middle grade – Page 8 – The Constellation of Moon

Amina’s Voice Review

Posted on October 30, 2019

Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan

Amina has never been comfortable in the spotlight. She is happy just hanging out with her best friend, Soojin. Except now that she’s in middle school everything feels different. Soojin is suddenly hanging out with Emily, one of the “cool” girls in the class, and even talking about changing her name to something more “American.” Does Amina need to start changing too? Or hiding who she is to fit in? While Amina grapples with these questions, she is devastated when her local mosque is vandalized.

Amina’s Voice brings to life the joys and challenges of a young Pakistani-American and highlights the many ways in which one girl’s voice can help bring a diverse community together to love and support each other.

Rating:

This is a middle grade book, and it feels exactly like I think a middle grade book should. There’s the trying to define who you are and the slow tentative of “am I becoming a teenager, or not?”.

Amina has a beautiful voice and loves singing but her anxiety and shyness mean that she doesn’t participate and sing to others. Even with the encouraging of her teacher.

There’s a lot of pondering about her identity and her family, what are the expectations and who is she. But there is the contrast of her best friend too and other friends joining in to the team and what being the outcasts or the odd ones in school can mean.

There are so many things explore through the book that as I write the review I think “Oh, this one too”. For example, it touches on not letting preconceptions on who is your friend or your enemy stop you from finding good friends.

It also touches on Amina’s identity as a Muslim-Pakistani and the contrast between living in America and the expectations of how they ought to behave form family in Pakistan (and a visit from her Uncle, who shakes her world a little).

There is also the fact that there is a community in the mosque and how that works. I felt for Amina at times because I used to have to go to church and that same feeling she’d have at times about going to the mosque I have had regarding church.

In general, this is a wonderful little book that highlights being confident and using your gifts/talents and abilities, how community is what matters and in bad times it is what helps move forward in so many ways. It is also about friendship, and identity, when you are not one or the other (not American, not Pakistani? Both?). Very intriguing and a thought provoking book.

Book Review, Books

Everdark Review

Posted on March 18, 2019

Everdark by Abi Elphinstone

It is midnight in Crackledawn – a midnight full of magic. Sea dragons stir in the depths of the ocean, silver whales surface beneath the moon and sand goblins line the shores. Everyone is waiting for the phoenix, the guardian of the kingdom’s magic, to rise up from the forests of Everdark.

But there is no sign of the phoenix tonight. Something else surges up out of Everdark instead: a harpy bent on stealing Crackledawn’s magic.

It is up to an eleven-year-old girl called Smudge and an eccentric monkey called Bartholomew to set sail beyond the legendary Northswirl and stop the harpy before it’s too late.

So, grab your compass and roll down your sail – the first adventure in THE UNMAPPED CHRONICLES is about to begin…

Rating:

I enjoyed this little book so much and it made me want to read Rumblestar even more (I already wanted to).

We meet Smudge, who isn’t the very best at, well, anything. She struggles to be a good student, and isn’t sure she fits the potential careers she can have. We also meet her monkey companion, Bartholomew, and well, poor Smudge has no choice but to save the world because she is the only one that wasn’t cursed.

So she sets off to try to sort this out, with just her courage, and her unusual view of the world and ideas.

I enjoyed reading it very much. It is a good reminder of why I still love to read Middle Grade books even if I have no children myself and I am most definitely not a child myself.

The quest keeps moving forward, and the book does a good job at pointing out that being different and not fitting the status quo isn’t always bad, but rather, gives you an opportunity to be something else. Here it is an adventurer, but in our world we would potentially consider them to be the creatives, the innovators.

There’s a lot of magic, a lot of happy accidents that somehow help them out and a lot of courage from Smudge.

Book Review

The Spinner of Dreams Review

Posted on March 6, 2019

The Spinner of Dreams by K. A. Reynolds

Annalise Meriwether–though kind, smart, and curious–is terribly lonely.

Cursed at birth by the devious Fate Spinner, Annalise has always lived a solitary life with her loving parents. She does her best to ignore the cruel townsfolk of her desolate town–but the black mark on her hand won’t be ignored.

Not when the monster living within it, which seems to have an agenda of its own, grows more unpredictable each day.

There’s only one way for Annalise to rid herself of her curse: to enter the Labyrinth of Fate and Dreams and defeat the Fate Spinner. So despite her anxiety, Annalise sets out to undo the curse that’s defined her–and to show the world, and herself, exactly who she is inside.

Rating:

I had preordered this lovely book at the start of the year when I did a huge sweep of books to preorder, and then the lovely Asha (@cat_book_tea) had an ARC and thought I would love (which made me smile because I already thought I’d love it, so yay!). And then the author did a giveaway and I won a digital copy of it.

