Category Archives: Books

Unicorn Quest by Kamila Benko

Posted on November 14, 2018 by

Unicorn Quest by Kamila Benko. Bloomsbury, 2018. 11-year-old Claire and her older sister Sophie have just moved to their recently deceased great-aunt’s enormous country house.  Claire has spent most of her life following very cautiously behind Sophie’s search for Experiences … Continue reading →

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Winterhouse by Ben Guterson

Posted on November 9, 2018 by

We’re having our first snow of the season today – a perfect time to review a wintery book. Winterhouse by Ben Guterson. Illustrated by Chloe Bristol. Henry Holt, 2018. Orphaned book-lover Elizabeth Somers lives with her horrible Aunt Purdy and … Continue reading →

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Snared: Escape to the Above by Adam Jay Epstein

Posted on November 7, 2018 by

So all those fantasy dungeons filled with treasure, traps, and treacherous creatures… who put them together? Snared: Escape to the Above by Adam Jay Epstein. Read by Nick Mondelli. Dreamscape Media, 2018.  12-year-old Wily Snare is a trap smith in … Continue reading →

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The Frame-Up by Wendy McLeod MacKnight

Posted on November 3, 2018 by

The Frame-Up by Wendy McLeod MacKnight. Greenwillow Books, 2018. Here’s a book based around a real art museum, the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in New Brunswick.  It’s built around an intriguing, Hogwarts-like concept – the people in paintings can come to … Continue reading →

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Truth-Tellers: Endling #1 and Heartseeker

Posted on November 1, 2018 by

Two Cybils nominees star main characters who know when the truth is being told – and the danger this puts them in from those in power. Last. Endling #1 by Katherine Applegate. HarperCollins, 2018. Byx is one of the last … Continue reading →

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The Wild Book by Juan Villoro

Posted on October 31, 2018 by

Here’s a rare middle grade book in translation, from an award-winning author of Mexican literary fiction. The Wild Book by Juan Villoro. Translated by Lawrence Schimel. Yonder Books, 2017. Juan’s mother has been falling apart since his father moved in … Continue reading →

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The Lost Books: The Scroll of Kings

Posted on October 25, 2018 by

I was so excited to learn that Sarah Prineas – author of the Magic Thief series and the Winterling series, both middle grade, as well as Ash & Bramble and Rose & Thorn – has started a new series. Happily … Continue reading →

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Out of the Wild Night and Denis Ever After

Posted on October 24, 2018 by

Here are two middle grade ghost stories for late October, plus some others nominated for the Cybils award. Continue reading →

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Reading Pair: the Calculating Stars and Hidden Figures

Posted on October 23, 2018 by

Here’s a nice pair of books, one fiction and one nonfiction, about the early history of the NACA and the beginnings of NASA.  I found out about the first from a post on John Scalzi’s blog, and was delighted when … Continue reading →

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Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik.

Posted on October 22, 2018 by

This was one of my most anticipated titles for the year, which I realized rather belatedly I listened to over the summer and hadn’t yet reviewed.  Though I started reading Naomi Novik back with His Majesty’s Dragon, I really loved … Continue reading →

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