The Fourteenth Goldfish

Just out in paperback after being one of our most popular middle-reader novels last year, The Fourteenth Goldfish neatly slides a science-fiction premise (11-year-old Ellie Cruz's cranky, arrogant grandpa has discovered the fountain of youth and turned himself into a cranky, arrogant teenager) into a goofy, everyday story of growing up (and growing down, in grandpa Melvin's case) that's so bright-eyed about the possibilities and responsibilities of science that it could have been titled Lab Girl too. (Maybe Ellie will grow up to be Hope Jahren.) (Ages 8 to 12)