middle grade – The Constellation of Moon

Moon Reads: Monster Movie!

Posted on September 1, 2026

Monster Movie! by Chuck Wendig

Rating:

Nothing is perfect, and as such, the reviews in this blog are chaotic. My main aim is to share my thoughts, joy and opinions on a book, not make a publication perfect review. This blog endorses authenticity, showing up and joy over perfection.

This was a bargain book found in Forbidden Planet that my partner suggested and added to my pile of books to buy, a gamble trusting that I would enjoy it.

Ethan is afraid of a lot of things, almost everything except certain constants in his life. Mostly what he likes is being able to be in control of the variables and to have predictability, and he doesn't like complex emotions, the more stable and predictable and not scary, the better.

And thankfully he has two best friends who complement him and don't mind that is scared of so much, and that usually accommodate for him. But when the entire class gets invited to watch an apparently rare almost impossible to find horror movie at the house of the most popular boy int he school, his friends insist he should join them. But "scariest movie ever" does not sound at all like something Ethan will enjoy, but he debates this over and over, and while he debates this, the movie turns out to be a monster and Ethan is the lucky one to escape amongst his classmates who were watching it.

At first he only wants to escape and forget it, but as the monster starts wreaking havoc in his little town, Ethan realises he may be the only one who can stop it and get his friends back.

Now this was pure chaos and havoc, and craziness. Ethan has a lot to confront and a lot to decide as monsters coming out of a scary movie and stealing everyone's heads is not the ideal scenario for him to shine. But he really cares about his friends and he wants to fit in a little bit better. But as he tries to find a way to stay alive and not fall victim to the monster and also a way to try to recover his friends, he realises everyone can be scared of things, and that doing it scared is possible, even if it is scary.

For me this was a funny read, and I liked how Ethan solves and saves the day on it, it was a nice twist that fit into who he is and also helped him grow into himself, and gave him a little bit more courage to be himself, even if it doesn't automatically make him brave and courageous (which I actually liked, he is still Ethan at the end of the book, and still scared, but maybe less things scare him now).

One other thing it covers is that we all have value, and passion and our projects, and that if we like something we don't have to give it up to fit in, and maybe that thing might be a strength, even if some people may not see it that way. It was an good framing of how things aren't always perfect or how times change and also that at the end of the day we all want to succeed, are afraid to fail and that anxiety is a painful companion that sometimes has to take the back seat and let us exist.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Cosima Unfortunate Steals a Star

Posted on August 28, 2026

Cosima Unfortunate Steals a Star by Laura Noakes. Illustrated by Flavia Sorrentino.

Rating:

I knew Laura was writing a book for a while and that the main character would have EDS, which in between having been in an instagram pod with her for a long time and also having EDS myself, this was a necessary purchase and read.

I read it a while ago, I am just a mood reviewer and this is my blog, so I more or less come and write my reviews when I finally feel like it, and apparently today is one of those days when I feel like writing about myself while I review a book.

Cosima can only remember the Home for Unfortunate Girls (therefore why she is called Unfortunate), all she knows is she was dropped up as a baby, and that who her parents are/were seems a bit of a secret. The Home for Unfortunate Girls is a school/orphanage for children who are disabled or deemed different, and it is more or less obligatory that if your child falls under this category, then they gotta be here.

But for Cosima, this is home, even if it doesn't treat them amazingly well and there's always some weird schemes going on between the Home's manager/matron and the benefactors, that involve the children working a bit too hard. Luckily, Cosima has made good friends here (Pearl, Mary and Diya) and what they enjoy a lot (particularly Cosima) is running mini heists where they obtain cakes, biscuits and other sweet goods for the themselves and to share with the rest of the children.

Now, Cosima is here because she has EDS, and her knee dislocates often alongside her joints giving her trouble, so she uses various walking assistance to move as needed dependent on how she's feeling that day. This was a nice thing to see throughout the whole book as her disability is ever present (and as much as it is part of the plot, it is not the main plot nor does it work as plot tool exclusively) and therefore it shows how it displays in a dynamic way.

As someone with EDS, it was just nice to read a book that was pretty mcuh my experiences. As a kid, playing games that involved "pulling" could cause dislocations easily (to the point my parents and myself became experts and pushing my elbow or shoulder back) so I had to be mindful of what I did. I have always adapted to it and didn't know how dynamic it really was becuase in my family this was all considered relatively normal. EDS is a hereditary condition, so it wasn't anything "new" or any different quirks to the ones the whole family had. It was actually really amusing when I got my formal diagnosis and then suddenly almost every single family member started questioning their quirks and reframing them into this context and suddenly the diagnosis made even more sense "what do you mean x is a symptom? I've always been able to do that and also this 15 other things that fit the criteria and that as a family we thought were totally normal". Great conversation to ahve.

