Category Archives: Middle Grade 8-12

Review: Deadlands: Survival by Skye Melki-Wegner

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The Deadlands: Survival by Skye Melki-Wegner

The Deadlands: Survival (The Deadlands #3)
Skye Melki-Wegner
Henry Holt & Co.
Published April 2, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Deadlands: Survival

Wings of Fire meets Jurassic Park in the thrilling finale of this action-adventure series about five outcasts ― and former enemies ― who are the only hope to save their warring dinosaur kingdoms from impending doom.

As bloody battle rages between the two surviving dinosaur kingdoms, Eleri and the other young exiles―including a peppy stegosaur, a stoic sauropod, a testy triceratops, and a mysterious spy―have temporarily thwarted the Carrion Kingdom, a conniving cabal of carnivores, and destroyed their secret stronghold.

Fearing that their cunning enemies will soon regroup and seek vengeance, the exiles must risk their lives by returning home to unite and lead the war-torn herds that turned their backs on them into one final, all-out battle for the very future of the land of Cretacea. Will they convince their kingdoms to follow them into battle against the true enemy, or will Cretacea be overrun by an army of predators?

My Review

I can’t believe this series has come to an end! This has been one of the most enjoyable MG series I’ve read in quite a while. I love the characters and how much personality they have. Eleri, an oryctodromeus, is thoughtful and loves stories and the power of storytelling. Tortha, a triceratops, is a salt-of-the-earth warrior girl. She’s pragmatic and fierce. Sorielle, an ankylosaur, is endlessly curious, especially when it comes to math and science. She’s an inventor. Tiny, timid Zyre, an anurognathid, uses her abilities to fly and to hide easily to listen and gather information. She may be easily frightened, but attack one of her allies, and she will fight back.

The steady pacing kept me reading just one more chapter long past when I planned to quit. The chapters seemed pretty short, which makes it so easy to read one more. So much happens in this book that it felt like a new danger or uncertainty was always springing up. I loved seeing how much the characters have grown through the whole series.

Readers who enjoyed the Warrior series or Wings of Fire will definitely want to pick up this series. Do start at the beginning of the series, as the books build on each other. If you like books featuring animal characters at all, absolutely check these books out.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are herbivore dinosaurs. One character is very scientifically and mathematically minded, which made her an outcast in her herd.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One instance of mild profanity.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Consuming glowing shards give dinosaurs extra strength or stamina for a short period of time. Eleri has been exposed to a large amount of starmist, produced by a large shard, and he has some lasting impact from the exposure.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Mentions of warfare. In one scene, raptors tear another carnivore dinosaur apart.

Drug Content
Eleri collects thorns that can tranquilize dinosaurs.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays

I’m sharing this post as a part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays. Check out other blogs posting about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle with Greg Pattridge.

Review: Walkin’ the Dog by Chris Lynch

Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , ,

Walkin’ the Dog
Chris Lynch
Simon & Schuster BFYR
Published March 12, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Walkin’ the Dog

“Lynch is back and better, smarter, and funnier than ever.” —Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award Winner

A boy learns how to be a friend from man’s best friend in this funny and moving middle grade novel about humans being able to change and dogs changing us from acclaimed author Chris Lynch.

In a family of strong personalities with very strong points of view, Louis is what his mother lovingly calls “the inactivist,” someone who’d rather kick back than stand out. He only hopes he can stay under the radar when he starts high school in the fall, his first experience with public school after years of homeschooling.

But when a favor for a neighbor and his stinky canine companion unexpectedly turns into a bustling dog-walking business, Louis finds himself meeting an unprecedented number of new friends—both human and canine. Agatha, a quippy and cagey girl his age always seems to be telling two truths and a lie. Cyrus, a few years his senior, promises he’s going to show Louis how to be a better person, whether Louis wants him to or not. And then there are the misbehaving border terriers, the four (possible stolen) sausage dogs, the rest of Louis’s charges, and a mysterious white beast who appears at a certain spot at the edge of the woods.

Dogs and human alike all seem to have something they want to teach Louis, including his menacing older brother who keeps turning up everywhere. But is Louis ready to learn the lesson he needs how to stop being a lone wolf and be part of a pack?

