Take Five: 2016 Middle Grade Recs

As part of our Mind the Middle project focusing on middle grade books, I’m going to try to do weekly Take Five lists, which is to say, five books on a certain theme. 

This summer the main theme is MIDDLE GRADE BOOKS OF THE PAST DECADE! Yes, I just yelled that. I’ll still do one post per month of new books out that month, but thought it might be fun to dig into some backlist titles that have stuck with me and would be a shame to miss out on. This may be shocking to you, but an awful lot of libraries don’t have amazing funding. And their shelves might not always have all the newest titles, but you might be able to find some older books that are just waiting for another checkout.

These Take Five lists can help you with collection development, displays, reading lists, and more. I have a pretty giant list of potential Take Five themes, but if there’s something you’re desperate for a list for, let me know! All descriptions come from the publishers.

Let’s jump in the wayback machine and go to 2016!

Sticks & Stones by Abby Cooper

Sticks & Stones by Abby Cooper is a feel-good middle grade debut with just a dash of magic…

Ever since she was a baby, the words people use to describe Elyse have instantly appeared on her arms and legs. At first it was just “cute” and “adorable,” but as she’s gotten older and kids have gotten meaner, words like “loser” and “pathetic” appear, and those words bubble up and itch. And then there are words like “interesting,” which she’s not really sure how to feel about.

Now, at age twelve, she’s starting middle school, and just when her friends who used to accept and protect her are drifting away, she receives an anonymous note saying “I know who you are, and I know what you’re dealing with. I want to help.” As Elyse works to solve the mystery of who is sending her these notes, she also finds new ways to accept who she is and to become her best self.

Fans of Wonder by R.J. Palacio will enjoy this book for its similar writing style, compelling characters, and upbeat tone…A quirky, clever, and lighthearted look at what it means to accept oneself…” —School Library Journal

My Seventh-Grade Life in Tights by Brooks Benjamin

The perfect book for kids who are fans of Dancing with the Stars: Juniors! Football hero. Ninja freestyler. It’s seventh grade. Anything is possible.

All Dillon wants is to be a real dancer. And if he wins a summer scholarship at Dance-Splosion, he’s on his way. The problem? His dad wants him to play football. And Dillon’s freestyle crew, the Dizzee Freekz, says that dance studios are for sellouts. His friends want Dillon to kill it at the audition—so he can turn around and tell the studio just how wrong their rules and creativity-strangling ways are.

At first, Dillon’s willing to go along with his crew’s plan, even convincing one of the snobbiest girls at school to work with him on his technique. But as Dillon’s dancing improves, he wonders: what if studios aren’t the enemy? And what if he actually has a shot at winning the scholarship? 

Dillon’s life is about to get crazy . . . on and off the dance floor in this kid-friendly humorous debut by Brooks Benjamin.

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook by Leslie Connor

A soaring and heartfelt story about love, forgiveness, and how innocence makes us all rise up.

All Rise for the Honorable Perry T. Cook is a powerful middle grade novel, perfect for fans of Wonder and When You Reach Me, from Leslie Connor, the award-winning author of Waiting for Normal and Crunch.

From comes Eleven-year-old Perry was born and raised by his mom at the Blue River Co-ed Correctional Facility in tiny Surprise, Nebraska. His mom is a resident on Cell Block C, and so far Warden Daugherty has made it possible for them to be together. That is, until a new district attorney discovers the truth—and Perry is removed from the facility and forced into a foster home.

When Perry moves to the “outside” world, he feels trapped. Desperate to be reunited with his mom, Perry goes on a quest for answers about her past crime. As he gets closer to the truth, he will discover that love makes people resilient no matter where they come from . . . but can he find a way to tell everyone what home truly means?

Junior Library Guild Selection * Kids’ Indie Next List Pick

Unidentified Suburban Object by Mike Jung

Comic and satirical, but also full of painful truths about being both a bright, sensitive middle schooler, and a so-called “model-minority” in a decidedly NOT-diverse townThe next person who compares Chloe Cho with famous violinist Abigail Yang is going to HEAR it. Chloe has just about had it with people not knowing the difference between someone who’s Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. She’s had it with people thinking that everything she does well — getting good grades, winning first chair in the orchestra, et CETera — are because she’s ASIAN.Of course, her own parents don’t want to have anything to DO with their Korean background. Any time Chloe asks them a question they change the subject. They seem perfectly happy to be the only Asian family in town. It’s only when Chloe’s with her best friend, Shelly, that she doesn’t feel like a total alien.Then a new teacher comes to town: Ms. Lee. She’s Korean American, and for the first time Chloe has a person to talk to who seems to understand completely. For Ms. Lee’s class, Chloe finally gets to explore her family history. But what she unearths is light-years away from what she expected.

Save Me a Seat by Sarah Weeks and Gita Varadarajan

A new friend could be sitting right next to you.Joe and Ravi might be from very different places, but they’re both stuck in the same place: SCHOOL.Joe’s lived in the same town all his life, and was doing just fine until his best friends moved away and left him on his own. Ravi’s family just moved to America from India, and he’s finding it pretty hard to figure out where he fits in.Joe and Ravi don’t think they have anything in common — but soon enough they have a common enemy (the biggest bully in their class) and a common mission: to take control of their lives over the course of a single crazy week.

Filed under: Take 5