Slider by Pete Hautman

From Goodreads,

"Competitive eating vies with family expectations in a funny, heartfelt novel for middle-grade readers by National Book Award winner Pete Hautman.

David can eat an entire sixteen-inch pepperoni pizza in four minutes and thirty-six seconds. Not bad. But he knows he can do better. In fact, he'll have to do better: he's going to compete in the Super Pigorino Bowl, the world's greatest pizza-eating contest, and he has to win it, because he borrowed his mom's credit card and accidentally spent $2,000 on it. So he really needs that prize money. Like, yesterday. As if training to be a competitive eater weren't enough, he's also got to keep an eye on his little brother, Mal (who, if the family believed in labels, would be labeled autistic, but they don't, so they just label him Mal). And don't even get started on the new weirdness going on between his two best friends, Cyn and HeyMan. Master talent Pete Hautman has cooked up a rich narrative shot through with equal parts humor and tenderness, and the result is a middle-grade novel too delicious to put down."

Goodreads - Slider

I feel like food always brings people together.  I have countless memories with one of my college suitemates of us making late night Taco Bell runs.  We would sit in our common room huddled around a tiny end table laughing and telling stories.  I have memories of going to Chili's with my best friend and always ordering the same thing, until we finally grew up one day and started trying other food.  Food brings lots of warm and fuzzy feelings for me, which is why this book with sliders all over the cover caught my attention.

Slider is told by a teenager named David.  David is the middle child with a studious older sister and an autistic younger brother.  He sometimes feels sandwiched in the middle where he doesn't get much attention.  But David is fascinated with people eating food in record time, which he realizes he is pretty good at himself.  After accidentally spending $2000 on his mom's credit card, he decides to sign up for the local pizza eating contest.  David must learn to eat in record time, while also learning how he fits in with his family. 

I absolutely adored this book.  I am a huge fan of diversity in books and this book had just that.  David was the typical kid, but he ate a lot.  There was the seemingly perfect sibling.  There was the workaholic dad and the busy mom.  But I think my favorite character of all had the fewest words, and that was the little brother Mal.  He is autistic, although his family doesn't like to label him.  Throughout the book we learn about what some of his sensory issues are and how he reacts.  I think this is a perfect way for other people and students to learn about people who have autism and that a label doesn't define them.  This wasn't the entire focus of the book, but it was subtly worked in so that you were still learning about it.  This is the perfect way to make a book diverse because so many students are on the spectrum, and we don't even realize it!  I loved Mal and all his little quirks.  It was really enjoyable to see David learn about Mal and how his autism affects him. 

Something else that I really loved about this book was all the food!  Each chapter, with the exception of a few, were labeled with a food item.  For example, pizza, Cheerios, onion rings, etc. were all names chapters.  But those items were somehow included in the chapter.  It was fun to find the title of the chapter somewhere in the chapter itself.  The only problem was that the chapter titles and their contents made me very hungry while I was reading!

There wasn't really anything that I didn't like about this book.  I can recall one instance where there was a cuss word, but other than that it was wonderful.  I give this 5 stars and will absolutely be putting this in my classroom library.  I think fourth graders would really enjoy this book and all the food included in it!

The Stars Beneath Our Feet by David Barclay Moore

From Goodreads,

"A boy tries to steer a safe path through the projects in Harlem in the wake of his brother’s death in this outstanding debut novel that celebrates community and creativity.

It’s Christmas Eve in Harlem, but twelve-year-old Lolly Rachpaul and his mom aren’t celebrating. They’re still reeling from his older brother’s death in a gang-related shooting just a few months earlier. Then Lolly’s mother’s girlfriend brings him a gift that will change everything: two enormous bags filled with Legos. Lolly’s always loved Legos, and he prides himself on following the kit instructions exactly. Now, faced with a pile of building blocks and no instructions, Lolly must find his own way forward.

His path isn’t clear—and the pressure to join a “crew,” as his brother did, is always there. When Lolly and his friend are beaten up and robbed, joining a crew almost seems like the safe choice. But building a fantastical Lego city at the community center provides Lolly with an escape—and an unexpected bridge back to the world. 

David Barclay Moore paints a powerful portrait of a boy teetering on the edge—of adolescence, of grief, of violence—and shows how Lolly’s inventive spirit helps him build a life with firm foundations and open doors."

