Middle Grade Reading for July

I've interviewed some amazing middle grade authors on my blog Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb, and I thought I'd share some excerpts about their new books!

Tiffany D. Jackson's new novel is called Blood in the Water. It's her first MG novel, and when I asked her about the inspiration for the book, she said: "While I was on tour and doing school visits, I’d always notice a few 9- and 10-year-olds in the crowd, holding a copy of my YAs, excited to ask their questions. My skin would crawl and I’d have to resist the temptation of snatching the book out of their hands. Even though maturity is subjective (because I was a kid who read Stephen King at 12), I really wanted to write a story that spoke to them, that took place in their world, specifically. So when the opportunity came around, I clutched at it. And Blood in the Water was born."

Liz Montague is the author and illustrator of the new graphic novel Camp Frenemies. When I asked what she hoped readers would take away from the book, she said: "I hope that readers are willing to give people more of a chance. Maybe someone isn’t the worst person ever to exist, maybe you just caught them on a bad day or they have things going on that you don’t know anything about. People are complicated and nuanced and I hope exploring these characters helps kids to allow space for that in real life. I also hope they don’t feel as pressured to instantly change or “grow up” in ways that don’t feel genuine. To this day I still have all my Build-A-Bears and American Girl Dolls. I keep them on a bookshelf in my office and I’m really glad I kept them."

Judith Rossell is the author and illustrator of the new novel The Midwatch Institute for Wayward Girls. She told me: "I wanted to write a story about a team of girls who learn useful skills and then work together to solve crimes. When I was young, I was a Girl Guide (like a Girl Scout in the US) and we learned bandaging and knot-tying and Morse code, and I felt totally ready to solve crimes or save a baby from bandits, or from a runaway train, or something like that. Unfortunately, I grew up in the suburbs of Melbourne, Australia, and I never got the chance to be the heroine of any kind of adventure, which was a bit frustrating. So it was very satisfying to send the girls of the Midwatch Institute into danger, and see how brave and smart they could be."

Happy reading!

--Deborah Kalb