The Undercover Book List

August 15, 2021
Two 12-year-olds confront their vulnerabilities. Told in alternating chapters from the perspectives of seventh graders Jane (in the first person) and Tyson (in third-person omniscient), this story unfolds with clever aplomb. Although they are in the same class, Jane and Tyson don't hang out together. Top-student Jane loves to read--especially mysteries--and misses her best friend, Sienna, who has recently moved across the country; underachiever Tyson pulls pranks that get him sent to the office and plays video games obsessively at home, to the detriment of his schoolwork. But when Sienna leaves an anonymous farewell note/clue in the school library for Jane, it is Tyson, hiding in the stacks, who sees Jane find the note, and he decides to jump in to the correspondence, also anonymously, as a prank. Jane, meanwhile, is unaware of Tyson's trick and continues the correspondence, happy she has found another (albeit unknown) book-loving friend. As Tyson continues his deception, he is surprised to find himself drawn into the world of books (the titles and authors of actual, excellent, and thoughtfully chosen books are used and are also listed in the backmatter). Jane, meanwhile, prepares for the upcoming Kid Lit Quiz regionals, enlisting her beloved grandfather to coach. Jane and Tyson are cued as White; there's a robustly diverse supporting cast. A well-plotted, well-written story that will engage readers and encourage nonreaders. (Fiction. 11-13)

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October 15, 2021
Grades 4-7 With her father posted in the Middle East and her best friend moving away, Jane's seventh-grade year is unsettling. Still, she follows through on a suggestion for making a new friend: in a particular book at the school library, she places an anonymous note recommending her favorite titles and inviting the next reader to reply by doing the same. She's excited to get a quick response, unaware that the writer is Tyson, an underachieving and secretly lonely prankster who finds it hard to change. Not mentioning that he saw Jane leave the note, he makes a connection that becomes increasingly important to him as he steps outside his comfort zone and onto a new path. Nelson, a Canadian author, offers an appealing dual narrative that switches, chapter by chapter, between the two very different classmates' points of view. The writing is straightforward but lively. Early on, Tyson sums up Jane in this wry sentence: "Teachers probably arm-wrestled each other to get her in their classes." Both characters are convincingly portrayed in this rewarding middle-grade novel.

COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 4, 2021
After her chief-of-staff father is posted overseas in the Middle East and her best friend Sienna moves away, bookish, mystery-loving seventh grader Jane McDonald, who is cued white, feels abandoned—until she becomes ensconced in Sienna’s literary scavenger hunt, meant to help Jane find a new, like-minded friend. Clues left in a library book lead to an unexpected secret pen pal: listless gamer Tyson Flamand, 12, a white middle child whose frequent pranks and neglected schoolwork often land him in trouble. When Tyson’s mother restricts his Xbox privileges, he slowly but surely becomes an engaged reader, eventually joining Jane’s competitive, ethnically inclusive Kid Lit Quiz team. Alternating chapters catalogue Tyson and Jane’s earnest perspectives (“It feels like people are always leaving me”) in Nelson’s (Harvey Holds His Own) gentle yet well-paced story. Featuring the duo’s interspersed missives, the narrative explores what it means to be accurately perceived, by both others and oneself, while simultaneously serving as a satisfying love letter to Louis Sachar, Rebecca Stead, Jacqueline Woodson, and other cherished authors, and emphasizing books’ transformative power. Back matter includes their Undercover Book List. Ages 8–12.