I finished listening to See You at Harry's by Jo Knowles. I really enjoyed it. This book is a "heart book" that stays with you after you've finished. The plot took an unexpected (to me) turn and it ended up not being (only) about what I was predicting, which is about a family dealing with a high school son coming out, as told from his younger sister's point of view. I enjoyed hearing about Fern's devotion and support for her older brother Holden, and thought this would be a great book to give to any child, but especially those who may have a sibling who is LGBTQ. It isn't often we find books that think about what the sibling is thinking. Then I read further and was quite surprised at what happened next. I definitely connected emotionally to Fern and her siblings. The book also raises questions of blame. How do we handle feeling blamed, including if we blame ourselves? This is a tricky book to talk about without giving too much away, so I will stop here, but I highly recommend this book to grades five and up. The audio was also excellent. (I still have little Charlie's voice in my head saying "See you at Harry's!).The other books I've been reading are very new releases because I'm having three authors visit my school on a "Middle Grade Mania" with Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. These are their new books:
Tru and Nelle by Greg Neri is a fictional account of the real childhood friendship between Truman Capote and Harper Lee. When they first meet, Tru is a tidy, proper little boy, and Nelle is clad in dirty overalls. These two children don’t seem like they have much in common, but they bond over their love of books and their family problems - both have absent parents. They consider themselves like Sherlock and Holmes and can't wait for the day a real mystery will come across their paths. I really enjoyed it but am having a hard time selling this one to my 3rd and 4th grade students, who know very little if anything at all about To Kill a Mockingbird. I hope more become interested after Greg Neri visits. 
Far from Fair by Elana Arnold is a bit of a tear-jerker (not quite as much as See You at Harry's). Just like in Arnold's The Age of Miracles, the author does not shy away from sadness and hard topics, in a way that is both honest and for the most part appropriate for middle grade readers. In Far from Fair, 12-year old Odette journeys with her family in their new home, an RV, as they travel to be with her sick grandmother. Odette is not prepared for how sick her grandmother is or for dealing with the concept of the right to die.
Isabel Feeney, Star Reporter by Beth Fantaskey is an entertaining and action-packed who-done-it mystery. For a kid who is stuck selling newspapers in 1920s Chicago just to make ends meet, Isabel has big dreams of one day being a reporter. She gets her chance after inadvertently getting caught up in the murder of a small-time gangster. Short chapters and a fast pace make this a quick and fun read!
My students are pretty excited to meet all of these authors very soon!
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