Adventures Through Awkwardness | April | Historical Fiction

middle grade challenge

Adventures Through Awkwardness: Historical Fiction!

Sorry that this post is late, friends. WAHHH! HOST FAIL! Please don’t take it to mean that I don’t love historical fiction MGs as much as the next girl because, hello, I love them. I wish I read more of them, but I love them nonetheless.

You know the drill: You can read and review any middle grade historical fiction novel this month. It can be new or old. I’ve got a few recs comin’ atcha, and at the end of the month (or maybe a little later because I took too long to get this post up), one lucky winner will get their pick of one of them! YAY!

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Adventures Through Awkwardness: Fantasy February

middle grade challengeAdventures Through Awkwardness: Fantasy February!

Welcome, friends, to month 2 of Adventures Through Awkwardness Middle Grade Challenge! Congrats on a great January!

For February, we’re focusing on one of my very favorite genres: Fantasy. Nothing quite like jumping into a made-up world with magic, dragons, and MAPS. WORD.

As always, you can choose ANY middle grade fantasy to read and review this month. It can be new, it can be old. If you’re looking for some recommendations of what to read this month, here’s some of my personal favorites!

Book cover The Hero's Guide to Saving Your Kingdom Christopher Healy

 The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom: League of Princes #1 by Christopher Healy

Prince Liam. Prince Frederic. Prince Duncan. Prince Gustav. You’ve never heard of them, have you? These are the princes who saved Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Snow White, and Rapunzel, respectively, and yet, thanks to those lousy bards who wrote the tales, you likely know them only as Prince Charming. But all of this is about to change. Rejected by their princesses and cast out of their castles, Liam, Frederic, Duncan, and Gustav stumble upon an evil plot that could endanger each of their kingdoms. Now it’s up to them to triumph over their various shortcomings, take on trolls, bandits, dragons, witches, and other assorted terrors, and become the heroes no one ever thought they could be. {Goodreads}

Book Cover Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief: Percy Jackson and the Olympians #1 by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school… again. And that’s the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy’s Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he’s angered a few of them. Zeus’ master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus’ stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves. {Goodreads}

Book cover Fablehaven Brandon MullFablehaven: Fablehaven #1 by Brandon Mull

For centuries, mystical creatures of all description were gathered to a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary survives today as one of the last strongholds of true magic in a cynical world. Enchanting? Absolutely. Exciting? You bet. Safe? Well, actually, quite the opposite … Kendra and her brother Seth have no idea their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws give relative order among greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. However, when the rules get broken, an arcane evil is unleashed, forcing Kendra and Seth to face the greatest challenge of their lives. To save her family, Fablehaven, and perhaps the world, Kendra must find the courage to do what she fears most. {Goodreads}

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What are YOU going to read for this month’s challenge? Let us know in the comments (where you can link up your reviews, too)!

Waiting on Wednesday (40): Dreamwood

Waiting on WednesdayDreamwood by Heather Mackey

Book cover Dreamwood Heather Mackey

 

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Adventures Through Awkwardness: 2014 Middle Grade Challenge!

middle grade challenge

Adventures Through Awkwardness: 2014 Middle Grade Challenge

As you all may or may not know, I think middle grade is just the bees knees. So does my girl Lisa. There’s just something so endearing and awesome about younger kids going on adventures and living through growing pains and beginning to learn how to make their own mark on the world. Those little whipper snappers just make me laugh and cry and cheer so hard!

So, because Lisa and I love all things middle grade so much, we’ve decided to put together this super challenge for 2014! We’d be beyond jazzed if you joined us. The rules are simple, and we’ve got some fun twists on typical reading challenges, so without further ado, here’s standard operating procedure for Adventures Through Awkwardness: 2014 Middle Grade Challenge!

(PS. Grab that cute little button over there if you want to join in!)

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Five Favorite Things: The Penderwicks

five favorite things

Shouting out one of the sweetest, funniest, most adorable middle grades IN THE WORLD in this Five Favorite Things:

The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall

Book cover for The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

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15 Day Book Blogger Challenge: Day 5

book blogger challenge

I know that I’m falling behind with this awesome 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge of April‘s, but I’m trying to catch up wherever I can! When I saw that I missed day 5’s prompt to recommend a tear-jerker, I knew I had to hop back in and give a shout out to a book that made me ugly cry like crazy:

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Book cover for A Monster Calls by Patrick NessThis incredibly powerful story about a young boy, Conor, who is visited by a monster, an animated yew tree from his backyard, and they develop an intense, very important relationship over time. Conor, you see, has got a lot on his little dude plate: his parents are divorced, his father isn’t around very much, he doesn’t have many friends, and his grandma is kind of pushy, but most–and worst–of all, Conor’s mother–his very best bff–is dying. As Conor struggles with his grief, the monster becomes his nighttime companion who guides him through his feelings and gives Conor the support he needs and craves to deal with his mother’s impending death.

As you might be able to tell from my little synopsis, and as you might guess just from the look of the cover, A MONSTER CALLS is not a happy, warm-fuzzy kind of book. It’s dark, sad, and brutally emotional. I CRIED FOR DAYS AND DAYS.

One of the big bonuses of this edition, too, is the illustrations. They’re stunning. Candlewick is releasing a paperback version with a very different, but still pretty, cover. I might have to snatch it up (although the illustrations are absent from the new edition). Like other people I’ve talked to about it, I think the original cover matches the tone SO PERFECTLY that I can’t imagine this story without it. But I like to collect books I love, and I LOVE A MONSTER CALLS. Extreme tear-jerker. EXTREME. It was a no brainer to feature it on the 15 Day Book Blogger Challenge.

