Unpopular bookish opinion: I don't care for most novels in verse. 

I've always been a lover of poetry, but verse novels didn't feel like poetry to me, so for a long time I didn't even see the point.

Then Caroline Starr Rose won me over.

Her book, May B., was a verse novel with a really good reason for being told that way.

The main character struggles to read, and her story is small but dramatic and poignant, with a wide emotional arc. All those reasons made its format make sense, and the writing was beautiful. I loved it.

I felt the same way about Rose's second verse novel, Blue Birds, about the friendship between a Roanoke girl, Kimi, and English settler, Alis. Because the girls don't speak one another's languages, the sparse verse made total sense to me and allowed me to fall into the story without being distracted by the format. 

So of course when I found out Caroline Starr Rose had a new verse novel coming out, you know I jumped right on the chance to read it! The Burning Season is possibly my favorite of her verse novels, with a realistic and relatable main character in a setting and situation very different from my life.

Like Rose's previous novels in verse, The Burning Season makes perfect sense in this format. The verses are an excellent medium to tell a fairly "small" story, of a girl training to become a Wildfire spotter despite her deep fear of fire. The swings from quiet introspection and normal life hopes to the high drama of raging fires and missing family members are perfectly mirrored by the shape and structure of each poem.

Additionally, the sense of place in this novel is as much a part of the story as the plot. The poems bring the Gila Wilderness to life with a subtlety and clarity that perhaps only a poem can provide.

So if you're not a big fan of novels in verse…you're not alone. But give this one a try.

Here's a more detailed plot summary from the publisher's description, if you're curious!

Twelve-year-old Opal has a she’s deathly afraid of fire. Still Opal is preparing to become a fourth-generation lookout on Wolf Mountain, deep in the New Mexico wilderness. She, Mom, and Gran live at ten thousand feet in a single room at the top of a fire tower. They are responsible for spotting any hint of smoke before it becomes an uncontrollable blaze. 
Instead of training for the lonely life of a lookout, Opal wishes she could be starting seventh grade in Silver City, attending real classes with kids her own age and even going to afterschool clubs like FFA. But Wolf Mountain has other ideas. When Mom makes the long trek to town for supplies and Gran goes missing, Opal is the only one to spot a tell-tale spiral of smoke moving up the mountainside. She’ll have to be braver than she’s ever been as she heads into the woods, beyond Wolf Ridge’s old blackened burn scar, to face down a fire on her own. But when a fire is what took her father away, and Opal herself knows the sting of smoke and lick of flames, how can she be brave enough when it really counts?

The Burning Season releases in May but is available for preorder now. Thanks, Netgalley, for the chance to read it early!

For more Marvelous Middle Grade Monday recommendations, check out Always in the Middle: http://gpattridge.com
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One tricky thing about writing a children’s book, as every adult author knows, is that you have to really dig deep to find a past version of yourself. Fail, and evey child reader will know it and grow bored of the story—and adult readers will inevitably give you the dreaded critique: “Adults may appreciate it, but I have a hard time seeing its child appeal.”

I bring this up because I have the pleasure today of reviewing a book that absolutely succeeds in capturing the point of view of a young teenager. That in itself is not much of a surprise, once you realize the author, Millie Florence, wrote the original version as a teenager. What is surprising is that, as an adult, she was able to edit and polish it to a mature, sophisticated story, without losing any of its authenticity. 

Lydia Green lives in the type of fantasy world my inner 11-year-old feels right at home in: hammocks in trees, fairies flitting about a cozy glen, a kitchen out of Redwall or Brambly Hedge. She herself is human, and as the book opens, she is feeling the very human emotion of anxiety over her future. She is soon to start an apprenticeship as an herbalist, and fears what life will be like when she leaves her beloved Mulberry Glen. Worse, she hears rumors of an insidious Darkness spreading throughout the land, and recognizes it in herself: the dark, hopeless feeling that preys upon her anxieties. Unwittingly, her discussion of the darkness inspiries two foolhardy friends to sneak off on a quest to destroy it. So what is there for Lydia to do but take it upon herself to save them, whatever the cost?

