Ghost Squad meets Hotel Transylvania in this sweetly spooky fish-out-of-water middle grade story about a human girl who must put on the performance of her life when she realizes what she thought was a LARPing summer camp is full of real monsters!
With her stick-on fangs and widow’s peak drawn in waterproof eyeliner, Sylvie is an expert at pretending to be a vampire. More kids at school would know that if they bothered to join her monster LARPing (live action role playing) club. Not even her dad understands her passion for the undead and denies her request to attend a monster LARPing summer camp. But Sylvie is not so easily deterred.
She decides to tell her dad she’s attending another camp located near Monster Camp then sneak over to her real destination after he drops her off. Sylvie feels bad lying to her dad, but there’s no way she’s going to miss the chance to finally meet other kids that share her interests. And when she lays eyes on Monster Camp, she knows it was all worth it—the immersive campgrounds look like they came off a Hollywood lot!
But when an obnoxious kid dressed like a werewolf gets punished by being magically turned into a Pomeranian, Sylvie realizes she made a critical miscalculation. These aren’t LARPers, they’re real monsters, and Sylvie’s preferred costume means she’s placed with blood-sucking, human-biting campers who would breathe fire if they knew the truth about her. She has no choice but to try to stick it out by doing exactly what she does best: pretending to be a monster.
My Review
I really enjoyed the SEA WITCH duology by Sarah Henning, so when I saw this debut middle grade novel, I knew I had to read it. I loved the passion that Sylvie has to LARPing and the way that it impacts what happens in the story.
It was also really cool to see a book celebrate this niche activity. The story made it easy to understand why Sylvie loved LARPing so much, and how it actually works. I had a passing familiarity with LARPing but not a deep understanding. The book does a great job showing what LARPing is and how it works without slowing the story down to explain.
I really liked the relationships Sylvie forms with the other campers, especially the ones that surprised her. I also really liked that first impressions, trust, and secrets played such a key role in the story, too.
All in all, this is a super cute book, perfect for summer. I think fans of paranormal middle grade stories will find lots to love here.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.
Representation Sylvie meets kids who are literally ghosts, werewolves, vampires, and other monsters.
Profanity/Crude Language Content None.
Romance/Sexual Content None.
Spiritual Content Some characters are ghosts, monsters. Sometimes they have superhuman abilities or magic.
Violent Content When Sylvie plays LARP sessions with her friend, Dustin, he is always a knight whose quest is to kill her. She learns through monster camp that there are people who still want to hunt and kill monsters.
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 MONSTER CAMP in exchange for my honest review.
Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays
Check out reviews and more middle grade book fun for Marvelous Middle Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle, where Greg shares a roundup of bloggers featuring middle grade books on their blogs. I joined recently, and have really enjoyed checking out everyone’s posts.
A fierce coming-of-age verse novel about identity and the power of drag, from acclaimed poet and performer Dean Atta. Perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, Jason Reynolds, and Kacen Callender.
Michael is a mixed-race gay teen growing up in London. All his life, he’s navigated what it means to be Greek-Cypriot and Jamaican—but never quite feeling Greek or Black enough.
As he gets older, Michael’s coming out is only the start of learning who he is and where he fits in. When he discovers the Drag Society, he finally finds where he belongs—and the Black Flamingo is born.
Told with raw honesty, insight, and lyricism, this debut explores the layers of identity that make us who we are—and allow us to shine.
My Review
Early on in the pandemic, I placed a couple of book orders with independent bookstores, and THE BLACK FLAMINGO is one of the books I ordered. Obviously it took me a while to read it, but I’m so glad I finally did.
One of my favorite things about this book is how personal Michael’s journey is. I think part of what makes that work is that he’s a poet himself, and the novel is written in verse, too. Some of the poems are meant to be his, things he has written and performs. I felt like that made the story a lot more intimate if that makes sense?
I also loved the characters, from Michael’s mom and sister, Anna, to his best friend Daisy, to Jack, the repressed construction worker. Even the characters who only appeared for a few moments seemed rich and knowable.