My Review

The most surreal thing about reading this book is that the last book by Chris Lynch that I read is INEXCUSABLE, which is a pretty heavy book. So, it’s been a while since I’ve read any of his books, and this is a really different one than the last one I read.

I think my favorite part of this book is the voice it’s written in. It feels young and smart, and you can feel Louis being sneaky at different moments in what he chooses to share and not share. He’s also pretty chatty and a bit of a rambler. Sometimes, the rabbit trails drew me away from the story, but often, they revealed things that put what was happening in a new perspective.

I also appreciated that the book included a few dogs with disabilities or health problems. One dog has a wheelchair for his back legs, and another is missing one front leg. I haven’t seen that very often in other books, so it was a cool thing to include here.

The characters have a lot going on, but the story doesn’t always center around those issues. For instance, Louis’s mom is in a rehab program after a knee injury led to her addiction to painkillers. We see her only in a few scenes as Louis visits her. She appears sober in all of his memories of her at home.

As Louis builds a business walking dogs, he forges unexpected relationships with other kids and confronts some elements of his relationships with his family members. I love that the story is really framed around him walking dogs. There’s one F-bomb early in the book that seems to come out of nowhere, though. I felt like it really jumped out there without warning and without reason? So that may discourage some readers from picking up this dog story.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 to 14.

Representation
Louis’s friend Cyrus and his mother are Haitian American. A couple of the dogs he meets have disabilities.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
One F-bomb. I think there are maybe one or two other swear words.

Romance/Sexual Content
Louis may have a crush on a girl in the book. It’s not the focus of the story, and it isn’t totally clear how he feels.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
Louis mentions his brother getting into a lot of fistfights in high school. He has scarring on his face that affects the way he speaks. Louis sees a dog that has died (unknown cause). Later, he sees another dog that has died, apparently from being hit by a car.

Drug Content
References to addiction to painkillers following an injury.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

Review: Coyote Lost and Found by Dan Gemeinhart

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Coyote Lost and Found
Dan Gemeinhart
Henry Holt & Co.
Published March 5, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Coyote Lost and Found

It’s been almost a year since Coyote and her dad left the road behind and settled down in a small Oregon town. . . time spent grieving the loss of her mom and sisters and trying to fit in at school. But just as life is becoming a new version of normal, Coyote discovers a box containing her mom’s ashes. And she thinks she might finally be ready to say goodbye.

So Coyote and her dad gear up for an epic cross-country road trip to scatter the ashes at her mom’s chosen resting place. The only problem? Coyote has no idea where that resting place is—and the secret’s hidden in a book that Coyote mistakenly sold last year, somewhere in the country. Now, it’s up to Coyote to track down the treasured book . . . without her dad ever finding out that it’s lost. It’s time to fire up their trusty bus, Yager, pick up some old friends, discover some new ones, and hit the road on another unforgettable adventure.

My Review

I have a friend who loves voicey middle grade with a southern feel to it, and this book immediately made me think of her. Coyote is an absolute wonder. She’s unconventional and a little wild, kind of a loner, and has such a huge heart. I really like Rodeo, her dad, as well. He’s got a very hippy sensibility and definitely wouldn’t be everyone’s pick for best dad, but his temperament really works with Coyote, and he works really hard to make sure she has what she needs.

This is a book about grief. It’s a book about saying goodbye to someone you’ve already lost, and how sometimes grief is a journey, and on that journey, you have to say goodbye more than once. Some of the scenes in which Coyote and her dad talk about or around their losses were so poignant. I cried more than once.

It’s also a story set during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, so it has an underlying uncertainty and loneliness to it. It doesn’t have to do with the pandemic at all, really, but the shutdowns and fears about the virus impacted different characters and scenes in ways that made me think.

The only thing I kept waiting for and felt like was missing from the story is more information about Coyote’s sisters. She lost her mom and two sisters in a car accident long before this book (and another about Coyote and her dad) takes place. While this book focused on the loss of her mom, I felt like it was a little odd that she never named her sisters or had any memories of them or longing for them specifically. I haven’t yet read COYOTE SUNRISE, so it’s possible her relationships with them are explained more fully in the other book.

