middle grade books

Book Review: The Burning Maze

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The Burning Maze by Rick Riordan

The Burning Maze (The Trials of Apollo, #3)
by Rick Riordan (Goodreads Author)

4 out of 5 stars

Zeus punishes Apollo by turning him into a mortal human. Apollo must complete various trials and serve a demigod named Meg, so that he can regain his godly status. But Meg has a complicated relationship with her stepfather, the evil emperor Nero. In this third book, they are travelling with Grover the satyr to find the oracle imprisoned in the burning maze that is part of the Labyrinth. Anyone who enters the maze will fall into fire traps, but the fire is also burning aboveground in some places and causing wildfires throughout Southern California. The dryads and other nature spirits are suffering from drought and fire, and Grover vows to help them. They enlist Jason Grace and Piper McLean to help with their quest, but Jason and Piper have their own problems.

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Book Review: Dragon of Cripple Creek

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The Dragon of Cripple Creek by Troy Howell

The Dragon of Cripple Creek
by Troy Howell

3 out of 5 stars

When Kat falls down a mine shaft during an Old West tour in Colorado, she discovered a hidden cavern where a dragon is living on a pile of gold. She pockets a nugget of gold, but feels guilty about stealing from the dragon when he was so kind to show her the way out of the caves. Her family have called the police and rescue workers to search for her in the mines, and when they find her safe and sound, she accidentally drops the golden nugget in front of all the reporters. The story gets blown out of proportion and a new Gold Rush begins. Kat is afraid that she has put the dragon in danger, now that everyone wants a piece of the gold.

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Book Review: Magnus Chase The Sword of Summer

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The Sword of Summer by Rick Riordan

The Sword of Summer (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #1)
by Rick Riordan 

5 out of 5 stars

Magnus has been living on the streets ever since his mother died. They say it was an explosion, but Magnus knows she was killed by wolves with glowing eyes. In fact, a lot of strange things have been happening, so when Magnus’ weird uncle tells him that their family is involved with the gods of Norse mythology, a lot of things start to make sense to Magnus. His uncle tells him to find the long-lost Sword of Summer, but a fire giant attacks Boston and Magnus has no idea how to fight a legendary giant even if he could find and retrieve the lost sword.

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Book Review: Habibi

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Habibi by Naomi Shihab Nye

Habibi
by Naomi Shihab Nye

2 out of 5 stars

Liyana’s father moves their family from America back to his home in Jerusalem. Tensions are high between the Arab and Jewish peoples, but Liyana befriends a Jewish boy. Her family don’t know how to react. They believe in peace, but can they accept someone so different from themselves after all the years of hatred that surround them?

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Book Review: The Forest Yet to Come

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The Forest Yet to Come by Sam Thompson

The Forest Yet to Come (Wolfstongue Saga, 3)
by  Sam Thompson

3 out of 5 stars

Sally and her brother Faolon don’t know where they came from. They were found as orphans and raised in The Land, a settlement enclosed in walls where mysterious “shapes” assist in healing and growing food. When the fox trickster Reynard arrives in The Land, he is curious about the “shapes” and tricks Sally into helping him by promising to lead her to answers about her past.

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Book Review: Boy Underground

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Boy underground by Isabelle Marinov

Boy underground
by Isabelle Marinov 

Hugo has autism and he is obsessed with maps. His classmates make fun of him, and even his old friends from elementary won’t hang out with him anymore since they entered middle school. All they care about is looking cool. So when Hugo hears about “cataphiles” who love to explore the catacombs beneath Paris, he knows that that is where he will find his true friends. He prepares to go exploring in the underground, but it’s illegal to go down there because it’s so dangerous. Hugo memorizes the maps of the underground, and prepares for a solo expedition anyway. His former friends, Alex and Julie, see him sneaking underground through a basement entrance, and they follow him. Can Hugo find his way through the maze of tunnels and get them all out?

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Book Review: Midnight Magic

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Midnight Magic (Midnight Magic, #2)
by Avi

4 out of 5 stars

Fabrizio is a servant to the magician Mangus, who is called to the king’s castle to consult on a grave matter. The princess has been seeing apparitions of a ghost that she claims must be her murdered brother. The king believes in ghosts, but Mangus insists that there is no such thing. The king begs Mangus to use his magic to banish the ghost, but Mangus explains that his magic is only illusions and tricks. The evil Count Scarazoni has his own political reasons for wishing that the ghost be banished or proven to be a hoax. Mangus must investigate the apparitions, and he relies on his loyal servant Fabrizio to help him. Fabrizio can go anywhere in the castle, talk to servants, and sneak around secret passageways to find out if the ghost is real or not.

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Book Review: Wonder

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Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Wonder (Wonder, #1)
by R.J. Palacio

5 out of 5 stars

Auggie starts school for the first time, worried that the other children will treat him differently because of his appearance. He has had many surgeries to correct birth defects, but his face is scarred and he just looks different from other people. The principal has asked a few of the kids in his class to befriend him, but Auggie wonders if they even like him at all. As Auggie navigates his first year of middle school, his family are also struggling to adjust. His parents worry about Auggie, and his big sister Via has mixed feelings. Together this family discover new ways to connect as Auggie and his sister grow up.

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Book Review: A Wish in the Dark

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A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat

A Wish in the Dark
by Christina Soontornvat (Goodreads Author)

5 out of 5 stars

Pong was born in prison, and he escapes with a tattoo that marks him as a criminal. A kindly monk takes him and covers the mark with bracelets. Each bracelet represents a blessing. Pong hides in plain sight, joining the monks in their prayers and charitable deeds.
Nok, the daughter of the prison warden, is determined to prove herself by tracking down the escaped prisoner and bringing him to justice. However, she begins to realize that justice and the law might not always agree.

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Book Review: Skyriders

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Skyriders by Polly Holyoke

Skyriders
by Polly Holyoke (Goodreads Author)

4.5 out of 5 stars

In a land where human riders can communicate telepathically with their pegasus steeds, one man has made a special study of how the ancient peoples fought off a scourge of monsters called chimerae. When the chimerae return, he entrusts a book full of his research to his niece, Kie. She and her stysteed, N’Rah, must take the book to the capital city and somehow convince the emperor to use these ancient battle techniques. Kie has been practicing using special weapons that her uncle taught her about, and she is hoping to demonstrate how effective they are against the monsters.

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