Lisa Graff

Until the end of fourth grade, Winnie was just an ordinary kid, along with her friends. Then her parents got divorced and decided to share her. Equally. This means that she spends three days with her mom, three days with her dad, and one day in the treehouse between their homes. At first, she's fine with this arrangement. The treehouse is especially cool and lots of kids' parents are divorced. But when her parents' competitive nature gets out of control, she finds herself not only miserable show more but failing fifth grade as well.

[SPOILERS]

With the help of her uncle's advice, Winnie comes up with a solution - live in her treehouse until her parents come to their senses. To her surprise, she's quickly joined by her friends, who have their own grievances with their parents from annoying younger siblings and cousins to not enough phone time. Soon they are the Treehouse Ten and it's a media circus. Then lines are drawn within the treehouse and Winnie finds herself stuck in the middle - AGAIN. It will take some more advice from her uncle and some thought on her own part before she discovers her true strength and solves the difficulties she and her friends face.

This isn't a new plot device; I was reminded vividly of Felice Holman's Blackmail Machine, which involves a group of children trying to save a swamp. Like Winnie's friends, they have to compromise in the end, learning that growing up entails not getting exactly what you want. Graff handles the plot with a deft hand though and the various characters all have strong personalities that shine through, although we don't get to know any of them as well as Winnie.

Although Winnie's situation is over the top - she can't get her homework done because her parents are insistent on celebrating random wacky holidays to prove that they're "more fun" than the other parent - the real root of the problem is that no one is listening to her and her parents are trying to force her to choose sides. The concerns of Winnie and the other children are definitely of a suburban, middle class nature. They are trying to be more independent, to be listened to by their parents, to learn how to negotiate familial and community relationships. There are no concerns about money, none of the children particularly struggle in school, and Winnie's parents are both successful enough that they can afford to purchase a new house to put their wacky plan into motion. The group includes a range of racial diversity but the kids all have roughly the same stable, suburban life.

This may not necessarily resonate with kids whose home life is less stable and who have more immediate concerns and struggles than annoying siblings or obsessed parents. However, it will definitely strike a chord with kids who have the same longing to be more independent and are making that difficult transition into middle school. It's wish-fulfillment with a gentle dose of practical instruction on thinking about what you really want and need, just like Winnie helps her friends realize that, for example, they really want more independence not unlimited time on their phone. The format of the book, short chapters, transcripts, and notes from the different characters, keep the story moving briskly and will attract readers who don't want to tackle a hefty chapter book

Verdict: While not particularly unique in plot, Graff's writing ability and deft touch at characterization as well as the humor and understanding she introduces throughout the book are sure to make this a popular addition to any library. Kids will devour this book with enjoyment and perhaps think a little about their own relationships with their parents afterwards. Recommended.

ISBN: 9780399175008; Published 2017 by Philomel; Review copy provided by the publisher; Donated to the library show less

“The Life and Crimes of Bernetta Wallflower” features the eponymous protagonist, a girl who has been kicked out of her private middle school for operating a cheating ring, which was the work of another student, Ashley, who managed to frame Bernetta for the whole thing. As the book opens, clearly Ashley is the villain and Bernetta is the good guy.
But if Bernetta is to return to her private school, she must come up with $9000 tuition over the summer, because her scholarship has been show more revoked and her parents can’t afford it. So she teams up with Gabe, a boy she seemingly meets by chance, to work together as con artists all summer to "earn" the money.
So: Bernetta and Gabe are in fact every bit as repulsive as Ashley, and that’s the problem with this book. It’s well written, and the plot is carefully thought out. But all three main characters are child sociopaths. Sure, in the end, Ashley gets her comeuppance and Bernetta and Gabe decide the life of crime is not for them… but it isn’t enough. Through most of the book, our two main characters are engaging in criminal activity that would put an adult in prison. They go through a whole barrage of scams to steal money from innocent, often very kind, people. (And Graff explains how each scam is done, so there could even be a few readers who decide to try out some of these things, having had a brief lesson in the book.) At the end of the book, none of their victims will get back what was stolen from them, and the two children’s remorse seems more of the “this is too much trouble and too risky” variety than the “what I have done is morally wrong” variety.
The reader who is not familiar with the way a sociopath’s mind works may swallow the conclusion of the book and decide that the children have reformed themselves. But anyone who has read much about the sociopathic condition… or worse, been the victim of a sociopath… will know that children who engage in this type of activity (like adults) are incapable of feeling empathy for their victims and view a moral conscience as a weakness. They will not be reformed, and as soon as Bernetta or Gabe come up short of cash again, as all people do, they will begin stealing from kindhearted strangers again. show less

I loved Lost in the Sun by Lisa Graff. This novel takes one of the characters from Lost in the Sun and tells her story.

