this week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and science fiction from around the blogs (10/13/24)

 Hi all, here's what I found this week!  let me know if I missed your post, a review of your book, or anything else that I missed!

The Reviews

Children of the Ancient Heroes: Dreams and Nightmares, by Russell J. Fellows, at Bookworm for Kids

The Chronicles of Viktor Valentine 1, by Z Brewer, at Mark My Words

The Diamond of Darkhold (Book of Ember #4), by Jeanne DuPrau, at Sweaters & Raindrops 

It Watches in the Dark, by Jeff Strand, at Twirling Book Princess

The Gods' Revenge, by Katherine Marsh, at Mark My Words

Lenny Among Ghosts, by Frank Marie Reifenberg, at The fiction fox 

The Queen of Ocean Parkway, by Sarvenaz Tash, at Kiss the Book  and Charlotte's Library

The Relic Hunters – The Clockwork Key, by Vashti Hardy, at Book Craic

Rewind, by Lisa Graff, at Kiss the Book

Rosa by Starlight, by Hilary McKay, at Mr Ripley’s Enchanted Books and Redeemed Reader

Splinter & Ash, by Marieke Nijkamp, at Pages Unbound  

Stinetinglers 3, by R. L. Stine, at Bookworm for Kids

Sylvia Doe and the 100 Year Flood, by Robert Beatty, at  Always in the Middle… 

Terror Tower, by Jennifer Killick, at Sifa Elizabeth Reads 

The Wild Robot, by Peter Brown, at Redeemed Reader

Witchspark, by Dominique Valente, at Book Craic

Two at Ms. Yingling Reads Stinetinglers 3, by R.L. Stine, and The Last Dragon on Mars, by Scott Reintgen  

Authors and Interviews

Josh Roberts (The Curse of Willow Cove) at Spooky Middle Grade

Other Good Stuff

Fact or Fable: cryptids in middle-grade literature, a guest post by Jackie Eagleson, at Teen Librarian Toolbox

The Queen of Ocean Parkway, by Sarvenaz Tash, for Timeslip Tuesday

The Queen of Ocean Parkway, by Sarvenaz Tash (September 3, 2024 by Knopf Books for Young Readers), is a really nice book in the best possible sense of the word; I would have loved it as a ten-year-old and very much enjoyed it as a grownup.  

Roya's mom is the superintendent of a 100-year-old apartment building in Brookly, the titular Queen of Ocean Parkway.  Roya is always busy helping out her mom, while practicing to become an investigative journalist by putting out a podcast about the residents (more mystery of the clogged drain in 3B sort of thing than gossip).  And as such, she keeps her ears open for interesting tidbits.  This habit leads into a complicated mystery when she hears two new tenants, a couple, Katya and Stephanie, discussing whether or not Katya will disappear like other women in her family have had a habit of doing, never to return.  Katya does in fact disappear, and Roya is determined to find out what has happened.

With the help of another newcomer to the Queen, a boy named Amin with an eidetic memory (so helpful to mystery solving), she dives into the history of Katya's family, one that is tied to a fortune telling machine on Coney Island.  It turns out that the machine is the family's time travel device, taking one woman in each generation back in time every 25 years or so, and never returning them.  But Katya's determined to break the pattern, and bring Katya back, even if it means travelling back in time herself, along with Amin.

The trips back in time take the two kids to the point where each woman in Katya's family makes their trip.  But how to get Katya back to her own time instead of leaving her to age 25 years before the point where she is supposed to be with Stephanie? Roya's Baba, who she doesn't live with (her parents being divorced) proves to be a great help with the theoretical side of time travel (and Roya is beyond happy to find this point of connection, as Baba is undergoing cancer treatment and quite possibly dying, so her visits to him were strained before they could talk about this new subject of mutual interest).  But Roya gets a little sidetracked when it occurs to her that 25 years ago she might be able to leave a message for her father telling him to seek out help sooner when he first gets sick....

And so the reader gets what is both a fascinating time travel mystery, full of the desperate need to fix the past and save loved ones so they can have a future with their families.

It's a story full of lots of lovely details (for instance, about the mundanity of old apartment life, how each different time period 25 years apart is different yet similar), lots of great characters, and fascinating time shenanigans (rooted in science, which we learn about through Baba's academic side of things, that I appreciated lots).  It's also a lovely letter to an imaginary old New York hotel, and makes me want to visit Coney Island, where I've never been.  And it's a great read--it left me thinking that if the Newbery Committee that honored The Westing Game with its win back in 1978 were to be reconvened for this year, they might well pick this one.

 

this week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (10/6/24)

Here's what I found this week; please let me know if I missed anything!

