My Favorite Middle Grade Novels

Happy Friday, bibliovores! Today is another day in which I didn't feel like writing/posting a review, but did feel like posting something... so I'm doing another favorites post! You can check out my other favorites posts in a previous posts (for example). 

Here are some of my favorite Middle Grade novels, from my adolescent days! I no longer read Middle Grade but when I was young, from age 10 to a young teen, I used to love MG books. Keep in mind, this was around 2005 to 2008 or so. Here's my list!

    

  

    

  

    

    

  

  

My favorites were the Deltora books! There are several series within that world and I loved them all. I highly recommend them. I may need to do a reread!

Promo and Giveaway: Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

Hi folks! Today I'm promoting Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi, an MG fantasy novel that published last week. I'm going to share a color board I made on Pinterest, and there is a giveaway of awesome stuff below!

My color board:

The lands of Furthermore and Ferenwood are filled with color-magic. So, I created a color mood-board of my favorite things!

About Furthermore:

Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi

Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: August 30, 2016

Summary (from Goodreads):

The bestselling author of the Shatter Me series takes readers beyond the limits of their imagination in this captivating new middle grade adventure where color is currency, adventure is inevitable, and friendship is found in the most unexpected places.

There are only three things that matter to twelve-year-old Alice Alexis Queensmeadow: Mother, who wouldn't miss her; magic and color, which seem to elude her; and Father, who always loved her. The day Father disappears from Ferenwood he takes nothing but a ruler with him. But it's been almost three years since then, and Alice is determined to find him. She loves her father even more than she loves adventure, and she's about to embark on one to find the other.

But bringing Father home is no small matter. In order to find him she'll have to travel through the mythical, dangerous land of Furthermore, where down can be up, paper is alive, and left can be both right and very, very wrong. Her only companion is a boy named Oliver whose own magical ability is based in lies and deceit--and with a liar by her side in a land where nothing is as it seems, it will take all of Alice's wits (and every limb she's got) to find Father and return home to Ferenwood in one piece. On her quest to find Father, Alice must first find herself--and hold fast to the magic of love in the face of loss.

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About the Author:

Tahereh Mafi is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Shatter Me series. She can usually be found over-caffeinated and stuck in a book. You can find her online just about anywhere at @TaherehMafi or on her website, www.taherehbooks.com.

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Follow Penguin Teen:

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The Giveaway:

I'm partnering with Penguin Random House to offer this wonderful giveaway! You could win Tahereh’s Favorite Things: Prize Pack #4. One (1) winner receives:

- a copy of Furthermore
- a “But First, Coffee” Thermal Mug
- a pair of “I Am Very Busy” Socks

Giveaway open to US addresses only.
Prizing and samples provided by Penguin Random House.

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Banned Books Blog Tour: The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar

Welcome to the Random House Children's Banned Books blog tour! I am so excited to be celebrating Banned Books Week with Random House and The Boy Who Lost His Face! Check out my shortened review below, and a discussion of the banning of this particular book.

The Boy Who Lost His Face by Louis Sachar

Publisher: Yearling

Publication Date: April 15, 1997

Rating: 4 stars

Source: Copy sent by the publisher

Summary (from Goodreads):

David is only trying to be cool when he helps some of the popular kids steal Old Lady Bayfield’s cane. But when the plan backfires, he’s the one the “old witch” curses. Now David can’t seem to do anything right. The cool kids taunt him and his only friends are freaks. He even walks into Spanish class with his fly unzipped! And when he finally gets up the nerve to ask out a cute girl, his pants fall down in midsentence. Is it the Bayfield curse at work? Or is David simply turning into a total loser?

What I Liked:

This review is going to be very abridged! Like a mini-review. David is a young boy in middle school, who is friends with Scott. Except Scott wants to hang out with the cool kids (Randy and Roger), and David isn't quite cool enough to hang out with them. The boys decide to steal an old lady's cane from her, and the old lady places a curse on David! Suddenly everything is going wrong - David breaks his parents' bedroom window, his fly is never zipped, his pants fall down, he spills flour everywhere. Meanwhile, his "friends" make fun of him and completely push him out of their circles, and David makes two new friends. But will the curse ever be lifted?

