middle grade

Book Review: The Secret Winners Club

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The Secret Winners Club
by Donna Galanti

My rating: 2.5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fiction

Sunny, Trev, and Vee are best friends who all have autoimmune diseases that cause visual effects such as hair loss and make them the targets of ridicule amongst some of their peers. Each of them has some kind of goal that they’re striving for, so Sunny comes up with the idea that they will band together to do whatever it takes to reach those goals.

Before I get into my review of the actual story, I feel it important to put a warning up front for anyone who is a Christian, conservative, or would otherwise be concerned about certain aspects being represented so strongly in a book aimed at young teens. Trev, the male character in the book, is gay and multiple romance storylines revolve around this (I generally feel that this level of romance is unnecessary in a book where the main characters are only 13 anyway). It actually goes beyond that, too, as Trev dabbles in transcendental meditation, which heightens my concern for teens reading the book. So please keep that in mind if you are considering this book for a teen or younger, especially, and at the very least consider reading the book along with your child and discussing these elements.

Regarding the story itself, the premise felt weak to me from the start. Our introductions to each 3 of the main characters is seeing them in their respective activity, already desiring to be the best, which in each case specifically means beating out the person who is currently considered the best. In 2 of the 3 cases, that person seems to also be the respective character’s biggest bully. Then Sunny comes up with the idea for all 3 of them to band together and try to be the best at…the activities they were already trying to be the best at and to beat…the people they were already trying to beat. But it’s different now because 1) they will do whatever it takes, 2) they will support each other, which it seems like they should have already been doing as best friends, and 3) they won’t tell anyone that they’re now trying extra hard to be the best. Why? I don’t really know.

What this really ends up meaning, though, is that they use the people that are kind enough to help them, keep secrets from parents, and decide to be bullies back to the people who had been bullies to them. They sort of learn lessons in all of this, but it all feels pretty weak to me. Then there’s another character throughout this book that I never fully understood the purpose of, other than to eventually be a sort of conscience for the main three. And a big disaster happens that also feels a little out of nowhere and lacks the punch I think it was intended for. Based on how the characters act and talk at times, I had to remind myself that they’re only 13.

I really like the idea of a book showcasing autoimmune disorders that can make kids feel “other” (or really anything that makes a kid look/act/talk different and thus leads those around them to treat them badly). I know a young girl with alopecia that has caused her hair to fall out in patches, as opposed to Sunny’s complete baldness, and I know she’s faced mockery from others her age and even, I believe, from some adults. It’s absolutely terrible, there’s no reason for it, and I really wish more people could understand the harm that bullying in general does to anyone, especially adolescents. This book could be a conversation starter for kids or young teens, though again, I don’t know that Sunny, Trev, and Vee are the best role models, even after they learn some lessons. Maybe because those lessons felt a bit too easy to me.

I received a copy of this book for free from the author in exchange for an honest review.

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Book Review: Mandie and the Trunk’s Secret

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Mandie and the Trunk’s Secret
Mandie #5
by Lois Gladys Leppard

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Children’s Christian historical fiction

I read a lot of this series when I was a kid/pre-teen, and I read some of them to my now-teen daughter when she was younger. Nostalgia definitely affects my reviews for this series, and I’m okay with that. It’s good to at least see some consequences from Mandie’s disobedience in the previous book, though of course the consequence ends up being fun for her and Celia and leads them into another mystery. I appreciate that they are trying to behave better here as well, though she questions whether she should really be meeting with Uncle Ned at night while still doing it anyway. Uncle Ned himself clearly thinks it’s important to adhere to the rules but still visits in secret. Overall, though, this book was better than the previous. While I think these books can still be good for younger people to read, especially if you’re looking for something with Christian content, I strongly recommend discussing what’s good and bad in them with your kid(s) after they read it.

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Book Review: Lily Tripp: Diary of an Accidental Time Traveler

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Lily Tripp: Diary of an Accidental Time Traveler
by Amelia Tait

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fantasy

Lily Tripp is approaching her birthday, which is January 1. But when the clock strikes midnight, the new year (and her birthday) finds Lily hundreds of years in the past. This isn’t the first time this has happened—she’s lived in Roman times, Victorian times, and 1922, for a year each. But she’s spent the last year back in 2025, so she was sure it wouldn’t happen again. It did. Everyone she knows, including her cat, time travels with her, except they don’t know they’re time traveling. Lily has to figure out the world around her, while everyone else believes they’ve always been from that year.

