Melissa by Alex Gino

April 19, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Melissa by Alex Gino
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Genre: YA, Middle Grade, Contemporary, LGBTQ
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Nymphaea

BE WHO YOU ARE.

When people look at Melissa, they think they see a boy named George. But she knows she’s not a boy. She knows she’s a girl.

Melissa thinks she’ll have to keep this a secret forever. Then her teacher announces that their class play is going to be Charlotte’s Web. Melissa really, really, REALLY wants to play Charlotte. But the teacher says she can’t even try out for the part… because she’s a boy.

With the help of her best friend, Kelly, Melissa comes up with a plan. Not just so she can be Charlotte — but so everyone can know who she is, once and for all.

You have to be who you are, no matter what.

I loved this story. I did. I loved reading about Melissa coming into her own and finding who she was always meant to be. The writing was authentic and empathetic, too. I read this in one day and recommend it strongly.

Melissa was born George but she’s never felt like a boy. She feels like a girl. This is her story of coming into her own and being the girl she was always meant to be. This book won’t be for everyone, but it would definitely help a young person understand that the feelings they have—wanting to wear a dress or be a tomboy—isn’t bad. This is a young person’s story. It’s told like a young person would tell it. There are moments where things are awkward, where there’s acceptance and where Melissa shines. I loved the portrayal of Charlotte from Charlotte’s Web. That was the best.

If you’re looking for a book that explains how a young person sees themselves and how one young person born one way can feel another, then this is the book for you. I recommend it highly.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Cruz Finds His Way by Anne van Gessel

April 11, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Cruz Finds His Way by Anne van Gessel
Publisher: Balboa Press
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Cruz the Crow is about to embark on the single most important journey of his whole life: his solo-flight! But there is just one problem! All those letters and numbers that the other crows can read: well he can’t. How will he ever find his way? A charming and inspiring tale that tells kids it is ok to be different, and that we all have our strengths.

Everyone struggles with something, and those difficulties aren’t always obvious at first glance.

I liked Cruz as soon as I met him. Not only was he brave, he was persistent as well. It can be hard for anyone to keep trying at a skill they know they struggle with, and this is even more true for young crows or humans. He was a good example of how to acknowledge the frustration that happens in these circumstances without using it as an excuse to give up.

There were times when I wondered whether this picture book was meant to be read by or to children who have dyslexia or other conditions that make reading difficult. Some of the vocabulary words seemed like they’d be difficult for a child who was already struggling to read, but the storyline itself was geared to this age group. If the intended audience had been made clearer, I would have happily gone with a five-star rating.

My favorite part of it by far was the ending because of its realistic messages about living with dyslexia and dealing with hard topics in general. The message it sent about alternative ways to think about this disorder or anything else someone might find difficult to do with was perfect. All of us have things we wish we could be better at, and nobody excels at everything. The way the narrator used these facts to speak to the audience made this a book I’ll be recommending to anyone who is looking for reassurance.

Cruz Finds His Way was a wonderfully empathetic tale.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

Geo by Topher Allen

February 25, 2022 By 1 Comment


Geo by Topher Allen
Publisher: Outside Voice Publishing
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action/Adventure, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Golem’s Hollow, the crystal city. For a rock like Geo, the beautifully familiar spires are the perfect place to be. They’re the only place to be. But what lies beyond the underground metropolis?

Geo always had questions, and ready or not, this is his chance for answers. Things didn’t go quite as planned, now he and his friends are stranded in a distant wilderness. It’s the adventure he always wanted. But survival is not guaranteed. Bizarre creatures roam these endless wilds dotted with odd, abandoned structures. What else is going on out here? Why does no one else dare to ask?

Unknown worlds are rarely safe and never predictable.

Adventures can be found anywhere.

The world building was well done, especially when it came to describing how Geo’s society was wildly different from anything humans have thought of for themselves. This showed up in subtle ways like the characters saying “for peat’s sake” instead of “for Pete’s sake,” but it also demonstrated to the audience cultural differences between rocks and humans that I never would have thought about in advance. Those moments are really best left for each reader to discover for themselves due to how surprising and wonderful they were. I don’t want to spoil any surprises!

There were some pacing issues. They were especially noticeable in the first third of this book which dampened my enthusiasm to keep reading even though I was highly interested in the idea of sentient rocks when I began. Unfortunately, the storyline moved so slowly in the beginning that it was a struggle for me to continue reading. It would have been nice to have more action in these scenes.

