A Little Spark is a delightful book that is warm and heartbreaking at the same time. It is about growing up, relationships and family.
Read More »Review: A Little Spark
Category: Middle Grade Review
Review: Gallant
V.E. Schwab’s new novel Gallant is a gothic tale that mixes a range of genres, from middle grade to YA, and mystery to horror, that will intrigue and win over the hearts of whoever reads it.
Olivia Prior is a 17-year-old orphan who is very different from all the other girls at Merilance School for Independent Girls. Firstly, she is a mute. Secondly, she can see ghouls. The other girls think her odd and she is painfully lonely. Olivia has always wanted a family and a place to call home, but the only thing she has of her family is an illustrated diary from her mother. It is filled with mysterious entries and inky illustrations that show her mothers descent into madness.
Read More »Classic Review: Ella Enchanted
Today I have a different kind of review – a quick classic review. This was created due to a collaborative post for The Best Children’s Books of All Time’ with the wonderful people over at Twinkl, where I shared my favourite children’s book that I read as a child.
Read More »Middle Grade Review: Carly Mills 2nd and 3rd books
Today I’m doing a double review today with the second and third instalments of the Carly Mills – Pioneer Girl books. I read the first one of these last year and thoroughly enjoyed it, and so I was stoked to receive these two and was delighted to find them just as enchanting as the first.
Read More »Middle Grade Review: Song Bird – Drought Rescue
Rosie and her friends are back at it again in the next book in the Song Bird Series, Drought rescue, where in outback Australia they will have to deal with evil villains, empty water holes and a missing (kidnapped!) aunty.
Read More »Review: His Name Was Walter
Wow, wow, WOW.
This book is brilliant. I loved it so much. I think it is up there with one of the cleverest books I’ve read, and I would say my new all time favourite middle grade book. It is original and engaging and incredibly clever, like actual genius, in terms of story elements and things that make it all click together. It consists of a story within a story – two plot lines in two separate times.
Side note: This is probably not my best written review, as it’s a little gushy and incoherent, but this is what this book made me do. So apologies in advance.
Read More »Middle Grade Review: The Year the Maps Changed
What a fabulous book.
Everything about this book grabbed me. The title, the cover and the setting – which happen to be a place I love and where I lived for many years of my life – The Mornington Peninsula.
The Year The Maps Changed is a middle grade (but could easily appeal to a YA audience, I felt) novel with a historical twist. It is about a young girl and her family and focuses on a part of history in Victoria that most people (ahem, like myself) had no idea about.
Read More »Middle Grade Graphic Novel: Smile
This was SUCH a cool book.
This is the first ever graphic novel I’ve reviewed AND read. I loved it so much I’m really keen to read more.
I felt this book so much. I had braces and a headgear and a plate when I was primary school and going into high school, so I felt this book in my bones.It reads so well, the pictures are AWESOME. I wish I had this book as a young kid with braces as I think it is perfect for its target audience and incredibly relatable.
Read More »Review: The Fabulous Cakes of Zinnia Jakes: The Crumbling Castle
The Fabulous Cakes of Zinnia Jakes: The Crumbling Castle is a book for all the little cooks out there who love cakes. It is a fun easy to read middle grade/chapter book with lots of quirky characters and even a cake recipe!
Read More »Middle Grade: The Thirteenth Home of Noah Bradley
The Thirteenth Home of Noah Bradley is an original engaging middle grade book with a bit of a magic and a lot of heart.
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