middle grade fantasy

Book Review: Over Sea, Under Stone

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Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper

Over Sea, Under Stone (The Dark Is Rising, #1)
by Susan Cooper (Goodreads Author)

5 out of 5 stars

The Drew children are on holiday in Cornwall, renting the old Captain’s house while he is away. They explore through the dusty attics of the house and discover what appears to be an ancient map with the name Arturus Rex. They embark on an adventure to recover a lost treasure that tells the true story of King Arthur. But there are others who also search for the treasure for their own nefarious purposes. The children’s Great-Uncle Merry warns them of the constant battle between good and evil, and tries to protect them as they search for the treasure.

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Book Review: The Rat Queen

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The Rat Queen by Pete Hautman

The Rat Queen
by Pete Hautman

2.5 stars
Annie’s father teaches her to write down all the bad things she does and feed the paper into a little hole in the floor of their house. After she drops the paper into the “sin eater” hole, her regrets and guilt go away and she feels better. Annie hears a mysterious skittering and chattering in the cellar, and the neighbors begin to report seeing rats around the neighborhood. Annie learns about her Litvanian heritage and the dark secrets of her family past.

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Book Review: Always, Clementine

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Always, Clementine by Carlie Sorosiak

Always, Clementine
by Carlie Sorosiak (Goodreads Author)

3.5 out of 5 stars
Clementine is a lab mouse. A genetic experiment has given her super-intelligence and she does her best to solve every maze and puzzle that the team of scientists give her. Clementine befriends a chimp named Rosie in one of the lab cages. When a scientist with a guilty conscience sets Clementine free, she begins a wild journey to prove her worth and hopefully save Rosie from the lab too. In the meantime, Clementine writes letters to Rosie (which are never written or posted) and tells Rosie all her adventures.

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Book Review: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

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The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Chronicles of Narnia, #3)
by C.S. Lewis, Pauline Baynes (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

Lucy and Edmund are back in Narnia, this time accompanied by their annoying cousin, Eustace. The siblings join King Caspian again, this time on a quest to the Eastern edge of the world. They sail through rough seas, encounter sea monsters, chart magical islands, and fight battles. But the greatest adventure of all is what they find at the edge of the world.

This one is my favorite of all the Narnia books! It appeals to something deep inside me on many levels. The magical adventures, the spiritual themes, poor sad Eustace and his character development, the beautiful imagery, and the imaginative settings all resonate with me in special ways. There are so many sweet little moments that tug at your heart!

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Book Review: Prince Caspian

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Prince Caspian (The Chronicles of Narnia, #2)
by C.S. Lewis, Pauline Baynes (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy are back in Narnia a year after their previous adventures. They find that Narnia has changed a great deal, and now the evil Telmarines are in power. The siblings go to war to help Prince Caspian reclaim his throne and restore the Old Narnian dwarves, fauns, and tree-people.

I love the themes of obedience and faith in this second book of the series. The siblings try to rely on their own wisdom and ignore Aslan’s instructions and they get into huge trouble. It is only when they follow Aslan and obey with faith that things start to go right again.

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Book Review: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Chronicles of Narnia, #1)
by C.S. Lewis, Pauline Baynes (Illustrations)

5 out of 5 stars

Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy finds themselves stumbling through a magical wardrobe into the land of Narnia, where animals can talk and the White Witch uses her magic to make it always winter and never Christmas. The siblings must travel to find the Great Lion, Aslan, who is the only one with the power to defeat the White Witch.

This book is so near to my heart, not only because of the nostalgia since I read and reread it again and again as a child, but also for the deep spiritual themes of sacrifice and redemption that mirror Christ’s salvation of this poor sinner. I find myself relating closely with each of the siblings as they interact with Aslan and as their spiritual journeys with Him begin.

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Book Review: Loki A Bad God’s Guide to Taking the Blame

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Loki by Louie Stowell

Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Taking the Blame
by Louie Stowell

4 out of 5 stars

Loki has been banished from Asgard. Odin has given Loki the form of an 11-year-old human, and sent Thor, Heimdall, and Hyrrokkin (also in the form of humans) to keep an eye on him. Loki must learn to be good and keep a record of his good or bad deeds in a magical journal. In this second book of the series, Loki is trying to make some new friends, but he goes about it in all the wrong ways.

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Book Review- Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Being Good

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Loki by Louie Stowell

Loki: A Bad God’s Guide to Being Good
by Louie Stowell

4 out of 5 stars

Loki has been banished from Asgard. Odin has given Loki the form of an 11-year-old human, and sent Thor, Heimdall, and Hyrrokkin (also in the form of humans) to keep an eye on him. Loki must learn to be good within a month’s time, or he will be punished for all eternity. Thor and Loki go to school together and must dodge the sneaky Frost Giants, while Loki tries all the wrong ways to be good.

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Book Review: The Ordinary Princess

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The Ordinary Princess by M.M. Kaye

The Ordinary Princess
by M.M. Kaye

5 out of 5 stars

At Princess Amy’s christening, one of the fairies grants her the gift of ordinariness. Compared to her beautiful royal sisters, Amy is plain and ordinary. All her sisters have long blonde hair and perfect complexions. Amy has short mousey brown hair and freckles on her nose. As Amy grows up the royal family is distressed, because no prince wants to marry an ordinary princess with freckles. Princess Amy must take her destiny into her own hands, and prove that you don’t have to be beautiful and perfect to find happiness.

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Book Review: Beyond the Stars

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Beyond the Stars by Doreen D. Berger

Beyond the Stars (The Captain’s Daughters, #2)
by Doreen D. Berger (Goodreads Author)

3.5 stars
Diane and Robin are thrown into another adventure in this second book in the series, when they befriend Jannel, the future ruler of a planet under quarantine. Jannel is a girl their own age, who comes aboard their spaceship for safety away from the virus that is threatening her planet. The girls try to help Jannel overcome her fears for her future, but they wind up in terrible trouble.

I liked the world-building for this new planet that we visit with Diane, Robin, and Jannel. I appreciated that there is a history of politics that has led to the current unrest on the planet, and the way the virus plays into that is really interesting. We also get to learn a little bit about the wild flora and fauna of the planet!

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