Rutabaga's Reads 2019: Part 7

If you read middle-grade, have you paused to consider how it can vary so drastically? Within YA, themes of violence or romance are common. But how about looking at a light middle-grade novel versus something more intense? Two of the books in this second middle-grade compilation post of 2019 are bookends representing this. Though both geared for the 8-12 age range, “Gabriela” is soft and light compared to “Quests for Glory.” The latter includes violence and terrible death. I don’t think reading one over the other makes you soft or brutal; I’m simply recognizing the light-years-apart difference in content.

Gabriela: Time for Change (Sept. 26, 2017) by Varian Johnson.

*This is the third book in an AG Girl of the Year series.*

Dreams aren’t limited to one Big Dream, which is good, because Gabriela McBride has more than one. She’s passionate about poetry and is looking forward to her first poetry slam. She’s a newly appointed co-ambassador for her 6^th grade class at Kelly Middle School and is determined to do well. She’s been dancing since forever, primarily tap, but she’s started training to go en pointe, which is such a milestone! With all of those Big Dreams comes more work, more responsibility and more time needed. Gabriela has to make two Halloween costumes, one of which is her themed costume idea with her best friend, Teagan (a “social” butterfly), but she also has two poems to fine-tune (a solo and a duet) and ballet homework on top of regular schoolwork. There isn’t enough time in the day! With getting pulled in many directions, certain things move to the bottom of the totem pole. When it negatively affects those around her, how can she hone her time management skills and bridge the hurts on both sides?

            Like other American Girl (AG) stories, this one shows growth and learning of the character, while also empowering her. It isn’t a fluffy story; Gabriela learns a hard lesson in time management, which, let’s be honest, isn’t exactly a cakewalk when you’re an adult, either. To add to the stress, Gabriela’s relationships with her closest friends suffer, and she doesn’t at first understand why her best friend is put out with her. It’s easy to say that the problem is with the other person, so it’s a huge accomplishment to be able to assess the incidents and conclude that you yourself have been a part of the problem, too. The woe-is-me mentality can be grating, but not unexpected for her age range. Overall, a sweet story of lessons learned, growth of responsibility and figuring out how to have more than one close friend.

Quests for Glory (Sept. 9, 2017) by Soman Chainani.

*This is the fourth book in a series / first in a related trilogy.*

Contrary to what Sophie believed, their quests are all failing. Every. Single. One. Someone claiming to be King Arthur’s son – who is not Tedros of Camelot – is causing mayhem, destruction and death in the surrounding realms. This unknown character has even gotten to the Lady of the Lake, which was believed to be impossible. Their current quests all changed when they realized other questers weren’t checking in with Professor Dovey, Dean of the School for Good and one of their classmates was killed. Murdered. Slain. Sophie, Dean of the School for Evil, does not want to participate in a quest when she cannot find how it revolves around her. But she changes her stance when she’s reunited with her best friend, Agatha, who’s also Tedros’ fiancée, even though she has ignored all of Sophie’s letters regarding wedding plans. There are others on the quest as well, including Hort, who has a ridiculous infatuation with Sophie, and Nicola, a first-year from Gavaldon who has a ridiculous infatuation with Hort. They locate the body of their classmate and eventually end up captured by pirates.

            The situation turns even more intense whence they congregate at the Four Point. They now know where all of their fellow questers are. It’s dire. They could all die, and not everyone makes it. While everyone is looking to Sophie and Agatha and Tedros and Camelot to save them, it’s not any of them who comes to the rescue. Instead, it’s a handsome newcomer named Rhian who saves the day with fearlessness, litheness and skill. He claims only to be a humble servant of Camelot. But who is Rhian? He’s in no records that Professor Dovey can find. What will Merlin discover?

            Honestly, I was okay with The School for Good and Evil  trilogy as a trilogy. But since I’d read the first three, I felt I should see what’s in store for The Camelot Years. Looking at the sheer size of the middle-grade novel (the hardcover version is 568 pages), there is a lot going on. The story did not need to be that long. Length aside, “Quests for Glory” is another wedge in this inventive fantasy pie. There is nothing whimsical about this tale. Any moment that might look like marshmallow fluff can turn to poison or a bloody death in an instant. As learned in the first trilogy of the series, appearances can be deceiving. The Lion could be the Snake. And the Snake might be the Lion.

Secrets and Scones (Nov. 6, 2018) by Laurel Remington.

*This is the first book in a series.*

Life has handed her lemons, and Scarlett is not making lemonade. Once outgoing, a member in clubs and activities and a willing participant in class, Scarlett has become as boring and solitary as a wall in order to give her mom as little ammunition as possible. Apparently, everything that is embarrassing or that can be twisted to embarrass Scarlett is fair game to her mom, a rising superstar in the blogger-verse whose shtick is parenting advice. But Claire’s advice is callous, bordering on cruel, even driving away Scarlett’s best friend in her post “Psst…Want to Know a Secret? My Daughter’s Best Friend Is Really Dull.” When her neighbor, Rosemary Simpson, is unexpectedly hospitalized, Scarlett steps in to take care of her cat, Treacle. She encounters a gorgeous kitchen fully stocked with fresh produce and an army of ingredients. Although she’s never baked before, she undertakes the challenge of making scones. Baking triggers a surge of confidence, is a highlight of her life (albeit a secret one) and introduces her to a new friend in new classmate Violet Sanders. Scarlett is almost manic about keeping the baking a secret, though. The last thing she wants is to give her mom more material to twist against her. But how long can a secret last when their neighbor’s politician nephew (Emory Kruffs) knows they’re there and their Secret Cooking Club is shared with others?

