Sardines: An Award-Winning Middle Grade Novel About Found Family and Loss for Children

by Sashi Kaufman

After a devastating loss, a boy with a broken family finds camaraderie with a motley group of kids in this poignant middle grade debut. Perfect for fans of Lynda Mullaly Hunt and Jennifer L. Holm.

Nothing has been the same since Lucas’s older brother died. After the loss, his mom left without warning and his dad is struggling to cope. Lucas is pretty much alone, except for the other kids he hangs out with at school aftercare.

There’s Cat, the star athlete; Robbie, the goofball; Anna, the popular girl; and Finn, the new kid. Between games of Sardines, a reverse hide-and-seek, the kids realize that each group member has a secret wish. If they work together, the group might be able to help make each person’s wish come true. But for that to happen, Lucas will have to find the strength to let his walls down and trust the group with his family’s secrets.

Genres: Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Fiction, Childrens, Mental Illness, Friendship, Grief

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 18, 2022

About the author

Sashi Kaufman is a middle school science and English teacher who lives in Cumberland, Maine with her family, one dog and 8 chickens at last count. She loves contemporary YA, survival stories of all kinds, and journeys large and small. She is an amateur trash-picker and apologizes now if she has ever poached anything you did not mean to leave on the curb. She hates caraway seeds.

Reviews

[Kate The Book Addict · Rating 5 out of 5]

A special thanks to Quill Tree Books and Author Sashi Kaufman for my ARC of “Sardines” for an honest review. 📚 💕
Now seriously, who’s going to write a better tween book than a middle school teacher?!! And aren’t tween books so much fun to read even as an adult because it takes you back to that time where you remember meeting your friends at your lockers and how lonely you could feel at certain times and how everything is so raw and there’s almost obsessively nonstop FOMO—although my childhood was before FOMO had been identified by the electronic world. Author Sashi Kaufman delivers a perfect recipe of a varied group of kids who as individuals realize they could—if they tear down their walls—trust each other enough to work together to help each other; and isn’t that a great lesson for all of us at every age? Thanks, Mrs Kaufman, for being my teacher too. ❤️

[Afoma (Reading Middle Grade) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sardines is a heartwarming middle grade novel about friendship, mental health, bullying, identity, and community. This book wins for the author’s ability to accurately capture the middle school experience as five kids form a unique bond of friendship. I also really like the title (and its relevance to the story). If you enjoy audiobooks, this one is great on audio. I enjoyed it and would recommend it especially to fans of books by Gordon Korman (it reminded me a bit of The Fort).

Full review: https://readingmiddlegrade.com/sardin...

[BiblioBrandie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a joy to read! I hadn't purchased it for my library because the cover made it seem too young, but the issues these characters are dealing with are very real. I loved the wishes and the acorn jar (sob) and how the dad really grows as a character. There is just so much to love in these pages. I loved the line where Lucas talks about the sorting hat from Harry Potter: "It made me think of Harry Potter and the sorting hat. At least at Hogwarts everyone got to be in a house. The hat never sorted anyone into a loser or leftover house. Where did I fit in?" *sob* I appreciate how Lucas's mom is imperfect and isn't "fixed" by the end. This is a thoughtful and compassionate story of friends, family, fitting in and finding your way and it's set in Maine, win!

[Meghann Chernyak · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is more of a Junior High read them a middle grades read. One character questions her sexual preferences. Deals with a lot of heavy stuff- death of a sibling, mental disorder of a parent, and under aged drinking.

[Heather Freeman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another wonderful Maine Student Book Award nominee. Takes place in Maine ❤️ and is a sweet tale of unlikely friends, empathy, and the awkwardness of middle school.

[aj hardcastle · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING!!!!!!!!

[Angie Stag]

I so enjoyed reading this book-- with engaging characters and a well-paced storyline -- until I didn't. I was thinking this would be a good read aloud to my students, but then sprinkles of profanity showed up. I could almost overlook those, then Harry Potter references started popping up. But my breaking point, in deciding if this was an appropriate book, were the LGBT suggestions. A girl wants to cut her hair and dresses like a boy, so she is asked if she likes girls? When a boy needs a foster family, "any adult can do it--single, married, seniors, people in a same-sex relationship," is what an adult character tells a student. And then at the end, another teacher reveals to a student that she herself is in a same-sex relationship.
Goodness. Can't we just let kids be kids? Why is this being tucked into stories? It did not add one iota of information to it. It's almost like the editor told the author, "you know, you could use some diversity. Why not sprinkle some LGBT in for good measure?"

