Tag: middlegrade
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Book Review: The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden
by Karina Yan Glaser When Mr. Jeet, the Vanderbeekers’ upstairs neighbor, suffers from a stroke, the Vanderbeeker children have to do something. They have to try and help Mr. Jeet get better! In an attempt to prepare a surprise for Mrs. Josie and Mr. Jeet when Mr. Jeet is released from the hospital, the Vanderbeeker…
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Book Review: Words on Fire
by Jennifer A. Nielsen Audra lives in Lithuania in 1893, under the rule of Russian Cossacks, who are determined to stripe Lithuania of what makes it Lithuanian. Audra avoids the soldiers by staying at home with her mother, even though she wishes to go with her father on his trips as a magician. Her parents’…
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Book Review: Aladdin, Far from Agrabah
by Aisha Saeed Jasmine dreams of two things: exploring the world outside of the palace walls, and someday ruling over Agrabah, which means convincing her father to abandon the tradition of a male ruler. Trying to make these dreams possible means that Jasmine has no time for suitors trying to win her hand and the…
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Book Review: Detectives in Togas
by Henry Winterfeld True, Rufus wrote “Caius is a dumbbell” on his school tablet, leading to a fight between him and Caius and being expelled from the Xanthos School. But would he really have written the exact same thing on the Temple of Minerva? But all of the facts seem to be pointing to Rufus,…
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Book Review: The Shadow Cipher
by Laura Ruby The Morningstarr twins shaped New York into what it is through their numerous inventions. And then, one day, they suddenly disappeared. The only thing they left behind was the Old York cipher, a puzzle tied to the city that promised treasure at the end. For years, people have tried and failed to…
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Book Review: Fairest
By Gail Carson Levine publisher’s synopsis The fairy Lucinda has once again given a dreadful gift. This time, it’s a mysterious magical mirror. The gift is disastrous when it falls into the hands of Aza, who never looks into a mirror if she can help it. In the Kingdom of Ayortha, Aza is most definitely…
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Book Review: The Last Dragon
By Silvana De Mari publisher’s synopsis In a world shrouded in darkness and continually lashed by rain, a young elf named Yorsh struggles to survive. When his village is destroyed by the torrential waters, Yorsh finds himself suddenly orphaned and alone–the earth’s last elf. But soon Yorsh discovers he is part of a powerful prophecy:…
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Book Review: The Giant Slayer
by Iain Lawrence publisher’s synopsis The spring of 1955 tests Laurie Valentine’s gifts as a storyteller. After her friend Dickie contracts polio and finds himself confined to an iron lung, Laurie visits him in the hospital . She meets two other kids trapped inside the breathing machines: there’s Carolyn, an obnoxious girl whose family has…
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Book Review: Bounders
by Monica Tesler publisher’s synopsis Thirteen years ago, Earth Force, a space-military agency, discovered a connection between brain structure and space travel. Now they’ve brought together a premier class of cadets, Boudners, to train as elite aeronauts at EarthBound Academy. Twelve-year-old Jasper might have been bullied back on Earth, but as one of the first…
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Book Review: The Vanderbeekers of 141 St.
by Karina Yan Glaser publisher’s synopsis The Vanderbeekers have always lived in the brownstone on 141st Street. It’s practically another member of the family. So when their reclusive, curmudgeonly landlord decides not to renew their lease, the five siblings have eleven days to do whatever it takes to stay in their beloved home and convince…
Hailey Huntington 