I've been enjoying Middle-Grade March, an annual reading challenge, and using it to help me catch up on some middle-grade books on audio. Here are two that I've enjoyed this month:
Twelve-year-old Katrina is in the witness protection program with her parents. The three of them are very close but live isolated lives, on the run from a dangerous drug cartel and unable to stay in one place for very long. Katrina is only the latest of her names; she's been choosing them alphabetically and is up to K. New place, new name. Their new location is something different, though. They usually live in cities, where they can get lost in the crowd and blend in. This time, they are in an RV, pulling into a trailer park in a small town in Georgia. Katrina's parents are hoping that this will allow her to have some independence and maybe even make a friend or two. And right away, Katrina meets the boy in the trailer next door, Parker, who is a computer whiz her age. Things are looking up. But then, everything goes wrong. Katrina's parents are missing, and she and Parker are on their own ... and on the run again.
As Katrina tries to find her parents and is on her own for the first time, long-held secrets are uncovered, lies are revealed, and the danger builds. This is an excellent (award-winning!) and very twisty thriller with a gripping story that kept me rapt. It's an outstanding audio, wholly original and completely compelling.
320 pages, Scholastic
This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges
Alphabet Soup - C
Literary Escapes - Georgia
Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible.
You
can buy the book through
Bookshop.org,
where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all
indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!
Or you can order Concealed from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.
Eleven-year-old Tally is starting sixth grade and middle-school. She's extra nervous about this big change because she's autistic. Her parents are very supportive (and so is her older sister, most of the time!), but no one at school--kids or teachers--knows about her autism, except her best friend. Tally works very hard to try to fit in and be like everyone else, but she's not like everyone else. She sees and hears and feels and notices everything and is constantly trying hard to act "normal." Her nemesis, a mean boy named Luke, is here, too, making things even harder. The pressure Tally feels to not seem weird builds and builds, until it finally starts to come out. Along the way, she finds an unexpected ally in her new drama teacher and a new friend in a three-legged dog.
This honest story about empathy and kindness puts the reader right inside Tally's perspective, experiencing the world as she does. It includes diary entries--a suggestion from a counselor--and Tally's tips for others interacting with those with autism that she hopes will someday help others. In fact, the diary entries were written by a real-life girl with autism, the co-author Libby Scott, who was just nine years old when this book was published! Libby's contributions add to the authenticity of this wonderful novel. Listening to it on audio makes the experience of being in Tally's shoes even more immersive and insightful. I enjoyed the book and learned a lot.
368 pages, Scholastic
This book fits in the following 2023 Reading Challenges:
Diversity Challenge (and mini-challenge: #ownvoices)
Listen to a sample of the audiobook here and/or download it from Audible.
You can buy the book through Bookshop.org, where your purchase will support the indie bookstore of your choice (or all indie bookstores)--the convenience of shopping online while still buying local!
Or you can order Can You See Me? from Book Depository, with free shipping worldwide.
Disclosure: I received these books from the publisher in return for an honest review. My review is my own opinion and is not influenced by my relationship with the publisher or author.
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Both of these sound so good! The first one fun and zany while the second dealing with tough topics.
ReplyDeleteYes, both different but both very good! The first one is a thriller. I enjoyed them both!
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