Tag: middle grade

Remaining Cybils 2017 Middle Grade Speculative Fiction Finalists

29 June 2018 / brief reviews / 0 Comments
Remaining Cybils 2017 Middle Grade Speculative Fiction Finalists

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 […]

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Spirit Hunters is a Properly Chilling Middle Grade Novel [Review]

26 June 2018 / review / 0 Comments
Spirit Hunters is a Properly Chilling Middle Grade Novel [Review]

Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh Series: Spirit Hunters Format/Source: Hardcover/ Library Published: July 2017 Publisher: HarperCollins Length: 288 pages Genre: Middle grade speculative fiction Cybils 2017 finalist  ★★★★½  Spirit Hunters, the first book in an upcoming series, is a classic haunted house tale with a Korean American perspective. (This book is #ownvoices for Korean American representation.) Harper’s family has just moved from an air conditioned apartment in New York to a stuffy old house […]

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How I Fell in Love with Middle Grade Fiction

23 June 2018 / thoughts / 3 Comments
How I Fell in Love with Middle Grade Fiction

My earliest memories contain books. Trips to the public library began when I was two. By the time I turned 12, I was devouring fantastical novels that would stay close to my heart for years to come. High school proved to be a dull patch in my reading, as I explored adult fiction while ignoring the sort of books I read as a child. I returned to children’s literature in […]

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Al Capone Throws Me a Curve by Gennifer Choldenko [Review]

19 June 2018 / review / 0 Comments
Al Capone Throws Me a Curve by Gennifer Choldenko [Review]

Al Capone Throws Me a Curve by Gennifer Choldenko Format/Source: Hardcover /Publisher Published: May 2018 Publisher: Wendy Lamb Books Length: 226 pages Genre: Middle grade historical fiction I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ★★★★  Moose Flanagan lives on a famous island in California: Alcatraz, home to some of the most dangerous prisoners in the United States in the 1930s. It’s the summer before he starts […]

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High Stakes, Fast Paced Adventure in Last Day on Mars [Review]

12 June 2018 / review / 0 Comments
High Stakes, Fast Paced Adventure in Last Day on Mars [Review]

Last Day on Mars by Kevin Emerson Series: Chronicle of the Dark Star #1 Format/Source: Library/Hardcover Published: February 2017 Publisher: Length: 336 pages Genre: Middle grade science fiction Cybils 2017 finalist ★★★½       Last Day on Mars, the first book in a planned series called Chronicle of the Dark Star, explores how humans might survive once Earth is no longer habitable. The year is 2213. Liam Saunders-Chang has spent his entire life […]

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