Middle Grade Madness! discussion

*With thanks to Audrey for recommending this book on her Reader Recommends.*

I'm super excited to read this!! The first in the series and if all goes well hopefully I can keep reading the series too!

As always, please make sure to keep all spoilers hidden in spoiler tags.

Just started reading this!

Same Zoya! I love how easy it is to get into. The intro in the second chapter reminded me a lot of the intro in the first Percy Jackson book.

I'm on Chapter 5 now and I have to say guys are so gross. It's really sad that the way Michael gets bullied is realistic. I wish it wasn't because it's even worse than normal bullying it's borderline sexual harassment.

Also I couldn't help but notice that Michael said (view spoiler)[ his mum was going to freak out when she realised he'd used his power let alone used it in front of people, but then she didn't even ask if anyone else had seen him use his power. (hide spoiler)] I feel like that will probably come back to bite them all in the butt.

Kadi wrote: "Same Zoya! I love how easy it is to get into. The intro in the second chapter reminded me a lot of the intro in the first Percy Jackson book.

I'm on Chapter 5 now and I have to say guys are so gro..."

Exactly! I'm on chapter 8, and the chapters seem surprisingly short - or maybe it's just me. I noticed it, too but I didn't really pay much attention to it.

The author has Tourette's and ADD, which is why his chapters are short. He has a son Michael with Tourette's, who has always been extremely shy, but he did make a brief appearance at the last book launch. (My family and I attended all of those.)

Two characters are named after his daughters. (view spoiler)[ Abigail, "who has always made people feel better," and McKenna, adopted, "who has always been a light to our lives." Hatch's henchman David Welch is named after his son-in-law, married to daughter Jenna Evans Welch. (hide spoiler)]

Audrey wrote: "The author has Tourette's and ADD, which is why his chapters are short. He has a son Michael with Tourette's, who has always been extremely shy, but he did make a brief appearance at the last book ..."

This is interesting information about the author. I was too busy to start reading yesterday, but I'm getting ready to start now.

Looks like I have a little catching up to do.

I'm really enjoying it so far! I feel the writing is a little childish, and the Tourette's representation isn't what I had expected, but I feel like it'll be a solid four stars.

@Audrey it's so cool that you met him! I feel like meeting an author always makes their books feel more special and personal. It's always a wonderful experience meeting an author.

@Lynn no worries there's no rush! And it'll probably be quite easy for you to catch up thanks to the short chapters.

@Zoya I really love the short chapters and the quick pace. It's really encouraging because compared to the last book I was reading which was like a slow uphill climb, this one feels like I'm making progress immediately.

I noticed the kind of childish writing too. Like lots of sentences that just start with I instead of a more complex sentence structure and variation but I'm trying to unnotice it because I'm enjoying the story in general and don't want to nitpick. I feel like I'll be giving this 4 stars too but if it can do something amazing later on it may even get 5 stars.

I'm almost at the 1/4 mark and I find it hilarious how everyone gets Ostin's name wrong. Every time I see his name I have this overwhelming urge to correct it to Austin.

I also really love the Tourette's representation. The way the author doesn't shy away from addressing it and also doesn't only bring it up in cliche ways, instead it's embedded throughout. Seems more genuine that way.

The scene where Ostin and Michael (view spoiler)[ test how much electricity Michael can create and it's super high and powerful and then Ostin says "You can kill someone with that." had me like OH MY GOSH. Like I knew he was powerful but that is POWERFUL and is he going to face a dilemma where he accidentally kills someone? I think that would be such an epic storyline. I love seeing good guys make a mistake and have to redeem themselves. (hide spoiler)] Maybe that'll be explored in later books.

The characters are great, too! I really like Taylor and I feel like it is actually a little like PJO (but I've only read the first PJO book)!
I love the scene where (view spoiler)[ Michael, Wade and Jack sort of become friends (hide spoiler)].

Zoya wrote: "I'm really enjoying it so far! I feel the writing is a little childish, and the Tourette's representation isn't what I had expected, but I feel like it'll be a solid four stars."

This definitely reads like middle grade even though the characters are in high school.

Kadi wrote: "Same Zoya! I love how easy it is to get into. The intro in the second chapter reminded me a lot of the intro in the first Percy Jackson book.

I'm on Chapter 5 now and I have to say guys are so gro..."

I wish there was more that schools could do about bullying. As a retired teacher, I have seen advancements in the identification and curtailing of bullying, but there is still a long way to go. It's always going to be tough because kids are understandably afraid to identify bullies. I'm sure there are principals out there like Mr. Dallstrom, but luckily for me, I never had to work with one.

Audrey wrote: "The author has Tourette's and ADD, which is why his chapters are short. He has a son Michael with Tourette's, who has always been extremely shy, but he did make a brief appearance at the last book ..."

This is the second book I've read with Tourettes representation. From my experience, middle school is a really tough time for these students.

