Middle-Grade Novels
by Lee Bacon
While installing solar panels one day, XR_935, a 12-year-old robot, finds a human girl. "But that's impossible! Humans haven't been around for a whole generation," he thinks to himself. "Yet, here she is. And she needs my help."
The adolescent bot had always been told that people were dangerous, could not be trusted, and, therefore, had all been exterminated during the revolution 40 years before he was first activated. Unbeknownst to his parents and the other older bots, however, many humans, including Emma and her family, had found safety underground.
Now, a virus has swept through their secret bunker, leaving only the young girl. She seems innocent and harmless. But can XR_935 trust her?
Please note: Emma lies about her family's whereabouts to protect them from being destroyed by the robots who have taken over the earth.
I have not read the sequel Fall of the Robots, but I feel that one can enjoy The Last Human as a stand-alone story.
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Just after receiving word of three missing kids in Arizona--siblings who bear striking similarities to themselves--Chess, Emma, and Finn Greystone can not find their mother. She's gone, and in her place are cryptic notes and a hidden room. Why is she missing, and what does she have to do with the disappearance of the three kids on the other side of the country? All signs point to her guilt. And yet, since their father's death, she has never gone anywhere or done anything out of the ordinary. She's worked from home and kept strict tabs on each of them. How could she possibly be a kidnapper? Nothing adds up.
At least not in this world.
This is the first in a sci-fi trilogy about a pair of siblings who work together to solve mysteries. It ends on a nail-biting cliffhanger. I have not read the other two titles.
Please note: A secondary character says that she hates her mom. She later recognizes how unnecessarily selfish she was acting. That same mother tries to convince the two eldest siblings to tell a "little white lie" to protect the feelings of their younger brother. One character says, "sucks."
by Yona Zeldis McDonough
Marcel has always loved riding his bicycle. Though a war rages around him, he dreams of one day riding in the Tour de France. One day, when his parents ask him to make a delivery for their bakery, the French boy discovers that he is transporting more than just an order of fresh-baked bread. He's been tasked to carry a secret message to resistance fighters. At first, he fears what his parents may have gotten themselves into. But when he meets a new girl at school who later confesses to being a Jew, he knows that his mom and dad are the perfect people to help his friend and her family escape to freedom.
Please note: Due to the nature of the French Resistance of WWII, Marcel must lie to several of his friends, his teacher, and even German authorities. Apart from one lie that he tells his Aunt and Uncle to cover up the fact that he ate their loaf of bread without permission, all the lies Marcel tells are to protect the identity and whereabouts of his Jewish friend.
by Patricia St. John
Hamid and Jenny come from two different worlds. Hamid is the older brother of Kinza, a blind beggar who is soon to be sold into slavery by their uncaring stepfather. Jenny is a spoiled rich girl who has spent much of her life recovering from a serious illness. Their lives collide when Hamid helps Kinza escape to the home of a missionary nurse, Jenny's Aunt Rosemary. Through the woman's tender care, Hamid and Jenny begin to discover the cure for their aching hearts. All seems well until Hamid's stepfather returns and kidnaps little Kinza. Will he and Aunt Rosemary be able to find her before she is sold, and can Hamid learn to trust God not only with his life but also with his sister's?
Parents, Be Aware
by Tim Green
Middle schooler Troy has a gift. Using probability, experience, and gut instincts, he can foresee professional football plays before they even happen. When his single mother gets a job working for the Atlanta Falcons, Troy seizes the opportunity to not only help his favorite team but also to prove to his school rival that he has what it takes to be a football great himself. Unfortunately, the Falcon's coach thinks he's a troublemaker. Only the near-washed-up linebacker, Seth Halloway, will even listen to Troy. Will his meddling cost his mom a great job, or will Troy be able to convince the team that he is a football genius?
Things to know: Determined to help a losing NFL team, Troy repeatedly disregards his mother's rules, trespasses on other people's property, and even nearly kills himself to get attention. While Seth Halloway admirably encourages Troy to heed his mother's advice, Troy's grandfather does the opposite. The elderly man declares that sometimes kids must break the rules because it's the right thing to do.
The following words and phrases are each included at least once in the text: my god, holy heck, thank god, holy shoot, and kick him in the astronaut. A boy calls another boy a "goober" and a "butt." Additionally, a boy "moons" a group of friends.
Just for you, Mom
The Woman They Could Not Silence
by Kate Moore
Amid the war between the states, Elizabeth Packard faces a different kind of enemy. He sits across from her at the breakfast table every morning and sleeps under the same roof every night. Her husband of over twenty years, who happens to be the pastor of her church and father to her six children, is threatened by her intelligence and popularity among his parishioners. In retaliation, he has her committed to an insane asylum, a shocking act that is entirely within his legal rights.
Once inside the state mental institution, Elizabeth realizes that she's not the only wife held captive against her will because of the false accusations of a disgruntled husband. The asylum is filled with intelligent, capable, and perfectly sane women living in horrific and abusive conditions. She resolves not just to earn her own freedom but to earn the freedom of all her "sisters" who have been unjustly imprisoned.
This is a narrative nonfiction about an Illinois housewife who takes on a board of directors, a state assembly, and eventually, Congress to ensure the liberties of married women in the United States. Much of the dialogue within the book is taken directly from Packard's journals, newspaper articles, and court records.
Please note: There is one use of "d*mned" in the text.