Category: Middle Grade

Title: A Wrinkle in Time
Author: Madeleine L’Engle
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
Source: Borrowed from a friend
Release Date: November 7, 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.

“Wild nights are my glory,” the unearthly stranger told them. “I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me be on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract”.

Meg’s father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space?

Review:

This is a great story! I can see why it’s a classic.

This book reminded me of other classics, such as Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz. In both of those stories, the main characters go on journeys through strange, fantastic lands, to find their way back home. Meg Murry also goes on a journey through fantastic lands, but it is to get her father back and then return home.

Though this story is more than 50 years old, it can be read today without a problem. There aren’t too many objects in it which point to the time period in which it was written, so it could just as easily be taking place today. The only thing I noticed that is mentioned is a typewriter, which would be replaced with a computer today. Other than that, the story could be written and read today!

Have you read this book? What did you think?

Title: Wonder Woman at Super Hero High (DC Super Hero Girls #1)
Author: Lisa Yee
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Random House
Source: Library
Release Date: March 1, 2016
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

This groundbreaking new middle grade series follows DC Comics’ most iconic female Super Heroes and Super-Villains . . . as high schoolers. At Super Hero High, the galaxy’s most powerful teens nurture their powers and master the fundamentals of what it means to be a hero.

Review:

This is a great book for young fans of DC Comics!

This is the first book in the DC Super Hero Girls middle grade series. It introduces Wonder Woman, who has just been selected to attend Super Hero High. I loved her! She’s a unique character. She takes everything that people say literally. When they tell her to take a seat, she actually picks up a chair.

This story also featured other DC Comics favourite characters, such as Lois Lane, Barbara Gordon, and, my personal favourite, Harley Quinn.

I really enjoyed the story, even though it is written for middle grade audience. There was a great mystery when Wonder Woman was getting anonymous threats at school.

There were some typos in the story, including spelling Wonder Woman’s name wrong. This is a big problem when the book is aimed at early readers, because they are just learning to read and could get confused. But I still liked the story.

What to read next:

• Supergirl at Super Hero High (DC Super Hero Girls #2)
  
• DC Super Hero Girls: Date with Disaster!
  

Have you read this book or this series? What did you think?

Title: How To Be a Supervillain: Born To Be Good
Author: Michael Fry
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: jimmy patterson
Source: Library
Release Date: May 1, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A sequel has never been this good…at being bad! In this highly anticipated follow-up to the bestselling How to Be a Supervillain, Victor Spoil must save the world from an evil scheme to enslave the superheroes and villains–to his parents’ utter disappointment.

Victor Spoil hates the Junior Super Academy. It makes him cranky–and his parents couldn’t be prouder, because supervillains aren’t meant to be nice. Until Victor confesses he wants to leave and become a librarian. The horror!

But when superheroes and villains–including his parents–start disappearing, only a dedicated do-gooder like Victor can track them down. He discovers that the supers are being captured to square off against aliens in gladiator-like shows. And unlike the scripted fights that the supers usually sign up for, these battles are to the death!

Victor and his fellow super students must join together and harness their super powers to battle this dastardly mega-villain. But to be a hero, Victor finally has to embrace his inner villain. Will he be able to stoop that low?

Review:

This series is so funny. Victor is the son of super villains, but he doesn’t want to be a villain. In the first book, he learned that his super power is tickling. It’s not a very ferocious power for a super villain.

In this book, Victor decides that he doesn’t want to be a super villain, and wants to be a librarian instead. But before he can quit being a super, all of the parents of kids at the super academy disappear. Victor has to work with his friends and his mentor, the Smear, to get them back.

This was a very funny book. The narrative is interspersed with pictures, like a graphic novel. This format reminds me of the Captain Underpants books. The super villain characters with odd powers reminded me of the Incredibles. This book would be great for fans of both Captain Underpants and The Incredibles.

Have you read this series? What did you think of it?

Title: The Bad Beginning (A Series of Unfortunate Events #1)
Author: Lemony Snicket
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Scholastic
Source: Library
Release Date: September 30, 1999
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Dear Reader,

I’m sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very first page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.

In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.

It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.

With all due respect,
Lemony Snicket

Review:

I can’t believe this book is almost twenty years old! I first read the series years ago, and I’ve wanted to reread the whole series for a while. I’m finally doing it, and I’m going to read them in order this time (when I was little, I had to read whichever one was available at the library).

I love the writing style in this series. The author, Lemony Snicket, who is a character himself, speaks directly to the reader throughout the book. My favourite parts were when he would explain what a word meant. When I was little, I usually knew the word, and sometimes his definitions were funny, depending on the situation. As an adult reader, I still found this meta-narrative funny.

I also love that the Beaudelaire children are very resourceful. As the series progresses, their problems become more and more complex. This first book is fairly short, but I remember being surprised at how they defeated their horrible guardian, Count Olaf.

The new Netflix TV series of A Series of Unfortunate Events is very good. It even has some surprises for fans of the books, though it does stay faithful to the stories.

Have you read this series? What did you think of it?

Title: Clara Voyant
Author: Rachelle Delaney
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Penguin Random House Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: May 15, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Clara can’t believe her no-nonsense grandmother has just up and moved to Florida, leaving Clara and her mother on their own for the first time. This means her mother can finally “follow her bliss,” which involves moving to a tiny apartment in Kensington Market, working at a herbal remedy shop and trying to develop her so-called mystical powers. Clara tries to make the best of a bad situation by joining the newspaper staff at her new middle school, where she can sharpen her investigative journalistic skills and tell the kind of hard-news stories her grandmother appreciated. But the editor relegates her to boring news stories and worse . . . the horoscopes.

