Kidslit

Book Review: Escape from Grimstone Manor (Monsterious book 1) by Matt McMann

- Barb Leave a comment

Monsterious Book 1: Escape from Grimstone Manor had been on my radar since it was first announced and I was super excited when I won a copy from the amazing Writers With Wrinkles Podcast giveaway! I highly recommend their podcast to anyone who writes or reads books!

But back to the book! I love a fast-paced, scary middle grade story with awesome friends and a fun, yet creepy setting. Escape from Grimstone Manor, the first book in Matt McMann’s Monsterious series, gave me all that and more. This is a book 10-year-old Barb would have loved to read under the covers at night by flashlight and then again the next day, sneaking reading time during math class. (Yes, I used to do all that.)

It’s got: 

  • A cool setting: amusement park + Gothic haunted mansion ride.
  • Super creepy backstory: necromancer who lived in the spooky mansion where the ride now sits and who may or may not still be around.
  • Awesome monsters: werewolf, lizard person, mummies, and skeletons!
  • Three fantastic friends: Zari, Mateo, and Taylor.

When the three friends get trapped overnight in the haunted mansion ride, they have to find their way out. During their search, they stumble on a hidden staircase that leads them into a crypt that shouldn’t be there. A crypt! Yikes! And then there’s the monsters. The kids not only have to fight real monsters, but they need to find the courage to face their own inner fears and even each other, because even for the best of friends, some things are just too much.

Beyond the great action scenes and spooky moments, what I loved most was the friendship between Zari, Mateo, and Taylor. They’re three very distinct characters, but right from the start you could feel their connection with each other and I knew they were going to need to lean on each other to make it through the night.

Escape from Grimstone Manor was a fast read for me and I totally enjoyed each page. If you or the kids are into books like Goosebumps, then McMann’s book is a must-read for sure. Grab your copy and keep an eye out for the other books in this series. Book 2, The Snatcher of Raven Hollow is already out, book 3, Terror in Shadow Canyon releases in August, and book 4, The Beast of Skull Rock, is set to release January 2024.

You can find out more about author Matt McMann at his website here: https://mattmcmann.com/.

Book Review: BETWEEN MONSTERS AND MARVELS by Alysa Wishingrad

- Barb Leave a comment

As a fan of Alysa’s “The Verdigris Pawn”, her new middle grade book BETWEEN MONSTERS AND MARVELS was one I had been eagerly awaiting. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC! 

When I read MG books, I always think back to my own days as a kid, often reading under the covers past bedtime with a flashlight. BETWEEN MONSTERS AND MARVELS  is most definitely a book kid-Barb would have not been able to put down. 

Dare Coates is an awful girl. She’s been told that her whole life and she believes it. But Dare is so much more than what she, and everyone else thinks she is. Dare is wise and inquisitive and utterly fearless. One of my favorite quotes about Dare is:

“She was happy to be a thornbush among the lilies for even the sharpest thorns serve a purpose.” 

After tragedy strikes and Dare is sent away from her isolated island home to live with a distant relative in a gritty city on the mainland, Dare discovers the stories she’s been told all her life about monsters may not be precisely true. Beyond Dare’s quest to uncover the truth about the monsters, giving the reader ample pages of action, mystery, magic, and creepy moments, this book also tackles deeper themes including grief, societal inequalities, and corruption. I think it’s important for young readers to delve into stories that show a MG protagonist questioning the actual truth of what has been considered “known” history. 

One of my absolute favorite things about Alysa Wishingrad’s writing is her ability to completely command my attention with details that immerse me into the story and make me not want to leave. Her vivid descriptions of the island, Dare’s time on the ship, the city, and especially the theater centered me into Dare’s world. I also love that Dare finds friendship in unexpected places and how she learns that maybe she doesn’t have to always go it alone. That’s an important message for any age of reader. 

I highly recommend BETWEEN MONSTERS AND MARVELS for middle grade readers, teens, and adults because there is something there for every age. It’s a beautifully written book and I’d love to read a sequel because I wasn’t ready to leave Dare and her world when I hit the last page.

You can find out more about BETWEEN MONSTERS AND MARVELS at Alysa Wishingrad’s website. Pop over and visit her there and be sure to check out “The Verdigris Pawn” as well, it’s a fantastic middle grade read you don’t want to miss.

Book Review: TWELFTH by Janet Key

- Barb 1 Comment

I wish I could remember who recommended I pick up TWELFTH by Janet Key because I’d really like to thank them. Mysteries are my favorite and expanding my middle grade mystery shelf is one of my favorite things to do.

A 60-year missing diamond ring, a Shakespearian play, and a series of riddle-like clues help set the stage for a mystery-adventure that quickly ensnares Maren, a first-time camper at the Charlotte Goodman Theater Camp. While TWELFTH delivers a solid and satisfying mystery, it also gives the reader complex, realistic, and diverse characters that we need not only in middle grade fiction, but in all stories.