Beyond Mulberry Glen is a delicious fantasy that begs to be read aloud. In the trappings of a cozy magical world, it addresses the very realistic childhood fear and anxiety about change and growing up in a way that every child will relate to and every adult remember. And it’s beautifully done. I closed its cover giving my teenage self a little more grace and forgiveness for the darkness and anxiety I felt twenty-some years ago. I opened it again to share with my own children, so that they have the chance to know that grace while they’re in the midst of it, to understand that the fight against darkness is simply a part of life, and it’s a battle worth undertaking.

Some other things I loved: 
~The best cast of secondary characters! We all know it’s the secondary characters that make or break a fantasy novel, right? Mulberry Glen is full of the best sort.
~A setting I’d love to live in.
~A perfectly paced “hero’s journey” with some fun twists (a tiny fairy as the mentor instead of a bearded wizard? YES).
~The most beautifully-crafted book, story aside! Thick, velvety pages; lovely binding; gorgeous illustrations by Astrid Sheckels. My 15-year-old commented, “This book just feels nice to hold.” She’s right.

Beyond Mulberry Glen officially releases on January 7, but it’s shipping out already! (My indie bookstore got me my copy a few days before Christmas, in fact.) Check out Waxwingbooks.com for some lovely preorder goodies as well.

For more Marvelous Middle Grade Monday recommendations, visit Always in the Middle: www.gpattridge.com

(I received a complimentary electronic copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.)

I have a great middle grade book to share with you all today, but first: some news!
Little Hough #9 was born last Friday: Blaise Sebastian. He's our second boy and our second November baby—I'm enjoying lots of snuggling and reading during these chilly fall days postpartum. 

Forgive me for a less thorough review than usual—I suppose this is more of a recommendation than a real review—but there is more cuddling to be done. :) And my high schooler needs to use our sole family computer for her college Latin class (having a high school senior and a newborn at the same time is just as wild as you might imagine. And a lot of fun).

Now onto the recommendation!

The Wonder Brothers, by Frank Cottrell-Boyce, has been the perfect relaxing postpartum read. It's funny and heartfelt, features kids obsessed with their hobby (kids with obsessions are always my favorites in books), plus: MAGIC. Of the illusions and sleight of hand variety. It was great fun and absolutely ideal for warding off any baby blues! (That is also to say: not so much of a tearjerker as some of the author's other books. This one stayed very light.)

Here's the publisher's description:

‘Maybe you don’t believe me. Maybe you don’t believe in magic. I bet you will by the time you’ve heard what happened to us.’ Cousins Middy and Nathan love magic. The on-stage, cape-swirling, bunny-out-of-a-hat kind. For Middy, it’s all about patience and practice. She uses magic skills to help her out of tricky situations. Nathan is a show-off and a total danger magnet, he is drawn to the sensation, spectacle and audience. So when the famous Blackpool Tower dramatically vanishes the night of the Grand Lights Switch-On, showman Nathan announces live on TV that they will magic it back home. With a stick of rock, a spangly cape, and a bit of misdirection, they end up lost in Las Vegas, home to the grand master of illusion, Perplexion, ‘Legend of Magic’. Full of tricks, twists and deceptions, the delightful Nathan and Middy will keep you guessing until the very end. No matter how big the show, family, friendship and adventure shine through in The Wonder Brothers.

Have any of you read this, or other books by Frank Cottrell-Boyce? He's one of my all-time favorite authors, little known by American readers, though apparently he's massively popular across the pond.

For more Marvelous Middle Grade Monday recommendations, check out Always in the Middle: http://gpattridge.com

I have such a fun book to review today! It was released in 2023 (and I even received it as a Christmas gift!), but somehow I didn't get around to reading it until this Fall. Which turned out to be perfect, because mysteries are essential fall reading as far as I'm concerned—and also because now I only have to wait a few weeks until Book #2 comes out! Final Word, by Janet Sumner Johnson, is a perfect mystery read for a sensitive reader—not too scary, not too intense, but with puzzles galore, wonderful characters, and an atmospheric old house full of secrets. 