The Reviews

Boy 2.0, by Tracey Baptiste, at Mark My Words

The Crossbow of Destiny, by Brando Hoang, at Mark My Words

Review: Dragon's Flight by Jessica Day George - The Story Sanctuary

The Fabian File, by David Aro, at Valinora Troy

The Forest of a Thousand Eyes, by Frances Hardinge, at Sifa Elizabeth Reads 

The Hatmakers, by Tamzin Merchant, at Carpe Librum

It Came from the Trees, by Ally Russell, at Twirling Book Princess

Majestica, by Sarah Tolcser, at Pages Unbound 

The Millicent Squibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science, by Kate McKinnon's at CAI (capeandislands.org) (NPR)

The Night Librarian, by Christopher Lincoln, at Pages Unbound and Geo Librarian

Poppy and Marigold, by Meg Welch Dendler, at Always in the Middle…  

The Puppets of Spelhorst, by Kate DiCamillo, at Children's Books Heal  

Revenge of the Killer Worm, by Kathryn Foxfield, at Sifa Elizabeth Reads  

The Serpent Rider, by Yxavel Magno Diño, at Always in the Middle… and The Story Sanctuary

Sylvia Doe and the 100-Year Flood, by Robert Beatty, at Bookworm for Kids

Thea and the Mischief Makers, by Tracy Badua, at Log Cabin Library

Through the Keeper’s Door, by Melissa D. Kline, at StoryWarren 

 Westfallen, by Ann & Ben Brashares, at Cracking the Cover

Wicked Marigold, by Caroline Carlson, at Charlotte's Library

Two at The Book Search--Island of Wonders, by Frances Hardinge, and Splinter and Ash, by Marieke Nijkamp

Two at Ms. Yingling Reads: The Wish Monster, by J.A. White, and Never Thirteen, by Stacy McAnulty

 

Authors and Interviews

J.C. Cervantes (The Daggers of Ire) at  The Nerd Daily

Kate McKinnon (The Millicent Squibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science) at NPR

Other Good Stuff

The 2024 National Book Award Finalists Announced!  Special congratulations to The First State of Being, by Erin Entrada Kelly, representing middle grade spec fic.  via 100scopenotes

Wicked Marigold, by Caroline Carlson

Wicked Marigold, by Caroline Carlson (Jyl 2024, Candlewick), is a delightful middle grade fantasy; really my only complaint was that the font was a tad smaller than I'm used to in mg books, and as someone who is getting older but refusing to concede any ground, it meant that I had to wait for a beautiful sunny weekend afternoon to finish it in natural bright light  It was a nice way to spend my afternoon, so no complaints on that score, but still a sad intimation of mortality...

Princess Marigold has spent her life living in the bright and beautiful shadow of her older sister Rosilind, who was a perfect princess, whose laugh made flowers bloom and who was beloved by everyone.  Rosilind was kidnapped before Marigold was born by the evil wizard Torville, and Marigold can't help but feel she's a poor replacement.  When Rosilind escapes, and come home, Marigold can't help but feel exceedingly cantankerous about her perfect sister, oozing sweetness and light all over the place, and her feelings culminate with dumping a bucket of water from her bedroom window over Rosilind.

Clearly it was a wicked thing to do, and full of anger and resentment, Marigold decides that the only option open to her is to embrace her wickedness and head of to Torville's tower, to be his evil apprentice. Torville and his imp Pettifog are less than thrilled when she shows up at their door, but take her in.  And Marigold is taken aback to find a tower that is much more domestic than terrifying.  But a bargain is made--if Marigold can prove she really is wicked, she can stay and learn evil magic; if she's not, Torville (who has had lots of practice doing evil magic) will turn her into a beetle.

Things get complicated when Marigold's efforts at magic go sideways (wizard Torville is sidelined by being turned into a blob which presents many problems for her and Pettifog the imp), and from there things get very tense indeed when all the evil magicians around recognize that Rosilind's remarkable powers of love and kindness threaten their livelihoods.  Marigold and Rosilind must join forces against them, but will this doom Marigold to beetle-hood?  

It is a fun and playful story, with lots of splashes of whimsy; I chuckled considerably!  It's also, underneath the magical shenanigans, a gently thoughtful one about figuring out who one is, which is perfect for the target age range.  I appreciated that Torville, having resisted Rosilind's assertive goodness, remains morally grey at best, and I appreciated that Marigold gets to put her own aptitudes and strength of character to do what Rosilind alone could not have accomplished.

It put me in mind, of course, of Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, but if you are looking for more middle grade reading along these lines, I highly recommend The Evil Wizard Smallbone, by Delia Sherman!

Zoe Rising

 If you've read and enjoyed Stonewards, by Pam Conrad, you might, like me, be excited to learn there's a sequel, Zoe Rising.  You might also be slightly disappointed--Zoe Louise, the child central to the time travel of the first book, is not present in this one, and we don't learn anything new about her or her story.  Instead, we reconnect with Zoe at summer camp, the first time she's ever been away from home.

When the news breaks that one of the other camper's parents have been killed in a car accident, Zoe becomes consumed by the fear that her grandparents are also somehow at risk.  And this worry sends her travelling back in time...to visit with her own mother when she was a little girl.   Zoe's mother was pretty bad at being a good and present mother, leaving Zoe with her grandparents and only visiting occasionally, seemingly a shell of a person.  

But in the visits Zoe pays to her mother's childhood, she is witness to the horribly traumatic event that change the happy child into the emotionally absent woman, and she strives mightily to alter the course of events.  And is successful, to a point, saving her from what we imagine was the utter horror the little girl of the past might have otherwise endured.

The time travelling makes it hard for Zoe to be a good camper, and everyone is relieved when it's time to go home....and home, for the first time in Zoe's life, now includes her mother...

