Middle Grades Reviews

Past Middle Grades Reviews

Cleaning house and moving some reviews around.

Dragon Flight by Jessica Day George -- Middle Grades fantasy
When the king learns that another kingdom has mounted an army on dragon and plans to attack, he asks Creel to help save the kingdom with the help of local dragons. Upset at the king's attitude towards dragons, Creel sets out to prove that the enemy dragons are not fighting of their own free will. Together with her friend Marta, Martha's betrothed Tobin, Prince Luka and her favorite dragons, Creel sets off to spy on their enemies in Citatie. Creel and Marta uncover a dangerous and deadly secret that leads to The Second Dragon War and it's up to the girls to save the day. I wasn't crazy about this book either. I guess I'm not much of a fan of dragons. The action took a long time to set up and then the battle took up only a brief amount of space before the long ending. I could have used more about the dragons and a longer action sequence. The romance parts were sweet and I really liked the wedding scene. One important thing to note is the glossary in the back, which I didn't discover until after I had read the book. I found many of the names and place names too difficult to pronounce on my own without the glossary and wish I had seen in before I started reading.

Dragon Slippers by Jessica Day George -- Middle Grades fantasy

Creel is an orphaned country maiden with a gift for embroidery and a dream of leaving the village to become a professional needleworker. However, her family is poor and her aunt decides the best way to reverse their finances is to sacrifice Ceel to a dragon so a knight can rescue her, marry her and support the whole family. Creel's adventures don't turn out as planned - for one thing, the dragon refuses to eat her! Instead, Creel befriends the dragon and recieves a beautiful pair of slippers from the dragon's hoard. She then sets off for the King's Seat, dismisses the knight, meets more eccentric dragons and discoveres a dangerous secret that could be the end of all she cares about. I didn't like this story as much as I thought I would. I liked like Creel rescued herself but I was expecting more pluck and wit from her. The story picked up towards the end when the kingdom was in danger. I would recommend this book to 9-12 year olds but maybe not to adults. I do plan to read the sequels though and hope I like them.

I Put a Spell on You by Adam Selzer -- Middle Grades mystery/school humor

I picked this up because the author's wife is an online acquaintance of mine and I'm not sorry I read it! 6th grade Hall Monitor Chrissie Woodward has always been on the right side of the law, that is, the side of the Principal, but as the community prepares for the big spelling bee, Chrissie begins to suspect the principal's office of being corrupt! She sets out to gather evidence from her peers in this amusing adventure. The story is told from the points of view of the kids involved in the spelling bee: the know-it-all, the homeschool transfer, the class clown, the kid who will eat anything and the girl whose parents want her to win more than anything. This book seems to be based on Watergate, which I'm not sure kids would get, but it reminds me so much of the books my teachers used to read to the class in elementary school that it doesn't matter if kids get the little nods to history. Each of the kids in the story is so intense and the adults are all crazy and "bad," but since the story is told from the point of view of the kids, I can see how they would see adults as "bad." I enjoyed this book a lot and couldn't put it down until I finished the mystery and saw who won the spelling bee! I also learned a lot of new words that I have never even heard of!

What I Read This Weekend

What I Read This Weekend . . .

Gingersnap by Patricia Reilly Giff -- Middle Grades Historical Fiction

Jayna, nicknamed Gingersnap, finally has a home with her beloved older brother now that he's aged out of the foster care system. Jayna loves watching her brother cook and learning to make soup; soon they plan to open a restaurant. First though, Rob has to go off to the Pacific to be a cook on a Navy destroyer. The war (WWII) is still going on and Jayna worries about Rob. She doesn't like living with her fussy neighbor who wants her life back. When a devastating telegram arrives, Jayna aided by a ghostly presence, discovers evidence suggesting she has family in Brooklyn. Taking her beloved turtle Theresa, a suitcase of clothes and a faded old recipe book written in French, Jayna heads off to Brooklyn to find the family she desperately wants and needs. Patricia Reilly Giff has been one of my favorite authors since I was in elementary school  a long long time ago. She has a wonderful ability to write a poignant story with humor and gentleness. Gingersnap is no exception. Jayna is a likeable character. She's tough but not prickly like most preteen protagonists in middle grades fiction these days. She wants to be loved and let people love her. She discovers new things about herself and the meaning of family. The plot moves fairly quickly at first but stalls a bit in the middle. I couldn't put it down until the very end though. The story is sweet and touching. I don't really understand the ghost girl though. The inclusion of her into the plot doesn't make a lot of sense and something that is revealed at the end threw me for a loop. I think readers ages 10+ will enjoy this book and learn a lot about World War II history. Has anyone who read this tried any of the soup recipes? Some of them sound delicious! 