Here's the publisher's description:

Thirteen-year-old twins Hope and Gordon enter a spelling bee in a last-ditch effort to save their family from financial ruin, only to find themselves in a cut-throat competition to uncover a fortune and dark secrets about the wealthy relations they’ve never known.

Hope Smith can’t stand rich people—the dictionary magnate family the Wintertons most of all. Not since she and her twin brother, Gordon, learned that their dad was one. So when Gordon enters the family into the Winterton’s charity spelling bee, Hope wants nothing to do with it. But with their mom losing her job and the family facing eviction from the motel where they live, they desperately need the money, and it looks like Hope doesn’t have much of a choice.

After winning the preliminary round, the Smiths are whisked to Winterton Chalet to compete in the official Winterton Bee against their long-lost relatives. Hope wants to get in and out, beat the snobbish family at their own game, and never see them again. But deceased matriarch Jane Winterton had other plans for this final family showdown. Before her death, she set up a clue hunt throughout the manor—an alternate way for Hope and Gordon to get the money that could change their lives.

Still, others are on the trail, too. With tensions at an all-time high, a fortune at stake, and long-simmering family secrets about to boil to the surface, anything could happen.

I loved so many things about Final Word: spelling bees and dictionaries! old houses! Jane Austen references galore! big family dynamics! mercy and healing and hurt and peace. Really, it was wonderful, and one of my favorite reads of the year. 

Some topics parents/teachers may want to be aware of before handing this to a child:
​--a lot of discussion of a character's death, including the resulting trauma and guilt that his family suffered because of it
​—the main characters' parents were not married (and the father is now dead)
​—one adult is very emotionally abusive to his family and others (this is not justified in any way in the story, but it can be hard to read at times)
​—some very mild crude language on a couple occasions

I hope you get a chance to pick this up soon (read it while it's still fall!), and I'll keep you posted on what I think of the sequel!

For more Marvelous Middle Grade Monday recommendations, check out Always in the Middle: http://gpattridge.com

I love hard-to-categorize books…books that cross over between age ranges and genres, books that sound as if they wouldn't make sense but somehow they gloriously do. The Mythmakers: The Remarkable Fellowship of C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien, by John Hendrix, is wonderfully hard to categorize. Readers from advanced middle schoolers (ones who have already read The Lord of the Rings and Narnia) to young adults to adults will all love it. It's not a comic or a graphic novel or a traditional biography, but a blend of the three (I guess you could call it a highly-illustrated biography with sections told in comic panels, and also a heavy dose of beautiful hand-lettered sections). It's not a book specifically for Christian audiences, but it does not shy away from describing how faith was an intrinsic part of Lewis' and Tolkien's lives. The narrators of the story are a cartoon wizard and anthropomorphic lion, yet the subject matter is often dark and serious.

But it works. All the unlikely combinations of genres and styles and audience actually make this book shine.

Here's the brief publisher's description:
From New York Times bestselling, award-winning creator John Hendrix comes The Mythmakers, a graphic novel biography of two literary lions—C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien—following the remarkable story of their friendship and creative fellowship, and how each came to write their masterworks

I have been a fan of Lewis and Tolkien for years, so much of the info in their biography wasn't new to me, yet several small tidbits that I didn't know were crucial in bringing their friendship to life. And I loved that the focus of the story really was about that friendship itself, allowing the other biographical details to serve that story instead of taking over. Lewis and Tolkien both wrote so beautifully about the love and fellowship between friends in their stories (and also non-fiction works) that it made this approach even more fitting. 

The comical narrators helped lighten the tone of a story that is riddled with sadness—ultimately I think they were a brilliant choice for many reasons. They paved the way and made a style allowance for a truly wonderful ending (no spoilers), they enabled the author to dive into a few fascinating literary sidetracks (which, incidentally, would make this book a perfect addition to a high school literature class—I wish we'd had it last year when I taught my high schoolers a course on Modern Fantasy and its Inspirations!), and they helped the readers keep Lewis' and Tolkien's styles and philosophies clear from once another.