Zoya wrote: "The characters are great, too! I really like Taylor and I feel like it is actually a little like PJO (but I've only read the first PJO book)!
I love the scene where [spoilers removed]."

I'm worried about Taylor. She seems to be using her "power" for things that she shouldn't.

I liked how the book started with the conversation about the two that have not yet been found. It caused me to look for who those two might be and why they are wanted. At the point where I am in the story, it seems clear who those two are, but the story is far from over.

The clues so far have presented an interesting mystery.

My son got picked on constantly by this one kid in first and second grade -- he had physical injuries from this kid -- and the school did nothing despite their so-called zero-tolerance bullying policy. My husband even called the police, and they wouldn't do anything because they were too young.

The author is local to me, so I've met him a number of times.

Lynn wrote: "Zoya wrote: "I'm really enjoying it so far! I feel the writing is a little childish, and the Tourette's representation isn't what I had expected, but I feel like it'll be a solid four stars."

This..."

Same, that's what I think too!

Audrey wrote: "My son got picked on constantly by this one kid in first and second grade -- he had physical injuries from this kid -- and the school did nothing despite their so-called zero-tolerance bullying pol..."

That is just awful. I never worked with kids that young, but it's difficult for the kids no matter what the age.

I hope we get more of Nichelle's backstory - not because I like her, but because so far, she is a pretty one dimensional villain. This part of the story is the first indication for me that the audience for this book is young adult. It gave me Hunger Games vibes.

Lynn wrote: "I hope we get more of Nichelle's backstory - not because I like her, but because so far, she is a pretty one dimensional villain. This part of the story is the first indication for me that the audi..."

I don't think we do in this book. I think maybe in the next book? I'm more than halfway through, and I haven't learnt that much about Nichelle yet. (view spoiler)[ We do get Jack's and Wade's backstories though (hide spoiler)].

@Lynn I never noticed how MG this book was until you said that. Apart from the fact that both boys (well mainly Ostin) clearly drool over girls, it's very MG. I feel like I couldn't even call this YA like it's bordering between MG and MG+ right now.

Also I guess I was so shocked by the way Michael was bullied because girls don't really bully the same way guys do. Like if a girl bullied another girl it would be through rumours and insults and stealing stuff but never straight up physical abuse. But now that I've thought about it guys definitely do get super violent and physical, I know my brother has been through that kind of stuff. And victim blaming is definitely real too. I love this book's realistic take on those kind of issues.

I think this is actually my 3rd book with Tourette's representation. The last one I read that had it was like last month. Although these are clearly 2 very different kinds of Tourette's.
That reminds me: the moment when that girl at the party (view spoiler)[ thought Michael's name was Trett because she was remembering Tourette's. (hide spoiler)] That was so so bad. I felt so bad when that happened. That's really awful. Realistic, but awful!

I'm more than 50% through now, just about to start chapter 27 and my two main thoughts are that:
1. No way could (view spoiler)[ the Elgen Academy really be as nice as the shopping spree suggests it is. I mean they seem ok but then you can't forget that they kidnapped Taylor and Michael's mother. (hide spoiler)]
And I genuinely can't figure out whether (view spoiler)[ Tara is brainwashed into thinking it's a good place or whether she's toeing the line because they've basically bought her loyalty. (hide spoiler)]

2. Ostin is underappreciated. Ostin may be a side character but in my opinion he's the star of this book. The dude doesn't even need powers to be the nicest one here. He's level-headed and smart, loves food and is non-judgemental. Some of the stuff that Michael and Taylor say sometimes makes me think that they look down on him and I just want to protect Ostin because he may say weird stuff to girls sometimes but he's actually just a nice guy!

Audrey wrote: "My son got picked on constantly by this one kid in first and second grade -- he had physical injuries from this kid -- and the school did nothing despite their so-called zero-tolerance bullying pol..."

Omg Audrey I'm so sorry your son had to go through that! Even the police wouldn't help? That's so crazy. Did the bully's parents not have anything to say about it?

Kadi wrote: "I'm more than 50% through now, just about to start chapter 27 and my two main thoughts are that:
1. No way could [spoilers removed]
And I genuinely can't figure out whether [spoilers removed]

2. O..."

Girl crazy teddy bear.

I'd like to learn more about Zeus. He seems to be kind of an outcast everywhere. I understand why he can't be more "normal," but he has to feel isolated.

The difference between Michael and Zeus’ (view spoiler)[ powers is that Zeus’ electricity actually comes out of his hands like lightning kinda whereas Michael’s doesn’t, (hide spoiler)] right? Because of how it’s depicted on the cover I always just assumed that Michael’s works the same way as Zeus’ does so then I’m confused like what is the difference?
I’m still only halfway through the book so maybe there’s more on the differences later on...

