I’m participating in a 12 Days of Christmas Giveaways in the Readers & Writers of Clean Youth Fiction Facebook group. Come join me!
Join the group here on Facebook so that you can learn about twelve authors of clean fiction for kids and young adults. Each day, there will be a different freebie (short story or book) available for download. Everyone’s winner!
With recent talk about building a wall between the United States and Mexico, this middle grade novel gives the reader some insight into the hardships some immigrants go through to provide for their families.
Title: Return to Sender
Author: Julia Alvarez
Genre: contemporary realistic fiction
Age group: middle grade
This novel, labeled for ages 8-12, is told from two different perspectives. The first part of each chapter is written in present tense from a third person limited perspective. This means that the reader “follows” the character of twelve-year-old Tyler, whose family has been farming the same land in Vermont for generations. However, after Tyler’s father is injured in a tractor accident, he is unsure if he can keep the farm going. As the story opens, Tyler learns that his father has hired three Mexican workers, one of whom is father to three daughters. The second part of each chapter is written from the perspective of the eldest of those three daughters. Her name is Mari, and each of her entries is written in the form of a letter, usually to her mother who returned to Mexico when Mari’s grandmother was dying but who has now been missing for many months. From Tyler’s perspective, we see him struggling to understand why his very patriotic family has broken the law in order to hire these three undocumented workers, and from Mari’s perspective, we see what it is like to live in constant fear of being deported. She prays often to the Virgin of Guadalupe to protect her family.
The stories of undocumented Mexican workers in the United States is important to tell, and Alvarez’s novel may help shed some light on this topic. However, I think this book could be challenging for younger readers. First, the novel is rather long at over 300 pages and a little slow at the beginning. Also, while Mari’s letters are written in first person past tense and are easy to read, Tyler’s sections in third person limited with present tense can be very challenging to follow. Sometimes it seems like we are in Tyler’s head, and other times we are not. Present tense is a very challenging tense to pull off as a writer, and unless it is done extremely well can pull the reader out of the story. I felt myself pulled out of the story several times during the first half. On the bright side, I was happy to see that Mari’s Catholic faith as well as the Christian faith of Tyler’s grandmother are both presented positively. There’s a nice scene in which Mari and her sisters teach Tyler’s grandma about the Mexican tradition of the Day of the Dead, and this helps the grandmother to grieve over the loss of her husband who had died a few months earlier.
Also, I wish this novel would have gone further into why immigrants are unable to immigrate legally. There is a scene at a public meeting where a teacher confronts an older citizen who is against the undocumented workers. However, the teacher’s speech seems to win over the old man too easily. Often when people complain about undocumented workers, their response is “Well, if they want to live here so badly, why don’t they immigrate legally like my ancestors did?” The answer is that there is often no way for them to do it legally. However, that is not explained at all in the book. I wish the book had explained more of what this article has to say about why immigrants aren’t able to pursue the citizenship they want–or even gain legal resident status, which is a necessary precursor to applying for citizenship.
As I continue to read YA and middle grade books on immigration for my doctorate program this summer, here’s another story that fits the bill.
Title: Amina’s Voice
Author: Hena Khan
Genre: contemporary realistic fiction
Age group: middle grade
Synopsis: Sixth grader Amina is coping with adjusting to middle school. It doesn’t help that her best friend Soojin has suddenly become friendly with Emily, a girl who used to tease both Amina and Soojin about their ethnicities. Complicating the situation is the arrival of her father’s elder brother from Pakistan who has very traditional ways and may not be impressed with how “Americanized” Amina and her family have become. Meanwhile, Amina struggles to overcome her stage fright so that she can sing in front of others as well as compete in the Quran competition at the local Islamic Center. As she struggles to juggle all the changes in her life, the Islamic Center is attacked, and Amina questions whether or not her family is even welcome in the community anymore.
