Books In the Middle Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Exposed    By Kimberly Marcus         What does it mean to be best friends? Can a true friendship survive anything? Liz and Kate have been friends for so long, even when they have a fight, it doesn’t seem like the end of the world. But after one fight, Kate won’t talk to Liz and she doesn’t know why. When she finds out, she wonders if their friendship can survive. Recommended for...

Send us Fan Mail Lions of Little Rock    By Kristin Levine Marlee, a 7th grader attending a junior high school watches as her older sister, Judy, is forced to leave town and attend high school where their grandmother lives after their public high school is closed to prevent black students from integrating the school for a second year. For Marlee, this seems the most traumatic thing that can happen...

Send us Fan Mail Simeon’s Story     By Simeon Wright Much has been written about the murder of Emmett Till however, most of it has been written by people who didn’t know him first hand, or based on the account written by the white men who killed him. Here, finally, is an account written by Emmett’s first cousin, once removed, who was one of the last people to see Emmett alive.  Recommended for gra...

Send us Fan Mail Darkest Corner By Mildred Barger Herschler How would you feel if you knew your father was responsible for the death of your best friend’s father? Teddy sees her friend’s father hanging from a tree and will never forget the fact that her own father was there at the lynching. Teddy has to figure out how to live with a father who belongs to the Ku Klux Klan, while being best friends...

Send us Fan Mail Stranded    By Melinda Braun Emma is looking for a way to forget and hopefully move on. It’s been almost a year since her little sister died in a horrible accident. One that Emma feels responsible for – and she wonders if her parents blame her as well. So when she sees an advertisement for canoeing in the Boundary Waters of the North, she decides it looks like the perfect place fo...

Send us Fan Mail The Grand Escape: The greatest prison breakout of the 20th Century by Neal Bascomb  Captured. Probably one of the most dreaded words or events that could befall a World War I soldier or pilot. After all, it meant time away from the war effort, time away from family and the ability to communicate regularly with them, time away from life in general. The waiting and wondering and the...

Send us Fan Mail White Rose by Kip Wilson  At first, they didn’t realize just how horrible things would become. While their father had a feeling and voiced his disapproval of Hitler, Hans, and Sophie were not so sure. However, soon they began to see how things were falling apart, and how they could not sit by and watch German soldiers killed, Jewish people killed, innocent civilians killed. This i...

Send us Fan Mail Dread Nation by Justina Ireland The war sort of came to an end, when both the Confederates and the Union decided it was more important to fight the UNdead (or shamblers they are popularly called) than each other. Of course, the country is still in a state of chaos and disorder, which means it is just right for new groups of politicians to rise. No longer are the Democrats or Repub...

Send us Fan Mail #famous by Jilly Gagnon When Rachel snaps a quick picture of Kyle, a boy she's been crushing on for way too long, and sends it to her best friend Mo, she has no idea how much her life is about to change. Kyle has no idea why so many girls are suddenly coming up to him at work asking for "fries with that!" and then running away laughing, after taking a picture! But a...

Send us Fan Mail Love, Hate and Other Filters by Samira Ahmed Maya is looking forward to college as a place to dream big and follow her dreams – as in becoming a film maker. Ever since her father put a camcorder in her hands, she has been hooked. But the problem is, her parents see it as only as a hobby, not a career. With the school year winding down, and her parents clueless as to the fact that...

Send us Fan Mail Race Against Time by Sandra Neil Wallace and Rich Wallace When the sharecroppers got together to discuss how to unionize, they knew they were doing something dangerous. After all, black people in the United States didn’t just decide they wanted to get a fair shake of things. After all, historically speaking, why would they think that was even possible? And in 1919, especially in t...

Send us Fan Mail Hi! I've been doing these podcasts for a few years now, and I'd love to know who is listening to them, and if I have any teachers that are using them with their students.  Please feel free to email me at tasquires66@gmail.com or if you'd like - you can tweet me @tasquires - either way, I'd love to know who my audience is out there.  Also, if you are enjoying th...

Send us Fan Mail The Night She Disappeared    By April Henry She wasn’t supposed to even be working that night, the night she disappeared. Kayla is a popular girl in high school, friends with everyone, but one night when she goes out to deliver pizzas, she doesn’t return. Her car is found with her purse, keys still in the ignition and Gabie, the girl who was supposed to be working that night, and...

