Thanks to Disney-Hyperion for the review copy of the book and sponsoring this post.
When my kids were younger, they were good readers, and it was often hard to find a book that was at their reading level — as their teachers encouraged — that wasn’t so far above them in content that it didn’t click with them. I did a lot of reading, because I was involved in book blogging and specifically kidlit book blogging, but also because I wanted to be able to put great books in their hands.
I was a bookworm myself growing up, and reading books aimed at 8 – 12 year old kids, always takes me back. I enjoy reading young adult as well, but there is something special and magical and innocent about middle grade books that warm my heart.
So — Â here’s my recommendation to all of you moms and grandmas and aunts: If you want to really know what your child might be thinking, dip a toe into the realm of middle grade fiction. Read a book that you’ve seen mentioned or that is on the children’s bestseller list so you can see if it’s a good fit for a child in your life, or like Dawn recently did, read some books that your kid (or teen) loved, or pick out a book and read it out loud together. Â I have done that with my kids even into their teen years, and it’s a shared experience I treasure.
I think I enjoyed Click’d as much as I’ve enjoyed my last few adult reads.
Allie Navarro has spent the summer away from her best friends Emma, Zoe, and Maddie, but she spent that summer meeting new friends at the exclusive CodeGirls camp to which she was invited. They all spent the summer working on their own apps and games. Allie’s is called Click’d. Â She designed it as a fun app for people who love quizzes, and to help people find friends who are out there who share their interests — people who they might not otherwise meet without the app.
It’s a huge success, so much so, that her computer teacher enters her into a Games 4 Good contest. She’s one of the youngest contestants ever. She loses some of her excitement when she finds out that another guy from her computer class — Nathan, her nemesis — is also competing.
When she lets her friends at school test it, they can’t wait to share, so despite her worries that too many users might crash the system before the competition, she lets it go. The kids all over school are having a ball finding their top 10 friends with whom they’ve clicked as they appear on their leaderboard.
Of course, what Allie fears — happens. She has to figure out how to fix a glitch. And while almost everyone loves the app, a few people, including her good friend Emma, aren’t so charmed.
This is a great novel of friendship, talents, coding, and moral choices. I loved it, and highly recommend it for kids of all ages. The novel is set in middle school, and it will definitely appeal to kids of that age, but younger readers will enjoy it as well. There aren’t any mature topics that would be over the heads of kids as young as 3rd or 4th grade.
About the Book
New York Times best-selling author Tamara Ireland Stone combines friendship, coding, and lots of popcorn in her fun and empowering middle-grade debut.
Allie Navarro can’t wait to show her best friends the app she built at CodeGirls summer camp. Click’d pairs users based on common interests and sends them on a fun (and occasionally rule-breaking) scavenger hunt to find each other. And it’s a hit. By the second day of school, everyone is talking about Click’d.
Watching her app go viral is amazing. Leaderboards are filling up! Everyone’s making new friends. And with all the data Allie is collecting, she has an even better shot at beating her archenemy, Nathan, at the upcoming youth coding competition. But when Allie discovers a glitch that threatens to expose everyone’s secrets, she has to figure out how to make things right, even if that means sharing the computer lab with Nathan. Can Allie fix her app, stop it from doing any more damage, and win back the friends it hurt—all before she steps on stage to present Click’d to the judges?
About the Author – Tamara Ireland Stone is the author of Time and Time Again, a collection of her two novels Time Between Us and Time After Time, and the New York Times best seller Every Last Word. A Silicon Valley-native, she has worked in the technology industry all her life, first testing Atari game boards in her parents’ garage, and later, co-founding a woman-owned marketing strategy firm where she worked with some of the world’s largest software companies. She enjoys skiing, hiking,and spending time with her husband and two children. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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When my daughter was that age, yes, we would get chapterbooks and take turns reading out loud.
I read, they read and then I question to see if they understood it all. and we talk about it.
I love to read with my tween nieces on road trips!
Yes, I read with my son every night before bed.
We read some of the same books and discuss them together.
Yes, I read together with my middle grade children
Absolutely. We read together every night before bed.
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No kids, but I read with my nephew.
Thanks for the contest.
Yes, we did.
Yes we all love reading here! Thanks so much for the chances to win.
I do not have children of that age. My mom always read to me growing up and I think that instilled my love of reading for life.
My daughter is grown, but we did read with her growing up. Not as much in middle school, but definitely in grade school.
Yes of course.
Sometimes we will each read the same book
My son is a senior in college.. might be too young of books for him 🙂
Reading together seems to end once my kids leave elementary school. :O
No I haven’t. My middle school granddaughter is a lot like me. She likes to go off by herself to read and regroup after being around everyone. I know she would love this book.
