-Young Readers-

The War of Words

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The War of Words (The Orphanage of Miracles #3) by Amy Neftzger (2016)
-eARC Review-

the war of words

Middle Grade Fiction | Fantasy

0-stars-dnf
Blurb:

“Battles against darkness, a quest for truth, and a search for the book that no one can read are all part of the fantasy adventure in The War of Words. As an evil sorcerer wages war with mysterious shadows and seeks to gain control by confusing the residents as to what s real and what isn’t, the fate of the kingdom rests in the hands of Kelsey and Nicholas.

As the youngest officer in the king s army, Kelsey fights the evil sorcerer s shadows on the battlefield as she explores the kingdom searching for the key to winning the war. Nicholas, a young sorcerer in training who is mastering his craft, discovers how the right words can change the course of the future.  Continue reading →

Kit’s Wilderness

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Kit’s Wilderness by David Almond (1999)

Kit's Wilderness

Middle Grade Fiction | Ghost Story4 StarsBlurb:

“The Watson family moves to Stoneygate, an old coal-mining town, to care for Kit’s recently widowed grandfather. When Kit meets John Askew, another boy whose family has both worked and died in the mines, Askew invites Kit to join him in playing a game called Death. As Kit’s grandfather tells him stories of the mine’s past and the history of the Watson family, Askew takes Kit into the mines, where the boys look to find the childhood ghosts of their long-gone ancestors. Written in haunting, lyrical prose, Kit’s Wilderness examines the bonds of family from one generation to the next, and explores how meaning and beauty can be revealed from the depths of darkness.”
–Goodreads  Continue reading →

The City of Ember

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The City of Ember (Book of Ember #1) by Jeanne DuPrau (2004)

City of Ember

Middle Grade Fiction | Dystopian4 StarsBlurb:

“Many hundreds of years ago, the city of Ember was created by the Builders to contain everything needed for human survival. It worked…but now the storerooms are almost out of food, crops are blighted, corruption is spreading through the city and worst of all—the lights are failing. Soon Ember could be engulfed by darkness…  Continue reading →

The Spirit Trap

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The Spirit Trap by Veryan Williams-Wynn (2015)
-eARC Review-

the spirit trap

Middle Grade Fiction | Historical Paranormal2 StarsBlurb:

“When her grandmother’s ashes along with a family portrait arrive at her home in England, fourteen-year-old Tatiana finds herself being tormented by supernatural forces. To free herself from the increasingly persistent hauntings, she has to find and release the ghost of an ancestor caught up in the terror of the French Revolution. With the aid of her cousin, Marcus, she sets out on a mission, which leads them through the dramas of present-day life in Paris and the frightening upheavals of Revolutionary France.”
–Goodreads

Expected Publication Date: December 11, 2015  Continue reading →

Story Time

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Story Time by Edward Bloor (2005)

Story Time

Middle Grade Fiction | Horror-Thriller4 StarsBlurb:

“George and Kate are promised the finest education when they transfer to the Whittaker Magnet School. It boasts the highest test scores in the nation. But at what price? Their school’s curriculum is focused on beating standardized tests; classes are held in dreary, windowless rooms; and students are force-fed noxious protein shakes to improve their test performance. Worst of all, there seems to be a demon loose in the building, one whose murderous work has only just begun.

A bitterly funny satire about the state of modern education from the author of Tangerine and Crusader.”
–Goodreads  Continue reading →

The Giver

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The Giver (The Giver Quartet #1) by Lois Lowry (1994)

giver

Middle Grade Fiction | Dystopian5-starsBlurb:

“Jonas’s world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.”
–Goodreads Continue reading →

Time Stops for No Mouse

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Times Stops for No Mouse (The Hermux Tantamoq Adventures #1) by Michael Hoeye (2003)

no mouse

Middle Grade Fiction | Crime & Mystery5-starsBlurb:

“Hermux Tantamoq is an ordinary, hard-working mouse, living in an ordinary metropolis. But when adventuress and aviatrix Linka Perlfinger walks into his watchmaker’s shop, his life becomes anything but ordinary.”
–Goodreads Continue reading →

Gregor the Overlander

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Gregor the Overlander (Underland Chronicles #1) by Suzanne Collins (2003)

gregor the overlander

Middle Grade Fiction | Fantasy5-starsBlurb:

“This irresistible first novel tells the story of a quiet boy who embarks on a dangerous quest in order to fulfill his destiny — and find his father — in a strange world beneath New York City.

When Gregor falls through a grate in the laundry room of his apartment building, he hurtles into the dark Underland, where spiders, rats, cockroaches coexist uneasily with humans. This world is on the brink of war, and Gregor’s arrival is no accident. A prophecy foretells that Continue reading →

The Hogwarts Library

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Hogwarts Library by J.K. Rowling
hogwarts library
Academic | Fantasy
5-stars

First of all how awesome is it that Rowling decided to actually indulge us Potterheads and write and publish (albeit short) versions of a couple textbooks mentioned in the Harry Potter series? Not only is it cool to have copies of these books just like other Hogwarts students but it’s fascinating to learn so much more about the wizarding world. It just goes to show how much thought and creativity Rowling really put into her books. Magical creatures merely mentioned some time in some book in a section you can’t quite remember specifically are expounded upon in her, I mean Newt Scamander’s, book Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The sport of Quidditch is not merely a fun part of the books but it becomes fully actualized and explained in Rowling’s, sorry I mean Kennilworthy Whisp’s, book Quidditch Through the Ages. To top it all off JK Rowling donates the proceeds of these books to Comic Relief (“UK-based charity that strives to create a just world free from poverty”) and Lumos (a charity founded by JK Rowling to “end the institutionalization of children”).

Continue reading →

Code Orange

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Code Orange by Caroline B. Cooney (2005)

code orange

Juvenile Fiction | Thriller2 StarsBlurb:

“With a school report due, Mitty Blake considers it good luck when he finds some old medical books in his family’s weekend house. However, when he discovers an old envelope in one of the books, the report is no longer about the grade–it’s about life and death.”
–Goodreads Continue reading →