Due to my photosensitivity I rarely ever read anything in digital format and do not accept review copies of this kind (plus, I prefer if someone who may actually read it in that format gets a chance for it instead of “gathering electrical dust”). So I politely mentioned this to her, and lo and behold. I now have a physical copy. I felt SO seen, which automatically made me smile whenever I picked this proof copy.

But now unto the actual contents of the book. This is a middle grade book and boy! It is the kind of book I wish I had written, you know how they say, “write the books you want to read”? Well, my child/teen self would’ve loved to read this book at the time. This is the book that the me then should’ve written. And now I have written myself into a loop of writing. Nevermind that.

We start with the introduction to what, or rather who, the Fate and Dream Spinner are. You could say we start with a “fairytale”. Then we get a “more in reality” view, and finally, we meet Annalise, our main character (MC). She has purple hair (loved it!) and is cursed. The day she was born lots of bad things happened and the whole town hates her, despite how much she tries to be kind and nice (and she is, not just tries). Then hope appears and things go a bit wrong, so she decides she has to challenge the Fate Spinner, solve the Labyrinth and ask the Dream Spinner to fulfill her dream (to rule her own destiny).

And that way we begin the quest to find the way to the labyrinth first of all (I liked that this has to be done rather than just wishing and ending up in front of the Labyrinth). Along the way we meet Muse, a talking cat with a hat and monocle (huge huge Ghibli vibes from Muse, and I absolutely loved that!). We also meet Mr. Edwards, a fox also wanting to make his dream come true alongside his husband fox, Mr. Amorieux.

The labyrinth is a good quest plot, and it kept me entretained, and also rooting for each fo the characters, including the minor ones (like trees, or a cockatrice, or a pair of siblings). The character growth of Annalise is gradual, and that was something I appreciated, as sometimes the character has this magic shortcut to growth and that is that. Annalise has magic, but it is a curse in her hand, so not exactly the nice shortcut.

Another thing that made me treasure this book more was that Annalise struggled with anxiety and panic attacks. She counts in fours. I do that too. Either with my breaths or counting in German 1,2,3,4… 5,6,7,8… then restart. The German counting is the only one that kinda goes beyond four, but I do it in chunks of four. So it was nice to see that and easily identify with her.

All the little or big plot twists fit well and none felt too crazy (I figured a few out, one I got it slightly wrong, but the “nature” of it I had right). The world building is also precise, even if you only get a glimpse of it. And I found the characters charming.

Basically, everyone should read this book and maybe eat some nice cake with it. With a lovely cup of tea. Enjoy!

Book Review, Books

The Boy Who Flew With Dragons Review

Posted on January 21, 2019

The Boy Who Flew With Dragons by Andy Shepherd

Tomas can’t imagine life without his little dragon Flicker. He’s become more than a pet – he’s a friend like no other. And growing dragons on the dragonfruit tree in the garden with his friends Ted, Kat and Kai is the most amazing thing ever. But Tomas has promised Grandad something – that he and his friends will let their dragons go back to where they belong. The only problem is – that isn’t such an easy thing to do. Not when they are still having so much fun with dragons Flicker, Sunny, Crystal and Dodger. Not when they still have to work out where the dragons’ home is, and how to get the dragons to leave. And not when Tomas is so close to uncovering the true story of the mysterious dragonfruit tree …

Rating:

This is the third (and I think last) in the series. And I had preordered it as soon as I finished the first one because how can you not fall in love with this series?

We take off a little after the end of the previous book, and little Loli gets a dragon, and oh wow I don’t want to spoil it, but it also points to the fact Tomas doesn’t want to get rid of the dragons, but he also doesn’t want to break his promise to Grandad.

Then of course something happens and things get interesting and the dragons do have to leave. But also, we get a little more backstory on how the tree came to be in their garden and about the Lost Dragon City (which is where the tree kinda came from). Part of me wanted to read the adventures of how the city was first found, maybe a next book idea? I would totally buy that!

The artwork, the “burnt” pages, and everything makes this book also quite lovely. I basically sat down and had to read it one go. And it went by too fast, but it had some good points and great lessons in tehre without feeling like the same thing over and over again.

Moon recommends

Go read the very first one, The Boy Who Grew Dragons, as it is the start of the story and it is worth it, and now you can get all three of them and read them in one go. (Or maybe try to space them to make it last? I don’t know what kind of person you are, but whatever option is, that one).

Book Review, Books

A Monster Calls Review

Posted on November 28, 2018

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

An extraordinary novel of love, loss and hope

12.07. There’s a monster at Conor’s window.
It’s not the one from his nightmare. But it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.

It wants the truth.

