Bullying and incivility have gotten out of hand at a boy’s school: Can he and his friends find a solution?

In his series of issue-oriented books for a middle school audience, Rink (Jimi & Isaac 5a: The Brain Injury, 2014, etc.) frames his plots involving tween friends Jimi and Isaac around such issues as coping with self-doubt, making and keeping commitments, and dealing with unforeseen life changes. In this 10th installment, told in the first-person voice of Jimi, a jazz saxophonist, self-described science nerd, and wry observer of parental and peer foibles, fighting and arguing have escalated at his middle school. Jimi and his best friend, Isaac, along with Tom and bossy Mallory, get in a shoving match. As punishment, the principal assigns the four to figure out the answer to the increasing incivility on campus. Mallory gets carried away, forming a group called the CIVILians, positive that ordering people to obey her “be nice!” rules is the way to go. Her method receives push back, sometimes literally, from kids resenting being told what to do. Soon, the CIVILians are being harassed by an opposing group called the Savages. Jimi, Isaac, and Tom want to expend as little effort in solving the problem as possible until increasing clashes between the groups indicate there are no easy answers to bringing people together. A favorite science teacher encourages the three boys and Mallory to think about the problem creatively. Rink has a terrific knack for placing relatable characters in realistic situations and giving them (and readers) food for thought, promoting discussion and problem-solving rather than spoon-feeding answers. A nuanced discussion at the dinner table about the definition of a bully awakens Jimi to the fact that bullying can take many forms and cause both physical and emotional harm. The author deftly adds an additional layer to the issue by having Tom express empathy for a bully he injured in order to protect a little kid.

Engaging and thought-proving edutainment, with relatable tween characters facing realistic challenges, primarily from a young male point of view.

Rink (Jimi & Isaac 4a: Solar Powered, 2011, etc.) paints a visceral, moving portrait of a young boy whose life is thrown into chaos when his father unexpectedly falls from the roof and receives a potentially life-threatening head injury.

Isaac is a smart kid. He and his father are installing new solar panels on the roof of their house, solar panels made, in fact, with a new chemical mixture that Isaac himself invented. Just as they finish, however, Isaac’s father slips backward and falls off the roof. In short order, he is in the hospital, in critical condition, and Isaac is left to navigate a confusing world of worried mothers, concerned friends and well-intentioned uncles trying to prepare him for the worst. Uncle Bob doesn’t manage to put a dent in Isaac’s initial denial, however, nor does the well-meaning concern of Isaac’s best friend, Jimi. As events progress, it becomes clear that there’s a very real possibility Isaac’s dad may not fully recover. Isaac, boy genius or not, finds himself struggling with the prospect of what life may be like if his father doesn’t recover. Every part of Isaac’s journey is meticulously and thoughtfully drawn. The emotional reality of what is happening to him and his family is conveyed realistically and with tremendous care. This is accomplished not only with clear, excellent prose, but also with insightful characterization. Rink in particular captures the essence of a young boy in the throes of denial over his father’s condition. The interactions between Isaac and Jimi are just the right balance of sincere and awkward, as when Isaac says he can’t wait for his dad to get better: “ ‘He’s going to get better?’ Jimi said. ‘That’s great!’ I just looked at him. ‘Of course he’s going to get better,’ I said. I thought for a minute. ‘Why?’ I asked. ‘What did you hear?’ Jimi turned away from me, grabbed a shirt off the floor, and hung it up. ‘Nothing, I guess,’ he said to the closet.” All told, it is a simple and powerful story, authentically told.

Highly recommended for both its quality of writing and its superb handling of difficult subject matter.

A young, smug scientist gets more than he bargained for in this middle-grade story.

Isaac Farmer is sure that he’ll win the school science fair. His “PTB Energy House” is mostly lifted from things he found on the internet, but he’s still able to charm the judges into thinking the project is a genuine example of a new alternative energy source. But when he includes a secret insult to alternative-energy technology in the project’s title, things go south. His science teacher arranges a meeting with his parents and the principal. If Isaac wants to attend the state science fair, the principal says, he’ll have to change his project, and to make that happen, he’s calling in help. Professor “Bowtie” Murphy agrees to mentor the boy while he builds real technology for the fair with the help of a former student who owns a solar-tech company. Soon, Isaac takes a shine to the project. When Isaac’s friend Jimi accidentally adds a gross ingredient to his solar panel, the result is electric—and the grown-ups are keen to figure out its secret. After further experiments and encounters with lawyers, there’s a public unveiling of the solar panel that’s also a test of Isaac’s social skills. Rink (Jimi & Isaac 3a: The Mars Mission, 2010, etc.) makes sure that there’s no shortage of tangible scientific information in this story, from an explanation of a matrix that Isaac creates to a discussion of photoelectric chemicals. The amount of technical jargon, though, may deter readers who aren’t already devoted to science. It’s also a little hard to believe that a key element of the story is Isaac’s smart-aleck behavior, as the most egregious act that he engages in is using the word “duh” as a constant retort. In addition, the chapters in which grown-ups do most of the talking tend to drag. However, those that feature Isaac and Jimi being giggling middle schoolers feel authentic.

A tale that’s part high jinks, part detailed science lesson, which will appeal to a specific niche of young readers.

In this continuation of a middle-grade series, a middle schooler weathers setbacks and self-doubt in his quest to build a working Mars probe.

Mr. Berg, who takes guitar lessons from young Jimi’s dad, is a wealthy entrepreneur whose private aerospace company plans to send an astronaut into orbit around the Earth. When Jimi’s brainy best friend, Isaac, brags that building a small Mars probe would be no big deal, Jimi shrugs assent, so Mr. Berg calls their bluff. He gives the pair the basic criteria for the probe’s function, size, and weight, supplies them with funds, and names a deadline. If they succeed, he says, he’ll launch their probe from his orbiting rocket. Isaac takes the lead in the probe’s design but soon loses interest. When circumstances prod Jimi into seeing the project through, what began as a slapdash creation of cardboard and tape becomes a full-fledged science-fair project, and then a feasible, 3-D blueprint for a working probe. The novel relates this evolution in detail, framing the narrative as a scientific process of research, application, discussion, modification, and refinement. But Rink (Jimi and Isaac 2a: Keystone Species, 2014, etc.), a mechanical engineer, science-fair leader, and sports coach for kids, takes care that there’s nothing pedantic about Jimi’s bumpy ride to launch day. The soccer-playing, saxophone-playing, jazz-loving middle schooler observes his world with an authentic, humorous first-person voice. Jimi’s epiphany rings true when he’s struck by the fact that his fellow science-fair competitors have done “stuff that I never thought a kid could do,” that adults are interested in what they have to say, and that no one “told anybody to shut up all day.” As he sifts through research, his own and others’ “crazy ideas” and his sudden, “weird” leaps of insight, Rink’s message to readers is clear: that questions, mistakes, and a willingness to keep trying in the face of failure are integral to problem-solving and innovation—and that kids can be innovators, too.

A lively narrative that ably combines rocket science, humor, and relatable characters.