The story begins when Michael is a child and runs through his early time at college, so I think it’s more of a coming-of-age story than traditional young adult fiction. I liked having that long span of time to see different moments in Michael’s life and how they affected him at the time and upon reflection.
All in all, this is a powerful story about self-discovery and courage and learning how to be true to yourself. I think fans of Elizabeth Acevedo will love THE BLACK FLAMINGO.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 12 up.
Representation Michael is Greek Cypriot and Jamaican and a citizen of the UK. He’s also gay.
Profanity/Crude Language Content Mild profanity used infrequently.
Romance/Sexual Content Kissing between two boys. References to sex between two boys (not shown).
Spiritual Content A couple minor characters state their belief that being gay is a sin. (Later one person apologizes for this.)
Violent Content Older boys bully Michael into fighting another boy. Someone leaves homophobic notes in Michael’s backpack. Girls say homophobic things to him.
Drug Content Michael smokes pot and uses an inhalant with another boy in one scene. He smokes pot and drinks alcohol in several scenes.
Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.
Skandar Smith has achieved his dream to train as a unicorn rider.
But as Skandar and his friends enter their second year at the Eyrie, a new threat arises. Immortal wild unicorns are somehow being killed, a prophecy warns of terrible danger, and elemental destruction begins to ravage the Island.
Meanwhile, Skandar’s sister, Kenna, longs to join him – and Skandar is determined to help her, no matter what. As the storm gathers, can Skandar discover how to stop the Island tearing itself apart – before it’s too late for them all?
My Review
I think I might have liked this book even better than the first one? I think the writing is stronger in this one, which makes sense. The characters and their friendships, which was one of my favorite parts of the first book, are still strong and still drew me into the story. I thought the conflicts between them and the ways they navigated them were true to their characters and made sense.
We get a lot more of the politics and structure of the island in this book, too, which was really cool. We got to see some of the clashes in leadership, and we learned more about the history behind some of the relationships– and some of the rifts in relationships– on the island, too. I absolutely loved that.
Skandar grows a lot in this book, too. I really liked the way he wrestled with how to use his abilities and how to respond to the prejudice he faced. He also learned who his allies are and how to find places he fit in even with the prejudice that was happening.
The story ends in a great place, too. It left me satisfied but also really excited for the next book in the series. I’m super interested to see where the story goes next.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.
Representation Skandar’s friend Flo is Black.
Profanity/Crude Language Content No profanity. A few mentions of passing gas.
Romance/Sexual Content None.
Spiritual Content Unicorns have magical abilities based on different elements like wind, fire, water, earth, and spirit. Spirit magic has been illegal, so Skandar and his unicorn are judged, excluded, and blamed for things because of their use of it.
Violent Content Situations of peril. Some battle scenes. One character is imprisoned against their will.
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 SKANDAR AND THE PHANTOM RIDER in exchange for my honest review.
Two sisters. A shocking racist incident. The summer that will change both of their lives forever.
Despite having had near-identical upbringings, sisters Annalie and Margaret agree on only one thing: that they have nothing in common. Nineteen-year-old Margaret is driven, ambitious, and keenly aware of social justice issues. She couldn’t wait to leave their oppressive small-town home and take flight in New York. Meanwhile sweet, popular, seventeen-year-old Annalie couldn’t think of anything worse – she loves their town, and feels safe coasting along in its confines.
That is, until she arrives home one day to find a gut-punching racial slur painted on their garage door.
Outraged, Margaret flies home, expecting to find her family up in arms. Instead, she’s amazed to hear they want to forget about it. Their mom is worried about what it might stir up, and Annalie just wants to have a ‘normal’ summer – which Margaret is determined to ruin, apparently.
Back under each other’s skins, things between Margaret and Annalie get steadily worse – and not even the distraction of first love (for Annalie), or lost love (for Margaret) can bring them together.
Until finally, a crushing secret threatens to tear them apart forever.
My Review
I love sister books. THIS PLACE IS STILL BEAUTIFUL gives us both sister’s points of view, which I absolutely loved. I’m sure there are other books that have done this, but I can’t think of any right now.
Margaret and Annalie are so different from one another, and we really get to see that in action as we go back and forth between their perspectives. But we also get to see something the girls seem (especially at first) unaware of: the way they admire each other’s strengths.
