Middle Grade Madness! discussion

Winter is coming—wait, no, it’s already here! Winter always makes me think of snuggling up by a fire with a book and a cup of hot chocolate (something I never actually do). It also makes me think of wintery, magical stories, so what better time is there to do a fantasy readathon than in December?

Fantasy is probably the most popular mg genre which makes it super surprising we’ve never done a fantasy themed event before. I’m excited for our first one!

How it works:
- Recommend some fantasy books/graphic novels for our list as you want (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 December 2022.
- Create a new Goodreads shelf for the Fantasy Readathon so you can keep track of what you’ve read for it if you want!

- Recommendations for our list closes on 27th November.
- I will feed the books/graphic novels from our list into a random picker.
- Using the link below (not yet added), you can access the random picker, spin the wheel, and it’ll randomly pick a book/graphic novel from our lists for you to read.
- Read the book/graphic novel and let us know your thoughts on it below!
- Then spin the wheel of the random picker again and it’ll choose another book/graphic novel for you.
- Try to read what the random picker picks for you but if you don’t have access to that book/graphic novel yet or if it chooses something 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 and spontaneous!

IF YOU WANT TO RECOMMEND A BOOK/GRAPHIC NOVEL FOR THE LIST:
The Rules on Recommending:
- It can be a book or a graphic novel or even a manga.
- It MUST belong to the fantasy genre. It’s a bonus if it’s winter themed or set in the winter but it doesn’t have to be.
- The book or graphic novel or manga must be in English or translated to English.
- They can be MG, YA, Adult or New Adult.
- If the book/graphic novel is part of a series please only recommend the first in the series.
- You can recommend up-to 5 books or graphic novels to be added to our list. Fantasy is a popular genre so the limit is to stop us from having a book list a mile long😂

RECOMMEND A BOOK FOR OUR BOOK LIST HERE:
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/show/2...

The Book List :
MG
Icefall by Matthew J. Kirby - Kadi
This Was Our Pact by Ryan Andrews - Kadi
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black - Sophia
Cat's Magic by Margaret Greaves - Capn
The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer
The Ogress and the Orphans by Kelly Barnhill - Chara
Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor by Ally Carter - Chara
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson - Chara
Winterfrost by Michelle Houts - Chara
Winterhouse by Ben Guterson - Chara
Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson - Jeanne
Serafina and the Black Cloak by Robert Beatty - Cat Carstairs
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill - Dalia
Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi - Dalia
The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani - Dalia
The Box of Delights by John Masefield - Sophie
The Storm Runner by J.C. Cervantes - Dalia
Lalani of the Distant Sea by Erin Entrada Kelly - Dalia
Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu - Myla
Prisoner of Ice and Snow by Ruth Lauren - Georgann
Winterling by Sarah Prineas - Georgann
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly - Satrina
The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud - Audrey
Magyk by Angie Sage - Audrey
The Book of Secrets by A.L. Tait - Jeanne
The Magicians of Elephant County by Adam Perry - Jeanne
Savvy by Ingrid Law - Jeanne
Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper

YA
The Crowns of Croswald by D.E. Night - Kadi
A Soul as Cold as Frost by Jennifer Kropf - Lynne
The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu - Myla
Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer - Myla
On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden - Adeline
A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger - Georgann
Sabriel by Garth Nix - Audrey
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik - Audrey
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder - Audrey
Nuclear Winter Vol. 1 by Cab - Kadi


Adult
Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson - Myla
Broken Bonds by J. Bree - Maddy
The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson - Myla
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig - Satrina
Shades of Milk and Honey by Mary Robinette Kowal - Satrina

Link to random picker: https://www.classtools.net/random-nam...

Count me in wohoo

Not sure why the link to 'recommend books' didn't work for me, so I'll list a few options here:
Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson
The Book of Secrets by AL Tait
The Magicians of Elephant County by Adam Perry
Savvy by Ingrid Law (a personal favorite)

I'm in!

re: Jeanne's comment - it's before the 11:59 PST cut-off and I also can't vote.

Can I add my favourite, because it's a midwinter and Christmastime setting?!
The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper

EdenB15 wrote: "Count me in wohoo"

Capn wrote: "I'm in!"

