Her mom just doesn’t get it. Reha wants to fit in at school, but her mom wants her to hold fast to the
Indian traditions from her mother’s home in India. But Reha feels more American, than Indian most days. Like how can she explain to her mom that she wants to wear jeans to a party, when her mom thinks she should wear a pretty, fancy dress? Plus, it sometimes makes things harder that Reha is an only child and has no one to share her issues with.
Even though Reha wishes things could be easier, she is devastated when her mother gets sick. How can she be upset with her mom when the world seems to be falling apart?
Red, White and Whole by Rajani LaRocca is set in the early 1980s and so for some readers, this time period will be hard to relate to, however the struggles of trying to fit in and feel included are feelings everyone has.
Recommended for grades 6 and up.
drumming, even though some of her past lesson teachers have not be so supportive. That is okay, because her best friend, Zee, and his dad, are. Even if her mom likes things to be super quiet and calm, April knows she can count on her music loving friend and neighbor to pull her along. After all, Zee and his dad get it. Zee is a musical prodigy on the violin and has even gotten into a fancy music school to start the school year. While April misses having him in her life each day at school, she take solace in the fact she sees him each day on the walk to and from school.
school. Her school, and really all the schools in town, have the mascot of a Brave – a stereotype of a Native Indian. Callie, who herself, is part Native is appalled and very frustrated by this image that is being portrayed in her middle school, and soon to be high school. A poem she writes to introduce herself to her English class gets her teacher thinking about all the sides of the argument – whether the mascot should be changed, or kept – in their town.
It was supposed to be a secret and fun night with her two best friends. There are a few advantages to having parents that are divorced and being able to say you are at the other parent’s house is one of them. Or so Maddie figures when she sets up a fun Friday evening with her friends at her empty grandparents’ apartment. She figures she can get by with one night and no one will figure it out. Her friends will claim to be staying at each other’s places and perfect! Three tween girls hanging out for a night of pizza, junk food and movies! Until one of the girls gets sick, and then the whole thing is off. Well, at least for Maddie’s friends. She can’t go back home, since she is supposed to already be at one of them!
Will’s life gets changed, one day in fourth grade. It happened in the hallway at school, when a boy named Nick came up to him and called him fat. In front of everyone. Even though Will’s friends came after him and told him that Nick was a jerk and an idiot, from that moment on, Will can’t stop thinking about that word. And how even though he knew he was heavier than others, he didn’t realize that was how everyone saw HIM.
Malian is with her grandparents during COVID because of the shelter in place order after a long weekend visit turns into months. Her parents are still in Boston, and while she is able to have contact with them, she misses them. It is hard doing her school work online on the reservation, since the internet isn’t always reliable, unfortunately. But she is making do, just like lots of other students. Living with her grandparents is giving her time to learn more stories and more about her culture. Some of the stories she has heard before on other visits, but she’s able to get new stories and even finding out things about her own parents she didn’t know prior. But something surprising happens, and it all has to do with a Rez Dog that shows up one day. A dog that seems to have picked Malian’s family to spend time with, and maybe even help protect them.
at his trial. However, when things don’t go the way he had hoped, he isn’t sure what to think. All he knows is that being locked up is a terrible thing. And while maybe he had some anger outside, it is nothing like the anger he feels now. How can he channel his feelings and emotions when he is locked up and doesn’t belong there?
he is super cool because of his dad, and ZJ doesn’t mind one bit. Even though his dad has to be gone a lot for football, when he is home, he makes up for it. He is the best. Until one day, he gets super mad at ZJ and his friends, for no real reason. Then he starts complaining about his head aching all the time. He stops playing football too, because his hands shake and his head hurts. Why is his dad acting this way? It makes no sense to ZJ and not to his mom either.
Growing up an immigrant from the Philippines wasn’t always easy for Elsie, especially when her teachers wouldn’t even listen when she told them her name. They just went on calling her Maria. Still, she did want to let her own two daughters know about her story and where she came from, even if the stories were hard to tell sometimes. But how do you get two young kids into bed on time and tell them all about what it was like growing up in a new and foreign country? Sometimes it is easier to tell a fairytale to help people understand what you are trying to say, so that is what Elsie does.
Joe wants more for his life that what his father has. He thinks that by showing his dad he was able to save up and purchase a news stand on his own that his dad will respect him more. And then he can ask Maggie to begin planning their lives together. Or that is what he hopes as the country gets ready to celebrate Decoration Day, to honor all the soldiers who fought in the Civil War.
Books in the Middle: Reading for Middle School 