Now a powerful and haunting film, Patrick Ness’s modern classic is a heartbreaking but uplifting tale of healing and, above all, the courage it takes to survive.

Rating:

Nikki from Books and Lemon Squash recommended this book, and it had taken me a long time to actually decide to read it. Part of it is because I have read his other books and didn’t like them at all. But then, I was reassured the original bit of story wasn’t his, so I finally gave it a go.

This is the story of Conor, and the monster that comes to his window. This monster promises to tell him three stories and then Conor has to tell the last one, the truth. Because once he does, the monster will help him.

We see two things happening in this story, one is the stories the “yew monster” tells Conor, which frustrate him, and confuse him. There is no clear white and black in any of the stories, and this frustrates Conor, for he wants the predictable easy good vs bad in them. The stories do not comfort him.

And we have the reality, his mum and her treatments, her bald head. We see how he slowly becomes invisible to his school, and to the world. And how he sometimes sees himself as invisible. He’s doing the best he can, and holding on to hope.

But what is this nightmare, and how is the monster going to help? And what is the truth Conor refuses to accept or acknowledge?

It was an interesting book to read, especially as I recently lost my aunt to cancer, so it hit close to home and made me tear up a little as I knew where this was going and it was just that sadness seeping into me. But it was also good to read and I liked it.

Moon recommends

Why not support a Cancer charity like Cancer Research? Also, you can go read this particular book (I can’t really recommend any of his other books, alas).

Book Review

How to Catch a Witch Review

Posted on November 14, 2018

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How to Catch a Witch by Abie Longstaff

Charlie and her family have moved from the big city to a small country village, and everything feels wrong. Their cottage is old and creepy. Anxiety about her new school is causing Charlie’s stutter to return. And the villagers are just plain weird. Not least, Agatha, who may not have a broomstick or a cauldron, but is definitely a witch…

Rating:

I got lucky, as I was browsing my local Waterstones, I saw this books on a stand and they were signed by the author (I have this one and the sequel signed). The story looked very cute and interesting, so I had to get it (plus signed, right? no one can resist such a deal).

I read this quite quickly as it was easy and it was a nice mix of contemporary and fantasy/witchy fun. The beginning reminds me a little of Spirited Away, as in the main character just moved and isn’t very keen on it. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly why, but somehow it does for me.

This does not ruin it but rather make me more intrigued to find more, and Charlie is an itneresting character. She has a stutter and it was interesting to be inside her thoughts as she tries to navigate the new town, the new school and life in general, plus that odd buzzing in her head.

At some point she wishes she could catch a witch to give her a spell to get rid of the stutter, and lo and behold, she meets one! And makes a friend.

The story was sweet, very empowering and helpful to see that “flaws” aren’t always bad and can be used for good or to benefit something. It also had a lot of power on friendship and life which I also thought was delightful.

Moon recommends

If you’ve been following this blog, I have been on a Middle Grade and Witchy reads streak, so what can I recommend? The Aprentice Witch is a good choice, it is not the same as How to Catch a Witch but it has some interesting elements.

Book Review, Books

The Boy Who Grew Dragons Review

Posted on November 4, 2018

The Boy Who Grew Dragons by Andy Shepherd

When Tomas discovers a strange old tree at the bottom of his grandad’s garden, he doesn’t think much of it. But he takes the funny fruit from the tree back into the house – and gets the shock and delight of his life when a tiny dragon hatches! The tree is a dragonfruit tree, and Tomas has got his very own dragon, Flicker …

Tomas soon finds out that life with Flicker is great fun, but also very … unpredictable. Yes, dragons are wonderful, but they also set fire to your toothbruth and leave your pants hanging from the TV aerial. Tomas has to learn how to look after Flicker – and quickly. And then something extraordinary happens – more dragonfruits appear on the tree. Tomas is officially growing dragons …

Rating:

With a title like that, how could I resist? I saw it in Waterstones and promptly bought it and the sequel. (And there’s another one coming out soonish).

We meet Tomas, who is helpiong his Grandpa to clear up his garden and try to grow something. As they do this they find a strange fruit which turns out to be a dragon fruit (pitaya). And well, Tomas takes one of the fruits home because he is curious about it, and then all of a sudden it hatches a tiny dragon!

Flicker is a cutie, however what is Tomas going to do now that he has a small dragon?

This was really fun to read, and I loved the fact that it is a “not everything is perfect” kind of story. The illustrations make it even better and hint at things to come. And it is also interesting to see the relationships of Tomas and family and friends.

All in all a quick enjoyable read.

Moon recommends

I have recently been reading a lot of Middle Grade, so check out The Dragon with The Chocolate Heart for example, and obviously The Boy Who Grew Dragons.