Yay! Eden and Capn if you guys want to recommend any books for the list let me know! I'm working on finalising the list now for tomorrow.

Jeanne wrote: "Not sure why the link to 'recommend books' didn't work for me, so I'll list a few options here:
Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson
The Book of Secrets by AL Tait
The Magicians of..."

I'm not sure why it's not working for you either but no worries I'll add it to the poll for you! I'm glad to see Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians there, I might finally read it next month!

I recommended some books on the poll link but I don't see them listed and was wondering why.

(I've been missing notifications periodically all week - I think that in rolling out the new page format, GR is being extra glitchy in general at the moment)

Kadi wrote: "Jeanne wrote: "Not sure why the link to 'recommend books' didn't work for me, so I'll list a few options here:
Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson
The Book of Secrets by AL Tait
T..."

Thank you!

Capn wrote: "I'm in!

re: Jeanne's comment - it's before the 11:59 PST cut-off and I also can't vote.

Can I add my favourite, because it's a midwinter and Christmastime setting?!
[book:The Dark Is Rising|2103..."
Love it. That series is classic!

I wish more people knew about it! It's so great!
The Dark Is Rising Sequence for the series link, if anyone needs it!
:)

Here's my list (so far! Starting with 4 books; will add in others as I go):
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Happy Fantastical Reading, everyone! :)

Satrina wrote: "I recommended some books on the poll link but I don't see them listed and was wondering why."

Hey Satrina sorry about that! I was running a bit behind but I've added them now and the list is up too.

I can't remember who recommended The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer but I just kept it on the list anyway

Love Chris colfer

This is what I got from spinning the wheel:

✔ Winterling
✔ On a Sunbeam
- The Book of Secrets
- Winterfrost
✔ On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
- The Kingdom of Back

Let's see how many I'm able to read.

reserved they have no holds on it so I should be able to get it today, physical copy recceomended theres a map. :) Checked out ebook copy first. :(

Kadi wrote: Hey Satrina sorry about that! I was running a bit behind but I've added them now and and the list is up too."

Thank you very much!

Love this Kadi. I'm copying it and adding a bunch of the titles to my TBR. TY for this!

Finished my first book for this read-a-thon. It was one I nominated, Winterling and it was better than I expected! I have book two on hold from my library, so it may be these two or possibly the third also, that I read. I'm not sure if I'll get to any others - it's already Dec 15! How'd that happen so fast?? @Satrina, I hope you like it as much as I did.

Georgann wrote: "Finished my first book for this read-a-thon. It was one I nominated, Winterling and it was better than I expected! I have book two on hold from my li..."

Ah, good to know! Winterling is on my To Read list. :)

Echoing the 15. Dec. disbelief. When GR gave me the "Your Year in Books" review, I was shocked! Surely I have a month left before- oh. Oh dear. No.. :S

Whoosh!

@Georgann glad to hear you enjoyed your first read! And that one has such a pretty cover wow😍
Anyone else starting anything from the book list?

I’m officially off work so I’m ready to dig into this one. I rolled the random picker and the first mg book I got was The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud which I think is fitting considering people on the group have recommended I read it in past events.

If you’ve seen my endless complaints elsewhere you’ll probably have heard that I’ve been going through a reading slump but I’m really determined to get out of it. I want to return to the glory days of 2016/17 where I would read a book in 2 days and enjoy every book I read. Soooo I’m not going to look at how many pages are in this book because I get discouraged by large books and I’m going to give myself a target of 1 week to finish this book. Wish me luck everyone! I’m actually really liking being positive about getting back into consistent reading👏🏻

Ah, The Amulet of Samarkand is supposed to be awesome! I have it waiting for me (but probably won't get to it by the end of December). I hope you enjoy it, Kadi!

I'm reading books not on the official list myself this time (had too big a backlog to add more to!). But I WILL check back to this list later for suggestions. It's a useful resource! :)

Georgann wrote: "Finished my first book for this read-a-thon. It was one I nominated, Winterling and it was better than I expected!
@Satrina, I hope you like it as much as I did."

I liked it although I felt it was a little slow at some points but I'm going to read the next ones soon because I want to know what happens next.

Good luck Kadi.