Princess of the Silver Woods (Twelve Dancing Princesses) by Jessica Day George

This thrilling conclusion to the Twelve Dancing Princesses trilogy takes place some nine years after the princesses were rescued from the Kingdom Under Stone. The princesses have been able to put their past behind them and some have found true love. Princess Petunia, the youngest of the sisters, loves gardening like her mother and wants nothing more than to breed a new type of rose. When the Grand Duchess Volenskaya invites Petunia to visit her estate on the outer edge of Westphalia, Petunia hates to disappoint and old friend so she agrees to the visit. Then her carriage is attacked by bandits in wolf masks. Pistol-wielding little Petunia manages to fend them off, but is then abducted by the strange young ring leader. Oliver, an Earl by birthright, lost his father and his home to the Analusian War and now he must resort to thievery to feed his family and their devoted followers. His mother immediately recognizes Petunia as the daughter of her old friend and when she learns where Petunia is headed, she feels uneasy. Oliver is sent off to spy on Petunia and what he discovers frightens him enough to decide to go to the capital and turn himself in so he can inform the palace what has happened. Petunia is plagued by strange nightmares of shadowy figures visiting her in the night. Her strange maid is always underfoot, and though the Grand Duchess and her grandson Grigori are kind, she longs for her sisters. When the sisters are finally reunited, they discover they have fallen for a carefully laid trap and their lives are in danger. Fortunately, the men in their lives are willing to sacrifice everything in order to put an end to the living nightmare. This fairy tale is part Little Red Riding Hood, Part Robin Hood, Part Twelve Dancing Princesses with a bit of Rapunzel thrown in. The story is closer to the first book in the trilogy than the second. It's a little scary but not as bad as the first. The plot moves quickly and I had a hard time putting it down. The epilogue was a bit too rushed and should have focused more on Petunia and Oliver. I liked Petunia a lot. She's plucky, but not as tomboyish as Poppy. She's fearless because she was too young to fully understand what the first King Under Stone had planned for her and her sisters. She has faith that their allies will make everything right. I admire her courage and confidence. Oliver is a good hero. He acts like a foolish boy at times, but he had to grow up fast and is very brave and strong. His scenes with Petunia are funny and sweet. The villains are very transparent. It was obvious what was happening and should have been, if not to Petunia, then to Rose or the Bishop. That is, unless the King Under Stone's magic was at work. I felt a bit sorry for Rionin and his brothers. They're not quite human and have been brought up by their evil sorcerer father to behave a certain way. I wish there had been another way to end the story. Though this book is the third in a trilogy, past events are explained enough so that it could stand on it's own. This story is so different from the usual fairy tale, I think others who like dark stories, gothic stories and fairy tale retellings will like this one too.

What I've Read This Week

What I've Read This Week . . .

The Legend of the King: The Squire's Tales by Gerald Morris -- Children's/Young Adult Fantasy

This final installment of the Squire's Tales has Mordred and his mother, Morgause causing strife within Camelot. Many of the characters from previous novels appear in an attempt to save or destroy Camelot. The magical folk watch the struggle but try not to get involved. They have a tough decision to make as the age of the faery folk ends and the age of ignorance begins. The story sticks true to the common legend of King Arthur and is told from multiple points-of-view. I found the multiple POV distracting and had a hard time remembering who all the characters were. Luckily, there's a nice reference section in the back that provides brief biographies on the characters. This story is pretty grim and lacked Morris's trademark tongue-in-cheek humor. I don't think he should have tried to finish the sags but let the earlier stories stand on their own. There are shades of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter which were a bit over done but the writing is good and the story kept me turning the page in hopes of a different ending. If you've read the rest of the series and want to finish or if you're a big King Arthur fan (I'm not) then you'll probably love this book.

