Posts Tagged mysteries

Heists, Hijinks, and Hardboiled Heroes: Misadventures in Middle Grade

By on December 9, 2024   /   Articles, Book Lists, Fiction  

One of the fun things about middle grade books is that they possess the capacity to reflect the adult world on a smaller scale, mimicking and evoking the tropes of other genres without missing a beat. You can have your hardboiled private detectives, your intrepid journalists, your tarnished white knights. You can have your criminal masterminds, menacing henchmen, and slick con artists. The only difference is, they’re tweens and their playground is quite literally the school playground. But all the passions, foibles, dreams and disappointments can be found here … just don’t get caught by the principal!  Read on for a selection of old and new books which expertly capture the dark side of middle school.

The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo

Hardboiled loner Matt Stevens winds up entangled in the dark and dastardly schemes of a middle school crime syndicate, facing off against hitmen armed with water pistols, in this cool, stylish, and snappy callback to classic noir.  Though set firmly in the world of seventh- and eight-grade, this serious plays its tropes and themes seriously, from the wise-cracking, world-weary hero to the ruthless crime lord, from the complicated yet lovely femme fatale to the corrupt authorities. A sequel, The Quick Fix, saw Matt investigating who blackmailed the school basketball star.

High Score by Destiny Howell

Seventh-grade mastermind DJ has called it quits to schemes and cons, doing his best to lay low in a new school. Then his former partner and best friend Conor shows up, and winds up on the wrong side of the school’s criminal kingpin. To cancel out Conor’s debt and save him from becoming a social pariah, DJ has to assemble a new crew and acquire an astronomical amount of arcade tickets. It looks like he’s back in the game after all. Fast-paced, funny, and clever, this middle grade heist is as daring as any Danny Ocean might conceive. Followed by Second To None, in which DJ’s crew deals with a conspiracy aimed at taking down the school’s high achievers and club leaders.

 

The Great Green Heist by Varian Johnson

Another instance of a mastermind being recalled to a life of intrigue and danger, this political thriller sees Jackson Greene, reformed con man, pulling together a team of specialized operatives to swing the school presidential election. There’s nothing quite like the reluctant anti-hero ripped from a peaceful life and torn between friendship and honor. This is followed by To Catch a Cheat, in which Jackson and friends must clear their names after being framed by outwitting a devious blackmailer. “Just when I thought I was out, they pulled me back in,” to quote the Godfather movies…

 

The Cookie Crumbles by Tracy Badua and Alechia Dow

Talented baker Laila and her best friend, aspiring journalist Lucy, are excited to participate in the Golden Cookie Competition, especially since winning could determine their future in high school together. Before the final round, they must contend with sabotage, foul play, and the poisoning of one of the judges. In this cozy yet tense mystery, the recipe for success involves friendship, chocolate, and a healthy dose of danger. To be followed in 2025 by Their Just Desserts, another tasty mystery set against a baking competition.

 

The Sherlock Society by James Ponti

The Sherlock siblings—Alex and Zoe–, along with their friends Lina and Yadi, set out to form their own detective agency, only to discover it’s not as easy as it seems. Assisted by their grandfather, a retired reporter with a collection of cold cases, the Sherlocks launch a hunt for Al Capone’s lost treasure, only to stumble across more contemporary crimes in need of solving. With this delightfully intelligent, fast-paced tale, Ponti evokes classic juvenile sleuths while giving them a modern day makeover.

 

Bubblegum Shoes: The Case of the Contraband Closet by Goldy Moldavsky

In this clever mystery coming out next year, would be private detective Maya Mendoza has a nose for intrigue, a knack for getting in trouble, and a reputation for missing the mark. But when someone pulls off the heist of the century by emptying her school’s “Contraband Closet” of all its treasures, Maya has to enlist her estranged best friend and several new allies to solve the case. The clock is ticking and everyone is a suspect in this snappy, suspenseful series opener.

 

And there you go, a selection of hardboiled heroes, reluctantly reformed con men, and amateur investigators, all ready to see justice satisfied one way or another. Now if only they could solve the mystery of where I left the remote…

 

 

 

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Meet Fred Bowen, author of the FRED BOWEN SPORTS STORY SERIES

By on August 25, 2021   /   Articles, Author Interviews  

Today at MUF we’re so excited to welcome Fred Bowen, author of Peachtree’s popular Fred Bowen Sports Story Series for middle grade readers. A lifelong sports fanatic, he has coached youth league baseball, basketball, and soccer. His kids’ sports column “The Score” appears each week in the KidsPost section of the Washington Post.  His latest book in the Fred Bowen Sports Story Series is Soccer Trophy Mystery. 

Here Fred shares his rules for writing for middle graders, his favorite teams, and the most important thing we can learn from sports.

Soccer Trophy Mystery

MUF: Thank you so much for answering a few questions for us. Starting with the hardest question first: What’s your favorite sport? 

Fred: I enjoy most sports if they are well played and the teams or players are well matched.  But my favorite sport to watch is baseball.  My son, Liam, is the head baseball coach at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and so my favorite team to watch is the UMBC Retrievers.

Growing up, I played lots of sports: baseball, basketball, football, soccer, tennis and even street hockey.  I wasn’t great at any of them but I loved playing and being active.  Now that I am older my favorite sport to play is golf.  I am still trying to score my first hole-in-one.

MUF: As a kid, did you love reading, love playing and watching sports, or love both? What led to your career as a sportswriter? 

Fred: Both. As I said above, I played lots of sports growing up.  I also spent many hours watching sports on television.  Living in New England, I was a big Boston Red Sox and Boston Celtics fan.  Because my father was in advertising, he would get tickets to see the Celtics and the Bruins, Boston’s pro hockey team.  So I was lucky enough to see such great basketball players as Bill Russell, Bob Cousy and many others up close in the Boston Garden.  I also saw the incomparable Bobby Orr of the Bruins play hockey several times.