I hope all my books come into the library soon, b/c we're due for a blizzard and I NEED to have a stack of books at the ready!! @Kadi, enjoy your reading! I, too, struggle with too-long books, and sometimes I don't pay any attention to how long a book is before I ask for it. Then I get it, and I'm all "I will NEVER read all that!" @Satrina, I hope we both like it. I, too, want to know what happens to the characters. @Capn, we can all just be amazed together at how quickly time flies!!

Georgann wrote: "I hope all my books come into the library soon, b/c we're due for a blizzard and I NEED to have a stack of books at the ready!! @Kadi, enjoy your reading! I, too, struggle with too-long books, and ..."

Stay safe and warm, Georgann! And I hope your books come in in time! (Otherwise, OpenLibrary.org and Archive.org to the rescue?!). :)

@Aurora thanks! Alas I think I’m going to DNF it. I actually put effort in and did try but I’m genuinely bored. It’s just so slow like giving me his whole life story whilst the present plot is waiting around in the background. I just can’t keep waiting for something to happen because even the parts were things were happening they were so uninteresting. The characters are not compelling either. It’s very odd and it’s because I love Jonathan Stroud’s other series Lockwood & Co.

@Capn yeah so as you can see The Amulet of Samarkand was a bust for me despite how much everyone says it’s good. Im trying to decide on what to read next from the list but the only book that immediately speaks to me is Cat’s Magic and I don’t know where to get a copy of it😩

And I get what you mean about the list being a good resource. You can only read what you have time for but it’s great for broadening your horizons.

@Georgann oh no I hope you’re safe and your books arrived in time! A blizzard seems so wild, I can’t imagine what it’d be like. We had of snow 2 weeks ago and the ice is still lingering around. Going for a walk is dangerous! Thankfully I never fell although I came close to it once or twice.

I feel like it’s great weather for reading though. I know people get depressed in cold and gloomy weather but I feel like there’s something almost nostalgic and homely about snuggling up with a blanket and hot drink with nothing to do but while away the hours with a book.

Kadi wrote: "@Aurora thanks! Alas I think I’m going to DNF it. I actually put effort in and did try but I’m genuinely bored. It’s just so slow like giving me his whole life story whilst the present plot is wait..."

Cat's Magic on OpenLibrary:
https://openlibrary.org/works/OL33950...
:)
Too bad about the Amulet of Samarkand!

Kadi wrote: "@Aurora thanks! Alas I think I’m going to DNF it. I actually put effort in and did try but I’m genuinely bored. It’s just so slow like giving me his whole life story whilst the present plot is wait..."

Maybe the author changed writing styles?

@Capn what a legend! Thank you! I started reading Alcatraz vs the evil librarians yesterday so after I finish that I’m going to read Cat’s Magic.

@Aurora yeah maybe! I didn’t consider that but it’s definitely possible because Amulet of Samarkand was written before his Lockwood and co series. I think the sentences are much much longer in Amulet of Samarkand and that gives all the descriptions a rambling feel to them. Also the tones of the two books start very differently so that could explain the need for different writing styles. Amulet of Samarkand has basically no banter at the start because there isn’t a lot of character interaction compared to Lockwood and co which had great character interactions and relationships throughout. I mean I can’t judge too much because I didn’t even make it 1/4 through Amulet of Samarkand but from what I read that’s what I could make out of it.

Kadi wrote: "@Capn what a legend! Thank you! I started reading Alcatraz vs the evil librarians yesterday so after I finish that I’m going to read Cat’s Magic.

@Aurora yeah maybe! I didn’t consider that but it’..."

Probably the case then. Im glad youre finding books you do like. Magyke is more tell dont show but when the characters actually interact its good.

Kadi wrote: "@Georgann oh no I hope you’re safe and your books arrived in time! A blizzard seems so wild, I can’t imagine what it’d be like. We had of snow 2 weeks ago and the ice is still lingering around. Goi..." Yay, I got three books to read for this challenge, plus several others. where are you, Kadi, that you get ice but no blizzards, if you don't mind saying? We are in a Chicago suburb. I loved the Lockwood and Co series!

Just finished Spinning Silver. Great recommendation! It is one of the wintery-est books ever! I nearly froze just reading it!