This novel is very engaging and told in a style that will appeal to most middle school students. Amina is portrayed as a very relatable character as she tries to adjust to all the changes that middle school can bring—something all middle school students can relate to. At the same time, we see her family wrangle with how to maintain their Muslim and Pakistani cultures while also enjoying being part of the broader American community. Since Amina’s best friend Soojin is a Korean Christian, there is also a good depiction of positive interfaith relationships, especially after the Islamic Center is vandalized and Soojin’s church offers to host the carnival that the Islamic Center had planned prior to the attack. Students will find this to be an engaging read, and there’s much “food for thought” that teachers can use to discuss topics such as fitting in, remaining true to yourself and your culture, and working with people of other faiths.
Here’s another book from one of the CatholicTeenBooks.com authors!
Title: The Other Side of Freedom
Author: Cynthia T. Toney
Genre: historical fiction
Age group: middle grade
Summary: (from author’s website)
In a southern farming community in 1925, thirteen-year-old Salvatore and his Italian immigrant father become involved against their will in a crime that results in the murder of an innocent man and family friend. Will Sal keep the secrets about that night as his father asks, or risk everything he and his family cherish in their new homeland, including their lives? Amidst bigotry, bootlegging, police corruption, and gangland threats, Sal must discover whom he can trust in order to protect himself and his family and win back his father’s freedom. Sal’s family, their African-American farmhand, and the girl who is Sal’s best friend find their lives forever changed as dreams are shattered and attitudes challenged in a small community called Freedom.
Those of you who have seen my previous reviews of Cynthia’s Bird Face series might be surprised to hear she’s taken a little break from her usual young adult contemporary genre to write a middle grade historical. The Other Side of Freedom is an engaging and suspenseful tale that will have you hoping poor Sal and his family can find a way out of this mess they’ve gotten into. This book is a quick read with likable characters. Sal’s friendship with his best friend Antonina is the kind of friendship all kids want–a buddy they can be open and honest with, the kind of person with whom they can share all their secrets.
As a work of historical fiction, this story offers some insight into what it was like for Italian immigrants who tried to be law-abiding citizens but were often harassed and coerced by some of their fellow Italian Americans who were mobsters. If you’ve enjoyed Cynthia’s other books, be sure to check out this one.
Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Doug Keck of EWTN’s Bookmark program. During our time together, we talked about my middle grade mystery Seven Riddles to Nowhere, the award it had just won, and why I decided to set the story in Chicago. The interview aired last week on EWTN, so I can now share it with you here.
My interview begins at about the 13:00 minute mark. Also in this episode, you can see Joe Wetterling talk about the Catholic Writers Guild, Lisa Mladinich discuss her book Heads Bowed: Prayers for Catholic School Days, and Cathy Gilmore sharing her Virtue Works Media project.
In case you haven’t already heard, my middle grade mystery Seven Riddles to Nowhere won Honorable Mention for Catholic children’s books at the Catholic Press Awards last Friday!
This is a very broad category that included both fiction and nonfiction, and everything from picture books and early chapter books to middle grade books. First place went to a book for children written by Pope Francis, so you can see how tough the competition was!
In honor of Catholic Schools Week, I thought I’d put together a list of novels that feature students in Catholic schools. Sadly, I was having trouble coming up with much of a list on my own, so I took to Facebook and Twitter to pick the brains of people smarter (and more well read?) than I am. Here’s what I found, broken down by the intended audience.
I’ve had the pleasure of reading two books in this fun series. In these tales, Katie and Patrick (who attend a Catholic school) travel back in time when the church bell chimes. Each journey brings them to a place and time in history when they get to meet a saint or at least a saint-in-the-making! My review of The Sign of the Cross can be found here.
This is a beautiful tale about a girl who prays the rosary every night so that God will send her a little brother. Rosa attends a Catholic school in Chicago in the 1960s and is the daughter of Italian immigrants. If you missed it earlier this year, click here for my full review.
Eleven-year-old Annie must complete a self-portrait and present it to the class at the end of the year. However, like my main character Kam (see Seven Riddles to Nowhere below), she has a little problem with public speaking. I haven’t read this one yet, but I hope to do so before the year ends!
I haven’t read these two books either, but they are definitely on my TBR list! Like the main character in my own book (see next book), the protagonist in this story attends a school named after St. Jude! I’m thinking Marilee Haynes and I must be kindred spirits since our books appear to have some similar ideas!
