Books In the Middle Podcast

Royal Blood by Aimee Carter So it turns out that Evan is actually of royal blood. As in, she is the child of the reigning King of England. But she is a secret child, because he father had an affair. Yikes. How can you be a secret royal? Well, Evan finds out it is really hard to be one, especially once it comes out! And then someone dies and things start to get really messy! Recommended for grades 8 and up. * The word "hell" is read in this podcast.

Heroes by Alan Gratz Frank worries constantly about all the bad things that could happen to him. To is family, to his friends, and everywhere he looks he sees potential disaster just waiting to happen. Until a real disaster does happen. Frank and his best friend, Stanley, find themselves in the middle of the attack on Pearl Harbor and Frank is left wondering if he can ever step up and do the right thing when it counts the most. Recommended for grades 7 and up.

Girl Forgotten by April Henry It all started out as a new podcast on an old unsolved mystery involving a girl who was murdered. But what Piper doesn’t realize is that by digging into the past, some people in the present take notice and don’t like where her digging might lead. Recommended for grades 8 and up.

This Golden State by Marit Weisenberg Poppy and her family are on the run, from something, or someone? Maybe the police? Poppy honestly doesn't know. She's never known. All she does know is she and her family have been running since, well, forever. Her whole life at least. So when they pack up and leave again, while it isn't great, she isn't surprised. Just surprised that she keeps making the mistake of thinking her life could be a bit normal, if just for long enough to graduate from high school. But this latest move, things are different. Her mom especially seems different. The house is different and Poppy realizes that if she is going to get answers, she is going to have to start looking more closely than she has ever done before. Recommended for 8th grade and up due to some mature content.

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo Welcome to the world of the Grisha, where magical powers are real, everyday occurrences, even if some people don't think they should be! Inej is part of the Dreggs, which is a gang that runs part of Ketterdam, but not all of it, since a bunch of other groups are vying for it as well. Still when Kaz - the second in command of the Dreggs, for lack of a better term, gets the opportunity to pull off the heist of a lifetime, with just as great a reward, he can't say no. And neither can some of his most trusted members. But it is a job that could very well get them all killed. Recommended for grades 8 and up.

Tell Me What Really Happened by Chelsea Sedoti Five teens went into the woods for an overnight camping experience. But it turns out, one of them has an agenda that hasn't been shared. The night ends in terror for all of them, and a possible death for one of them. As the four who make it out of the woods begin to tell their story to law enforcement, some of what they say matches, and some of it takes a turn. Recommended for 8th grade and up.

Hi Everyone! I'm on break...well, a week ahead of time, because I need to read some more books! I have run out of material and I need the time to read and create more podcasts! If you have a book you would like me to feature on this podcast, please feel free to send me an email at tasquires66@gmail.com. My podcast will resume on April 2nd. Until then, read and enjoy your time off - if you are lucky enough to get a Spring Break!

The Darkest Hour by Caroline Tung Richmond Lucie is a covert op during World War II, stationed in France because she grew up speaking French. Her job is to take out spies and to uncover plots against the Allies. When she and her fellow ops find out about a terrible plot that could endanger the entire world, Lucie believes she is doing the right thing. But only time will tell if what she thinks is true, actually is. Recommended for mature 8th graders and up due to content.

Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow Simon, and his parents, are looking for a place where no one knows them or can look them up. And moving the the National Quite Zone in Grin and Bear It, Nebraska. It has a ton of radio telescopes where scientists spend a lot of time listening to space. Hence, there can't be any interference from things like cell phones, internet or even microwave ovens! It sounds perfect to Simon. But as with all things, nothing is ever perfect! Recommended for grades 6 and up. This book is also available in large print from Thorndike Press.

Hands by Torrey Maldonado Trevor is worried about what will happen when his stepfather gets out of prison. After all, he told Trevor's mom it was all her fault he was getting locked up and he was going to get her back. Trevor has promised to keep his family safe. But the only way he thinks he can do that, is with his hands. However, no one else seems to think this is a good idea. What do you do when you have no idea what to do? Recommended for grade 6 and up.

