middle grade

Book Review: The Ghost at Dawn’s House

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The Ghost at Dawn’s House
The Baby-Sitters Club #9
by Ann M. Martin

My rating: 4 / 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 differently). Nostalgia will hugely affect my reviews for this series, and I have no plans to try to be objective.

In this book, Dawn reads some ghost stories, hears some strange noises in the wall, and convinces herself that a guy that disappeared in the area a long time ago is probably now a ghost in the secret passage she found in her house. I mean…why the ghost would be leaving food in the passageway, I don’t know. I still don’t feel any connection to Dawn, but letting her imagination run wild in this story isn’t exactly that surprising for a girl her age, especially in the time period this is from. The Pike family is baffling to me—they have a ton of kids and let them do whatever they want…except when they need to impose rules after all. I just do not get how this is a good way to raise kids.

I was surprised at the mystery in this book being left somewhat open. Kids who are fans of spooky stories might enjoy being able to come up with their own explanation to some of the happenings that aren’t explained (and apparently, it never is). Overall, this is a good addition to the series. 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: Running Out of Time

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Running Out of Time
Out of Time #1
by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Read by Kimberly Schraf

My rating: 4 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fiction

Jessie lives a simple life with her parents and siblings in a small town in 1840…or so she thinks. When a diphtheria outbreak threatens the kids in the village, Jessie’s mom sends her on an important mission: leave Clifton and get help. But leaving Clifton means stepping into a completely different world.

I enjoyed this story, which is like a time travel story without any time travel. The little clues dropped early in the book, when Jessie is still living a normal life in pioneer times, provide intrigue that I can see being even more so for kids/teens in the book’s target audience. When Jessie’s mom sends her on her mission, she gives her just enough info to get Jessie close to what she needs to do, and then Jessie has to use her own wits to fill in the gaps. The pressure is real, as the diphtheria outbreak is threatening the lives of several of the kids, and Jessie is constantly worried that she’s being tracked by henchmen of the founder of Clifton. The main thing that detracted from this story for me is that the motive behind everything that’s happening seemed really weak and squeezed in at the end, maybe because the author wanted to emphasize the premise and plot more than the “why” behind it all. Overall, though, I enjoyed my time listening to the audiobook. I think preteens through mid-teens would enjoy the book.

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Book Review: The Worst

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The Worst
by Mark Binder

My rating: 2.5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fiction

This series of vignettes about life in middle school in the 90s follows a group of 7 friends who refer to themselves as “Team Bomb Shelter,” because they hang out in a basement bomb shelter at the house of one of the friends. Starting in the summer before eighth grade and going all the way to the end of school, the book actually ends with a novella about a school shooting. If that sounds like a strange combination to you, it felt that way to me, as well. Before the vignettes start, the protagonist/first-person narrator (whose name I don’t recall ever being told) tells us that the school year ended with a school shooting. But first, he takes us back almost a year and tells us mostly fun, whimsical, completely unrelated stories about normal life for him and his friends. The stories range from outlandish to realistic, fun to serious. One story involves the protagonist developing a super-fast but also super-minor attraction to a new kid, whose gender he doesn’t know, so that makes him question what he’s always assumed about himself. The author seems to remember the 90s differently than I do, because he indicates that “crises of identity” were common back then, and I sure don’t remember that whole thing being even a fraction of what it is today.

Regarding the school shooting novella in particular, I think authors need to be really careful about how they handle something that is still a subject of such terror today. It’s strange to me that this story was put after a series of mostly light, jovial vignettes. I wouldn’t go as far as saying that Binder treated the subject lightly, but I do have a difficult time believing that any eighth-graders would have acted the way the kids in this book do. This makes it seem more like a story written specifically so the kids can be the heroes, and it just seems strange for a school shooting story to be written that way. I’m not sure if I can adequately explain what I mean, so I’ll leave it at that. I also didn’t particularly enjoy the way the author slips from a first-person narrative, even one where it’s clear the narrator is looking back on his childhood at a much later time and giving minute-by-minute details of the event, only to interrupt himself with a chapter from the shooter’s POV or an explanation of what they learned from the police report after the incident. It was jarring.

