Tag: middle grade adventure

cover of novel BUSTED - cartoon style kid with a black eye leaning out a front passenger car window, through the window there's a hairless cat, an old man driving and a red-haired girl in the backseat
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Busted

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Busted (Henry Holt, 2025) by Dan Gemeinhart is a fun romp.

Oscar sounds like an old man in a twelve-year-old body–mostly because he lives at a retirement home and has spent so much time with the residents. (He loves Bridge and Frank Sinatra.) When Pop is threatened with eviction, Oscar agrees to help old man Jimmy Deluca escape Sunny Days, for a promised amount of money. Along for the ride is twelve-year-old Natasha, the daughter of the man who owns the home, and Mr. Buttercup, a hairless cat. A wild adventure ensues.

Previously I recommended these of the author’s books: The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise, and the sequel Coyote Lost and Found, and The Honest Truth.

You can read about Dan here.

Cover of book 24 Hours in Nowhere - a reddish orange desert scene, bright blue sky, hot yellow sun, a trailer house, and four kids silhouetted as the climb.
Posted in Award Winners, MG Novels, So Many Good Books

24 Hours in Nowhere

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

24 Hours in Nowhere (Stirling Children’s Books, 2018) by Dusti Bowling is a fantastic tale of events that happen in 24 hours. (Honestly, I didn’t plan to recommend two books with the same time frame two weeks apart–I just happened to read them both now.)

13-year-old Gus can’t wait to get out of the town of Nowhere, Arizona. Their town is number one in things like poverty, high school drop outs, and drunken mine deaths. His hope is the SAT, which will get him to college. But meanwhile, Rossi gave up her motorbike to the local bully to save Gus from eating a cholla (nasty cactus), and Gus has to buy it back. His only hope is gold from the dangerous Dead Frenchman Mine.

I loved seeing how Gus grew and how his relationships changed on this adventure that involves a cave-in, a mountain lion, a black underground lake, and of course, a failing light source. Definitely a compelling read.

Check out all the awards for this book:
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
One of Shelf Awareness’s Best Books of 2018
A Golden Kite Honor Winner
A Silver Nautilus Award Winner
A Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year

Last year I recommended Dusti’s book Holding on for Dear Life. Dusti’s newest book is a YA coming out this October–The Drowning Game. She has many other books I haven’t read…yet. Go to her website for more info.

cover of The Accidental Stowaway
Posted in #Giveaway, MG Novels, So Many Good Books

The Accidental Stowaway

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

I just finished reading the fun romp, The Accidental Stowaway (Candlewick, 2022) by Judith Eagle and illustrated by Jo Rioux.

Twelve-year-old Patch Leonard didn’t mean to stowaway on the RMS Glorious steamship. But when she’s erroneously accused of stealing a plate of toffee, she runs. Right up on the gangplank. Before she knows it the ship has sailed and she’s stuck. Patch makes new friends, has to avoid being caught by the chief steward, and overhears criminals plotting a kidnap. And that’s only part of her problems.

Read about the author’s other books here.

Read about the illustrator here and check out her art here. Jo is also an author and you can see her books here.

I have a gently-read paperback (Walker, 2025) for one lucky winner who comments. (Let me know if you share this post on Social Media for extra tickets.)

cover of The Honest Truth
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

The Honest Truth

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

The Honest Truth (Scholastic Press, 2015) by Dan Gemeinhart is such a heart-wrenching story and a compelling read. Look at the opening lines, “The mountain was calling me. I had to run away. I had to.”

Mark and his dog, Beau, trained to be quiet in a duffle bag, leave home in Wenatchee without looking back. To throw off anyone looking for him, Mark buys bus tickets to Spokane, but then uses a train ticket to Seattle that he’d already purchased online. His plan? To climb to the top of Mount Rainier to die.

I love that we get his best friend, Jessie’s point of view too.

I’ve already recommended others of Dan’s books; I’m only sad I didn’t read this one earlier. It appears to be his first book published.

Read about the author here–he’s also a librarian–and check out his other books here.

cover of Beneath the Swirling Sky
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Beneath the Swirling Sky

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Beneath the Swirling Sky, The Restorationists 1 (Waterbrook, 2023) by Carolyn Leiloglou and illustrated by Vivienne To was a fun and nail-biting fantasy adventure. And bonus, I learned more about art and the art world.

12-year-old Vincent and his 6-year-old sister Lili are going to Great Uncle Leo’s for a week while their parents go on a cruise. Mom is upset that their young cousin Georgia is staying there and despite whispers between the adults about traveling and getting involved, she and Dad do leave. Vincent is afraid Uncle Leo, who is an art restorer, is going to make him work on art, but Leo only warns him, “Keep your paws off the art.” After what must surely have been a dream of going into Vincent Van Gogh’s Starry Night, Vincent knows it must have been true when Lili goes missing. He and Georgia team up to save her.

This is the first book in a trilogy. The sequels are expected summer 2024 and spring 2025. I’m really looking forward to them.

Read about the author here and check out her other publications here. Carolyn also is a book reviewer on this site.

See many of the illustrator’s beautiful art here and read about Vivienne here where you’ll see she’s also a visual development artist creating concept art for some animated movies. Here you can check out her picture books.