The clocks are back on Standard Time and we're in the midst of fall right now, so here are some new middle grade novels to read in November--the quotes come from interviews I did with the authors for my blog, Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb...
Megan Wagner Lloyd and Michelle Mee Nutter are the creators of the new graphic novel
Winging It.
Lloyd said of the book, "After moving to the East Coast, I learned about the
beautiful luna moth, only found on the eastern side of the US. I wondered if I
could build a story around someone who moved across the country--like me--and
really wanted to see the elusive luna moth in person. It only made sense to
name this character Luna!" She added, "Because I wanted Luna to have a really strong
connection to nature at the end of the story, I decided to make her a very
indoorsy person at the beginning of the book, so that she could have a strong
character arc."
Martha Brockenbrough is the author of the new novel
At the Edge of Lost.
She said, "I wanted to write a book that captured how I often feel
in our post-pandemic world—something that would acknowledge the anxiety of it
but also lean into the strength and hope of all the kids who made it through a
rough time. I didn’t want to write about Covid, though. I wanted to
write about the kids who survived it and how they would do if another pandemic
scare happened. It’s the absolute last thing anyone wants to happen, and
sometimes life deals us those double blows." She added, "So how do we endure? With the help of our friends. With
courage. And on behalf of the ones we love."
Finally, Jen Calonita's new novel is
The Taylors.
Calonita said, "I've always been a Swiftie, and my heart is with middle
school stories so I've been dying to write a new one. Navigating fifth and sixth grade was hard for me. I switched
friend groups, had a fight with my best friend, wound up switching lunch
tables, had my first school dance and my first overnight school trip. These are
all things I remember very vividly! Things that weighed on me heavily!" She added, "I was much like [my character] Teffy--afraid to use my voice and speak
up--so I wanted to create a character who learns how to navigate middle school
with the help of three new friends, all also named Taylor, who are also
Swifties. I wanted Teffy to learn to be braver than I was. To take
chances and be fearless and my hope is that kids will read about her and want
to take chances and be brave too. This story felt like the perfect mix of all
the things I love."
Happy reading!
--Deborah Kalb
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