![March 26 MG Releases: The Size of the Truth + The Rambling [Review]](https://i0.wp.com/fallingletters.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/the-size-of-the-truth.jpg?resize=245%2C150&ssl=1)
The Size of the Truth by Andrew Smith When he was four years old, Sam Abernathy was trapped at the bottom of a well for three days, where he was teased by a smart-aleck armadillo named Bartleby. Since then, his parents plan every move he makes. But Sam doesn’t like their plans. He doesn’t want to go to MIT. And he doesn’t want to skip two grades, being stuck in […]
![Divergent Dungeons in Two Middle Grade Novels [Review]](https://i0.wp.com/fallingletters.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/cybils-2018-sidebar-logo.png?resize=245%2C150&ssl=1){kind=logo}
Both of these books were shortlisted for the 2018 Cybils award in the category middle grade speculative fiction. Thisby Thestoop and the Black Mountain by Zac Gorman In the absurd land of Nth, Thisby Thestoop can be found within the forlorn walls of Castle Grimstone, down the precarious steps of the Black Mountain dungeon, up to her nose in griffon toenails, gnoll spittle, and troll meat (to give to them, […]
![Spooky Sequels: The Island of Monsters + A Festival Of Ghosts [Review]](https://i0.wp.com/fallingletters.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/island-of-monsters.jpg?resize=245%2C150&ssl=1)
The Island of Monsters by Ellen Oh The follow up to 2017’s Spirit Hunters, The Island of Monsters takes Harper and her multiracial family on a Halloween vacation to a tropical island with a gruesome past. Harper must use her newly developed skills in Korean shamanism to resolve the island’s mysteries and protect her little brother. New friends – ghosts and humans alike – help her with this task. I […]
![The Children’s Home + 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act [Review]](https://i0.wp.com/fallingletters.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/The-CHildrens-HOme-196x300.jpg?resize=245%2C150&ssl=1)
The Children’s Home by Charles Lambert In a sprawling estate, willfully secluded, lives Morgan Fletcher, the disfigured heir to a fortune of mysterious origins. Morgan spends his days in quiet study, avoiding his reflection in mirrors and the lake at the end of his garden. One day, two children, Moira and David, appear. Morgan takes them in, giving them free reign of the mansion he shares with his housekeeper Engel. Then […]
In this post, I’m sharing some brief thoughts on the Cybils 2017 middle grade speculative fiction finalists that I haven’t yet reviewed. I have already reviewed: The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart by Stephanie Burgis Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh A Properly Unhaunted Place by William Alexander Last Day on Mars by Kevin Emerson While I personally enjoyed some of these books more than others, all of these finalists are strong reads which I would […]