Middle Grade Readers | When Loose Ends Meet

My Best Books for Youth in 2019

25 Dec 2019 by Jeanne E. Fredriksen

I am a Books for Youth reviewer for Booklist, a publication of the American Library Association, and I have the privilege of reading a wide variety of early, middle grade, young adult books each year. I enjoy reading debut novels, works from authors just a few books old, and books from established authors. I take joy in the fact that there’s such excitement in this world of books, and I love its changes, particularly in terms of diversity. My 2019 […]

Categories: Appeared in Booklist/ALA, Book Reviews, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers

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The End of the World as I Know It by Matthew Landis

27 Oct 2019 by Jeanne E. Fredriksen

Gr. 5-8 It’s been nearly a year since Derrick “Dee” Waters lost his mom, a Major in the Air Force deployed in Iraq. Since then, he’s been convinced that the apocalypse is scheduled to happen this September 21, which is 19 days away. He’s consumed by a doomsday blog and outfitting a shed to keep him safe when the fated day rolls around. Dee’s family and friends have learned to deal with his fixation, but when his next-door neighbor, Misty, […]

Categories: Appeared in Booklist/ALA, Book Reviews, Middle Grade Readers • Tags: middle grade, military parent, parental loss

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The Class by Frances O’Roark Dowell

19 Sep 2019 by Jeanne E. Fredriksen

Gr. 4-8 ***Starred Review*** Beloved Mrs. Herrera’s sixth-grade class at Milton Falls Middle School is a lively one of 20 students, but since sixth grade is when strange things happen with friendships and other relationships, everyone seems a little bit dazed and confused. Adding to the weirdness is new girl Ellie, who keeps to herself and constantly writes in a notebook as if she’s psychoanalyzing everyone. And then there’s Sam, who supposedly moved away but keeps showing up at odd […]

Categories: Appeared in Booklist/ALA, Book Reviews, Middle Grade Readers

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Emperor of the Universe (Book One) by David Lubar

24 Jun 2019 by Jeanne E. Fredriksen

SHOUT OUT! Emperor of the Universe. (Book One of a Trilogy) David Lubar, Author. July 2, 2019 Macmillan Starscape Tor/Forge. 368 pages. $13.99 hardcover; also available in digital format. Grades 4-7. A boy, his gerbil, and two pounds of ground beef find themselves at the center of David Lubar’s loopy and witty intergalactic funfest! Seventh grader Nicholas V. Landrew of Yelm, Washington, is no ordinary kid, but it’s not his fault (if it were, he’d take responsibility—he’s that kind of […]

Categories: Book Reviews, Brief Book Shout-Out, Middle Grade Readers • Tags: intergalactic, sci-fi

My Best Books for Youth in 2018

18 Dec 2018 by Jeanne E. Fredriksen

Categories: Appeared in Booklist/ALA, Book Reviews, Middle Grade Readers, Young Adult Readers

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The Year I Didn’t Eat by Samuel Pollen

13 Dec 2018 by Jeanne E. Fredriksen

****Starred Review*** Gr. 6-9 For 14-year-old bird enthusiast Max Howarth, life is a challenge not only because he has family issues but also because he’s anorexic. He thinks about food 16 hours a day, and despite all the knowledge he has about his illness, its grip grows increasingly tighter. His journal—addressed to “Ana,” whose voice taunts him at every turn—is filled with his most intimate feelings about himself and the people and events in his life. Max’s journal entries alternate with […]

Categories: Appeared in Booklist/ALA, Book Reviews, Middle Grade Readers

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Special Forces Book One: Unconventional Warfare by Chris Lynch

2 Nov 2018 by Jeanne E. Fredriksen

Gr. 7-9 Danny Manion is a fighter. Whether he’s beating up his brothers or challenging the system, Danny is always a hair’s breadth from being in real trouble. When he pulls a stunt that lands him in front of a judge, he’s given the choice of jail or a tour of duty in Vietnam. On the recommendation of his personal counselor, Danny opts for the army, where he becomes an integral part of a select team of misfit soldiers that […]

Categories: Appeared in Booklist/ALA, Book Reviews, Middle Grade Readers, Military-Warfare

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It Wasn’t Me by Dana Alison Levy

1 Oct 2018 by Jeanne E. Fredriksen

Gr. 5-8 Having to go to school over break stinks, but circumstantial evidence surrounding vandalism brings six unhappy seventh-graders together for a justice circle facilitated by a favorite teacher. Like The Breakfast Club, each student carries a label by which they are automatically judged (the nerd, the princess, the jock, the weirdo, the screw-up), and this experimental gathering seeks to discover not only who destroyed Theo’s photographs but why. [Read More]

Categories: Appeared in Booklist/ALA, Book Reviews, Middle Grade Readers

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Grenade by Alan Gratz

15 Sep 2018 by Jeanne E. Fredriksen

***Starred Review*** Gr. 4-7 Okinawa native Hideki is 13 when American forces storm his Pacific island during WWII, and he and his classmates are pressed into service by the Japanese army. They are given two grenades and told one is to kill the American “monsters” and the other is to kill oneself afterward. Ray, 18, is a Marine enlistee fresh from a farm in Nebraska and about to enter his first battle. Both boys share the fear of the unknown, […]

Categories: Appeared in Booklist/ALA, Book Reviews, Middle Grade Readers

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When Loose Ends Meet

Connecting the frayed ends of reading, writing, and living

Category Archives: Middle Grade Readers

My Best Books for Youth in 2019

The End of the World as I Know It by Matthew Landis

The Class by Frances O’Roark Dowell

Emperor of the Universe (Book One) by David Lubar

My Best Books for Youth in 2018

The Year I Didn’t Eat by Samuel Pollen

Special Forces Book One: Unconventional Warfare by Chris Lynch

It Wasn’t Me by Dana Alison Levy

Grenade by Alan Gratz