I loved the absolute excitement that surrounded this story! It was filled with escapes that had me on the edge of my seat!
How I Felt:
Britfield and The Lost Crown starts the reader at The Weatherly Orphanage, a place that no child wants to be. It’s exactly what you expect a horrible orphanage to be, filled with lots of hate and too little food. Tom’s friend Sarah gets put into solitary confinement, and it’s the last straw for him. It’s time to go. They have an epic escape that is aided by the many other kids at the orphanage, but a detective is hired to chase after the two of them.
The plot for the story involves a secret that Tom discovered about his family, so along with the high-action escapes, the story has a bit of a mystery aspect as well! While it’s definitely filled with action and adventure, it doesn’t feel repetitive, each scenario is different, creating those surprise moments we all love from a story.
A Curse of Mayhem was a wonderful next book in the Alyssa McCarthy’s Magical Missions series! This is a middle-grade fantasy story filled with magic and adventure!
The story begins six months after the end of the first book, The Frights of Fiji. 13-year-old Alyssa is living with Alex, someone who supports her and believes in her, which is such a nice change from her uncle in book 1. She has put magic behind her…or so she thought. But then, she is cursed by a skeleton named Errol. The curse causes mayhem in Alyssa’s life.
Errol’s curse gives Alyssa magic that is out of control. It causes all kinds of problems that give the book an exciting sense of adventure. Alyssa, ultimately, must defeat Errol to overcome her curse, but can she do it?
Welcome to the The Frights of Fiji blog tour hosted by iRead Book Tours!
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Rating: 4 out of 5.
The Frights of Fiji is a fun middle-grade adventure with characters that are easy to connect to and a story that children will enjoy!
The story follows Alyssa, a young girl who lost her parents when she was only 7 years old and now lives with her less-than-perfect uncle. As she works to understand her new situation and how to deal with a caretaker who is not so caring, her life takes another crazy turn!
In her window, a message appears:
“Your life will never be the same again, as magic will interfere.”
Alyssa is kidnapped by a sorcerer, Master Beau, who has lost his powers and is hoping that she is the key to gaining them back. For Alyssa to escape, she must beat Master Beau. Does she have the strength and power to do it?
I loved the mixture of all of life’s emotions in The List of Things That Will Not Change. It felt like such a real-life story because Rebecca Stead chose to avoid sugar-coating situations. Divorce is a hard topic to write about and Stead balances the story perfectly with a well-balanced mix of heartache and happiness.
How I Felt:
The main character, Bea, is experiencing life-changing events in her family. Her parents are divorced and she is living in the aftermath. Her attitude is lovely. She’s joyful and upbeat, while finding herself troubled with times of anxiety and doubt. I found her to be a perfect middle-grade character that is relatable and real.
The world that Debbie L Richardson built for Dog Town was adorable! I loved the separation of the big dogs and the little dogs into two different parts of town: Big Rover and Little Rover. There are dog laws that must be followed and rules that, while not laws, are obeyed just the same. It was easy to drop right into this world and enjoy the story.
How I Felt:
The characters are so easy to love. Harry, a Little Rover resident, is the main character and is a good boy who follows Dog Law…well mostly. He loves running and enters the little dog races all the time. When he wins, he secretly leads a group of dogs into Big Rover, which is against Dog Law. So, maybe, there’s one or two laws he likes to break 😃 Harry’s group of friends, Junior and Fleabag are great sidekicks for him, each offering a different personality that makes them an adorable trio.
The adventure and excitement in Legends of Lost Causes Series was perfect for middle-grade readers! I loved the mixture of old west location and fantasy creatures. It created an excellent story that a young reader would love!
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Rating: 4 out of 5.
Legends of the Lost Causes by Brad McLelland and Louis Sylvester
How I Felt:
Legends of the Lost Causes features Keech and Sam, two orphans living in the wild west. The time frame and bad-guys for this book make it extremely unique. Set in the 1850s, it has that old feel, yet there are zombie-ish outlaws and magic. The two together created this amazing adventure that I’m sure little readers will love.
I love a good time travel book and that is exactly what I got with Hannah Goodheart and the Guardian of Time! I enjoyed how they traveled through time and how the time travel worked. It was all lovely!
The first person perspective in The Ben Braver Series was so fun and it is perfect for a middle-grade reader! I really enjoyed the way Ben addresses the reader. I found him to tell the story with some humor which made the books extremely enjoyable!
The weaving of so many wonderful topics to discuss with a child made this book an utter delight! There are so many strong messages about our world, our resources, and our actions. I cannot wait for my son to read it so we can discuss it together!
I loved that this was a story within a story, an allegory. I loved the references to things like the “second making.” It’s a book that you can read on the surface and enjoy, but you can also dig deeper into the words and get a more profound meaning.
How I Felt:
The Cracking of Monday Eggis such a deep story when you really start thinking about it. I feel that, while this was targeted for young children, it’s perfect for a young adult to adult reader. The story could definitely be read aloud to a child and a wonderful discussion could happen afterwards, however, older students are going to continue to think about the story and process all the heavier stuff.
The main story focuses on Monday’s awakening and life. We see him making friends and becoming interested in girls. The main idea though, is focused around his knowledge and understanding of “The Maker”. I was impressed with the writing of this story and the ability of the writer to create these ideas that were symbolic for something else. I think that each reader will get their own individual experience and take-away from reading this book because of the way it was written.