We will read at the same time in the same room but not necessarily read together.
Yes we read together.
I tried. Thanks for the chance.
I love to read with them. 🙂
I sometimes do read with my niece.
We love reading to each other! Ever since I was a little girl I couldn’t read something in my head & comprehend it. I ALWAYS had to read out loud. So my kids grew up listening to me read. (Age appropriate books of course) So they began reading out loud. And we decided it could be a learning experience every day. Its so much fun!
My son and I would take turns reading to each other.
we like to read together too- he is doing a book study and I like to read it too to make sure i understand it if he needs any helo
Yes, we love to read together!
No, not with my nephews but they would like this.
I think by middle grade my daughter read herself. But, I do read with my granddaughter.
Absolutely. Reading is a very important people of life. Kids who don’t feel comfortable reading usually will have self doubt, and I want my babies to be confident in everything they do.
We read together with her younger sister. The eleven year old loves to read to the five year old, and we alternate.
My mother did with me and my siblings and now we do it with my niece!
My middle child is in 5th grade- he doesn’t really like to read together because he reads faster on his own. His favorite series is the Wimpy Kid.
Yes, reading is a must every evening before bed!
Yes we always love reading hour
No, my middle grade son reads on his own, but he likes telling me what he read about.
I read with my son several nights a week.
My daughter loves to read and always brings a book or her Kindle to the beach or on road trips and you can usually find us with our books at the beach or by the pool!
my 2 year old is starting to show more interest in books and reading. I have started reading throughout the day and bedtime with him!
not anymore
We read everyday together!
Mine are grown but I did a little bit.
Once in a while, we will read together.
We would read together, but not aloud.
We love to read together.
We don’t read together as in reading the same book, but we do each read a book of our choice and sit quietly in the same room reading.
I don’t have any children in middle grade myself, but even as an adult, I still enjoy reading YA books.
I don’t have any children. But, I use to read with my Mom as a child.
I try to read with my grandchildren whenever I get a chance.
We read together every night before bed.
Yes I have my sons read to me for 20 minutes a night!
we do every night
No, he reads by himself.
Yes, we do read together with the middle school-aged kids. Thanks for the chance at this!
Yes we read together sometimes.
I read together with them as much as possible.
I’m not sure what grades is in middle school; because there was no such thing when I when to school, and our children are homeschooled. However, we all have our own things to read. We usually go to the library once a week.
My oldest is 5 and we read together on a daily basis.
Yes, I would read with my kids when they were growing up. As a former teacher, reading was an everyday event in our household.
when my kids were younger, yes we would read together
We read on the couch at the same time. Does that count?
we read together all the time. it’s nice for us to spend time reading together.
I used to read to my son even before he was born by putting headphones on my belly. I read to him all the way through middle school and he loves reading as much as I do. I don’t have any middle school aged children, but do read to some of the neighborhood children. I am waiting patiently for grandchildren to read to.
I have a younger reader but we read together before bed every night
All the time.
Yes we love to read together, especially before bed.
I don’t have children, but I love reading with my cousins!
No, our family does not read together.
We read aloud after dinner every evening.
No, once my kids became proficient readers I didn’t really think about reading to or with them!
My oldest is only in 1st grade but he loves reading with me.
demureprincess7(at)gmail(dot)com
We read all the time together. Usually take turns reading a page at a time each. It gives us both a chance to do character voices and goofy sounds and stuff.
Yes, every night!
My Daughter is very independent and loves to read. We would read next to each other but different books
My kids are all older now, but I did when they were younger.
Yes I have always read to my kids and with them…no matter the age.
I read a lot of the books my middle grader reads so we can have conversations about them.
Reading is not my 9 year old daughter’s strongest skill so we read together a lot.
No. They’ve always preferred to read on their own by around 11 or 12.
I have always read together with my children, grade school, middle school AND high school.
Yes, my granddaughter and I read together every night. It’s a special time for me!
Sometimes, but often he likes to read himself!
Yes, we have daily reading time and they love it.
I read with both of my girls until they were old enough to read books on their own. I truly believe the level at which one reads directly results in what grades a person will make in school or in life. I know there are exceptions but in general I believe this.
I did read with my kids at all ages. Well, maybe not high school! My niece is now in middle school and her parents read with her for sure.
We have read together and it is nice….
Live in Florida.
I don’t but should
I sure have! All the time.
No children, but my parents always read with us.
My youngest son loves when we read together but my 3 older kids like to read alone. Reading is one of our favorite things to do together.
