Sam and Morgan are best friends. Strike that – Sam and Morgan used to be best friends. Now Morgan has declared that he will be kicking Sam’s butt in exactly 33 minutes. How did these life-long friends come to this place? That’s exactly what Sam is trying to figure out in Todd Hasak-Lowy’s 33 Minutes. Told mostly through flashbacks from Sam’s point of view, Hasak-Lowy uses sharp wit to take a bit of the edge off the very real heartache that comes with growing up and growing apart, without sugar-coating the reality of this all-too-familiar situation.
Sam is incredibly bright, but not so popular. Morgan has become quite popular in junior high, but he’s never been the best student. As Morgan’s new friends begin taking up more of his time, Sam can’t help but feel left out and a bit jealous. Over the course of a few months, tensions build between the two best friends, and when everything comes to a head Sam is certain it must be Morgan’s fault. A little reflection over the course of the ever dwindling 33 minutes, however, sheds some light on the reality of Sam and Morgan’s situation, and Sam realizes that maybe he is not completely blameless himself.
In Sam Todd Hasak-Lowy has created a very real and very witty character. Sam’s clever observations will have readers laughing out loud but the humor does not take away from the painful reality of Sam’s situation. It is exactly this mixture of humor and reality that make this book an excellent choice for a book discussion group (particularly for boys) or for a 5th or 6th grade classroom read-aloud.
Posted by: Staci
It is no secret that middle school can be tough, but clearly some kids have a tougher time than others. August “Auggie” Pullman’s first year of middle school would fall under the “tougher” category. Auggie is a normal kid, or at least he would like everyone to see him that way. However, Auggie was born with a severe facial deformity for which he has undergone numerous surgeries. As a result, he has had to be homeschooled…until now. Just as he is about to begin the fifth grade, Auggie’s parents have decided that it is time for him to start attending school outside his home. Among the numerous other challenges of beginning middle school, Auggie is also saddled with the challenging task of convincing his new classmates and teachers that, despite his extraordinary appearance, he really is an ordinary kid. In the novel Wonder, author R.J. Palacio uses multiple first-person narratives to weave an achingly realistic account of the hardships Auggie faces during his first year in middle school as well as how his arrival in his new school affects those around him.
It’s September, so everyone is back in school–and surrounded by a whole student body full of germs! The weather is getting colder, and it seems like there are sniffles and coughs everywhere. We’re all taught to wash our hands constantly, but somehow everyone always gets sick anyway.
Kevin Spencer is the most romantic 14-year- old guy you will ever meet – or so he would like to have us believe. He has a crush on Tina Zabinski who, in Kevin’s eyes, is the most beautiful girl in the world. He just knows he would make a perfect boyfriend. He realizes that he must swing into immediate action when the new boy in school, Cash, starts showing attention to Tina.
As far as Deza knows, hers is the only family in Gary, Indiana with their own family motto. The Malone’s like to say that “We are a family on a journey to a place called Wonderful.” The nice thing is, they really are. Their journey though, is rather circuitous with more than their share pitfalls and dead ends. 
Fancy Nancy is growing up and so are her readers. Kids who are growing out of the Fancy Nancy picture books and leveled readers will be thrilled to see this new series of chapter books featuring all of the characters from the previous books by Jane O’Connor. O’Connor’s sweet, funny text is paired well with Robin Preiss-Glasser’s illustrations once again in this story.
It is the summer before eighth grade and Marley’s world has been turned upside down. Her father and mother are separated. Her mother has gone to visit old friends and Marley has to live with her Dad whose house is in a different neighborhood. To make matters worse, her best friends for forever are both going to theater camp and are making new friends and not including her. When she is invited to a pool party at her friend’s house she decides that this is the perfect opportunity to do the water balloon blitz that the friends have been springing on each other for years. But this time her friends’ reactions are not surprise and delight as Marley anticipated. They are angry and embarrassed at her juvenile behavior.
I have recently become a huge fan of the author 
This book is the second in a series. The first book is titled Faraway Island. The first book won the Batchelder award in 2010 and this book took a Batchelder Honors award this year. I did not read the first book and I still enjoyed this one.
I like to reread The Long Winter in January or February – after the holidays and during that long stretch when winter feels most cold and bleak to me. It tells the story of how Laura Ingalls and her family survived the harsh winter of 1880-81, enduring seven months of near constant blizzards in their little house in town in the Dakota Territory. Through this winter, the Ingalls family is together but cut off from all supplies (the trains can’t run) and often even cut off from their neighbors living yards away. The Long Winter tells of stories that I cannot even imagine; like how, when the first blizzard hits, Laura and her classmates must leave the schoolhouse and make their way home not a mile away, yet all the while the threat of being lost out on the prairie is imminent, for they cannot see in front of them and apart from their little prairie town there is nothing for miles and miles. It tells of the kind of resourcefulness Laura’s family displays, making kindling out of twisted bunches of hay when there is no firewood to be had. And it tells of how Laura’s family manages to create moments of joy throughout the dark months, making a pie out of green pumpkins and celebrating a festive Christmas with what little food and treats they have, song, and stories.
