middle grade

Book Review: The Monster in the Lake

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The Monster in the Lake by Louie Stowell

The Monster in the Lake (The Dragon in the Library, #2)
by Louie Stowell, Davide Ortu (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

Kit and her friends are flabbergasted by a recent surge of wild magic that is making random things happen. Kit’s magic spells are going haywire. Animals in the park are talking to humans, and something magical is bubbling up from the depths of the lake. This new adventure will take Kit all the way to Scotland to solve the mystery of the unpredictable wild magic.

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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Book Review: Explorer Academy The Dragon’s Blood

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Explorer Academy by Trudi Trueit

Explorer Academy: The Dragon’s Blood (Book 6)
by Trudi Trueit (Goodreads Author)

4 out of 5 stars

In this book, Cruz and his friends travel to China where they search for clues in an emperor’s tomb. With Nebula spies all around, Cruz wonders who is telling him the truth, but the truth is more complicated than he realizes.

There are a lot of plots twists and major revelations in this book! Around every corner something insane happens and it throws the whole plot into turmoil. The adventure is fantastic, and it’s really interesting to learn about all the historic sites that the characters visit.

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Book Review: The Patron Thief of Bread

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The Patron Thief of Bread by Lindsay Eagar

The Patron Thief of Bread
by Lindsay Eagar (Goodreads Author)

3 out of 5 stars

Duck has always lived on the streets with a gang of urchins who call themselves the Crowns. They pick pockets and steal food to stay alive. Their leader, Gnat, comes up with the idea for one of them to masquerade as a baker’s apprentice to steal from the bakery, and Duck is chosen for the job. Duck uses forged apprenticeship papers to begin working at the bakery, and then passes stolen bread and coins to the rest of the street urchins. But the longer Duck works at the bakery, the more she begins to settle into her new life. The baker lady is kind to her, and they become a weird sort of family. Duck’s loyalties are divided. Will she choose the baker who loves her like a mother would, or her ragtag family of pickpockets?

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Book Review: Secrets of the Last Merfolk

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Secrets of the Last Merfolk by Lindsay Littleson

Secrets of the Last Merfolk
by Lindsay Littleson (Goodreads Author)
2 out of 5 stars

Finn and Sage begin to wonder if there might be merfolk living in the ocean off the Scottish coast. They have been seeing strange sights in the water, and hearing a weird song that echoes off the cliffs. Sage begins to investigate in her kayak, but when Finn does a dangerous solo swim in the freezing waves, the two discover that the merfolk are more mysterious and strange than any legend they have ever heard. The merfolk are in danger from an old enemy, and they need help from the human children to save their little underwater colony.

The plot is incredibly slow. This could have been a short story, but it drags on and on. Once something finally does happen, it’s not that amazing. Finn and Sage are completely obsolete to the plans of the merfolk. They make a big deal about “helping”, but they never do anything that the merfolk couldn’t have just done themselves with less effort. A lot of fuss over nothing.

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Book Review: The Captain’s Daughters

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The Captain's Daughters by Doreen D. Berger

The Captain’s Daughters
by Doreen D. Berger (Goodreads Author)
3 out of 5 stars

Diane and Robin are kidnapped by an alien race to be sold as slaves on a far-away planet. Their father, a starship captain, is searching the galaxy for them, but he will have to travel farther than anyone thought possible in order to rescue his daughters. However, Diane and Robin are not sitting around waiting to be rescued. They take matters into their own hands, and try a daring escape.

I enjoyed this book! The plot is a fun adventure and has some interesting twists. There were a couple of times when lucky coincidences in the plot made it a little unbelievable. I feel like the plot could have been a bit tighter in a few places. But those were few and far between, so I still liked the story a lot!

The writing is really good! I immediately connected with the story and with the characters. The pacing is excellent, and the scenes have a lot of suspense. I laughed several times at some of the funny dialogue! Those girls are so sassy!

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Book Review: Danny Chung Sums It Up

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Danny Chung Sums It Up by Maisie Chan

Danny Chung Sums It Up
by Maisie Chan, Natelle Quek (Illustrations)
4 out of 5 stars

Danny Chung is dismayed when his Chinese grandmother moves into the family’s small apartment, and he has to share his bedroom with her! She only speaks a specific dialect of Chinese that Danny can’t understand, and she is always embarrassing Danny in front of his friends. Danny has a huge math project that he is supposed to be working on, but Danny hates math. His parents insist that he has to spend time with his grandmother while they are at work. Danny’s only refuge is in his drawings and sketches. Making comic sketches is the only thing Danny really cares about. Could there be a way to use his drawings to communicate with his grandmother?

This was such a sweet and heart-warming story! It was wonderful to see Danny’s character development. He gradually begins to understand, appreciate, and love his grandmother. Danny is such a complex and loveable character. He certainly has his flaws, but he is also willing to admit when he is wrong and do his best to make things right. He has such a good heart!

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Book Review: How Do You Live?

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How Do You Live? by Genzaburo Yoshino

How Do You Live?
by Genzaburo Yoshino, Bruno Navasky (Translator)
4 out of 5 stars

Copper reflects on the meaning of life as he faces challenges at his school. He befriends a poor classmate who is being teased and bullied, but that puts him in crosshairs as well. Somehow he must find the courage to stand with his friends, and find out what kind of person he really wants to be. Copper’s uncle and mother give him good advice, but ultimately it is up to Copper to make his own decisions.

This book is told in two parts; the first is Copper’s experiences at school and the second is his uncle’s notes to him about philosophy and the underlying meaning behind everyday things. These two perspectives overlap in alternate chapters. First we read about something that happened to Copper and then his uncle writes to Copper about it, expounding on different moral and social ideas of why that particular experience was important and how it can help to shape Copper into a good person.

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Book Review: Mermaids Rock The Coral Kingdom

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The Coral Kingdom by Linda Chapman

The Coral Kingdom
by Linda Chapman, Mirelle Ortega (Illustrations)
5 out of 5 stars

Marina and her father have just moved to a new underwater neighborhood, and Marina makes some new friends at school while her father researches rare fish in the area. Marina has to put up with a snobby girl at school, but she happily joins the Save the Sea Creatures club with her friends. However, Marina and her friends are frightened by a strange creature that is evidently destroying the local coral reef caves. They find some weird clues, but no one has sighted the creature. Can they solve the mystery before the damage gets worse?

I loved this cute book! The mermaid culture is wonderfully imaginative, and I thought it was so fun to learn about Marina and her friends. We also get some real life facts about interesting fish and conservation in the ocean. The mystery had me in complete suspense! I was puzzling and wondering, What is this big sea monster creature that is destroying the coral?

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Book Review: The Voyage of Barracks

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The Voyage of Barracks by Stuart Petrie

The Voyage of Barracks
by Stuart Petrie
5 out of 5 stars
The Gunn family love their beautiful country home, but when a nasty factory is built across the road, they decide to attach a balloon to their house and float around the world looking for a new peaceful place to live.

I adore this book. I’ve read it several times now, and it is delightful every time!

I love all the different places that they visit; a desert oasis, the top of the Acropolis, an island with cannibals, a small village in the Alps, and the beautiful beaches of the French Riviera.

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