Category: Middle Grade - mad about books

Some Places More Than Others by Renée Watson

10/8/2020

Amara has always wanted to visit Harlem, where her father grew up. She wants to walk the streets he walked at her age, and meet her grandfather and cousins that she has only ever spoken with on the phone. With the imminent arrival of a baby sister on the horizon, Amara knows time is running out for now. When her parents finally relent and let Amara accompany her father on a business trip, Amara is beyond excited.

When she gets to New York she discovers that her family and the city are not exactly as she imagined. For one thing, her father isn't speaking to her grandfather. Also, her cousin Ava doesn't exactly give her a warm reception. Amara realizes she is going to have to navigate more than just the city streets to learn her family history. A well-crafted story about discovering your family history and finding beauty and joy in the small things. You feel as if you are walking the streets of Harlem with Amara. Recommended for grades 4 and up.

A Wolf Called Wander by Rosanne Perry

8/28/2020

A beautiful story about home and family as told by a young wolf who loses everything, but never gives up hope.

Swift is a wolf who yearns to be a leader, a hunter, but he is not the largest or strongest of his pack. He is, however, the fastest. When he joins his first hunt, he is tasked by his father, the Alpha male, to run ahead of the elk and turn them towards the waiting wolves. What he really wants is to help take down the elk. When his pack is later attacked by another larger pack, Swift is quickly separated from them and left to wander on his own. His journey takes him to many new places, before finding his new home.

A beautifully wrought book with lots of inner dialogue. The pacing moves quickly, and has you wondering what new challenge will be around the bend for the young wolf. Parry was inspired by the true story of a wolf named OR-7 in Oregon who traveled hundreds of miles from its original territory. Recommended for grades 4 and up.

Chirp by Kate Messner

5/3/2020

When Mia's family moves back to Vermont she breathes a sigh of relief to be away from Boston. When her mom tells her she needs to do two summer camps, one for her mind and one for her body, she chooses Warrior Camp and Launch Camp. In Launch Camp, she and her new friends are aiming to help her grandmother get her cricket farm successful, but something or someone is sabotaging it. She struggles more with Warrior Camp with bad memories from gymnastics surfacing as she grapples with something that happened in Boston. Part mystery, part friendship story this #metoo novel is all heart, Mia and her friends will make you smile and admire their bravery and creativity. Recommended for grades 5 and up.

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin

4/30/2018

Grace Lin has created something magical with this book. Minli lives near Fruitless Mountain and watches her parents working day after day from sunup to sundown with little to show for it. When she frees a goldfish it tells her how to find the Old Man of the Moon who can change her fortune. Her travels are peppered with stories inspired by Chinese Mythology. She meets some interesting characters along the way, and learns something important about herself. Beautifully written with great characters this is a must read. Perfect for students in Grades 4 and up.

The Golden Specific by S.E. Grove

10/2/2016

This second installment of the Mapmaker's Trilogy is exciting and dangerous. Typically the middle novel of a trilogy falters and languishes in backstories and slow plots, but not this book it forges straight ahead without looking back.

Sophia sets off on a quest after a series of mysterious sightings, while Shadrack lands himself in jail. In the meantime New Occident is in upheaval and Theo recognizes a dark figure from his past.

The stories are woven separately, just as our two main characters are separated for most of the book. The new characters Sophia encounters are very interesting and the foreign land of Ausentinia, where they seek to travel is as much a mystery as the people Sophia encounters.

This second book is darker and more dangerous than the first book and kids will love it. The story is paced well and the world building is really fantastic.

Adult: 4/5
Kids: 4.5/5

The Glass Sentence by S. E. Grove

9/20/2016

What would happen if the one day the world became all jumbled up? This is the world that Grove has built. The Papal States, The Baldlands, New Occident and the Closed Empire are but a few of the ages in this new world, much of which is still changing. Enter our heroine Sophia Tims, the whipsmart daughter of missing explorers now living with her uncle Shadrack.

Shadrack is a world renowned cartologer. But in this fascinating world maps can not only transmit information, but emotions and memories as well. Fascinating! When Shadrack is kidnapped it falls to Sophia to figure out who has kidnapped him and why. We encounter the nefarious Sandmen, and learn about the horrible Lachrima. This is an adventure story as well as being fantastical in nature. The story captures you from the first moment and let's go only when the last page is done. Luckily is is the first in a trilogy so you can visit the world again in book 2. The characters are truly colorful. The world building will keep you coming back for more, and the story is well paced.
I recommend this book for ages 10 and up.

Adult: 4/5
Child: 4/5

The Apothecary by Maile Meloy

9/19/2016

I had a hard time putting this one down. The book's atmosphere was so well done and the story woven so well that I wanted to just read it cover to cover. The story takes place in London, 1952. Janie and her family have just relocated for political reasons. When Janie meets Benjamin they become quick friends. Soon they are caught up in a mystery that involves spies, birds, nuclear weapons and a book called the Pharmacopoeia. The pacing is perfect and the writing is fantastic. You can't help but root for Janie and Benjamin. This is the first of three books. It is recommended for ages 10 and up.

adult rating: 4
Middle Grade rating: 4.5

The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill

9/19/2016

The writing in the story is so lyrical, so magical they words just wrap around you and steal into your heart. Luna, Luna, Luna the girl who drank the moon, the beautiful, complex protagonist. This is a story that you will want to bury yourself into. It is so hopeful, so full of love and loss and magic.

Luna is abandoned in the woods, left for the witch in a ritual the town follows every year. But the witch they believe in isn't who they think she is. Xan, the real witch doesn't understand why the Protectorate abandons a baby in the woods every year, but every year she comes to save them. When she takes Luna, she feeds her bits of stars to feed her. When she accidentally gives her some of the moon she knows she needs to raise her herself to protect her from the magic she has received from the moon. What grows is a beautiful story filled with interesting characters. Recommended for ages 10 and up.

Adult: 4.5/5
Middle Grade: 4/5

Pip Bartlett's Guide to Magical Creatures by Jackson Pearce and Maggie Stiefvater

10/4/2015

Pip Bartlett's Guide to Magical Creatures (Pip Bartlett, #1)

Pip Bartlett's Guide to Magical Creatures by Jackson Pearce
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A fun adventure with a plucky heroine, scared sidekick, and their host of magical creature run-ins. Imagine arrogant unicorns, furballs that spontaneously burst into fire, scary grims, mean ducks and something called a hobgrackle and you have just scratched the surface of the imaginative creatures that appear throughout the story. Poor Pip has been banished to Cloverton after a fiasco at school involving show unicorns. She befriends Tomas, a boy who has allergies to his allergies and together they work to find out why Fuzzles are suddenly invading everyone's underwear drawers. Humourous, fun story with easy to like characters makes this is an easy one for middle graders to love.