Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for the tour. Opinions shared are mine.

I’m always on the lookout for a great middle grades book. Kids deal with so much in their young lives. Sometimes a book can provide that escape they long for, or maybe even offer a different perspective than the one they’ve got. SHINE! is a good example of that situation.

In this book, the main character Piper deals with many growing pains. She’s adapted to life without her mom, but she shoulders a self-imposed responsibility of taking care of her dad. Moving to a different school would be hard enough, but when that school is the prestigious Chumley Prep, Piper learns about life on the other side of the tracks. It’s a difficult balancing act for her. Tweens will relate to Piper’s self-consciousness, peer pressure, and parental interactions. Parents should read it, too, to gain insight on the way kids think. Sometimes it’s helpful to know what they’re not saying!

SHINE!

Author: J.J. Grabenstein & Chris Grabenstein

Pub. Date: November 5, 2019

Publisher: Random House Children’s Books

Formats: Hardcover, eBook, audiobook

Pages: 210

“Inspirational, commonsensical, and a whole lot of fun.” –James Patterson

Everyone deserves to shine in this sparkling new book from the New York Times bestselling author of Escape from Mr. Lemoncello’s Library , Chris Grabenstein, and coauthor J.J. Grabenstein–just right for fans of Word of Mouse and The Fourteenth Goldfish.

“Who do you want to be?” asks Mr. Van Deusen. “And not when you grow up. Right here, right now.”

Shine on! might be the catchphrase of twelve-year-old Piper’s hero–astronaut, astronomer, and television host Nellie Dumont Frisse–but Piper knows the truth: some people are born to shine, and she’s just not one of them. That fact has never been clearer than now, since her dad’s new job has landed them both at Chumley Prep, a posh private school where everyone seems to be the best at something and where Piper definitely doesn’t fit in.

Bursting with humor, heart, science, possibilities, and big questions, Shine! is a story about finding your place in the universe–a story about figuring out who you are and who you want to be.

Co-author J.J. Grabenstein reads the first chapter of SHINE!:

About JJ & Chris: 

J.J. Grabenstein is the co-author, with her husband, Chris Grabenstein, of SHINE! This is her first novel as a co-authorbut she has been the “first editor” on everything her husband hasever written, including the award-winning/bestselling ESCAPE FROMMR.LEMONCELLO’S LIBRARY series and more than fifty other works. J.J. and Chris live in New York City with their cat Phoebe Squeak.

CHRIS GRABENSTEIN is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of ESCAPE FROM MR. LEMONCELLO’S LIBRARY, MR. LEMONCELLO’S LIBRARY OLYMPICS, THE ISLAND OF DR. LIBRIS, WELCOME TO WONDERLAND: HOME SWEET MOTEL and many other books, as well as the coauthor of numerous fun and funny page-turners with James Patterson, including I FUNNY, HOUSE OF ROBOTS, TREASURE HUNTERS, and JACKY HA-HA. Chris lives in New York City with his wife, J.J., two cats, and a dog named Fred. You can visit Chris at ChrisGrabenstein.com.