Tag: middle grade fantasy

cover of Nightingale
Posted in Award Winners, MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Nightingale

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Nightingale (Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2022) by Deva Fagan was a fun fantasy–there’s a magic sword, flying, an evil factory owner, workers literally ghosting, princes, a giant robot, a possibly war on the horizon, and a hero or two.

12-year-old Lark is an orphan just trying to earn enough money to get her mother’s locket back from mean Mrs. Starvenger. During an attempted theft she accidentally touches a magicked sword and becomes the fabled hero Nightingale expected to save Gallant from an ancient evil. 13-year-old Prince Jasper was the one who awakened the sword, but unfortunately the sword has a mind of it’s own and won’t go back. But Lark can’t be a hero, can’t she?

The book is a 2022 Bank Street Best Children’s Book of the Year and has been put on a several state lists. Read more here.

Read about the author here and check out her other books on her site.

cover of The Girl Who Kept the Castle
Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

The Girl Who Kept the Castle

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

The Girl Who Kept the Castle (Quill Tree Books, 2024) by Ryan Graudin was a fun fantasy with humor and heart. It also has a main character who has to fight against what is expected. Plus, there’s a dragon.

Look at the first line, “Wizard West was dead for nearly an entire day before he noticed.” And actually he doesn’t notice. It’s up to Faye, the daughter of the West’s groundskeeper, to tell him he’s dead. (The servants cast lots.) “Sugarcoat the situation,” Puck, the cat says. But the wizard is angry to hear the news and casts a spell to turn Faye into a . . .

Read about the author here and check out her many books here. I love finding a new author.

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.

Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

Over the Moon

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday

Over the Moon (Scholastic Press, 2019) by Natalie Lloyd is a delightful fantasy. That doesn’t mean there isn’t trouble.

Twelve-year-old Mallie Ramble’s family depends on her wages, since her father can no longer go Down Under and work in the mine. But she’s sick of leaving Coal Top and going down to the valley to work as a servant for the rich. When an opportunity comes up for adventure and riches–even if it is for boys only, especially orphans–Mallie applies. However, her new job is more risky than she could imagine.

Meet Starbirds (flying horses), villains, monsters, and more in this world of dust where once people wove starlight.

I’ve recommended Natalie Lloyd’s first book here. See her other books here. And read about her here.

Posted in MG Novels, So Many Good Books

The Turning

Posted on by Susan Uhlig

TheTurningThe Turning (Greenwillow Books, 2018) by Emily Whitman is SO good! It’s compelling from the first line to the end. I had so much sympathy for the main character. And his family.
Aran is a selkie. He lives at sea with the clan. But unlike the others he is always in longlimbs as he has no selkie skin to transform him into a seal. He prays to the moon to give him one so he can dive without needing to surface for breath, so he can swim long distances and keep up with the others. Then he finds out his mother has kept a secret from him and he may never get a pelt. Aran will risk everything to be a full selkie–even living on land.
What a magical story of a convincing world! (The book has a cool cover too.) You really don’t want to miss reading this book that has been chosen as a Junior Library Guild Selection.
Read Emily’s About Me to learn some of the inspiration for this book. The author has also written YA books–you can read about them here.