I like to spend time reading with my niece.
I did when my kids were that age.
Occasionally I like to read the same book as them and we can talk about it, especially if it’s a popular ya book. But we don’t read out loud to each other or anything like that.
We do still read together in a sense. A lot of nights, my daughter will lay on the couch with her head on my lap and read. When she does, she often stops and reads the interesting parts to me and we often discuss it.
Yep, we read all the time together!
I read to them when they were younger.
I have read to my children since before they could read. They both love to read now. But they still like to have me read to them. And i will admit, I enjoy reading to them.
yes , of course i read with them! you are never too old for story time!
I love to read as do my kids and grandsons
yes me and my daughter love to read. my daughter is such a book worm
Yes, My son is in middle school & we love to read together ! 🙂
Yes, I read to my son
Me and my daughter just finished reading diary of a wimpy kid books one to seven together
Sometimes we will read together before bed. I’ve been slacking lately though.
I don’t have kids
We don’t read together as much as we used to.
We have read to my son at night together for years. Currently we are reading the Percy Jackson series. We do a chapter a night.
my oldest is in pre-k; we do try to read as often as possible.
My children aren’t quite in middle school yet but I currently read with my children all the time and I hope that they still love reading with me when they are in middle school!
I do some when she needs help getting through a book quickly.
I must say I don’t have any middle school children only my little niece would is 7 years old
I read with my kids when they were that age. It was fun.
Yes we read together all the time.
Yes We read together on the weekends, Special time
My youngest just started middle school this year. She reads on her own but she comes to me when she can’t read a word then she’ll ask me what the word means.
By the time my kids were in the middle grades, we did not read together much.
My granddaughter is not that age, but we read together a lot.
I don’t have kids that age but if I did we would definitely read together.
i don’t have kids yet, but im looking forward to many kids. i love reading.
We read together all the time.
My daughter liked to read by herself when she was in middle school
Sometimes I make him read me his assigned school reading, just so I know it actually gets done.
Yes, my daughter and I read together.
I do not read to my middle aged child but we do read together. We sometimes read the same book and it is really great to get their take on the book/story.
Yes.. not as much anymore.. I really miss that time
We read together at least three nights a week!
Yes in the pass, We did.
I don’t read together often with my 7th grader, but last year we did read aloud some of a book he was reading for school. I never found out how it ended! 🙁
Love to read books with them I did when they were in middle school too.
My children are not in middle school but we do read with them.
No, I hate to say that I do not read aloud with my middle grade children.
Yes, we do all the time!
Yes she and I read together occasionally..
never read to him
I do not have any middle grade children.
I do not have kids, but I do read with my nieces and nephews.
My children are grown but as youngsters we spent hours reading together.
I don’t have children in middle school yet but I would.
Yes, we read together
Sometimes but most of the time we do not
Sadly I’m still not a mother. This would be for my nephew.
Sometimes, but not as much as we use to read together.
My daughter and I read regularly together. 🙂
Yes, we read a lot.
We enjoy reading together.
We like to go find books we’d both like at book stores.
I read to my daughter when she was smaller. Less so as she got older. I’m grateful that she grew up to be an avid reader
My son loves to read. It’s nice to lay back and have him read to ME! LOL
they reach an age when it’s better just to know you’re ‘there’….
I love reading with my kids, thank you for the chance to enter
Yes, we read together and it is fun.
Oh yes, we still do and love it!
We normally do audio books when we drive together in the car
I don’t, but I try to steer him towards certain books
My middle school daughter reads by herself as she does most things now its the 13 age ya know
Yes, my whole family reads together often.
He’s not a big reader, but we do read various things together as part of homeshcooling.
My Granddaughter is in elementary, I don’t have any mid level Grandchildren.
I sometimes read with my middle schooler.
I hope im still reading with my child when she is that old
Oh yes we love to read together!
My son is 7 years old, but I would like to think that we will read together when he gets into the middle grades.
Thanks for the chance to win!
wildorchid985 at gmail dot com
My seven year old granddaughter isn’t in middle school yet but she is one of the top readers in her class. She loves to read thank goodness! When she was small I used to read to her during our weekend sleepovers but now I would say it’s the other way around 🙂
Yes, still do!
My kids are grown, but I don’t think we ever read together unless it was school homework books. Both my kids liked whatever book I was reading.
We don’t read together, but we do read some of the same books!