            The intergenerational rapport Scarlett and her friends build with Rosemary, folded into the discovery of a thrill for creating homemade food from a carefully handmade cookbook, easily makes this into an uplifting middle-grade story. I like the detail of all of the recipes, which, considering it’s the first book in the Secret Recipe Book Series, is to be expected, but I was disappointed by the lack of actual included recipes (there’s only one). The book could use any diversity (all of the main and supporting characters appear to be Caucasian; someone please comment below if you know that to not be the case), but its absence doesn’t take away from the story’s pleasant vibe. For younger readers overwhelmed by stories with action-heavy sequences or too much violence, this tale is a temptingly sweet and refreshing break. “Secrets and Scones” is as heartwarming as a homemade scone right out of the oven.

"Wooing Cadie McCaffrey" by Bethany Turner

Wooing Cadie McCaffrey (May 21, 2019) by Bethany Turner.*

What started out as an adorable meet-cute that would make any rom-com movie proud has fizzled in the four years that have passed, and Cadie McCaffrey thinks she’s the only one in the relationship that has realized this. To her, the relationship hasn’t been as easy in the past year since “that whole awkward sex talk.” Cadie wants so much to be engaged, but boyfriend Will Whitaker must be completely clueless since he hasn’t proposed by now. Cadie is determined to end the relationship before her belated birthday celebration, but one thing leads to another and things get intimate. Cadie, the daughter of two prominent Christian figures (one of whom is a pastor), is ashamed and ridden with guilt, which helps propel her into finally dumping Will. But Will is not as clueless as Cadie thinks he is, though he doesn’t share why he’s going the circuitous route that he is (hint: Cadie’s parents can be “infuriating uptight snobs”). Will knows Cadie is the one for him, so he looks to rom-com movies that she loves for cues as to how to recreate scenes from those movies. Can they keep the personal and professional separate with both working at ASN (American Sports Network)? Will Will’s attempts at wooing Cadie back be a touchdown/home run/slam dunk or a fumble/strike out/turnover?

            In this inspirational romance, the characters’ meet cute is charming. Beyond that, I struggled with the story. Both Cadie and Will have apparently forgotten that communication is a two-way street, and neither has been direct with each other. If Cadie had shared her expectation of a proposal, perhaps it’d have opened Will to explaining why he didn’t feel like he could propose sooner. Or maybe it’d have made Cadie mad for another reason, but at least they’d be communicating. I’m not diminishing the seriousness of their relationship issues, but I found aggravating Cadie acting like a dramatic teenager and Will acting desperately (they’re both in their mid-30s). Growth happens when the characters get to know each other beyond the surface and dig into personal and faith-based issues. Also, I liked the ending (Where is this quote from? “If you build it, they will come.”).       

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are expressly my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

"On a Summer Tide" by Suzanne Woods Fisher

On a Summer Tide (Apr. 30, 2019) by Suzanne Woods Fisher.*

Is their father showing early signs of dementia or finally having a mid-life crisis at 59? Neither, actually, but Paul Grayson’s three daughters have no other explanation as to why their father would buy 51% of a small island off Maine’s coast, near Mount Desert Island. It is called Niswi Nummissis, but not even the locals pronounce it the same. It translates from the Algonquian as Three Sisters, which is why Paul’s rechristening it Three Sisters Island. He wants all daughters to help him restore it, especially Camp Kicking Moose, a camp he’d attended and where he met their mother, Corinna, passed these last three years. They’ve drifted since their mom died. Camden (Cam), age 28, is a highly successful businesswoman. Her personality is very Type A; she’s a go-getter and a micromanager. She’s been a mother to her late best friend’s son, Cooper, now 7 ½. Between work and a son, she has no time for romance. Madison (Maddie), 24, has just completed graduate work for her master’s degree in marriage and family therapy. She’s something of an over-educated, know-it-all hypochondriac who’s recently engaged to a mama’s boy. Blaine, 19, hasn’t declared a major and has been essentially kicked out of the college she was attending for her indecision. She feels underappreciated and ignored. So the island surprises her, when it (more like Peg Legg) brings out her joy and talent for baking. And “not-the-boyfriend” Artie Lotosky is a good friend, but she doesn’t think he’s serious when he says he wants to visit the island.

            Someone already on the island is Seth Walker, 28. He’s a master degree-holding schoolteacher who currently has nine students (10, if you include Cooper). He’s handsome with a rugged, outdoorsy appearance not unlike Paul Bunyan. Instead of a blue ox, he’s got a yellow Labrador named Dory and a rehabilitating goshawk named Lola. Cam is the one who catches his attention, and he seems to have captured her interest. But will something from his past and her hyperactive work ethic keep them apart?

            I did not expect to like this book, the first in the author’s Three Sisters Island series, as much as I did. Yes, each of the sisters grates on my nerves to some degree, but we all get on each other’s nerves from time to time, so I don’t hold that against the characters. The story is refreshing and revitalizing for the family and the fictitious island. It’s a major life change, so chaos ensues, but it’s a productive chaos; it also rouses the dwindling community. Throughout the story, the characters start bringing faith back into their present-day lives and pick up clarity toward their future. This quiet story features a cast of characters that I want to root for who are, despite their flaws, charming and determined.

* Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Revell Books. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions are expressly my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”