Vince and Raedawn investigate what happened to a missing classmate in a racially divided town. Middle Row tries to tackle us/them mentalities as well as a separation of “the other” within a community. This is no easy feat to accomplish in about one hundred pages at a reading level of 2.4. As an Orca Soundings novel, this book is packaged as a high-action contemporary young adult mystery but reads in a simplistic and sometimes stilted manner. Olsen attempts to convey complicated relationships and feelings with a few simple words or carried by straightforward dialogue. Each character has various traits and relationships to others drawn out, but they are not fully developed or expanded upon due to length and syntax restrictions. Also, the text uses some Canadian dialect, which may initially throw off an American reading audience who may not be familiar with certain terms. This is a very specifically hi-lo styled novel and as such, is only recommended to the specific audience of reluctant readers ages twelve to fifteen with the targeted reading level. ( )

Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com

The cover pic should be enough to interest most YA readers; however, adults, don't panic, the subject matter is quite tame.

Vince and Raedawn have been riding the same bus to school their entire lives. There is a social seating hierarchy involved in most bus riding, and theirs is no exception. There are the back seat riders - usually the cool kids, and the front seat riders - usually the less secure or nerdy type.

The middle rows can be easily ignored and that is just the problem when Dune suddenly stops riding the bus. There are only two people who even notice that the quiet loner has not gotten on the bus since the first day of school, and they also seem to be the only ones concerned.

Raedawn convinces Vince that something needs to be done. They start asking questions - of the bus driver, the school counselor, and then the administration. No one knows anything and the tendency is to brush the whole issue under the rug. Finally, Raedawn enlists the help of her Uncle Dave, and long-hidden secrets begin to emerge.

MIDDLE ROW provides a mystery that unfolds at a fast pace in this 100-page book. Readers will easily become intrigued by the missing Dune, as well as the personal stories connected to Vince, Raedawn, and Uncle Dave. An added criminal element also helps hold the attention of most readers. ( )