This is my new weekly meme celebrating amazing middle-grade books. I hope others will enjoy taking part in this too!

How to take part:

• Post a picture of the front cover of a middle-grade book which you have read and would recommend to others with details of the author, illustrator and publisher.
• Open the book to page 11 and share your favourite sentence. 
• Write three words to describe the book.
• Either share why you would recommend this book, or link to your review.

This week, I’m celebrating …

Favourite Sentence from Page 11:

One side of her parting was now the tangle-free silken ‘raven river’ as Nabil had named it, and that her twin Themba loved to twist around his fingers to get to sleep.

This book in three words:

FAMILY, FRIENDSHIP, HOPE

This is an incredibly powerful and thought-provoking story which totally engrossed me right from the prologue which occurs 10 years before the main story when society is drastically changed by the catastrophic environmental damage caused by Hurricane Chronos.

The story’s central message is a very current one around the potential devastation that could be caused by inertia in tackling climate change.  It really crystallises the effects this could have not only on the environment but also on the people who have to live in the aftermath, with the innocent bearing the brunt of mistakes made by their elders.  Children are both the victims, and the redeemers, of this dystopian society.

This is an engrossing story of family, friendship and hope, set in deeply rooted themes of the effects of climatic change, societal injustice and an exploration of freedom, which captured me entirely. 

You can read my full review  HERE.

I am really looking forward to reading ‘When Secrets Set Sail’ which is due to be published on 20th August.

I’d love if anyone who wants to give this meme a go would comment in the comments box and include a link to your post so I can visit, comment and find some great middle-grade recommendations. If you do create a post and are on Twitter, and would like to share your post, please use the hashtag  #MGTakesOnThursday so I can find it, read it and share it!

I’m currently reading Sky Pirates: Echo Quickthorn and the Great Beyond. This is the fourth book on my 20 Books of Summer Challenge. I haven’t got more than a few chapters in, but I’m already loving it.

I’ve finished the third book in my 20 Books of Summer Challenge, The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone which I absolutely loved. I’m currently writing my review. I also read a very cute early chapter book which I was sent for review: Mermaids Rock: The Floating Forest. I’ve finished listening to Runaway Robot on Borrowbox. This is the first book by Frank Cottrell-Boyce I’ve read, and I really enjoyed it. The relationship between Alfie and the robot, Eric is great: full of warmth, fun and misunderstandings. This story is both funny and very heart-warming and had a few twists I wasn’t expecting. I think it would make a great class read aloud.

I’m planning to read The Titanic Detective Agency next. I read Guardians of the Wild Unicorns by Lindsay Littleson last year, and really enjoyed it so I’m looking forward to another of her books.

Have you read any of these? What are you currently reading?

This is the second adventure in the gorgeously magical Mermaids Rock series, filled with playfulness, adventure and an appreciation of our wonderful underwater world.

Coralie and her friends dare each other to dive into the magic whirlpool at Mermaids Rock to be transported to any world ocean. When it is Coralie’s turn, she finds herself in a beautiful kelp forest where she discovers a treasure map in a bottle and befriends a playful young sea lion. Could trying to find the treasure be the start of another exciting adventure for the merfriends?

Returning to the kelp forest with her friends, they explore the natural wonder of this enchanting environment, befriend the inhabitants, and search for clues to locate the treasure. But, when a disaster strikes, they are determined to protect their new friends from dangerous predators …

The friends are fantastic: playful, charming and ready for adventure, but also appreciative of their environment, animal loving and keen to protect the ocean. They have lots of fun with their animal friends, and solve problems by working together.  They are keen to share their understanding of their environment, and the importance of ocean conservation, which is a brilliant way for young readers to learn lots of interesting facts through an engaging story.  There is a gentle conservation message given around the impact that plastic pollution has on ocean ecosystems, and the importance of looking after and protecting the ocean.

Coralie loves telling ocean-tastic jokes and there is a wonderful selection of jokes at the end of the book which are sure to bring giggles. There are also some fascinating facts about kelp forests and the creatures that live in this awesome environment.

I adored the gorgeously cute illustrations included throughout as whole and partial pages. This is a really fun and engaging read for young readers of 7+ who love magical adventures and learning facts through stories.

