About three years ago, I paired up Amalie Jahn and Halli Gomez in a Storied Charlotte blog post titled “Two New YA Novels by Charlotte Authors.”  Amalie and Halli both had YA novels that had been published in 2021, so I decided at the time to feature their then newly released novels in my blog post.  Well, as fate would have it, Amalie and Halli both have new middle-grade novels out now, so it seems appropriate to me to pair them up again.

Amalie’s new novel is Team Canteen Rocky Road.  I contacted Amalie and asked her for more information about this novel. Here is what she sent to me:

After a decade of writing for young adults, I took a chance and decided to dip my toes into middle grade fiction. At first, I didn’t think there were many differences between the two. But once I began drafting what would eventually become Team Canteen Rocky Road, I realized there are actually quite a few key elements setting them apart.

One of the most obvious differences readers encounter between YA and MG is point of view. Nearly all of my young adult titles are written in first person, while middle grade is typically written in third. This can mostly be attributed to voice. Young adult main characters spend considerable time reflecting on what’s happening directly to them and analyzing the meaning of things. In middle grade, however, characters usually spend more time reacting to what’s going on around them and rarely take time to self-reflect. In addition to voice, young adult and middle grade books often address different themes. For example, most YA main characters are motivated by finding their place in the world at large, while MG characters are more concerned with fitting in with immediate friends and family.

When I began thinking about my favorite middle grade books from my own childhood, The Baby-Sitters Club by Ann M. Martin was the first that came to mind. In many ways, Team Canteen is an homage of sorts to Mary Anne, Claudia, Stacey, and Kristy, so of course I was thrilled when my publisher immediately saw them as companion series and described Team Canteen as “a smart, soaring celebration of the highs and lows of middle school, and the unbreakable friendships that see you through, no matter what comes next.”

I’m so excited to share the Team Canteen kids with this next generation of readers and hope the members of The Baby-Sitters Club would choose to sit with them in the mess hall.

Signed copies of Team Canteen Rocky Road will be available at Park Road Books at 2pm on Saturday, September 7 during the book’s official launch event. See the store’s website for details.

Halli’s new novel is Locked In.  I contacted Halli and asked her for more information about her novel.  Here is what she sent to me:

My new novel, Locked In, is an upper middle grade/young adult novel described by Kirkus Reviews as “The Breakfast Club in an escape room setting.” Locked In features four teens who agree to test an escape room with the promise of a cash reward. But as the game begins, the escape room turns out to be stranger than expected, and they suspect someone might have ulterior motives. Can the kids overcome their prejudices and differences to escape in time?

The inspiration for this novel began with my family’s love of escape rooms. We have done over 75 rooms in the US and overseas. The puzzles are fun and true tests of our intellectual and physical abilities. It was exciting to use my knowledge and experience to create accurate puzzles for the book. However, what I find most fascinating about escape rooms is the human dynamic. Who jumps right in to solve puzzles, who fades into the background afraid to give their opinions, and how do these personalities play into the communication necessary to escape the room. 

The idea for the story grew as I watched the country become more and more divided. Regardless of which “side” people choose, they are human beings looking to fulfill basic needs and dreams. The naive side of me believes if we could sit in a room and talk, we would realize we’re more alike than different. Of course no one wants to do that, so the writer in me took charge and threw four people from different backgrounds with different ideals together and locked them in a room.

The other aspect that makes Locked In a special book is that it is considered Hi/Lo— a high interest or high concept book written on a lower-reading level. There are many kids who have fallen behind in reading but still want to read about subjects and characters they can relate to. I am grateful to my publisher, Jolly Fish Press, for publishing these types of books. They see the importance of reading and do their best to make sure right books are available. 

I congratulate Amalie and Halli on the publication of their new middle-grade novels. Both novels are welcomed additions to Storied Charlotte’s ever-expanding list of impressive books for young readers.