In Your Shoes by Donna Gephart

Miles Spagoski loves to bowl. How could he not? His family owned the only bowling alley in Buckington, a small Pennsylvania town. While shy and a bit socially awkward, in the bowling alley, Miles is as proud and confident as a lion.

Amy Silverman has been torn away from Chicago, her school, and her friends, when the death of her mother forced Amy and her father to join her undertaker uncle in podunk Buckington. She is bitter and angry about the move.

Before school, Miles and his fashionista friend Randall, bowl an early morning game. As Miles' father takes the boys to school, he notices that Miles forgot to change out of his bowling shoes. While his father and Randall feel that wearing the shoes to school will label him as a pure dork, Miles decides that he is making a fashion statement and decides not to change into his tennis shoes. As they walk into school, Miles and Randall get into a heated argument over the shoes. A fight ensues, one of the bowling shoes come off, Randall throws it, and knocks over a girl as it hits her in the head.

Amy, feeling uncomfortable on her first day of school, is worried about her outfit and is self-conscious of the special shoe she wears to accommodate one leg shorter than the other. As she is walking into school, she suddenly finds herself on the ground, knocked down by a flying object. Why would anyone do this to her?

And so meet Miles and Amy, an awkward pair to say the least. From this chance meeting builds a friendship that has its many ups and downs, but becomes one that helps Miles and Amy work through the difficulties and challenges that life has thrown at them. A sweet story, that while not challenging or thought provoking, is the right kind of warm escapism that we need ever-so-often.  The story is interrupted intermittently with a message to the reader to inform or fill in the gaps. While informative, I felt they were unnecessary. Most readers will figure things out on their own.
Mark's Book Picks Score: 3

Reading Level: 4.0 • Interest Level: 4-7 • AR Points: NA • Lexile: NA  
Publisher: Random House • 323 Pages • Copyright: 2017 • ISBN: 978-1-524-71373-7 • Available in Perma-Bound binding.

Mike by Andrew Norriss

Floyd, a teenage British tennis prodigy is unbeatable. He is absolutely dedicated to his game, supported by loving parents. Floyd has everything going for him. During a competitive match he sees Mike walking in the stands. He has seen Mike quite often, usually observing him during practice, never during a match. Mike walks down the stands, opens the gate and walks on to the court. Floyd tells the umpire to ask Mike to leave. The umpire is confused. Floyd's father (also, his coach) comes on to the court to find out what's wrong. Floyd explains, that Mike must leave. His father is confused as well. When Floyd tells Mike that he must go, his father, equally frustrated, says, "but I can't see anyone..."

The pressure and the stress of the constant practice and competition are starting to affect Floyd. As Floyd enters therapy, his therapist, Dr. Pinner, works to peal away the facade and get to the root cause of what Floyd is experiencing. What Floyd discovers has a ripple effect on those that love and care about him, as Floyd begins to question who he is, and what he wants out of life.

Andrew Norris's text is clear, a bit sparse, but pulls you right into the story. While character development is not detailed, which for me in this instance, was fine, you do see Floyd change and grow. While the plot was predictable, it was a pleasure to see it unfold. The ending is neat and tidy, which for many young readers is the way they like it. I thoroughly enjoyed this one.
Note: This review is from an advanced readers copy. The book is not available until February 26, 2019.
Mark's Book Picks Score: 4

Reading Level:  • Interest Level: 7-12 • AR Points:  • Lexile:   
Publisher: David Fickling Books, Scholastic • 240 Pages • Copyright: 2019 • ISBN: 978-1-338-28536-9 • Publication details will be added when available.