The 7th graders at Washington Academy Middle School “stage” a coup (read, are assigned to create a 7th grade experience after a bloodless revolution) and spend a chapter or so trying to determine what an optimal 7th grade experience would be (by committee). While voting on a proposal, the 7th graders discover that the FBI has, surreptitiously, evacuated the rest of the school and are preparing to search for a treasure of national importance. What ensues is a race against the clock as the 7th […]
A Fly By Any Other Name
Fly by Night is Frances Hardinge’s first novel, but the third or fourth novel of hers that I’ve read. I liked it, and I definitely think that it’s one of the better middle grade novels out there, however it’s not my favorite of her books. Twelve year old Mosca, who is orphaned, lives with her uncle and is smarter than most of the people in her little town. Her best friend is the goose Saracen, because outcasts stick together. When the smooth talking con-man Eponymous […]
Summer, Baba Yaga, and a were-house
I love portal fantasies. I’ve loved them for as long as I can remember, from Narnia to Oz to Wonderland to Amber and even for a brief moment Xanth, I have loved stories of someone from this mundane world transported to a world full of magic and wonder. Summer in Orcus is an offering in this category from T. Kingfisher, aka Ursula Vernon, and it is marvelous. The best I can describe it is a middlegrade fantasy for adults, and much like Catherynne Valente’s The […]
Read a book they said, Travel to new worlds they said.
The Palace of Glass is book three in Django Wexler’s Forbidden Library series for middle grade readers. And I find myself, once again, with the problem of trying to introduce a series to you with the middle book. I’m going to try and review this book without spoiling the series, but just in case I want to tell you that you should absolutely read it. These are excellent middle grade novels. Django Wexler skyrocketed to my favorite authors list last year, going from totally unknown to […]