Category: Middle Grade

The Crowns of Croswald

IMG_8801

Title: The Crowns of Crosswalk
Author: D.E. Night
Genre: Young Adult, Middle Grade, Fantasy
Publisher: Stories Untold Press
Release Date: July 21, 2017
Rating: ★★★★

Ivy Lovely was a scaldrony maid. The scaldrons are dragons that cook the food in the kitchen of the castle. When one of them gets sick, Ivy is kicked out of the castle. Then, she finds that her belongings have been left outside for her, along with a note from her friend Rimbrick, a dwarf. He is sending her to the Halls of Ivy, a school for royals and scrivenists. Ivy will be a scrivenist, a person who writes and works for a royal family. They have some magic in them, but not as much as the royals. When Ivy arrives at the school, she realizes she has always dreamt of this place. She knows things that others don’t. She is able to remember things that everyone else has forgotten. Ivy has to use her special powers to save the Halls of Ivy and all of Croswald.

This book is a lot like Harry Potter. Ivy had a unique upbringing in a place that did not welcome her. Then she suddenly found out she had special powers and was sent to a magic school. Unlike Harry Potter, Ivy doesn’t know her family history, so it remains a mystery for the reader too.

I found it hard to get into this book for the first couple of chapters because there were so many strange things, such as the scaldrons and the hairies (creatures that create light). But once Ivy went to the school, it started to make sense.

I enjoyed this book. It’s a great start to a new series.

Sisters


Title: Sisters
Author: Raina Telgemeier 
Genre: Graphic Novel, Young Adult, Middle Grade
Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: August 26, 2014
Rating: ★★★★

Raina and Amara are sisters. They go on a road trip with their mom and younger brother, Will, from California to Colorado for a family reunion. There are flashbacks throughout the story of their relationship. When Raina was little she asked for a sister and then she got one. But she wasn’t the best friend she thought she would get. Amara cried and whined a lot, and she didn’t want to do the same things Raina liked. They also had to share a room. They had different opinions on pets, with Amara wanting a snake and Raina being terrified of them. When Raina gets her own room, Amara is finally given a snake for a pet. But it needs to be fed live mice which their mother doesn’t want to do. They take it back to the pet store but it slithers out of the bag and into the car, disappearing for a long time. In the end, Raina and Amara have to learn that though they don’t get along all the time, they have a special sister relationship. 

This is a really funny graphic novel. It’s the follow up to the book Smile, which is about Raina getting braces. This story also deals with think that kids experience, such as wanting a sibling and going on family road trips. Neither of these things turn out as planned either, since Raina and Amara don’t get along, and they don’t have a good time on the trip. 

Though I don’t have any sisters, I really enjoyed this book. It’s very funny, and has Raina Telgemeier’s familiar style. I hope she makes other follow up stories. 

The Truth About Stacey (Baby Sitters Club Graphic Novel #2)


Title: The Truth About Stacey (Baby Sitters Club Graphic Novel #2)
Author: Raina Telgemeier, Ann M. Martin
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade, Young Adult
Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: June 30, 2015
Rating: ★★★★★

Stacey McGill has diabetes. she has to go to New York City for a lot of appointments. Her parents want her to go to a special doctor who they’ve seen on TV. But Stacey wants a second opinion. Meanwhile, the BSC has new competition, The Baby Sitters Agency. The Agency has older sitters who can stay out later, driving away some of the BSC’s clients. The girls have to come up with a clever way to save the BSC.

This story deals with the serious issue of Stacey’s diabetes. Though she was ashamed of it at first, the baby sitters accept her when they find out. They don’t think it’s a big deal, though Stacey was afraid they wouldn’t like her when they found out. Stacey also demonstrates her maturity and independence by taking her health into her own hands when she tells her parents she wants to see a different doctor from the one she picked out.

The babysitters have to be very creative when trying to save their club. They learn that the truth is the best policy, when they have to expose the secrets of the Baby Sitters Agency when a child is in danger.

This graphic novel is another great adaptation of the original Baby Sitters Club.

Thea Stilton and the Hollywood Hoax

Title: Thea Stilton and the Hollywood Hoax
Author: Thea Stilton
Genre: Middle Grade, Children
Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: May 31, 2016
Rating: ★★★★

The Thea Sisters return in this mystery. They go to Hollywood to visit Jenna, their friend, and her sister Terri, who works at a film studio. They get to visit the set of The Powerpaw Mouselets. They watch some filming, including scenes with the famous Johnny Ratt. But one night when Terri is working late, she is locked in a closet and the film is stolen. Meanwhile, the princess of Mousitania has gone missing. The Thea Sisters have to help Terri find the missing film so she doesn’t lose her job, as well as keeping an eye out for the princess.

