Smack Dab in the Middle

When my husband and I took a trip to London a few years ago, in addition to exploring the Tower of London, dining atop the Shard, and transporting back in time with a rehearsal at the Globe Theatre, we rode the Tube all over the city. At each stop, a disembodied voice would remind us to “mind the gap,” this big gap between the train and the platform where presumably one could lose a phone or a foot. In addition to wonderful memories, we brought back a “mind the gap” souvenir tee shirt for our son. Though there is no train in our suburb outside of Atlanta, we still occasionally say “mind the gap.” Other gaps need minding, like the one between middle grade and YA literature. As my three kids became tweens and young teens, that gap grew more noticeable. The piles of middle grade library hauls dwindled and they struggled to find books that resonated with their stage of life. Their love of reading began to fall into the void between childhood and young adulthood. I’ve talked with many paren...