middle grade books

Book Review: Nell O’Dell Hates Quests

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Nell O'Dell Hates Quests by Emily B. Martin

Nell O’Dell Hates Quests (The Golden Crossroads #1)
by Emily B. Martin

5 out of 5 stars

Nell is sick and tired of quests. She works at the crossroads inn where she constantly hears about chosen ones, grand prophecies, and magic weapons. She sneers at all the questers who pass through the crossroads looking for glory and fame. Nell just wants a quiet life at the inn taking care of her chickens and her garden. But when there is a problem with the deed to the inn, Nell’s parents send her on a “journey” (NOT a quest!) to the capital to present the deed at the Exchequer’s office and prove their ownership of the inn. She is joined by an overly-excitable goblin, Midge, who is delighted to be included on the journey (NOT a quest!). Along the way they run into a mysterious thief, a hermit faun, a dragon keeper, and a sad troll whose name has been stolen by an evil fairy. Their journey (NOT a quest!) is fraught with danger and adventure and mystery, but Nell O’Dell hates quests, so it just CAN’T be a quest… can it? If a quest is “just a trip with a goal that’s important to you”, will Nell embrace the questing legends or find a way to complete her quest on her own terms?

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Book Review: Sneaks

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Sneaks by Amy Tern

Sneaks
by Amy Tern (Goodreads Author)

1 out of 5 stars

Valory has a reputation as a thief and liar. She is rude to all the adults in her life, especially her mother’s boyfriend. She gives adults rude nicknames that she calls them behind their backs. She is well-known at her school for elaborate pranks and for stealing from the teachers. She disobeys her mother on various occasions, saying she knows she will get in trouble, but she doesn’t care.

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Book Review: The Thing About Giants

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The Thing About Giants by Christopher Galvin

The Thing About Giants
by Christopher Galvin (Goodreads Author)

3 out of 5 stars

Jacq’s parents are giant hunters, but she has always thought the practice was barbaric. Despite growing up in a city literally made from giant bones, Jacq is dismayed when she is chosen to be trained as a giant hunter and follow in her parents footsteps. On her first mission outside the city, Jacq is lost in the wilderness where she meets Corman.
Corman is a young giant travelling with his father to find some medicinal herbs when they are attacked by giant hunters, throwing them all into a dangerous adventure and an awkward friendship that could change both their cultures forever.

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Book Review: The Floating Island

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The Floating Island by Elizabeth Haydon

The Floating Island (The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme, #1)
by Elizabeth Haydon

4 out of 5 stars

Ven’s family are shipbuilders, and when Ven goes on a ship to inspect it, the ship is sunk by Fire Pirates and Ven is left adrift in the ocean. He is rescued by a merrow/mermaid and taken aboard a passing ship on the way to Serendair, an island nation where adventure awaits.

This book has an enchanting fantasy world! There are little variations on different typical fantasy creatures. Ven is a Nain, which is similar to a dwarf. There are merrows, like a mixture of mermaids and selkies. The Spice Folk are like nature fairies or brownies who are invisible. The Lirin are sort of like forest elves. They all have their own characteristics and skills and magical abilities. I was delighted with the details about each culture!

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Book Review: Secrets of the Snakestone

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Secrets of the Snakestone by Piu DasGupta

Secrets of the Snakestone
by Piu DasGupta 

3 out of 5 stars

Zelie’s father has gone missing, along with the mysterious Snakestone that can grant healing and long life to the wearer. Zelie meets Jules, who was working down in the sewers below Paris and found the locket that once held the Snakestone. The locket is empty, and Zelie and Jules go on an adventure to find the Snakestone and Zelie’s missing father, but a dangerous secret society is also hunting for the Snakestone.

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Book Review: Quests for Glory

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Quests for Glory by Soman Chainani

Quests for Glory (The School for Good and Evil: The Camelot Years #1)
by Soman Chainani

3 out of 5 stars

Agatha and Tedros thought they had found their happy ending in Camelot, but things start to go wrong in the kingdom and all over the forest. All their friends are on quests that are failing, and Sophie is at the school, blissfully unaware of the disasters that are threatening them all. Tedros is completely embarrassed at his coronation and the people start to lose faith in him. A new villain calling himself the Snake vows to steal the crown of Camelot from Tedros, claiming to be Arthur’s eldest son. With all their quests failing, Sophie and Agatha will have to renew their close friendship if they want to save Camelot and the school.

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Book Review: Charlie Bone and the Hidden King

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Charlie Bone and the Hidden King by Jenny Nimmo

Charlie Bone and the Hidden King (Children of the Red King, #5)
by Jenny Nimmo

5 out of 5 stars

Charlie is dismayed to see that the Shadow in the Red King’s portrait has escaped from the frame. The Shadow is actually a powerful dark sorcerer who is putting the whole city under his spell. Charlie’s mother is a target, and Charlie must discover how the Shadow escaped and find a way to defeat or control him. A magical mirror has been stolen, and Charlie hopes that it could help him find his father, but first he must find the Red King and beg for his help.

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Book Review: Ghost Abbey

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Ghost Abbey by Robert Westall

Ghost Abbey
by Robert Westall

4 out of 5 stars

Maggi is delighted when her father takes a job restoring an old abbey in the country. The family, including her two little twin brothers, move into the habitable parts of the mansion, along with Miss MacFarlane, the secretary overseeing the restoration of the abbey. Maggi cleans out the bedrooms and sets up the kitchen, since she has been used to doing all the housekeeping since her mother’s death. But there are many mysterious things happening around the abbey, and Maggi starts to wonder if the house itself is sentient. An ethereal voice sings in the garden, bells ring to call servants that are long dead, and Maggi sees a vision of a man from history. Could the house be trying to protect itself from intruders, or is the house welcoming them and asking for help?

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Book Review: George Goodwin Dragon Slayer

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George Goodwin, Dragon Slayer by Candace Lee

George Goodwin, Dragon Slayer: A Scouting Legend (Order of the Dragon Slayer)
by Candace Lee, Eric Newman, Bear Grylls (Foreword)

George is determined to prove that there are diamonds in the old coal mine just as his father declared before his death down in the mine. George explores the mines looking for proof, and his Boy Scout friends follow him, but they all get into trouble when they realize that an ancient dragon has been awakened in the depths of the caves. They encounter a mysterious man who claims to have knowledge of dragons and the weapons to kill them. They will need all their Scouting survival training to escape the mines with a dragon hunting them.

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Book Review: The Last Ever After

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The Last Ever After by Soman Chainani

The Last Ever After (The School for Good and Evil, #3)
by Soman Chainani

Sophie and Agatha seem to have found their happy endings, but they are both dissatisfied with their results, and the truth is… they miss each other. How can they find a happy ending when they are apart? Agatha and Tedros fight their way back into the School for Good and Evil, hoping to rescue Sophie and find a new happy ending together, but Sophie has other plans with the evil Schoolmaster.

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