Middle school. For teens and their parents. the two words can arouse anxiety, fear and even horror. Kids are, all of a sudden, really growing up. Their bodies are changing: they’re dropping some of their childhood interests and trying on new ones. Friendships form and are torn apart. Academic expectations grow bigger.   

But some books-like the novel Curlfriends: New in Town, written and drawn by Sharee Miller-remind us of the many possibilities and excitements that present themselves within those challenging years.   

The book follows 12-year-old Charlie Harper, beginning her first day of middle school. This is no small change, and in order ta cope. Charlie promises to “completely reinvent” herself. She is tired of letting other people label her and is ready to take control of her own story. What follows is a series of meetings, first with Nola. She introduces Charlie to her lunchtime crew. The girls come together around shared particulars of their lives-homework. girlhood and fashion -even if their differences in tastes and personalities create cracks of uncertainty from time to time.

Curlfriends is a delightful book packed with sunny illustrations. It also cuts into the heart of the challenging tensions that are part of this intermediate stage of life. Young teens want to be known and seen by others, but they are also coming to terms with who they are. It can be tricky, for example, to distinguish between the passions and pastimes that your parents picked for you and those you actively care to pursue. It can be difficult to figure out what you like and what you are like.

Curlfriends is also a book about finding one’s passions, responsibilities and independence despite changing situations. It is as much about expressions of self-respect as it is about showing care for others. The one constant in Charlie’s life is her love of drawing. and it’s through art that she figures out how to mark her place in middle school. It’s not all under her control, but, as with good art, sometimes mistakes along the way end up making for the most amazing details.

If you want to make sure that you understand this story as fully as possible,you might consider printing the article and reading it on paper.

Virginia Clinton carried out the research examination. Clinton’s examination found that reading from paper generally led to better understanding and improved a person’s performance on tests connected to the reading material. And, she found no major difference in reading speed between the two. Such differences were notable only when the reading material was expository texts—or explanatory and based on fact. Clinton said she found no major difference when it came to narrative,fictional texts.

Clinton also found that paper readers usually have a higher recognition of how well they have understood a text than screen readers.She said,“We think that we’ve reading the story or the book better than we actually are.We think we understand what we are reading better than how we are actually reading.” Yet,this inflated sense of understanding is especially common among screen readers.

Clinton said there are many possible reasons for such findings.Overconfidence of screen readers,for example,could be the result of a distracted,less focused mind.Clinton said,“If you are enjoying the reading process,you’re going to be more involved.You’re going to be paying better attention.Preferences are a key issue here.”

Clinton said, “Several studies have found that people often think of paper material as more important and serious. If you are reading from paper,your mind thinks,’This is something important.I need to pay attention to it’.”Readers might connect computer screens with fun,less serious activities such as checking social media or watching Netflix.Clinton described this kind of reading as “enjoyment reading”.

Although her findings may support paper reading over screen reading,Clinton says,“When you’re reading on a screen,it can be programmed that you have to answer questions and get them right before you can continue.Paper can’t make you do that.Other tools in development will offer students reading at a lower level more simple texts while providing their other classmates more complex versions of the same text.”

Want to know about the biggest page-turners in 2020 for your kids before you buy? Check out our list of New York Times best-selling chapter books

A Tale of Magic age 12+ ★★★★☆ Imaginative, lively tale. Chris Colfer|Fantasy|2019	Brystal Evergreen lives in a country where women are forbidden to read. She is a bookworm, trying to find creative ways of getting books. One day Brystal uncovers a secret area of the library and finds a book about magic that changes her life forever…
A Wolf Called Wander age 14+ ★★★★★ Exciting & vivid autobiography of a wolf. Rosanne Parry|Animals|2019	Swift,   a young wolf cub（幼崽）,   lived with his pack in the mountains learning to hunt when they were attacked,   and Swift got separated from his family. Alone and scared. Swift must escape and find a new home…
The Field Guide to the North American Teenager age 15+ ★★★★★ A funny story of an immigrant teen facing culture shock in U. S. Ben Philippe|Coming of Age|2020	Norris, a 14-year-old Black French Canadian, arrives in Texas, where his mother gets a teaching job at a university. Though lacking knowledge about U. S. high school life, he tries hard to build a new life…