Goodreads - The Stars Beneath Our Feet

Awards and Nominations:

• John Steptoe New Talent Award (2018)
• Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award (2018)

Favorite quote from The Stars Beneath Our Feet, 

"Rosamund, when you die, they bury you, but your soul flies to the stars.  Your mama, your daddy - they were buried under the ground, but they're stars now, girl, stars beneath our feet."

The title of a book is one of the most important parts of a book in my opinion.  The title has to be strong enough to catch the attention of the reader, but also strong enough to carry the entire meaning and soul of the book.  Most books have the title of the book somewhere in the book itself.  I always look for the title while I'm reading.  Interestingly enough, the title of this book happened to be found in my favorite quote from this book.

The Stars Beneath Our Feet starts with a young boy named Lolly who is trying to come to terms with the fact that his older brother Jermaine is dead.  The streets of Harlem finally got to his older brother and it cost him his life.  Lolly is trying to figure out how to live with the fact that Jermaine is dead, and that they had a big fight before he was killed.  Lolly's mom's girlfriend keeps bringing Lolly trash bags full of Legos.  He works to create a masterpiece that will hopefully help piece his life back together.

Partway through the book Lolly makes a new friend named Rose.  Rose is dealing with things just like Lolly is.  They end up building Lego cities together in the same room, and eventually they interact with each other.  We didn't really learn a lot about Rose, but there were noticeable markers that made me say, "Yup.  She is on the autism spectrum."  Of course Rose told Lolly she wasn't.  Eventually Rose had to move to a different home because she tested on the spectrum.  I absolutely loved that this girl was included in the book and that she had made leaps and strides to overcome her social anxiety and had learned to read people's emotions and body language.  But along with her making all this progress, she had to leave her home because she wasn't getting the care she needed.  I really liked that an adult in the book reported her case because she was being neglected.  I feel like so many times adults make excuses for other adult's actions.  I hear it all the time that they are doing the best they can and they are trying.  That is great that they are doing the best they can and that they are trying, but is the child suffering because of it?  Is the child getting the care they need and deserve?  As an educator, I have to think of the child and their needs first.  I think it was great that the person that called in Rose's situation did it because it needed to be done.  She wasn't getting the help she needed.  It isn't easy to make that call, but sometimes it has to be done.

There are so many things about this book that I did not like, but I'm going to focus on the one big thing that drove me crazy...the grammar.  The grammar was absolutely atrocious in this book.  The author's note at the end explained that it was written that way because that is how they talk in Harlem.  That there are so many different vernaculars it is hard to tell one from the other just blocks apart from each other.  While I was reading this book I actually mentioned to my boyfriend how difficult it was for me to read because I wasn't used to this vernacular.  I told him that when I was in junior high we read Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry and I failed so many tests over that book because their vernacular was so foreign to me.  About halfway into the book I somewhat settled into their language, but it was still a hard read for me to get through grammatically.

This book had a lot to be desired.  I'm not sure how it won two awards.  I felt like the storyline of Jermaine being shot was kind of lost.  It was mentioned here and there throughout the book, but it wasn't really a big pivotal piece of the book.  I give this 2 out of 5 stars.  I don't know that I would recommend this book to anyone.  I don't think it is interesting enough for young adults, but I think it is too boring for adults.  

The Courage Test by James Preller

From Goodreads,

"Will has no choice. His father drags him along on a wilderness adventure in the footsteps of legendary explorers Lewis and Clark--whether he likes it or not. All the while, Will senses that something about this trip isn't quite right.

Along the journey, Will meets fascinating strangers and experiences new thrills, including mountain cliffs, whitewater rapids, and a heart-hammering bear encounter.

It is a journey into the soul of America's past, and the meaning of family in the future. In the end, Will must face his own, life-changing test of courage.

A father-and-son journey along the Lewis and Clark Trail--from Fort Mandan to the shining sea--offers readers a genre-bending blend of American history, thrilling action, and personal discovery."

Goodreads - Courage Test

This past school year one of my students had a lot going on in life.  They enjoyed reading and had ask for some book recommendations.  It was a precarious situation because I wanted to make sure I got a book that would be a positive thing and not something that would trigger a past memory.  I let the student read through some of my book recommendations on Scholastic and pick which one he wanted me to order.  He settled upon this book.  Once the book got in I gave it to him and told him to return it when he finished as it was my copy.  Needless to say he never started the book and it appeared back on my desk within the week.  I however read through this book in a day.

