Category: Middle Grade Fiction Review

REVIEW: Hello Stars by Alena Pitts and Wynter Pitts

REVIEW: Hello Stars by Alena Pitts and Wynter Pitts

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

All Lena wants to do is enjoy summer break with her dog, her family and her friends. But when the chance to meet her idol, Mallory Winston, comes up, Lena can’t pass up the opportunity.

While her contest video ends up being something of a disaster, Lena wins anyway. Before she really grasps what has happened, Lena and her family are whisked off to California so Lena and Mallory Winston can star in a movie.

While Lena loves the people she works with – and the message of the film they are making – the process challenges her in ways she wasn’t expecting. And one innocent but careless decision could end up costing her everything.

Review

This is a fun story. Lena is a sweet girl trying to figure out her faith and where God fits into her daily life, choices and opportunities. Her family’s faith is strong. It’s a cornerstone of who they are. And in the middle is big sister, Lena, trying to apply the scriptures and principles her parents are trying to teach them.

First in a new series, this will be a great choice for middle to upper elementary girls (like 3rd through 6th grade, or so). The faith pieces are well integrated in the characters and the story line. The characters are likable and believable. The average-girl-meets-singing-sensation-and-makes-a-movie premise is fun, with glimpses into the process for how movies are made. Book two, Day Dreams and Movie Screens will release this fall and continues the story as Lena takes part in promotion for the movie and sees how fame may change the life she loves.

Many thanks to Zonderkidz and Handlebar for a review copy of the book in exchange for an honest review!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Lemons by Melissa Savage

REVIEW: Lemons by Melissa Savage

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Lemonade has lost her mother and now her home as a social worker delivers her to the home of a grandfather she’s never known.

Once there, Lem meets Tobin who is a Bigfoot detective. He’s got an office and a business card, the locals call him when they see evidence of Bigfoot activity. Tobin reluctantly takes Lem on as his assistant.

As Lem and Tobin hunt for Bigfoot, Lem meets her new neighbors, continues to process her grief, and wonders if she will ever feel like herself again.

An argument, an accident, and an unexpected discovery force Lemonade to decide who she is now and where she belongs.

Review

This is a sweet, emotional story. I went through many tissues while reading this. The author does an amazing job describing and conveying the grief of several characters, especially Lemonade. Some of her metaphors are brilliant.

Tobin is a quirky character. He pushes Lem’s buttons quite a bit. He wants to be in charge and set the rules for everything. But Lem has a strong will of her own. And Tobin NEEDS her. He needs her personal confidence. And he needs someone who pushes back.

The adults in the story are great! Mrs. Dickerson is my favorite. It seems like she calls in her Bigfoot sightings to have an excuse to get the kids out for a visit and cookies. But she’s also a tie to Lem’s mom, she’s a true friend, and something really is going on at her property.

An all-around great story of family and friendship, grief and loss, and Bigfoot. Thanks to the publisher for an electronic review copy, offered in exchange for an honest review!!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Chester and Gus by Cammie McGovern

REVIEW: Chester and Gus by Cammie McGovern

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Chester’s mom told all of her pups that the best thing in the world is to find your person and be a service dog to help your person.

But Chester gets SO scared by loud noises, he can’t be certified as a service dog. If he can’t do that, what sort of life can he have?

Then Chester is adopted by a family with an autistic son. While Gus initially doesn’t react well to Chester, in time they start to make small strides. Chester starts to understand his new person and the family and what they need. And then Chester is taken from his family.

Review

This was terrific! I enjoy stories that are told by the dog – like Magic Bone and Ellie’s Story – when authors do that style as well as McGovern did. Chester has a precious voice! He’s so bright (which the author explains in the story) and insightful.

The author uses her experience as a parent of an autistic child to craft a beautiful family for Chester. Gus’ parents are loving and earnest and desperate. They long to connect with Gus, and to see him make progress at school. They’re grasping at straws at times, looking for glimpses of recognition and understanding from Gus. And Chester helps all of them.

There’s a side plot with Chester’s trainer which felt… odd, to me. I felt like she took the story off in a weird direction. But she served to amp up the tension in the story, and Chester seems to help set her on a better path.

