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:

I do not recall much about my early life, except cardboard boxes under my paws and the whines of my siblings, who always nudged me away from the food dish.

This book in three words:

FAMILY, LOVE, ‘DOGGEDNESS‘

I, Cosmo is a ‘woof-tastically’ heart-warming story, full of life, heart and humour which will appeal to any dog-lover, adult or child.  Telling the story from the perspective of Cosmo, the 13-year old family golden retriever, is genius!  The tone is conversational and authentic:  I can really imagine that this is exactly how a dog sees himself within a loving family.  Cosmo is wise, humorous and devoted to his family.

I fell in love with Cosmo for a two main reasons: his devotion and sensitivity towards his family, and especially to Max, which is wonderfully depicted; and, his sharp, witty observations which permeate the story, lending it many humorous moments.

This is just the most wonderfully, heart-warming, tender story which I can highly recommend. You can read my full review here.

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 listening to Northern Lights on audio. I can’t believe, being such a fan of fantasy, that I haven’t read this yet! I did try many years ago, but just couldn’t get into it. I’m giving it another go and, so far, am really enjoying it. I’ve just started The Haunting of Aveline Jones which I already know I’m going to love. It’s definitely giving off spooky vibes!

I finished Small Spaces as I could’t stop reading where I was meant to for the Book Club discussion – it was so good. This is a really spooky tale that will never let me look at scarecrows in the same way again! I also read and posted my reviews Luna and Sam Wu is NOT Afraid of SPACE. I finished the audiobook of the first book in the Murder Most Unladylike Series and, when I had a chance to listen to a longer section, I really LOVED it. Talk about having to eat my words! I’d said I didn’t feel the need to pick up any others in the series – well I did, and now I’m ever so slightly addicted! I was reading Arsenic for Tea far too late last night and then again at 6am this morning! I absolutely loved it, and have the next two, First Class Murder and Jolly Foul Play downloaded from Borrowbox and ready to read. I want to have the next two read before Christmas and read Mistletoe and Murder during the Christmas holidays. I think the only problem will be holding back until Christmas! I also read The Beast and the Bethany which I absolutely loved – it is wickedly dark with plenty of razor-sharp humour. I will be taking part in the Blog Tour with The Write Reads this Saturday.

I’m a huge fan of both of these authors so I’m really looking forward to reading The Key to Finding Jack (due for release on 3rd September and for which I have been sent a proof copy) and The Midnight Swan which is the final book in the Clockwork Crow trilogy (due for release on 1st October which I was approved to read via NetGalley).

What have you read this week? Have you read any of these?

Dragon Mountain is an absolute scorcher of an adventure glittering with excitement, danger and an unbelievable sense of anticipation which kept me engrossed from beginning to end.

Although twelve-year-old Billy Chan never wanted to go to a summer camp in China, once he arrives, he senses Camp Dragon is a place for adventure and he can’t help feeling excited.  His interest is piqued further when the camp leader, Old Gold, tells him the legend of a great battle between dragons, a battle which saw the disappearance of dragons from earth.

Whilst taking part in a challenge with his new friends, Dylan, Charlotte and Ling-Fei, the children make a startling discovery about Dragon Mountain, a discovery that leads to them entering the mountain where they are confronted with the reality of the legend:  warrior dragons who have been trapped within the mountain, waiting for the children to help release them.  And, oh my goodness, what fantastic dragons they are, all with such individual personalities that really shone through.  I must confess to having a favourite:  Xing who has a fiery tongue, and is not afraid to use it when putting her opinion across.

The dragons inform the friends about a dangerous quest that they need their help to fulfil, a quest that will see the children each bond with a dragon and travel to the Dragon Realm to attempt to defeat the Dragon of Death and her evil nox-wings in order to stop them from destroying both the Human and Dragon Realms … Will the children and dragons be strong enough together to save both worlds?

Oh my goodness!  What follows is the MOST exciting corker of an adventure filled with danger, revelations and twists that genuinely had me filled with excited anticipation as I eagerly devoured the story, desperate to find out what would happen.  This story has such a clever, action-packed plot that took me on an epic adventure, surprising me, enthralling me and leaving me VERY eager for the next adventure.

