Category Archives: Middle Grade

Magisterium 4 and 5: the Silver Mask and the Golden Tower

Posted on November 23, 2018 by Katy K.

It’s the finale to a series that my son and I have been following since it started in 2014 with The Iron Trial. Reader be warned – spoilers are unavoidable. The Silver Mask. Magisterium Book 4 by Holly Black and … Continue reading →

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Magical Transportation: The Train of Lost Things and the Adventures of a Girl Called Bicycle

Posted on November 21, 2018 by Katy K.

Here are some more of my Cybils reading – two transportation-based fantasies (for a middle grade audience, of course.) The Train of Lost Things by Ammi-Joan Paquette. Philomel Books, 2018. Here’s a new book by the author of the Princess Juniper … Continue reading →

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Maggie & Abby’s Neverending Pillow Fort and the 11:11 Wish

Posted on November 20, 2018 by Katy K.

Here are two about adjusting to middle school and the friend shifting that happens. Maggie & Abby’s Neverending Pillow Fort by Will Taylor. HarperCollins, 2018. Introverted, imaginative Maggie, who is white, is a one-friend kind of girl.  She’s spent most … Continue reading →

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Unicorn Quest by Kamila Benko

Posted on November 14, 2018 by Katy K.

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 Katy K.

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 Katy K.

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 Katy K.

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 Katy K.

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 Katy K.

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 Katy K.

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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