Thank you to Charlie and Little Tiger for an early review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

A Girl Called Justice:  The Smugglers’ Secret is an absolutely delightful return to Highbury House Boarding School with the eternally curious Justice Jones as she hunts down another mystery to solve, and finds herself caught in a web of intrigue that kept me utterly engrossed from start to finish. 

Justice Jones has returned to Highbury House after the Christmas break where she finds the new matron, Miss Robinson, sneaking around the School at night.  Her friend, the maid Dorothy, thinks there may be a mystery surrounding the matron, and Justice is in agreement.  What can she possibly be up to, sneaking into the basement which is out-of-bounds for the students?   Justice is determined to find out, even if this means breaking a few rules.

Meanwhile, the second-year students are expected to take part in the School’s Good Citizenship Programme which matches them with a villager who they can help.   Justice is assigned to visit Mr Arthur of Smugglers’ Lodge who wants her to read the newspapers as he is blind as a result of a war injury.  They develop a warm relationship with Mr Arthur revealing that he has returned to Smugglers’ Lodge as he seeks to be reunited with a relative, a relative Justice may be able to help him locate.  But when a terrible crime is committed, Justice finds herself caught up in a dangerous mystery to identify the culprit, and reveal the identity of Mr Arthur’s relative.

This is a truly engrossing mystery, filled with tension and excitement, which reveals tantalising clues, fascinating secrets and unexpected twists … a classic whodunnit which kept me on tenterhooks as I worked to unravel the clues.  

Highbury House Boarding School is richly depicted with a real Gothic feel: an isolated, marshland setting, cold rooms and horrible food, yet there is also a warmth and cosiness as the girls’ form friendship bonds and enjoy midnight feasts in their dorms. 

The atmosphere is brilliantly evoked throughout as the tension builds, fog rolls in and a storm brews … as the hidden history which connects the School and the Lodge is revealed, justice and answers are sought …

I wasn’t snooping, I was sleuthing …

Justice Jones is a brilliant and incredibly likeable young sleuth.  She is courageous, determined and curious and, with trusty journal in hand, once again turns her hand to solving a terrible crime.  She doesn’t care about the social conventions of 1930s Society, and fitting in with the popular girls. She surrounds herself with some wonderful friends who support her in her sleuthing, and help her feel a part of Highbury House.

This is an incredibly enjoyable mystery which utterly gripped me.  I really hope that Justice will have more adventures at Highbury House as I’d love to go sleuthing with her again.

First Lines Fridays is a weekly feature for book lovers hosted by Wandering Words. What if instead of judging a book by its cover, its author or its prestige, we judged it by its opening lines?

• Pick a book off your shelf (it could be your current read or on your TBR) and open to the first page
• Copy the first few lines, but don’t give anything else about the book away just yet – you need to hook the reader first
• Finally… reveal the book!

Corinne La Mer’s heart beat like wild drums as she ran through the forest. Her bare feet stumbled over the dead leaves and protruding roots of the forest floor. She strained her eyes in the dappled sunlight to keep track of the small, furry agouti that scampered away from her.

Any ideas?

When I saw this one as an option for the Book Club I am part of, I just had to get it – even if it doesn’t get chosen as our next read!

Goodreads Synopsis:

A spine-tingling tale rooted in Caribbean folklore that will have readers holding their breath as they fly through its pages. Corinne La Mer isn’t afraid of anything. Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. They’re just tricksters parents make up to frighten their children. Then one night Corinne chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden forest. Those shining yellow eyes that followed her to the edge of the trees, they couldn’t belong to a jumbie. Or could they? When Corinne spots a beautiful stranger speaking to the town witch at the market the next day, she knows something unexpected is about to happen. And when this same beauty, called Severine, turns up at Corinne’s house, cooking dinner for Corinne’s father, Corinne is sure that danger is in the air. She soon finds out that bewitching her father, Pierre, is only the first step in Severine’s plan to claim the entire island for the jumbies. Corinne must call on her courage and her friends and learn to use ancient magic she didn’t know she possessed to stop Severine and save her island home. With its able and gutsy heroine, lyrical narration, and inventive twist on the classic Haitian folktale “The Magic Orange Tree,” The Jumbies will be a favorite of fans of Breadcrumbs, A Tale Dark and Grimm, and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.

Have you read this? What did you think?

I’m currently reading The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone which is the third book for my 20 Reads of Summer Challenge. It’s a quirky read which I’m really enjoying so far although I am only a few chapters in.

