[I received an advanced reader copy of The Land of the Cranes and Show Me a Sign from the publisher for review purposes. Both will be passed on to a classroom teacher when life gets back to normal. The rest of the books were either ones I already read or ones I read from the library. All opinions are my own.]
The Process
Once again I had the privilege of serving on a committee for the Cybils Awards. This is the third year I served with the group choosing the winner in the Middle Grade Fiction category. You can see my posts about previous years’ work here.
Now that our committee work is done, I am able to talk about the finalists we read this year. These are my personal thoughts on each of these books and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the full committee who presided over this category. Keep in mind that another committee determined what books we would be choosing from. These seven were not our personal best of 2020, but the ones chosen by another committee of readers based on nominations. Books here are listed in alphabetical order.
One summary note – of the 7 books in our list, I only read one of them on my own, long before the finalists were chosen. Two more hit my radar, and I posted about them in Book News. The rest were unfamiliar to me. These were not books I would have necessarily chosen for myself. Several of these are examples of books that are objectively good but also ones I did not personally enjoy reading. All of the nominees deal with some weighty issue(s), which – to me – can sometimes limit their appeal for readers. I believe the winner we chose was the best option of the seven both on its own merits and also to appeal to the widest circle of readers.
The Books
Echo Mountain – Ellie and her family move to Echo Mountain during the Great Depression, making due with what nature has to offer and the negotiations they can make with their neighbors. When Ellie’s father is injured and goes into a coma, she seeks out the mysterious “hag” who might be able to help him. This isn’t the sort of novel I would pick up on my own, but I enjoyed the characters in this one. There’s a magical element to Ellie’s instincts for medicine and healing that was interesting. ♥♥♥♥
Efrén Divided – Efrén’s parents are undocumented immigrants, and when his mother is deported, Efrén steps into more responsibilities to help his family. I liked the kids in the book, but the story is sad. I appreciated that the complications of the situation were reflected in the story – there are no simple solutions offered by the end. I think this could be a great story to introduce kids to contemporary issues on immigration, but it’s a heavy story which might keep some kids from giving it a try. ♥♥♥♥
Fighting Words – [TW: sexual abuse, sexual harassment, suicide] (Older Middle Grade) – When the older of two sisters who have been through a considerable amount of trauma tries to commit suicide, the younger sister thinks it might be time to make some noise about what they are going through. This is an excellent story – probably my second favorite from this list – but it is a *hard* read. This is definitely for older middle grade readers (10+), and even for that group, it’s a pretty weighty story. This is another book that could help readers feel seen and know they aren’t alone. But this is also a title that I believe will appeal to a subset of readers who are mature enough to handle the content. ♥♥♥♥½
From the Desk of Zoe Washington – A girl preparing for a baking challenge is secretly investigating the crime that put her father in prison – the one he says he didn’t commit. This was the one book from the list I had already read before receiving the list of nominees. I loved this book, and I’m thrilled that it was our team’s choice for the Cybils Award for Middle Grade Fiction. You can read my full review here. ♥♥♥♥½
King and the Dragonflies – Kingston, grieving the loss of his brother, is convinced his brother has become a dragonfly. Kingston has no one to talk to about his grief or this theory because just before he died, Kingston’s brother told him to stay away from his best friend, Sandy, because he is gay. Being Black is hard enough; Kingston doesn’t need people thinking he might be gay, too. This is another heavy story. The writing is terrific, but the story itself felt dark and sad to me – there’s racism, harassment over sexuality, grief/loss, and also child abuse. This is the sort of book that can help some readers feel seen, but not all kids are looking for such a hard-hitting story. ♥♥♥½
Land of the Cranes – This is a novel in verse, also about immigration. This time, though, the main character is the one who is detained, making the the story sit much closer to the reader than Efrén’s story. This was hard to read, and I didn’t enjoy it. It’s enlightening, but another difficult, serious subject. ♥♥♥
Show Me a Sign – An OwnVoices story about a Deaf community in Martha’s Vineyard in the 1800s. A young scientist comes to Mary’s village to figure out why there is such a large population of Deaf people in the community, but his personal biases lead him to make dire choices that impact the community as a whole and Mary directly. This was a fascinating story, although it, too, was dark. The things that happen to Mary in the story were awful, and as a reader, I could feel her panic at being trapped without a way to communicate her thoughts, feelings, and experience in order to get the help she needed. There’s a lot of infuriating injustice in this story. Not only does the story address Deaf culture and communication and community, but it also touches on land disputes with Native Americans and other racial issues of the time period. This was my third favorite of the seven books we read; there will be a sequel to this one, Set Me Free, later this year. ♥♥♥♥
The Bridge Home – Four homeless kids make a family for themselves as they live near an abandoned bridge, but when illness strikes, will they continue to fend for themselves or will they have the strength to reach out for help? This was one of those “it’s well written, but I didn’t like it” books. This was dark and sad and upsetting and heart-wrenching. I did not enjoy reading it. But it’s well-written and there’s TONS of material in it for readers to dig into. This is for older middle grade readers (10+). Rating: ♥♥♥♥
Maybe He Just Likes You – A middle school girl struggles to speak up about the behavior of the boys around her, especially when her friends tell her she is over-reacting or should be flattered. You can read my full review of this one 
Operation Frog Effect – Eight kids tell the story of what happened that got their teacher in trouble. One of the stories is told in graphic novel format. To me this felt like a 
The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise – Coyote and her dad have lived life on the road in their renovated school bus since Coyote’s mother and sisters were killed in an accident. But now she is desperate to get back home before her last moments with her mom and sisters are lost forever. You can read my full review of this one 
Right As Rain – A grieving family moves to New York hoping a change of scenery can help them in their loss, but Rain is convinced her brother’s death is her fault. While she holds her secrets close, a new friend may help her open up and shine the light of truth on what happened that night. I LOVED this! Of these 7 books, I had already read and reviewed 3 of them. Of the four that were new to me, this was my favorite. I adored everything about this – the grieving pieces as well as the poetry and the hot chocolate and the soup kitchen and the running. Fantastic characters. A story I just wanted to hug. A happy tearful ending as Rain finally shares her story. Beautiful! Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥
Roll with It – A girl with cerebral palsy who longs to be a baker adjusts to a new home and a new school. I loved Ellie and her family and friends in this one. The baking pieces were fun and sounded delicious. I don’t have a lot of books in my reading repertoire starring characters with disabilities, so I was glad to add this book to my list. Rating: ♥♥♥♥
Song for a Whale – A deaf girl who is also a tech genius learns about a whale that can’t communicate with other whales, and she decides to find a way to “sing” to this whale. You can read my full review of this one 
The Doughnut Fix – A boy trying to adjust to a new town decides to open a doughnut stand and make the town’s secret doughnut recipe once again. This was so fun! I adored Tristan and his family. There’s lots here for kids to relate to – family stuff, friend stuff, a move, etc. So many funny moments, but also lots of great information about starting a business and about cooking. This was delightful! I’m looking forward to reading the sequel this spring. Rating: ♥♥♥♥½
Survivor Diaries: Overboard! – This reminded me a lot of the uber-popular I Survived series that appeals to middle to upper elementary students. This story is shorter, but the suspense and tension was still present. This would have been a hit with my students!
