A gentle exploration of shifting friendship and the emotional upheaval of middle school.
For two best friends and their dogs, middle school brings a lot of unexpected changes.
Grace Lo and her pug, Penny, do everything with Mia Lamonte and her French bulldog, Otis. The girls are relieved when they both get into Sandpiper, a magnet middle school. Grace is especially excited to continue their softball domination, anticipating that they’ll be “the best pitcher-catcher team the school has ever seen.” But things get off to a rocky start when their schedules—even lunch periods—are completely different. Mia resolves to be “bolder and brighter”: She makes new friends and runs for student council president; she’s also not sure if she wants to play softball anymore. The friction between the besties inevitably builds as Mia avoids being honest with Grace to spare her feelings, and Grace takes Mia’s silence as rejection. The narration rotates among the girls’ first-person voices and Penny’s and Otis’ third-person perspectives, which add a lighthearted touch. When they’re not distracted by squirrels, the dogs, who are sensitive to their girls’ feelings, plot to get them to go on walks (“going outside will cure any sadness”) and meet up more outside of school. Liu sensitively and realistically addresses shifting relationship dynamics and adjusting to and grieving difficult changes. While there are a few heated moments, the girls resolve most of their miscommunications fairly quickly. Grace is cued Asian, while Mia presents white.
A gentle exploration of shifting friendship and the emotional upheaval of middle school. (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Oct. 6, 2026
ISBN: 9781546179429
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant.
Robot Roz undertakes an unusual ocean journey to save her adopted island home in this third series entry.
When a poison tide flowing across the ocean threatens their island, Roz works with the resident creatures to ensure that they will have clean water, but the destruction of vegetation and crowding of habitats jeopardize everyone’s survival. Brown’s tale of environmental depredation and turmoil is by turns poignant, graceful, endearing, and inspiring, with his (mostly) gentle robot protagonist at its heart. Though Roz is different from the creatures she lives with or encounters—including her son, Brightbill the goose, and his new mate, Glimmerwing—she makes connections through her versatile communication abilities and her desire to understand and help others. When Roz accidentally discovers that the replacement body given to her by Dr. Molovo is waterproof, she sets out to seek help and discovers the human-engineered source of the toxic tide. Brown’s rich descriptions of undersea landscapes, entertaining conversations between Roz and wild creatures, and concise yet powerful explanations of the effect of the poison tide on the ecology of the island are superb. Simple, spare illustrations offer just enough glimpses of Roz and her surroundings to spark the imagination. The climactic confrontation pits oceangoing mammals, seabirds, fish, and even zooplankton against hardware and technology in a nicely choreographed battle. But it is Roz’s heroism and peacemaking that save the day.
Hugely entertaining, timely, and triumphant. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9780316669412
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2023
Utterly believable, this bittersweet story, complete with an author’s note identifying the real Ivan, will inspire a new...
How Ivan confronts his harrowing past yet stays true to his nature exemplifies everything youngsters need to know about courage.
Living in a "domain" of glass, metal and cement at the Big Top Mall, Ivan sometimes forgets whether to act like a gorilla or a human—except Ivan does not think much of humans. He describes their behavior as frantic, whereas he is a peaceful artist. Fittingly, Ivan narrates his tale in short, image-rich sentences and acute, sometimes humorous, observations that are all the more heartbreaking for their simple delivery. His sorrow is palpable, but he stoically endures the cruelty of humans until Ruby the baby elephant is abused. In a pivotal scene, Ivan finally admits his domain is a cage, and rather than let Ruby live and die in grim circumstances, he promises to save her. In order to express his plea in a painting, Ivan must bravely face buried memories of the lush jungle, his family and their brutal murder, which is recounted in a brief, powerful chapter sure to arouse readers’ passions. In a compelling ending, the more challenging question Applegate poses is whether or not Ivan will remember what it was like to be a gorilla. Spot art captures poignant moments throughout.
Utterly believable, this bittersweet story, complete with an author’s note identifying the real Ivan, will inspire a new generation of advocates. (author’s note) (Fiction. 8-12)Pub Date: Jan. 17, 2012
ISBN: 978-0-06-199225-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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