The first half of the book, the vignettes, could be enjoyable for the right reader—either adults who enjoy nostalgic views of the time they grew up or possibly middle schoolers now who like to read about what life was like before cell phones (which we’re reminded of many times during this book). The novella in the second half is a very serious subject matter, but some may enjoy that as well. This wasn’t a stand-out read for me, but if you’re interested, please check out other reviews at the link below.

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Book Review: Mandie and the Abandoned Mine

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Mandie and the Abandoned Mine
Mandie #8
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.

This book is one of the best in the season so far. Mandie does disobey once, but not nearly as much or as terribly as she does in other books. The mystery isn’t complex and twisty, but at least it isn’t super obvious this time. Mandie and some combination of her friends do tend to get kidnapped a lot, but this one turns out differently in that regard, at least. And while the “forgive those who trespass against you” aspect of Christianity is pushed to perhaps an unrealistic level in this book, I didn’t mind it too much. There was something kind of nice about the resolution in this book. These books have their ups and downs, but they can still be good for younger people to read, especially if you’re looking for something with Christian content. Though overall, I recommend discussing what’s good and bad in them with your kid(s) after/while they read it.

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Book Review: The Order of Time

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The Order of Time
Book #1
by Scott P. Southall

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fantasy

Eleven-year-old twins Anastasia and Edward Upston enjoy spending time at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and learning from the curator, Dr. Gregorian. They never expected to discover that the doctor is a member of a secret order that goes back in time to protect history from another group that seeks to change it for their own benefit. When Dr. Gregorian is injured, it falls to Anastasia and Edward to go back to ancient Egypt and stop the bad guys from changing the past.

The initial premise of this book was intriguing, but it ultimately fell flat for me in several ways. For starters, Anastasia and Edward, at 11, are somehow both super skilled or talented in different ways. Edward is a great artist and highly intelligent, spouting off facts about ancient Egypt that he read about right before they traveled back and memorized well enough to share in detail. Anastasia is skilled in MMA, able to take down several grown men trained to fight, make amazing plays in a soccer-type game, and generally do many amazing athletic things. The story itself takes a weird turn partway through, becoming complete fantasy (as opposed to sci-fi, which time travel is more inclined to be). This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I definitely wasn’t expecting it.

I was also bothered by the level of violence and gore in a book meant for kids and pre-teens. During different fight scenes, there’s a mention of a guy’s head being separated from his body, teeth shredding flesh, and a dagger going through someone’s eye and embedding “itself to the hilt with a wet thunk.” Maybe I’m old-fashioned, but that’s quite a bit more than I’d want my 10-12-year-old reading. In the end, the book was okay, but it didn’t really engage me. I don’t know that I’d really recommend it to anyone, but if you or your pre-teens are interested in ancient Egypt and like the idea of modern kids traveling back to that time and aren’t bothered by anything I mentioned, you can find positive reviews at the link below.

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Book Review: The Ginghams

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The Ginghams
by T.C. Kemper

My rating: 2.5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade sci-fi

Best friends Joni and Tyler return home from summer camp to discover that the third member of their trio, May, is acting a little differently. Soon enough they realize that May is not the only one acting differently, and it all seems to stem from the mysterious Thursday night book clubs at the home of the newest family in town, the Ginghams. As the behavior of more and more of their schoolmates, neighbors, and others in the town begins to conform to that of the Ginghams, Joni and Tyler wonder if they can keep their own originality.

