Great Middle Grade Reads discussion

We're well into autumn, which can be a cozy season for curling up with a good book. Glance back at your September reads and recommend your favorite(s) to the rest of us!

Last month, I decided to pick up the follow-up trilogy to the Five Ancestors series by Jeff Stone, which I read last year. This set is called Five Ancestors: Out of the Ashes and Phoenix is Book 1. Taking place many, many years later, these stories are contemporary, though there are several ties/references to past people & events. Next gen + mountain bikes + kung fu!

I read a lot last month, but not that many middle grade books and the only MG novel I really enjoyed was It's a Mystery, Pig Face!. I love the St. Stephen, New Brunswick setting and that Tracy and Ralph are best friends without any kind of boyfriend and girlfriend romantic stuff included. The mystery itself is not really completely to my taste (as I really only enjoy historical mysteries) but for middle grade readers (of all genders) who like mysteries and friendship tales It's a Mystery, Pig Face! is really fun.

Legacy and the Queen by Annie Matthew; created by Kobe Bryant

I read The Ice Whisperers by Helenka Stachera. It's an interesting book with some time travel in it, and a girl meeting up with her half-sister in the past - in the Ice Age! I think I eventually gave it 4 stars (but it's 4- rather than 4!)

October just whizzed past!

I managed The Hatmakers, which is a perfectly pitched for middle-grader readers. Set in the backdrop of Mad King George, this middle-grade book is a tale about royal makers, who use magical items in their creations to bring out the purpose of the wearer. In this story, the Hatmakers have been commissioned to make a Peace Hat, for the peace talks with France.

The other book I enjoyed I'd classify as Teen, for 11-14yrs. A Skinful of Shadows is set during the English Civil War, about an illegitimate girl's paranormal inheritance.