Book Review

Orgo Runners: Skull Cavern Review

Posted on October 25, 2018

This will be a slightly informal review as this is a short story. But I won’t skip the rating so no worries there.

Rating:

This is meant to be a spooky adventure and I think for children it would be (I can totally imagine this being read to them and having to do voices and it works for the creepy/scary factor quite well). And of course it is but a short story, placed between books.

One of the things it does very well is to make you want to read the next book, as it hints at things to come that they discover in this particular cavern. (I definitely want to know more, but to say what about would be to spoil this story).

The pacing is fast and it still covers a kind of recap included in the story, just in case you have read the books a while ago and don’t remember everything. Trey and Badger were very happy to see that Orgo and Gugubats are still part of the story, even in this short one, so they posed alongside the book, eager to please.

[In case you haven’t been following on twitter, Trey is the Orgo on the left of the picture, and Badger is the Gugubat on the right holding the book. A group of us post pictures of the adventures of our little Orgos (and gugubat) with the tag #iwantanorgo #orgoadventures which you can follow if you’re curious].

Book Review, Books

The Girl With The Dragon Heart Review

Posted on October 13, 2018

The Girl With The Dragon Heart by Stephanie Burgis

Once upon a time, in a beautiful city famous for chocolate and protected by dragons, there was a girl so fearless that she dared to try to tell the greatest story of all: the truth.

Silke has always been good at spinning the truth and storytelling. So good that just years after arriving as a penniless orphan, she has found her way up to working for the most splendid chocolate makers in the city (oh, and becoming best friends with a dragon). Now her gift for weaving words has caught the eye of the royal family, who want to use her as a spy when the mysterious and dangerous fairy royal family announce they will visit the city. But Silke has her own dark, secret reasons for not trusting fairies …

Can Silke find out the truth about the fairies while keeping her own secrets hidden? From the author of the magical The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart comes a second magical adventure perfect for fans of Cressida Cowell, Cornelia Funke and Peter Bunzl.

Rating:

I previously reviewed the first book in this series, The Dragon With The Chocolate Heart, and I had ordered both, so I dug into this one shortly after finishing the first one. Once again, there is a lot of chocolate, which is delightful.

Adventurine is still part of the story, but it gets more interesting as we see more of Silke and we’re more inside her head. We learn a little about her past (well, a lot but it starts with a little that makes her accept a mission she isn’t that suited to do).

She also uses her “smarts” to win the situation over and realises the power of friendships, of family and herself (and she finds out who she truly is and what her talents are rather than trying hard to be something she isn’t).

It is an adorable story that I would recommend to anyone and it has sent me into a spiral of buying books about dragons and witches, all middle grade… (I even have a MG dedicated shelf now, oh dear!).

Moon recommends

First, check out the prequel out and then dig into this one because it is worth it.

Book Review

Orgo Runners: The First Collection Review

Posted on September 19, 2018

Orgo Runners: The First Collection by R.J. Furness (Illustrations by Amy Leslie)

R.J. Furness, author of the “dissent” books, brings you Orgo Runners…

This the first of many AMAZING adventures, featuring the orgo!!

In a future ice-age…

Living in Port Harmony, Fayth and her friends are among the greatest at riding orgo! But when they are forced to become Food Runners, they embark on a dangerous journey to deliver supplies to Scorr Tanta.

Will their skill at riding orgo help them succeed in their mission?

Rating:

Disclaimer: I was provided a copy of the book by the author in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start this by saying I love my little orgo and if you follow me on Twitter you may have seen Trey going on adventures under the tags #iwantanorgo and #orgoadventures. The latest one was visiting Paddington Bear.

So now unto the actual review of the book.

The first few pages I read were very confusing and it took me a little bit to actually get into the story (I just felt like I was thrown into it and couldn’t grasp well what was going on). But afterwards, it started on a good foot and stayed there. I love the creatures, do not like the way people are treated.

Without spoiling much, I can say that the subplots in each adventure (and in all adventures over all because some carry over) keep you wanting to go on reading just to figure out if your guess is right, or if they’ll make it, or what new thing Ink will manage to produce and use.

It is also lovely they are a rag tag bunch of teenagers trying to make the most of their lives and managing as best as they can (and the fact that they don’t have everything in control, or all the answers at any given moment was refreshing to read, and to see them fail sometimes and just wipe off the dust and keep trying a different way).

The little search game had me looking for them in every illustration until I figured it out (the illustrations are very cute too and made it a bit easier to imagine things) which was a lovely bonus to the book (and I found them all! woohoo).

Moon recommends

Try out Orgo Runners. I would also recommend checking out The Apprentice Witch.