I’ve finished three audio books. I’ve been going out for early morning walks and have been listening to audio books so have finished more than I normally would! I’ve been listening to Howl’s Moving Castle for a couple of weeks as I drove to work. This is such a great fantasy with wonderful characters – it’s just so inventive. I had read some of the Chrestomanci series a good few years ago, and listening to Howl’s Moving Castle has made me want to go back to them. At the weekend, I listened to A Witch Come True which is the final book in the The Apprentice Witch series. This was a brilliant end to the series. I love the friendship between Arianwyn, Sally and Colin, and her devotion to Lull which is once again threatened. Arianwyn’s beloved Grandmother is abducted by a Council traitor, and she has to re-establish her relationship with her father, whilst also trying to protect her town. Arianwyn is one of my favourite characters in the many middle-grade fantasy series I have read as she is such a kind-hearted, good friend who, despite her feelings of uncertainty and not being good enough, is also fiercely independent and courageous. I was really eager to listen to Guy Bass read from his book Skeleton Keys and was really excited when his second book in the series, The Haunting of Luna Moon appeared on Borrowbox. I loved him reading his story which is full of such wonderful humour – it had me giggling as I walked along. I didn’t see the twist which I thought was great.

I also read an e-book and a paperback. I didn’t know much about Ethan’s Voice, but the synopsis caught my attention when scanning books on Borrowbox. It is a wonderfully poignant and heart-warming story of a young boy, Ethan, who lives on a canal boat with his mother and father. He has lost his voice and, after being bullied in school, is being home-educated. One day, he meets a young girl called Polly who has come to live on the canal with her mother after a family break-up. Polly’s acceptance of Ethan for who he is helps him begin to open up as he uses a note book to communicate with her. Their friendship is incredibly endearing. She helps Ethan confront the perceived trauma that has made him lose his voice … this is brilliantly done, and I really lived the tension with him as he faced his fears and demanded the truth. And the ending is just truly gorgeous! I’ve also read A Girl Called Justice: The Smugglers’ Secret. This is my second book for 20 Reads of Summer so I’ll be posting a review in the next few days.

I’m hoping to read Sky Pirates: Echo Quickthorn and the Great Beyond next which sounds like a really fun, adventurous read.

The Wild Way Home is an absolute treasure trove of adventure, excitement and danger set in a wild and natural environment whilst, at its heart, it resonates with the importance of family, friendship and acceptance.  This is a truly breath-taking story – both painful and heart-warming – that completely captured me as I was transported back in time for an action-packed adventure with Charlie and Harby who prove that being born millennia apart is no barrier to friendship.

Twelve-year-old Charlie has been wishing for a baby brother or sister at every birthday and that dream is finally realised with the arrival of a baby brother.  However, Charlie’s dream soon turns into a painful nightmare when it is revealed that new-born baby, Dara, has a life-threatening heart condition.

With fragile emotions in turmoil, Charlie escapes to Mandel Forest where a young boy lies injured in the river.  But this boy is wearing deerskins, owns a spear and is hostile towards Charlie. Time has wound back to a Stone Age Mandel Forest which is familiar, yet unfamiliar …

The Stone Age boy, Harby, is desperate to find his baby sister Mothga, so the children soon find themselves on a dangerous undertaking to discover what has happened to her, an adventure that sees them coming face-to-face with some of the Forest’s wild inhabitants, with an enigmatic stranger and with painful truths that cannot stay locked in memory.  The story-telling is absolutely superb: the build-up of tension, danger and revelations kept me on the edge of my seat, fearful and hopeful, enveloping me in this wildly gorgeous world with two young children who I really cared about.

Can being lost in the past, caught up in Harby’s quest to find his sister, help Charlie to find the way back to family, to have the courage to accept a heart-breaking situation and no longer run from pain?

The relationship between Charlie and Harby is wonderfully portrayed from their fear-filled, uncertain first meeting, to the leap of faith shown in the tentative building of trust which leads to a protective friendship which allows them both to open up to each other and overcome fear.  Both children show incredible courage and resilience when faced with terrible danger and heart-breaking discoveries. They help each other to accept the heartache and pain in their lives and, in doing so, find a shared bond and wonderful camaraderie. 

I really enjoyed the genuine appreciation for the natural environment with its vivid depiction of Mandel Forest both in the present and the past.  Landmarks from the past have undoubtedly changed over the passage of millennia, but are still recognisable in Charlie’s time.  Charlie enjoys living at the edge of the forest and has a real affinity for it, making it a well-loved playground and a source of natural treasures to collect. 

