middle grade fantasy

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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Book Review: Witchlings

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Witchlings by Claribel A. Ortega

Witchlings (Witchlings, #1)
by Claribel A. Ortega (Goodreads Author)

4.5 out of 5 stars

Seven is worried that when she is sorted into her witches coven she might not be in the same coven with her best friend. However, she never imagined that she would be a Spare, a witch without a coven at all. Seven and the other two Spares are set an impossible task to defeat a horrific Nightbeast. They must complete the task, or they will lose their magic forever, or worse, be turned into toads!

This book has everything I was looking for! There’s a great magic system and interesting world-building. I really liked that the witches’ world has a distant past that must be reckoned with. You really get a sense of the depth of the history behind their laws and the way their everyday lives are ordered.

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Book Review: The BFG

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The BFG by Roald Dahl

The BFG
by Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake (Illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

A little orphan girl, Sophie, looks out the window one dark night and sees a mysterious shadow peaking into bedroom windows. It’s the Big Friendly Giant, the BFG! He whisks Sophie away to the land of the giants, and reveals his marvelous dream collection. But other giants are not so friendly, and Sophie and the BFG must devise a plan to stop the other giants from eating humans.

I love this story! It’s imaginative and fun. The language is hilarious and delightful. The BFG is dorky and silly and adorable. Sophie is brave and kind and intelligent. There are so many little details about the BFG that make this a truly interesting story; like the snozzcumbers that taste so disgusting, and the way he captures dreams, and his funny way of talking. All those things are so unique and wild and winsome.

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Book Review: The Sisters of Luna Island

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The Sisters of Luna Island by Stacy Hackney

The Sisters of Luna Island
by Stacy Hackney (Goodreads Author)

5 out of 5 stars

Marigold is the youngest of three sisters in the magical Lafleur family. They are aromages, brewing up charms using aromas. But all magic has a price, and sometimes their magic has severe consequences if they try to change fate. Ever since a terrible accident, Marigold and her sisters have given up aromagic, and their family seems to be falling apart. Marigold discovers that all their bad luck could be because of an ancient curse, and she is determined to find a way to break the curse and save her sisters!

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Book Review: The Wizard in the Wood

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The Wizard in the Wood by Louie Stowell

The Wizard in the Wood (The Dragon in the Library, #3)
by Louie Stowell

4 out of 5 stars

Kit, Josh, and Alita are privileged to witness the birth of a new baby dragon along with their new school library! But dark wizards are sneaking around the new library, and it is up to Kit to protect the baby dragon. Josh and Alita want to help too, but Kit is the one with the magical abilities. She tries to take on all the responsibility, but finds that it is too much for her to handle alone.

I loved this book from start to finish! The characters, the plot, the world-building, the magic; everything is wonderful! The writing style is absolutely hilarious! There are so many cute bits of dialogue and funny scenes that had me laughing.

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