Worse yet, her horoscopes come true, and soon everyone at school is talking about Clara Voyant, the talented fortune-teller. Clara is horrified–horoscopes and clairvoyance aren’t real, she insists, just like her grandmother always told her. But when a mystery unfolds at school, she finds herself in a strange situation: having an opportunity to prove herself as an investigative journalist . . . with the help of her own mystical powers.

Review:

I really liked this middle grade novel!

This story is set in Toronto, in Kensington Market. It’s a quirky area of the city, so it is perfect for Clara’s mystical mother.

I liked the twist on the story when Clara had to write horoscopes. She didn’t want to write them because she didn’t want to be like her mother, and then she was shocked when they started coming true! She was given the nickname Clara Voyant, but she suspected it was probably just a coincidence that her horoscopes came true.

One thing I would have liked to see more of was Clara’s grandmother. Clara used to live with her grandmother, but she recently moved to Florida. Her grandmother was so busy having fun at her new home that she didn’t even answer Clara’s phone calls! I found that strange, and I wish she would have communicated with Clara or visited her.

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

Title: Tara Takes the Stage
Author: Tamsin Lane
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: May 8, 2018
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

There are many ways this story can go. YOU decide what happens next. And if you don’t like how it ends? Just start again! The Yes No Maybe So series is an interactive reading experience about friendships, family, and all the feelings.

Every day before and after school, Tara Singh helps her parents at their Indian sweet shop, but the only business Tara is interested in is show business. When a local theater announces a casting call for The Wizard of Oz, Tara is determined to wear the ruby slippers.

As she prepares for the audition, Tara is distracted by some unexpected drama: There is Rohan, the delivery boy her parents hired. Hiro, her forever crush, who wants to rehearse with her. And Desmond, a shy theater nerd who has started lighting up her heart. Can Tara win the part and get the guy?

You have the power to choose what happens…and the chance to choose differently next time!

Review:

This is a great story. It is similar to a “choose your own adventure” book, but it has less choices. The story takes two paths: either Tara will go to her audition or she will go to a wedding. So the endings are limited, and both positive.

I liked that Tara was conflicted between helping her family and following her dreams of acting. This is a very real conflict. However, I had one problem with the story. Tara auditions for the role of Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. When she was auditioning and talking about the part, no one mentioned that Tara is Indian, so she doesn’t look like the character of Dorothy. It was great for Tara that she didn’t face this obstacle, but I don’t think it’s realistic. In real life, someone probably would have commented on Tara playing a role that is usually played by a white girl.

I really enjoyed this story. It’s a great middle grade book!

Title: Lumberjanes: The Moon Is Up (Lumberjanes #2)
Author: Mariko Tamaki, Brooklyn Allen
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Amulet Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Release Date: May 8, 2018
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Welcome to Miss Qiunzella Thiskwin Penniquiqul Thistle Crumpet’s Camp for Hardcore Lady Types. The five scouts of Roanoke cabin—Jo, April, Molly, Mal, and Ripley—love their summers at camp. They get to hang out with their best friends, earn Lumberjane scout badges, annoy their no-nonsense counsellor Jen . . . and go on supernatural adventures. That last one? A pretty normal occurrence at Miss Qiunzella’s, where the woods contain endless mysteries.

As the camp gears up for the big Galaxy Wars competition, Jo and the gang get some help from an unexpected visitor—a Moon Pirate!

Review:

I love the Lumberjanes! I enjoy these books much more than the graphic novels because they take longer to read.

This story is a great follow up to the first novel. But it is hard to follow the stinky unicorns from the first story. This one had a bit too many references to space for me, though it was pretty entertaining. The tasks that the Lumberjanes had to do were all space related, and it ended with a Moon Pirate mouse visiting the planet! You never know what you’re going to get at the camp!

I wish there were more illustrations. I love the pictures of the girls, which really tie the novel into the graphic novels. Also, I keep getting some of the girls mixed up in my head, like April and Molly, so seeing their pictures often would have helped me keep track of the girls.

I really enjoyed this book! It’s must read for fans of the Lumberjanes!

Title: Alex and The Other
Author: Philippa Dowding
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: Dundurn
Source: NetGalley
Release Date: April 24, 2018
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Beware the haunted bathroom mirror at school. Beware strangers in overcoats and dark glasses, whispering in the trees. But most of all, Beware The Other …
Alex is the loneliest boy at school. Not only are his parents away (again), but his beloved cat is missing. Plus, one morning his reflection in the haunted bathroom mirror at school starts talking to him. Then two mysterious strangers in overcoats and sunglasses appear, whispering the same message, over and over: Beware The Other …

But, worse than all that, is the girl with the braid. She looks just like Alex. She’s better than him at everything, and they even share the same name. Soon, she’s the only Alex anyone can see, at school, at work, even at home. In no time, it’s almost as though the real Alex never existed at all.

Can the real Alex outsmart his evil twin and get his life back before she replaces him for good? And more importantly, who is the real Alex, anyway?

Review:

I loved this story!

It’s a very short middle grade book. I read it in about an hour. It is part of a series of weird stories, but I believe they can each be read on their own. I haven’t read the previous books, and I wasn’t missing anything.

This story was really creepy. Pigs can be strange creatures, and after reading this book, I’ll never look at them the same way! (You never know if an alien has taken over the pig’s body!) It really was a spooky, weird story, but it was very entertaining because I didn’t know what was going to happen.

Alex learns a lot throughout the story. People who he thought were bad at first sight ended up helping him, and the ones he thought would help ended up trying to harm him. He also learned that it’s okay to ask for help. Sometimes you can’t do everything on your own, and it’s good to ask for help. These are both important lessons for kids to learn too.

I loved this story! It is great for young readers and adults!