I spent ten years teaching in Catholic schools. Sadly, one of those schools closed after my fourth year there. Its closing haunted me for years until finally I had to do something about it–and all I could think of was to write a book about a boy trying to save his Catholic school from closing. The result was Seven Riddles to Nowhere. I couldn’t just make it about a boy trying to save his school, though. I had to make it a fun book–one with quirky characters and fun riddles to solve and a scavenger hunt through the city I call home–Chicago!
Seven Riddles to Nowhere has won a Catholic Press Association Book Award and the Catholic Writers Guild Seal of Approval. You can learn more about it and download a free discussion guide here.
I’m going to have to admit I haven’t read any of these either (my TBR list is really long), but it’s clear they take place at a Catholic high school. If I understand correctly, Christian M. Frank is really just a pseudonym for a team of writers who work on this series.
This one I haven’t read either–and it’s definitely off the beaten path when you think of Catholic school books. However, the author assures me that it takes place in a Catholic school. If I understand correctly, this is the story of an orphan vampire who is raised by nuns who run a Catholic school. So have fun with that!
Coming soon . . .
Some of the authors in our Books for Catholic Teens Facebook group have books coming out this year that will include Catholic schools, so make sure you join our group here to learn more about them and other books for Catholic teens.
Can I resist a middle grade book with an Italian-American main character and lots of Italian vocabulary words sprinkled throughout?
No. No, I cannot. 🙂
Title: Rosa, Sola
Author: Carmela Martino
Age group: middle grade (on the youngish side)
Genre: historical fiction? (I read somewhere that anything from the Vietnam War or earlier is now considered historical fiction. This story takes place in the 1960s.)
Summary: Rosa Bernardi, an only child living with her Italian immigrant parents in 1960s Chicago, often feels alone, or SOLA, as her parents would say. But after she holds her best friend AnnaMaria’s baby brother for the first time, Rosa is sure that if she prays hard enough, God will send her a brother of her own. When Rosa’s prayers for a sibling are answered, she is overjoyed—until tragedy strikes. Rosa is left feeling more SOLA than ever, and wondering if her broken family will ever be whole again. (taken from Amazon)
School Library Journal called this a “gentle and moving story,” and I have to agree. Rosa is a good Catholic girl who desperately prays the rosary every night for God to send her a little brother. I don’t want to give the story away, but as the Amazon summary states, tragedy strikes the family. You can’t help but feel for Rosa and her family. Carmela’s descriptions of love and loss are dead-on. Make sure you’ve got a hankie nearby when you reach the mid-point of this book. Still, the story is told with such compassion and care for the characters that you can’t help but love them. This would be a wonderful book to share with a child who might be coping with loss.
Brava to Carmela Martino on a beautiful tale.
(And for those of you wondering: yes, I understood all the Italian words in the story. I didn’t need to peek at the glossary in the back once. 🙂 )
Still doing some Christmas shopping? Yeah, me too! In fact, I have lots left to do!
If you’re looking for a gift idea, why not give someone an autographed book?
If you live in the Chicago area, you can come see me and three of my author friends (Susan Miura, Randall Allen Dunn, and Pamela S. Meyers) at the Fremd High School Holiday Craft Fair this Saturday from 9 am – 4 pm. We’ll be on the second floor at Booth 1077. We have book ideas for just about everyone–from middle grade readers to adults and from mysteries and fantasies to romance and action-adventure!
This is a HUGE craft fair, so even if you’re found your fill of books, you can probably find lots of other goodies.
If you aren’t local but would still like to give someone an autographed copy of either of my books this Christmas, just drop me a line and I’ll mail you an autographed bookplate to insert into the book, plus a bookmark.
Happy Christmas shopping!
Last Sunday, I had to pleasure of joining a panel of authors from the Mystery Writers of America in a free workshop on writing for young readers. For those of you who weren’t able to make it, I thought I’d share a bit about what I’ve learned over the years with regard for writing for young readers, particularly middle grade and young adult.