Set in a theater arts camp, the story is told in dual timelines with the “present day” set in 2015 — and there is a reason for this particular year as it ties into the stories. As a former theater kid and as a kid who went to summer camp, I found this book incredibly immersive with fabulous details and insights into what it’s like to rehearse a play and prepare for a performance.

For readers of all ages, TWELFTH will resonate. It deals with the complexities of mental health, bullying, and gender diversity. I highly recommend reading all of the Bonus Material at the end of the book as the interview with Dr. Jennifer Feldmann on gender diversity is wonderful.

Visit author Janet Key at her website for more information about where you can get a copy of TWELFTH and to find out about her other upcoming projects.

Book Review: UNMASKED by Lorien Lawrence

- Barb Leave a comment

I love the FRIGHT WATCH books by Lorien Lawrence! I pre-ordered my copy of UNMASKED (book 3) but then I held onto it, waiting to read it at the perfect time. That perfect time was on a flight to my family reunion. I read UNMASKED in one sitting and I was so into the story I couldn’t tell you a thing about anything that went on during that flight.

The third installment of the series more than lives up to the previous two–it’s frightfully fun filled with humor, heart, and scares perfect for a Halloween read (or any time of the year!) The story follows Marion, a talented creator of monster makeup and masks, who finds that one of her creations may be more than she intended. Marion is smart, funny, and very easy to relate to, especially for anyone who has or is dealing with any type of anxiety.

We get to spend time with Marion’s family (who I really liked as well), meet the boy she’s crushing on, and we get to connect with some of the Fright Watch series regulars. When Marion has to chase her creation down at the middle school Halloween dance, who else but Quinn and Mike of Goodie Lane are on hand to help. After all, they do have some experience with the supernatural and spooky.

UNMASKED was a joy to read, the perfect combination of scary and laugh-out-loud moments. You don’t need to read books one and two first, but I highly recommend both The Stitchers and The Collectors as well as UNMASKED.

Be sure to check out all of Lorien Lawrence’s books on her website at lorienlawrence.com.

It’s Children’s Book Week

- Barb Leave a comment
https://everychildareader.net/cbw/

What is Children’s Book Week? Directly from the Every Child A Reader site, Children’s Book Week is:

“Established in 1919, Children’s Book Week is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. Every year, young people across the country participate by attending events at schools, libraries, bookstores, celebrating at home, and engaging with book creators both online and in person.” 

https://everychildareader.net/cbw/about/

Maybe your kids will come home talking about it and the wonderful new books they’ve had the chance to read or look at. If you visit your local library this week, it’s likely there will be something fun going in honor of Children’s Book Week as well.

Every week is a good week to read to a child, but Children’s Book Week is definitely one not to miss. Enjoy!

Happy reading!

Book Review: The Daybreak Bond by Megan Frazer Blakemore

- Barb Leave a comment

“Maybe fate and superstition were just our brains’ way of making sense of the world around us, creating a story to explain events.”

The Daybreak Bond by Megan Frazer Blakemore (Chapt. 5, page 34)

The Daybreak Bond by Megan Frazer Blakemore is the sequel to The Firefly Code, a middle-grade science fiction story set in the future. I love a sequel, especially when the first book captivated me with its story and characters.

Everyone is back in book two, Mori and her closest friends from Firefly Lane in Old Harmonie, the community run by KritaCorp. By the end of book one, we know new girl Ilana is a form of AI and the scientists from KritaCorp have decided to disassemble her. The kids decide to intervene and run away from Old Harmonie with Ilana on a mission to save her life. The Daybreak Bond opens with the Firefly Five outside Old Harmonie and on their own trying to make their way to Cambridge and the campus of MIT. At MIT, they hope to find Dr. Varden, the one scientist that may be able to help keep Ilana alive. 

I like stories where the characters/heroes are on a journey and must overcome obstacles, and The Daybreak Code delivers on that. Blakemore gives the reader five kids who leave their “utopian” community to brave the wilds of the countryside and rough cities where they know no one. On the 24-mile journey the face everything from dangerous dogs to electric fences and kids who know how to survive outside a KritaCorp community. Things get rough and not everyone comes through unharmed. However, the Firefly Five meet new friends and learn to trust others outside their group, while choosing to follow their hearts.

The Daybreak Code is a solid sequel to The Firefly Code, effortlessly combining lite sci-fi with dystopian elements and the universal truths of childhood friendships. I definitely recommend both books for middle grade readers and teens. As an adult, I thoroughly enjoyed the stories and as a parent it’s nice to have books that you can enjoy with your kids.

Be sure to visit author Megan Frazer Blakemore’s website for more information about her books.