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked that all the characters came together from all backgrounds in this book. Ther are some newer themes on this one including a mom who pays more attention to her social media and work than how her daughter feels, and a mom suffering from mental health issues. The group all helps and supports one another but there is a very special free spirit leading the charge and that's Finn. Finn is extraordinary and we find out more about his situation late in the book. One person has the power to change so many outcomes for others just by being there. In the end, his new friends show up for him in a wonderful way. Lucas is the main character and his story just broke my heart. The loss of his brother really fractured his family in a very deep way. A lot of kids may benefit from reading this one.

[AllieM · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars and only because of some amazing characters. I had a hard time distinguishing the flashbacks from present day, and some parts of the plot felt rather contrived or cliche. There was some LGBTQ+ content (not over-the-top, but definitely there). There was some mention of inattentive-type ADHD, but I didn't like the way it was done. And Lucas's mom was very anti-diagnosis and rude about it. The other thing that annoyed me was how box-checky the friend group felt. Between 5 kids, we have a Black kid, a probably-queer kid, a possibly-autistic kid, a foster care kid, a blended family, an alcoholic father/absent mother, a workaholic mother/absent father, a dead brother, a mentally ill parent...

*adds Finn to her list of adopted children

[Bethea Scovic · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so good that I was sad when it ended! I wanted to keep reading more about this special group of friends. The character development was excellent and I loved how unique the problems each character was facing were. Even though some of the issues were very serious, they were handled gently, in a way that kids of that age could handle reading about. Serious times were interspersed with fun and the games they played in the woods seemed like something I would have enjoyed as a kid. This book would be perfect for middle school students and maybe some upper elementary students as well.

Thank you to #NetGalley for an eARC of #Sardines by #SashiKaufman in exchange for honest feedback.

[Rebecca McPhedran · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Maine Student Book Award nominee for 23|24.

Wow! This is a beautiful story about working through life’s challenges, and finding good friends to support you along the way.

When Lucas starts his sixth grade year at a new middle school; he is overwhelmed with what life has thrown at him. After recently losing his brother and his mother having to go away; Lucas finds comfort in the reliable. When he meets a new group of friends, he finds that there is good in life; along with the bad. And sometimes making a wish can give you something you never expected.

[Abigail Luchies · Rating 5 out of 5]

I ended up really loving this story and the characters. My one issue with the book is the cover...based on the cover illustration, I assumed it would be for middle grade elementary students. The topics covered (death of a sibling, parental mental illness) are definitely heavy and more appropriate for a middle school auidence.

[Carrie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kids in an after school club end up bonding over their individual problems. Has a really sweet (and unrealistic, but who's counting) ending. Would be a good readalike for fans of Jacqueline Woodson's Harbor Me

[Mark Buxton · Rating 4 out of 5]

What worked:
The author takes great efforts to cast Lucas as a sympathetic character. He starts his first day of middle school hoping to avoid the awkwardness of standing alone among all the kids waiting to enter. His mother left him several weeks earlier and won’t return any phone calls. His college-age, older brother Charlie, a former model student at the school, died the year before. Finally, Lucas is forced to attend middle-school care after, which causes embarrassment for kids at this age. Lucas lives in a trailer park with his father and they have a conflicted relationship. The father has anger issues and hasn’t developed a close connection with his son. He struggles to perform the role of a single parent and Lucas isn’t totally receptive to his efforts. Lucas is angry and just wants his mother back.
While Lucas is the main character, Finn is the most intriguing. He casts an air of confidence and knowledge but little is known about his life outside of school. He is part of the afterschool group and comes up with the idea of playing Sardines, a game similar to hide and seek. The game itself isn’t overly significant except that it’s the stimulus needed to help five after-school kids develop a bond. Finn comes up with another idea for each of the kids to collect acorn caps in their own jars. When full, each person will reveal a secret wish that the others will help come true. These wishes become mini-subplots that are disclosed and fulfilled throughout the book. One boy wishes he could stop being the target of bullying and a girl wishes for shorter hair, something her mother forbids. It’s interesting that Finn comes up with the idea for wish jars but he’s the one character who doesn’t create his own.
The underlying problems running through the whole story are Lucas’s internal conflicts in dealing with his brother’s death and his mother’s absence. There are flashbacks and memories where he relives experiences with both of them, sometimes happy and sometimes sad. Lucas doesn’t know where his mother went and he doesn’t understand why she hasn’t tried to contact him. Doesn’t she want him? Why won’t his father share any information about her? Even though Charlie’s gone, Lucas still feels he can’t live up to his brother’s persona as the perfect son and student. Everybody loved Charlie but Lucas struggles to make friends. These conflicts torment Lucas until he gets some resolution in the end.
What didn’t work as well:
The subplots aren’t very unique as the first three kids’ problems are fairly common issues. The character relationships carry the story until they address Lucas’s wish and Finn’s troubles are uncovered. The last quarter of the book is an emotional rollercoaster with a mostly happy ending.
The Final Verdict:
The first half of the plot isn’t a page-turner but the multiple problems make the story relatable and interesting. The characters encounter deep feelings and struggles but they’re nothing good friends can’t overcome. I recommend you give this book a shot!

