Books In the Middle Podcast

Send us Fan Mail In the Same Boat by Holly Green It is redemption time, at least that is how Sadie feels after wanting to quit the Texas River Odyssey with her dad last year. They didn't quit, but they did have to pull out after Sadie was injured during the race.  She figures that she will do better this year since she is teaming up with her older brother, Tanner, because her dad has decided...

Send us Fan Mail Once in a Blue Moon by Sharon Flake One night, James Henry and his mom were at the lighthouse and then something happened that made James Henry scared. Very scared. So scared that he doesn't like to leave the house because who knows what could happen to him and to other people too. He used to have no problem being outside, but now everything feels too much, including school....

Send us Fan Mail Lumara by Melissa Landers It was supposed to be a fun trip to meet her boyfriend, Nathaniel's parents and family. After all, it was a wedding, the first one that Talia had ever been to. And she was super surprised that her dad agreed to let her go during her Fall break, since he only got to see her during her breaks from boarding school. Maybe she should have known something...

Send us Fan Mail Busted by Gina Ciocca When Marisa catches her best friend's boyfriend cheating on her, she has to tell her. But what she doesn't expect is that others will start to think she should help them as well! It seems crazy to Marisa, but then she gets caught up in helping an old friend of hers figure out what is going on with HER boyfriend, and things start to get out of contro...

Send us Fan Mail The Lost Year by Katherine Marsh Matthew is stuck at home during Covid, just like the rest of the world. Still, it isn't too bad, except that his parents are divorced and his dad took a job assignment right before Covid hit...in Paris! So now his dad is stuck there and Matthew is stuck with his mom and his GG - his great grandmother who is 100 years old. So not a lot of excit...

Send us Fan Mail The Island by Natasha Preston Paisley thinks this is it! Her big break! She has been invited along with five other teenage influencers to  come to an island amusement park created by a billionaire to drum up business before it does its official launch to the public. And this isn't your regular park. No, this is an exclusive resort that caters to rich people and is not designe...

Send us Fan Mail Shot Clock by Caron Butler and Justin A. Reynolds Tony, or Tone as most people call him, is in shock. Shock that his best friend has been shot and killed by police. And for no reason. Wrong time, wrong place, or so it seems. Because Dante had it all going for him. He was great at school with a 4.0, an amazing basketball player who was nationally ranked and already had his college...

Send us Fan Mail Agent Most Wanted by Sonia Purnell Virginia Hall never wanted a simple or traditional life for herself, even if that was what her mother wanted. The life of a society wife moving in high circles in Baltimore and even better if she married into money was her mother's fondest hope! But Virginia's father was always supportive of her doing what she wanted - including riding...

Send us Fan Mail Snowglobe by Soyoung Park In the new world, after catastrophic climate change and the Warring Age, you either live in Snowglobe, or want to live in Snowglobe. After all, who really wants to live outside of the warm dome of Snowglobe, where the weather is climate controlled and there are luxuries that others can only dream about. Ever since she was little, Jeon Chobahm has wanted t...

Send us Fan Mail The Wager: A tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann This is an adult nonfiction book, but for students who love a good real life adventure story, this is it! Follow the main characters in this real drama on what ship life was like during the late 1700s, chasing ships carrying gold, being away from families for years and even having to deal with that mystery that turns...

Send us Fan Mail The Secret Battle of Evan Pao by Wendy Wan-Long Shang Evan, his sister and his mother are all traveling across the country to run away from something that Evan's dad did. Something that the people back home are super upset about, and so are Evan and his family. But the new place they move to, isn't exactly like their old place. Here, Evan is the only Chinese American in...

Send us Fan Mail Royal Blood by Aimee Carter So it turns out that Evan is actually of royal blood. As in, she is the child of the reigning King of England. But she is a secret child, because he father had an affair. Yikes. How can you be a secret royal? Well, Evan finds out it is really hard to be one, especially once it comes out! And then someone dies and things start to get really messy! Recomm...

