Middle Grade Madness! discussion

Our first ever "Best Books" readathon!
The idea behind this readathon is that we start off 2021 with good books and it bodes well for the rest of the year!

How It Works:
- You can recommend a book for our book list (read more about that below) OR you can just take part.
- There's no need to sign up to take part, just join in the conversation below.
- This readathon starts in January 2021 (countdown below).
- Create a Goodreads shelf for the Best Books of 2020 Readathon so you can keep track of what you’ve read for it if you want!
- Recommendations for our book list closes on 15th December.
- I will feed the books from our book list into a random picker.
- Using the link below (not yet added), access the random picker, spin the wheel, and it’ll randomly pick a book from our list for you to read.
- Read the book and let us know your thoughts on it are below!
- Then spin the wheel of the random picker again and it’ll choose another book for you.
- Try to read what the random picker picks for you but if you don’t have access to that book yet or if it chooses a book you’ve already read for the readathon or that you've already read before or that you don't want to read/have DNF'ed/aren't interested in then spin it again and it’ll choose something different.
- Alternatively, you can just ignore the random picker and read anything on the list that you like, but the random picker makes it more fun.

IF YOU WANT TO RECOMMEND A BOOK FOR THE BOOK LIST:
The Rules on Recommending:
- You can only recommend a book you have read in 2020!
- Please make sure the book you recommend is the one you loved/enjoyed/thought was the best of all the books you read in 2020.
- Preferably only recommend one book but if you can't choose then recommend 3 and I will randomly pick 1 from the 3 to add to the list.
- The book you recommend can be MG, YA, Adult or New Adult and can be any genre but please make sure the book is appropriate.
- The book can be a graphic novel.
- The book must be in English or translated to English books are also allowed.
- The book must be more than 100 pages long.

RECOMMEND YOUR BOOK FOR THE LIST HERE: https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...
(or just write it below and I will add it to the poll for you)

Countdown to start of readathon: https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...
Link to random picker: https://www.classtools.net/random-nam...

The Book List:
All Systems Red by Martha Wells - Anita
Masterminds by Gordon Korman - Spencer
The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend - Brian
From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout - Kris Ashlyn
Jackaby by William Ritter - Montzalee
The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding - Che
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik - Marie
Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix - Kadi
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins - South
Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett - Annie
The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo - Ilsen
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson - Lynn
Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson - Bella
In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan - Sandra
Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk - Ben
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - Chapter Chat
The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson - Kristen
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo - Brandee
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart - Nunya
Recursion by Blake Crouch - Tina
The Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn by Tyler Whitesides - Audrey
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson - Jaina
The Devil in Silver by Victor LaVelle - Primadonna
Daughter of No Worlds by Carissa Broadbent - Lira
The Grace Year by Kim Liggett - Mel
A Man Called Ove by Frederik Backman - Robin

(The names in italics are the recommenders)

Question - does the book that we recommend have to be a book that was released in 2020 or just a book that we read in 2020 but was released a previous year?

Sorry - I just looked at the books on the list and realized that they were released during several different years, so that answers my question.

@Lynn yep no worries! Your assumption is correct, from any year is fine as long as you read it in 2020!

this sounds fun! i always feel pressured to make sure my first book of the year is a good one, so this will definitely help me out. :)

@Grace I tend to get really disappointed when my first read of the year isn’t a good one and that can sometimes cause a book slump so hopefully this’ll save me from that!

I have decided to be a smart human and kill 2 birds with 1 stone (or 2 challenges with 1 book😂) I’m going to see if some of the books on the book list for this challenge apply to any of the tasks on the TBR challenge and then read those specific books. I reckon this’ll motivate me even more to read for both challenges or else I get too overwhelmed with wanting to read lots of stuff and not having enough time in the month to read it.

I’m not sure if anyone’s taking part in this readathon but I am so here’s my first roll from the random picker:
The Trials of Morrigan Crow! I’ve been wanting to read this one for a while actually so I’m glad it’s picked this one. Going to start it as soon as I finish The Forbidden Stone for the buddy read I’m taking part in...

I just spun and I got The Year of the Witching!! I’m really excited about this one so I hope I like it!

@Ilsen yesss great way to start off the year for both of us with reads we’re looking forward to!