Book cover for A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

Waiting on Wednesday (30): Magic Marks the Spot by Caroline Carlson

Waiting on Wednesday

Magic Marks the Spot: The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates #1 by Caroline Carlson

Book cover for Magic Marks the Spot by Caroline Carlson

Pirates! Magic! Treasure! A gargoyle? Caroline Carlson’s hilarious tween novel The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates #1: Magic Marks the Spot is perfect for fans of Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events and Trenton Lee Stewart’s Mysterious Benedict Society.

Hilary Westfield has always dreamed of being a pirate. She can tread water for thirty-seven minutes. She can tie a knot faster than a fleet of sailors, and she already owns a rather pointy sword.

There’s only one problem: The Very Nearly Honorable League of Pirates refuses to let any girl join their ranks of scourges and scallywags.

But Hilary is not the kind of girl to take no for answer. To escape a life of petticoats and politeness at her stuffy finishing school, Hilary sets out in search of her own seaworthy adventure, where she gets swept up in a madcap quest involving a map without an X, a magical treasure that likely doesn’t exist, a talking gargoyle, a crew of misfit scallywags, and the most treacherous—and unexpected—villain on the High Seas.

Written with uproarious wit and an inviting storyteller tone, the first book in Caroline Carlson’s quirky seafaring series is a piratical tale like no other.

Pirates! Magic! Treasure! AND a gargoyle?! Psh. THIS SOUNDS SO AWESOME I CAN’T EVEN. First of all, any time there is even the HINT of pirates in a book, I’m immediately in. Second of all, look at all the other equally excellent stuff in this book! Historical fiction where a young girl wants to ditch her fancy dresses to join a gang of pirates, whereupon she also encounters magic, a treasure map and A FREAKING QUEST? Yup.

A MG/young YA historical fiction with pirates is something we need more of in the world. Also, I’m really looking forward to meeting Hilary. She sounds confident and determined and just the little bit of description we get of her is putting me in mind of one of the great, strong girl characters I’ve recently read, Deryn Sharpe from Scott Westerfeld’s Leviathan series. Granted, I don’t think Hilary has to dress up like a boy the way Deryn did, but still. The comparison is a BIG compliment, and it sounds worthy.

MAGIC MARKS THE SPOT comes out on September 10, 2013 from HarperCollins Children’s Books

Amazon || Goodreads

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. I love it because it is basically a squee-fest where book lovers can choose one book that they are DYING to get their hands on. Check it out!

Waiting on Wednesday (29): The House of Hades by Rick Riordan

Waiting on Wednesday

The House of Hades: Heroes of Olympus #4 by Rick Riordan

Book cover for The House of Hades by Rick Riordan

At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy’s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea’s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape?

They have no choice. If the demigods don’t succeed, Gaea’s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.

Guys, I am so in love with Percy Jackson. You know, in that “aww, what an ADORABLE teenager!” kind of way. I’ve been in his corner since I read the first Percy Jackson book while I was in library school. In the Heroes of Olympus series, Percy is growing up FAST, friends, and book 4 (of 6) sees our young made-of-awesome hero trapped in the very depths of mythological hell with his also-made-of-awesome girlfriend, Annabeth. THEY ARE MY FOR REAL FAVORITES. LOOK AT THEM ON THAT COVER!

THE MARK OF ATHENA was one of my favorite books in this new series, so I’m beyond excited–and, if I’m being honest, worried–about where things are going in THE HOUSE OF HADES. Spoiler: things did not end on a happy note at all in TMoA. And, like Leo in that synopsis, I am wondering how Percy and Annabeth will escape Tartarus. The one thing I’m not worried about? Loving this book. That’s basically written in stone already. #nobrainer

THE HOUSE OF HADES comes out October 8, 2013 from Hyperion Books

Amazon | Goodreads

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly feature hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. I love it because it is basically a squee-fest where book lovers can choose one book that they are DYING to get their hands on. Check it out!

Blog Tour & Book Review: House of Secrets by Chris Columbus and Ned Vizzini

Book cover for House of Secrets by Chris Columbus and Ned VizziniTitle: House of Secrets
Authors: Chris Columbus and Ned Vizzini
Series: House of Secrets #1
Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Amazon | Goodreads
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Release date: April 23, 2013
Source: ARC from the publisher for blog tour

Summary: The Walker kids had it all: loving parents, a big house in San Francisco, all the latest video games . . . but everything changed when their father lost his job as a result of an inexplicable transgression. Now the family is moving into Kristoff House, a mysterious place built nearly a century earlier by Denver Kristoff, a troubled writer with a penchant for the occult.

Suddenly the siblings find themselves launched on an epic journey into a mash-up world born of Kristoff’s dangerous imagination, to retrieve a dark book of untold power, uncover the Walker family’s secret history and save their parents . . . and maybe even the world.

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Book Review | The Prince Who Fell From the Sky | John Claude Bemis

I received this book for free from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Book Review | The Prince Who Fell From the Sky | John Claude BemisThe Prince Who Fell From the Sky by John Claude Bemis
Published by Random House Children's Books on May 22, 2012
Genres: Middle Grade, Post-Apocalyptic YA
Pages: 259
Format: eARC
Source: the publisher via NetGalley
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four-stars

In Casseomae’s world, the wolves rule the Forest, and the Forest is everywhere. The animals tell stories of the Skinless Ones, whose cities and roads once covered the earth, but the Skinless disappeared long ago.

Casseomae is content to live alone, apart from the other bears in her tribe, until one of the ancients’ sky vehicles crashes to the ground, and from it emerges a Skinless One, a child. Rather than turn him over to the wolves, Casseomae chooses to protect this human cub, to find someplace safe for him to live. But where among the animals will a human child be safe? And is Casseomae threatening the safety of the Forest and all its tribes by protecting him?

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