Like the other books, there are many mouse references. They say other mice are “squeaking” instead of “speaking,” and their investigation has “more holes than a slice of  Swiss.” There are also mouse versions of celebrities. The famous actor is Johnny Ratt instead of Johnny Depp, and the director of a movie is Ratatino rather than Tarantino. They also pass the Mouselor on the street, who is like the Bachelor.

This was a clever mystery. I couldn’t figure out what happened and was surprised at it. This is a good story, which would be great for middle grade readers!

Smile


Title: Smile
Author: Raina Telgemeier
Genre: Young Adult, Middle Grade, Graphic Novel
Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: February 1, 2010
Rating: ★★★★★

Raina is going to get braces. They have to alter the plan when she falls and knocks one of her front teeth out and the other is slammed into her head. After getting those teeth fixed, she has a root canal. Then, she gets the braces but they don’t fix her front teeth. So her orthodontist decides to remove her front teeth completely and use the braces to bring her other teeth together to fill in the gap. All this happens, and she’s only 13-years-old. Raina also has to face bullying at school, that has to do with her unusual dental situation.

This is a true story about the author. I squirmed through a lot of the book. There were some graphic descriptions (and images) of her dental problems. I can’t imagine what this was like to go through, but now she has a beautiful smile and an incredible story to share!

This book would be great for kids who are getting braces or other serious dental work done. They probably aren’t having the same amount of extensive work that Raina had, so reading about someone who had a lot more dental problems could calm them down. Also it shows a character in a book who has braces, which isn’t demonstrated much in young adult graphic novels.

 

I Have No Secrets

Title: I Have No Secrets
Author: Penny Joelson
Genre: Young Adult, Middle Grade
Publisher: Electric Monkey
Release Date: June 29, 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

Jemma is a quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. She can’t speak or move her body to communicate. She was put up for adoption and has lived with her family since she was 2 years old. They also have two foster kids, Olivia and Finn. Sarah is Jemma’s support worker who lives with them. Since Jemma can’t speak, people tell her their secrets because they assume she can’t hear as well. But Jemma knows everything that’s happening. She even knows more than most people because she knows their secrets. Sarah’s boyfriend, Dan, tells Jemma he will never get caught for a crime, implying that he murdered her neighbour. So when Sarah disappears, Jemma is very worried that Dan has done something to her. Though Jemma knows the answers to these problems, she struggles with her silence.

This is the first novel I’ve read that is narrated by a person with a severe disability. I was so frustrated for Jemma at the beginning since she knew things but she couldn’t express them. I struggled along with Jemma through the mystery of Sarah’s disappearance.

Though Jemma lives in a foster home with two other kids, it isn’t the stereotypical foster home that is in many YA novels. Usually foster kids in YA novels are abandoned or run away. Jemma’s family is very caring to her and the other children, and they accommodate their special needs.

I enjoyed this unique, diverse book. I hope more stories about characters with limited abilities come out in the future.

The Lotterys Plus One

Title: The Lotterys Plus One
Author: Emma Donoghue
Genre: Middle Grade
Publisher: HarperCollins Canada
Release Date: March 28, 2017
Rating: ★★★★★

The Lotterys are a very diverse family. They have two dads and two moms: PopCorn and PapaDum, and Cardamom and Mama. When they won the lottery, they decided to buy a giant house in Toronto, where they could raise their children. Some are adopted and some are their biological children. They have 7 children, each named after a type of tree. The story follows the fifth child, Sumac Lottery. She gets to travel to the Yukon with PopCorn to visit his father. But it isn’t the trip she expected. PopCorn’s father, who the kids call Grumps, burned down his house because he has dementia, so they bring him back to live with them. Their 82-year-old Scottish grandpa isn’t prepared for their diverse household, with gay parents and multicultural children. Sumac is given the task of guiding Grumps through their house and their daily activities.

The Lotterys are a very diverse family. The four parents consist of two gay couples.  Many of the children are from different cultures, like Native Canadian, Filipino, Jamaican, and Hindu. They celebrate the different holidays from these cultures. The grandfather’s old-fashioned ideas clash with this modern family in a realistic way.

Another part of the family that I liked was how they continued to use the childish sayings from the kids as they grew up. For example, Brian says “egg salad” instead of “excellent” and they call the spare room “Spare Oom.”

The illustrations in the novel were a great help for keeping the characters straight. There are 11 Lotterys plus Gramps, so I started to get them confused at first, but their distinct pictures helped me keep remember who they were.