I really liked all the children, and loved how different their personalities were which leads to both disagreements and opportunities for humour.  Billy and Charlotte are more competitive and impetuous, Dylan is more wary and tentative and Ling-Fei is wise and kind-hearted.  The friendship between Billy, Dylan, Charlotte and Ling-Fei is brilliantly portrayed.  These children have been brought together in incredible circumstances and quickly form a wonderfully close bond of loyalty, trust and support.  Working as a team makes them stronger and gives them the courage to face up to the fear and danger that their adventure brings.  They believe in each other and in their dragons, which is a powerful source of strength and determination when faced with great peril.

I loved the close bond between the dragons and the children, with each of the children bonding with a dragon and being given a special power to use in their fight against the dark dragons.  There was such a sense of magic and awe as the children rode the dragons, and connected with them on such an emotional and empathetic level.  I would love to say I’d like my own dragon, but I’m not sure I’d be brave enough – and I’m scared of heights -, which is why I love reading about them instead.  So much safer!

This is the most exhilarating, epic adventure that is a MUST-READ for anyone who loves stories of heroes and dragons, who loves excitement and action, who loves to be surprised and awed.  It utterly captured my imagination and transported me into a magical, exciting and dangerous world which I did not want to leave … sheer perfection all wrapped up between the pages of a wonderfully told story.  And that ending!  I absolutely CANNOT wait to return to this world!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

 

Luna is a magical, heart-warming time-slip adventure of one girl’s journey to save an adorable bear cub, and is a story I absolutely adored, and can see being enjoyed by young readers and their families as they snuggle up to read this on a cold evening – perhaps with a hot chocolate!

Hannah and her family are visiting the Christmas market in Dresden, which is breathtakingly captured, when she is shown a small wooden bear puppet by a stallholder. Both fierce and beautiful, she is inextricably drawn to the bear puppet, and becomes its new owner.  However, after a fight with her younger sister which sees the little bear damaged, she falls asleep upset … and wakes up in a stable in old-fashioned clothes with a scared and very real bear cub!

She soon meets Matthias who has come from his home to rescue the bear cub, Luna from the cruel bear leaders who have captured her to train her to perform at the markets.  So begins a heart-warming, magical adventure to save Luna from her terrible fate, and return her to her forest home in the wild …. Will the children be able to rescue Luna, and will Hannah find her way back to her family?

Hannah has travelled to a past time which is unfamiliar to her and is shocked by what she sees happening to the bears.  She is determined to help Matthias in his mission to save Luna, even if this puts her in danger.  The friendship between Matthias and Hannah is wonderful, supportive and encouraging, as they hatch a clever plan to rescue Luna …

Luna is the MOST adorable bear cub.  My heart ached for her when she was scared, especially learning of the reality for her should she not escape.  I was so desperate for her to be rescued, and completely caught up in the enchantment and warmth of this exciting, action-packed adventure.

I adored the magical element to this wonderful story, which does have some poignant moments as well as plenty of heart-warming ones, and loved how something in Luna’s present connected her to the past, and led her back in time to help Matthias in his mission.

The full, and partial, page illustrations are absolutely beautiful, capturing the feeling of this story perfectly.  I loved that each chapter number had a full-page illustration to lead the reader into the chapter.

This is a truly special story which will be adored by young animal lovers and adventurers alike, just perfect for a cosy read on a cold, wintry evening, especially in the lead up to Christmas when magic is in the air!

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

 

 

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!

For as long as she could remember, Emmeline Widget had been sure her parents were trying to kill her.

Any ideas?

 

This is one of my favourite ever middle-grade books and is the story that re-ignited my love of middle-grade, so it will always be a very special book for me.  I was lucky enough to meet the author, Sinead O’Hart at the Bath Children’s Literature Festival and got a dedicated copy for my class.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Emmeline Widget has never left Widget Manor – and that’s the way she likes it. But when her scientist parents mysteriously disappear, she finds herself being packed off on a ship to France, heading for a safe house in Paris. Onboard she is befriended by an urchin stowaway called Thing. But before she can reach her destination she is kidnapped by the sinister Dr Siegfried Bauer.  Dr Bauer is bound for the ice fields of Greenland to summon a legendary monster from the deep. And he isn’t the only one determined to unleash the creature. The Northwitch has laid claim to the beast, too. Can Emmeline and Thing stop their fiendish plans and save the world?

 

Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Space is the sixth and final book in this popular series, and is a really wonderful, fun-filled adventure which is sure to make its young readers want to visit Space Camp too.  Who am I kidding?  It made me want to go too!

After watching Sam’s favourite show, Space Blasters, and realising how much he loves space, Sam and his best friends Barnard and Zoe are invited to Space Camp by twins, Ralph and Regina.  Once there, they form a team of six alongside the rather reluctant and unenthusiastic Sally Doyle.  Will Sam be able to convince Sally to become a team player and help them win the Space Camp Challenge trophy?