They grew up in a mostly white southern Illinois town, feeling different, and responding to it differently. We watch them reflect on moments they faced racist or prejudiced comments or behavior. We learn why they reacted so differently when someone painted a racist slur on their garage door.
Watching both girls navigate the aftermath of that night really gripped me. I think it might be easy for some readers to dismiss what happened as not serious, as some of the characters in the book do. But walking in Margaret and Annalie’s shoes gives us the chance to sidestep our own prejudices and listen. Really listen. If we do that, we hear a story that resonates with us all: two girls who have a right to feel safe, respected, and loved in their community.
Though the plot centers around uncovering the truth about the graffiti on the door, THIS PLACE IS STILL BEAUTIFUL offers so much more. It is part love story, part tribute to a rural small town, and part story about finding your voice and discovering who you want to be and what that means.
Content warning for use of a racial slur, some racist comments and behavior and teen drinking.
Recommended for Ages 14 up.
Representation Annalie and Margaret are Chinese on their mom’s side. Annalie’s best friend, Violet, is Filipino. Margaret’s ex-boyfriend Rajiv is Indian. Other characters are white.
Profanity/Crude Language Content Extreme profanity used infrequently.
Romance/Sexual Content Kissing between boy and girl. In one scene, it’s clear the boy wants to have sex, and the girl stops him because she isn’t ready. In another scene, a boy and girl kiss, collapse into his bed and the scene cuts to later, after they’ve had sex.
Spiritual Content None.
Violent Content A racist slur appears spray-painted on the front of Annalie and Margaret’s garage. In one scene, Annalie confronts a boy who charges toward her aggressively before they are interrupted.
Drug Content Teens drink alcohol at a party. Annalie gets drunk. References to Margaret drinking alcohol while away at college.
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 PLACE IS STILL BEAUTIFUL in exchange for my honest review.
The Secret Life of Bees: Meet the Bees of the World with Buzzwing the Honeybee Moira Butterfield Illustrated by Vivian Mineker Words Pictures Published May 11, 2021
Follow Buzzwing the honeybee on a beautifully illustrated journey through the world of bees filled with amazing science and intriguing folklore.
Welcome to my honey hive home. It’s where I live with my family. I’m small and fuzzy and striped black and gold. I’m Buzzwing the hard-working honey bee!
Did you know that bees love to dance? Or that they have an amazing sense of smell to help them find the best flowers? In THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES, Buzzwing shares with you all the details of her life as a bee, in and out of the hive, starting with the day she was born.
Learn the secrets of this worker bee’s tiny world, including: The bee life cycle. Bee anatomy. How bees collect nectar and make honey. What happens inside the hive. The different types of bees. Why bees are so important to humans. How bees can thrive in the city. Bee folk tales from around the world.
With things to search for and find throughout, tips for making your own environment welcoming to bees, and even a poetry-writing exercise, THE SECRET LIFE OF BEES is brimming with reasons to admire and respect the hardworking honeybee.
Sumptuous and detailed illustrations have pride of place in this magical guide to bees that mixes natural history with a splash of fantasy—a book to be pored over time and again.
My Review
I’ve actually had this book for a long time, but somehow I missed reviewing it on my blog before now. I thought of it when I did my post on great books on the environment for kids in April for Earth Day, and I was surprised that when I looked, I hadn’t posted a review.
So now here I am, reviewing. At last!
SECRET LIFE OF BEES is one of those slightly deceiving books– from the outside, it looks all cute and maybe a little bit silly. But inside, it’s packed with a ton of real information about how bees live. There are descriptions of different types of bees and where they make their hives. There is a really great breakdown of how a honeybee hive operates.
Another great thing that’s included are short folktales or stories about bees. So the book really covers a lot of bases in terms of teaching kids about bees as an animal, some folk tales about them, and the last section of the book discusses conservation and what we can do to help protect bee populations.
SECRET LIFE OF BEES is a book that we’ve picked up off our shelf to read many times. The pictures are really engaging, and it’s truly packed with great information. I think any young readers interested in gardening or nature or conservation will love it.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.