Finished Summerkin which isn't on our list and isn't about winter but still counts, I think. @Satrina, I enjoyed it just a little less than the first one.

AurorainBookland wrote: " reserved they have no holds on it so I should be able to get it today, physical copy recceomended theres a map. :) Checked out ebook copy first. :("

I read this for the August challenge. It was fun.

I just re-read The Screaming Staircase; I totally adore The Amulet of Samarkand.

Spinning Silver is a new favorite of mine; I was surprised at how much I liked it.

Georgann wrote: "Finished Summerkin which isn't on our list and isn't about winter but still counts, I think. @Satrina, I enjoyed it just a little less than the first one."

This book has such a gorgeous cover😍

Audrey wrote: "I just re-read The Screaming Staircase; I totally adore The Amulet of Samarkand.

Spinning Silver is a new favorite of mine; I was surprised at how much I liked it."

Have you watched the teaser for the new Netflix show adaptation of Lockwood & Co? I think the show comes out in January! Personally I think the teaser looked awful with bad acting but I’m trying not to prejudge a show on a 1 min clip so we’ll see how I feel when it comes out!

Georgann wrote: "where are you, Kadi, that you get ice but no blizzards, if you don't mind saying?..."

North West England! I believe the ice and snow came as part of an arctic blast I think. No blizzard but very low temperatures.
I’m abroad right now but going back to England on New Year’s Day and let me tell you I’m not looking forward to the freezing cold again😩

Kadi wrote: "Audrey wrote: "I just re-read The Screaming Staircase; I totally adore The Amulet of Samarkand.

Spinning Silver is a new favorite of mine; I was surprised at how much I liked it."

Have you watch..."
I have not seen it. I do remember some time ago reading that they were going to make a tv show from the books. I loved the books so much. I hope the show is good. We'll see! After frigid temps around here last week, yesterday it was 55! I saw the funniest meme, "Look at Nature bein' all nice like it wasn't tryin' to KILL us last week!!"

A little bit late, but I finally finished The Ogress and the Orphans for this challenge.

Awesome!

Kadi wrote: "Audrey wrote: "I just re-read The Screaming Staircase; I totally adore The Amulet of Samarkand.

Spinning Silver is a new favorite of mine; I was surprised at how much I liked it."

Have you watch..."
So did you watch it?What did you think? We just binge watched all 8 episodes, and we loved it! Not exactly what I expected, but we thought it was very good. Even though the Screaming Staircase only got a quick blip in one episode. We'll def watch season 2, if there is one.

@Georgann I did watch it! At least I watched the first 3 episodes which are book 1 and I thought..... it was pretty good!! Do the characters look different than I imagined and how they are illustrated on the American covers? Yes. BUT the actors captured the essence of their characters so well and the team dynamic was exactly like the books. We also get way more Lucy Lockwood moments than we do in the books so I’m totally here for that.

They actually managed to make Lucy more likeable with all the backstory exploration. I swear we didn’t get any of that until book 3 and even with the backstory in the books I always found Lucy to be sort of unlikeable. In the show they managed to give her enough of a sob story that it makes you want to root for her.

I will say the pacing is horrendous. The entire book 1 plot was massacred by how they raced through it. They should’ve taken their time and done all of book 1 in season 1. There was definitely enough content in the first book to translate it into at least 6 episodes.

Also another thing I’ve noticed is they start talking about The Problem way too much. Like they consider the possibilities of its cause and I swear we didn’t get that until the later books. Like at the start of the series the only person who goes on about those conspiracies is George and then only after book 2 do the team start considering the real cause of The Problem. But here in the show they have randos talking about it and even someone from Lucy’s past suggesting conspiracy theories like it’s cool to see knowing how the series ends and the real cause of the Problem but otherwise it’s just ruining the mystery of it and rushing the pacing of future seasons too.

So overall I did like the 3 episodes I’ve watched so far. I’d give it a 3 for bad CGI ghosts, terrible plotting and pacing. But I’d also give it 7.5 for good character interactions.

I tried to make one of my best friends watch it and she’s read the books. She got as far as the flashbacks of young Lucy who does NOT look 12 and said she couldn’t watch any further because it was so bad overall and that actor at her big old age trying to pretend she’s 12 was just too much for her to take😂