The teams at Space Camp compete against each other in a series of challenges to help them learn more about life as an astronaut.  The first challenge does not get off to a good start, but things are about to get a whole lot worse for Sam and his team when special possessions go missing … who, or what, is causing mischief at Space Camp?

The layout is perfect to engage younger and more reluctant readers with the use of bold text, word capitalisation within the text, footnotes (which are brilliant!) within chapters and lots of gorgeous, lively illustrations.

Sam Wu is an incredibly likeable and realistic character, taking on a leadership role within his group. He understands the importance of letting people play to their strengths and letting others shine whilst also supporting those who may be less confident.  I love that the children really learn to work as a team and encourage each other as they meet challenges and face fears and worries which are exactly the sort of worries their audience are likely to have such as missing home and being worried about letting others down.  Sam still feels nervous and afraid at times, but he also shows bravery when facing his fears and helping his friends:

                       “The more you face your fears, the less scary they become.”

There are lots of fascinating space facts sprinkled throughout the text which I really enjoyed reading.  My favourite was learning that pizza was delivered to the International Space Station.

This is a brilliantly humorous and heart-warming adventure showing the importance of friendship and teamwork and is a must-read for any young adventurers who I have no doubt will love visiting Space Camp with Sam and his friends as much as I did.

 

Thank you to Fritha Lindqvist and Egmont for an early copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

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 …

 

Author: Vashti Hardy
Cover Illustration: George Ermos   Publisher: Scholastic

Favourite Sentence from Page 11:

“Prue took a deep breath, pushed all the doubt down into the pit of her stomach, and started walking.”

This book in three words:

ADVENTURE, AWE-INSPIRING, FRIENDSHIP

Wildspark is one of my absolute favourite middle-grade books.  The story-telling is incredible and took me on a thrilling adventure full of twists that kept me on the edge of my seat.  I really, really hope that the author returns to this world.

Prue is overwhelmed by grief at the devastating loss of her older brother Francis.  But what if she could find a way to bring her adored brother back? A seemingly chance encounter with Craftsman Primrose from the Imperial Personifate Guild of Medlock offers her just that as he offers her an apprenticeship.

Once apprenticed, she is determined to use her superb engineering talent to bring her brother back into her life.  How?  The Guild have perfected the ability to bring people back from the dead and place them in the bodies of animal personifates, but they have no memories of their previous lives.  Can Prue bring her brother back with his memories intact?

It is not long before Prue and her friends, Agapantha and Edwin (who is the first personificate apprentice) make some startling discoveries which lead them on an action-packed adventure to save the City of Medlock – but who is the enemy?  What terrors lurk in the depths of the forest?  The tension is palpable as the plot twists thicken, the threat increases, loyalties are questioned, and heart-breaking decisions have to be made.

This is an absolute must read book which I cannot recommend highly enough.  You can read my full review here.

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 almost finished listening to Murder Most Unladylike which I’m really enjoying, although not so much that I feel the need to pick up the rest of the series.  Not sure if this is because it’s an audiobook and I’ve been listening to it in sections.  I’m also continuing to read Small Spaces for the Book Club I am part of.  It is brilliantly spooky.  I’ve just started The Beast and the Bethany which I’m already getting great vibes from.

I’ve only read one book this week as I spent the week in Ireland visiting my family so I only really got to read at the airport and on the plane.  I really loved this story which builds a sense of anticipation brilliantly and the twists are perfect and unexpected.  It will be part of a series, and the ending left me desperate for the next one.

I am going to try to focus on review books I have been sent and on clearing my NetGalley approvals for the rest of August.  I’m going to be reading the final book in the Sam Wu series, Sam Wu is Not Afraid of Space and The Haunting of Aveline Jones next.

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

Thank you to Helen at Literally Public Relations for inviting me to take part in this Blog Tour and for providing me with a copy of Time School:  We Will Honour Them in exchange for my honest opinion.

 

This is the second book in the Time School series which follows four friends as they travel back to periods in history which have a special connection to each of them. Each book can be read as a stand-alone.

I absolutely loved this gripping time travel adventure which transported me back to a period not long after the end of the Second World War, when its effects were still being strongly felt, which I found absolutely fascinating. It is really wonderful to read a story which both entertains and educates and this story balances both aspects perfectly with a real sense of adventure, discovery and history.