There was also a lot of Toronto history in the story. For example, the Toronto islands used to be part of a peninsula connected to lakeshore, but they broke away. They also mention Hurricane Hazel which I learned about from my grandparents but immigrants to Canada may not be familiar with.

This is a great book for parents and young readers. I learned lots about Toronto from this book so I’m sure others could too!

Kristy’s Great Idea (Baby-Sitters Club Graphic Novel #1)

 

Title: Kristy’s Great Idea (Baby-Sitters Club: Graphic Novel #1)
Author: Raina Telgemeier, Ann M. Martin
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade, Young Adult
Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: April 28, 2015
Rating: ★★★★★

Kristy Thomas, Mary-Anne Spier, and Claudia Kishi are best friends who live in Stoneycreek. They all babysit for kids their neighbourhood. One night, Kristy’s mom has trouble finding a babysitter for David Michael, Kristy’s little brother. When she has to phone multiple people before finding a solution, it gives Kristy the idea to start the Baby-Sitters Club. Kristy and her friends, along with Stacey McGill, will meet three times a week and take calls from parents who need babysitters that week. That way, parents can reach many babysitters at once. They also create a notebook where they can write their experiences with each family, so the other babysitters know what to do if they ever have to babysit them. This new club also brings Kristy closer to her family and her mom’s new boyfriend, Watson.

The drawings in this book are just like the other ones in Raina Telgemeier’s other books. It’s so cool to see some of my favourite characters come to life on the page.

This graphic novel brought back so many memories from when I originally read the Baby Sitters Club books. I loved this book and I’m excited to read the next ones!

The Cloud Castle


Title: The Cloud Castle
Author: Thea Stilton
Genre: Children, Middle Grade
Publisher: Scholastic
Release Date: September 29, 2015
Rating: ★★★★

Will Mystery calls the Thea Sisters for their help. There is a crack in the ceiling of the Hall of Seven Roses, which indicates trouble with the fairies. The girls and Will take a helicopter to Mount Everest to access the fairies in the clouds. Once they get there, they find Ariette, a weaver fairy, who is locked away in a tower. She has been sent there because the Queen thinks she caused their problems by telling the fairies about the real world below the clouds. The problem is that the weaver fairies, who create silver thread with their dreams, are no longer producing it. They need the silver thread to weave clouds everyday. The Thea Sisters and Will embark on a mission to clear Ariette’s name and discover the truth behind the missing silver thread. 

There were many aspects from World mythology in this story. For example, the elephant, Airavata, reminded me of Krishna from Indian mythology and the hundred handed giant is like the ones from Greek mythology. 

Multiple words on each page stand out by being illustrated. For example, words related to snow would have snow covering the tops of the letters and the word “rainbow” had a different colour for each letter. This makes these words stand out and would teach young readers what they mean. 

The mouse theme was present throughout the story. They would exclaim “Holey Cheese,” and at first I thought they spelled “holy” wrong. The same thing happened when they described something as “enormouse.” This was a clever way to incorporate the mouse theme into the story. 

This book was recommended to me by a ten-year-old because it’s her favourite book. I was surprised at how many times I laughed while reading it. I haven’t read any other books in the series but I still really enjoyed it. 

Two Times A Traitor

Title: Two Times a Traitor
Author: Karen Bass
Genre: Middle Grade, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Pajama Press
Release Date: May 15, 2017
Rating: ★★★★

Lazare Berenger is very unhappy on his family vacation in Halifax. He still hasn’t forgiven his parents for moving from Ottawa to Boston while he was staying with his grandmother. He has big fights with his father too. After one of their big arguments, he runs into the ruins of a citadel, and falls into a tunnel, being knocked out. When he wakes up, he is taken as prisoner by sailors. At first he assumes it’s a camp his father has sent him to as punishment. But he soon learns that he has travelled back in time to 1745. The British assume he is a spy because he has a French name and a French accent. However, his French background also makes him a perfect spy for the British, so he can infiltrate their town without suspicion. Laz has to endure a lot on his time in the past until he can figure out how to return to 2017.

This is a great story. The historical aspects are really good for middle-grade students. Canadian history isn’t taught as much as it should be in school, so this story would be a great supplement for kids.

Though Canada’s 150th anniversary is being celebrated this year, this story demonstrates how Canada’s history goes far beyond 150 years.

The character of Laz is relateable to kids today because he sees things through modern eyes. For example, whenever something happens to him, he thinks of what he would text his best friend back home in 2017. This drifts off a little after he becomes more comfortable in 1745.

I wish we had seen the reunion of Laz and his parents at the end of the story. It would be interesting to see how Laz has changed in relation to his family. Also, I would have liked to see how his dad treats him after their many months apart.

This is a great story for middle grade readers!