With that being said, my interest levels did increase again once Geo and his friends began their exciting adventure in the world outside of Golem’s Hollow, the crystal city where they lived. It’s one thing to see how rocks live on their home turf, but it’s quite another to see how they react to an unfamiliar and sometimes a little frightening outside world. Their reactions to these events renewed my interest in these characters even as I continued to wish the plot itself could move along a bit faster.

Geo was a creative adventure that should be read by anyone who has ever wondered what it might be like to be a rock.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Runaways by Brenda Barnes Clark

February 24, 2022 By Leave a Comment


The Runaways by Brenda Barnes Clark
Publisher: RBC Books
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Paranormal, Action/Adventure, Historical
Rating: 5 Stars
Review ed by Astilbe

What if Penny, an abused pony at a 1946 West Virginia county fair, runs away to eleven-year-old Billie Rose Tackett?

What if, through “think-speak,” Penny tells Billie that she was stolen and did not belong to the carnival or the horrible, terrible pony ride keeper? How can Billie prove the theft when no one in their right mind would believe that a horse speaks? In her quest to save Penny, Billie and Penny show amazing courage and tenacity to overcome seemingly impossible, life-threatening situations. In this fast-paced adventure story, Billie grows in confidence as she deals with prejudice, disability, bullying, family loss, compassion, and forgiveness while doing whatever it takes to save the runaway pony.

Empathy makes the world a better place.

The pacing was perfect. I ended up reading far longer than I was intending to because I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the page or wait to see what happened next. There simply wasn’t a good time to take a break. That’s the sort of writing I love to see, and it makes this first-time reader eager to see what Ms. Barnes Clark might come up with next. She couldn’t have made a better first impression with me.

Billie lost some of her hearing as a result of an infection she had as a child. The scenes describing her memories of that illness and how it affected her life as well as the lives of her mother and sister were written beautifully, and I’m saying that as someone who lives with a person who is hard of hearing. It’s rare to find characters who have partial hearing loss but who can still hear certain tones, so I was thrilled to see this topic covered here.

Some of my favorite scenes were the ones that included the mind reading between Billie and Penny. The paranormal elements of their adventures were subtle but unmistakable. That suited these characters nicely, and I enjoyed coming up with my own theories about why they could communicate telepathically. Not everything needs to be fully explained in a tale like this one, especially when there was so much else going on in their lives simultaneously.

I appreciated how descriptive this book was about everything from the physical appearances of the characters to what their homes, barns, gardens, and other settings looked like. The author did a wonderful job of fleshing out the world she was describing, and I found it easy to close my eyes and picture everything in my mind. What made this even better was how seamlessly she included all of the details in the storyline. The pacing of the plot never needed to slow down in order for her to describe all of the little but important details that created such a memorable read.

The Runaways was an exciting adventure that I’d wholeheartedly recommend to adults just as much as to the middle grade audience it was originally intended for!

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Chocolate Crossing: The Mystery of the Missing Chocolate Gold by Riya Aarini

February 21, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Chocolate Crossing: The Mystery of the Missing Chocolate Gold by Riya Aarini
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Sheriff Antoine and bank manager Quinn have their hands full when the chocolate gold suddenly goes missing from the Bank of Chocolate Currency. Suspicious grown-ups, including a hobbling witch and a wily magician, add mayhem to this mind-boggling mystery. Will the kids of Chocolate Crossing find the chocolate gold-and the thief who turns their town upside down?

There’s nothing sweet about stealing chocolate!

The spectacular world building made me wish I could be part of Chocolate Crossing. All of the children who spent time there had clearly come up with a clear vision of what they wanted their town to be like. I adored the little details that were included like the narrator’s descriptions of the unusual form of currency these characters used or why birthdays in this community were even more exciting than they would be in the world of teenagers and grownups.

I did find myself wishing for more character development in this novella. The setting was such a memorable one that it was a little surprising to me to see that the same attention wasn’t paid to the characters. There was a lot of space here for the audience to get to know them better, and I would have happily gone with a higher rating if that had occurred.

Trying to solve the mystery of who stole the bars of chocolate gold was a great deal of fun. There were exactly the right number of clues for a middle grade audience, and they were shared just often enough to keep my interest levels high, too. I liked the fact that the narrator presented multiple options to the audience, especially since I could see good arguments for why all of them might be the right answer.

