Blog
As a homeschooling veteran, I review middle-grade stories to help parents, librarians, and teachers choose good books.
Look for author news here too!
Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo, a review
Louisiana’s Way Home, a middle-grade historical novel by Kate DiCamillo, took ahold of my heart somehow.
The Hotel Between by Sean Easley, a review
The Hotel Between by Sean Easley, a middle grade fantasy published 2018 by Simon and Schuster, 341 pages: a review. Cameron, age 12, lives in Texas with his grandma and twin sister Cass, who is confined to a wheelchair. A vacant strip mall he passes every day on the...
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos, a review
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos, a review Published in 2011 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux Genre: Middle grade historical Not till I got to the end of this book did I realize how autobiographical it was. It features a 12-year-old boy, Jack, in the most bizarre...
The Language of Spells by Garret Weyr, a review
The Language of Spells by Garret Weyr, illustrated by Katie Hartnett Published by Chronicle Books, 2018, 299 pages Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy Grisha the dragon had a very unfortunate encounter with a sorcerer named Leopold, and as a result spent a century or so as an...
Flight of the Bluebird by Kara LaReau, a review
Flight of the Bluebird is the third and final book of the Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters. It’s a middle-grade adventure featuring the twins from Dullsville who are learning to like a bit of excitement in their lives.
Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate, a review
Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate, a review Published 2015 by MacMillan, 245 pages Genre: Middle grade, realistic with a touch of fantasy Crenshaw, a huge cat, used to be Jackson's invisible friend -- when Jackson was three years younger. So now that Jackson's starting...
My Year in the Middle by Lila Quintero Weaver, a review
My Year in the Middle by Lila Quintero Weaver Published 2018 by Candlewick Press, 268 pages Genre: Middle Grade historical It's April, 1970, in Red Grove, Alabama. Lu, a sixth-grade girl from a Venezuelan family, just wants to get along socially. The schools have been...
The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters by Kara LaReau, a review
The Jolly Regina and The Uncanny Express by Kara LaReau, Books 1 and 2 of the Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters, a review. Published 2017 and 2018 by Amulet Books, New York, each about 160 pages, illustrated by Jen Hill Genre: Middle grade, aimed at...
The Faithful Spy by John Hendrix, a review
The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler, by John Hendrix, is a hybrid graphic novel for teens and adults, telling an unforgettable story in an unforgettable way. It was published in 2018 by Amulet. The book alternates chapters about...
The Hate U Give movie, a review
In the movie "The Hate U Give," 16-year-old Starr is an African-American living in what she calls "the 'hood," a place called Garden Heights, while attending a nearly all-white high school. She lives in both worlds, trying to fit in both places. When her childhood...
Greetings From Witness Protection! by Jake Burt, a review
Greetings From Witness Protection! by Jake Burt, a review Published 2017, MacMillan Publishing Group, 358 pages Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary Thirteen-year-old Nicki woos the reader with her strong and quirky personality. We quickly fall in love with this kid in...
Little Bigfoot, Big City by Jennifer Weiner, a review
Little Bigfoot, Big City by Jennifer Weiner, Book 2 of the Littlest Bigfoot series, a review Published 2017 by Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing, 317 pages Genre: Middle grade fantasy, aimed at readers approximately 12 years old I was trying to get a recently...