Told through a series of diary entries, this is an intriguing and unique read. Lily has to navigate rocky friendships and persistent bullies, not to mention the perils of growing up (which sometimes includes middle school and sometimes doesn’t). The details about everyday life in past time periods, especially as seen through the eyes of someone for whom they are foreign, are a large part of what I enjoyed about this book. Even those eras that Lily “visited” before the start of the book are shared with us a bit as she recounts some of what happened to her before she started writing in the diary. The time travel is only part of the plot, though, providing interesting, changing settings for the story, which involves a lot around fitting in, growing up, and friendships. The story is charming and fun.

The diary format never really landed for me, though. For one thing, there are pages sprinkled throughout where the font is a handwriting kind of font and the background is lined paper. But the bulk of the book is diary entries presented with regular computer font and a blank background. It seems like it should have been all one or the other. Plus, both kinds of font had italics for emphasis (and quite a bit of it), but it’s really hard to write in italics; to me, at least, underlining for emphasis would have been a lot more on theme. Plus, Lily’s tendency to be writing things as they are happening just didn’t feel realistic to me. Then there’s the romance, which is taken a bit too seriously for my preference in a book where the main character is 12/13. But it kind of turned out in a way that I didn’t mind. There’s actually a smallish side character in the story that ended up intriguing me a lot by the end. I see that this is the beginning of a series, and I am really hoping to learn more about him as the series progresses. I’m also kind of hoping that the author decides to bring in some kind of explanation for the time travel; maybe that isn’t really the point of this book/series, but that doesn’t mean I’m not curious! I do tend to think that boys would like this book less than girls, considering the amount of time spent on discussing Lily’s first bra (not in a graphic way, but enough to possibly make boys uncomfortable or at least bored). But overall, readers around 11-15 that are interested in history, or even those that aren’t, would probably enjoy this book a lot.

Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for providing me a copy of this book to review.

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Book Review: Claudia and Mean Janine

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Claudia and Mean Janine
The Baby-Sitters Club #7
by Ann M. Martin

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic

For complete transparency, I’ll say up front that I read a lot of this series when I was a kid/pre-teen. And at the time, my name was the same as the founder of the BSC (with the first name spelled slightly different). Nostalgia will hugely affect my reviews for this series, and I have no plans to try to be objective.

The main story in this book revolves around Claudia and her family, both her strained relationship with her sister as the title suggests, but also her grandmother, who has health trouble in this book. There are some really sweet moments on both of these fronts, and though maybe the conclusion to the conflict between Claudia and Janine is predictable, it’s still satisfying. The babysitting actually takes a bit of a backseat in this book, but I think the balance still works well, especially given the depth of the main story.

Whether or not this book will translate well to kids and pre-teens now, I couldn’t say. I wish I had thought to start reading this series to/with my daughter when she was around 8-10, because I think she would have enjoyed it, and we could have discussed the good and the bad of the books.

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Book Review: The Accomplice

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The Accomplice
Theodore Boone #7
by John Grisham
read by Richard Thomas

My rating: 4.5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fiction

When Theo’s friend Woody is arrested as an accomplice in an armed robbery, Theo pulls out all the stops in his position as a kid lawyer, which starts with asking his mom to help get Woody out on bail, since the juvenile public defender is too busy to help right away. Woody himself has to figure out the best way to proceed when the finger is pointed at him and the truth comes under attack.

For all the sticky and difficult situations Theo has been in during this series, what happens to his friend Woody here is the scariest. Theo actually takes a major backseat during a lot of this book, as Woody becomes a major POV character. Though I understand it, don’t fault Grisham for the decision, and did enjoy the result, I was a little sad to see so little of Theo in the final book in the series. Still, the insight into the juvenile justice system and the way that various characters step up to help however they can are all great additions to the story.