Chocolate Crossing: The Mystery of the Missing Chocolate Gold was a lighthearted read that I’d recommend to anyone who enjoys candy or chocolate.

Filed Under: Mystery/Suspense, Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Sparrow by Brian Kindall

February 1, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Sparrow by Brian Kindall
Publisher: Diving Boy Books
Genre: Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A boy. A wish. A secret desire gone horribly wrong.

Timothy Sperling misses his mom and dad terribly. Left behind with his morose uncle while they’re off on an expedition to avert an environmental crisis, the bird-boned boy would give anything to see them again. But when he spies a shooting star, instead of wishing to be reunited with his parents, he falters and asks for snow… only to conjure up a blizzard that won’t quit!

As a town that never sees winter is buried in mountains of white, Timothy teams up with a wise explorer to figure out how to stop the relentless frozen flakes. And with all the blame being shoveled on his family, the clever kid’s connection to sparrows may be his one chance to pull the city out of its deep freeze.

Can Timothy undo his fateful wish and bring back the sunshine?

Sparrow is a high-flying middle grade novel. If you or your child like relatable characters, timeless settings, and high-stakes adventure, then you’ll love Brian Kindall’s feathered flurries.

Wishes can change the world, so be careful how you phrase them.

Some of the most memorable scenes were the ones that explored guilt and regret. Timothy’s uncle had made a terrible mistake many years ago that still haunted their family when this tale began. There were also some things that Timothy himself regretted doing, so uncle and nephew were on similar journeys to fix the troubles that they’d caused. It was fascinating to see how both of these characters approached the question of how best to do that, especially for the problems they were dealing with that didn’t seem to have easy solutions at all.

It would have been helpful to have a little more time spent on world building. I was intrigued by what was included, but there was never quite enough of it for me to feel immersed in the city of Candela or in the lives of the people who lived there. Having more details about this community in general and how it functioned would have gone a long way in giving me the opportunity to lose myself in their world. If this had been included, I would have happily chosen a five-star rating instead.

I adored the way magic was used in this book. Sometimes it flowed so quietly that it would have been easy to overlook it entirely. Other scenes included more obvious examples of how it worked, but even then it fit into the landscape so seamlessly that characters didn’t always necessarily realize just how special those experiences were. Occasionally, it was so blatant that no one could deny it, but in every case I loved seeing how the characters reacted to the existence of magic in their universe and how even the smallest choices they made could be magically amplified in all sorts of clever ways.

Sparrow was a delightful winter read.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

Kingston and the Echoes of Magic by Rucker Moses and Theo Gangi

January 6, 2022 By Leave a Comment


Kingston and the Echoes of Magic by Rucker Moses and Theo Gangi
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.)
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Snowdrop

In this duology’s finale, Kingston travels back in time and uses his growing magic to save the world.

Kingston might have saved Echo City but the victory is bittersweet without his pops by his side. The holidays are approaching and if Kingston could have one wish, it would be to have his father, who is trapped in the Realm, come home. But as new problems arise and blackouts blanket the city, Kingston begins to have a persistent feeling of déjà vu, as if he’s lived this same day before—and he has. Echo City living up to its name, is caught in a repeating time loop.

Maestro, his father’s old rival, has found a way to overwrite reality with an alternate timeline where he rules over all. It will be up to Kingston, Too Tall, and V to find a way to enter the Realm and travel back through time to stop him. But with a magic he still barely understands, Kingston will needs his friends’ smarts and their collective courage to figure out the mystery and find Maestro before Brooklyn as they know it is erased for good.

Kingston and the Echoes of Magic is Book 2 or a sequel to the first book, Kingston and the Magician’s Lost and Found. It’s as fast-paced and as easy a read as the first book. It might be a little quirkier, but I mean that in a good way. Kingston, his cousin V, and their friend Too Tall are stuck in a world that goes round and round. A sort of time warp that repeats the same day. Sometimes it’s good to know what will happen tomorrow and sometimes not. None of that will help Kingston find his pops.

There is plenty of magic or fantasy here and once again a cast of characters that most any young person can identify with. Winston and his pals are left with puzzle after puzzle to solve. It makes this book enjoyable to read but keeps the reader on his or her toes. There’s lots of fun here too. I enjoyed the plucky dialog and the interaction between the characters. I read Book 1 earlier. While either book can stand alone, I’m glad I read them in order. I think it gave me a better chance to know the characters and to understand the pace and flow of the story.