Princess of Glass by Jessica Day George -- Young Adult Fairy Tale

In this companion to Princess of the Midnight Ball, Princess Poppy has to leave her beloved Westphalin for an extended stay in Breton as part of a royal exchange to promote peace in Ionia. Poppy enjoys the social life and her new friends, but is adamant that she does NOT dance. She does, however, knit, play cards (shocking!) , ride horses (badly) and swear like a sailor. Prince Christian of Danelaw is also sent to Breton to find a suitable bride. Though he doesn't want to marry right now, he sees the trip as the adventure he's always longed for. He enjoys the refreshing company of Princess Poppy and tries to avoid the matchmaking schemes of the Bretoner King. Eleanora was once a spoiled, wealthy daughter of an aristocrat until her father's death left her penniless. Now calling herself Ellen, she's employed as a maid. Poor Ellen can't seem to do anything right and after losing several positions she comes to work at the home of Poppy's hosts. When a mysterious woman, The Corley, appears, calling herself Eleanora's godmother and promising to restore the girl to her rightful position, Eleanora readily accepts the help of her godmother. Soon she's the belle of the ball, enchanting Prince Christian and the only young men. Poppy is one of the only people who can see there's dark magic afoot. She has to set aside her pride and fear of dark magic to try to save Eleanora and Christian before it's too late. This is a dark retelling of Cinderella. (Disney take notes because this is how the story should be told.) There's danger, adventure and romance enough to please older children, teens and adults. The story is well-written and I enjoyed it much more than Princess of the Midnight Ball. Poppy is a realistic and appealing character who has flaws, is vulnerable at times and proactive in trying to save the day. Eleanora is a well-developed character who grows and changes and my opinion of her changes too. Christian is rather two-dimensional and I would have liked more of the story from his point of view. My only complaint is that the book is just a bit too short and the climax of the story is resolved a little too quickly. I especially like Poppy's decision at the end which is realistic for her age and sweet. I highly recommend this book, even for those who haven't read the first.

What I've Read This Week

What I've Read This Week . . .

Brightsea by Jane Gillespie -- Jane Austen spinoff

A companion to Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, this book is about Miss Nancy Steele, sister to Lucy Ferrars (nee Steele). Nancy is 40 and unmarried and bounces from relative to relative, sponging off them and earning their contempt because of her ill-bred manners and selfishness. Nancy is offered the position of chaperone to a young lady of quality at a seaside resort. She's delighted with the opportunity to be independent and earn some spending money and thinks the job will be easy. She doesn't count on the fact that her charge, Louisa, is bookish and headstrong. Louisa wants nothing more to continue her studies but Nancy insists on living a high society lifestyle. They reach a compromise and adventures and romantic entanglements ensue. The writing is true to Jane Austen's style but I really couldn't like Nancy or Louisa and the rushed ending didn't make me like the book anymore. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great either. It's worth a read if you're a fan of Sense & Sensibility and wondering what happened to Nancy.

Dartwood's Daughters by Rebecca Baldwin -- Regency Romance

Light comedy of manners modeled after Pride and Prejudice. Amy and Eve Dartwood are identical twins of more than 20 summers and had never been separated until 18 months ago when the impetuous Eve went with Papa to dig up antiquities in Naples. Eve had a grand time in Naples visiting with royals and falling in love with a handsome poet, but her "twin sense" tells her that her sister is unhappy so she races home. When she discovers that their formidable aunt has bullied Amy into accepting the hand of the loathsome Lord Barras, Eve decides it's up to her to rescue her twin. Mayhem and madness ensue. Though the plot was entirely predictable and I disliked Amy and both the men, the plot is funny and I really enjoyed it.


Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George - YA fairy tale
A retelling of the fairy tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." Long ago, Queen Maude made a bargain with the mysterious and evil King Under Stone and now her daughters are paying the price by dancing at a midnight ball in the King Under Stone's underground lair. Their father, the King of Westfalin, discovers the princesses' worn dancing slippers and invites all the princes of Ionia to come and figure out the mystery. Each prince leaves without solving the mystery. Young soldier turned Under Gardner, Galen, is determined to rescue Princess Rose and her sisters from their terrible fate. This thrilling story kept me turning the pages until it was done. Each of the princesses has a distinct personality and none of them want to sit around and wait for someone to rescue them and none of them want to get married any time soon. The story is well-written and includes darker elements of a Grimm's fairy tale along with humor and romance. A great read! (Plus that dress on the cover is gorgeous!)