This was absolutely delightful. I highly recommend it!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Addie Bell's Shortcut to Growing Up by Jessica Brody

REVIEW: Addie Bell’s Shortcut to Growing Up by Jessica Brody

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Addie is celebrating her 12th birthday, but she is so over being a kid. She hates being short and freckled. She wants to be 16 – boys, makeup, dances. She wants all the glamour of high school. So when her elderly neighbor gives her a box that’s supposed to grant wishes, Addie wishes to be 16. And the next day, she is.

At 16, Adeline is tall and lovely. She wears makeup and drives. She has a new best friend and a popular YouTube vlog. Sixteen is everything Addie wanted. Except….

Adeline/Addie doesn’t remember the last four years! She doesn’t know why Grace isn’t her friend anymore. She doesn’t know HOW to drive the car she has, what to feed her own dog, or any of the French words her teacher uses in class. While she got everything she thought she wanted, Addie’s not so sure her shortcut to 16 was the right idea after all.

 

Review

I really connected with Addie. At 12, she longs for the freedoms and privileges her older sister enjoys but which are out of her reach. As a 12-year-old in a 16-year-old’s life, the shiny appeal of those freedoms and privileges wears off when Addie sees what she has given up to get there.

I love that the author kept Addie’s 12-year-old self so clear in the high school world. The driving scene and the coffee scene were two of my favorite parts. And the sections on nostalgia and shortcuts are great messages for the reader.

This was comically painful and lovely at the same time. This could easily be the plot of a Disney movie, complete with awkward, embarrassing moments that make kids laugh and adults cringe. This book would be great for fans of All the Answers and other be-careful-what-you-wish-for stories.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Princess Juniper of the Anju by Ammi-Joan Paquette

REVIEW: Princess Juniper of the Anju by Ammi-Joan Paquette

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Princess Juniper is torn. She knows her home kingdom of Torr has been attacked and her father, the king, has probably been taken prisoner. She would love to head home and save the day – if only she knew how!

But more than half of their horses have been stolen. Maybe, if they can recover the horses, they would be in better shape to mount a rescue. And maybe by then she’ll have a plan.

The search for the horses will lead Juniper to her mother’s people, the Anju. Once she finds them, she’ll have to decide where her place is – in Queen’s Basin with her small group of subjects; in Torr, rescuing her father; or with the Anju, the family she has never known.

 

Review

This is such a fun series! The characters from book one are back, but we get to see Juniper and Cyril the most in this story – and that’s awesome. The new Anju characters are a fantastic addition.

I loved seeing Juniper wrestling with her place and her role with the Anju. This is an identity story but it is also a story about leadership and power and how to use both responsibly.

In some ways, this is an interlude. The story ends up only dealing with the big crisis in Torr in only small ways – they find a spy ring, they wrestle with the role of the Anju in a possible retaliatory strike, and Juniper wonders from afar what is happening in her kingdom. But all those pieces set up the third book – Princess Juniper of Torr – nicely. And the Anju pieces made for a terrific story on their own.

This is a satisfying sequel to Princess Juniper of the Hourglass. I am looking forward to book three!

Rating:♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Jack and the Geniuses: At the Bottom of the World by Bill Nye and Gregory Mone

REVIEW: Jack and the Geniuses: At the Bottom of the World by Bill Nye and Gregory Mone

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Jack and his siblings, Matt and Ava, are former foster kids, emancipated and living on their own. Jack and Ava are twelve; Matt is fifteen. Ava and Matt are geniuses. Jack is smart in his own way. They have a social worker who checks on them weekly, but otherwise, they are on their own. Until they meet Hank.

Henry Witherspoon is a famous scientist and inventor. He’s so impressed by the kids , he invites them to join him on an expedition to Antarctica. It’s an opportunity of a lifetime for the kids. But when they get to the South Pole, one of Hanks’ friends on the base has gone missing. Jack starts nosing around for clues and information. Did the scientist dart off on a whim as she had done before? Or had she made a scientific breakthrough that someone else wanted to keep hidden?

 

Review

This book was all sorts of fun! First, it’s a mystery at its core. The case was interesting, and the sleuthing was believable.