On the whole, I loved Coyote’s powerful voice and the sweet and silly rituals she shares with her dad and the lucky people they bring into their lives. I can definitely see fans of Kate DiCamillo’s contemporary novels or fans of Gillian McDunn loving this book.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Coyote’s best friend is Latine American. Another character is Asian American.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
See violent content.

Romance/Sexual Content
Coyote gets uncomfortable when she realizes her dad may have romantic feelings for a neighbor.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A white clerk threatens an Asian American customer, holding up a baseball bat and saying racist things.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of COYOTE LOST AND FOUND in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

Winter 2024 Backlist Check-in

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Last year, I started doing a seasonal backlist reading check-in so I could share a little bit about some of the backlist titles I’d been reading. I prioritize frontlist reviews since I often get copies of those from publishers, so putting them up is more time-sensitive. But there are always titles I didn’t get to when they came out that I manage to fit in afterward– often as audiobooks.

As you can see, I’ve been busy since my Fall Backlist reading update, so this is going to be a long list. Several of these books are graphic novels that I got for Christmas for somewhat unselfish reasons. (I wanted to read them and also to offer them to my nephew and niece to read.)

I’m pretty happy with my progress tackling backlist books so far this year. Some of these will appear on my Beat the Backlist and Read Harder challenge pages, too.

Winter 2024 Backlist Reading

Strike the Zither (Kingdom of Three #1) by Joan He

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: DESCENDANT OF THE CRANE was one of my favorite books I read last year, so I’ve had this one on my list since I first heard it was coming out. I love the way this author crafts large-scale political conflicts and complicated relationships. This one went in some directions I didn’t predict, and I’m eager for book two in the series.

Published October 25, 2022 | Review to Come

Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: I have been wanting to read this since another reviewer called it one of her top favorites for 2022. It reminded me a bit of THE SPLENDOR by Breeana Shields or CARAVAL by Stephanie Garber. Sisters. Lush magical setting filled with danger and secrets. Forbidden love. All the good stuff.

Published April 5, 2022 | Review to Come

Frida Kahlo: Her Life, Her Work, Her Home by Fransisco de la Mora

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: This is the first biography of Frida Kahlo that I’ve ever read, and it left me wanting to read more about her life. I enjoyed the details about her life and her work and afterward spent some time looking up images of her paintings and where I might be able to see them someday.

Published April 11, 2023 | Review to Come

Salt Magic by Hope Larson and Rebecca Mock

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My thoughts: I got this book for Christmas and had been interested in this author’s work for a while. I love the way the illustrator uses color palettes to set moods and show tension. I really enjoyed the story– it’s a quick read.

Published October 12, 2021 | Review to Come

Northranger by Rey Tierciero and Bre Indigo

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: Northanger Abbey isn’t a story I’m very familiar with, but the author includes a lovely note in this book explaining the connection between this graphic novel and Austen’s novel. I thought the romance was super sweet and the use of horror movie references and suspense added a lot of fun to the book.

Published June 6, 2023 | Review to Come

Hooky (Hooky #1) by Míriam Bonastre Tur

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: I keep seeing this book everywhere, and the story (two twin witches who go on the run) sounded cute. Some of the chapters felt a bit episodic, but considering this story began as a webcomic, I suppose that’s to be expected. I enjoyed the quirky characters and fun elements.

Published September 7, 2021 | Review to Come

This Woven Kingdom (This Woven Kingdom #1) by Tahereh Mafi

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: I recently discovered that a friend reads a lot and she highly recommended this series, so I figured I better check it out. So far, I am entranced by the powerful writing and slow-burn forbidden love. I finished the first book and started the second on the same day.

Published February 1, 2022 | Review to Come

Nimona by ND Stevenson

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: I’ve been seeing this book everywhere, never more than now that there’s a Netflix movie. I decided it was definitely time to read it, and I’m so glad I did. This is like Dr. Horrible’s cooler, more sophisticated older sibling, and yet it’s charming and fun all in its own right. Definitely a must-read for fantasy fans.

