When his dad spots a notice for a Spy Club meeting in their new apartment building’s laundry room, Georges decides to show up--and becomes the first spy recruit of his new friend Safer, a 12-year-old, self- trained spy. Safer teaches Georges the tricks of the trade and sets him to work tracking Mr. X. This realistic novel delicately explores the nature of truth, the power of friendship, and the importance of standing up for yourself. (9-13, 11-13)

Stead's Newbery-winning book is wrapped around an old one: Madeline L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time, which just happens to be the favorite of 6th grader Miranda Sinclair. Miranda’s life is pretty normal, until things begin to unravel. I loved the setting of late 1970s Manhattan; Miranda’s life looks so different from the lives of today’s kids. A clever tale of friendship, mystery, and time travel.

I'm a big fan of Newbery winner Rebecca Stead, and the reviews on her new novel are fantastic. I was underwhelmed by the composite structure and thought the ensemble cast only worked so well, but my biggest regret has nothing to do with Stead's writing. This was the first time I handed one of her novels off to my kids (in this case, my 10-year-old) without reading it first, and boy was I sorry. The three interwoven plots tackle the Sturm and Drang of adolescence, and my daughter wasn't ready to read about cyberbullying or sexting. Not bad, but nowhere close to When You Reach Me, and definitely for middle school and older.