Second, it’s a unique setting. I learned all sorts of things about Antarctica while I enjoyed a great story.

Third, since Bill Nye the Science Guy is one of the authors, there’s great science material in the story and in the end materials (plus an experiment!)

Fourth, there’s Jack. I loved Jack! As the “normal one,” people in the story didn’t expect much from him. But Jack is smart in his own ways. Even with a lot of baggage (several failed foster placements), he’s a personable, confident kid. He knows who he is and where he fits in with his siblings. And he contributes most of the humor in the story.  I’m not sure the emancipation of twelve-year-olds is believable, but it was easy to look past, and the story is worth it! This is a smart, funny and all around FUN story. Can’t wait to read more!! (Book 2 will be out later this year.)

I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher, Amulet books, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, Amulet, for the opportunity!

Rating:♥♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Family Game Night and Other Catastrophes by Mary E. Lambert

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

The downward spiral kicks off when the pile of papers falls over and lands on Leslie’s head. It was inevitable. That particular pile had been growing for days but Annabelle was apparently the only one to notice the danger before it happened. All it took was her brother Chad slamming out the door for it to come tumbling down.

In so many ways, this was business as usual at Annabelle’s house. The piles. The dust. The rat. Annabelle’s mom is a hoarder. This is why Annabelle won’t let her friends come within 5 mines of the house. It’s why she keeps her own room spare and immaculate. Unfortunately, it’s also why her sister, Leslie, is having nightmares of drowning, why she collects articles about hoarders dying in their own clutter, and why her anxiety is so bad it makes her physically ill. It’s why Annabelle’s brother is rarely at home and why her dad hides in his books or his work.

When Annabelle’s dad gets fed up and leaves early on a work trip and cuts off contact with the family, Leslie calls Grandma Nora. Now that someone else knows what’s happening, either Annabelle’s mom is going to get the help she needs, or everything Annabelle’s afraid of is going to become a reality.

Review

Such a great story and told so well! I loved Annabeth! She has some great observations about how things work in the world, even though at the same time she is too close to see her own situation objectively. I love the descriptions of how she has tried to handle her family in her own way. Annabelle also plays an interesting role in her family dynamics. I enjoyed watching that in process, too,

One of the messages of the book is that everyone has something going on. As a kid, you can grow up thinking either the dysfunctions in your family are completely normal, or you can think that your family is the only one that is “broken.” This story acknowledges that there are degrees – some families, like Annabelle’s, need outside professional help and other families are able to work things out on their own.

Annabelle’s friends are mostly supportive and compassionate in response to the things they learn about her family. And that allows her to focus on what her family needs.

This would be great for fans of books like The Seventh Wish, Still a Work in Progress, Finding Perfect and other stories of kids facing mental health issues, either in their own lives or in the lives of people they love.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Frogkisser! by Garth Nix

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Princess Anya and her sister lost their mother once upon a time. Their father remarried, and their step-mother was not evil, but she was prone to getting lost in her work. Then the king died. The girls’ stepmother remarried. And their “stepstepfather” was an evil sorcerer, consumed with growing more powerful and taking over the kingdom. And he has a habit of turning potential suitors into frogs!

Princess Anya promises her sister that she will find the latest prince-turned-frog. This leads her on an epic quest to brew a lip balm potion to restore her stepstepfather’s victims. Along the way she’ll meet robbers who steal from the rich and give to the poor, a Good Wizard, seven dwarves and an old wizard called Snow White, and a group of witches. She’ll also be challenged to put the former days of law and order back in place. But Anya can only do that if she can defeat her stepstepfather once and for all.

Review

I liked this! Princess Anya is smart, compassionate and dedicated to her quest and to keeping her word. The typical fairy tale pieces are given a creative twist – like magic carpets that roll their riders inside to fly or Snow White being an old, male wizard with a long white beard.

The quest was long. Anya picked up several companions on the journey. And she promised to help lots of folks. She had to secure a lot of potion ingredients. And at the same time, she had to avoid her stepstepfather and protect herself from those who would try to deceive or betray her.

