Tag: middle grade

Mom’s Upcoming Wedding to her Girlfriend Stirs Up a Small Community in This Chapter Book [Review]

17 July 2019 / review / 4 Comments
Mom’s Upcoming Wedding to her Girlfriend Stirs Up a Small Community in This Chapter Book [Review]

My Mixed-Up Berry Blue Summer by Jennifer Gennari Format/source: Hardcover/LibraryPublished: May 2012Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Length: 119 pages Genre: Historical fiction Target Age: 8+ #OwnVoices: Unknown (lesbian rep) ★★★★  Twelve-year-old June Farrell is sure of one thing—she’s great at making pies—and she plans to prove it by winning a blue ribbon in the Champlain Valley Fair pie competition. But a backlash against Vermont’s civil union law threatens her family’s security and their business. Even when faced with bullying, […]

Continue reading »

Historical Haints Make for a Great Summer Read [Review]

6 May 2019 / review / 2 Comments
Historical Haints Make for a Great Summer Read [Review]

Just South of Home by Karen Strong Format/source: ARC/ALA MidwinterPublished: 7 May 2019 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young ReadersLength: 320 pages Genre: Middle grade speculative fiction#OwnVoices: Black girl living in southern USA ★★★★ Twelve-year-old Sarah is finally in charge. At last, she can spend her summer months reading her favorite science books and bossing around her younger brother, Ellis, instead of being worked to the bone by their […]

Continue reading »

Something Weirder than Usual is Happening in Logan County… [Review]

30 March 2019 / review / 2 Comments
Something Weirder than Usual is Happening in Logan County… [Review]

The Last Last-Day-of-Summer by Lamar Giles Format/source: ARC/NetgalleyPublished: 2 April 2019 Publisher: VersifyLength: 305 pages Genre: Middle grade speculative fiction ★★★★  Otto and Sheed are the local sleuths in their zany Virginia town, masters of unraveling mischief using their unmatched powers of deduction. And as the summer winds down and the first day of school looms, the boys are craving just a little bit more time for fun, even as […]

Continue reading »

March 26 MG Releases: The Size of the Truth + The Rambling [Review]

25 March 2019 / brief reviews / 2 Comments
March 26 MG Releases: The Size of the Truth + The Rambling [Review]

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 […]

Continue reading »

Divergent Dungeons in Two Middle Grade Novels [Review]

15 March 2019 / brief reviews / 4 Comments
Divergent Dungeons in Two Middle Grade Novels [Review]

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, […]

Continue reading »