Category Archives: Middle Grade 8-12

Review: The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

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The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

The Thief (Queen’s Thief #1)
Megan Whalen Turner
Greenwillow Books
Published February 28, 2017 (orig. 1996)

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About The Thief

The king’s scholar, the magus, believes he knows the site of an ancient treasure. To attain it for his king, he needs a skillful thief, and he selects Gen from the king’s prison. The magus is interested only in the thief’s abilities.

What Gen is interested in is anyone’s guess. Their journey toward the treasure is both dangerous and difficult, lightened only imperceptibly by the tales they tell of the old gods and goddesses.

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Review: Six Feet Below Zero by Ena Jones

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Six Feet Below Zero by Ena Jones

Six Feet Below Zero
Ena Jones
Holiday House
Published April 20, 2021

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About Six Feet Below Zero

A dead body. A missing will. An evil relative. The good news is, Great Grammy has a plan. The bad news is, she’s the dead body.

Caught in a one-of-a-kind predicament, 12-year-old Rosie and her younger brother, Baker, must honor their great-grandmother’s final wishes by pretending she’s still alive until they can find her will and locate their dear Aunt Tilly. Rosie and Baker do their best to follow Great-Grammy’s plan and act as if everything is completely normal, but as their … Continue reading →

Review: The Best Worst Summer by Elizabeth Eulberg

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The Best Worst Summer by Elizabeth Eulberg

The Best Worst Summer
Elizabeth Eulberg
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published May 4, 2021

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About The Best Worst Summer

This is going to be the worst summer ever for Peyton. Her family just moved, and she had to leave her best friend behind. She’s lonely. She’s bored. Until . . . she comes across a box buried in her backyard, with a message: I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. Things are about to get interesting.

Back in 1989, it’s going to be the best summer ever for Melissa and Jessica. They have two whole months to goof around and explore, and they’re even going to bury a … Continue reading →

Review: Glitter Gets Everywhere by Yvette Clark

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Glitter Gets Everywhere by Yvette Clark

Glitter Gets Everywhere
Yvette Clark
HarperCollins
Published May 4, 2021

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About Glitter Gets Everywhere

Kitty’s mother died on an inappropriately sunny Tuesday. So much has changed in Kitty’s life over the last few months, and she needs the world to stop spinning around her. She needs things to return to normal — or as normal as they’ll ever be.

Normal definitely does not include her family moving from their home in a cozy corner of London all the way to New York City. Moving means leaving behind her friends and neighbors, her grandmother, and all the places and people that help … Continue reading →

Review: The Firebird Song by Arnée Flores

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The Firebird Song by Arnée Flores

The Firebird Song
Arnée Flores
Bloomsbury Children’s Books
Published June 8, 2021

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About The Firebird Song

The Kingdom of Lyrica was once warm and thriving, kept safe by the Firebird, whose feather and song was a blessing of peace and prosperity. But the Firebird disappeared, and Lyrica is now terrorized by the evil Spectress who wields her powers from within a volcano. All that remains is a mysterious message scrawled on the castle wall in the Queen’s own hand: Wind. Woman. Thief.

Young Prewitt has only known time without the Firebird, a life of constant cold, as his village is afraid to tempt … Continue reading →

Review: Double the Danger and Zero Zucchini by Betsy Uhrig

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Double the Danger and Zero Zucchini by Betsy Uhrig

Double the Danger and Zero Zucchini
Betsy Uhrig
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published September 22, 2020

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About Double the Danger and Zero Zucchini

Books aren’t supposed to be dangerous. Are they?

Alex Harmon prefers running over sitting still reading. But when his aunt offers to pay him to point out the boring parts in her children’s book, he figures it’s an easy way to make ten bucks. The problem is that her book is about a grumpy frog and a prize-winning zucchini. It doesn’t have only a few boring pages…the … Continue reading →