“When the World Turned Upside Down” by K. Ibura

Four tweens experience the turmoil of the pandemic in this new middle grade novel

Need a sad illustration of just how long the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the lives of American children? An 11-year-old who was in sixth grade in March 2020 is just months away from finishing middle school today. Because an entire generation will have their middle school years defined by the pandemic, a slew of new books are coming out addressing the effect COVID-19 has had on this age group in particular. One of the first to be released is K. Ibura's "When The World Turned Upside Down," which was released earlier this month by Scholastic.