I review books, curate book lists, and share tips and recommendations to help teachers, librarians, parents, and kids find engaging books! Every Friday, I send out a round-up of blog content, share what I'm reading, and other bookish updates with newsletter subscribers. Just pop your email in the box below to join the fun!
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Middle Grade Books Set in Summer Camps 🏕️
Published 12 months ago • 4 min read
Hello!
I hope you've had a great week. This weekend, I'm doing a digital detox of sorts, and I'm looking forward to disconnecting and getting some much-needed rest. I'm also reading so many wonderful middle grade books these days. My summer reading experiences have been truly great so far.
Speaking of all things summer, I shared a list of 15 excellent middle grade books set at summer camps, including a new fall release I started reading this week!
Here's a fun poll to test the summer spirit levels around here 👇🏽
I've loved Claire Swinarski's writing since I read her debut novel in 2020. Her next book, Take It from the Top (a summer camp, musical theater book about friendship) comes out this November. Here's the synopsis:
Set at a camp over the course of six summers, this novel dives into the falling-out of two girls from different backgrounds who thought they'd be friends forever. Claire Swinarski, regional indie bestseller of the ALA Notable What Happened to Rachel Riley?, tackles privilege, perspective, and the power of friendship in this page-turning puzzle that readers will devour. Eowyn Becker has waited all year to attend her sixth summer at Lamplighter Lake Summer Camp. Here, she’s not in the shadow of her Broadway-star older brother; she’s a stellar performer in her own right. Here, the pain of her mom’s death can’t reach her, and she gets to reunite with her best friend, Jules Marrigan—the only person in the world who understands her. But when she gets to camp, everything seems wrong. The best-friend reunion Eowyn had been dreaming of doesn’t go as planned. Jules will barely even look at Eowyn, let alone talk to her, and Eowyn has no idea why. Well, maybe she does… There are two sides to every story, and if you want to understand this one, you’ll need to hear both. Told in a series of alternating chapters that dip back to past summers, the girls’ story will soon reveal how Eowyn and Jules went from being best friends to fierce foils. Can they mend ways before the curtains close on what was supposed to be the best summer of their lives?
My favorite this month is a backlist historical fiction title (I've been reading a ton of those lately!) called The Blackbird Girls by Anne Blankman. Valentina and Oksana are classmates and neighbors living in Pryapta near Chernobyl when the nuclear explosion occurs. Valentina is Jewish, and Oksana is Ukrainian. Oksana's father is abusive and dies in the explosion, and Oksana's mother isn't allowed to leave because of her high radiation exposure, so Oksana is forced to leave with Valentina and her mother. Valentina's mother decides that they will go to Leningrad to stay with her estranged mother. Unfortunately, at the station, they learn that only two tickets are available, and she sends the two young girls to live with her mother. Readers also follow an alternate timeline with Rifka, Valentina's grandmother as we see how she came to be in Leningrad and how her faith sustained her. This book had many surprising twists and plenty of rich historical detail. It's gripping on audio and kept me hooked from start to finish in under 24 hours. I'd recommend it to fans of Marsh's The Lost Year looking for something less graphic and shocking and to younger students wanting less graphic wartime descriptions. Big themes of friendship, religious tolerance, holocaust, and self-worth and a very satisfying ending.
🎙️ Want to see more of what I read last month? Listen to my May Reading Recap episode of our Patreon podcast.
This week, Simon & Schuster is giving away Kin: Rooted in Hope. To enter, reply to this email indicating interest. The giveaway is US only and closes next Thursday, June 13, 2024, at midnight EST.
Last week's winner: Sara H. I'll be in touch shortly!
This Week on the Blog
Here's what you may have missed this week on the blog:
💬 Chatted about our discussion questions for week 1 of book club (we're reading Olivetti) -- come join us!
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Helping you find the books that tweens ACTUALLY want to read!
I review books, curate book lists, and share tips and recommendations to help teachers, librarians, parents, and kids find engaging books! Every Friday, I send out a round-up of blog content, share what I'm reading, and other bookish updates with newsletter subscribers. Just pop your email in the box below to join the fun!
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