To Read or Not To Read:
I highly recommend this book for people that are interested in a more spiritual twist on a story. This will be most enjoyed by someone with a higher power background, I don’t know that you need to be Christian necessarily to enjoy it.
This can absolutely be enjoyed by children with an assist from an adult.
Where to Find This Book:
The Cracking of Monday Egg by B.T. Higgins is available at these sites.
The Maker created Monday Egg for a very important reason. Monday just doesn’t understand it yet. Being an egg with arms and legs has its advantages. Monday can run like the wind and climb trees easily, but he is an egg. What happens when he cracks?
The Cracking of Monday Egg by B.T. Higgins is the story of a cranky crow, a sick little girl, a kind squirrel and Monday’s struggle to deal with his own crackability.
Just the Facts:
The Cracking of Monday Egg by B.T. Higgins
Series: Egg World Allegory, Book 1
Genre: Middle-Grade / Christian
Page Count: 206 pages
Publisher: Emerald House Group, Incorporated
Pub Date: October 31, 2019
I was provided an advanced reader’s copy of this book for free. I am leaving my review voluntarily.
Fairy Unicorn Wishes was filled with wonderful adventures that my daughter and I thoroughly enjoyed. Ella is an adorable child that my daughter connected with and her mom is silly and fun and made the entire story excellent.
I have long been a fan of Sophie Kinsella’s books. I find her writing to be fun and witty and have enjoyed every book she has written. I love that she now has a book series that is great to read to my children. I was so happy to see that Fairy Unicorn Wishes still held the charm that I love to find in Sophie’s books.
The Characters were excellent. Ella is sweet and silly and her mom is constantly getting into these magical problems that are so fun to read about.
The Writing is easy for a young reader. The chapters are broken up well, and the illustrations go perfectly with the book. The story is filled with fun adventures and problems to solve. The fantasy story-line of a fairy mom makes this a great book for young readers that love a fairy tale.
Overall, this was a fun book filled with great characters, wonderful writing, and an super fun story.
Fairy Unicorn Wishes is a great read-along with a kindergarten to middle-elementary school child. For young readers that can read on their own, this book is broken into nice smaller chapters making this a great book for them.
Fairies, unicorns and magical wishes combine in this third book of the Fairy Mom and Me series from New York Times bestselling author Sophie Kinsella!
Ella’s one wish is to become a fairy like her mom. She dreams of the day she will have her sparkly crown and Computwand. Ella even imagines what her first spell would be: a glittery unicorn of her very own.
But Ella knows that spells are often harder than they look, even with the special fairy apps available…and being a fairy in waiting is not all rainbows and butterflies.
Will Ella learn more magic to help her become a fairy someday? Or will she learn she doesn’t need to be a fairy yet for all her wishes to come true?
Fairy Unicorn Wishes by Sophie Kinsella
Series: Fairy Mom and Me, Book 3
Illustrator: Marta Kiss
Page Count: 176 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pub Date: January 28, 2020
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Sophie Kinsella has sold over 40 million copies of her books in more than 60 countries, and she has been translated into over 40 languages.
Sophie’s latest novel, Surprise Me, presents a humorous yet moving portrait of a marriage—its intricacies, comforts, and complications. Surprise Me reveals that hidden layers in a close relationship are often yet to be discovered.
Sophie Kinsella first hit the UK bestseller lists in September 2000 with her first novel in the Shopaholic series – The Secret Dreamworld of a Shopaholic (also published as Confessions of a Shopaholic). The book’s heroine, Becky Bloomwood – a fun and feisty financial journalist who loves shopping but is hopeless with money – captured the hearts of readers worldwide.
Becky has since featured in seven further bestselling books, Shopaholic Abroad (also published as Shopaholic Takes Manhattan), Shopaholic Ties the Knot, Shopaholic & Sister, Shopaholic & Baby, Mini Shopaholic, Shopaholic to the Stars and Shopaholic to the Rescue. Becky Bloomwood came to the big screen in 2009 with the hit Disney movie Confessions of a Shopaholic, starring Isla Fisher and Hugh Dancy.
Sophie has also written seven standalone novels which have all been bestsellers in the UK, USA and other countries around the world: Can You Keep A Secret?, The Undomestic Goddess, Remember Me?, Twenties Girl, I’ve Got Your Number, Wedding Night, and My Not So Perfect Life, which was a Goodreads Choice Awards finalist for Best Fiction in 2017.
In 2014 she published a Young Adult novel Finding Audrey about a teenage girl with social anxiety and her madcap family, and in January 2018, Sophie published her first illustrated book for young readers about the charming adventures of a mother-daughter fairy duo, Mummy Fairy and Me (also published as Fairy Mom and Me).
Sophie wrote her first novel under her real name, Madeleine Wickham, at the tender age of 24, whilst she was working as a financial journalist. The Tennis Party was immediately hailed as a success by critics and the public alike and became a top ten bestseller. She went on to publish six more novels as Madeleine Wickham: A Desirable Residence, Swimming Pool Sunday, The Gatecrasher, The Wedding Girl, Cocktails for Three and Sleeping Arrangements.
Sophie was born in London. She studied music at New College, Oxford, but after a year switched to Politics, Philosophy and Economics. She now lives in London, UK, with her husband and family.
She Just Loves Books 