Fallon has a scar whose resemblance to a river becomes the metaphor for life. You cannot miss her scar, for it covers a large part of her face. Fallon doesn't moan and complain but is pretty realistic about it. She's also very introspective, which is a nice departure from plots revolving around misunderstandings and emotional responses normally seen in middle school books. show more Fallon holds secrets and uses humor and deflect. She's a wonderful actress who can sing, act, and write. We begin the novel with her trying out for the school musical, Hello, Dolly! We also learn at the beginning that her mom isn't well, so Fallon tries to help her mother as well. She also has two close friends who she watches movies with and hangs out with. All seems well.

When her uncle dies, Fallon begins a journey to healing but not without having to air her secrets to her family and finding a future for herself. You learn early on that her uncle cut her with a knife one night. Going to the funeral is not what Fallon wants to do. She hates her uncle, but she never told her family that he was the one who cut her. She plans on telling about him at the funeral so that everyone will know what a horrible man he was. Because she hasn't emotionally dealt with what happened to her, she can't do it. Ironically, her competition in theatre compliments Fallon on her talents, which really throws Fallon off. They strike up a friendship when Fallon has issues with the musical. She feels that Dolly gaslights people. She wants to change the play. In addition, they discover that they have therapy in the same building at the same time. This friendship allows Fallon to be bolder. To say that manipulating people is wrong. Consequences happen, but this friendship and the therapy allow healing to take place.

I really enjoyed the novel. It will trigger any female who has had any form of sexual assault. The scene described is short and appropriate for the age group. Some parents will choose to protect their children and not want them to read this novel. For others, it describes what a child should stand up against and not be manipulated into accepting as normal. Allowing kids to learn what is not okay, also allows them to know that they can and should speak up. It also allows them to understand what others may be dealing with in their lives. Giving people privacy to deal with their trauma is also explained. It has a place in libraries; what happens to little girls or even women shouldn't be hidden as treated as shameful. show less

Albie is almost everything, but not quite the best at anything. He’s not all that smart, but he can’t blame his bad grades on a learning disability. He isn’t particularly good at chess, like his friend Erlan, nor does he excel at sports or art. No matter how much he studies, he can’t seem to get more than three or four words right on his spelling test.

Even though he struggles to live up to his parents’ strict expectations and gets bullied at his new school, Albie’s fifth grade show more year is full of new people who encourage him to be fully Albie. An artsy nanny, a girl at school who hardly ever speaks, a best friend whose family stars in a reality show, the owner of a coffee shop, a corny math teacher, and sometimes his own parents…all of them see and love Albie for who he is, even if he’s still trying to figure out who that might be.

It may not sound like much of a story, but this is a really good book. I’m keeping an eye on it for the Newbery.

Grownup portion of review:

The more I think about this book, the more I like it. I've just added a star to my rating after writing the kids' review, in fact.

With Albie as narrator, Graff has circumscribed all the kids who aren't remarkable enough to find themselves in those other books, the ones about supernatural courage or intense tragedy or outrageous talent or inspirational overcoming of a disability. Albie is just regular, maybe a little less smart than the average fifth grader.

But his mother, despite her sometimes oppressive expectations, reminds Albie who he is when she tucks him in: "You are thoughtful and caring and good." And that's Albie's superpower, as it turns out.

This is nothing to sneeze at. In a culture in which kids must be outstanding at something, no matter how inane that something is (case in point: Honey Boo Boo is the best at being a fat smart-ass, and America loves her, and she's rich and famous), Albie gives readers permission to stop clawing for greatness and to be kind above all. Kind above special. (There is a touching moment when Albie's mom fights disappointment over a letter indicating he does not have dyslexia; she was hoping for a special disability to explain away his unremarkable school performance.) Kind above cool. (In a funny but gut-wrenching subplot, the school bully brings Albie into his clique, hoping to get to Albie's TV-famous friend Erlan. Completely oblivious, Albie thinks he has become cool and tries his best to help his outcast friend Betsy be cool as well so that they can still eat lunch together. Outcome? Sorry, no spoilers here.) Kind above skilled. Above smart. Above pretentious. Above first.

One of the most subtle and beautiful aspects of Albie is that he is kind to his parents, looking past their imperfect parenting to see that they are doing the best they can.

Adults (oh yeah, and kids, too) have plenty to learn from Albie's absolute almost-ness. show less