The parent-child relationship is a special one, but it can look differently for different families.
This book collection explores all kinds of parental relationships, from biological to foster to step-families to found families.
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The Courage Test by James Preller
This book had me at hello: a boy named after Lewis and Clark sets off on a wilderness adventure with his father to explore the route his namesake took so long ago to explore uncharted America. As he ditches his phone (literally!) for more natural distractions, he learns about the world around him, explores a different kind of relationship with his father and even forms a new kind of friendship and understanding. The lessons he learns in the wilderness impact his life in ways he didn’t know he needed. I loved this book.
To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan
To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan & Meg Wolitzer was an amazing middle grade epistolary novel with a contemporary twist: rather than exchanging letters, the main characters exchange emails instead. The adventure begins when Bett and Avery discover their fathers have been secretly dating and plan to send them to a summer camp together to bond. These characters are so relatable on so many levels, from their anxiety and impulisveness to their creativity and collections. While their original purpose was to avoid summer camp and halt the relationship, a true friendship develops over time, a friendship that turns into a different kind of family. While it might not have the kind of ending you might expect, it’e even better and shows how a family is what you decide it is.
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart
Five years. That’s how long Coyote and her dad, Rodeo, have lived on the road in an old school bus, crisscrossing the nation. It’s also how long ago Coyote lost her mom and two sisters in a car crash.
Coyote hasn’t been home in all that time, but when she learns the park in her old neighborhood is being demolished – the very same park where she, her mom, and her sisters buried a treasured memory box – she devises an elaborate plan to get her dad to drive 3,600 miles back to Washington state in four days…without him realizing it.
Along the way, they’ll pick up a strange crew of misfit travelers. Lester has a lady love to meet. Salvador and his mom are looking to start over. Val needs a safe place to be herself. And then there’s Gladys….
Over the course of thousands of miles, Coyote will learn that going home can sometimes be the hardest journey of all…but that with friends by her side, she just might be able to turn her “once upon a time” into a “happily ever after”.
Lasagna Means I Love You by Kate O'Shaughnessy
What are the essential ingredients that make a family? Eleven-year-old Mo is making up her own recipe Nan was all the family Mo ever needed. But suddenly she’s gone, and Mo finds herself in foster care after her uncle decides she’s not worth sticking around for. Nan left her a notebook and advised her to get a hobby, like ferret racing or palm reading. But how could a hobby fix anything in her newly topsy-turvy life?
Then Mo finds a handmade cookbook filled with someone else’s family recipes. Even though Nan never cooked, Mo can’t tear her eyes away. Not so much from the recipes, but the stories attached to them. Though, when she makes herself a pot of soup, it is every bit as comforting as the recipe notes said.
Soon Mo finds herself asking everyone she meets for their family recipes. Teaching herself to make them. Collecting the stories behind them. Building a website to share them. And, okay, secretly hoping that a long-lost relative will find her and give her a family recipe all her own. But when everything starts to unravel again, Mo realizes that if she wants a family recipe—or a real family—she’s going to have to make it up herself.
Smart Cookie by Elly Swartz
Frankie knows she’ll be in big trouble if Dad discovers she secretly posted a dating profile for him online. But she’s determined to find him a wife, even if she ends up grounded for life. Frankie wants what she had before Mom died. A family of three. Two is a pair of socks or the wheels on a bicycle or a busy weekend at the B&B where Frankie and Dad live. Three is a family. And Frankie’s is missing a piece.
But Operation Mom is harder to pull off than Frankie expects. None of the Possibles are very momish, the B&B’s guests keep canceling, Frankie’s getting the silent treatment from her once best friend, and there’s a maybe-ghost hanging around. Worst of all, Gram and Dad are definitely hiding secrets of their own.
If a smart cookie like Frankie wants to save the B&B and find her missing piece, she’s going to have to figure out what secrets are worth keeping and when it’s time to let go.
Honestly Elliott by Gillian McDunn
Elliott has been struggling since starting middle school, when his ADHD spiraled and his best friend moved away. He’s not too sure where he fits in with his own family, either, especially since his newly remarried dad and stepmom are expecting a baby. Especially when he already feels like his dad just doesn’t get him – or his passion for cooking. In the kitchen, it’s actually a good thing to have a brain that goes in six different directions at once.
When he’s paired with the popular and supersmart Maribel for a school-wide project, Elliott worries they won’t see eye to eye. But Maribel is also looking for a way to show others her true self, and this project could be the chance they’ve both been waiting for.
Sometimes the least likely friends help you see a new side to things… and sometimes you have to make a few mistakes before you figure out what’s right.
Tumble by by Celia C. Pérez
I love reading new middle grade advanced copies of books, but I honestly wasn’t sure if I’d love a book about wrestling. I did. The book starts off with a bang as 12-year old Adela’s step-father asks for permission to adopt her. This single question sets off an avalanche of new questions and emotions, including the desire to know more about her biological father. Forced to find out for herself, Adela discovers who her father is….and who he isn’t. This book explores the definition of family, the need to know our familial roots and how to make space for new people, traditions and emotions. It was a roller coaster of a ride and I’m shocked at how much I got into the wrestling aspects, too. I may have googled a few things to bring this book to life. =) It’s a must read.