I spun and got From Blood and Ash by Jennifer Armentrout. I know my library doesn't have the hard copy version yet, and all of the ebook copies are in use with 70 holds, so I may have to buy it. Until then, I think I will spin again.
Second spin - Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix. I've read this one already, so I will spin again.
Third spin - On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson. I have that one on hold also, but there are 4 people ahead of me. Try, try again.
Fourth spin - Masterminds by Gordon Korman Put on hold, number 1 in line. I'll read this one.

@Lynn wow you had to spin so many times! At least you landed on a good one in the end! I really want to read Masterminds. When mine was spinning it very nearly stopped on it but instead slowed down and stopped on the one before it which was Nevermoor. I was a little sad because I want to read Masterminds more than Nevermoor but I'm sure I'll have another opportunity when I roll again! Can't wait to see whether you like the book or not, should be a good indicator for me

Can't wait to hear your thoughts on Masterminds @Kadi and @Lynn. It's definitely not mind blowing but it was still my favorite read of last year somehow. Have fun!

@Kadi I loved Nevermoor, hope you like it :)

I have way too many reading plans as always, so I might do as I did in October and choose the ones I'm most interested in. But first want/need to read some other books. I hope I can participate in this one somewhere this month

Funny that there are so many books on the list and almost nobody from there seem to be participating haha. I will therefore start with the people that are participating and go from there :)

@Spencer I reckon I might just read Masterminds after Nevermoor and not spin the wheel for it because I do really want to read it and this is the perfect opportunity to. I read Gordon Korman’s book Restart which was really good so I have faith in the author.

@Robin yeah I’m probably going to end up picking at least one or two from the list instead of rolling for them (read above😂)

Also, yeah it’s kinda quiet in terms of participants right now but there’s still the whole month to take part yet. Plus, Jan tends to be quite quiet because everyone’s busy chilling over the end of the holiday season. Anyway, you and lynn and Spencer are here so I consider it a successful event😂 If I’d limited the list to only people taking part it might’ve been too small a list! And the more recommendations, the merrier👏🏻 It’s a really diverse book list and for once I’m actually taking part🎉

Hey I’m here too! I’m hoping to pick up The Year of the Witching after my current read!

@Ilsen aah sorry for forgetting you! Also same! After I finish Sidetracked for my first read from the TBR Challenge I’ll be starting Nevermoor for this Readathon

I’m currently reading Gemina! I would have finished it in 2020 but my audiobook expired right around when I was doing my finals. I’m excited because I actually wanted to read this in October but my library hold was so long that I didn’t get to read it (plus I was in a slump) so I’m glad I get to read it now without waiting!

@Ilsen I’ve been wanting to read the Illuminae Files for ages! I’m pretty sure during last year’s TBR challenge I was considering reading it for one of the tasks but I ended up going with something else. Was the first book in the series good? I feel like this year is going to be my year of “stop waiting and read it already because you’re never going to read it otherwise” and I’ve already started with that so hoping to continue that way as the year goes on...

Oh I realized that second sentence may have looked like I was still talking about Gemina but no, I was talking about The Year of the Witching.

I reread Illuminae for the third time but I was listening to the audiobook and the audiobook is a whole other experience and it made it to top of my list. I’m still enjoying Gemina but Illuminae still remains supreme with the characters but the plot gets so much bigger in Gemina (this is my second time reading it but I’m trying the audiobook for the first time)

Kadi wrote: "@Spencer I reckon I might just read Masterminds after Nevermoor and not spin the wheel for it because I do really want to read it and this is the perfect opportunity to. I read Gordon Korman’s book..."

I met Gordon Korman once. The media specialist at my school had a grant and invited him to come and speak. His presentation was extremely funny and enjoyable.

A Robin Reads wrote: "Funny that there are so many books on the list and almost nobody from there seem to be participating haha. I will therefore start with the people that are participating and go from there :)"

There are a lot of reading challenges starting right now. I had to create a Google doc and put in all of the challenges I'm starting along with their links so I wouldn't have to go looking for them each time I wanted to add something. Most people don't have the kind of time to participate in lots of challenges; I just happened to be retired. Some people may have had every intention of participating, but found themselves overwhelmed.