This was a good read. I was disappointed when it was over and wish there was a 3rd book on the way.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,

PoPo’s Lucky Chinese New Year by Virginia Loh-Hagan

December 6, 2021 By Leave a Comment


PoPo’s Lucky Chinese New Year by Virginia Loh-Hagan
Publisher: Sleeping Bear Press
Genre: Children’s (0 – 6 y.o.), Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Contemporary
Rating: 5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

When her Chinese grandmother comes to visit, a young Chinese-American girl learns of and participates in the customs and beliefs celebrating an authentic Chinese New Year.

Everyone in this family needs to pitch in to ensure a successful new year!

Some of the most memorable sections were the ones that explored the relationship between the unnamed narrator and her baby brother. They had the usual sibling rivalry that occasionally flared up when he got into her things or when she was feeling irritated, but they also genuinely loved each other. I adored watching them prepare for and then celebrate Chinese New Year. They were a wonderful example of a wholesome but realistic sibling relationship.

This was a delightful example of how to write a story for children from a wide age range. Some scenes in it were definitely geared for older or younger kids, but each one had something appealing for every age group in it. There were also multiple layers of meaning so that it could be understood in different and deeper ways as a young reader grew older. I was thrilled with how it pulled all of this off.

PoPo was a fabulous character. She was filled with opinions about how her grandchildren should behave and what they should or should not do to bring luck in the new year. I chuckled at the warnings she gave to her family members. They were always wrapped in love no matter how serious she looked in the moment or how surprised the main character was by some of them.

PoPo’s Lucky Chinese New Year was a cheerful and uplifting read that I can’t recommend highly enough.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , ,

Brilliant White Peaks by Teng Rong

November 22, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Brilliant White Peaks by Teng Rong
Publisher: Self-Published
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.), Action/Adventure, Contemporary
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A beautiful story of life, love, and loss in the animal kingdom.

Brilliant White Peaks follows a young wolf and his companions as they battle harsh weather conditions, scarcity of food, and other predators to survive in the wild.

Raised by a loving Ma and Pa, a wolf pup grows up with his shy sister White-Ears to be a ferocious hunter. However, while foraging for food in the winter, the family is attacked by a pack of hostile wolves, leading the young wolf and his sister astray from their parents.

Desperate to find his parents again, the young wolf slowly nurses White-Ears through her injuries and sets off for the ocean, where Ma and Pa promised they would be waiting.

Surviving in the wild is difficult even for predators!

The character development was well done, especially when it came to the protagonist. He was such a persistent and courageous wolf who often put himself into danger to save the ones he loved. I was also fascinated by his canine conceptions of what might happen to an animal after death. That was not a topic I’d ever expected him to think about, so reading his thoughts on it later on in the plot was a real treat.

My sole criticism of this book involves the ending. The main character spent almost the entire storyline searching for his missing parents. It was such a powerful source of motivation for him that I was a little disappointed to see how this conflict was resolved even though the author’s reasons for writing it that way did make sense to me. I’d love to see a sequel that addressed this topic in greater detail and explained it fully for the reader as I would have otherwise given this a full five-star rating.

I was impressed by the numerous plot twists. Like all wild animals, the main character was surrounded by danger every moment of his life. Food could be difficult to find, and even the simplest hunt or chance meeting with another predator could go wrong in an instant. There was no telling what might happen to him or his family next, and I was surprised more than once by how things turned out for them.

Brilliant White Peaks was an exciting adventure that I’d recommend to adults and young adults alike.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Big Feelings – Feeling Shy by Mary Lindeen

November 16, 2021 By Leave a Comment


Big Feelings – Feeling Shy by Mary Lindeen
Publisher: Norwood House Press
Genre: Contemporary, Middle Grade (8 – 12 y.o.)
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Ginger

What does it mean to feel shy? Readers will learn how to recognize and manage that feeling in themselves, and how to respond to others who feel that way. An early social and emotional book that includes reading activities and a word list.

This book is a great illustration for children who may experience someone that is shy or for a child who is shy. The book includes beautiful photos of children smiling in addition to those that are uncertain about interacting with others.

It’s a quick and simple read that demonstrates that being shy is okay. It also delivers the message that they are not alone. The book also discloses the signs of shyness and what to do when you meet someone that is shy. There’s also a reading reinforcement that I thought was pretty neat. It contains a word list, suggested further reading material and interactive discussion questions that can be of resource for adults once the book has been read. A good book for kids!

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , ,
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