Great Middle Grade Fiction that Represents

In honor of disability pride month, I am continuing to review novels that represent characters who help raise awareness, challenge stereotypes and promote inclusion. Both novels I was able to read over the last couple of weeks do this very well and are written for a middle grade (ages 8-12) audience.

Image copied from Goodreads

Crystal Allen is an author I have long admired for her deft character development in her novels and for the humor she masterfully weaves into each story. While Between Two Brothers incorporates much of Allen's trademark humor and wonderful characterization, it is a slight departure from her other books. All of Allen's novels often contain elements and issues that can be serious in nature for the audience of young people she writes for, but involve plots that are more lighthearted in tone. But Between Two Brothers deals with some topics and problems that make much of the story more serious in tone. Main character Isaiah "Ice" Abernathy has always looked up to his older brother Seth. But as the two head into the school year, Ice begins to feel like his brother, who is a senior in high school, is starting to pull away. The results of his fear and sadness that Seth is poised to move on to the next stage in his life, college, without him cause the two to have a falling out. But a tragic accident soon after leaves Seth permanently changed from the older brother Ice always relied on. 

I loved the depiction of both Ice and Seth and how close they are at the start of the story. Seth encourages Ice to break out of his shell, knowing that Ice will need to be able to speak up for himself once Seth has graduated and gone off to college. Learning to not let "shy guy" psych him out is hard for Ice. But the effort he makes to tune "shy guy" out pay off for both brothers. Determined to help out while Seth recovers from his accident, Isaiah takes on more responsibility at home. When the doctors try to convince Ice and his parents that Seth may never recover or be able to recognize them or even speak again, Isaiah decides to work with his brother in order to help him continue to get the therapy he needs to prove the doctors wrong. I loved the fact that in spite of the tragedy that befalls this family, they continue to work together and to support each other, even when they disagree. I also appreciated the realistic way that Allen gives Ice agency as a main character to believably help his brother recuperate while still keeping the storyline realistic for a middle school aged person. There were times throughout this novel where I laughed and others times that brought me to tears. Sometimes though, they were happy tears. Ice and Seth's story ends on an uplifting, hopeful note, but not one where everything goes back to the way it was before. The author acknowledges the fact that life changing events often mean that people have to face a new normal in their life and their abilities but she also shows young readers that this does not mean they are any less important or strong. In fact, both characters prove to be stronger and more resilient in the wake of Seth's accident and I think that is a beautiful message to convey. An author's note at the end of this book also lets readers know that this story was loosely based on a real event that happened to Allen's own son. So, in many ways Between Two Brothers is a firsthand account of how to face a traumatic event and come out on the other side of it with your love as a family and faith still intact. 

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Similar to the other novel, El Deafo  tells the story of a character who develops an impairment, this time through an illness. Main character Cece, in this graphic novel, is largely based on author Cece Bell's childhood experiences. I call this a work of fiction though as the author does note that some events portrayed in the novel are composites of real events, character names have been changed, and the illustrations depict bunny-like individuals instead of human beings. However, Bell does a wonderful job through both her artwork and her prose of conveying the feelings and challenges she faced as a hearing girl who becomes deaf and still has to live largely in a hearing world. The feelings of insecurity, isolation, loneliness and fear of being different come through from the moment Cece is fitted for her first hearing aid. The novel starts when Cece loses her hearing at age four and continues to follow her journey throughout elementary school up through fifth grade. 

Bell manages to capture the feelings she set out to in a realistic and engaging way. We experience her joys and sorrows with her through friendships made and lost, in facing bullies, dealing with being misunderstood and navigating her first crush. I would say that this graphic novel is geared for a younger middle grade audience since it starts out right before Cece is school age and the characters are depicted as bunnies rather than people. However, the artwork throughout was terrific and colorful and for me reminiscent of traditional comic series with its superhero vibes. I thought all-in-all this graphic novel was a delight to read and a great one for younger readers to help them to feel seen or to help them understand the world from the perspective of someone who is hearing impaired. The fact that Cece learns to embrace her differences and see them as a super power is a message that I think any young reader could relate to.

One other novel that I would have liked to review, but ran out of time to read all the way through in time was Popcorn by Rob Harrell. Again, this one is semi-autobiographical in nature and deals with disabilities that are unseen rather than physically seen ones. Like El Deafo it has illustrations as well, though it is not a graphic novel, but more of an illustrated middle grade novel similar to the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. The portion I read of it was both humorous and moving as Harrell takes us through the course of picture day at school and how challenging a school day can be for a student dealing with anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). If you would like to read up more on this novel, click on the title to be taken to a link for it on bookshop.org. 

Next month, I am switching gears to adult reading fair with a beach reads theme for the end of summer. The first book I'll review, Heart Marks the Spot, is a new rom-com adventure by Libby Hubscher, involving treasure hunters, second chance love, and found family. Check out the cover and book blurb below, both copied from Goodreads. 

A treasure hunter and the bestselling adventure novelist who broke her heart after one successful expedition reunite for a summer to search for lost riches.