[Gabrielle Schwabauer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the premise of this book, and the experience the kids had roaming the woods after school reminded me a lot of the extensive research on childhood independence and the stifling nature of overprotection. In the original, hyper-supervised, "don't leave the asphalt" after-school club, these connections would never have been possible. All of the characters work well and play roughly equal roles in the story, with the exception of Cat, who feels a little abandoned by the narrative after her early wish is resolved.

I liked the way that Finn, a verbose character with unusual mannerisms, is handled--up until the end, when particular plot revelations feel more like a hallmark movie ending, untouched by pain and trauma, rather than an honest exploration of grief and loss. So Finn has been abandoned by both parents and lives in a group home . . . but also, he is conveniently a perfect, easy child who brings others together with compassion and heart. Another fantasy about adoption/caregiving as a beautiful saviorism that neatly sidesteps the pain, trauma, and resulting behavior inherent to such a terrible loss. The last few chapters felt simplistic and even a little disrespectful, in contrast to the more authentic feel of the rest of the novel.

[Paula Boyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of the best middle school books I've read! I love the characters and the funny, yet sensitive way the author writes about their lives. Lucas, a sixth grader, feels like an outsider in his middle school. He has no friends, his mom has left him and his dad, and he misses his older brother who died tragically in a car accident. Because his dad works late, Lucas needs to attend the Teen Center after school rather than to go directly home. At this after school program, he meets some friends, Finn, Robbie, Anna, and Cat. Their friendship starts with a game that Finn teaches them called Sardines. It's the opposite of hide and seek. One person hides while the others try to find them. Their time together at the Teen Center becomes something they all look forward to. They begin to open up about their life situations and Lucas begins to feel that, although he wishes his life was different, everyone is dealing with something that they wish they could change, as well. The friends all begin to help each other find ways to make their wishes come true.

[Laurie Hnatiuk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sardines reminded me a little bit of the movie Breakfast Club. A group of five become friends through an After School Program, by building a secret fort getaway and revealing a wish after collecting acorn tops to fill their jar. Once a jar is filled the group works together to fulfill the wish. This actually worked to reveal some common issues middle-grade readers would face from what one would expect to find from bullying to parents being too busy to spend any time and some heavier topics that may be predictable but do not want to spoil. There are places of humour which alleviate more tense moments and the audiobook narrated by Andrew Eiden does a good job creating the different voices for the characters. An impressive debut that would make for a good read-aloud and allow readers to see a variety of ways this group not only supported one another but found ways to make their wishes come true.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucas is not looking forward to middle school. His older brother died not long ago and his family has fallen apart. His Mom simply left one day and he doesn’t know when or if she’ll be coming home. His father is distant and barely keeping them fed. Lucas and four other middle schoolers reluctantly attend the after school program which is boring until they get a new after school supervisor. They convince the new teacher to allow the five of them to explore the woods behind the school each afternoon. These five unlikely friends spend their afternoons playing Sardines (a form of hide-and-seek), gathering acorns, fixing up an abandoned deer stand, and seemingly solving some pretty big problems they all are wrestling with. A beautiful middle grade school story about resilience and the power of friendship.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to thank NetGalley, the author, and the publisher of this book for the advanced copy in exchange for my review. I received my copy close to the time of the publication date, therefore this book has already been released.

I enjoyed this story of a group of a few middle schoolers who became a group of unlikely friends over the course of the school year as they were all part of an after school program. Over the months the students moved from kids who barely knew each other and didn't move in the same social groups to a group that supported and counseled each other through difficult times. This book reminds me somewhat of a middle school version of the movie "The Breakfast Club," in that students from different walks of like come together due to circumstance, and end up bonding with each other and learning that they are more alike than different. I enjoyed this book.

[Susan Lefman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Five students form a bond when they break the rules and follow the "new kid" Finn into the forrest during the after school care program at their middle school. Their friendship changes over time from playing games to filling their jars for the opportunity to share their unspoken wishes with the group who vow to make their wish come true.

Lucas, Robbie, Cat, Anna and Finn each bring a unique personality and wish to the fab five. The transformation from classmates to a deeper level of devotion progresses with ease as the pages turn.

