I received a copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Long Live the Queen is a middle grade novel written by Gerry Swallow. It is the sequel to Blue in the Face, and it features the (mis)adventures of a young girl named Elspeth who needs to return to the fairy tale land of New Winkieland to help her old friends. The queen has been kidnapped, and Elspeth discovers the rescue operation might involve working with an old enemy. Read more
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I always appreciate the opportunity to read advanced copies of middle grade novels because I have three girls in elementary school. We read the books together, and their feedback helps me with my book reviews.
The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters: The Jolly Regina is the first book in a new series by Kara LaReau. Jaundice and Kale Bland live by themselves. Their parents left on an errand several years ago, and never returned. This does not bother Jaundice and Kale; they are perfectly content to sit at home, darn socks, and eat cheese sandwiches. If there is a question that they can’t answer, they consult their beloved children’s dictionary. Their lives are simple and predictable. But one day, a mysterious visitor arrives, and Jaundice and Kale are carried off (quite literally) on an unintentional adventure featuring a ferocious crew of female pirates. Along the way, they will make friends, and more importantly, they will learn that they are intelligent and capable. Read more
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
My girls are big fans of The Princess in Black series by Shannon and Dean Hale (with illustrations by LeUyen Pham), so I was very excited about the opportunity to read The Princess in Black Takes a Vacation.
This is the fourth book in the series, so that means that Princess Magnolia has been fighting monsters for quite awhile. Of course, real princesses don’t fight monsters (big wink), so she transforms into The Princess in Black when the going gets tough. All of this sneaking and costume changes and subterfuge have been quite exhausting, and Princess Magnolia decides to take a seaside vacation. Will she be able to enjoy some quiet time on the beach- or will a monster ruin her plans for rest and relaxation? Read more
My oldest daughter is nine years old, and she has been reading the Wimpy Kid books for a few years. One of her little sisters (age 7) also likes the series, and they’re always swapping books.
The newest book came out today, so I headed over to the bookstore to buy a copy. Of course, I couldn’t resist reading the book first!
Double Down is the 11th book in Jeff Kinney’s Diary of a Wimpy Kid series. Middle school diarist Greg Heffley is still making his way through life as an awkward tween. He deals with trials and tribulations at home and at school, including learning to play an instrument and preparing for Halloween.
My favorite part of the book had to be the book fair. I think that every parent can identify with the book fair struggle. I also loved the introduction of prolific kid-lit author I.M Spooky, whose horror novels are very popular at Greg’s school. As a child of the 90s, I appreciated the homage to R.L. Stine and his Goosebumps/Fear Street books. There are also references to other popular series, but I’ll keep that as a surprise! Read more
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I first heard about The Last Boy at St. Edith’s last summer when I began to follow author Lee Gjertsen Malone on Twitter. I knew that this was a book that I wanted to read, and I was very excited when I received an opportunity to read an advanced copy via Netgalley.
Jeremy Miner is a seventh grade student at St. Edith’s Academy. The school was coeducational for a few years, but all the other boys have moved away or transferred to other schools. Jeremy hates being the only boy at an all-girls school, but his mother will not allow him to transfer. So, Jeremy does what any reasonable person would do in this situation: he formulates a plan to get himself kicked out of school. He and his friend Claudia come up with a series of pranks, and while Jeremy tries to set guidelines about no one being humiliated or no property being damaged, things don’t always go according to plan. As Jeremy gets closer to achieving his goal, he realizes that his actions are affecting those around him- is this really what he wants? Read more
My three girls have been big fans of Deborah Underwood’s “Cat” series since we first discovered Here Comes Easter Cat almost two years ago. The girls were delighted by the mischievous and sarcastic cat, who just happens to have a heart of gold under his snarky façade.
Here Comes Valentine Cat follows the format of the other books: the narrator speaks directly to Cat, who responds by holding up signboards with his responses. Because cats don’t talk, of course!
Valentine’s Day is coming, and the narrator wants to know if Cat has any plans. Cat indicates that there is a dog who lives next door, but he thinks the dog is annoying. Cat plans to make some mean valentines, and to send the dog to the moon- but is the dog really as annoying as Cat says he is? Read more
I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
A trip to our nation’s capital city is a rite of passage for many American schoolchildren. I sold candy bars and wrapping paper to offset the cost of a sixth grade trip in 1991. Now, given that the internet was not invented yet, and we had not been emboldened by social media, I cannot report any shenanigans aside from eating handful of salt at a suburban Virginia Chi-Chi’s. When I received an opportunity to read Sara Benincasa’s new novel D.C. Trip, I was very excited. A group of high school students with only two chaperones- what could possibly go wrong? Read more
The medical name for “bubble boy disease” is SCID- Severe combined immunodeficiency, which became more widely known after a (fictional) character with SCID appeared in a 1992 episode of Seinfeld. Or, if you are even older than that, you might remember John Travolta’s 1976 role in The Boy in the Bubble. I’m not quite sure if either of those pop culture references are in the lexicon of today’s modern youth- the target audience for Nicola Yoon’s Everything Everything. Perhaps this book is their first exposure to the rare medical condition.
Everything Everything is the story of a girl named Maddy. She lives with her mother in an average looking house on an average block, but there is nothing normal about Maddy’s life. Maddy is severely allergic to everything, and her house is eqipped with special sensors and air filters to protect her from airborne pathogens and other things that could trigger a fatal reaction. Aside from her mother, Maddy’s only companion is her beloved nurse Carla, who has been caring for Maddy for many years. Maddy is homeschooled, and receives only occasional face-to-face visits with her tutors; most of her schooling takes place via Skype. Read more
I’ve mentioned that my town library sells used books. This is one of the main reasons that my house has seven bookshelves are there are still books on the floor. In any event, one of the books that I found was Lingua Latina, a Latin textbook. My oldest daughter, who is eight years old, was very amused by the fact that she was able to “read” Latin. She expressed interest in learning Latin, and I’m going along with it. We picked up a copy of Getting Started With Latin, and we’ve been doing some exercises over the summer.
And then we received the opportunity to read Diary of a Wimpy in Latin. My daughter loves the Wimpy Kid books. She has read all of them multiple times, and we even met author Jeff Kinney at a book signing last year.
The first book in the series has been translated into Latin by Msgr. Daniel B. Gallagher, who works in the Vatican Office of Latin Letters. Read more
I received this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I was not familiar with Angie Sage’s Araminta Spookie series when I received the opportunity to review Gargoyle Hall, but now that I have done so, I will be picking up the rest of Araminta’s adventures!
Araminta Spookie is a young girl who lives in a big house with her family and her friend’s family. They are an eclectic bunch, like the Munsters or the Addams family. Araminta always has good intentions, but she is also rather “spirited” and her good intentions don’t always yield good results. Read more
"You Have Your Hands Full!" 