It's satisfying time travel, and a fine story in general, but somehow it doesn't quite hit the emotional high points that would make any more powerful.  So although I enjoyed it just fine, I probably will never feel the need to re-read it.

the week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (9/29/24)

Welcome to this week's round-up!

(the stared books are eligible for this year's Cybils Awards, and haven't been nominated yet.  Tomorrow's the last day to show love to your favorite books by giving them a chance at the Cybils!  Here's where you go to nominate.

The Reviews

*The Graveyard Gift, by Fern Forgettable, at Mark My Words and Sharon the Librarian

The Haunting of Lake Lucy, by Sandy Deutscher Green, at Rosi Hollinbeck

Impossible Creatures, by Katherine Rundell, at  PBC's Book Reviews  

*Jasmine Is Haunted, by Mark Oshiro, at Righter of Words

Mallory Vayle & the Curse of Maggoty Skull, by Martin Howard, at Valinora Troy

Ministry of Mischief, by Alex Foulkes, at Scope for Imagination and BookMurmuration

*The Necromancer's Apprentice, by Beverly Twomey, at Bookworm for Kids

Splinter and Ash, by Marieke Nijkamp, at Jen Rothmeyer (instagram)

*Stage Fright, by Wendy Parris, at Ms. Yingling Reads 

*The Twisted Tower of Endless Torment (The Horrible Bag Series 2), by Rob Renzetti, at Mark My Words

*Valor Wings, by Sam Subity, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Two at The Book Search--Westfallen, by Ann and Ben Brashares, and *Jaden Powers and the Inheritance Magic, by Jamar J. Perry.

Three at A Kids Book A Day-- *The Secret Dead Club by Karen Strong, *Give Me Something Good to Eat by D. W. Gillespie, and *Once They See You: 13 Stories to Shiver and Shock, by Josh Allen

Five at Ms. Yingling Reads -- Kwame Crashes the Underworld, by Craig Kofi Farmer, *Daggers of Ire, by J.S. Cervantes, *The Chainbreakers, by Julian Randall, *Rougarou Magic, by Rachel M. Marsh, and *The Serpent Rider, by Yxavel Magno Diño

Authors and Interviews

Erika Lewis (the Kelcie Murphy series) at The Children's Book Review

Other Good Stuff

Katy at alibrarymama has lots of Elementary/Middle grade books still waiting for their nomination!

Last Chance for Cybils Nominations: 12 Exciting Books   and Top Book Picks for Cybils 2024 MG Spec Fic Nominations |  

and I have created perhaps the most comprehensive list going of 20th century time travel books published in the UK....

High school non-fiction titles still awaiting their nominations.....

Tomorrow (Sept. 30th) is the last day for public nominations for the Cybils Awards!  After chairing elementary/middle grade speculative fiction for several years, I'm taking a break and enjoying the real world as chair of the High School Non Fiction category.

Here are some books I (mostly) haven't read, but want to, that are still waiting for their nomination...

If you'd like to show any of these books or authors some love, please nominate them! Here's where you go to do so.

(the links go to their Kirkus reviews...)

THE GENDER BINARY IS A BIG LIE by Lee Wind

WHOSE RIGHT IS IT? THE FOURTEENTH AMENDMENT AND THE FIGHT FOR EQUALITY by Hana Bajramovic

DON’T WAIT by Sonali Kohli

FUTURE TENSE by Martha Brockenbrough

MARKED MAN by John Florio & Ouisie Shapiro

THE SIXTH EXTINCTION (YOUNG READERS ADAPTATION) by Elizabeth Kolbert

STAY UP by Khodi Dill ; illustrated by Stylo Starr

 

20th century time travel books published in the UK

For the purposes of the talk I gave this summer at the Bristol conference on 20th Century School Girls and Their Books, I have gathered all the 20^th century time travel books for children and teens published in the UK that I know about, listed in chronological order (not including picture books or adult books).  Books for older readers are labeled ya (young adult)  

NB: there are certainly books missing from this list, and I have not included books first published in North America and later published in the UK).  

Please let me know if you can add to this list, or if you see mistakes!  I have thoughtfully put stars next to books I don't own in case anyone needs a present for me....

1^st half of the century (8 books)

The Story of the Amulet, by E. Nesbit (1906)

The House of Arden, by E. Nesbit (1908) 

Harding's Luck, by E. Nesbit (1909)

*The Highway, by Hugh Chesterman (1935)

A Traveler in Time, by Alison Uttley (1939)

Bedknob and Broomstick, by Mary Norton (1943)

*Clover Magic, by Victoria Stevenson (1944)

Borrobil, by William Croft Dickinson (1944)

 

1950s (19 books)

*Caterpillar Hall, by Anne Barrett (1950)

The Gauntlet, by Ronald Welch (1951)

Caravan Holiday, by Hilda Boren (1953)

*The Prize Essay, by Kathleen Wallace (1953)

*The Fearless Treasure, by Noel Streatfeild (1953)

 Drumbeats! by David Severn (1953)

Sun Slower, Sun Faster, by Meriol Trevor (1955)

*Seven Days Wonder, by Elizabeth Denys (1955)