This is Middle Grade, if you couldn't tell or didn't know! I haven't read a Middle Grade book in a long time, but I've enjoyed them in the past. I read Holes at least ten years ago, and loved it! This book was great as well.

I loved that the author hit so many issues that a kid in middle school would experience: fitting in, liking a girl, being awkward, dealing with younger siblings, growing up, learning good things and bad things. So many great topics Sachar hit in this book, which is pretty great. It takes me back to when I was in middle school! 

I was surprised to see that this was on the banned list, but as I was reading, I had to constantly remind myself that this book is Middle Grade! Not Young Adult or New Adult or Adult. See my discussion of why this book was banned at the bottom of this post! 

Overall, I liked following David's story. It was cute, funny, and all too real.  I know I haven't said much specifically about the characters or plot, but just know that this is definitely a great book to give new teens!

What I Did Not Like:

This book was adorable! I don't think I have any dislikes at the moment.

Would I Recommend It:

For new teens, I'd recommend this book! It's very real, yet very humorous. It's also short, less than 200 pages! It was banned (for reasons we shall ignore), but it's definitely something younger teens will enjoy and relate to!

Rating:

4 stars. Louis Sachar is such a well-known and talented children's author, so it doesn't surprise me that I liked this book! I wish I had read it as a kid, it was published a few years after I was born! I did read Holes as a kid, and I liked that book a lot.

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Was this review helpful? Please let me know in the comments section!

Banned Books Discussion:

Why in the world was this cute book banned? I did a little research. It seems like the reasons are specific to the age level of this book. In YA books, you'll see witches and profanity and bullying left and right. In Middle Grade? Maybe not as common. Here are reasons why this book was banned:

- Mentions of witchery, the occult: the woman the boys still the cane from? She's a witch, according to the boys, and she put a spell on David. Or did she...

- Profanity: David learns what "flipping the bird" is, as well as he learns and uses some heavy duty swear and curse words, like bulls***. All part of growing up!

- Romance/sexuality: David really liked Tori Williams. Maybe middle schoolers aren't allowed to like each other. The thing is, we all have middle school crushes. So this reason is bogus (just like the rest of them, honestly.)

- Bullying: David gets bullied in this book, as does one of his new friends, Mo. Mo is bullied by Roger, Randy, and Scott, who ask her if she is a boy or a girl, or if she is a dog. Kids are rude. Kids are cruel. There is one scene in this book that is terrifying - David and some of his friends get into this crazy bad fight with Randy and Roger and Scott. The violence was shocking, for this book!

In my personal opinion, these reasons are silly. Youths today are learning about sexuality and profanity at a very young age. As for bullying, that is also something that can be experienced at a young age. And the occult - well, Harry Potter is probably worse, right?

Banning books would make me want to read the book even more! There was a great discussion about banning books at the Baltimore Book Festival this past weekend, with Kami Garcia, Melissa Marr, Jennifer L. Armentrout Martina Boone, and a few others. With this book, there are so many reasons to hand it to new teens and young adolescents! So I clearly don't think this book should have been banned. Bring on Sachar!

Review: Palace of Lies by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Palace of Lies by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Book Three of The Palace Chronicles

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: April 7, 2015

Rating: 1 star

Source: eARC from Edelweiss

Summary (from Goodreads):

Desmia discovers the reality of royalty is far from a fairy tale in this third adventure set in the Cinderella-esque world of Just Ella and Palace of Mirrors, from New York Times bestselling author Margaret Peterson Haddix.

Desmia and her twelve sister-princesses are ruling Suala together at last, a united front. The kingdom seems to have finally gotten its happily ever after, but Desmia, trained by a lifetime of palace intrigue, is not so sure. She desperately wants to believe all is well, but she can’t help seeing danger around every corner.

And then the unthinkable happens, and Desmia’s worst fears are confirmed. Now, without the support of the sister-princesses she’s grown to rely on or the trappings of royalty that have always convinced people to listen to her, Desmia must find the courage to seek out the truth on her own terms—and to determine the course of two kingdoms.

What I Liked:

SKIP. Sorry not sorry. This book was all kinds of awful. I'm not even going to sit here and write a full review on this one. Not wasting my time.