Send us Fan Mail Odette’s Secrets     By Maryann MacDonald She doesn’t understand at first, why she must keep certain things a secret. Growing up in Paris with a loving mother and father, Odette’s life is wonderful. She gets to stay after school with her godmother and father, who dote on her endlessly. However, even as Odette’s life seems perfect, the outside world isn’t. Odette begins to have to...

Send us Fan Mail Starfish by Lisa Fipps Ellie  has been haunted by a nickname ever since she was five years old - when her older sister gave her the name of Splash. And it wasn't meant in a kind way. Ellie was a big kid, and her sister was referring to her size. It has followed her in school and at home, and while her mom tries ever diet under the sun to get Ellie to lose weight, the kids at...

Send us Fan Mail Scythe    By Neal Shusterman In the future, humanity has solved all of its problems. Even death doesn’t happen anymore. Still, the earth does have a certain limit on how many humans it can sustain. Hence, the reason for gleanings. A whole society of Scythes has emerged with their sole purpose of killing or gleaning those who have been deemed necessary to remove for the sake of the...

Send us Fan Mail Stepsister by Jennifer Donnelly  You know the story of Cinderella, but what happened to her stepsisters after she went off to marry the Prince? After both of the girls cut off part of their feet to try to fit into the glass slipper, the village shunned them after their treatment of Ella became known. Isabelle believes if she had only been pretty, like Ella, everything would be dif...

Send us Fan Mail No Summit out of Sight     By Jordan Romero Who would have thought that a mural that Jordan saw every day going to and from recess would be so defining in his young life? At the age of 9, Jordan sees a mural showing the highest mountain peaks on each continent and gets it in his mind that he will climb them all. And he sets out to do just that. Recommended for grades 6 and up.  Su...

Send us Fan Mail Undefeated: Jim Thorpe and the Carlisle Indian Football T eam    By Steve Sheinkin Jim Thorpe began his life in Oklahoma living with his father and his mother, his father’s third wife. Of Potawatomi and Sac and Fox ancestry, Thorpe never was one to like school. In fact, when his parents decided he should attend an Indian school, he ran away from it at least three times. It was 23...

Send us Fan Mail Cracking the Bell by Geoff Herbach Football is what has kept him sane for years now, and without it, Isaiah can’t see how he will be able to focus and function. He has become such a good player that he is being recruited by Cornell, but he hasn’t told his parents yet. And that is because of what happened to his sister years ago, and why Isaiah needs football. All that changes thou...

Send us Fan Mail Don't Ask Me Where I'm From by Jennifer de Leon Liliana is floored when she is called to the office of her high school at the beginning of her sophomore year and finds out she has been accepted into the METCO program. The only problem is that Liliana has no idea what the METCO program is. So she goes to talk to her guidance counselor, who, it just so happens is a graduat...

Send us Fan Mail Who Killed Christopher Goodman   by Allan Wolf He was a newer kid in town, but even though he was different, it was different in a way everyone liked . Everyone thought Christopher Goodman was a cool guy, because he was just so nice and helpful to everyone, all the time. Some of the teenagers knew him better than others, and some didn’t know him at all. Still, when he’s killed the...

Send us Fan Mail Words We Don’t Say by K.J. Reilly Joel has it all figured out. For example, he’s figured out that the school could actually save money by buying all the juniors and seniors cars and it could be less than the annual transportation budget. Or maybe motorcycles if the cars turn out to be too expensive. He also knows how to really let people know how he feels by writing text messages...

Send us Fan Mail Blended by Sharon Draper It has been a while since her parents got divorced, but it doesn’t mean that things are easier now for Isabella (as her dad calls her) or Izzy (as her mom calls her.) See, they can’t even agree on what to call their own child! Every week, Izzy finds herself in a new home – either living with her dad or her mom. It is hard to feel like she truly belongs any...

Send us Fan Mail This is Our  Story by Ashely Elston When she heard the news, it took her breath away. She was just getting to know Grant, and now, suddenly, he’s dead. Shot by one of his best friends on a hunting trip. But who did it and why? Kate, and everyone else, can’t wrap their heads around the fact that one of the most popular boys in their small community has died and no one is saying who...