Charlie’s gender is undisclosed throughout the story, so it is left for the reader to imagine Charlie through their own inferences and experiences.  Growing up in the wilds of rural Ireland, I completely understand Charlie’s affinity with nature, the collection of found items, and just the joyous abandon in roaming this environment which is a natural playground. For me, Charlie resonates as a young girl who runs from her pain to the place where she can seek solace, to the place that she feels in the depths of her soul, to the heart of the forest.

The Wild Way Home is an exhilarating and heartfelt journey into the depths of an ancient past, resounding with a powerful message of the strength to be gained from family and friendship.  A simply stunning and richly evocative must-read story which lingers long after the last page is closed.

Thank you to Beatrice May and Bloomsbury for a proof of the story in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Princess who Flew with Dragons is the final book in the gorgeous Dragon Heart trilogy, all three of which I have thoroughly enjoyed. It is a magical, warm-hearted and humorous adventure celebrating family, friendship and courage, and the importance of acceptance of your true self.

Princess Sophia is sent – extremely reluctantly and via a vomit-inducing dragon flight – on a diplomatic mission to attend the Diamond Exhibition in Villene.  She makes a far from perfect first impression so finds herself being sent to stay in a cottage rather than invited into the Royal Palace. Which suits her just fine!

This gives Sophia her first real opportunity to enjoy some freedom, without feeling tied to the duties and restrictions placed on her by virtue of being born a princess. She decides to explore the city in disguise and to attend a lecture being held by a philosopher whose work she greatly admires. Which is where her problems start! She meets some rather mischievous, adventurous goblins and a much more wary kobold who help her escape when she is about to be arrested. Sophia enjoys debate and adventures with her new goblin friends, but can she trust them enough to reveal her true identify, especially as the kobold, Fedolia is so unfriendly towards her?

When the royal court, including Sophia’s sister, is taken captive by some rather terrifying ice giants, intent on protecting their territory, she must put her diplomacy skills to the ultimate test.  With the help of her friend Jasper, a young dragon, and a promise from Fedolia, she sets out on a daring rescue mission that will require all her powers of philosophical discourse, and some righteous indignation!  

I adored Sophia, the book-loving princess with a young dragon as a best friend and a keen interest in philosophical debate. She has a strong sense of social justice, and is prepared to stand up for others. However, she is also vulnerable and very hard on herself, and feels that she is not good enough to be a princess, especially compared to her perfectly composed sister Katrin, the Crown Princess. Sophia is stronger than she thinks and shows great courage and ingenuity when showing her problem-solving and negotiating prowess. She learns that she can be imperfect, and still be deserving of friends who like her for her true self, flaws and all.

This is an incredibly heart-warming, enjoyable adventure filled with magic, humorous encounters and a fast-paced plot, which utterly captivated me.

This is my new weekly meme celebrating amazing middle-grade books. I hope others will enjoy taking part in this too!

How to take part:

• Post a picture of the front cover of a middle-grade book which you have read and would recommend to others with details of the author, illustrator and publisher.
• Open the book to page 11 and share your favourite sentence. 
• Write three words to describe the book.
• Either share why you would recommend this book, or link to your review.

This week, I’m celebrating …

Favourite Sentence from Page 11:

Then she spied the fat shadowy shape squatting on the Persian rug with poison in its eyes.

This book in three words:

SPOOKY, MYSTERIOUS, FUN-FILLED

I read The Ghouls of Howlfair towards the end of last year, and absolutely loved it. It was one of my absolute favourite reads last year and, as I read a LOT of middle-grade, that is meant as a huge compliment to the brilliance of Nick’s writing. It really is the perfect ghoulish tale, overflowing with eerie happenings and brimming with laugh-out-loud moments and hilarious incidents! 

I’m eagerly anticipating the publication of Molly Thompson and the Crypt of the Blue Moon later of year.

You can read more about this fantastically inventive, fun-filled, spooky mystery story in my REVIEW

I’d love if anyone who wants to give this meme a go would comment in the comments box and include a link to your post so I can visit, comment and find some great middle-grade recommendations. If you do create a post and are on Twitter, and would like to share your post, please use the hashtag  #MGTakesOnThursday so I can find it, read it and share it!