I totally am the person that joins too many readathons and reading challenges to the point that I get overwhelmed. I totally have a problem. Oh well

Totally get that and I'm glad people put there books on the list, because as Kadi said there is more choice now. But therefore I will be focussing on you guys, the books you choose. Have indeed also a lot of challenges to participate in, will be too many otherwise

@Lynn wow you met him?! That's awesome! Meeting authors is a really fun and amazing opportunity. Especially when they're really nice. I met Markus Zusak the author of The Book Thief when he came to our school and he was really nice! He definitely thought I was super weird when I asked him not to bend the spine when opening my copy of his book to sign😂😂

Also creating a google doc wow. I love the organisation skills there😂👏🏻 I can't wait to be retired in like 50 years time so I can spend all my time reading. I hope I'm still into MG by that time though. Sometimes I fear that the day is going to come soon where I won't be entertained by mg books and I'll view them as too young for me to read and I really hope that doesn't actually happen.

@Ilsen that's me right now and the only challenges and readathons I'm taking part in are my own😂 I can't cope with these let alone joining in with any other ones! It's quite overwhelming and frustrating when you have so much you really want to read but you can't read fast enough to read it all.

@Robin can't wait for you to read my recommendation Found then!!

Kadi wrote: "@Lynn wow you met him?! That's awesome! Meeting authors is a really fun and amazing opportunity. Especially when they're really nice. I met Markus Zusak the author of The Book Thief wh..."

It's funny, but I've found myself more interested in MG books than I was when I was younger. The quality has improved greatly over the years, and there are so many more to chose from now than ever before. When I first started teaching, there were really only about 15-20 books that were even classified as MG or YA And don't get me started on YA. That category has exploded since then.

My first spin is Recursion by Blake Crouch.!
And yeah I'm one of those people who are doing a bunch of challenges and readathons and I'm organizing mines rn.! It seems like I'll need a Google Doc for all of mines as well.!
I hope anyone who spins The Devil in Silver, enjoys it.!

@Primadonna seems like we’re all guilty of taking part in too many challenges at once😂 I reckon it must be a reader thing like buying too many books knowing that you won’t be able to read them all.

I hope you enjoy Recursion! Also I just read the synopsis for the devil in silver and it sounds so crazy!

@Lynn when I was young (as in the actual target age for middle grade books) I read a lot of them and then as I grew up I started reading YA but after a year of that I kinda reverted back to middle grade. I never noticed it until you said it now but there’s so so much more choice in middle grade now than there was a few years ago! I’ve always just thought that I’m only noticing all these middle grade books now because I’m only starting to be exposed to lots of books now because of the group but nope there’s been a serious boom in books in the genre which is awesome!

Update on my challenge:
I started Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow early this morning and I’m already on chapter 3. I’m really enjoying it! Straight away from the beginning I got the feeling that I was really going to like this one and so far it’s made me laugh and made me feel bad for the protagonist. Can’t wait to see where the story goes!

@Kadi Might be overconfident of me but if you liked the beginning of Nevermoor, it just gets better from there!! The next 2 books are some of my faves from last year, no "middle book syndrome" whatsoever. I thought book 1 was just okay so I'm glad you're enjoying it!!

@Spencer I’m low-key wishing Nevermoor was our series readathon now😂 if I finish this and like it I may ask if anyone on the group wants to buddy read the next book with me because that’s always fun. I can’t believe I’ve been putting off reading this book for so many years now! I thought because everyone loved it so much that it might not actually be that good like those overhyped books but I’m actually enjoying it

Spencer wrote: "Can't wait to hear your thoughts on Masterminds @Kadi and @Lynn. It's definitely not mind blowing but it was still my favorite read of last year somehow. Have fun!"

Masterminds was definitely interesting and not at all what I expected. I had this book on my shelf at school for years and never read it. Now, I wish I had. It would certainly grab the attention of conspiracy theorists. I read it quickly and it held my interest, but it does seem a little out there to me. However, I enjoyed it so much, that I put the other two books in the series on hold at the library. I want to know what happens to those kids.

@Lynn I'm glad you enjoyed it! And I can see how conspiracy theorists would love it. I will say the 2nd is not as good as the first but it's still good. When I finished the trilogy I was so sad it was over.

I got a Deadly Education. I’m pretty excited to read this and see what I think of it. I really hope my library has it. If not it will take a few weeks to get ordered.

