middle grade Archives - Page 37 of 329

Enemies in the Orchard: A World War 2 Novel in Verse
by Dana VanderLugt (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: Inspired by the little-known history of POW labor camps in the United States, this verse novel is told in alternating first-person poems by two young people on opposite sides of the war.

It’s October 1944, and while Claire’s older brother, Danny, is off fighting in World War II, her dad hires a group of German POWs to help with the apple harvest on their farm. Claire wants nothing to do with the enemies in the orchard, until she meets soft-spoken, hardworking Karl. Could she possibly have something in common with a German soldier?

Karl, meanwhile, grapples with his role in the war as he realizes how many lies Hitler’s regime has spread–and his complacency in not standing up against them. But his encounters with Claire give him hope that he can change and become the person he wants to be.

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Game Face
by Shari Green (Author)
@ Amazon | Bookshop

Booktalk: What-ifs rattle around his brain at the worst times, like when he’s in the middle of a playoff game. What if he lets his teammates down? What if he can’t make it pro? And the biggest what-if of all, the one he keeps to himself — what if he’s like his dad, whose life is controlled by anxiety that has only gotten worse since Jonah’s mom died in a car crash?

To prove that he’s not like that, Jonah is determined to succeed in the high-stress role of goalie. He and his best friend Ty have big plans for their hockey futures. But when Ty suffers a medical crisis during a pivotal game, Jonah’s anxiety ramps up to new levels

It takes courage to ask for help, but Jonah starts to realize that his team goes beyond the people who lace up their skates with him every week, and maybe it’s okay to look for support on and off the ice.

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