*The Hunted Head, Olivia Fitzroy (1956)

Argyl’s Mist, by M. Pardoe (1956)

Merlin’s Ring, by Meriol Trevor (1957)

*The Grandfather Clock, by John Pudney (1957)

*The Golden Shore, by Elinor Lyon (1957)

The Ship That Flew, by Hilda Lewis (1958)  

The Future Took Us, by David Severn (1958)

Argyl’s Causeway, by M. Pardoe (1958)

Tom's Midnight Garden, by Phillipa Pearce (1958)

The McNeills at Rathcapple, by Meta Mayne Reid (1959)

*Argle’s Oracle, by M. Pardoe (1959)

 

 1960s (17 books)

 Tangara, by Nan Chauncy (1960)

*Sandy and the Hollow Book, by Meta Mayne Reid (1961)

Two Gold Dolphins, by Elisabeth Beresford (1961)

Stig of the Dump, by Clive King (1962)

The Hubbles' Treasure Hunt, by Elaine Horseman (1965)

The Green Bronze Mirror, by Lynne Ellison (1966)

Earthfasts, by William Mayne (1966)

The Snowstorm, by Beryl Netherclift (1967)

Jessamy, by Barbara Sleigh (1967)

When Marnie Was There, by Joan C. Robinson (1967)

The Glen Beyond the Door, by Meta Mayne Reid (1968)

House in the Wood, by Rodie Sudbery (1968)

The Hill Road, by William Mayne (1968),

A Game of Catch, by Helen Cresswell (1969)

The Ghosts (retitled The Amazing Mr. Blunden in 1972), by Antonia Barber (1969)

Charlotte Sometimes, by Penelope Farmer (1969)

A Chill in the Lane, by Mabel Esther Allan (1969)

 

1970s (36 books)

The House in the Waves, by James Hamilton-Paterson (1970)

Astercote, by Penelope Lively (1970)  

Catweazle, by Richard Carpenter (1970)

The Old Powder Line, by Richard Parker (1971)

Catweazle and the Magic Zodiac. By Richard Carpenter (1971)

Up the Pier, by Helen Cresswell (1971)

The Last Straw, by Margaret Baker (1971)

Castle Merlin, by Ursula Moray Williams (1971)

The Driftway, by Penelope Lively (1972)

A Pattern of Roses, by K.M. Peyton (1972) ya

Time to Go Back, by Mabel Esther Allan (1972) ya

In a Blue Velvet Dress, by Catherine Sefton (1973)

The Autumn People, by Ruth M. Arthur (1973)

Beadbonny Ash, by Winifred Finlay (1973) /ya

The House in Norham Gardens, by Penelope Lively (1974)

To Nowhere and Back, by Margaret J. Anderson (1975)

Robinsheugh (aka Elizabeth, Elizabeth) by Eileen Dunlop (1975)

Romansgrove, by Mabel Esther Allan (1975)

A Stranger Thing, by Ruth Tomalin (1975)

Cat in the Mirror, by Mary Stolz (1975)

On the Wasteland, by Ruth M. Arthur (1975) ya

The Stones of Green Knowe, by L.M. Boston (1976)  

The Wind Eye, by Robert Westall (1976) ya

A Flute in Mayferry Street, by Eileen Dunlop (1976) 

The Time Tangle, by Frances Eager (1976)

A Stitch in Time, by Penelope Lively (1976)

The Other Face, by Barbara C. Freeman (1976) ya

Requiem for a Princess, by Ruth M. Arthur (1976) ya

*Huck and Her Time Machine, Gillian Avery (1977).

In the Keep of Time, by Margaret J. Anderson (1977)

Crocuses Were Over, Hitler Was Dead (Now and Then in the UK), by Geraldine Symons (1977)

Come Back, Lucy, by Pamela Sykes (1977)

The Devil on the Road, by Robert Westall (1978) ya

A Chance Child, by Jill Patton Walsh (1978)

In the Circle of Time, by Margaret J. Anderson (1979)

Steps Out of Time, by Eric Houghton (1979) 

 

1980s (16 books)

 *The Time Stone, by Margaret Rogers (1980)

Playing Beatie Bow, by Ruth Park (1980) ya

Cat's Magic, by Margaret Greaves (1980)

Curious Magic, by Elisabeth Beresford (1980)

The Mysterious Girl in the Garden, by Judith St. George (1981)

The Secret World of Polly Flint, by Helen Cresswell (1982)

The Castle Boy, by Catherine Storr (1983)

Changing Times, by Tim Kennemore (1984) ya

*The Messenger, by Monica Dickens (1985)

Children of Winter, by Berlie Doherty (1985) ya

A Tale of Time City, by Diana Wynne Jones (1987)

Moondial, by Helen Cresswell (1987)

King Death’s Garden, by Ann Halam (1987)

A Long Trip to Teatime, by James Dunn (1988)

Mazemaker, by Catherine Dexter (1989)

Wild Robert, by Diana Wynne Jones (1989)

 

1990s (9 books)

Time Spinner, by Roy Apps (1990)

The Mirror Image Ghost, by Catherine Storr (1994)

The Children Next Door, by Jean Ure (1994)

The Secret of the Ruby Ring, by Yvonne MacGrory (1994)

*Cuddy, by William Mayne (1994)

Webster's Leap, aka Castle Gryffe, by Eileen Dunlop (1995)

Johnny and the Bomb, by Terry Pratchett (1996)

Tanglewreck, by Jeanette Winterson (1996)

The Sterkarm Handshake, by Susan Price (1998) ya

The House in the Square, by Joan G. Robinson

 

Joan G. Robinson was the author of When Marnie Was There, a rather well-known mid 20th-century timeslip book, so I was pleased to acquire another book of hers, The House in the Square (1972), which was apparently also time-slip.  Turns out it's very time-slip light....