And the style/illustrations. You guys. It's just amazing. John Hendrix is a genius and I loved every page. This is definitely one to own if you can. 

For more Marvelous Middle Grade Monday recommendations, as always, visit Always in the Middle: http://gpattridge.com

Over on my Instagram page, I did a poll asking my readers what book list they wanted me to write up for them next—and overwhelmingly (75% overwhelmingly), the answer was "Books for grown-up fans of ​Anne of Green Gables." 
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I get it. I'm a die-hard Anne fan myself, and sometimes I don't want just any book. I want a book with heart and hope, with quirky characters and whimsical plots. Atmosphere is a must. A happy ending is a given. 

Here, then are a dozen books and/or authors to get you through the next time that you're in the mood for something like Anne, but different. (And I'm presuming that you already read all of LMM's oeuvre, right? Because The Blue Castle ​is one of the best books ever written.)

I hope you find a new book on this list to read and love!

Thanks to Netgalley, I was able to read one of my most highly anticipated middle grade books of 2024 early—but don't worry, you won't have to wait long! You can pre-order ​Take it from the Top now, and it will be available in November.

On to the review! Let's start with the publisher's description:

Set at a camp over the course of six summers, this novel dives into the falling-out of two girls from different backgrounds who thought they'd be friends forever. Claire Swinarski, regional indie bestseller of the ALA Notable What Happened to Rachel Riley?, tackles privilege, perspective, and the power of friendship in this page-turning puzzle that readers will devour.

Eowyn Becker has waited all year to attend her sixth summer at Lamplighter Lake Summer Camp. Here, she’s not in the shadow of her Broadway-star older brother; she’s a stellar performer in her own right. Here, the pain of her mom’s death can’t reach her, and she gets to reunite with her best friend, Jules Marrigan—the only person in the world who understands her.

But when she gets to camp, everything seems wrong. The best-friend reunion Eowyn had been dreaming of doesn’t go as planned. Jules will barely even look at Eowyn, let alone talk to her, and Eowyn has no idea why.

Well, maybe she does…

There are two sides to every story, and if you want to understand this one, you’ll need to hear both. Told in a series of alternating chapters that dip back to past summers, the girls’ story will soon reveal how Eowyn and Jules went from being best friends to fierce foils. Can they mend ways before the curtains close on what was supposed to be the best summer of their lives?

I absolutely loved this story! Eowyn and Jules are both wonderful and wonderfully-crafted characters. I wish I could be friends with both of them…and still I found myself ready to smack both of them at various points throughout the story (okay, so I was a little invested). Like all of Claire Swinarksi's books, character development takes center stage, but Take it from the Top also brings the setting to life in such a tangible way. I could practically feel the stage makeup tickling my nose and imagine the chilly lake and cozy cabins of summer camp (and that says a lot considering I never went to summer camp). 

This is an obvious pick for the theater lovers in your life. What might not be as obvious from the description is how much Take it from the Top is a book about families—how they form us, how they hurt us, how they heal us, how they make us who we are and how who we are is not defined by them. The friendship between Jules and Eowyn is the central relationship in the story, but the entire plot revolves around how their two respective families and family situations create a conflict that Jules and Eowyn have to work to overcome. Perhaps this reminds you a little of a very famous play? Maybe the name Jules was chosen as a subtle nod? While these very normal American families may be no Capulets and Montagues with ill blood between them, Take it from the Top presents a more (to my mind) interesting and relevant inter-family dynamic: can our backgrounds be so different that true understanding is impossible? Of course the answer is no…but it is also: it might be difficult. And that's okay. Because so many of the things worth putting our time into in life are difficult. Like family. And friendship. And singing on stage in front of hundreds of people.

