Roller Girl, by Victoria Jamieson

Astrid rolls her eyes as her mother takes her and bestie Nicole to a surprise "evening of cultural enlightenment!"  Astrid knows what that means because in the past it mean poetry readings, opera performances and trips to the modern art gallery. The girls are amazed when Astrid's mom's cultural outing takes them instead to an evening of Roller Derby! Astrid is quickly obsessed with the derby and is quite taken with local Rose City Roller jammer "Rainbow Bite".  At dinner after the derby, Astrid's mom shows the girls a flyer for a Jr. Derby League summer camp, and Astrid knows that is exactly how she and Rachel should spend their summer.

Unfortunately for Astrid, Nicole doesn't feel the same way.  She'd rather go to dance camp than spend her summer skating.  Astrid can't understand this, especially since prissy Rachel is going to be at dance camp too.  The same Rachel who embarrassed Astrid  back in first grade and had been giving her grief ever since.

Astrid goes through with Derby camp even without Nicole.  She doesn't let her mom know that Nicole isn't going, even though it's Nicole's mom who is supposed to drive her home from camp! The first day is a disaster. Not only do all of the other girls look older and different, complete with dyed hair and piercings, but they all seem to know how to skate a whole lot better than Astrid does!  Then there is the pain.  Lots and lots of it.  Add onto this the fact that Astrid has to walk all the way home in the blazing sun, and it turns out the Jr. Derby camp isn't going exactly as amazingly as she had imagined it.

Astrid's summer is filled with the ups and down as they can only be felt in the tween years.  Keeping secrets, finding new friends, getting caught in a lie, and growing pains are all a part of Astrid's days at camp.  Throw in some rainbow socks and Hugh Jackman voodoo dolls and the result is a graphic novel that hits the sweet spot for the 9-12 year old set.  Filled with colorful and welcoming art, Roller Girl is certain to sit on the shelf for the same number of minutes as books by Telgemeier and Bell. Do yourself a favor and get multiple copies.

The Secret Tree, by Natalie Standiford

The town of Cantonsville has it's fair share of weirdness going on.  Not only are there rumors of the Man-Bat, but there's the witch lady on the other side of the woods, the legend of Crazy Ike, and one day when Minty and Paz are hanging out, Minty sees a creature in the woods followed by a flash!  Minty crashes through the woods trying to find it.  She loses the creature but finds a strange tree.  It seems to be murmuring and when Minty reaches in the big hole in its trunk she finds a note that she quickly stuffs in her pocket to examine later.

Minty and Paz are best friends with some pretty big roller derby dreams.  Minty, aka Minty Fresh, and Paz, aka Pax A. Punch, have been practicing their moves since they were 8 years old and saw the local team The Catonsville Nine in action.  Paz, however, seems to be distancing herself from Minty in favor of things that are decidedly not roller derby:  things like hanging out at the pool with Isabelle, and wearing glittery nail polish and barrettes.  Minty's summer is definitely not going how she planned.

When Minty is walking down her street she sees that mysterious flash again and takes chase.  This time she ends up at a model home next to the witch's house on the other side of the woods where she finds a boy.   His name is Raymond and he apparently lives there.  Like Minty, he knows about the secret filled tree, and like Minty he is in need of a friend.  Soon the two are skulking around town, finding secrets by good old spying.  But some secrets cannot be stuffed in a tree and forgotten.  Some secrets bubble up and create a big mess before they can be made better.

Standiford has written an ideal summer read for the middle grade set.  Perfectly paced and tightly written, The Secret Tree is filled with mystery, family, friendship, and long summer hours.  Readers are bound to start looking at people and trees through new eyes. 

Highly recommended.