Melody Finch

Fans of Disney's The Rescuers, the crocodile hunter, and Zoobooks (the magazine for kids) will eat up this inventive and educational middle grade adventure story. Set in Australia's Murray Darling Basin; Melody Finch follows a young girl who has just been magically transformed into a Diamond Firetail Finch. A drought is slowly crippling the rivers and the surrounding ecosystem that all the animals, birds and insects rely on. Melody finally begins to realize just how important the rains are to the wildlife and she begins to appreciate all the nature around her no that she has a bird's eye view of what is actually going on. Storms finally come bringing blessed rain; but Melody must fly from Charleville to the Coorong to tell her grandmother not to sell the Isabella, a boat that's been in the family for generations. With the drought crippling the tourism economy her Nana Bell needs to make ends meet - but if the rains reach her in time she won't have to. The journey to Coorang will take Melody days to complete but now that she's made new friends the time seems to "fly" by. A wonderful way to introduce children to Australian wildlife; at the conclusion of the novel there is even a little encyclopedia outlining all the animals, birds, and insects that Melody encountered on her journey. Fun, fanciful, and wholesome - a well written adventure story that kids will eat up. 

Lupe Wong Won't Dance

Charming, uplifting, and unique - this middle grade novel is a tour de force. Lupe Wong is willing to do whatever it takes to get straight A's so she can meet her baseball hero, Fu Li Hernandez. Like Lupe Fu Li is Mexicanese/Chinacan and since her father's death there has been a hole in her life and she is convinced that if she meets Fu Li it will somehow make her closer to her father. The only thing standing in her way is... square dancing. PE was supposed to be her easy A - but when she finds out that she will be required to dance and dance with a boy - she vows to do all in her power to stop it. What starts as merely a crusade against dancing turns into a crusade for cultural identity, friendship, and speaking up for what you believe in. I may or may not have teared up a few times as well. This story is warm, wholesome, and filled with the greatest characters and life lessons. I loved this book with my whole heart! 

The War That Saved My Life

Simply WONDERFUL! The audiobook is sublime and done by a woman with a wonderful English accent who can switch between kids and adult voices seamlessly; it's impressive. This Newbery Award winning middle grade book tells the story of two young kids who are sent to live in the English countryside during the Bombing Blitz of England in WWII. Technically they weren't sent, but they decided to run away. It would be an adventure, why not join the other children leaving? Ada has a twisted foot (club foot) and her mother is so ashamed and disgusted of her that she has never been allowed to leave the apartment or attend school unlike her younger brother. Suddenly, the English countryside is at her disposal. Susan the woman who was forced to take them in, finds herself thawing to the children. They've had a rough life and so has she. Can they survive this war together? A wonderful, compassionate, moving book!

Dear Sweet Pea

This book was precious. Patricia (known to everyone as Sweet Pea) is having a rough end to seventh grade. Her parents are divorced and living on the same street in nearly identical houses. They're trying to be real chill about it, splitting their time with her; but it's making it more confusing for Sweet Pea. Why can't they just be together as a family? To make matters more confusing she's having mixed feelings about her frenemy Kiera (maybe she's not all that bad?) and her best friend Oscar is upset that she's not telling him everything.  The thing is though, Sweet Pea made a promise to her neighbor (the advice columnist) to keep a secret but it may blow up in her face. Cute, charming, and dealing with lots of issues that middle school teens face: bullying, weight, divorce, friendship, and trying to fit in. The reason it's not a 5 star book to me, is that at times, Sweet Pea sounds far too mature for her age, sometimes her voice just seemed to be "too much" for her age and it lost it's believability factor. Other than that it was great! 

Hidden Scales

Tightly woven and thoroughly engaging; this middle grade fantasy novel will win over boys and girls of all ages. Thought to extinct for decades, merrows have only lived in the imagination. Merrows were water breathing humans able to live on land and under water and were thought to be quite magical and strong although no one is sure why or when they disappeared. When eleven year old Mira is abducted from her cozy little coastal town along with her best friend Peter, they have no idea what kind of adventure they are about to embark on. Everything they knew about their kingdom and their lives is about to be flipped upside down as they try to keep one step ahead of the shadowveils who are hunting them and their new companions. Mira and Peter as well as a flying horse, a mischievous young boy, a sly gnome, and a saucy woman must race against the clock to discover the secrets of the merrows, rescue their kidnapped friends, and evade the shadowveils. Accompanying each chapter is a gorgeous illustration to really help paint the scene. Wonderfully paced and imagined; this fantasy novel is unique and readers will be eagerly waiting for the rest of this series.

Quicksand Pond

Lisle, Janet Taylor. Quicksand Pond. 6 CDs. unabridged. Recorded Books. 2017. ISBN 9781501940347.

Newbery Honor winner Janet Taylor Lisle brings to life a story of summer friendships, small town preconceptions, and the choices that define us. Jessie Kettel's father is determined to make the most out of their summer vacation by uprooting his kids from the city and renting out a decrepit old cabin by a dingy old pond for a few weeks. Jessie is immediately entranced by the pond and finds an old raft on which to explore the secrets of the swampy land. It's there she discovers Terri and the two become inseparable, fixing the raft and learning about each other. The more Jessie gets to know Terri though, the more concerned she becomes. Terri is from a no good family and everyone knows that they're always in trouble. As things start to fall apart, Jessie starts distancing herself and begins questioning her own feelings and convictions. Although intended for a middle grade audience, the novel reads more mature and may lose younger readers. The story isn't very fast paced, but there is rich character development with Jessie and Terri. The narrator's youthful voice helps capture the innocence and excitement of the young girls. Not for everyone but will appeal to more mature middle school readers, not for content but for plot, dialogue, and character development. - Erin Cataldi, Johnson Co. Public Library, Franklin, IN

A Summer of Sundays

A cute book that is a must read for middle children. Sunday hates being the "third of six" children, she always gets lost in the shuffle. This summer her family moves to a small town so that their father can finish renovating a library and Sunday is determined to make her mark. She plans to do something so that she finally gets noticed. The only problem is she has no idea what to do. While looking for light bulbs in the library basement she stumbles across an old manuscript and some letters, it's good, really good. She thinks if she can discover who wrote it she'll get some credit. she and her new friend Jude, start spying around town to see who could have written it. Was it the crepe lady? Jude's mom? The mean, old, scary neighbor? While trying to make her mark she makes some new great friends in the process and discovers a lot about herself and her siblings. A cute, touching, middle grade read.

Arcane

Finally, a good fantasy book for teens! It's The Hobbit mixed with Harry Potter... but set in Eragon... kinda. It's got great fantasy and adventure elements and is a great read for middle schoolers, high schoolers, hell, even adults!

Augum hasn't had a very exceptional life, as a fourteen year old orphan in the service of an old knight, he hasn't experienced much in the ways of the world.  When the Legion comes to town murdering everyone and setting the village on fire, he flees for his life, only to be nearly killed in a massive storm. When he comes to, he is being cared by an old women, a warlock. Not only does magic (arcane) exist, he is to master it and help ward of the forces of evil. Mrs. Stone begins to teach him the ways of the arcane and soon he finds himself struggling to keep up with her teachings and reconcile his dark past. With the help of two new friends, Bridget and Leera, the trio begin the long journey of mastering the art of the arcane and trying to save the world from the iron grip of the Lord of the Legion.

Funny, insightful, and chock full of adventure, this story will resonate with readers. I can't wait for the next installment. I must know what happens!

I received this book for free from the author in return for my honest, unbiased opinion.