Canning Season, The

Reach for this book when your child feels like a 'round peg in a square hole' or struggles with a parent who does not quite 'get' them. This darkly humorous, eccentric story follows thirteen-year-old Ratchet, a girl who feels invisible to her status-obsessed mother, as she is sent to the rugged Maine coast to live with her two bizarre great-aunts. Amidst the smells of vinegar and the chaos of bear-filled woods, Ratchet discovers that being 'weird' is actually a superpower of resilience. It is an offbeat, absurdist, and ultimately heartwarming exploration of finding your tribe in the most unlikely places. While the humor is dry and sometimes macabre, it provides a safe space for middle schoolers to process feelings of loneliness and the realization that family is what you make of it.