Tag Archives: Diverse Family Structure

Elem. – Marley’s Pride

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Retener, Joelle. Marley’s Pride. Illustrated by DeAnn Wiley. Barefoot Books, 2024, 979-8-888-59075-1. $17.99. 32 p. Grades PK-4.

Marley identifies as non-binary. When their Zaza, who has been a remarkable advocate for the LGBTQ+ community, is slated to receive an award at their local PRIDE parade, Marley decides it is time to push aside her fears of large crowds and loud noises to find a new sense of belonging with the LGBTQ+ community. 

THOUGHTS: This book is beautifully written and illustrated. It does a phenomenal job of not only highlighting LGBTQ+ culture and history, but bringing to light social anxiety and sensory sensitivities in an approachable and genuine manner. 

Picture Book 

Elem./MG – The Pumpkin Princess and the Forever Night

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Banbury, Steven. The Pumpkin Princess and the Forever Night. Little Brown Books for Young Readers, 2024. 978-0-316-57298-9. 322 p. $18.99. Grades 4-6.

The story opens with a runaway orphan girl lost in the woods on Halloween. She crosses paths with The Pumpkin King, who offers to adopt her and make her The Pumpkin Princess of Hallowell Valley. She agrees to go with him, is given the name Eve, and follows her new father to a magical world where werewolves, ghosts, and vampires are all real. She befriends Vlad, a vampire, and a witch named Lyla and meets all sorts of other characters in town. Unfortunately, some of the Hallowell Valley residents are not pleased with having a “living” among them. There also is a plot to overthrow The Pumpkin King as ruler. Eve and her new friends must find a way to convince everyone to let her stay as well as save her new-found father. 

THOUGHTS: This was one of my favorite middle grade books that I read in 2024. I absolutely loved the found family and character growth depicted in the book. Give this to students who love Halloween, found families, and magic. 

Fantasy

MG – Safe Harbor

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Venkatraman, Padma. Safe Harbor. Nancy Paulsen Books, 2025. 978-0-593-11250-2. $17.99. 176 p. Grades 4-8

Geetha and her mother move from India to Rhode Island in hope of a fresh start after her mother and father divorce. Geetha struggles with being bullied for her clothes, her English, and her foods all while also leaving her life, friends, and family. She soon makes friends with a classmate named Miguel, who she seems to have a lot in common with, including caring about the sea creatures. Geetha and Miguel end up helping save a injured seal, and while Geetha is happy that she was able to help the seal, she starts to struggle immensely with her anger. She is angry that her mom made her move, that people are so careless and pollute the ocean leading to the harm of many animals. When it is finally time to release the seal back into the wild, Geetha starts to accept that feelings can co-exist; she can be happy and sad to see the seal go, just like she can be upset about moving from India and leaving her life behind while also happy to help marine life. 

THOUGHTS: This was a quick, but powerful read. Middle level readers who love animals will enjoy this book. I found the relationship between Geetha and her mother to be realistic and really heartwarming. Geetha’s mother at times tries to protect her from the realities of her depression and mental illness, but eventually Geetha expresses to her mom that she would rather be involved and know what is going on with her mother’s mental health that be shielded from it. 

Realistic Fiction
Novel-In-Verse

MG – Stronger at the Seams

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Stocker, Shannon. Stronger at the Seams. Blink, 2024, 978-0-310-16235-1. $18.99. 288 p. Grades 6-9.

Twyla is entering high school excited for the next four years, but when she starts to feel extremely nauseous and get chronic headaches her father takes her to the doctor. What is passed off as constipation only continues to get worse. Twyla doesn’t want to be benched from the field hockey field so she tries her best to hide her symptoms from her family and friends. Her symptoms continue to worsen, yet no one is listening to her, so she decided to take matters into her own hands and research her symptoms herself.

THOUGHTS: What a beautiful, yet heartbreaking read. Stocker did a phenomenal job bringing to light the difficult yet necessary nature of advocating for yourself and grieving a parent. This would be a phenomenal read for any student who may struggle to advocate for themselves and their needs.

Realistic Fiction

Elem./MG – Deer Run Home

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LeZotte, Ann Clare. Deer Run Home. Scholastic Press, 2024, 978-1-339-02190-0. $18.99. 224 p. Grades 5-8.

Effie was born Deaf, but no one in her family uses her language, ASL, to communicate. After an incident happened at her mom’s house, Effie and Deja are sent to move in with their father. After her ASL interpreter at school realizes that Effie may be suffering from some neglect at home with her father, she is determined to help her and get her out of that unsafe environment. 

THOUGHTS: WOW. This book blew me out of the water. There are so many different layers to Effie’s story, and it truly makes your heart hurt while also slowly putting it back together. I personally had no idea about language deprivation. This book is highly recommended for all middle school and upper elementary school libraries. 

Realistic Fiction

Effie endures food insecurity and abuse before being rescued from her living situation by a school-based interpreter. Effie is a member of the Deaf community, but no one else at home will learn American Sign Language (ASL). She recently has moved with her older sister, Deja, from their mom and stepfather’s home into their dad’s trailer. The deer outside their home capture Effie’s attention, but the deer are in danger—their safe habitat is vanishing as new homes are built, and the deer are left without anywhere to go. The deer are used as a metaphor throughout the story for Effie’s own journey. Effie is much happier at school than home; there, Miss Kathy, her ASL interpreter, gives her a voice to communicate. Miss Kathy suspects Effie’s home life is abusive and that she is harboring trauma, so the interpreter begins to investigate and intervene. Although this book offers a happy ending for Effie, the story is riddled with trauma and the sad realities of addiction and abuse.

THOUGHTS: This story is an emotional roller coaster and contains the triggering topics of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Themes are executed in a developmentally appropriate way for middle school students. The novel-in-verse format and shorter length (just over 200 pages) make this book accessible to readers. Authentic representation of Deaf community and other diverse abilities (Cerebral Palsy also represented through Cait’s character). Recommended for readers of realistic novel-in-verse survival stories like Lisa Fipps’s And Then, Boom!

Realistic Fiction

MG – Are You Nobody Too?

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Cane, Tina. Are You Nobody Too? Make Me a World, 2024. 978-0-593-56701-2. $17.99. 320 p. Grades 5-8.

After being stuck at home learning through her computer due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Emily is forced to leave the comfort of what she knows and go to public school in Chinatown. For possibly the first time, Emily is not the only Chinese student at the school. But, that doesn’t mean she feels like she fits in. On top of that, Emily finds out that her adoptive parents have been keeping something from her. Emily works on coming to terms with the complexities of being a Chinese girl adopted by a white family.

THOUGHTS: This novel was very enjoyable. It handles tough topics like adoption, the isolation of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and finding your place in an approachable manner. There are parts of the novel that are a tad slow, especially in the beginning. This novel encourages readers to think introspectively and reflect. The novel did a great job of showing the complexities of identity and talking about microaggressions such as calling Emily a “banana” in the book. Overall, this is a solid middle-level read that I look forward to adding to the library.

Realistic Fiction
Novel-In-Verse