As for reading, I grew up on the Chip Hilton sports books.  The books, written in the 1940s and 50s by Hall of Fame basketball coach Clair Bee, followed Chip and his friends’ sports adventures at Valley Falls High School and State (his college).  I suspect the books would seem very old fashioned now, but I loved them.  They helped me understand the joy of being lost in a book.  I also read sports magazines such as Sports Illustrated as well as the sports section of several newspapers.

Finally, I did not start out as a writer.  I studied history at the University of Pennsylvania (PENN) and then went on to law school at George Washington University.  I was a lawyer for more than thirty years.

The most important reason I became a writer is because I married my wife, Peggy Jackson, who was, at the time, a journalist.  She encouraged my writing.

Fred Bowen

Kidlit author Fred Bowen

First, I wrote movie reviews for local papers.  That was fun.  I got paid to go to the movies!  A few years later, after my son was born, I started reading sports books to him.  I didn’t think they were very good so I tried writing one.  Those efforts produced T.J.’s Secret Pitch, the first in my Fred Bowen Sports Story series.  I now have 24 books in the series with Soccer Trophy Mystery being the latest.  I plan on writing kids’ sports books as long as I am having fun doing it and kids want to read them.

MUF: For your young readers, what would you tell them are the most important things they can learn about the world and themselves by participating in sports? What if they’re not sporty at all? 

Fred: There are lots of things kids can learn from sports such as sportsmanship and how to be a good teammate.  But I think the two most important lessons kids can learn from sports are:

  • Always try your hardest. That way you can be satisfied even if things do not turn out the way you had hoped.  It is easy to say, “I could have gotten an “A” if I had studied.”  It is harder to study your hardest and get a “B.”  But at least you will know you gave it your best effort

 

  • I have hinted at this lesson in the first answer. Sometimes, you can try your hardest and things still do not turn out the way you wanted.  Your team loses or you don’t make the team.  Life is filled with disappointments.  Sports is often a good (and safe) place for kids to learn how to deal with disappointments but to bounce back and try again.

Sports are not the only place to learn these lessons.  Some kids are not “sporty.”  They can still learn these lessons about effort and learning how to bounce back from disappointment if they are interested in music or theater or some other activity.  The important thing is you have to care about your interest.  Don’t be a kid who is always complaining things are “boring.”  Find something you like to do and give it your best efforts.

MUF: For writers, any advice on how you created such a successful and wonderful book series? What’s your secret?  

Fred: First, thanks for the kind words about the series.  One of my “secrets” is I am lucky enough to write about a subject that is interesting to me and my readers.  I have been a sports fan for my entire life and so it is a joy to write about the games and personalities in sports.  I think my readers sense my enthusiasm for the subject and that is one of the reasons they love my books.

As for the more technical aspects of writing, I was asked to speak at a conference of people who wanted to write for middle readers (ages 8-12).  So I came up with my Rules for Writing for Middle Graders.  Here they are (although I am sure I broken all of them at some time).

  • Write in short, clear sentences;
  • Avoid long descriptions;
  • Avoid adverbs and the passive voice;
  • Subject/Verb/Object is a good sentence structure 90% of the time;
  • Show, don’t tell;
  • All action should either reveal character and/or move the plot along;
  • If you can tell your story (or part of your story) clearly through dialogue, do it;
  • Try to break up the words on the page – no young reader likes to see page after page filled with words;
  • Think about your reader.

MUF: Finally, how can fans find you? Do you have a website and/or any social media that you use? 

Fred: The best way to reach me is to go to my website: www.fredbowen.com

Click on the “Contact” heading at the top of the home page.  That will direct kids or any interested people to a way they can send me an email.  I always enjoy hearing from my readers and will answer any emails sent to me.

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Writing Bingeable Books

By on June 28, 2021   /   Articles, For Writers, Writing  

What makes a TV show “bingeable”? What makes you click ‘next episode’ on your streaming service or faithfully plop on the couch when your favorite shSecrets of Sulphur Springs Splash Pageow comes? It’s something that I think about when I watch TV, and I watch a lot of TV. One show that I recently binged was The Secrets of Sulphur Springs on Disney+. In it, a 12 year old boy and his family move into a run-down and supposedly haunted hotel. As strange events occur, they boy and his best friend try to solve the mystery behind the disappearance of the young girl who they believe is haunting them. It’s the kind of spooky, mysterious, and slightly science-fiction story that is guaranteed to pique my interest.

But after binging all 11 episodes of the first season, I started to realize what kept pulling me in hour after hour. Each episode is a puzzle onto itself, and its resolution would provide small clues to the overarching mystery of the series. These clues were tiny, just enough to get me to continue watching until the next episode.

It made me start looking at my own stories, and how I plot them. How can we, as writers, create bingeable books? I think that it’s by giving our characters a goal and making sure that the resolution of that goal contributes to the larger story just enough to make the reader want to turn the page and see what happens next.

Our namesake, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler is a great example of this, and more mysteries can be found on the following booklists:

From the Mixed Up Files Cover

Mysteries in Bookstores and Libraries, at Book Fairs and Festivals, in Literary Landmarks, and Other Literary Places

Middle-Grade Mysteries, Spy, & Sci-fi stories featuring South Asian Characters: Interview and Giveaway with Sheela Chari

Diversity in MG lit #19 August 2020 Mysteries

But a book doesn’t need to be a mystery to be “bingeable”. What are some MG books that you couldn’t put down?

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