Talia's Codebook for Mathletes

April 15, 2023
Talia Zargari's notebook helps her deal with the new challenges of sixth grade. A few weeks into the school year, Dash, Talia's neighbor and longtime best friend, tells her they can't be friends anymore. Desperate to fit in, Dash succumbs to peer pressure and teasing from other boys. Hoping to be able to stay close to Dash through their shared love of math, Talia, whose mom is a computer programmer, is excited to join him on the mathlete team. As the only girl, Talia experiences discrimination from the team captain, however, so she decides to start a new, girls-only team. The Mathlete Mermaids show the boys' team up by winning their first competition. But there is still work to be done in including girls in STEM, and the Mermaids must prove themselves in ways boys don't. The book shows with authenticity how Talia has to manage complex feelings around growing up, recognizing her own mistakes, and making room for others, particularly when teammate Leticia, a skilled leader, steps in as Mermaids team captain. Talia's love of code-breaking and scavenger hunts is incorporated through fun puzzles for readers to solve. Fans of Moss' Amelia's Notebooks series will feel at home with the engagingly illustrated text and tips for navigating social situations. Talia has tan skin and curly black hair; Dash reads Black, and background characters are diverse in appearance. A fun, interactive guide to forging your own path in middle school. (author's note) (Illustrated fiction. 8-12)

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May 1, 2023
In this winning interactive comics diary by Moss (the Amelia series), sixth grader Talia Zargari, portrayed with tan skin, records her daily observations and personal thought experiments to cope with the social pitfalls of middle school. Upset by teasing from his male classmates about them being boyfriend-girlfriend, Talia’s best friend Dash, who reads as Black, tells her they can’t be friends anymore. Devastated, STEM-focused Talia turns her sights to making it onto her school’s mathletes team. She’s delighted when both she and Dash make the lineup and hopes spending time together will help them reconcile. But as the only girl on the team, Talia faces gendered discrimination from their captain, prompting her to form her own all-girl mathletes squad. Moss successfully integrates an array of codes, doodles, and puzzles among Talia’s insightful and often humorous deductions about how “middle school isn’t about learning stuff from teachers.... It’s really about learning how to get along with other people.” Talia is an appealing heroine who thrives despite her challenges and missteps, and whose willingness to learn—coupled with her frustrations around growing up and changing dynamics—paints an organic portrait of one irrepressible tween’s middle school experience. Ages 8–12.

May 1, 2023

Gr 5-7-From the creator of the classic "Amelia's Notebook" series comes a new comics diary adventure. Talia has high hopes for middle school; she's smart, has good friends, has always been successful in school, and is ready for this new adventure. That is until her best friend, Dash, informs her that they can't really be friends anymore. Talia is confused and disappointed when Dash shares that it isn't cool for middle school boys to be friends with girls. To help get over her disappointment with a less-than-stellar start to middle school, Talia decides to start a journal filled with her observations, plans, and thoughts. When Talia finds out that Dash has joined the Mathletes team, she figures she can join him, and then they can still be friends. It turns out that Talia is the only girl on the team, and the boys aren't too happy with her joining them. So, Talia decides to form an all-girls Mathletes team and show the boys that she is just as smart as they are. Through this new adventure, Talia learns that, while middle school is not what she thought it would be, it's still a great place to be. VERDICT A delightful novel sure to be a hit with readers wishing to become mathematicians or even scientists. With a narrative infused with colorful illustrations, codes, jokes, and observations, this is a fantastic start to a new series.-Charla Hollingsworth

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