Smack Dab in the Middle

Hi everyone. I thought I'd highlight a few new middle grade books--I've interviewed the authors on my blog, Book Q&As with Deborah Kalb . Daphne Benedis-Grab's new novel is called I Know You Started It. It's a mystery, the latest in her Secrets and Lies series. When I asked her what she hoped readers would take away from the book, she said , "I think it’s really easy for all of us to assume we know a person based a few things we see them do or say - that is definitely true of the four main characters in I Know You Started It. " She added: "But it’s only when we truly get to know people that we can see who they are in all their messy complexity. People can be so different than how they present and the things people have been through shape so much of that exterior we see. And it is so worth it to hold off on judging, to listen and engage and maybe find that you have way more in common with someone that you ever might have imagined."   Emily B. Ma...