Representation All about bees.
Profanity/Crude Language Content None.
Romance/Sexual Content None.
Spiritual Content None.
Violent Content None.
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 this book in exchange for my honest review.
She Deserves Better: Raising Girls to Resist Toxic Teachings on Sex, Self, and Speaking Up Sheila Wray Gregoire, Rebecca Gregoire Lindenback, and Joanna Sawatsky Baker Published April 18, 2023
You want your daughter to thrive–to be strong, confident, and equipped to step into the life God has for her.
But what if the church is setting your daughter up to be small?
Armed with data from an all-new survey of over 7,000 women, the authors of THE GREAT SEX RESCUE reveal how experiences in church as teens affect women’s self-esteem and relationships today. They expose common evangelical teachings that can backfire–the purity emphasis that can cause shame rather than good choices, the dating rules that can prime your daughter for abuse, and the one overarching belief that can keep her from setting healthy boundaries.
Instead, the authors advocate biblically grounded, freeing messages that are more about the dos and less about the don’ts. By reframing (and sometimes replacing) common evangelical messages to teen girls, this book will equip you to raise a daughter who can navigate the tumultuous teenage years while still clinging tightly to Jesus.
You can raise your daughter with the discernment to resist toxic teachings. Because she deserves better than a faith that keeps her small.
“Sheila, Rebecca, and Joanna are an all-star team, confronting the harm done to our daughters in both the church and the world. The title says it all. Full stop. Our daughters deserve better! This book is full of thorough research, refreshingly commonsense biblical wisdom, and practical help on how to talk with our daughters and prepare them for confidence and maturity.”–Aimee Byrd, author of The Sexual Reformation –This text refers to the paperback edition.
Why I’m Reviewing She Deserves Better
I’m finding writing up my review to be a bit overwhelming, so I’m going to break it down into sections to help me focus my thoughts. First, let’s talk about why I decided to review this book.
I was raised in what would now probably be identified as a fundamentalist/evangelical church. To be honest, I had some good and bad experiences there. That complexity sometimes makes it hard for me to sort out my feelings about certain faith-based things. Though I am still myself a Christian, I am not part of the evangelical community. I once heard someone describe her family as Liberal Christians, and I would say that’s a label that’s closer to accurate for me.
Periodically, I dip my toes into the Christian literary market to try to find books and resources that resonate with me and are things I can confidently promote. Sometimes I regret it. But other times I find books that deeply energize me and encourage me in my faith journey.
I first heard about SHE DESERVES BETTER on one of the authors’ Twitter pages during some discourse about church scandals and the treatment of women in the church. As I read more of the posts on the author’s page, I found I agreed with several of her statements. When I noticed she was part of a team of three women who had a book for moms and daughters coming out, I decided to try to get a copy for review.
Rejecting Purity Culture But Replacing It with… What?
My home growing up didn’t adhere to some fundamentalist ideas, (my mom has always been an assertive person who expresses her views, for example) but we were part of a church community that absolutely preached the values and ideas of purity culture.
While I’ve rejected… most? all? I’m not thoroughly sure here… of those ideas, I’ve struggled to find healthier/more reasonable ways to express what I do believe about some of these issues. For example, I recently had a conversation with a family member about the way my daughter dresses. I don’t have a problem with the way she dresses, but this family member had some concerns and related those concerns in the language of purity culture. “She needs to remember there are boys in the house while she’s wearing those things,” etc.
I defended my daughter (the problem seemed to be that she’s young and curvy) and pretty plainly said that I would not make the burden of someone else’s possible thoughts her responsibility. But I struggled to explain my parental boundaries for her clothing choices. I do have them. But they’re about how she feels about herself and what she thinks about her body, not what someone else thinks. Still, I found myself wishing for a resource to help me quantify this and help me reassure my daughter. I also handle wanted better tools to handle people coming at me with purity culture complaints so I can respond in a way I find satisfying.
