Front Desk

Written by: Kelly Yang

First line: My parents told me that America would be this amazing place where we could live in a house with a dog, do whatever we want, and eat hamburgers till we were red in the face. 

Why you should read this book: Recent immigrants from China in the 1990s, Mia's family has found themselves homeless and living in a car, so managing a motel seems like a golden opportunity for their prosperity, even if the owner is a liar, and a cheapskate, and a racist, and some other, unmentionable things. But Mia is determined to make her new life work and sets herself up as assistant and manager and front desk attendant so her parents can take care of all the other work that needs to be done. With her can-do attitude, Mia begins to make friends, and with her interest in the English language, she begins to understand the power of a well-worded letter, along with her own agency and the knowledge that she has the ability to create positive change in the world through her writing.  

Why you shouldn't read this book: You believe you can tell if people are bad by looking at them.

Caught!

Written by: Willo Davis Roberts

First line: I'd had a reputation for being crazy ever since I let Sean Wilson and Hank Kavorkian talk me into going wild river rafting with them down the Stilly. 

Why you should read this book: Vickie's not a bad girl; she just doesn't always think things through when they sound good in the moment, so when her mother leaves Vickie and her little sister Joanie with their strict grandmother for the week, running away to her dad's seems like a her only possible solution. But, when they finally get to their father's new little apartment, everything falls apart, because their dad is nowhere to be found, there's evidence that some kind of crime took place in his new home prior to his disappearance, they're out of money and almost out of food, and strange men are poking around much too close for comfort. With the help of a boy named Jake and the other neighbors in the building, Vickie and Joanie only have a few days to solve this mystery!

Why you shouldn't read this book: You think running away will solve all your problems.

The Sylvia Game

Written by: Vivien Alcock

First line: In October, Emily Dodd had the flu so badly that she nearly died of it. 

Why you should read this book: This unusual and somewhat convoluted story follows a little girl who is forced, against her will, to go on vacation with her father, even though he's an artist who is always broke and she's sure her family can't afford the trip and she'd rather just go back to school. Suspicious, she follows her father around the seaside town and begins to uncover mysteries: a Renoir that's been stolen, or destroyed, or forged, or maybe all three; the hinted connection between a teasing half-Roma working boy and the little lord of the manor who knows more than he's saying but doesn't always tell the truth; the question of whether her father is secretly a criminal, involved in something ghastly; what connection the purloined painting has to Emily; the possibility of some sort of malevolent ghost.... Nothing is exactly as it seems, and Emily will have to go to great and somewhat unpleasant lengths to uncover the truth. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You're considering insurance fraud as a solution to your ancestral problems.

Click

Written by: Kayla Miller

First line: I know, right?!

Why you should read this book: Olive is happy to be friends with everyone the fifth grade, until it's time for the school variety show and everyone teams up with their best friends, leaving her the only unpartnered kid in the show and the only person without an act. Just as she's starting to understand the concept of cliques and what it means to be outside, her cool Aunt Molly comes to the rescue with a crash course in entertainment, leading Olive to the perfect solution to her problem. It turns out that there is a very special role for the kid who gets along with everyone and has never needed to find her own clique. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: You don't get along with anyone. 

It Came in the Mail

Written by: Ben Clanton

First line: Liam loved to get mail.

Why you should read this book: Liam is disappointed on a daily basis because he never receives any mail, but has the realization that sending letters might be the answer. Rather than bother his family or friends, Liam chooses to write directly to his mailbox, requesting "something BIG," which arrives in the form of a delightful fire-breathing dragon. Delighted with his response, Liam continues sending similar letters until he is overwhelmed with amazing mail and must think of a solution to his new problem.

Why you shouldn't read this book: You only ever get bills. 

The True Meaning of Smekday

Written by: Adam Rex

First line: It was Moving Day.

Why you should read this book: Earth has been invaded and defeated by a race of tacky aliens with vastly superior technology who have benevolently chosen to colonize the planet and relocate its inhabitants to convenient reservations. Gratuity Tucci (her friends call her Tip), whose mother has already been kidnapped by the Boov, decides she's going to drive herself to Florida to reunite with humanity, even though she's a child who can only reach the pedals by nailing cans to her shoes. Along with her cat, Pig, and an outcast Boov who goes by the Earth moniker "J. Lo." she sets out on an epic journey in a hybrid vehicle (half Earth car, half floating Boov scooter) to find her mom, and possibly save her species in the process. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: It's one of the rare novels that's been adapted into a movie—Home— that's just as good as the book (although it's perhaps a bit surprising that Disney picked it up, considering the references to "Happy Mouse Kingdom" that abound in this story).

Katie and the Cupcake Cure

 

Written by: Coco Simon

First line: Every time I have ever watched a movie about middle school, the main character is always freaking out before the first day of school.

Why you should read this book: As promised by the title, this book's central thesis is that cupcakes are the solution to all of life's problems, which I am not going to argue with, although anyone over the target age group of this book (number one in the Cupcake Diary series) may be able to think of a few exceptions. Katie is wholly unconcerned about starting middle school, which, she believes, won't be any different from elementary school, until it turns out that her best friend, Callie, has made new friends over the summer and will henceforth be walking to school, sitting at lunch, and otherwise engaged during the school day with the "Popular Girls Club" (they literally and unironically call themselves that) even though she swears that Katie is still her best friend. But Katie bounces back with the help of some new friends and a lot (A LOT) of cupcakes.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Trying to cut out sugar.

Fish in a Tree

Written by: Lynda Mullaly Hunt

First line: It's always there.

Why you should read this book: Ally is smart enough that she's managed to make it all the way to sixth grade without anyone every figuring out her big secret: Ally is illiterate. It's just easier to clown around and get into trouble than to reveal that she can't read or write because the letters always look like they're jumping around on the page, even if it means she never has any real friends, even if it means that she sometimes really hurts people she actually likes. But when Ally's new teacher starts to puzzle out the reason behind her behavior, he offers the kinds of interventions that completely change everything—school, social interactions, even her home life—and help Ally see that there's more to her than the troublemaker she's presented to the world.

Why you shouldn't read this book: Although it's won awards and gotten on a bunch of recommended lists, this strikes me as one of those books that adults think kids should read, rather than a book that a kid would want to read: Patricia Polacco tells a similar story in a much more accessible format in Thank You, Mr. Falker, but it's unlikely that a kid struggling with dyslexia would find anything but rage and terror in a novel of this length. 

Esio Trot

Written by: Roald Dahl

First line: Mr. Hoppy lived in a small flat high up in a tall concrete building.

Why you should read this book: Mr. Hoppy is hopelessly but secretly in love with Mrs. Silver, the widow whose balcony he can see beneath his, but Mrs. Silver loves nothing except her small tortoise, Alfie. After years of meaningless small talk, Mr. Hoppy learns that Mrs. Silver does have one tiny little unfulfilled desire, which, Mr. Hoppy can trick her into believing has been fulfilled through the use of subterfuge, smokescreen, misdirection, and a dollop of impropriety toward animals. A rather unconventional love story. 

Why you shouldn't read this book: Mr. Hoppy is a con artist and Mrs. Silver is an idiot; I'm not sure what kind of message that sends kids about romance.