that if you read a story that describes something you know or or living through, it connects you to others and let's you know it's okay, and that there are other people trying to manage the things in life that you may also be trying to manage. 

    All that is to say Harrell does a nice job with a very serious subject. His humor reminds me of Gordon Korman, who is a master at laugh-out-loud funny stories. But Harrell is also able to convey how serious real life can be - he creates a really good balance between the seriousness of life and the humor as well. It's nice to be able to laugh at ourselves at times, and of course, we sometimes cry, too.

    The usual parts of a 7th grader's life are written into this story, such as crushes, bullies, and family challenges. It just so happens that main character Ross also has a rare cancer, too. I really enjoyed this story, laughed out loud in several places, and missed Ross and his friends as soon as I completed the last page. 5 paws!

Girl in the Blue Coat, by Monica Hesse

    This book checks a lot of boxes for me...OBOB book this season; check! Historical fiction (my favorite genre!); check! A good love story, but not in the traditional sense; check! I finished the book but can't stop thinking about the story and the characters; check!

    I haven't read any of author Hesse's other books, but I sure will! Girl in the Blue Coat is the story of Hanneke, a teen girl living in Amsterdam at the start of World War 2. Germany has invaded Holland and Jews are being rounded up and sent off to concentration camps. Hanneke has grown her own black market business, providing goods for people around town because the Nazis have taken control of every aspect of life, including necessities like food and clothing. Hanneke uses the people she knows to find wanted items and get them to those who are in need. In this way she helps her family survive, but it's a very dangerous business...if she gets caught, she would likely be killed. In the midst of this part of the story, Hanneke is asked to find a person, something she has never done before. She quickly learns of others who are secretly helping Jews escape right out from under the noses of the invaders. Even more risky than her usual "job".

    This book has romance, danger, intrigue, history, friendship, family - all as elements of a well-written, high intensity book. Without having read anything else by Hesse, she is definitely one of my favorite authors, and this is one of my fave books of the year! Along the lines of Rita Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin, Hesse is the real deal in historical fiction. You need to read this! 5 paws!

In the After, by Demitria Lunetta

     Book 1 in a series still being written, and another OBOB title for middle school for this season. I didn't see this book coming down the OBOB turnpike...a futuristic, zombie-like story that is pretty scary! Perfect for Hallowe'en, but I was a little surprised to see this listed in the middle grade category for OBOB...I think it's more of a high school book, in my pug opinion. Either way, Lunetta lays the groundwork in this first book of the series. Amy, the book's main character, is surviving as best she can in a world that was drastically changed when They took over the world. She lost her parents, her friends...existing day to day in the quiet and darkness required to keep from being eaten by some alien life form that has invaded Earth. In the After is divided into three sections, and by time I got used to the setting and story, section one ended, and sections two and three took me in a very different direction.

    If you liked Goosebumps but now want something more mature, or you like Stephen King but are okay with something less intense, this might be a series for you! It reminded me of Divergent in that it was a decent story but not exceptionally well written or thought out, but good enough to be really popular! I If you are pretty new to the horror or zombie genre, I think you'll like this. If not, you may like it, but probably won't love it. 3 paws and a wag!

How to Survive Middle School, by Donna Gephart

 Hello, Readers!  Sorry for the huge delay in my blogging, but thank you for staying with me! I've been busy helping my human get his school year started, so I'm a little behind in my reading, but REALLY behind in my blogging! What's a dog with a blog to do?!? Well, now I'm going to try and catch up - with the blogging, mostly, because I have been reading! You just wouldn't know it because I haven't put my paws to the keyboard in a while...

To start the new school year my human and I read How to Survive Middle School - great choice for the start of the year, right? Author Donna Gephart is a really good storyteller, and one my favorite books of hers is Lily and Dunkin. Surviving middle school is the story of David and his hamster, Hammy, who are becoming famous because of David's videos he makes and posts to YouTube, modeled after the real Jon Stewart. Stewart is a comedian who created The Daily Show, before it was taken over by Trevor Noah. Anyway, David is trying to survive his first year of middle school with the usual ups and downs, like bullies, crushes, family issues, fitting in, puberty...all the great stuff middle schoolers go through in life. Gephart tells a heartwarming story with humor and sensitivity, and How to Survive will make many of you laugh out and possibly shed a few tears. 

This is the third or fourth book I've read by Gephart, and I've enjoyed all of them, just some a little more than others. This is one of her stronger books. If you like Gordon Korman give this title a try - you'll probably like this, too! 4 paws!

Glitter Gets Everywhere, by Yvette Clark

     The first teen book by author Yvette Clark, a London-born author who now resides in New York City. This is relevant because in Glitter Gets Everywhere, main character Kitty moves to New York with her dad and sister for 6 months for a change of scenery. The change is needed after the recent death of her mom, which Kitty is trying to work through from the very first pages of this story to the very last.

    This book starts off well but gets much better and stronger as it goes along. Perhaps it was just my own mood when reading on different days, but at first it seemed like Clark was trying too hard to write from the perspective of a young teenager, Kitty. But by about one third of the way into the story, the author really seemed to hit her stride, and the rest of the book was really difficult to put down! All of the characters and situations were pretty realistic and believable, and I found my pug self rooting for Kitty to have a good outcome. I won't share with you how close the actual ending was to what I hoped for, but I will say that this is a really good realistic fiction story about loss, family and friendship - and not just friendships between teens. Kitty also has a few adult friendships that help her deal with the loss of her mom. Clark builds a very good story here, worth your time. Fans of Patricia Riley Giff or Sharon Creech will really enjoy this, I think! 5 paws!

Running on Empty, by S. E. Durrant

     I haven't read anything by this Scottish author before (her first book is titled Little Bits of Sky), but instantly I was drawn to her style of storytelling. Durrant's writing reminds me a lot of A.S. King (one of my favorite authors!) but for younger readers, perhaps. Both write in a way that I find hard to describe to you...the honesty of the character's voice, and the way they both turn everyday thoughts, events and ideas into compelling stories is really amazing!

    Running on Empty is the story of AJ, who lives with his very quirky parents and has recently lost his Grandad, who we discover throughout the story kept AJ's family together and really made sure AJ was taken care of. AJ's Aunt Josephine and her family live nearby and are a big part of the story as well. But AJ is the narrator, and through Durrant's clever storytelling, we become AJ, in all the beautiful and strange ways a 7th graders navigates a complicated world. 

    I loved this short book, and recommend it to any of you who enjoy realistic fiction and above-average writing. I especially recommend it to those of you who are willing to lose yourself in someone else's thoughts for a while. Durrant is exceptional when it comes to writing "voice", and I found this book to be difficult to put down. 5 paws!