Overall, I’d say whether or not a teenager or pre-teen will be interested in this book will depend on what kind of fiction they like—if fast-paced action is important, this probably won’t suit them. If they’re interested in realistic fiction about crime and law and trials, this could be fascinating for them. And the audiobook is well-narrated, if that’s your/their speed. I have personally enjoyed this series all the way through and will definitely read/listen to it again at some point in the future. This book can definitely be read as a stand-alone, but I think that, due to Theo being a lot less involved, I wouldn’t recommend starting with this book. If you’re interested, definitely start at the beginning.

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Book Review: The Curse Breaker

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The Curse Breaker
Isle of Ever #2
by Jen Calonita

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fantasy

Spoiler notice: The following review may contain some spoilers for the previous book in the series, Isle of Ever.

After discovering that what she thought was the end of the game to win a massive inheritance was just part 1, Everly “Benny” Benedict will have to scramble to solve more clues in time. But it turns out the betrayal by her new friend was just the beginning of the adversaries she’ll be up against now.

I didn’t enjoy the previous book a whole lot—the story wasn’t particularly compelling, fantastical elements were confusing, and I am not a fan of a dead-stop cliffhanger. But I was curious enough to at least read the 2nd book, especially since I wouldn’t have to wait very long to do so. Sadly, this book had a lot of the same issues as the previous, not enough answers given, and another cliffhanger. The characters are also fairly weak. We’ve got the girl with future sight who is wise beyond her years, yet annoyingly cryptic to the point of being coy. We’ve got the mom who is far too happy to let her daughter solve this mystery that could change their lives completely alone, running around in a new town without even checking in, all so the mom can hang out with her newest boyfriend. We’ve got the kid who has basically just jumped 200 years into the future (to our time) and frankly, I think it was the wrong decision to make him a POV character, because I don’t think enough time was really given to him trying to understand this new world.

Some revelations do come out in this book, one of which I guessed way in advance, but I think the clues were intentionally dropped to allow that possibility. I don’t know what, if anything, it really means for the characters, though. And the urgency in the first book with the deadline is just wiped away in this book—extended, actually, but it still feels far too much like obvious plot contrivance for my enjoyment. In the end, I have no desire to continue on to the third book. I don’t care enough about what happens to the island or anyone who is trapped on/by it to keep reading something that I don’t really get any enjoyment out of. However, these books have a lot of 4- and 5-star reviews, so please look into those if the series interests you at all.

Thank you to Netgalley and SOURCEBOOKS Kids for providing me a copy of this book to review.

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Book Review: Mandie and the Forbidden Attic

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Mandie and the Forbidden Attic
Mandie #4
by Lois Gladys Leppard

My rating: 3 / 5
Genre: Children’s Christian historical fiction

I read a lot of this series when I was a kid/pre-teen, and I read some of them to my now-teen daughter when she was younger. Nostalgia definitely affects my reviews for this series, and I’m okay with that. Though I am also willing to admit the flaws in the books; for example, here we have another guy who is drawn to Mandie as soon as he meets her. Though to be fair, they’re sort of thrust together, and so far, he’s mostly just being polite. Mandie is particularly unruly in this book, breaking a rule at her new school over and over despite being caught and even punished. At least it’s one book in which Mandie isn’t just perfect, but in the end, her rule breaking produced a certain outcome that essentially ends up exonerating her, which isn’t a great lesson for the kids who read this book. It’s too easy for the reader to empathize with her and feel like the authority figures are simply being unfair or overbearing, and reading this as an adult, I kind of wish Leppard had been more careful with that. While I think these books can still be good for younger people to read, especially if you’re looking for something with Christian content, I strongly recommend discussing what’s good and bad in them with your kid(s) after they read it.

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Book Review: The Scandal

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The Scandal
Theodore Boone #6
by John Grisham
read by Richard Thomas

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fiction

No one likes standardized testing—not the teachers, not the students, and not the parents. Theodore Boone is no exception, but at least he can be happy when they’re over. But when he hears about a possible scandal at a nearby school involving the tests, he can’t help but be concerned that he’ll have to take them again. And that would be the worst thing ever…

The idea of someone cheating on state-wide standardized tests was interesting to me. I remember those tests in school (who doesn’t?), and I remember disliking them. And I remember hearing the phrase “teaching for the test” being used as a negative, and eventually coming to understand why it would be seen as a bad thing. Yet the tests persist, though that’s really a matter for a different discussion. Or maybe not, since, as has become typical in this series, the question of the wisdom of having these tests is brought up in the form of Theo’s parents disagreeing over them. I suppose young teens and pre-teens might not find the subject as interesting as I did, but Theo’s involvement in the scandal, as well as his attempts to not be involved in the scandal, keeps the book moving forward at a decent pace. I enjoyed the story and the characters here just as much as previous books. Poor Ike takes a bit of a hit in this book, but I still like him.