@Lynn I’m glad to hear you liked it! Maybe after I finish book 1 we can buddy read the other books! (Lol I’m really out here trying to get anyone to buddy read anything with me. Maybe that’s annoying and I should stop! It’s just I had a lot of fun discussing Found and The Forbidden Stone in the buddy reads I did last month on the group and even if I didn’t enjoy the book it was nice to read and discuss it with people)

I quite like batty and creative out there kinda books so hopefully Masterminds works well for me. Can’t wait to finish Nevermoor which I’m also really enjoying to start that one!

@Bella ooh a Deadly Education sounds interesting! It’s like magic school but with a twist. Hopefully you like it. If you’re library doesn’t have it and they have to order it in and you’re waiting with nothing else to read then maybe spin again and read something in the meantime! But I’d understand if you’ve got other books planned because it seems like we’re all doing many challenges at once this month😂

@primadonna Hope you like Recursion, I really didn't whoops

@Kadi I really loved Nevermoor, it's awesome. Maybe just do an extra buddy read for everyone who wants to read the series? I'm reading the rest of the series with a buddy this year, so would be great to discuss it here as well.
I would love to buddy read something with you, so feel free to send me a message :)

@Robin if you wanna bring your friend over to the group then we can all buddy read book 2 and 3 if you like! Whenever you're free I'm not picky on timings except I'd say not January because I have books planned for the rest of the month now. Also yesss buddy read with me! Is there any book in particular you want to buddy read? Come discuss with me here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... (I don't want to bog down this discussion page)
The only books I have in mind are Greetings from Witness Protection! (Lynn said she's up for BRing that one with me) and any book on this shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list... (it's all the mg books I'm interested in reading in 2021 but it's not a finished list, I add to it all the time).

Kadi wrote: "@Robin if you wanna bring your friend over to the group then we can all buddy read book 2 and 3 if you like! Whenever you're free I'm not picky on timings except I'd say not January because I have ..."

I didn't even think about making a special to read list using my shelves. I guess that's a D'uh. I've mostly used shelves to list books that I've read. I love this idea and am going to try using it.

@Lynn so because I’ve been on goodreads since 2016 my TBR is huge, I recently passed 1000 books on it and books tend to get buried in it plus my TBR has all kinds of books: adult, ya, mg and comics. I actually started the idea in 2019 when I created a new shelf just for the comics from my TBR shelf and then last month I realised I should do the same for all my mg books. The only difference is that my comic TBR shelf is every single comic from my TBR whereas my mg TBR shelf is only
specific mg books from my TBR that I’d like to read in 2021 because if I add all the mg books from my TBR shelf it’d be too many and once again books would get buried.

It’s actually been really helpful in reminding me that there’s loads of good stuff I want to read when I finish a book and get a little lost at what to read next. You should definitely make one too! I have all kinds of shelves I enjoy making them and categorising my books way too much😂

Update on my challenge:
I’ve finished The Trials of Morrigan Crow and I frikking loved it! Thanks so much to Brian for recommending it for our reading list for this challenge!
You can read my review for it here if you’re interested: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Next I’m reading Masterminds🎉
Also I’ve rolled again and after that I’ll be reading All Systems Red if I can find a copy

@Kadi I was lowkey screaming when I read your updates for Nevermoor, I didn't realize how fun it is to see someone else love a book I love. Looking forward to your thoughts on Masterminds and All Systems Red!!

@Spencer I’m glad to see someone appreciates the updates! I was for real screaming whilst reading Nevermoor. That end reveal had me like AAAAAH. And so many other parts too. There was genuinely a point where I sat up and squealed😂 Also yeah it’s really fun to see someone else love a book you also loved! And following someone as they go through the book. That’s why I like buddy reading because it’s nice to see people’s thoughts on books, not everyone posts detailed updates like I do so buddy reads facilitate discussions

Kadi wrote: "Update on my challenge:
I’ve finished The Trials of Morrigan Crow and I frikking loved it! Thanks so much to Brian for recommending it for our reading list for this challenge!
You c..."

I've read when it was recommended to me by a friend. I've read the whole series so far and loved it. It's a very unique story, but the book is hard to find. I eventually had to buy it.

@Kadi My friend is also very excited to read the rest of Nevermoor with is, so I will invite her to this group and we could rest the next book together.

@Kadi Starting Found right now