TIP #1: Read many books for the age group you want to write for.If you want to write for teens, read a lot of young adult books. If you want to write for tweens, read a lot of upper middle grade books. There’s definitely a difference between the two, and you won’t know it unless you read a lot of both. Young adult novels have a much more introspective tone and often deal with much more complex questions about life, family, and friends–and most importantly, one’s place in the world. Upper middle grade novels tend to be more about friendships and fitting it, but they can still touch on tough topics. However, if they deal with tougher topics, they tend to do so in more of an off-the-page, slightly removed way, whereas YA books aren’t afraid to bring the difficult issue to the forefront. A YA book can spend longer periods being reflective as the teen protagonist tries to sort out her beliefs. A middle grade book will spend less time being reflective and more time keeping the plot rolling.
Kid readers are smart readers.
Young readers still demand that their stories are full of realistic and likeable characters that are fully rounded. Flat, one-dimensional characters are dull. Young readers know when they are being talked down to or preached to. Even if you find your sentence structure and vocabulary slightly less robust in a middle grade novel, it doesn’t mean that your story should be simple or your vocabulary stale. There’s a difference between limiting challenging vocabulary (or complex sentence structure) and completely eliminating them.
Remember that your books will be competing with this.
This is especially true for middle grade books, but it can hold true for young adult novels, especially ones aimed at younger teens. In this fast-paced, technology-driven world, your writing needs to compete with 60-second Instagram videos and 10-second Snapchat clips. Study the pacing of other popular YA novels and see if it matches yours. Popular movies can also give you a hint at what good plot pacing looks like. See Save the Cat by Blake Snyder for tips on plotting out your story arc so that the reader stays engaged.
You don’t have to do this writing thing alone.
There’s so much to learn about the craft of writing as well as the business of marketing books that you could spend years researching this all online. Save yourself some time and join a writing organization like the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators or the Mystery Writers of America so that you can learn from others’ experiences. Attend conferences and workshops. Not only are these informative and fun, but you’ll make great connections with other writers and you’ll find yourself recharged for writing again.
Everyone needs a good laugh now and then.
Young readers love humor. Even if you’re writing a serious story, see if you can’t inject a little humor now and then (even if it’s sarcastic) in order to vary the tone and tempo of your story. Being in middle school and high school is no walk in the park. Teens and tweens enjoy the chance to laugh even in the midst of their struggles. Create a character that they can laugh with, and they’ll be eating out of your hands.
Keep your writing timeless, not uber trendy.
I’ve seen a couple unpublished authors do this. They think they have to use “teen speak” in their books in order for their characters to seem realistic. The problem is two-fold: first, unless you really know how teens speak, you’ll probably misuse any slang you think they use. Second, whatever terms are popular today are likely to be unpopular by the time your book is published. While you don’t want your teen characters to sound too adult, you also don’t want them so firmly rooted in a generations’s slang that the book quickly becomes dated.
Don’t bore your reader until she’s tempted to throw her books up into the air.
This one is especially true for the middle graders. Older teens can better wade through description if it’s told in an interesting enough voice, but my middle schoolers often lament books where the narrator just “describes stuff too much.” They want the action to keep moving. Give them enough description that they can picture the character and the setting, but don’t create long paragraphs of description. Work the description into the action. Instead of telling them every single detail about your character’s appearance at once, sprinkle the description throughout the story. Have her catch her reflection in a shop window and remark how typically flat her blonde hair looks today. Or have her slip on her shoes as she laments the fact that her feet are so freakishly small she has to shop in the kids’ department.
Are you writing for a teen or a tween?
As stated before, some people really struggle with the difference between YA and middle grade. If you don’t have children in those age groups, read up on books written for them. Learn what word lengths are common for each age group and each genre. A YA romance will probably not be as long as a YA fantasy or a YA sci-fi. Middle grade humor books will be probably shorter then middle grade historicals. Again, the best way to learn all this is by reading widely in the age group and genre you want to write for.
Most of all, have fun! Teen and tween readers are the best fans! They are devoted to writers they like, and they eagerly anticipate the next book.
Got a tip I didn’t mention? Leave it in the comments below!
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