This book follows Will and his dad as they follow in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark.  Will's mom practically shoves him out the door to go on the trip with his father.  He doesn't want too and makes plans to dig in his heels.  But as the trip progresses Will learns things about his father and about himself.  Together they must complete the quest together and figure out how to tackle any situations that are sent their way.

Favorite quote from The Courage Test, 

"When it comes to finding a way to get my dad to light up, books are the best conductors."

This book centers around Will and his dad trekking across the country while following in the footsteps of famous explorers Lewis and Clark.  Since Lewis and Clark had such an important piece in this book it immediately fell into the historical fiction genre.  I am 25 years old and I don't honestly remember a lot about Lewis and Clark and their journey across America.  There are little tidbits that I remember, but this book retaught a lot of their expedition.  I love that Preller brought the historical facts about Lewis and Clark into this book.  The majority of the information was given by the dad.  He is a fan of the journey and he shares a LOT of information about the two and their expedition.  I think the information was included perfectly because the book does take place in present day.  I'm not usually a fan of historical fiction, but I really enjoyed this book and the history that was included.

I had two problems with this book.  One was that the cover really had no connection to the book itself.  The cover shows a board game type situation.  Spoiler alert:  There were no board games in this book.  The second problem I had was that the back cover stated that someone was going to be facing a life changing illness.  Honestly, the illness could have been excluded from this book.  It was something that was barely mentioned, and only then at the VERY end of the book.  I honestly expected it to be a big storyline that was woven into the journey, but it wasn't.  I felt like that was a bit of a letdown because I was looking forward to Will having to find himself and the courage to handle the illness that was presented before him.  But he didn't.  I personally would have left the illness out of the book entirely.

Overall, this was a good historical fiction book for young adults.  I think many students would enjoy this book especially in the fourth to sixth grade range.  I give this 4 stars and will be putting this in my classroom library.

Missing May by Cynthia Rylant

From Goodreads,

Since Summer was six years old she lived with dear Aunt May and Uncle Ob.  Now, six years later, Aunt May has died.  Summer, who misses May with all her might, is afraid something will happen to Ob.  Most days Ob seems like he doesn't want to go on.  But then Ob feels May's spirit around him and he wants to contact her.  Cletus Underwood, a strange boy from school, reads about someone who could help him do that.  Summer wants to hear from May too.  

Ob and Summer don't know what to expect when they set off on their search for some sign from May.  They only know they need something to ease their sorrow and give them strength to go on living - always knowing they will never stop missing May.  

Goodreads - Missing May

Awards and Nominations:

• Newbery Medal (1993)
• Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (1994)

It's time for another Newbery Award book!  This one naturally has a special place because this was the book that won the award the year I was born.  For me it kind of gives an example of what was popular in the book world in 1993.

Missing May is told from the perspective of a young girl named Summer.  We quickly find that her mother died when she was just a child and that her lovely aunt and uncle took her in.  But one day Aunt May passes away and it leaves Summer and Uncle Ob upset and sad.  They don't know if they can get on without Aunt May, Uncle Ob especially.  With the help of a strange kid Cletus, Summer is determined to make Uncle Ob feel better and not miss Aunt May so much. 

I consider the Newbery award to be the highest honor in children's books.  So when a book receives this award, or even the honor award, I take it seriously.  I think highly of the award and 90% of the time I will purchase a book just because it was Newbery award or honor book.  This was the first time that I really disliked a Newbery Award winning book.  I sat down and read this book straight through.  At the end of it I was like wow...that was shallow and horrible.  I felt like the book lacked character development with all of the characters.  They were all dull with no personality.  On top of that there was absolutely no storyline in this book.  Aunt May passed away and then they all went on a trip.  That was it.  No fun and light hearted events.  No serious events that made the characters reach into their souls and feelings.  It was absolutely horrible. 

This book was highly disappointing, but not nearly as disappointing as the list of other books that were up for the award.  If you are going through the entire list of Newbery winners, then you'll naturally have to read this book.  I give this 1 star only because I refuse to give books a 0.