Treasure hunter Stella Moore dreams of having it all—wealth, love, and a flourishing career—but knows she’ll never be that lucky. Every summer she and her childhood friends travel to search for hidden treasure, but she can barely manage her bills, let alone a relationship. Then, a chance encounter with alluring novelist Huck Sullivan during an expedition in Iceland has Stella thinking maybe her fortune has changed.

After his last book bombed, Huck hasn’t written a word. Joining Stella and her crew on an adventure seems like the perfect distraction from his problems, and when the crew finally uncovers hidden treasure, he is certain that he’s found more than just inspiration for his next novel. Huck and Stella’s undeniable connection gives way to an unforgettable night on a black sand beach.

After Huck disappears without a goodbye, Stella vows to put the heartbreak behind her—but that’s easier said than done when, a year later, every bookstore has a life-size cutout of her ex-lover next to stacks of his latest record-breaking bestseller. Good thing it’s time for another summer treasure hunt. Stella throws herself into mapping the path to a shipwreck off Key West, but the last thing she expects is an extra crew member showing up in search of material for a sequel and a second chance. 

Stella and Huck are prepared for storms, sharks, sea sickness, even a tentative truce. But facing the feelings they buried and confronting the devastating truth about why Huck left is the only way to find what their hearts have been searching for all along.

 

Hilarious Regency Rom-Com

 

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This is not a new series for Beverley Watts. In fact, there is at least one other spin-off series to this one that is out now. But it was new to me when my sister recommended it. Both of us have been Julia Quinn fans for years. So, when she told me that this series featured a large family of almost all girls and their reverend father who is desperate to marry them off to affluent husbands, I was intrigued. Knowing that in May I was going to be traveling a lot, I looked up audiobooks for the series through my library's digital app. I was happy to find they have all nine of the books in this first series about the Shackleford family.

I was not disappointed in the least with Grace or the other two books in the series that I've listened to so far. Grace is the oldest Shackleford daughter. Soon after the newly titled duke of the estate, Nicholas Sinclair, returns, Grace finds herself inexplicably being married off to him. Of course, nothing ever goes smoothly to plan in rom-coms like this one. The two characters in the story do not have a good first encounter. But they are nevertheless reluctantly attracted to one another. Both Grace and the Nicholas carry their own scars and misbeliefs that make them certain they will not find love or true contentment in marriage to anyone, least of all each other. However, when the duke starts off their marriage ignoring Grace, she takes matters into her own hands to convince him that he would be better off letting her live an independent life and be married in name only. Hijinks of all kinds ensue. The one thing that I did find funny and surprising was the character of the father. Reverend Shackleford is every bit as impulsive, imaginative and headstrong as any of his girls. The plans he concocts are wild and wildly amusing. You expect that sort of thing from the heroines and even sometimes the heroes in these stories. But you rarely have the parents play an active role in this way in the stories.

The backstory for the Nicholas Sinclair was also interesting. He is not only the heir to the estate, but he is also a war hero in the Battle of Trafalgar against Napoleon. A severe injury ends his naval career, leaves him partially crippled and causes him to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. Nicholas also has a depressing family history, which is not that uncommon in a regency romance. But part of his trauma involves his nearest and dearest from his recent and distant past. It makes a nice counterpoint to Grace, who comes from a boisterous but close-knit family. Other side characters add to the humor and heart of the story, including the reverend's assistant Percy and the reverend's wife, Agatha. The book is told from multiple points of view, from Grace, to Nicholas, to the reverend and occasionally we get Percy's perspective as well. But unbelievably this was not a detraction for me in the least. It actually helped build some light suspense at times in the plot. I started this book as an audiobook, but I ended up finishing it as an ebook. I will say that at first, I enjoyed reading the ebook version better than listening to the audiobook. The story is read by two accomplished voice actors. But when the male voice actor had to switch to telling the story from Grace's perspective he sounded like an old woman more than the young early twenty something character he was portraying. When the audio went back to the female voice actor things were fine. But listening to the man do some of Grace's dialogue was a bit jarring at times, especially listening to the story for the first time. 

So, if that sort of thing puts you off listening to a book, you might want to stick with a print or ebook version to read. If you are fans of Julia Quinn, Karen Hawkins or other regency romance authors who incorporate lots of humor and heart into their stories, I highly recommend this series. 

Stay tuned for my next review this month. In honor of disability awareness month I will be reviewing another book that features a disabled character as this one did. But the ones that I'm considering for review will be for a younger reading audience. The three that I'm considering, and depending on how long some of them are, I might do two of the three, are in no particular order:

Between Two Brothers  a middle grade novel by Crystal Allen

Popcorn a middle grade novel by Rob Harrell

El Deafo a graphic novel by CeCe Bell

I am also open to any suggestions for good reads that feature disabled characters that any of you might want to suggest as well. The titles for all three of these books also serve as links that will take you to their bookshop.org page to find out more. As always, thank you for reading!