Genre: Middle Grade

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Aug 03

{Review+Giveaway} Step into Magic by Day Leitao

Step into Magic is the first book in the middle grade fantasy series, Portals to Whyland by author Day Leitao. I thought Step into Magic was a solid first book in the series. In some ways, it was solidly in the middle grade category,, but in other ways I did think it was a little busy for a middle grade book, but I will get more into that in a bit. Step into Magic was a fun story about our main character Karina who find a pair of magic shoes, which leads her to a magic land. I really enjoyed the story and I can’t wait to pick up the second book in the Portals to Whyland series. Karina is fourteen, and what fourteen year old girl would not love to get swept away to a magical world to go on an adventure? What I loved about Step into Magic was that I was instantly hooked with the story. There was no slow start, we got to dive right… Read more »

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Jul 25

{Guest Post+Giveaway} #StarPassage Book 3: Honor & Mercy by @clarkrburbidge

Books that Have Significantly Influenced My Writing: There are too many to list them all. I will provide a quick list of ten for your information. I enjoy stories both true and fictional where the characters must reach inside themselves and find their greatness. Overcoming is a powerful read for me. It is the personal struggle during the challenge that makes a difference. Monsters in literature can be internal or external. But however they are constructed they are key to the story. No hero becomes such without overcoming something. It is the monsters that allow heroes to become heroes. This is true in our own lives as well. We too often see trials, challenges or disruption as overwhelming and by obsessing on our loss or the sudden change or bad luck we lose our way. But understanding that it is these very trials or personal monsters that provide us with the tools to become great changes the game. Our darkest hours then are seen in a new light as a… Read more »

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Jan 06

{Mini Review+Interview} We are Party People by @LeslieMargolis ‏

I am so excited to have Leslie Margolis here to chat parties and party people. Thank you for being here today Leslie! 1. Describe We Are Party People in a tweet (140 characters or less) One shy, quiet kid + mandatory mermaid costume = Catastrophe or triumph? Read on. 2. Can you describe your perfect party for me? (What are we celebrating? How many people are there? Where is it?) My perfect party is small and casual, with no occasion necessary. It is filled with artists and philosophers and activists. Everyone has outrageous stories to tell. There’s scintillating conversation, scrumptious food and drink and beautiful music. 3. What was the most fun part of writing We Are Party People? The best part of writing any novel is coming up with the initial idea and characters. Then, thinking about what could go wrong—and making it happen. I like my characters to suffer! Big-time nightmare scenarios are so much fun to read about. Don’t you think? 4. Tell us something we didn’t… Read more »

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Nov 21

{Review} #Whichwood by @TaherehMafi

Whichwood is a middle grade fantasy novel by Taherah Mafi. Even though this book is technically middle grade, I think it will appeal to fans of young adult books. It is a very detailed and long novel, and rather dark in some parts, and it felt like upper middle grade/lower young adult to me. I read, and really loved Furthermore last year. (you can check out my review here) So, I was super excited when I saw that a companion novel set in the same world was going to be released. So, it should come as no surprise that I absolutely loved Whichwood as well. It is a delightful book. Whichwood follows our main character, Laylee, who lives in the village of Whichwood. Whichwood is set in the same world as the village of Farenwood, but it is a totally different place. Farenwood is a town where colors come to life, and Whichwood is a town that is in stark contrast. Laylee finds herself becoming more and more colorless as… Read more »

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Oct 25

{Review} The Wolf Hour by @SaraLewisHolmes @AALBooks ‏@ScholasticBooks

The Wolf Hour is a middle Grade fairy tale by author Sara Lewis Holmes. I absolutely loved this story. It was such a treat for me to read. It was fun, creative, a little creepy and super cute all at once. I cannot wait for Sara Lewis Holmes next novel! I would recommend The Wolf Hour to readers of Middle grade and young adult alike. This book was excellent. It is about a town near the edge of the Forrest, where strange things keep happening. Girls go missing, or go mad. The Wolf Hour is such a unique concept, so even if my review does not do the book justice, still read it! You will love it, trust me! The Puszcza is a magical forest where the stories that we all know and love come to life. With some black magic from the witch, she can actually pull people into the stories to live them. The Wolf Hour is told in multiple perspectives, from the three pigs, to Magia- our main… Read more »

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Oct 06

{Review+Giveaway} THE ADVENTURER’S GUILD by @ZackLoranClark & @NickEliopulos @DisneyHyperion