Anyway, I have gone off topic, but the above does have something to do with Cosima's heist, and the fact she desperately wants to find out who her parents are/were as she holds hope that her father is still alive. So when she finds out that Lord Francis Fitzroy wants to adopt them, she plots the biggest heist ever as she is not convinced about this and wants some truth and the money to bu their freedom.

During her heist which was fun and amusing to read, and very clever and creative, Cosima inches closer and closer to finding the truth about her family and maybe understanding her condition better.

Honestly if you have EDS or a similar disability, this is a must read with good representation and own voices, but even if you do not, it is a wonderful read, funny and quirky and just very sweet, and it depicts dynamic disabilities really well.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Mort the Meek and the Raven’s Revenge

Posted on August 25, 2026

Mort the Meek and the Ravens’ Revenge

Rating:

Mort lives in Brutalia, where violence is the norm everywhere. People just love brawls and getting into fights and scrambles as part of their normal life, well, everyone except Mort. He would like to live his life peacefully, or as close as he can, which makes him seem meek and weak to the rest of the people in Brutalia.

The problem happens when his uncle who is the lead executioner for the executions (a past time of the King and Queen) dies and therefore Mort inherits his position. To make it even more complicated, his first execution is to be his best friend. So Mort has a full week to try to find a way out of violence and to save his friend, while at the same time trying to ensure his peaceful ways.

The overall artwork and illustrations are really funny, and the ravens add a bit of a conversation at the start of the chapters, which was fun even if they are ravenous ravens. We also have the author play a lot with the fourth wall and break it or playful try to pull the readers further into this world and what Mort is experiencing.

I do have to highlight that one thing that made this lose part of its rating and be so low and it is that it does the whole "the villains are evil... and fat" which wasn't necessary at all. They were evil enough without having to comment on their body or make them be fat as if that was part of what added to them villainous.

The rest of it was actually fun, with lots of clever and creative ways to change the viewpoints of violence into something different and finding ways to bend the rules and somehow still be as peaceful as he can.

The main thing I remember about it is that it was fun to read, quite an easy quick read and the art made it even better, so it's still a nice little book and while I was looking it up for this post, I realised there's a few sequels, so I am gonna go see if I can get a hold of them and add a review for them too in the future (not like I don't have a long list of books to read, but maybe the library might have them?)

Book Review

Moon Reads: Glam & Beardy Volume I

Posted on May 22, 2026

The Very Serious Diary of Glam & Beardy Volume I by Ruby Clyde & Rachel WD. Illustrated by Vincent Batignole.

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Disclaimer: Receiving a review copy from the publisher does not affect my opinion of the book. If you think I review it highly it is due to me knowing my taste well and therefore not requesting books I won’t enjoy. And I am not obligated to review the book if I do not like it, so you may not see bad reviews due to me preferring not to hype down a particular book. I only do reviews of books I disagreed with if I think it is worth bringing a topic or warning to light.

I love good middle grade series. Some of my favourite have been Diary of an Accidental Witch, The Boy Who Grew Dragons or Tales of the Chocolate Heart. So when Little Tiger had this up for review and request, I had to try it to fill my middle grade craving for a good series.

Glam & Beardy do not disappoint at all.

We start by getting to know Glam who is the last child of the Glamour family and is hoping to get the most glamorous familiar, since all kids get one around her age, except her. Hers just doesn’t seem to come at all. We get to know her family and that the kingdom has several “families” with different skills, like glamour or wisdom or strength.

It is also not common but not a bad thing if your familiar is from a different family (like Glam’s mum, who was born into Wisdom but has a glam familiar). Glam gets sad that she can’t find a familiar, and she’s not very glamorous, until she does meet her familiar Beardy, who is definitely a not glamorous familiar, but even worse, they’re not a defined skills from the kingdom, so Glam is convinced she has the wrong familiar.

This leads to an adventure to try to find a way to find the right familiar for Glam and the right kid for Beardy.

One of the things I really liked was that Glam’s family isn’t absent, on the contrary they are there for her even if she doesn’t always believe it or actually feel like it. I love stories where the parents/family are supportive and part of the story and not just absent or there for plot points.