Published May 12, 2015 | Review to Come

Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: I’ve listened to an audio version of this book before, but it’s been at least ten years. I wanted to revisit the work to help keep Dr. King’s messages in the context that he issued them. In this letter, he responds specifically to the white Christian leadership who have asked him to stop protesting and “work within the system” instead. Powerful words and a message that still rings out as timely today.

Published February 22, 2018

Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: I’ve seen this graphic memoir on book ban lists a lot in the last few years, so I wanted to check it out. I think the author writes with so much courage and desperately needed frankness. These are topics that a lot of people have questions about and aren’t sure how to get answers. I really appreciated having a roadmap through someone’s personal experience that can help orient me as an ally to what those experiences might be like.

Published May 28, 2019 | Review to Come

Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit (Theo Tan #1)

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: I enjoyed the second book in this series, and I had the first one already (from a publisher), so I’d been meaning to circle back and read it. I think I actually enjoyed this one more than the second one. I really enjoyed Kai’s asides and footnotes, and Theo’s devotion to his brother melts my heart.

Published May 31 2022 | Review

These Infinite Threads (This Woven Kingdom #2) by Tahereh Mafi

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: I started this sequel within hours of finishing the first book in the series, and I’m so hooked. I love that one of my favorite minor characters from the first book has a bigger role in this one.

Published February 7, 2023 | Review to Come

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: This is technically a reread, since I read this in high school. All I remembered about it is that I did not like it, but since I’m planning to read WHAT SOULS ARE MADE OF, which is a remix of the story, I wanted the original to be fresher in my brain. I still did not like this book. I don’t know. What am I missing? This seems like a tale of people treating each other miserably (if not abusively) and suffering for it?

Published February 7, 2023 (Orig 1847) | Review to Come

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: This is such a fun middle grade fantasy novel. I think fans of HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON will enjoy the quirky voice of the narrator and the playfulness of the story. This is the first book I’ve read by T. Kingfisher, and it’s an absolute win.

Published July 21, 2020 | Review to Come

Stamped: Racism, Antiracism and You: A Remix of the National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning by Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: I listened to this one as an audiobook, read by Jason Reynolds. It felt like having someone sit with you over coffee and explain the history of racism and how it has impacted American life and politics. It made me realize how little I’ve read of important Black writers like bell hooks, and how little I know about the lives of people like Malcolm X and Angela Davis. Something I’d like to change.

Published March 10, 2020 | Review to Come

Eagle Drums by Nasuġraq Rainey Hopson

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: This reads like an easily relatable folk tale or origin story, if that makes sense? I enjoyed the straightforward yet somehow lyrical writing style and the vivid descriptions of life in Alaska.

Published September 12, 2023 | Review to Come

Balto and Togo: Hero Dogs of Alaska by Helen Moss

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

My thoughts: The weirdest part of reading this book is, as a kid who grew up watching the movie Balto, how many times I would read facts about what actually happened and have to process my split-second denial. I’d kind of rear back and immediately think, that’s not what happened in the movie! Which…. well, duh? It was a cartoon? Anyway, I loved getting a chance to learn the real story of these brave mushers and their dogs who helped stop a diphtheria outbreak.

Published November 28, 2023 | Review to Come

Have you read any backlist titles lately?

If you’re participating in a backlist reading challenge this year, please let me know! If you have a page or post where you list the books you’ve read, please feel free to put a link to it in my comments. I’d love to check it out.

Have you read any of the books on my list? Let me know what you think about them if so.

Review: Kyra Just for Today by Sara Zarr

Blogger's Favorites, Book Review and Content, Contemporary, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , , , ,

Kyra Just for Today
Sara Zarr
Balzer + Bray
Published March 5, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Kyra Just for Today

From award-winning author Sara Zarr comes a gorgeously crafted and deeply personal story about a young girl, her alcoholic mother, and the hope that ties them together. Krya has always felt like she’s a bit too much. Too tall. Too loud. Too earnest. But she’s okay with that, because she’s got her mom. Ever since Mom got sober about five years ago, she and Kyra have always been there for each other—something Kyra is thankful for every week when she attends her group meetings with other kids of alcoholics. When Mom is managing her cleaning business and Kyra is taking care of things at home, maybe, she thinks, she’s not too much. Maybe, she’s just enough.

