Nina doesn’t quite fit in – at home, at school, or anywhere else, it seems. So she doesn’t expect much when she goes to spend some time at her aunt’s summer camp. But when she discovers a nest built by a mating pair of whooping cranes, she also learns that maybe all it takes to fit in is to discover who you really are. Lauri’s Take: This is a beautiful middle grade book about friendship, learning to navigate emotions, and finding where you belong. It’s also an excellent homage to whooping cranes and is a great story for birders. Readers familiar with Texas will appreciate the Buc-ee’s nod, as well!

Wren is a finder of lost things, but no matter how hard she tries, she can’t find her mother, who has been missing for five years. Although she is one of hundreds Native Americans considered missing or murdered in Oklahoma, Wren’s mother is more than a statistic, and Wren is determined to bring her home. To do so, however, she must hone her detective skills, which she does by helping others find lost pets. Wren thinks she may be in for more than she bargained for when she recovers one of the missing pets after he’s been badly hurt, followed soon by others. Determined to discover who could possibly do such a horrible thing, Wren seeks justice for the abused animals while finding healing for the hurt of not knowing her mother’s fate. Lauri’s Take: This book very tastefully weaves together the topics of animal abuse, middle-school bullying, child abuse, and the crisis of missing indigenous women and girls. I recommend it for the older readers in this age bracket, but I TOTALLY recommend it. Although touching on a lot of hard life issues, the author never forgets that she’s telling a story, which she does in such a masterful way that the issues which are important to Wren become important to readers, as well.