Marvelous Middle Grade Monday
I enjoyed Plotting the Stars 1: Moongarden (Pixel+Ink, 2022) by Michelle A. Barry very much. A girl who doesn’t fit in, a hidden room, unexpected friends including an old robot, shortsighted adults, and magic. All on the moon. (And isn’t the cover gorgeous?)
Myra Hodger is attending The Scientific Lunar Academy of Magic, but is not the Number Whisperer her parents expect. The tattoos aren’t developing, so she hides her forearms with long sleeves. Then she stumbles across a hidden lab with a secret garden. As she learns about the plants, Myra wonders if her newfound magical gift could help solve the food shortage problem the government is trying to hide. But will anyone let her?
Just out this month is the sequel, Seagarden. I’m looking forward to it, too.
This book was the author’s debut and has been called an update to the book The Secret Garden. Read about Michelle here.
Grown-upness is truly wasted on grown-ups. At least that’s what 12-year-old Liam thinks. Everyone who sees him thinks he’s an adult because of his height . . . and the stubble. It’s fun when he can use this misunderstanding to his advantage. But now that he’s on this secret mission in a spaceship 239,000 miles from earth as the “adult” chaperone to a group of kids and they’re completely doomed . . . not so much.