A Face Like Glass (Amulet Books, 2017) by Frances Hardinge is set in a believable, yet very unique underground city of Caverna.
Neverfell doesn’t remember anything before she was five when she ended up living and working with Cheesemaster Grandible as his cheese making apprentice. Her master makes her wear a mask whenever she meets anyone, which doesn’t happen very often as she’s never let outside his tunnels. At twelvish, Neverfell assumes the mask is because she’s so ugly. But when Neverfell goes out into the city itself, others think her face is terrifying, but for a reason she could never imagine. Will Neverfell be able to solve the mystery of where she came from?
If you like middle grade fantasy, you should read this book.
The cover on the left is the cover of the book I read. The cover on the right is the UK version, which I like better. The book originally came out in 2012.
Author Frances Hardinge has written a number of other books. You can read about them in her library. Her bio made me laugh. She likes wearing black hats as you can see here.
Category: MG Novels
middle grade novels (for 8-12 yo)
The Someday Suitcase
The Someday Suitcase (Katherine Tegan Books, 2017) by Corey Ann Haydu is a touching story of friendship and loss.
Clover and Danny are like two sides of a coin. The pair are always together. They laugh and have good times; they help each other with their strengths. When in fifth grade science class, Clover learns about symbiosis, she’s sure that’s the perfect description for her and Danny. When Danny gets sick with a mysterious illness, only Clover can make him feel better. Clover’s sure she’s the one that will find a cure for him, too, but no one believes her as Danny gets weaker and weaker.
And, yes, the snow globe on the front of the book has a special significance.
I look forward to seeing what awards this book wins.
Corey Ann writes for teens and children–check out her books here. She shares her teenage diaries here on the blog “What My Former Self Can Tell Me Now.”
The First Last Day
The First Last Day (Simon & Schuster/Aladdin, 2016) by Dorian Cirrone is an interesting take on the idea of not wanting summer to end. Who hasn’t wanted that as a kid? Plus, there’s a do over aspect. It’s also a good read about friendship and choices.
Twelve-year-old Haleigh and Kevin have had a great time this summer at the Jersey shore. Tomorrow his mom is coming to get Kevin to take him home and Haleigh has to go home and get ready for another new school. When Haleigh finds a mysterious set of paints in her backpack and paints a picture of their last day, she wakes up to their last day again. And again, and again. What will she do about the time loop?
This book reminds me of the movie Groundhog’s Day, except I can’t remember why the time loop happened in the movie. And this story brings up some interesting issues that the movie didn’t. The book has been translated into Finnish and has won a 2017 Florida Book Awards Gold Medal.
Dorian writes for kids and teens. Read about all her books here. And you really should read the longer version of her bio here–I bet it will make you smile.
Cloud and Wallfish
Cloud and Wallfish (Candlewick Press, 2016) by Anne Nesbet has an unusual title and is an unusual story. It’s a historical set in 1989, before and after the Berlin Wall comes down, but it’s way more than that.
Noah’s parents came together to pick him up from fifth grade. And as the text says, “…in Noah’s family, picking up kids at school was a one-parent activity.” Things get weirder from there. Much weirder. The family is moving to Germany–but “not the usual Germany.” They say it’s for an urgent expedition. But what expedition has you changing your name and birthday? And when they get to East Berlin Noah can’t go to school because of his speech defect–he stutters. But he ends up making a friend anyway. And, well, let’s just say things get riskier from then on.
I love this book. I like Noah’s personality and the Secret Files. I like how it ends. It was a hard-to-put-down read. Cloud and Wallfish was awarded the California Book Award gold medal in the Juvenile category in June. You can read about that here. See the other awards here.
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you may recognize Anne’s name as I’ve mentioned her previous books here too. Here’s her website if you’d like more info about Anne or her books.
Rules for Thieves
Rules for Thieves (Aladdin, 2017) by Alexandra Ott was a satisfying story.
For twelve-year-old Alli adoption day at the orphanage is the worst. No one wants her and she doesn’t want to be adopted either. When taken into a room with potential parents, she escapes the orphanage for the final time. Unfortunately, life on the streets does not go well and she is cursed with a spell that will eventually kill her. She meets Beck, a young thief, who not only helps her get food, but has an idea of how she can raise the money to save her life. Through Beck she may have found a home of her own with the Thieves Guild, but will she pass the trial they’ve set?
I don’t want to do spoilers, but was very pleased with the decisions Alli makes in the end.
This is author Alexandra Ott’s debut fantasy. A sequel is coming in summer 2018, which makes me happy. Alexandra is also an editorial assistant at Entangled Publishing. Read more about her on her website.