Truth Trendon is a seventh grader with enough to worry about. Her relationship with her BFF Megan is a bit rocky. Her crush, Brendan, sometimes seems to like her as a girlfriend, and sometimes not. Worse, he goes after Megan on occasion. Add to this… the trials and tribulations of adolescence and junior high. Then, her doctor informs her that she must wear a back brace to prevent her scoliosis from worsening. 

Never mind that the monstrous, gargantuan piece of plastic digs into Truth's back like it wants to eat her. Never mind that it is bulky and she must wear extra clothing that causes her to swelter in the summer heat. Like any young girl, Truth wants to show off her body, not wear dumpy clothes that are sizes too big for her. The brace hurts, it makes her self-conscious, and she would just die if her classmates discovered its existence. 

The only good thing about the horrible brace is that it leads her to Oliver. He has muscular dystrophy and is in a wheelchair. Together, they trade stories about the limitations of their bodies. Through blunt commentary, they attempt to buoy each other to face life's challenges head-on with a can-do attitude. With each other, these 11-year-olds can conquer the world. 

Dear Isaac Newton, You're Ruining My Life by Rachel Hruza, 2018

This is a cool story about the challenges of scoliosis and living life in a wheelchair.

Rachel Hruza's website
Books about scoliosis
 

The Birmingham Roller Pigeons… whoever heard of such a thing?! Lauren ("Ren") meets Sutton after his parents abruptly relocate the family from the town of Rochester to the country. Ren is training a bird for the World Cup Fly. Ren does his research. He prints out articles about training the birds. Sutton teaches him about pigeon nature and their training. Ren gets attached to some of the birds, with names such as Squirrel and Crow, and also discovers that he really enjoys hanging out with this kid. 

Aiden was Ren's BFF back in town, but Aiden seems to have moved on to other kids in school, such as Kurt. He also has moved away from the interests they previously shared, such as comic books. Aiden wants to try out for basketball with Kurt since he has recently experienced a growth spurt. He also relishes spending time at Kurt's new above-ground pool. Aiden and Ren are being paid to sort through Ren's grandparents' hoarding stockpile, but even that activity seems to be getting old for Aiden. 

Ren's father triumphed in cross-country championships in his youth, and he longs for Ren to excel at running as well. He assists Ren with his training. Ren has good intentions, but cannot quite get himself motivated to participate fully in the sport. He dreads running and simply collapses with exhaustion after a long trek. There is no joy for him in cross-country. However, he hides this fact from his father because he does not want to disappoint him. 

Training birds or running? A very tough choice. Aiden or Sutton? Ditto 

Roll by Darcy Miller, 2017

It was fascinating to learn about pigeon rolling; Miller is an amazing debut author.

Books on pigeon fanciers
 

Seventh-grader Joni adores riding her strong-willed pony, Archie, through the countryside. Archie does not want Joni to be in charge of their excursions, but once he gets over this niddling fact, he can relax and enjoy the sunshine and exertion. However, when their disagreements are public, it embarrasses Joni, who wants others to think highly of her equestrian skills. 

Just before summer, a new girl joins Joni's class at school. Joni is somewhat neutral about her until she sees her outside of her abode while riding Archie. They engage in conversation, and Joni learns that Chess (aka Francesca) is an ardent animal rights activist. So much so that she questions whether or not Archie should be ridden. And she fervently believes that Mrs. Abernathy's miniature horses should not be forced to pull her in a cart. 

Joni does not agree. Mrs. Abernathy is a fine horsewoman who has given Joni riding lessons using a Centered Riding approach that utilizes many visualization techniques. Her guidance has fundamentally altered Joni's perspective towards riding and horses. In addition, Joni's minis appear happy to be outside in the sunshine and do not seem miserable and abused. 

Chess insists on "rescuing" the senior lady's minis, an idea which Joni believes is terribly misguided. Joni finds it difficult-to-impossible to reconcile her own knowledge of horses and observation of the minis with her friend's attitude towards animals and servitude.

Rescue by Jessie Haas, 2017

I love books about horses and riding; this one definitely did not dissapoint.

Books on animal rights
Jessie Haas' website