As usual, a note to parents on whether this book is right for your child. Here are few topics and themes I'll discuss with my children either before, during, or after they read Take it from the Top:
-death of a parent and how it affects a family
-a couple cases of characters taking God's name in vain (my children are very sensitive to this)
-a lot of crushes… The main characters are 13, and my 13-year-old has absolutely no interest in crushes. :) For that reason, I'll probably give it to my older daughters first. I love that the boy-girl relationships are always innocent—the relationship between Eowyn and her crush is particularly very sweet, but I would discuss with my kids that she sneaks out of her cabin to talk to him at night several times… I know, I know, kids do this. But I'm a mom of teens and my child safety detector is on high alert.
-some of the songs and musicals mentioned are more mature than what I let my 13-year-olds view, so I'll be giving them a heads up before they start searching Youtube…

(I always provide these notes as an aid to parents, teachers, and librarians, but I won't recommend any books I wouldn't feel comfortable handing to my own kids—as a parent, I simply always appreciate having more info rather than less! Sometimes I incorporate topic notes into my reviews, but in the future I'm going to try to list them out like this for viewing ease.)

As I said, Take it from the Top will be available in November, so be sure to pre-order from your favorite bookstore or library now!

For more Marvelous Middle Grade Monday recommendations, visit: http://alwaysinthemiddle.com

Want another book to add to your 2025 Newbery hopeful list? You've come to the right place. The Secret Language of Birds, by Lynne Kelly, has so many elements that I love in a middle grade novel: a main character with a fun obsession, a plot that revolves around friendship and fitting in (or learning when not to), an evocative setting, and a "plot problem" that is both realistic to the middle grade years while feeling high stakes for that character. 

Here's the publisher's description: 

Nina is used to feeling like the odd one out, both at school and in her large family. But while trying to fit in at summer camp, she discovers something even more two majestic birds have built a nest in the marsh behind an abandoned infirmary. They appear to be whooping cranes, but that’s impossible—Nina is an amateur bird-watcher, and all her resources tell her that those rare birds haven’t nested in Texas for over a hundred years.

When Nina reports the sighting to wildlife officials, more questions arise. Experts track all the endangered birds, but they can’t identify the female bird that Nina found. Who is she, and where did she come from?

With the help of some fellow campers, Nina sets out to discover who the mystery bird really is. As she gets closer to the truth, will she find a flock of her own?

This instant classic from award-winning author Lynne Kelly captures the coming-of-age moment of learning to spread your wings in a way you'll never forget.

I think I can safely say that my very favorite types of characters in middle grade (maybe in all books?) tend to have one trait in common: they LOVE things deeply. They get obsessed. They can tell you every detail about their favorite things, whether you asked or not. So Nina's obsession with birdwatching automatically pulled me into her story—especially, okay, because birdwatching is an obsession I might just happen to share. Lynne Kelly even managed to get two of my favorite birdwatching bits of trivia into the story (how to tell the difference between young herons and egrets—hey, it comes up a lot when you live next to a river—and one I will call "the Shakespeare one" so I don't spoil it for you, but it's very funny). My children have heard me monologue for minutes on end about the recovery of the osprey population in Connecticut (as I explain WHY I am so excited about something that is now so commonplace as an osprey nest), so none of them were surprised at all when I fell in love with a book about two endangered birds and a girl who loves them.

All that said… even if birdwatching holds very little interest for you, you will be pulled in by Nina's story. Because birdwatching is just a fascinating canvas on which Lynne Kelly paints the story of a girl who is learning to love who she is and to love others for who they are, too. Who is growing in her ability to accept love and to give it. Basically, a girl who is learning how to be a friend. And there's no more quintessentially middle grade story than that.

Mostly, the themes in this book are appropriate for even young middle grade readers, though before you hand this off to a sensitive reader, you may want to be aware that is discusses purposeless hunting of an endangered bird. The main character also sneaks off by herself several times throughout the book and keeps secrets from adults—but both of these issues are met with consequences; she does regret her bad choices and learns from them.

Have you read ​The Secret Language of Birds ​yet? What did you think?

For more Marvelous Middle Grade Monday recommendations, check out Always in the Middle at http://gpattridge.com