There was also a lot about friendship, belonging and about skills, and the nice thing is that Glam is very much interested in history and anthropology rather than glamour, but still tries to be as glamorous as she can.

It was super cute to read, the illustrations are spot on and really fun, and there’s a lot f the world and story yet to find out, so I am very curious for the next volume. If you enjoyed any of the series I mentioned above, this is a must read for sure!

Book Review

Moon Reads: Dungeon Runners Level 1: Hero Trial

Posted on April 24, 2026

Dungeon Runners – Level 1: Hero Trial by Kieran Larwood and Joe Todd-Stanton

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

I love middle grade fun series and Dungeon Runners starts with a bang for sure.

Kit is a small little gnorf (part gnome, part dwarf), which means he’s pretty small and doesn’t have any particularly great advantages for playing as Dungeon Runner, but he has always wanted to, since his own grandfather was one of the amazing teams back in the days.

So when a space opens up for a new team to join the Dungeon Runners, Kit is ready. Except that he has no team, so he finds new friends and a new team in Sandy, a sea witch who only knows one spell and Thorn, a vampire who loves knitting. Every team must have a healer, a fighter and a magic user, so they’re perfectly balanced to take it on.

The story is very cute and interesting, with Kit trying to be brave and fit as a fighter because it is one thing to dream you want to be part of a wonderful team, and then actually have to be an amazing team member is another thing. But what Kit may not have in strength he has in being a good gnorf, compassion and even courage when needed, and he will figure out the teamwork with Sandy and Thorn so that they can qualify to be the team selected.

I loved it, between the art, the “dungeons” the narrating of the actual “dungeon running”, and the three friends finding their strengths and weaknesses and the fun and clever ways. It is also a “fair” book in that they’re not perfectly winning all the time, it is an actual competition and therefore not everything goes their way just because they’re the main characters.

It’s a lovely little series and a good start for it, I am very intrigued where it intends to actually go, but so far (I have read up to book 3) it is very delightful and will be a recommended one for kids (one of my work colleagues’ kid is enjoying them too, so even kid approved for sure).

Book Review

Moon Reads – The Bakery Dragon

Posted on March 6, 2026

The Bakery Dragon by Devin Elle Kurtz

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

Apparently we are on a theme of reviews being quite cosy. I think partly this is because the world is being a little bit too much and we need reassurance, a safety blanket and cosy books are perfect for this.

The Bakery Dragon was actually initially an illustration Devin Elle made and then this inspired her to write a little book story about a dragon who longs for a different kind of treasure.

I think the overall story is super cute with our little dragon, Ember, finding that a hoard of gold and treasure isn’t really motivating and then while wandering around the town they see a little bakery window and find it so enticing. I honestly fully understand the dragon, I find the bakery windows and looking at bread and pastries super tasty and exciting and I just always end up wanting to go in and buy something and taste it (specially if you add the nice smell of the bread, yum!).

Anyway, bread turns out to be the perfect hoard and treasure for Ember, who is curious and wants to learn how bread is made. The baker then shows Ember how to make bread and Ember learns that sharing bread and making bread and having others enjoy it is very rewarding and a treasure in itself.

I am a fan of Devin Elle’s artwork so it is not a surprise that I loved a book about a little dragon that loves bread and that expands on her illustration work and dedicates itself to bread and cute little dragons. This book is like a bread version of The Tea Dragon Society hitting all the stops in cuteness, food appreciation and dragons.

Book Review

Moon Reads: The Moth Keeper

Posted on October 24, 2025

The Moth Keeper by K. O’Neill

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

From the same author as The Tea Dragon Society, we have The Moth Keeper, so I know I like the art style and it was partly one of the reasons I chose this book. But the story itself was worth the read too.

In this book we follow Anya, who is training to be a Moth Keeper, a slightly lonely but crucial responsibility and a great honour. It is lonely because they are the protectors of lunar moths that allow a special flower to bloom once a year, which is needed for the village to thrive. This does mean you end up basically living at night and seeing mostly nights and very little sunshine and very few of your people.

Anya wants to prove her worth and take over the post, but it feels like a heavy cost to have to do less with friends. Then of course, Anya notices something that could cause harm to the moths and somehow breaks tradition to try to move forward.

