#tbt: Notes from a Liar and Her Dog by Gennifer Choldenko

Notes from a Liar and Her Dog by Gennifer Choldenko. 216 p. Putnam's, 2001.

#tbt features Notes from a Liar and Her Dog by Gennifer Choldenko. This was Ms. Choldenko's debut middle grade novel and was published in 2001. Twelve-year-old Antonia MacPherson (Ant) is convinced she's adopted. She's a middle child, stuck between two perfect sisters and everyone in her family is blond with light complexion. So she writes letters to her "real" parents and she lies. She cares about two beings, her elderly dog, Pistachio and her best friend, Harrison. She's prickly and holds everyone at arm's length until her art teacher, "Just Carol" tries to break through Ant's facade. Ant's first-person narration will make readers alternately laugh-out-loud and cringe, especially when her lies become dangerous.

Notes from a Liar and Her Dog was named a School Library Journal best book. Her next book, Al Capone Does My Shirts was published in 2004 and won a Newbery Honor. She's written three sequels to Al Capone Does My Shirts as well as picture books and other novels. She and Katherine Applegate are co-authors of Dogtown, which is the first book in the Dogtown series. Happy reading!

Middle Grade Monday and Arc Review: Dear Sweet Pea by Julie Murphy

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

Dear Sweet Pea by Julie Murphy. 288 p. Balzer + Bray/ HarperCollins Publishers, October 1, 2019. 9780062473073. (Review of arc courtesy of publisher.)

Middle Grade Monday features Dear Sweet Pea by Julie Murphy. Happy book birthday tomorrow to Dear Sweet Pea, Murphy's middle grade debut. Older readers might be familiar with Murphy's YA fare, Dumplin' and Puddin'. 

Patricia "Sweet Pea" DiMarco's parents are getting a divorce. They want to keep things civilized and easy for Sweet Pea, so her father buys a nearly identical house two doors down the block. It's a little weird spending half the week in her dad's new house. She has belongings in both places, only her cat, Cheese remains at mom's house. Each time she changes houses she passes Miss Flora Mae's house. Miss Flora Mae is usually in her sun room working on her advice column, "Miss Flora Mae I?" Sweet Pea is fascinated by her. She has even written to her asking for advice and wonders why Miss Flora Mae did not write back. At school, she's stuck sitting near her ex-best friend, Kiera, who disses her at every opportunity. Luckily, her new best friend, Oscar is there to prop her up.

When Miss Flora Mae has to go away for a few weeks, she asks Sweet Pea to tend to her plants and forward her mail. She's very particular about how she wants Sweet Pea to perform these duties. One day, Sweet Pea spies a letter with familiar handwriting on it and decides to open it. Once she reads it, she writes her advice and mails it to Miss Flora Mae's editor. Seeing her words published gives Sweet Pea such a thrill that she can't resist answering a few more letters. What can go wrong?

Whelp, I devoured this in one sitting. Murphy makes a splash with her middle grade debut here. It's wonderful! Great voice, terrific characters, funny and relatable. I would love to reread this with my ears. Sweet Pea is matter-of-fact about being a bit overweight. Her parents do not make an issue of it. They are also attentive and involved in her life. She's a thoughtful seventh grader who is distracted by most things most seventh graders are distracted by. 

Readers who want a gentle, humorous story about navigating family changes, friendship changes and school will love Sweet Pea. Highly recommended!

Waiting on Wednesday: My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich by Ibi Zoboi

My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich by Ibi Zoboi. 256 p. Penguin Young Readers Group, August 27, 2019. 9780399187353.

Publisher synopsis: Twelve-year-old Ebony-Grace Norfleet has lived with her beloved grandfather Jeremiah in Huntsville, Alabama ever since she was little. As one of the first black engineers to integrate NASA, Jeremiah has nurtured Ebony-Grace’s love for all things outer space and science fiction—especially Star Wars and Star Trek. But in the summer of 1984, when trouble arises with Jeremiah, it’s decided she’ll spend a few weeks with her father in Harlem.

Harlem is an exciting and terrifying place for a sheltered girl from Hunstville, and Ebony-Grace’s first instinct is to retreat into her imagination. But soon 126th Street begins to reveal that it has more in common with her beloved sci-fi adventures than she ever thought possible, and by summer's end, Ebony-Grace discovers that Harlem has a place for a girl whose eyes are always on the stars.

Ms. Zoboi makes her middle grade debut with this book and I can't wait to read this.

Arc Review: The Last Last Day of Summer by Lamar Giles

The Last Last Day of Summer by Lamar Giles. 287 p. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, April 2, 2019. 9781328460837 (Review of arc courtesy of publisher.)

Cousins Otto and Sheed live with their grandma in Logan County, Virginia. They've spent the summer sleuthing and bickering. Both are mourning the approach of the last day of summer though Grandma is not. She's got it circled on the calendar. As they argue over just how they should spend their final day of freedom, a strange man named Flux appears out of nowhere with a camera that freezes time. He allows Otto to take a picture of the town but another man appears out of nowhere and fights Flux for the camera before he can take a picture of the boys. They run away with the camera and discover that everyone in town is frozen. Who is the rubbery man with the camera? Who is the second man? Why is everyone in town except them frozen? This might just be the case of their lives! 

Buckle up because this mind-bending romp takes off running and doesn't stop. It zigs and zags wildly and hilariously. The characters in this quirky little town are distinct and memorable. The humor ranges from slapstick to wry, so there's something to amuse everyone. And there's plenty of fun wordplay. The brotherly relationship between the cousins is a bit competitive lending a realistic, relatable element. 

While this really should have wide appeal, hand to your fans of time-travel, fast-paced adventure, and/ or humorous books. Giles rocks his MG debut. More please.