Jessie is packed off to London to stay with her mother's old headmistress, who is planning to turn her large house into a small school.  She is looking forward lots to the company she'll have, but to her dismay there are no other girls in residence....and as the days pass, with no lessons and no other boarders, her spirits fall.  Finally she's enrolled in the local school, but gets off to a bad start socially, and so she remains lonely and isolated. 

 In the public garden across the way, where she often goes to visit the lovely statue of a girl, she hears the voices of children playing, and ganging up on one child called Melly, but never sees them.  Also in the garden is an old woman in raggedy clothes, who doesn't seem to have all her wits and who rummages through the rubbish bin, who she gets to know to some extent. 

(any moment now, I thought, lonely Jessie will time travel and meet the children....)

Rooms are let in the old house, an actress comes to stay, and she charms Jessie, but her sparkly gold turns out to be dross when she leaves with the ex-headmistresses squirreled away bit of money.  Naturally, because this is that sort of book, Jessie is suspected.  

She finds the part of the garden where the children's voices were coming from has been built on, and never hears them again.

Mercifully by the end of the book things get better for Jessie, but the time slipping never progresses past voices of unseen children. The old woman turns out to have been the girl Melly, which did not surprise me.

A disappointment, although possibly if you aren't expecting time travel and have more tolerance for well-written and vividly described gloom you will enjoy it more than me.  It felt like realistic fiction with a bit of fantasy tacked on for no apparent reason.  The illustrations by Shirley Hughes are of course nice.

This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and sci-fi from around the blogs etc. (9/22/24)

Black Gables, by Eibhlís Carcione, at Book Craic

The Cats of Silver Crescent, by Kaela Noel, at Granite Media

As ever, please let me know if I missed your post!

The Reviews

The Door, by Jan Fields, at Mark My Words

Dreadwood: Terror Tower, by Jennifer Killick, at Scope for Imagination

The Dream Stealers, by Stuart Beard, at Mark My Words

Ellie Engle Saves Herself, by Leah Johnson, at Sifa Elizabeth Reads  

 Exit Nowhere, by Juliana Brandt, at Charlotte's Library

The Ghost Rules, by Adam Rosenbaum, at Always in the Middle…  

The Great Phoenix of London, by Lindsay Galvin, illustrated by Gordy Wright, at Library Girl and Book Boy, Book Craic, and Scope for Imagination

Impossible Creatures, by Katherine Rundell, ill. Ashley Mackenzie, at Fuse #8, Dragonfly, and The NYT

Kelcie Murphy and the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts, by Erika Lewis, at Deliciously Savvy

The Last Hope School for Magical Delinquents, by Nicki Pau Preto, at Baroness' Book Trove 

Lockett & Wilde’s Dreadfully Haunting Mysteries: The Ghosts of the Manor, by Lucy Strange, illustrated by Pam Smy, at Book Craic

Museum of Thieves, by Lian Tanner, at Puss Reboots

Olivetti, by Allie Millington. at Faith Elizabeth Hough

Rumaysa: A Fairy Tale, by Radiya Hafiza, at Pages Unbound  

The Secret Library, by Kekla Magoon, at Charlotte's Library

The Shop-Witch’s Quest, by Aisha Bushby, illustrated by Patri De Pedro, at Book Craic

The Stitchwort Curse, by Alexandra Dawe, at Valinora Troy

Tessa Miyata is so Unlucky, by Julie Abe, at Mark My Words

The Witching Wind, by Natalie Lloyd, at Children's Books Heal  and Baroness' Book Trove  

Two at Ms. Yingling Reads: Camp Twisted Pine, by Ciera Burch, and The Loneliest Place, by Lora Senf  

Two more at Ms. Yingling Reads: Splinter and Ash, by Marieke Nijkamp,  and Mouse and His Dog, by K.A. Applegate, and Gennifer Choldenko, illustrated by Wall West, Wallace 

Authors and Interviews

Ciera Burch (Camp Twisted Pine), at From The Mixed Up Files

Ann Brashares and Ben Brashares (Westfallen), at From The Mixed Up Files

Callie C. Miller (The Search for the Shadowsoul), at  Literary Rambles 

Other Good Stuff

Watch the Final Trailer for THE WILD ROBOT! (100scopenotes.com)

And don't forget to show your favorite mg speculative fiction book love by nominating it for the Cybils Awards! 

Exit Nowhere, by Juliana Brandt

If you are looking for a middle grade spooky read for the Halloween season, Exit Nowhere, by Juliana Brandt (Aladin, Sept 4, 2024) is perfect! It's a creepy house of horrors escape room-esque story in which is nested the middle grade friendship/self-awareness arc of the main character.