THE ADVENTURER’S GUILD is a middle grade adventure story by authors and friends Zack Loran Clark & Nick Eliopulos. The Adventurer’s Guild was a ton of fun! I really enjoyed this book. And can I just go off on a tangent really quickly to mention how detailed and gorgeous this book is? From the absolutely stunning map end pages, to the wonderfully designed chapter pages, I really love all the detail that went into the hardcover version of this book. It gets an A+! I love a good middle grade novel. And I love a good adventure novel filled with magic. And The Adventurer’s Guild knocked both of those loves out of the ball park. This was a great book! The Adventurer’s Guild follows two friends, Zed and Brock. I loved their friendship. What I loved the most about it, is that the boys come from different class levels in the story. Brock is expected to join the merchants because of his wealthy family. And Zed wants to make… Read more »

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Sep 15

{Guest Post+Giveaway} Children of Refuge by Margaret Peterson Haddix @mphaddix @SimonKIDS ‏

Welcome to Day #5 of the Children of Refuge Blog Tour! To celebrate the release of The Children of Refuge (Children of Exile #2) (9/12/17), blogs across the web are featuring exclusive content from Margaret Peterson Haddix and 10 chances to win a both books so far in the series! ——————————— Ten Terrible Titles Years ago I heard the advice that an author struggling to come up with a title for a book should read back through the entire manuscript; magically, she will find that the exact right combination of words has been hiding there all along.More recently I heard of the Terrible Titles game, where an author can scroll blindly through a manuscript, stop at random, and find comically awful title possibilities beneath the blinking cursor. As with many other seemingly contradictory “rules” about writing, I can easily believe that these two concepts could both be true. (And, really, the difference between “brilliant” and “terrible” is often the difference between working hard at something and thinking deeply about it, or… Read more »

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Mar 29

{Review+Giveaway} Hear the Wolves by Victoria Scott @AuthorVScott @Scholastic ‏

Hear the Wolves is a middle grad/young adult crossover by Victoria Scott. I have read each and every one of Victoria’s books and I have loved them all. Hear the Wolves is so different than all of her previous books. I loved this one too, but I think what I loved most about it was how different it was. Victoria has a way with words. I love how she tells a story, whether it is a romance, a paranormal or something totally creepy and eerily realistic, she pulls the reader in, in a way few authors have managed to consistently do. I just love her books. Sloan, her father, and her sister live in a tiny and remote Alaskan town. Think one step ahead of those Alaskan bush people. There is a town and store, but just barely. And the wolves outnumber the people in the town. By a lot. Sloan suffered a terrible accident when she was younger and it has left deep emotional scars. She is terrified to… Read more »

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Aug 23

{ARC Review+Giveaway of #TaherehMafi ‘s favorite things} #Furthermore by @Tahereh Mafi

I loved Furthermore, and you will see why in my review below, but today’s post is a little something different. Because Furthermore takes place in Ferenwood, a town where color kind of takes on a life of it’s own, I decided to share some of my more colorful #bookstagram pictures with you. My feed has been very colorful lately (which is a big change from my normal wardrobe…) So, check out some brightly colored book pretties, check out my review and then be sure to enter the awesome giveaway below, which I partnered with Penguin Random House to offer. You can win a copy of Furthermore and some of Tahereh’s favorite things! Day 13: Book Rainbow. Seeing rainbows always makes me happy and seeing a book rainbow with all the brightly colored books makes me extra happy. This is the perfect way to start a Saturday 🙂 #thebooksparrowaugustbookchallenge16 A photo posted by @bookbriefs on Aug 13, 2016 at 6:30am PDT A little late but this picture took some time… Read more »

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Mar 06

{ #Review } Flunked by @JenCalonita @jabberwockykids @SourcebooksFire

Flunked is the first book in an adorable middle grade series called Fairy Tale Reform School. I really liked this book. It put a smile on my face the whole time I was reading it. Yes, it was a younger read than I was used to, but it was perfectly suited for it’s middle grade audience. The heroine is Gilly and is around 12 or 13. She is caught stealing a hair clip and is shipped off to the Fairy Tale Reform School for the mischievous children on the path to becoming a villain. I think this is such a cute idea for a magical and funny story. I really like that we got to see the “crime” that Gilly committed to get sent to reform school as it played out, rather than just starting the book with her already there and flashing back on what brought her in. I thought it gave the readers a great perspective on what her family is like, and gave us an idea of… Read more »