Because the book is labeled as horror and mystery, I expected something more thrilling from this book. But the villain is obvious, even if their methods aren’t, and the book seemed to be trying to make a point but missed its mark, at least for me. Although the methods involved are villainous and even horrifying, the ideals espoused by the Gingham family are not all “bad,” so mostly it seems like the author/MCs are trying to convince us that it’s bad to want kids to behave or obey their parents. Individuality/non-conformity seems to be the main theme here, but at the same time, I couldn’t escape the feeling that there was something more that the author was trying to instill in the young readers of this book.

Beyond whatever message the author may or may not have been attempting to put into this book, I found it somewhat boring. Joni and Tyler seem more bothered by the idea of losing their individuality than losing control of themselves in general. I was just never very engaged. The climax involves a disproportionately gruesome action (that I might have misunderstood, because in the end, it didn’t seem nearly as damaging as I imagined), and then there’s the way the villain is dispatched. It all felt a little dark and harsh for middle grade, at least for my preference as well as for the tone of the book up to that point. Though I didn’t enjoy the book, there are many others who did, so if you’re interested in the book, please check out other reviews at the link below.

I received an advanced review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

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Book Review: So You Want To Be An Architect

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So You Want to Be an Architect
by Linda Soules

My rating: 5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade nonfiction

So You Want to Be an Architect takes what could be a complicated subject and makes it accessible to kids and teens. But it also doesn’t talk down to them—there are areas younger kids may not be able to follow, but there’s enough context to get the point across well enough, I think. I also think that if something is a little over a kid’s head and sends them to asking someone about it or looking it up, that’s not a bad thing at all. The book goes beyond explaining what architects do and what they need to learn to be able to do it; it also talks about what kinds of interests, innate skills, and even indefinable ways of seeing the world around them that might lend themselves to a potential future architect. There are segments on famous architects and fun facts as well and beautiful, colorful illustrations throughout. (The illustrations are done with AI assistance, as Soules explains at the back of the book.)

I really like how the book talks about both the good and the bad (or at least the difficult) sides of being an architect, as well as the glamorous and more-common “normal” aspects. The book is intended for pre-teens through teens aged 10-14, and I definitely could see it being a great one for anyone in or near that age range, on either side of it.

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Book Review: Mandie and the Charleston Phantom

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Mandie and the Charleston Phantom
Mandie #7
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.

Most of my issues with the previous books in the series have to do with Mandie’s attitude or actions and sketchy theology (there was a bit of that here too). This time, my biggest issue is just the super weak plot. It’s obvious the entire time who’s behind the “ghost,” and the reasoning for it ends up being so flimsy, it’s easier to believe that the culprit only agreed with the suggested reason because it was at least a little better than just the real motive—plain mean-heartedness. There’s also too much focus on boys liking Mandie, thinking she’s pretty, even wanting to marry her someday, for a book about a 12-year-old girl. I’m sure I thought it was sweet or even romantic when I was a pre-teen, but it could definitely have at least been toned down. 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 Game Masters of Garden Place

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The Game Masters of Garden Place
by Denis Markell

My rating: 3.5 / 5
Genre: Middle grade fantasy

Since they were first introduced to the tabletop roleplaying game Reign of Dragons at around 10 years of age, Ralph and his friends began to play the game weekly. Over the next couple of years their characters face monsters and perils in search of the components of a powerful item, which no one has managed to complete in the history of Reign of Dragons. But since Ralph and his friends have gotten farther in the campaign than most, Ralph is sent a special set of dice by the game creator’s son. This leads to Ralph’s gaming group’s fantasy characters coming to life in the real world, and it’s up to Ralph and friends to rein them in and try to get them back home.

I found most aspects of the fantasy characters in the real world enjoyable, including the fact that it wasn’t left to just be a vague, no-real-reason-given effect. Ralph (known as RPG by his friends) is trying to keep his friend group together as they’re growing up a little and developing different interests, though I feel like that angle to the story wasn’t really needed. I really appreciate that the characters aren’t all just stereotypes that I often see in books for this age range; for example, the athlete/warrior character is a female.