Barret Eloise focuses on being the best student in her Appalachian middle school.  Since she's not distracted by any sort of social life, her one former friend Helena now only an acquaintance, she has nothing else to do with her time (her older brother invites her to compete in various video games, but she can't stand losing all the time, so she refuses).

When she's forced into a group assignment on local history with Helena, and two boys, Ridge (a somewhat abrasive jock), and Wayne (a geeky tech kid), she is focused on winning this as well.  Her suggestion that the group investigate the creepy history of the town's haunted house, Rathfield Manor, is accepted....

and they start by investigating Norma, now an elderly woman, who with her boyfriend entered the house long ago.  Norma made it out, but her boyfriend, Eugene, didn't.  It turns out Norma is Ridge's aunt, and when they visit her, she won't, or can't, talk about what happened to her, but does whisper to Barret Eloise that "you can't win." 

When the four kids decide to visit the house themselves, it turns out to be a terrible idea. They are trapped inside it by the ghost of a five-year-old boy who died there, and who has been forcing anyone who visits to play his games.   Remembering Norma's words, Barret Eloise is determined to prove her wrong,  Maybe she can't figure out what's wrong with herself, that she can't make friends, but she can solve puzzles....And so begins a terrifying contest, in which one after the other, the kids begin to lose to the traps and tricks of the angry child ghost, starting with a game of The Floor is Lava, in which the lava is all too real.

They meet Eugene, still trapped in the house, and when Barret Eloise and Helena, the last two kids still standing, learn that Eugene actually won the games against the ghost, they just barely figure out what to do to avoid his fate, and lay the ghost boy to rest.

Any kid who enjoys spooky escape room scenarios will love this one!  The supernatural horrors are memorably scary, the progress the kids make in figuring out the mystery they've been trapped, each bringing their own contribution to the successful outcome, makes gripping reading, and the social dynamics of the group, with Barret Eloise forced into introspection and self-realization, adds an appealing personal story to the ghostly side of things.  

Highly recommended!

The Secret Library, by Kekla Magoon, for Timeslip Tuesday

 

The Secret Library, by Kekla Magoon, has been out since May, and having enjoyed other books by the author, and liking libraries, I meant to read it....and then about a month ago I realized it was a time travel book, so there was no more waiting and here it is as this week's Timeslip Tuesday book.

Dally is a child of great wealth and privilege, but her life is horrible circumscribed.  Her grandpa, who brought adventure and fun into her life, has died, her (black) father died when she was very young, and her (white) mother is inflexibly focused on training Dally to someday assume control of the family business.  Being only 11, she would rather not have business tutoring most evenings after school, but that is her life.  There is no reasoning with her mother.

(me--her mother really is something else.  She's so awfully unaffectionate and single-minded and business focused that she's unbelievable, and this disminished my enjoyment of the book.)

Then Dally gets hold of an envelope her grandpa left with her, not to be opened until she's 21.  Of course she opens it, and it leads her to a Secret Library.

(me--I was taken aback to find that this is not a hidden sort of secret library, but literally a library of people's secrets, that can be checked out and visited in a time travel way.  I like hidden libraries more than I like libraries that make secrets available; I'd hate to have one of my own kids visiting my secrets...)

 So Dally begins to find secrets that call to her, learning secrets from her parents' life before her father died by actually travelling through time to watch things happen. 

(me-- it was nice that Dally had this magical chance to see her father and mother when they were young and in love (very sweet), and to see her grandfather again).

However, there are intimation that it is not all fun and harmless visits to the past.  The librarian tells her that many of the patrons are "needed for something," (p 121), and the proves to be the case for Dally. She also lets slip that sometimes patrons don't make it back....And Dally learns that the library has chosen her to be its next caretaker, which means never going out again through its doors when she assumes this responsibility.  

(me--which is a heck of a lot for a kid to have to contemplate.  Being trapped, even by a really neat library of time-travelling magic, is not what one necessarily wants from life....)

The next secret Dally takes from the shelf sends her back to a pirate ship almost 200 years in the past.  There she befriends the white captain, Eli, and the black first mate, Pete, and Jack, a boy of her own age.  And the secret revealed her is the location of the treasure that was the basis for her family's fortune. 

(me--I was surprised by how long we spent on the pirate ship with not much happening....but it was important that Dally grow to know and care about Eli, Pete and Jack.  And now I'm going into spoiler territory, so you can stop now if you haven't read it).

She meets these people again on her next visit, and this time it becomes clear what she is needed for.  Eli is a woman, and she is pregnant with Pete's child.  Pete has escaped slavery, but is still in danger, and Dally, who is also clearly black, is in danger too.   Dally and Jack (who turns out to be another time traveler, from 1960) are able to help Eli and Pete escape...

Then on her next trip through time, she meets their grandchildren, two grownup brothers, just as one of them breaks the news to the other that he's going to leave the family and pass as white.  Dally puts all the pieces together and realizes that these people she's met in the past are her own family.  And she realizes as well that she doesn't have to go back to her own time...