Then seventh grade starts, and everything Kyra used to be able to count on feels unsure. Kyra’s best friend, Lu, is hanging out with eighth graders, and Mom is unusually distant. When Mom starts missing work, sleeping in, and forgetting things, Kyra doesn’t dare say “relapse.” But soon not saying that word means not saying anything at all—to Lu or to her support group. And when Kyra suspects that her worst fears might be real, she starts to question whether being just enough is not enough at all.

With sensitivity and candor, acclaimed author Sara Zarr tells a heartfelt, personal story about finding hope in even the most difficult places, and love in even the most complicated relationships.

My Review

I haven’t read everything by Sara Zarr, but I’ve really enjoyed the books I have read. She has this incredible ability to bring complex family situations and complex emotions or relationships to the table in a way that feels vulnerable and authentic and never preachy.

This book also nails that transition from childhood to adolescence, where so many of our friendships change. Sometimes the connections we treasured morph or stretch into new shapes. Having those changes on top of Kyra’s worries about her mom made for a story with a ton of emotional depth.

The scenes in which Kyra attends a support group for kids who have loved ones who are alcoholics were incredible, too. I think I sobbed through a couple of those right along with the characters in the scene. They were so moving.

All this makes the book sound like it’s packed with big emotions and tears, and there are some heavy scenes, for sure. I also enjoyed the scenes that showed how friendships can surprise us and how watching a beautiful snowfall can make everything else fade away for a little while. I cracked up during one scene in the cafeteria.

I think kids navigating transitions in friendships will enjoy the peer relationships in this book. I was around this age when it became openly discussed in our family that one family member was an alcoholic. I really didn’t understand what that meant beyond the excessive drinking behaviors, so a book like this may have really helped me put things into context. It may have given me a view of what recovery could look like and the ways in which supportive friendships or groups could look.

All in all, I loved this book, and I’m so glad Sara Zarr wrote it.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Kyra’s mom is an alcoholic in recovery. Her best friend’s dad is also an alcoholic and is still drinking.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Kyra’s grandparents are very religious and pressure her and her mom to come to their church with them. Kyra’s mom believes in the importance of a higher power, but she thinks of the ocean as her higher power because it’s so vast and deep.

Violent Content
A parent pushes a child away when the kid jokingly tries to grab her mom’s journal. A girl injures herself cooking and has to call for help.

Drug Content
References to adults drinking excessively. (The drinking happens off-scene.)

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions my own.

Review: Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,

Brightly Woven
Alexandra Bracken
Adapted by Leigh Dragoon
Illustrated by Kit Seaton
Disney Hyperion
Published February 2, 2021

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Brightly Woven

A graphic novel about discovering your own power.

Extraordinary things just don’t happen to fourteen-year-old Sydelle Mirabil, a talented weaver who dreams about life outside of her tiny village. But that all changes when a mysterious young wizard named Wayland North appears and asks for Sydelle’s help. He’s got a shocking secret that could stop a war between kingdoms-if he can reach the capital with the news in time. North needs a navigator who can mend his magical cloaks, and Sydelle is perfect for the job.

As Sydelle and North race against the clock to deliver their message, they must contend with unusually wild weather and a dark wizard who will do anything to stop them. But the sudden earthquakes and freak snowstorms may not be a coincidence. As Sydelle discovers more about North’s past and her own strange abilities, she realizes that the fate of the kingdom may rest in her fingertips.

My Review

I stumbled into this book as I was looking for middle grade fantasy graphic novels for my niece. This past year, I read HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE for the first time and loved it, so the comparison of this book to that one also had me intrigued. I guess I see why the comparison was made if it’s because a wizard and a girl who doesn’t recognize her own power travel around and get caught in some political intrigue.

It didn’t take me long to read the novel, and I especially enjoyed the illustrations. I liked the way the relationship between North and Sydelle developed. It’s a sweet friendship with hints at their attraction toward one another.

This graphic novel covers the first part of Alexandra Bracken’s debut novel of the same title, which I have not read. It doesn’t look like there will be follow-up books to this one, which is sad since I’d have liked to read more.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 9 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
North is a wizard. His family has been cursed.

Violent Content
Situations of peril and (cartoonish) battle scenes.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.