When the threat of five becoming four looms in the distance, the team must work together to fulfill an unspoken wish.

Perfect read-aloud for upper or middle grade students.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Big thanks to HarperCollins Children's Books, Quill Tree Books, and NetGalley for an advanced copy of Sardines by Sashi Kaufman.

6th-grader Lucas is feeling a little lost as a new middle schooler. He feels like he's living in the shadow of his older brother who passed away. His mom recently left without a word and his relationship with his dad is strained. A new boy named Finn joins Lucas's class and he's a delight! He's an old soul who brings together a group of kids who are all in need of something.

The author is a middle school teacher and it shows. She really knows kids and the challenges they face. Sardines is the perfect mix of hilarity and tenderness.

Trigger warnings for death and depression.

[Chrissy Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lucas is starting 6th grade with a host of problems-his brother recently died, his mother left and his father is struggling to cope with everything. To make matters worse, he isn’t stuck going to the Teen after school care. There he meets Cat, Robbie, Anna and Finn. Slowly they become good friends, ones that can all depend on. Finn starts a contest with acorn caps and turning it in for a wish. Will the wishes come true? With a little help from their friends, their wishes just might!

This is quite a book! I couldn’t put it down. I was routings for the characters, especially Lucas! It had me in tears at the heartwarming end! A must read for middle grade to adults!

[Brittany Caine · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 stars for idea, 3 for execution. worth the read but had its issues

*spoilers*

ive been reading a TON of middle grade this year, so the bar is set really high. i liked the story, i liked the characters, but i spent most of the book assuming lucas's brother died from suicide. to find out he didn't - after pages about his issues in school and the struggle he had when transitioning to college - felt like poor, false storytelling. without assuming anything of anyone's experiences, the grief felt less true to learn it had been an accident. i also felt like at times, too many issues were being tackled at once. too many harry potter references....

[Lynn Plourde · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adored the characters in SARDINES. They felt real & quirky & believable. Kaufman knows kids. As a teacher, she also knows schools and all that entails (bullying, peer pressure, relationships with teachers). Kudos for dealing with the tough topics of poverty and mental illness. The last part of the book slowed down for me and was wrapped up in too neat a bow at the end. Plus there were things introduced that I thought would be important to the story, but then they were "dropped" (the woman Lucas' father was inviting to dinner, the shed that was built for Lucas' mom, then given to Lucas to use--but he didn't). But overall, bravo! I hope Kaufman writes more middle grade books.

[Jame_EReader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is full of emotions, sadness and satisfaction at the end. I know trust is hard to earn and Lucas couldn’t have gotten anywhere but from his weird friends from after-school. I felt sad for Lucas’s family and felt happy for him when he found true friendship from a popular kid, the athlete, the newbie and a regular kid. The game they played at the woods behind their school, Sardines, is interesting and I might seriously suggest to my teacher someday. I know opening up to your friends about your family’s dark secrets is not easy but trust is important. I think Lucas is brave and this wonderful story is also funny and full of great characters. Highly recommending this book!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet middle-grade read about four kids, all from different backgrounds and social circles, who forge their own friendship at their after school program. Avery, Robbie, Lucas, and Finn, never friends, have all grown up in the same community and elementary school, but on the first day of middle school they end up in the same after school program. After several games of Sardines, a tree fort, and jars full of acorn tops, their group is stronger than ever and determined to make each of their wishes come true. Great read about friendship, resilience, and putting others first!

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy in return for an honest review.

One thing I really liked about this story was how the kids were the drivers of action and change. They put their heads together to try and solve problems and although some of their ideas were a little bit evil genius, I liked that they drove the story. This story touches on foster care, mental health, and has just a touch of early relationship feelings (boy/girl, girl/girl).

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Sardines! Five kids with very different personalities become friends through their after-school program, and together they help make each others' lives better. There are a lot of heavy topics covered in this story (sibling death, depression/bipolar disorder, foster care), but it never felt unbearably heavy. I think both my 6th grader and 9th grader will enjoy this one!

(I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

[Kavya · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a great book, though not my favorite. It had great characters, and was a good book the first time around, but then I read it again for school, and I didn’t like it as much. I really liked the ending, though not so much the things leading up to the ending. It was an easy book to read (I read it over many weeks because it was part of a mini book club), and overall a good plot line of a kid struggling in Maine. All this goes to show, don’t judge a book by it's cover!

[Jgramley · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a good part of this book I was reminded of Kids from Fawn Creek and that a new kid was making an impact on fellow kids’ loves but then this book morphed into something more. The issues kids face these days are so challenging and middle school is no joke, but when you find your group that really gets you and is there for you….nothing better than that in the world!