I wish I could get my son to read. I am an avid reader but he won’t even try.
yes i do but not for very long my child likes to read to me
My kids are not in Middle school but I do read to them
I read with my children everyday. Thank you so much for the nice give a ways. I’m very confused by the comments for this post. I’m a single mom of 2 girls, the blog advice and give a ways, help me so much. Most the comments on here are not very good, or nice
I always read to my children and now they both love to read as adults and they read to there children and I also read to my grandchildren.
my duaghter has dyslexia, so reading with her is a great way to get her interested in a book, and reading it on her own when Im not looking! which works, as then she has to tell me what I missed (aka mini report!)
I had two awesome readers back in the day. Now I am trying to encourage my niece and nephew to read. My 25 year old and 22 year old are both college graduates and teachers now!!!
Yes i sometimes read with my middle schooler.
I do read everyday with my middle school children.
Thanks for the chance.
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Honestly no, I don’t read to my middle schooler.
Yes, sometimes I read with my middle schooler. It depends on the book.
My nieces’ are pretty independent and prefer to read by themselves mostly, however, once in awhile they are read to.
I did enjoy reading together with my sons, they especially liked Harry Potter.
Yes, I read the Harry Potter books with my son.
I love to read with my kids.
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Yes, we like to read together with our children no matter how old they are.
Some times i read with my grandson he loves to read
I don’t read to my son in middle school but he reads for us each night. He has two younger siblings that love it.
I’m in beautiful southern California! My middle school aged kids still love to read and even though we don’t read together as often as we would like, it’s still fun!
I don’t have middle grade children yet, but I do intend to read to them even at that age. My father read to me as I was growing up until I think I was in middle school, and I have always remembered those times well.
My son is not that age yet but I will when he is.
Yes, I homeschool my kids, so we read a lot of books together.
Yes! I love to read her books too!
Oh yes I have always tried to read with them a couple of days a week!
yes,,the grandkids still like for me to read with them,,im grateful for that too
I don’t have any middle grade children, but I read with my nieces and nephew.
When my kids were younger I read with them all the time. It was a great joy to me to do that and I miss it now
Yes she and I read together on occasion.
I live in Virginia.
Not so much anymore. I used to read with him up til 5th grade now he reads better than I do!
I have three Grandchildren, all are in grade school, Julia just started 5th grade. I read to my grandchildren as much as I can!
Yep. We kept the bedtime story habit, but now we take turns reading and we pick more sophisticated books.
I ready with my nephew. I don’t have kids that are that age yet.
Mostly now it’s audio books while traveling/getting to and fro.
Once in a while we will read our individual books together!
When I was a nanny for a number of years, I had several charges that preferred to do their assigned reading and bedtimes stories w/ me.
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montagbarbara
Yes when the kids were in middle grade we often read together.
thank you
My kids are pretty good about reading on their own but I have read a couple of books with them. Thanks.
I read with my grand children daily. I think that is very important to do
Yes, I’ll read a book while they read a book. I might already read the one they are reading and I’m reading something different but then we do also discuss the book and topics.
Occasionally I do. They mostly prefer to read by themselves now.
My daughter is grown now. I used to read to her every night even in middle school.
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Yes we read together all the time.
All the time! It’s a great way to bond. <3
Yes, my son still enjoys it when I read to him.
Not much anymore, but I used too.
My son and I would read together a lot when he was in middle school but not so much now that he’s in high school.
Oh yes! We always read to our son when he was growing up. It was a great time to discover together!
I always read to my kids when they were smaller. I think it is so important for a parent to bond this way.
We do audiobooks together when we drive
from ny, thanks for the chance!
I think the question might be for a different contest? My state in ME. Thanks.
Thanks D. Yes, we messed up and forgot to edit that question. It’s fixed now and we have your entry recorded.
i’m from kentucky
I live in Illinois.
I live in NM.
I live in North Carolina.
I live in California.
I live in Alabama
As some of the others said, I think this is an old question, but I’m in North Carolina. 🙂
Thanks Emily. We fixed the question now… but thanks for letting us know.
I am in Washington State but I do not think that wine is in this giveaway. Thanks for a great fun giveaway!
Thanks Julie. We got your entry… and you’re right… we forgot to edit that field in the entry form. It’s fixed now.
I live in Georgia!
I am in SC
I live in Minnesota!
I am in California
I am in WA state but pretty sure that is the wrong question.
Thanks Shelly. We’ve got your entry… and yes, we messed up on not editing that entry field.
Hi! CA here, but I agree with the other commentator, I see no wine. Good day!
Thanks so much for entering this giveaway. And you’re right… we messed up and forgot to change the question. But no worries… you’re still entered.
My state is Indiana, but I think this question is left over from a previous giveaway.
Thanks Cheryl… you’re right, we had made a mistake and forgotten to edit that field in the entry form.
I’m in California.