The story is very sweet and gentle, it has an intricate nightly world initially, based around the moths and our little village, it is full of a fantastical and yet simple way of life. It is also about growing up, about making choices and pondering what thebeaten path brings, or if the choices you make, once you actually go through are exactly what you wanted. What if you want it, but also want to be able to do more, to engage in with your community?

Very sweet, lush and hopeful, worth a read for the lovely dreamy art, and for a sweet story.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Jupiter Nettle and the Seven Schools of Magic

Posted on September 23, 2025

Jupiter Nettle and the Seven Schools of Magic by Sangu Mandanna. Illustrated by Pablo Ballesteros

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

I think I found this while searching for Sangu Mandanna’s new book which I couldn’t remember the title exactly, and then saw there was a cute graphic novel, and had to get it!

Jupiter Nettle and the Seven Schools of Magic does not disappoint. Jupiter has always dreamed of joining one of the Schools of Magic, so when she tries all the tests for all seven schools, feels like she has failed them all and then gets a visitor to say she has made it is not the School of Earth Magic, she does not know what to do.

She decides to go anyway, despite knowing that the School of Earth Magic is looked down by the rest of the students, doesn’t seem to involve any “cool” magic spells and her main tutor and teacher is too serious and demanding. She still sticks it out and somehow starts carving a place for herself in the school, but then an old enemy of the school and magic in general returns, testing Jupiter and her own magic.

IT is a lovely artwork and the story was adorable. I liked the view of the different schools which is a different approach to subjects or houses and here it is more about affinities, including ghosts (which if you are not a ghost, you can’t join). And Jupiter finding her place and figuring things out was also nice, and the way she almost gives up but then finds a way to find her own voice and magic was quite nice too.

Can recommend as a quick sweet read full of magic.

Book Review

Moon Reads: Diary of an Acidental Witch – Magic Ever After

Posted on September 16, 2025

Diary of an Acidental Witch – Magic Ever After

Rating: MoonKestrel Logo2 20px Grey

For some chaotic reason (I think health and house move) I had not posted my review for this entry into one of my favourite middle grade series!

Diary of an Accidental Witch follows Bea who moves into a new village with her dad who studies the weather, and the weather here is all funky, but it may have to do with the magical school nearby rather than just natural phenomenon.

Bea ends up going to witch school and turns out she is a witch, so we follow her shenanigans through a series of books (I have reviewed all of them and I love them so much!). Magic Ever After is what looks to be the last of the series. This is the one bad thing of this book, that it is the last so far and I am heartbroken!

Bea’s ready for magical plans over the school holidays and then she realises her dad is obsessed with trying to do magic, and Taffy is being too serious and thinking hard. So Bea is here to help her Dad and Taffy with their not so secret wedding. She then has extra secrets to keep, magic to teach, and a party to plan full of magic, chaos happens, but also, it is a very sweet book.

I enjoyed the relationships showing up and the friendship and everyone pulling up to help make this memorable, including Bea still panicking about things and her dad’s chaos happening, but in the end the wedding is so cute and very much in line with the chaos of the family.

Very cute, a nice “ending” for the series and with lots of potential for picking back up if they ever do!

Book Review

Moon Reads: Hex Vets The River Guardian

Posted on May 6, 2025

Hex Vets The River Guardian by Sam Davies and Lisa Moore

Rating:

When the first Hex Vet came out I was in love with them, cute and short, and just nice. You can read my reviews here and here. They were a delight to be read.

And then there was no more, it just stopped, so I assumed it was another one of those series that are left incomplete. So when the third volume was suddenly suggested because apparently there is going to be a series for it, I was happy to see it come up and immediately ordered it.

I immediately felt the difference in approach. As much as it is the same comic for starters now it is Hex Vets rather than Hex Vet and has a new author/illustrator, and the story is less twee, it is more trying to hit the spots for drama, and a TV series, rather than the focus being on comic medium.

This is a very weird thing to say of a book, but you can tell when the direction it had is suddenly not the same. This one was made for Tv, the previous two were just fun and made to be books. It makes a difference, you lose a lot of the beauty when you try to force a comic of a story that you are now plotting as an animation, and the other way around.

So that was the main loss of stars, the change in focus and the plot showing this change. It lost its star. The story is still cute and we’re still having some chaos in trying to be good vets to magical creatures, and it was cute to see the main reason for the disruption to the river health and why the creatures suddenly didn’t go too well. That was interesting, I just wish this had been still like the previous two.

I will still give it a chance if new volumes are released and hope that this was simply a transition volume, because the first two were really fun and cute.