(me-very big spoiler coming up)

So she doesn't.  She stays with Jack in his own time in the 1960s growing up alongside him, and shows up at the library again, just after she left for the past that one last time, an older woman, ready to take on her role as its librarian. 

(me--and we are asked not to feel bad for her mother, because Dally explains everything, and her mother gets to watch her grow up by time travelling to the past to see it for herself,  Which I didn't find very satisfying from a maternal point of view).

So basically, the time travelling in the story is the mechanism through which we, the readers, see alongside Dally the past of her family, with all its darkness and love mixed together.  And though I certainly found it very readable and very interesting, I also found it frustrating.  Dally is so busy being used to show all this to the reader that she ends up not being all that much of a character in her own right.  

But that being said, I do think that Dally's adventures have great appeal for the target audience!

This week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (9/15/24)

Welcome to this week's round-up!  Let me know if I missed your post.

The Reviews

Alex vs Axel: The Impossible Quests, by Sam Copeland, at Twirling Book Princess

Bridget Vanderpuff and the Monster Mountain Mystery, by Martin Stewart, at Scope for Imagination

Flyte, by Angie Sage, at Puss Reboots

The Ghost of Midnight Lake, by Lucy Strange, at Charlotte's Library

Greta, by J. S. Lemon, at The Story Sanctuary

The Haunting of Lake Lucy, by  Sandy Deutcher Green, at  Always in the Middle…  

Hercules: A Hero’s Journey (On A School Trip) by Tom Vaughan & David O’Connell, at Scope for Imagination

Jack Zulu and the Girl with the Golden Wings, by S. D. Smith, at Redeemed Reader

Kelcie Murphy and the Race for the Reaper's Key, by Erika Lewis, at Mark My Words

Mind Over Monsters, by Betsy Uhrig, at PBC's Book Reviews  

The Night War, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, at The Book Nut

Quantum Interstellar Sports League #1, by J. Scott Savage, illustrated by Brandon Dorman, at Log Cabin Library

 Rosa by Starlight, by Hilary McKay, at Book Craic

Splinter and Ash, by Marieke Nijkamp, at Mombian (scroll down)

 A Strange Thing Happened in Cherry Hall, by Jasmine Warga, at Ms. Yingling Reads

 Sylvia Doe and the 100-Year Flood, by Robert Beatty, at Mark My Words

Tiffany’s Griffon, by Magnolia Porter Siddell & Maddi Gonzalez, at Pages Unbound 

The Witching Wind, by Natalie Lloyd, at Cracking the Cover

Two by Caryn Rivadeneira  illus. by Dani Jones for the younger side of MG at Ms. Yingling Reads-The Cupsnake Escape (FrankinSchool #2) and  Gone to the Dogs (FrankinSchool #3)

Authors and Interviews

Ciera Burch (Camp Twisted Pine) at Bookworm for Kids

Other Good Stuff

"The Spooky Season is Almost Here! (Let's get ready)"  a round-up of five novels at From The Mixed Up Files

"10 Things Percy Jackson Gets Right About Greek Mythology" at screenrant.com

and last but not least, the public nomination period for the Cybils Awards begins Monday the 16th and is open till the 30th!  Nominating is a great way to show your favorite kids and YA books love! I have a long list of mg sci fi/fantasy books I'd like to nominate; I hope lots of them get nominated by other folks quickly so I don't have to make an agonizing choice!

The Ghost of Midnight Lake, by Lucy Strange

 

Falling of a ladder earlier this week, and the rather painful recovery that still continues, meant I didn't get any posts written....so I'm squeezing in a quick review of The Ghost of Midnight Lake, by Lucy Strange (published in the UK as The Ghost of Gosswater, Chicken House 2021), before posting this week's round-up.

It is 1899 in England's Lake District, and the Earl of Gosswater has died.  Young Lady Agatha expected to inherit the castle, but instead she learns that she is not actually the Earl's daughter, and everything goes to cruel, grasping cousin Clarence.  A small part of Agatha is a bit relieved to know that there's an external reason why she always felt unloved, but a much larger part of Agatha is horrified to be turned out of her home penniless, sent to live with her actual father who she never knew existed.  And a father who has spent time in prison, who lives in a humble cottage raising geese...

Her horror shares headspace with a burning desire to get something of what she feels is owed to her--starting with a magnificent black opal that she prizes out from its setting before being sent away from the castle.  There's a second family opal as well, a white one, but that one has been lost for years....

Agatha's father does not give her a warm and loving welcome; he is not unkind, but is very reserved and tells Agatha nothing about the past.  Still, she sets to work with reasonable good will and utter lack of ability on the domestic tasks assigned to her.  Inside, though, she's determined to both find out her backstory and find the missing white opal.

And with the help of a mysterious ghost and a local orphaned boy, she does both.

I read it in a single sitting--it's a nice, twisty story.  Older readers (like me) might find Clarence something of an evil caricature, and Agatha's fixation on getting what's owed to her a bit unappealing.  But that same older reader might well enjoy seeing Agatha and her father, along with the orphan boy, becoming a found family, and discovering who the ghost really is.  There are plenty of scary and shocking moments, lots of good descriptions, and a very memorable goose that keep the pages turning quickly!  So overall, I enjoyed it quite a bit.

