November's Good Reads
By Kaitlin Ward - FF/S
Holiday season can closely be related to well...seeing relatives! So this month’s book blog will be about realistic fiction. Easily enough, realistic fiction is just that...fiction that could possibly be real. Anything in this genre can include family life, school, friendships, hard times, and even the occasional surprise.
"The Meaning of Maggie" by Megan Jean Sovern
Recommended for Grades 4-7
Eleven years old: the beginning of everything! At least it is for future president of the United States, Maggie Mayfield. She is one year closer to going to college, one year closer to voting, and one year closer to getting a tattoo! So, it is time for her to pull her boot straps up and figure out why her cool dude dad’s legs have permanently fallen asleep. After all, when you are a fifth-grade science fair champion and Coke stockholder, you can do anything, right?
"Lost in the Sun" by Lisa Graff
Recommended for Grades 4-8
Everyone says the middle school is awful, but Trent knows nothing could be worse than fifth grade. Who would have guessed that hitting Jared Richards in the chest with a hockey puck could have been so deadly? Now Trent is pretty sure everyone in his town hates him. However, he sees middle school as a fresh start...a new beginning and he could even join the baseball team (if he wanted to). If only Trent could make that fresh start happen.
"Courage for Beginners" by Karen Harrington
Recommended for Grades 5-8
Mysti Murphy wishes she were a character in a book. If her life were fictional, she’d magically know how to deal with her best friend leaving her to be a “hipster”. She would also be able to take care of her family while her dad is in the hospital and she would be able to change her family’s secret: that her mother never leaves the house. Seventh grade is not turning out the way Mysti has planned, but with a little help from new friends, can she find the courage to change?
"Love, Ruby Lavender" by Deborah Wiles
Recommended for Grades 3-7
Poor Ruby Lavender….she used to have a fun life, until her best friend of a grandmother up and left for Hawaii to spend time with her new grandbaby. Now Ruby is stuck in boring old Halleluia, Mississippi, reading to her chickens, sweeping, and being tormented by Melba Jane. In letter after letter, 9-year-old Ruby pours her heart out to her grandmother, but there is one thing she cannot tell even HER. It what makes her take the long way home every day and hate Melba Jane more and more. Oh, Ruby Lavender, she’ll pull at your heartstrings!
All of these books may be found in the Joanne G. Yancey library.
