Cybils KidLit Challenge: April reviews

Have you been reading Cybils nominees, finalists or winners? If you need some suggestions check out the Cybils label here to get some ideas about some of the books that Dawn and I have reviewed, as well as the past months’ Cybils KidLit Challenge posts with all sorts of reviews from all genres that you’ve linked up.

I have to admit that I haven’t been doing as well as I had hoped to. In fact, I have some of the Middle Grade fiction nomininees that I read as a Round I panelist that I still haven’t reviewed. In fact, there are some books that Amanda and I really enjoyed that I never reviewed, because I was so busy reading in every spare moment, so I’m going to try to redeem myself.

The Fizzy Whiz Kid by Maiya Williams is a great book for older middle grade readers, boys or girls (It does feature a boy protagonist). If it’s not hard enough to be in 6th grade, Mitch Mathis is the new kid in town, and not just any town, but Hollywood. All of his classmates are either in show business or their parents are, and Mitch doesn’t even watch TV or movies! His dad, who volunteered to come to Career Day at school, studies cockroaches. His presentation does not help Mitch in his plan to stay below the radar — his key to success when moving from school to school.

So Mitch decides to reverse his plan and go all in. He tries out for a commercial and gains fame as the Fizzy Whiz Kid. Mitch soon learns that fame is fleeting, and ultimately has to decide who he wants to be.

I really liked Mitch — his blend of wanting to fit in and not caring what other people think, his humor, his sweetness. The book was a hit with my 12-year-old daughter as well.

Dear George Clooney: Please Marry My Mom by Susin Nielson was one of Amanda’s favorite nominees that she read along with me. I thought it was very clever and enjoyed it a lot, but she really loved it. 12-year-old Violet is dealing with a lot in this book — new stepsisters, her mom’s new boyfriends (none of whom she likes), and just all the things that go along with middle school. When her mom starts dating Dudley Wiener (whose personality fits his name!), Violet decides to take things into her own hands, and write George Clooney a letter. This book is very funny, and in some ways Violet is a typical tween girl, but it’s not really a middle grade novel. I would recommend it for 12 and up for some mature content, including some of Violet’s actions that need some maturity to discern, as opposed to the 9 – 12 that is the middle grade category.

Wildfire Run by Dee Garretson was another of Amanda’s top 5 choices of all the Cybils nominees she read with me (and she read almost as many as I did, including some I never got to!). This book has a lot going for it: action, adventure, a diverse group of characters including the President’s son, and an exciting setting — Camp David (under crisis).

When a wildfire surrounds the camp, and the Secret Service agents assigned to protect him are injured, Luke (the first kid) and his friends Theo and Callie have to figure out how to get out. This is an awesome book because it’s exciting and has kids who act believably in an unbelievable situation. It also will appeal to a very wide age range, equally across the 8 – 12 year old age range.

I also noticed from the amazon page that this is the first in the “Danger’s Edge” series, and that makes me very excited to see what’s next!

Okay, I feel better now for correcting the wrong of not telling you about these great books, and now it’s your turn to tell us what Cybils books you’ve been reading and reviewing.

The next link-up will post on May 10.

**This challenge is not affiliated with the Cybils award blog. We are simply using the Cybils as a way to encourage you to read and discuss quality children’s literature, which is one of our goals here.

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