The story dragged at times. There was just so much tied into the quest. I started to wonder if the quest would span over multiple books, but the story arc was resolved by the end. The world is interesting enough and the cast large enough for a sequel, but this story will stand alone. If you are – or you know – a fan of re-imagined fairy tales, have them give this one a try.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: Princess Juniper of the Hourglass by Ammi-Joan Paquette

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Princess Juniper of Torr makes a small request for her 13th birthday – a kingdom of her own. She longs for a place where she can be with kids her own age without having to follow the endless rules of her Comportment Master. A place where she can put all of her lessons into practice. Surprisingly, her father says yes.

Soon, Juniper and her “country men and women” are loaded up and ready to head to their new kingdom. Two things keep this from feeling as awesome as it should. One is Cyril, Juniper’s arrogant older cousin  who is sent along with two of his friends; they  have no intention of following Juniper as queen. The other is the “minor skirmish” Torr seems to be having with a neighboring kingdom. Juniper worries about her father, the king, and her people, but she sticks with the plan and heads to the Hourglass Mountains. Little does she know what awaits them in her new kingdom.

Review

This was fantastic! I loved Juniper right from the start. The kids who go with her to the Basin are an interesting mix. The kids are supposed to be 13 or younger, except for Cyril’s crew, which is a little bit of a stretch to me because in some ways they act older, but I chose not to focus on it. I enjoyed the story completely when I put that aside.

Juniper is a great leader, but she is only 13. She has a lot to learn about dealing with difficult subjects, balancing work and play for her people, and deciding what to share and what to keep to herself. Parts of this reminded me of the book The False Prince – the kingdoms, the swordplay and the treachery. It also reminded me of books like The Maze Runner in that it had kids making up their own society (although this is more light-hearted than The Maze Runner).

This book sets up the rest of the series nicely. There’s closure for many of the plot points in this story, but a larger conflict looms that Juniper and her friends will need to deal with. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½

REVIEW: Tricked by Jen Calonita

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Since Gilly’s been “reformed,” she’s back home with her family as are many of her friends from FTRS (Fairy Tale Reform School). She should be happy to be home…. But training to be a cobbler and make shoes is NOT the life she wants for herself. She misses her friends and the adventures she had at FTRS. And she’s tired of watching her sister, Anna, hang out with criminal troublemakers like Hansel and Gretel. But Anna won’t listen to Gilly’s advice and soon she is arrested and sent to FTRS like Gilly once was.

But FTRS has changed a lot since Gilly left. Rumpelstiltskin has taken over the school and cut off communication to the royal princesses or even to the families of his students. He’s up to no good and seems to be magic-ing people into compliance with his plans. Gilly and her friends are going to have to get thrown back into FTRS if they’re going to have a chance to rescue Anna and the other students from Rumpelstiltskin’s plans.

Review

I received an early electronic copy of this book from the publisher, Sourcebooks, in exchange for an honest review. As a huge fan of this series, I’m grateful for the chance to review Tricked, book 3 in the Fairy Tale Reform School series after book 1, Flunked, and book 2, Charmed.

I love Gilly and her friends and the way they have learned to work together and trust each other through their past adventures. Even their teachers and the princesses are trusting them to help save the school from Rumpelstiltskin. I am a HUGE fan of any sort of fractured fairy tale type story so these are a great fit for me.

And Rumpelstiltskin is real trouble! (And hard to type!) This book only hints at everything he is plotting. While the adventure in this book is satisfying but seems to serve as a set up for a larger story yet to come.

It’s been awhile since I read the other books in this series. At the end of this book, Gilly says she and most of her friends are 12. I would have guessed more in the 14-15 range. The target audience is closer to an average of 12 (this would work for readers anywhere from 9 or 10 up to 15 or so, depending on the reader and his/her interests), but the maturity of the characters at times and the deeper questions of purpose and destiny strike me as fitting an older teen than questions 12-year-olds generally ponder.

This book is a great fit for upper elementary and middle school readers. I recommend reading the series in order for maximum enjoyment of the characters and the evolution of the relationships in the story as well as the development of the villains. Readers who have enjoyed the Ever After High books or the Whatever After series, or even the Wide Awake Princess books might enjoy the Fairy Tale Reform School series. Thanks again to Sourcebooks for the chance to read and review Tricked!

Rating: ♥♥♥♥