Send us Fan Mail Heroes by Alan Gratz Frank worries constantly about all the bad things that could happen to him. To is family, to his friends, and everywhere he looks he sees potential disaster just waiting to happen. Until a real disaster does happen. Frank and his best friend, Stanley, find themselves in the middle of the attack on Pearl Harbor and Frank is left wondering if he can ever step up...

Send us Fan Mail Girl Forgotten by April Henry It all started out as a new podcast on an old unsolved mystery involving a girl who was murdered. But what Piper doesn’t realize is that by digging into the past, some people in the present take notice and don’t like where her digging might lead.  Recommended for grades 8 and up.  Support the show

Send us Fan Mail This Golden State by Marit Weisenberg Poppy and her family are on the run, from something, or someone? Maybe the police? Poppy honestly doesn't know. She's never known. All she does know is she and her family have been running since, well, forever. Her whole life at least. So when they pack up and leave again, while it isn't great, she isn't surprised. Just sur...

Send us Fan Mail Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo Welcome to the world of the Grisha, where magical powers are real, everyday occurrences, even if some people don't think they should be! Inej is part of the Dreggs, which is a gang that runs part of Ketterdam, but not all of it, since a bunch of other groups are vying for it as well. Still when Kaz - the second in command of the Dreggs, for lack...

Send us Fan Mail Tell Me What Really Happened by Chelsea Sedoti Five teens went into the woods for an overnight camping experience. But it turns out, one of them has an agenda that hasn't been shared. The night ends in terror for all of them, and a possible death for one of them. As the four who make it out of the woods begin to tell their story to law enforcement, some of what they say match...

Send us Fan Mail Hi Everyone! I'm on break...well, a week ahead of time, because I need to read some more books! I have run out of material and I need the time to read and create more podcasts! If you have a book you would like me to feature on this podcast, please feel free to send me an email at tasquires66@gmail.com.  My podcast will resume on April 2nd. Until then, read and enjoy your tim...

Send us Fan Mail The Darkest Hour by Caroline Tung Richmond Lucie is a covert op during World War II, stationed in France because she grew up speaking French. Her job is to take out spies and to uncover plots against the Allies. When she and her fellow ops find out about a terrible plot that could endanger the entire world, Lucie believes she is doing the right thing. But only time will tell if wh...

Send us Fan Mail Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow Simon, and his parents, are looking for a place where no one knows them or can look them up. And moving the the National Quite Zone in Grin and Bear It, Nebraska. It has a ton of radio telescopes where scientists spend a lot of time listening to space. Hence, there can't be any interference from things like cell phones, internet or even microwav...

Send us Fan Mail Hands by Torrey Maldonado Trevor is worried about what will happen when his stepfather gets out of prison. After all, he told Trevor's mom it was all her fault he was getting locked up and he was going to get her back. Trevor has promised to keep his family safe. But the only way he thinks he can do that, is with his hands. However, no one else seems to think this is a good i...

Send us Fan Mail Red, White and Whole by Rajani LaRocca Some days, Reha wonders just how she can navigate between her mother's expectations that she hold true to what her mom believes is a true Indian girl, and just being an American kid. In middle school, it seems harder than ever to find the right path, even with what to wear to school. But then something happens that makes Reha feel closer...

Send us Fan Mail Dinged by Tommy Greenwald Everyone thinks Caleb has it made. He has a cool girlfriend, a dad who is a former NFL player and he has just made starting quarterback for Varsity as a Freshman! Life is amazing, right? Well, it pretty much is. Except that his girlfriend HATEs football and his dad has started to act a little weird lately. And maybe, just maybe, football isn't the an...

Send us Fan Mail Remember Us by Jacqueline Woodson Sage remembers that one summer when everything seems to be the same, yet changing. It was the summer she really remembers the fires, all the fires in the neighborhood, and worrying whose house would burn down next. Would it be hers? Would those blankets in the the closet her mom gave people whose houses had burned down be used for themselves? And...

Send us Fan Mail Maddie's Ghost by Carol Fisher Saller (Mystery) Lainie is looking for something that she might not ever be able to find. After all, her own mother wasn't able to find it. The "it" is proof of her (Lainie's ) great grandmother's innocence in a murder she was hanged for back in the 1930s. Lainie keeps feeling like she knows something about it, but how c...