There are several scenes that are “in-world,” meaning they are written as if the story is about the fantasy characters and their quest. At first, this is used humorously, as it ends with the characters talking as their real-world players and discussing the need to be done playing due to real life calling. But the more we’re taken back to that world, the more I started to skim those sections. I didn’t really feel the need to know that much detail about their campaigns. Maybe people who are really into Dungeons & Dragons (the game on which Reign of Dragons is based) and other games like that would enjoy it more. And it’s entirely possible that Markell used those sections to build up the characterization of the fantasy characters so we’d be more connected to them when they came into the real world. I can’t really say for sure how necessary they were for that, but I can say that, for the most part, Markell did pretty well having distinct personalities for the five fantasy characters.

Sometimes the kids act a little too old for their ages, especially when you think about the fact that they’re only 10 when they come up with some of the backgrounds that they do for their characters. There’s also something a little off-putting about these grown adults being in a somewhat intimate setting with 12-year-olds, but nothing that was a huge deal in the end. Though one of the fantasy characters is revealed to be gay, which means that A) his 10-year-old creator decided to make his character gay (or decided on that at some point in the next 2 years) and B) the young creator is also most likely gay (which is hinted at in the story as well). I’ve never been a fan of the attempt to normalize these things for kids, and I am certain that there are others who will want to be aware of this in advance. At the very least, if you have the same concerns at all, I would recommend reading the book first, to evaluate for yourself whether you feel it’s okay for them to read or to simply be able to discuss it with them as/after they read the book. I did not factor any of this into my rating, and I know many people won’t care one way or the other, but I share this for those who do. With that in mind, though, I think many people, kids and adults, who are fans of fantasy roleplaying games or other similar ventures will enjoy this book. My husband has played some D&D over the years, so I have enough peripheral knowledge of the game to have found the real-life D&D characters aspect of this book interesting. Overall, really, anyone who’s played any kind of game where they play as fantasy characters, or even who has written a book with…well, characters, could probably identify with the main premise here.

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Book Review: Boy-Crazy Stacey

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Boy-Crazy Stacey
The Baby-Sitters Club #8
by Ann M. Martin

My rating: 2 / 5
Genre: Children’s classic

I am so disappointed in this book. Stacey has been tasked with helping babysit a large group of kids when the family goes on vacation. She ends up spending the entire time distracted by a guy she has a crush on, leaving the other babysitter to do all of the work. Yes, she apologizes in the end, but only because she spots the guy making out with another girl. Mary Anne, the other babysitter on the trip, lets her off really easily, and then Stacey proceeds to find another guy to crush on and spend time with. She doesn’t act as badly that time, but mostly due to different circumstances, not because she’s really learned her lesson.

It reminded me so much of when I was younger—my family used to go on camping trips every summer, and my oldest sister would basically end up with a “boyfriend” at every campground. It’s entirely possible that younger me was a little jealous of her, but I also remember knowing that the whole thing was weird, ridiculous, and pointless—they’d never see each other again after everyone went home anyway! And let’s not forget that these girls are only 13 years old (my sister was older than that), which is way too young for this storyline anyway. On top of all of that, Stacey is very proud of her skimpy (make that “very skimpy”) bikini. That is just too much!

Now let’s address for a moment the tendency of publishing companies to “update” and re-release some of these older books. I don’t know why kids can’t just read about the actual time the book was written in, but whatever. The issue, though, is that until I realize I’m reading an updated version, I’m just confused, like when cell phones are mentioned in a book originally published in the 1980s. And more specifically in this book, apparently the guy that Stacey crushes on (who does flirt with her as well) is college age in the original version! So when they re-released it, they made him 15. But she and Mary Anne still talk a lot about how he’s too old for her (2 years isn’t remotely enough to be worth all that discussion), and he still checks out a college-age girl himself, so…frankly, they didn’t do very well with the updating.

This was my least favorite book in the series so far and in general is just not a book I’d recommend for kids.

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