This week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (9/8/24)

Morning all!  Here's what I found this week; let me know if I missed your post!

The Reviews

The Beanstalk Murder, by P.G. Bell, at Book Craic

Bridget Vanderpuff and the Monster Mountain Mystery, by Martin Stewart, illustrated by David Habben, at Library Girl and Book Boy

The Chronicles of Whetherwhy: The Age of Enchantment, by Anna James, at The Book Muse 

Evenfall: The Golden Linnet, by Alexander Armstrong, at Book Craic

Fathomless, by Samantha San Miguel, at Bookworm for Kids and Mark My Words

The Flicker, by H.E. Edgmon, at Between the Shelves  

The Girl Who Kept the Castle, by Ryan Graudin, at YA Books Central

Greta, by J.S. Lemon, at Log Cabin Library and Always in the Middle…  

Impossible Creatures, by Katherine Rundell, at Kiss the Book 

Jaden Powers and the Inheritance Magic, by Jamar J. Perry, at The Story Sanctuary

The Minor Miracle, by Meredith Davis, at Redeemed Reader

Monster Movie! by Chuck Wendig, at Mark My Words

Ratty, by Suzanne Selfors, at Semicolon 

The Secret Dead Club, by Karen Strong, at Cracking the Cover and Ms. Yingling Reads 

Splinter and Ash, by Marieke Nijkamp, at Sonderbooks  

Starling and the Cavern of Light, by Aisling Fowler, at Sifa Elizabeth Reads 

Two at Ms. Yingling Reads-   Scrimshaw (Deephaven #2), by Ethan M. Aldridge, and Caught Dead (Bite Risk #2), by S.J. Wills 

Authors and Interviews

Karla Arenas Valenti (Lola) at Watch. Connect. Read.  

Natalie Lloyd (The Witching Wind) at Literary Rambles

Steven Banbury (The Pumpkin Princess and the Forever Night) at Writer's Digest

Other Good Stuff

New in the UK, at  Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books  

"Using Magical Realism to Tackle Tough Topics in Middle Grade," a guest post by Heather Murphy Capps at teenlibrariantoolbox.com

Discover Nigerian Fantasy: Middle Grade and Teen Picks, at alibrarymama

A blogging throwback to Nonfiction Monday starring 4 great High School nonfiction books of 2024

 Back in the day in the golden age of children's book blogging, we used to have Nonfiction Monday.  I'm doing that today, becuase I'm the chair of this year's high school non-fiction category of the Cybils Awards (after being Elementary/middle grade speculative fiction for the past few years, I thought it was time to turn that category over to a fresh chair, and happily Katy of A Library Mama has stepped up to the challenge, so it's in good hands).

So this summer I've been getting a head start on HS fiction, and here are a few of the excellent books I've read so far!

In a nod to labor day, I'll start with Shift Happens: The History of Labor in the United States, by J. Albert Mann (Harper Collins, 2024)

I generally consider myself to be well informed history wise, but there was So Much in this book that I didn't know about and have never thought about. Lots of really disturbing information about people struggling against the forces of capitalism throughout US history that was eye opening and thought provoking.   The author does a great job telling the stories vividly and without beating the reader over the head with, makes it clear how the struggles of our counties works and the oppression of those getting rich of their blood and sweat still reverberate today.

American Wings: Chicago's Pioneering Black Aviators and the Race for Equality in the Sky, by Sherri L. Smith and Elizabeth Wein (Putnam Young Readers, 2024)

Another one in which I learned an awful lot, not just about the history of aviation and the black men and women who fought hard against oppression to win their wings, but about American (and also Ethiopean) history.  What I loved especially about this one is how the authors made the people they wrote about come to life without putting words in their mouths or us inside their heads.  A truly engrossing read!

Shackled: A Tale of Wronged Kids, Rogue Judges, and a Town that Looked Away, by Candy J. Cooper (Calkins Creek, 2024)

When a Pennsylvania judge and his cronies have a financial interest in a for profit juvenile detention center, it is not a surprise that the number of kids sent to be locked up for minor infractions skyrockets. This is the true story of how the lives of more than 2,500 children were sacrificed for their greed, and how their hideous scheme was discovered and brought to an end.  It is horrific (the poor kids, and their poor parents who were powerless to save them), but also a gripping read.

Hurdles in the Dark: My Story of Survival, Resilience, and Triumph, by Elvira K. Gonzalez (Roaring Brook Press, 2024)

This autobiographical account of the author's determination to overcome the myriad challenges of her life and win a college athletic scholarship for hurdling reads like a gripping novel.  From her impoverished childhood to her mother's kidnapping (she has to find $40,000 to get her back), her brief time in juvie where she vows she'll someday write the story of her life, on to finding a coach who believes in her, but who turns out to be grooming her, and then at last to college, it is riveting, horrific, moving, and powerful. I am so glad she came out of it all and has shared her story with the world.

These are just a few of the books of that will be eligible for this year's High School Nonfiction category.  If you think they look like something you'd like to read, do consider applying to be a HS nonfic panelist!  The deadline is September 7th, and all the information is here at the Cybils website.  And if you have any questions about applying, or the amount of reading required, or anything else, please let me know!