Red, White and Whole by Rajani LaRocca Some days, Reha wonders just how she can navigate between her mother's expectations that she hold true to what her mom believes is a true Indian girl, and just being an American kid. In middle school, it seems harder than ever to find the right path, even with what to wear to school. But then something happens that makes Reha feel closer to her mother and wondering if she has to chose. Recommended for grades 6 and up.

Dinged by Tommy Greenwald Everyone thinks Caleb has it made. He has a cool girlfriend, a dad who is a former NFL player and he has just made starting quarterback for Varsity as a Freshman! Life is amazing, right? Well, it pretty much is. Except that his girlfriend HATEs football and his dad has started to act a little weird lately. And maybe, just maybe, football isn't the answer that he once thought it was. Recommended for 7th grade and up.

Remember Us by Jacqueline Woodson Sage remembers that one summer when everything seems to be the same, yet changing. It was the summer she really remembers the fires, all the fires in the neighborhood, and worrying whose house would burn down next. Would it be hers? Would those blankets in the the closet her mom gave people whose houses had burned down be used for themselves? And it was the summer she met Freddy, who became a true friend, especially when she began to question all she thought she knew about herself. Recommended for grades 8 and up, only because it is a book that students need some life perspective to read. Completely fine for grades 6 and up in terms of age appropriateness of the content.

Maddie's Ghost by Carol Fisher Saller (Mystery) Lainie is looking for something that she might not ever be able to find. After all, her own mother wasn't able to find it. The "it" is proof of her (Lainie's ) great grandmother's innocence in a murder she was hanged for back in the 1930s. Lainie keeps feeling like she knows something about it, but how could she? Her great grandmother, Maddie, has been dead for years. Recommended for grades 6 and up.

The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum Class can be boring, or interesting, depending on what comes out of Hoodie's (yes, like the sweatshirt) friend's mouth. Because his best friend, Moshe Tzvi could make some interesting arguments with the Rabbi during halacha class where they were all learning about Jewish law. But on this particular day, Hoodie was more interested in the girl who was dancing outside the window of his school. Clearly, the girl was not an Orthodox Jewish girl, the only kind that Hoodie was supposed to notice, if he noticed any girls at all, which he also wasn't supposed to do. And that sets off a whole chain of events that Hoodie couldn't stop, even if he wanted to. Recommended for grades 8 and up.

The Order of Things by Kaija Langley April really, really, REALLY wants to learn to play the drums. Problem is, her mother would pick that as the very LAST instrument she would like her daughter to learn. Still, April is detemined and has help from her best friend Zee, and his dad, both who love music. In fact, Zee is so good at playing the violin, he was accepted into a special music school. It is going to be hard for April to not got to school with her best friend Zee every day, but she will figure out a way to make it work. However, April has no idea just how bad things are going to get. Recommended for grades 6 and up.

Rez Ball by Byron Graves Tre is living in the shadow of his older brother, who was a basketball star to their Indian Reservation - after their own father. But his brother Jaxon is dead, killed in a car accident before he could lead the high school team to a state championship. Tre is hoping that he can be the one to help the team gain their much longed for victory, but does he really have what it takes? Recommended for mature 8th graders and up due to realistic content and language.

Hi Everyone! I hope you had a great year and were able to read some of the books that I booktalked on this podcast. Please share, subscribe and recommend this podcast to anyone you think might enjoy it. I'll be taking a break for the next couple of weeks to catch up on my reading and to record some new podcasts. You can expect weekly podcasts to resume on January 8, 2024. Until then, please look back over the more than 250 episodes of books for middle school students!!!

Gone to the Woods by Gary Paulsen As a young child, Gary Paulsen was often placed in situations that were not safe or healthy. At one point, he was sent off on a two day trail ride to live with people he really didn't know well. But that was where he learned his appreciation of the woods and all it could offer. In the years to come, that was the place he would often retreat to, to feel safe and comfort and often, just for food to survive. This is his story of surviving his own childhood. Recommended for grades 6 and up.

Crash From Outer Space by Candace Fleming It happened on a hot summer night in New Mexico, just outside of Roswell, a strange storm and an even stranger thing falling from the sky. Just what had Brazell seen and what did he and his kids pick up from the desert. Was it a bunch of sticks and tape, or was it evidence of an alien crash? And what about others who reported to have seen bodies of aliens and then the military showing up to collect them? What is truth and what is fiction? Recommended for grades 6 and up.