If all the kids have electricity based powers I wonder how many different ones there can be🤔 I guess it’s kind of inevitable that some will have really similar powers.

@Lynn ahahaha it took me a second to figure out what you meant by “girl crazy teddy bear” but oh my gosh that’s accurate. He loves food as much as he loves girls and I love him for that😂

I just finished it! The ending is pure gold

Oh wow Zoya you powered through! I can't wait for the ending now. Are you planning on reading the next book? I'd like to read it too but I'm still halfway through this one.

Yes - I'm perpetually a super fast reader. I really did love it though!
Yeah I'm planning on reading the next book soon!

@Zoya I always admire a fast reader. I’m faster than the average reader and I’ve definitely improved on my reading times but it varies from book to book and also how I’m feeling.

How soon is soon? You want to buddy read the next book too? I’m down for it (I’m enjoying this book enough to guess I’ll like the next one too) but no pressure it’s totally up to you!😊

Zoya wrote: "I just finished it! The ending is pure gold "

I'm done too, and I agree about the ending.

What about reading it/them during the MG readathon? It is MG+ on the AR website.

@Lynn that’s exactly what I was thinking because the books are just the right size, not too short not too long. Plus not to give anything away but they definitely fit into a few tasks!
That’s if you guys want to wait till next month to read the next book. Up to you guys, I don’t mind!

Kadi wrote: "Audrey wrote: "My son got picked on constantly by this one kid in first and second grade -- he had physical injuries from this kid -- and the school did nothing despite their so-called zero-toleran..."

We never got to find out who the parents were.

There are 17 electric children, and it takes a while to meet them all.

I feel like the books are a good transition from MG to YA. And it's clean content, so you can give them to younger kids and not worry.

THAT ENDING WAS EPIC. Omg there’s so much I want to say but I really need to sleep right now and my mind is still reeling from the 1000 crazy things that happened. Oh my gosh I can’t wait to read the next book now.

Audrey wrote: "There are 17 electric children, and it takes a while to meet them all.

I feel like the books are a good transition from MG to YA. And it's clean content, so you can give them to younger kids and n..."

I had the first three on my bookshelf at school before I retired. If I had known how good the first one was, I would have promoted it more with my students. Finding good books with a male protagonist was always a challenge.

Kadi wrote: "THAT ENDING WAS EPIC. Omg there’s so much I want to say but I really need to sleep right now and my mind is still reeling from the 1000 crazy things that happened. Oh my gosh I can’t wait to read t..."

Do you want to wait for the readathon? That is still a while off. I have many books to keep me occupied until then, and I'm participating in another readathon during the last two weeks in July.

@Lynn wait you used to have trouble finding books with good male protagonists? If anything I always found it difficult to find mg action/adventure books with good female protagonists. Of course there's more now (thank goodness for diversity!) but back in the day (like 10 years ago?) almost all the action/adventure mg books I read had male protags. Now I'd say 2/5 of every action/adventure mg book has a female protag. It's very genre specific because I think when it comes to contemporary mg there's more female protags than male.

Also hmm on the one hand I don't want to wait to read the next book but on the other hand I have a lot of books on my currently reading shelf and I want to clear them all off before the reading challenge next month so it's probably a good idea to wait till next month to read the next book.

@Zoya what do you think? When would you like to read the next one?

I'm currently reading another book, but I'm sure I'll be done with it by Thursday or Friday. Is that good with you?

Zoya wrote: "I'm currently reading another book, but I'm sure I'll be done with it by Thursday or Friday. Is that good with you?"

I have four books to read by 7/15 and then I'm participating in a 2 week readathon until the end of July, so I guess my answer is... maybe.

@Zoya I'm currently reading Front Desk for our new readathon and so far it's a pretty fast read so I'll probably be done by Friday. So it seems feasible, I think.

@Lynn 4 books in 4 days? Good luck!! Also can book 2 count towards your 2 week readathon?

Kadi wrote: "@Zoya I'm currently reading Front Desk for our new readathon and so far it's a pretty fast read so I'll probably be done by Friday. So it seems feasible, I think.

@Lynn 4 books in 4 days? Good luc..."

Unfortunately, no. It is a Nora Roberts readathon, so only books written by her will count.

@Lynn oh wow. Will it be difficult for you to read the next book with us then? It’s been fun reading all 3 of us together, but if you’re going to be busy I get it!

Also I completely forgot to say before because my mind was still reeling but guys it was so epic how they managed to get (view spoiler)[ Zeus to switch sides (hide spoiler)] Like that was totally not expected!

And the fact that Hatch admitted basically that he (view spoiler)[ lied about Zeus’ parents so that Zeus didn’t kill them. But does that mean that Hatch also lied about Michael killing his dad? (hide spoiler)] I feel like no, despite all the stuff Hatch said, that part was true. Either way I think that’ll come back up because there’s no way that can stay hidden forever.

Without Zeus, things would have been very different.