Tyler Reynolds's Blog - Posts Tagged "middle-grade-reviews"
Obsessed Little Brother? I Can Relate.
This week I read Sophie Washington: The Gamer by Tonya Duncan Ellis. This book is a little young for me, but it was a fast read, if you're looking for something to quick finish up your summer reading.
Your parents will love it because it's about giving up screen time for Lent. (That's a thing some churches do. Ryan and Connor tried giving up fighting once, but it didn't work out.)
Anyway, Sophie's little brother, Cole, gives up video games, and Sophie gives up tattling. You can imagine about how well that works out. Like a lot of siblings, Sophie and Cole are at odds until a dog comes into the picture, and suddenly they have to work together. Sophie even tries to help Cole when he screws up.
There is also some girl stuff--relationships at school. Not my cup of tea, just saying. But Teresa would be all over it. I thought Sophie was gonna be one of those goody-good, kiss-up-to-the-parents kind of girls. But she actually had a lot going on. And I could totally relate to her problems with her little brother (and her new dog). Cole is even into art, like Jayden! It doesn't pay to be the oldest.
On the Dudes Summer Book Bingo card, here's how this book qualifies:
SIBLINGS TEAM-UP, BECAUSE YOU'RE LAZY, AWESOME GIRL, VIDEO GAME, and WHAT TO READ TO YOUR PET.
Find the Bingo card and see how I'm filling out my card here: https://emilykayjohnson.com/TheDudesC...
Your parents will love it because it's about giving up screen time for Lent. (That's a thing some churches do. Ryan and Connor tried giving up fighting once, but it didn't work out.)
Anyway, Sophie's little brother, Cole, gives up video games, and Sophie gives up tattling. You can imagine about how well that works out. Like a lot of siblings, Sophie and Cole are at odds until a dog comes into the picture, and suddenly they have to work together. Sophie even tries to help Cole when he screws up.
There is also some girl stuff--relationships at school. Not my cup of tea, just saying. But Teresa would be all over it. I thought Sophie was gonna be one of those goody-good, kiss-up-to-the-parents kind of girls. But she actually had a lot going on. And I could totally relate to her problems with her little brother (and her new dog). Cole is even into art, like Jayden! It doesn't pay to be the oldest.
On the Dudes Summer Book Bingo card, here's how this book qualifies:
SIBLINGS TEAM-UP, BECAUSE YOU'RE LAZY, AWESOME GIRL, VIDEO GAME, and WHAT TO READ TO YOUR PET.
Find the Bingo card and see how I'm filling out my card here: https://emilykayjohnson.com/TheDudesC...
Long Distance Daughter
This week I read My Family Divided: One Girl's Journey of Home, Loss, and Hope by Diane Guerrero with Erica Moroz. Sort of like the Dudes, it's the author telling about what happened in her life when she was a kid. The problem is, a lot of bad stuff happened that wasn't her fault. Her parents came to the U.S. as visitors and decided to stay, which is sort of illegal. So Diane has to keep their secrets and worry. And then, one day, the worst happens: her parents are taken by officers of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and sent away to Columbia. That leaves her, a middle schooler, alone and taking care of herself.
This book is kind of scary, even for kids like me whose parents have all the papers they need to stay in the country. I mean, the idea that officers wouldn't help you, that the government wouldn't care, that there could be no way to legally solve your troubles. It sounds like the Nazis rounding people up.
It's also really interesting on another level: It turns out Diane is famous now. She's an actress on a TV show. So you can see how she starts as a kid, training and working and hoping in order to become a real actress for her job.
The truth is, if she didn't become a famous actress, her story probably wouldn't have been published.
This book was a fast read and really exciting. I finished it in about three days. I highly recommend it.
On the Dude-A-Rrific Summer Reading Bingo Card, it fits these squares: BEEN THERE, HAVEN'T DONE THAT (if you've been to Boston or Columbia), ITEOTWAWKI, NOT MY CULTURE, RACE OR RELIGION (Diane is Latina and Catholic), and, of course, CURRENT EVENTS.
You can download and print the bingo card for this year at the Dudes website: https://emilykayjohnson.com/TheDudesC...
This book is kind of scary, even for kids like me whose parents have all the papers they need to stay in the country. I mean, the idea that officers wouldn't help you, that the government wouldn't care, that there could be no way to legally solve your troubles. It sounds like the Nazis rounding people up.
It's also really interesting on another level: It turns out Diane is famous now. She's an actress on a TV show. So you can see how she starts as a kid, training and working and hoping in order to become a real actress for her job.
The truth is, if she didn't become a famous actress, her story probably wouldn't have been published.
This book was a fast read and really exciting. I finished it in about three days. I highly recommend it.
On the Dude-A-Rrific Summer Reading Bingo Card, it fits these squares: BEEN THERE, HAVEN'T DONE THAT (if you've been to Boston or Columbia), ITEOTWAWKI, NOT MY CULTURE, RACE OR RELIGION (Diane is Latina and Catholic), and, of course, CURRENT EVENTS.
You can download and print the bingo card for this year at the Dudes website: https://emilykayjohnson.com/TheDudesC...