It’s strange that a series that I just discovered randomly when looking for something to listen to that I wouldn’t have to put on hold ended up being something I liked so much and that I’m sad to be near the end of. This book is probably the most stand-alone since the beginning of the series, though I’d recommend reading it all in order anyway. Overall, I’d say whether or not a teenager or pre-teen will be interested in this book will depend on what kind of fiction they like—if fast-paced action is important, this probably won’t suit them. If they’re interested in realistic fiction about crime and law and trials, this could be fascinating for them. And the audiobook is well-narrated, if that’s your/their speed.

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Book Review: Kristy’s Big Day

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Kristy’s Big Day
The Baby-Sitters Club #6
by Ann M. Martin

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic

For complete transparency, I’ll say up front that I read a lot of this series when I was a kid/pre-teen. And at the time, my name was the same as the founder of the BSC (with the first name spelled slightly different). Nostalgia will hugely affect my reviews for this series, and I have no plans to try to be objective.

The main story in this book involves a whole bunch of kids, aged 10 down to an infant, converging in Stoneybrook in advance of Kristy’s mom’s wedding. The entire Baby-sitters Club pitches in to keep the kids occupied for a full week while their parents help plan the short-notice wedding. I really related to what they went through, first making plans for how to pass the day and then having to alter the plan or even throw it out the window as the day gets going. I’ve totally been there. Sometimes I have to remind myself that these babysitters are only 12 years old and being left alone all day with around a dozen kids, a few of which are only 2-3 years younger than them. I can’t say how realistic it is, but I did enjoy it.

Whether or not this book will translate well to kids and pre-teens now, I couldn’t say. I wish I had thought to start reading this series to/with my daughter when she was around 8-10, because I think she would have enjoyed it, and we could have discussed the good and the bad of the books.

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Book Review: A Kingdom of Shadows

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A Kingdom of Shadows
Lightseekers #1
by Emily Bain Murphy

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fantasy

The light is disappearing and shadows are increasing in the world that 12-year-old Finn inhabits, along with his best friend Adrion and little sister Lydia. They have a plan to escape their town and try to make their way in the dimming world, but that plan is derailed when they meet Ehrit, an older teen who promises that he can take them to a lake of light. It won’t be an easy journey, but just maybe it will be worth it.

This book is stated to be similar to both The Wingfeather Saga and The Chronicles of Narnia, which is a tall order on both counts. The first is one of my favorite series (and a big deal in my family in general) and though the latter series isn’t as meaningful to me, it’s obviously a well-loved classic series. And unfortunately, to me at least, it doesn’t really live up to any of that hype. The story isn’t bad, but it felt like it rambled along to me and things that happened were kind of random. I didn’t get into the story very much, at least partly because of the lack of cohesion, so it wasn’t as enjoyable as it might have been. The characters overall were fairly bland, except Finn himself, who at least had a decent arc. 

A lot of people see this as a Christian (or at least generally religious) allegory, and I can see why they do, especially considering the 2 series it’s compared to. However, I don’t see any indication that it’s meant to be such. I don’t see it listed as Christian fiction anywhere (except on Goodreads, but I’m pretty sure those labels aren’t official), and the author hasn’t written other Christian fiction that I can see. It has obvious themes of good vs. evil or light vs. dark, but felt much more mystical than faith-based to me, maybe even bordering on New Age, especially considering the bizarre “inner forest” sensing that Finn has. If it is supposed to be a Christian allegory, I can’t say I care for it. The expectation of any Christian themes aside, the book was decent enough to make me interested in continuing the series. I think that readers around the age it’s meant for (maybe 12-14) will probably enjoy the adventure more than I did, too. (For anyone like me with arachnophobia, be aware that there is a scene that might be an issue. I survived, but it wasn’t fun.)

Thank you to Netgalley and WaterBrook Children’s for providing me a copy of this book to review.

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