What I Did Not Like:

First and foremost: Simon & Schuster did an AWFUL job of marketing this book. Let me explain. When I downloaded this book from Edelweiss in June (JUNE. 2014), there wasn't much about this book. No information about a synopsis, no cover, no series information. LOOK at my Stacking the Shelves post - you'll see that I had a placeholder cover up, and I stated, "Not much has been said about this one, but I'm wiling to give it a try!" I had NO idea that this book was a third book in the series. There was NO indication of this on Edelweiss at the time. And on Goodreads, there was barely even a publication year (at the time). You want to know when I realized that this book was a third book? JUST NOW, when I went to input my 1-star rating on Goodreads. I was like, ohh...

I mean, I was giving it 1 star anyway. Regardless of the number in the series, this one wasn't getting more than 1 star. I think this series reads as a companion series - you can read the books in any order, or none at all. The thing is, had I known that this book was part of a series (even if it was a companion series), I wouldn't have picked it up.

Second thing: this is MIDDLE GRADE. Not Young Adult. I've not been able to read Middle Grade in quite some time, and this book is the epitome of why. I couldn't stand the immaturity of the characters in this book. I couldn't wrap my head around the absurdity of the situations of this book. I just could not believe the story, let alone like the story. And I get it - it's fantasy. But something about fourteen- and ten-year-old children taking down grown men doesn't sit well with me. When I say "take down", I mean "outwit". But also, the ten-year-old children are pretty well-versed in killing people. Okay.

I didn't like the protagonist, Desmia. She's fourteen, and gosh does she act her age (or less, really). She's so conceited and selfish, and honestly, her character and personality don't really develop throughout the story. The author likes to TELL us readers that she does, by physically forcing Desmia's thoughts in a certain way, but it's not natural and doesn't flow right at all. I want to be SHOWN that Desmia is maturing. Don't TELL me she is. Don't have HER tell me. 

I didn't like the supporting characters, either. They're all so YOUNG, and so immature, and their roles don't seem right at all, for their age. It's like the author was trying to tell a Young Adult story in a Middle Grade type of book... I could not wrap my head around the characters and their age and the things they were doing. Like, they seemed too stupid to be doing some things, and entirely too smart to be able to do other things. If that makes sense.

The whole plot is absurd. Go find the twelve princesses that were probably killed in the fire - oh, but you're seriously injured, so you have to depend on others to take you. Not to mention that these other people will drop their entire lives and money and home and EVERYTHING for you and your problems. Somehow, I just did not believe this plot arc. I wasn't buying it. I was rolling my eyes the entire time, or had an eyebrow cocked, or was staring incredulously at the pages.

Seriously, if you're going to write a Middle Grade book, age your characters as such, and mature (or immature) them as such. Don't make them super-smart, super-strong, super-witty children sent from heaven or something. Literally the entire time I was thinking to myself, these are CHILDREN?!

But again, the story seemed ridiculous. I'm not even doing it justice by saying it was "ridiculous". It was so trivial and superfluous - this book was one of those books where I was like, what's the point? This story seemed recycled and retold and booooooring, to be honest. Thank goodness the book was semi-short. 

I really wanted almost everyone to end up dead... of course that was not the case. Take that as you may. This book ends so cartoon-like and cookie-cutter perfect. And the villains - literally so cartoon-like! It's like these GROWN men and women are idiots, at the hands of fourteen-year-old children! Really! These children can run a castle better than men and women who have been around a palace for years?! Yes, I believe that, totally...

Overall, I'm not pleased, not amused, and 100% would not recommend. It's Middle Grade, but it's superfluous Middle Grade. It's MIDDLE GRADE - not Young Adult (like it seemed to have been marketed to be). I would never have picked up this one, had I known that it was a book three, as well as Middle Grade. Please, publishers, market your books correctly. I know you like to upload your books super early to Edelweiss, but really, it would help immensely if you had the book's information (like, at the very least, the number in the series). 

Would I Recommend It:

NOOOOOO. Maybe if you've read the other two books in the series. But nooooo. Don't do it. It's not worth it.

Rating:

1 star (really, it would be lower than that if possible. Again, sorry not sorry). This was definitely NOT for me. And now I know better than to be interested in an unknown, supposedly YA, non-series fantasy novel. Sad life.

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Armchair BEA Day Five: Topic of Choice (Book Conventions in General) and Middle Grade/Young Adult

Topic of Choice (Book Conventions):

...