Twelve-year-old Nadia Kaminski has received the sad news that her Polish Grandfather has died. He came to England as a young boy, and it is only when asked to give the eulogy at his funeral that Nadia realises she doesn’t really know much about either his life or her own Polish heritage. This is such a pertinent and powerful reminder of the importance of getting to know the stories of our ancestors and connecting with family history so that we don’t lose our link to the past.

Nadia tells her friends of her loss as they board an old-fashioned steam train. They arrive in an icy, cold Hickley Town and make their way to their current school, but it is not quite as they know it … they have been transported back to the school as it was a couple of years after the end of the Second World War where they find themselves in a race to stop Nadia’s life from unravelling due to a decision being made in the past, a race which sees them uncover some incredible discoveries …

At Hickley School, Nadia witnesses a Polish refugee, Marcel, suffering terrible bullying due to the prejudices of others which led to both hatred and fear which manifested itself in this cruel treatment. Nadia immediately defends Marcel against his attackers, showing her inner strength and sense of fairness. She is courageous in facing her fears and standing up for others regardless of the consequences for herself. Has she been sent back in time to meet Marcel and, if so, why? Will she be able to help him overcome his bullies, and will he be able to help her learn more of her Polish heritage?

I really enjoyed the friendship between Nadia, Jess, Tomma and Ash. They have very different personalities from the adventurous, risk-taking joker Ash to the sensible, wary, more reluctant Jess, but they have a wonderfully strong and secure friendship where they look out for each other, offering comfort and support. I thought it was really wonderful to see the changing dynamics within the friendship between Nadia and Jess as more of an interest in boys occurs, and think this is brilliantly written for its audience.

I loved the richly drawn historical context, making connections between present and past, and the link between the children’s present-day school and what that school was like in the past. Stories like this powerfully illustrate how our history reflects and impacts on our present, and the lessons that can be learned if only we are willing to learn them.

This is a fast-paced, engrossing adventure dealing with themes of bullying, prejudice, grief and refugees. It is also an uplifting story of courage, resilience and friendship showing the connectedness between past and present which I found utterly compelling.

Author website: http://www.nikkiyoung.co.uk/
Author social media: https://twitter.com/nikki_cyoung
https://www.facebook.com/Nikkiyoungwriter
https://www.instagram.com/nikkiyoungwriter/

Check out the other stops for this brilliant book:

I read this immediately after finishing The Highland Falcon Thief, and it was such a treat to read both books back-to-back as this is a series I’m absolutely loving, and can’t wait to read more of. 

This time Harrison Beck (Hal) is travelling aboard the California Comet with his Uncle Nat, a travel journalist, who has been invited to attend a press conference by technological entrepreneur, August Reza.  Hal has barely arrived before he meets siblings Mason and Hadley, who are outgoing and friendly, and have talents which will prove useful for the mystery Hal soon finds himself intent on solving …

He also meets the rather unhappy and lonely daughter of the billionaire, August Reza.  Marianne befriends Hal and warns him that she is in danger so, when he witnesses her kidnapping and finds a ransom note, he is determined to use his detective skills to save her.

Who has kidnapped Marianne, and is the motive as obvious as it appears?   This story is packed full of suspects, clever clues, tantalising puzzles and intrigue, and sets up a delicious trail to follow, a trail which leads to startling revelations and danger.

I enjoyed every moment aboard The California Comet and thoroughly enjoyed both the mystery and the description of the places the journey takes them, especially the Rocky Mountains.  It really makes me yearn to travel this route aboard the real-life California Zephyr and, hopefully, one day I’ll be able to do just that. 

I loved the rich assortment of characters, and how they could all be perceived as shady from the bearded-dragon owner Adie Cabbage to the brief-case carrying Seymour Hart to the wrestling lover, Gene Jackson.  I also loved Hadley’s magic tricks and how these were used to help in the investigation of the crime but, most of all, I LOVE the way Hal uses his sketchbook to gather and analyse evidence, and how his drawings are perfectly captured by illustrator Elisa Paganelli. 

Hal is a wonderful character who is quick to develop friendships with others. He is naturally curious, extremely observant and full of determination, all of which are perfect attributes for a budding detective. Even when adults are not prepared to listen to him or take him seriously, he perseveres and follows the evidence.

This is a brilliantly clever, exciting and engrossing mystery which will undoubtedly take its readers on a wonderful adventure, puzzling and searching for clues, as they try to solve this classic whodunnit.

Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.