Mary Hershey

Ham has been homeschooled by his mom and involved with the church community which she leads as a preacher. To help protect her health and ease her stress, Ham now attends public school. Learning the ins and outs of public-school culture is a challenge for Ham, but Fey, his new neighbor and friend helps him navigate. Ham also finds himself attracted to Micah, a good-looking boy with plenty of cool vibes. Ham's strong feelings blind him to Micah's evasive ways and he soon finds himself in over his head trying to protect Micah when they both get into serious trouble. Ham's ardent devotion as Micah strings him along is cringe-inducing--observant readers will see the train wreck coming. It's tempered by the caring adults in Ham's life, his mother; Deuce, a father-figure neighbor; Coach Becerra, and the church ladies. Suspenseful, compelling and ultimately empathetic.… (meer)

Like The Thing About Jellyfish and Counting by 7s, this sweet, heartfelt middle grade novel illustrates for readers what it’s like to tackle loss, confront hard truths, and find the courage to begin again.

Macy Hollinquest is eleven years old, and don’t count on her to change that anytime soon.

Her birthday is just days away, but she has no intention of turning twelve without her dad by her side. He’d promised to be there for her big day—and yet he’s been gone for months, away doing some kind of secret “important work” after being discharged from the Marines. So she’s staying eleven, no matter what—that is, until she meets Ginger, a nice older lady who is searching for her missing dog. Could Ginger be the perfect cover for attempting to locate her dad?

Macy’s search puts her on a path to a head-on collision with the truth, where she discovers that knowing can sometimes be a heavy burden. And that change, when finally accepted, comes with an unexpected kind of grace.

Mary Penney’s earnest, heartfelt story of change, loss, and new beginnings will resonate with readers on the cusp of new beginnings, and stay in their hearts long after it’s done.… (meer)

Macy is 11, and she refuses to turn 12 until her father returns from the secret military project he's working on. Her best friend Twee is a grade behind her and the won't be in the same school next year. Her grandmother's coffee shop was sold to a man she doesn't like, her mother seems hostile most of the time, an eccentric old woman has lost her dog and is offering a huge reward, and she keeps running into Switch, a skateboarding punk.
But much of what Macy sees in her world is not as it seems, and she will learn quite a bit about family, friends, and passing judgments on others based on minimal knowledge.
Delightful book, with some appealing secondary characters in addition to Macy.… (meer)