My Review of She Deserves Better
Lemme give you the nutshell version first. While I didn’t agree 100% with everything the authors said and how they said it, I came pretty close. I loved the premise of the book. I loved the consistent calls to do what is healthy and loving. The authors also state multiple times the importance of being in a church community that is itself healthy and supportive of young women. They go so far as to counsel families to leave churches with toxic teaching because of the potential damage it can cause. I recommend this book to anyone raised in purity culture and/or anyone raising girls in the church today.
Essentially, they studied the effects of the purity culture movement and other teachings that young women in evangelical churches are often still being taught today. A bible verse warns us to look at the outcomes of behavior using the metaphor of trees producing fruit. If a tree produces bad fruit, the tree should be cut down and tossed in the fire. So the authors break down different teachings and looks at the outcomes. For example, they look at the effects of teaching a girl that her outfit choice can cause a man to sin. Does this make her more likely to end up in an abusive marriage? Does it make her more likely to have low self-esteem? To report problems in her sexual relationship? (Yes to all these.) Things like that.
Tools to Process My Own Experiences and Teach My Daughter a Healthier Way
There were certain chapters that read like pages out of my own life. It was honestly pretty eerie. I’ve known for a long time that some things I believed in high school and shortly afterward were wrong and dangerous, but those beliefs absolutely cost me. They left me vulnerable to situations in which bad stuff happened. They left me feeling as though I didn’t have choices in things that happened, and that I didn’t have any allies to whom I could turn for support.
So. Yeah. I don’t want to pass any of that on to my daughter. We’ve done a lot of learning about consent and a lot of teaching about personal boundaries and expectations. All of the things I’ve learned about those topics lined up with what the authors were saying here in SHE DESERVES BETTER.
I loved that again and again the book comes back to asking the question, “what happens to girls who were raised with these teachings?” That’s so important. We know that some of these things are really harmful, and it’s time to stop teaching them, and to push back in spaces where they are still being taught.
Topics Explored in She Deserves Better
Here’s a list of some of the topics/teachings explored in the book:
How teachings regarding feelings, especially anxiety and depression, can impact a girl’s health and life.
How teachings on boundaries impact girls and the importance of teaching girls they can set personal boundaries and expect them to be respected.
How dating and dating rules impact a girl’s lifelong relationships.
Learning to and teaching girls to identify red flags for toxic or dangerous people.
How a comprehensive sex education empowers girls to be safer and happier longterm.
How teachings about consent impact girls (and boys).
How teachings about modesty or clothing choices impacts how girls see themselves and others.
How teachings about leadership and submission impact girls.
Each chapter gives examples from the authors’ research supporting their assertions. They also offer conversations topics and exercises that moms and daughters could work through together.
Content Notes
Recommended for Ages 16 up.
Representation Doesn’t specify race details in any of the text or example stories. The intended audience is evangelical Christians.
Profanity/Crude Language Content The authors use a metaphor about a candy that tasted delicious but caused explosive diarrhea to describe the harmfulness of teaching that looks or seems biblical at first but is not and causes harm.
Romance/Sexual Content A fair amount of the book focuses on the way parents and church leaders teach girls about sex and relationships. It discusses how those teachings impact the likelihood of good or bad outcomes (happy marriages versus abusive relationships, etc).
The authors talk about the damage caused by rejecting a child or their feelings if they come to you to reveal their gender or sexual identity. Essentially the authors point out that being a part of a faith community generally lowers a child’s chance of experiencing suicidal thoughts or attempting suicide unless they are LGBTQIA+. Then, participation in a church community actually increases the likelihood they’ll have those thoughts or attempts.
Later on, the authors refer to an LGBTQIA+ identity as an “unwanted identity”. I’m not sure from the context if they’re intending to speak globally or referring to the feelings of homophobic parents.
The authors very plainly ask parents to choose to validate and love their kids no matter the feelings they have. They emphasize the importance of support from within their faith community.
Spiritual Content The core premise of the book is to approach teachings about sex and modesty in the church and look at their effect on specifically women’s lives. Do those teachings bear good fruit, as described in Matthew 7:17-18?
Violent Content Brief mentions of domestic violence, assault and abusive relationships.
Drug Content Mentions of teens drinking alcohol and using drugs (as a negative behavior).
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 SHE DESERVES BETTER in exchange for my honest review.