Middle Grade/Young Adult:

I don't read too much Middle Grade, but I have in the past. Here are a few of my favorite series:

- Fablehaven by Brandon Mull

- Deltora by Emily Rodda

- The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel by Michael Scott

- Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan

- Inkworld by Cornelia Funke

I'd like to read these series:

- Keeper of the Lost Cities by Shannon Messenger

- Bot Wars by J.V. Cade

Blog Tour Interview with Polly Holyoke, author of The Neptune Project (and Giveaway!)

Welcome to the blog tour for The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke! I've got a fabulous interview with this awesome author, and just below that, a giveaway! 

Read my review for The Neptune Project HERE.

The Interview:

(that's Polly)

(that's her book!)

Alyssa: Hi, Polly! Thank you so much for joining today on my blog!

Polly: It’s my pleasure to be here.

Alyssa: So, Polly. Describe your book in ten words. GO!

Polly: Genetically-altered teens fight to survive in the sea.

Alyssa: Is there anything about your book that you would change?

Polly: I had to delete a scene or two that I liked, but the book is probably stronger without them.

Alyssa: What is something that you must have when writing? 

Polly: I definitely like to start my writing day with a cup of English Breakfast tea with just the right amount of milk and sugar. That’s a very British way to enjoy tea, but I got hooked on having it that way when I went to the University of St. Andrews in Scotland my junior year of college.

Alyssa: What type of books do you like to read? What are you currently reading?

Polly: I’m reading a number of YA and MG books by other 2013 debut authors right now. I recently finished Parched by Melanie Crowder. It’s a climate disaster dystopian set in the future, and it is a beautiful, searing read. In general I like to read literary, historicals, science fiction and fantasy.

Alyssa: Where is your favorite place to read?

Polly: Any place which is quiet, which in my busy house is often hard to find! I get much of my reading done in the car waiting to pick up my kids from various events.

Alyssa: What’s your favorite distraction when writing under deadline?

Polly: I go for walks. Whenever I get stuck or stalled, I put my trusty pack of dogs into their harnesses, and off we go for a stroll.

Alyssa: What do you think of the cover of The Neptune Project?

Polly: I love the way my main character Nere is depicted. Her hair and her sea suit are just right, and the cover artist did a wonderful job with the light beneath the waves. The water off the coast of California is more green than blue, and the visibility there is rarely that clear, but a cover showing a bunch of green murky water wouldn’t have appealed to kids’ imaginations the way this beautiful blue one does!

Alyssa: What’s one song that embodies The Neptune Project?

Polly: Well, since I work for Disney now, I often say the lyrics from “Under the Sea,” fit my story nicely. “Darling, it’s better down where it’s wetter, take it from me,” hopefully ends up being true for my characters.  But “Never Let Me Go,” by Florence and the Machine sounds like sea music to me, and the lyrics, “And I’m going under, but I’m not giving up! I’m just giving in…” make me think of a harrowing moment in the story when her mother forces Nere under the surface to make her breathe water into her lungs for the first time.

Alyssa: Are you working on anything related to The Neptune Project? Or something new? Anything contracted? 

Polly: I have already written a sequel, and Neptune 2 has been bought by Puffin UK. I’m crossing my fingers and hoping I’ll hear good news soon from Disney Hyperion as well.

Alyssa: And that’s a wrap! Thank you so much for stopping by my blog, Polly!

Polly: Thanks so much. Guess I better dive back into my work, so to speak! 

Alyssa: Have fun with that! :)

About the Book:

The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Publication Date: May 21, 2013

Summary (from Goodreads):

THE NEPTUNE PROJECT is set in a future where the seas are rising and wars and famines wrack the surface world. Nere Hanson and her teen companions are shocked to learn that they have been genetically altered by their desperate parents to live in the sea. Protected by her loyal dolphins, shy Nere leads the rest on a perilous journey to her father's new colony. Fighting off government divers, sharks and giant squid, can Nere and her companions learn to trust each other before their dangerous new world destroys them?

Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo

About the Author:

Polly Holyoke has been imagining stories since she was in fifth grade. When she isn't writing, Polly loves reading, camping, skiing, scuba diving and hiking in the desert (where she quite stupidly got herself bitten by a rattlesnake). She lives with three rescue dogs, two spoiled cats and a nice husband who is tolerant about the piles of books all over their house. Her debut middle grade novel, THE NEPTUNE PROJECT, is the story of a young girl leading a group of genetically altered teens fighting to survive in the sea. She is thrilled that this novel will be published by Disney/Hyperion and Puffin Books UK summer, 2013. She thinks the best part about being an author is going to work in her sweatpants and getting paid for daydreaming!

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The Giveaway (tour-wide):

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Review: The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke

The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Publication Date: May 21, 2013

Rating: 3 stars

Source: eARC from NetGalley

Summary (from Goodreads):

THE NEPTUNE PROJECT is set in a future where the seas are rising and wars and famines wrack the surface world. Nere Hanson and her teen companions are shocked to learn that they have been genetically altered by their desperate parents to live in the sea. Protected by her loyal dolphins, shy Nere leads the rest on a perilous journey to her father's new colony. Fighting off government divers, sharks and giant squid, can Nere and her companions learn to trust each other before their dangerous new world destroys them?

What I Liked:

I was not sure what I was expecting from this book, but I know for a fact that I did not realize it was a Middle Grade novel! I love Middle Grade, and I am really glad I got the chance to read this book. I believe it is my first Middle Grade read of the year.

Anyway. The concept of this book was very interesting! I haven't read many books that deal with an underwater setting, and I thought that Ms. Holyoke did an excellent job of describing the ocean and underwater. I was blown away by the depth of her knowledge of the ocean (no pun intended), and how she went from talking about one type of fish to another with ease. It was clear to me that Ms. Holyoke had a vast knowledge of the underwater world, and that she did her research well. I have to say, that is my favorite thing about this entire book - the description of below the surface, and the use of many different fish species and other ocean-related things that added to the authenticity of this novel.

The novel is set in a futuristic time. In this novel, the world has been heating up drastically due to global warming, and there is garbage everywhere, and the Marines basically own the ocean. I didn't get a good feel for what was going on above the surface, because the majority of the book is spent underwater. But I thought that it was awesome that Ms. Holyoke used an environmental problem to get her novel going (because I'm all about the environment, as an environmental engineering major).

So Nere (the protagonist) and a bunch of other kids have been subjected to change from land-loving humans to sea-loving humans. Nere's parents perfected some sort of shot that made Nere and two other kids from Nere's island able to survive underwater. Nere and the other two kids meet up with other kids from other areas of the world, and they all must swim across the sea to meet Nere's father in an underwater community.

The romance threw me off. It wasn't that I was torn between two guys - because Nere wasn't torn between two guys (though there was the presence of two guys). I liked the obvious guy well enough, but his predicament at the end... I didn't really buy it. I won't spoil anything, but I was not impressed with the male love interest at the end of the book.

The ending is a bit of a cliffhanger, and the author did say she had another book written. Hopefully that book takes care of the cliffhanger!

What I Did Not Like:

It's not to say that I didn't like this book... I just didn't love it. I didn't feel impressed at the end of the book, despite my fascination with the overall idea of the story. And there were little things that bothered me throughout the book.

For one, I seriously thought this book was a Young Adult book (for older teens, I suppose) for a good portion of the book, because Nere's voice and actions are pretty developed. I guess that can be seen as a good thing, that she's mature, but it just didn't make sense when I found out her age. She didn't act like an adolescent. So I was confused about that.

And you already know that I can't stand the love interest's decision at the end of the story. Why can't he just run away? What's so hard about swimming away? I hope I didn't spoil anything - but you all probably have no idea what I'm talking about. 

I also didn't really see a climax in this book. It just kept going and going (which was really boring), and there would be a problem pretty often (like, sharks, or the Marines), but I didn't see a ton of buildup, and then the "climax" wasn't really a climax. And getting to the end took some effort, because I felt like the story just drifted on and on for a sizable percentage of the story.

And the cliffhanger ending. I was a tad bit irritated with it, and I have half a mind not to read the next book (if it gets picked up by Disney-Hyperion), because I don't really care to see where this story is going.

Would I Recommend It:

If you liked Middle Grade, yes! Go for it! You might enjoy it. If you're a Young Adult fan, then probably not. I'm glad I got the chance to read this one, but if it weren't for the tour, I probably wouldn't have picked it up.

Rating:

3 stars. Not bad, but not amazing either.

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