The Unforgettable Logan Foster by Shawn Peters

 

Last night, I finished reading The Unforgettable Logan Foster by Shawn Peters. This adventure is about Logan Foster, a twelve-year-old orphan with an eidetic memory and diagnosed autism who has given up on being adopted. During an outing with his orphanage's supervisor, Ms. Kondrat, and his new prospective parents, Gil and Margie, there is a sudden earthquake and the ground splits, exploding with lava. Logan and Ms. Kondrat get separated from Gil and Margie and somehow manage to save themselves. Logan thinks he has lost his chance with Gil and Margie, but they come back the next day to bring him to their home. Over the next couple weeks, Logan notices some odd things about them: their house is protected by some unusually elaborate security, Gil works long hours, and Margie disappears during one of his school's evacuations. When he learns that Gil and Margie are actually superheroes and they don't come home after school one day, he and his new friend, Elena, have to find a way to save them.

This was such a fun, action-packed story. I really enjoyed everything about it from beginning to end. Logan was such an interesting character with how much information he has packed into his brain and I liked his friendship with Elena. Gil and Margie were also really awesome, and despite the challenges of being superheroes, it was obvious that they grew to really care about Logan. There were definitely times when I was really nervous that they would have to give up Logan and that would have absolutely sucked. Additionally, the villains were extremely diabolical and I was rooting against them the whole time. Anyone who loves action, adventure, and superheroes should read this book.

Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca

 

Yesterday evening, I finished reading Red, White, and Whole by Rajani LaRocca. This historical novel-in-verse is about Reha, a thirteen-year-old Indian American girl who feels torn between her life at school and her life at home in 1983. Although she loves her family and spending time with her family's Indian friends on the weekends, sometimes she just wants to be like other girls at her school, wearing trendy clothes, listening to pop music, and going to school dances. Soon after her parents allow her to go to the fall school dance, she finds out that her mother, or Amma, is sick with leukemia. Over the next few months, she tries be the daughter her parents want her to be in order to save Amma's life because she doesn't know how to go on without her.

Reading this novel-in-verse was absolutely devastating and it really pulled at my heartstrings throughout. I definitely found Reha very relatable because she was at an age where she wanted to fit in with her friends, but at the same time she didn't want to disappoint her parents. Her life became even more difficult to balance when Amma was diagnosed with leukemia and she withdrew from her friends at school because she thought it would help if she focused all her attention on family and schoolwork. It's a little misguided, but I understood why Reha felt that way after her dad convinced her mom it would be okay for Reha to go to the school dance despite her reservations. I don't want spoil too much of the story, but there was a moment towards the end of Amma's treatment when I felt a great deal of hope before being crushed. Red, White, and Whole is a tearjerker, so I recommend it to those who enjoy sad stories or have faced loss in their lives and want a relatable story.

Ophie's Ghosts by Justina Ireland

 

Last week, I read Ophie's Ghosts by Justina Ireland. Taking place from 1922 to 1923, this historical mystery is about Ophelia "Ophie" Harrison, a twelve-year-old Black girl who discovers her ability to see ghosts the same night a group of cruel white men murder her father and burn her home down. After she and her mother move from Georgia to live with relatives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Ophie befriends Clara, a spirit who was a maid at Daffodil Manor where she begins working with her mother. Although Aunt Rose, who can also see spirits, warns her that they can't be trusted, Ophie ignores the advice and tries to help the ghosts she meets. As Ophie continues to get to know Clara better, she learns that her life was ended suddenly and unjustly and tries to solve the mystery of her friend's murder so that she can pass on.

I've always enjoyed a good historical mystery and this one was excellent. It was filled with suspense and the identify of Clara's murderer kept me guessing until the very end even though there were clues sprinkled throughout. I especially enjoyed the friendship between Ophie and Clara because they had a lot in common and it was obvious that they were both very lonely before they met each other. My heart really broke for them, Ophie because her father was murdered and Clara because her life was cut short. The major themes in this book are memories and prejudices of the past, creating a story that is quite haunting. Although the story is fairly dark, it's written in a way that is appropriate for middle grade readers. Overall, anyone who likes mysteries or ghost stories should read this book.

Ahmed Aziz's Epic Year by Nina Hamza

 

Last week, I read Ahmed Aziz's Epic Year by Nina Hamza. This realistic fiction novel is about a twelve-year-old boy, Ahmed Aziz, who is upset when his family moves all the way from Hawaii to Minnesota for his dad's medical treatment. Although he hates reading, he starts one of the books assigned for his accelerated Language Arts class, Holes, on the plane and discovers it's not so bad. He would still prefer to slack off, though. Things get even tougher for him when he captures the attention of a neighborhood bully, Jack, even before school begins. On the first day, though, Ahmed finds a copy of Bridge to Terabithia in the school library that belonged to his uncle, who died before he was was born. Soon, he finds himself learning more about his uncle. As the school year goes on, he slowly grows to enjoy the discussions about the books he has to read, but when his dad's health takes a turn for the worse after surgery, he wonders if he'll ever adjust to living in Minnesota.

Although I initially hated Ahmed's attitude at the beginning of this book because it was frustrating and I couldn't relate, I actually really liked the story once he started to show some character growth. It was awesome how he went from hating books to having some really great ideas for the discussions with his group in Language Arts. I also especially loved his teacher, Mrs. Gaarder. It was beautiful how much she cared about Ahmed and did whatever she could to support him. There was a scene in the book when she didn't back down from staying with Ahmed when he really needed someone to have his back, and I thought that was absolutely incredible. Overall, I appreciated the lessons that Ahmed learned by the end of the book, especially when he had to make an important choice regarding Jack. I would recommend this book to anyone who has ever felt like they didn't fit in or struggled with a big change in their life.