Tag: book-review

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

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By L. Frank Baum

Everyone knows about Wicked. Literally everyone. (Except me!!! I haven’t seen the movie.) But does everyone know about The Wizard of Oz? I hope so. If not, this is your wake-up call to read it.

You probably know the general plot already. Dorothy gets caught in a tornado in Kansas with her little dog Toto and gets transported to the magical land of Oz. She meets up with the Scarecrow, the Tin-Man, and the Cowardly Lion to find the Wizard and go home. It’s a wonderful story.

But did you know that the Wizard of Oz is the start of a 15 book series? Did you know that you can keep reading, and keep reading, and keep reading? Did you know that a lot of the sequels are way better than the first original book?

Well now you do. You’re welcome. So if you’re looking for some books to finish off your summer break with, check out the Wizard of Oz series. You might be pleasantly surprised.

General Stats:

  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Book 1 of 15
  • Age: 5th grade and above
  • My rating: ★★★☆☆

East

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By Edith Pattou

As fairy tale retellings go, this is a good one. East is a more modern version of the fairy tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon. Other traditional versions are called Eros and Psyche and Beauty and the Beast.

The general synopsis of the fairy tale is that a white bear comes to a poor man’s house and offers him riches in exchange for his youngest daughter. The daughter agrees to the trade, and she is carried off into the mountains where she has to live with the bear for a year. If you don’t know the story, I won’t spoil it here, but not everything goes according to plan.

This is probably the best retelling I’ve read of this fairy tale, which is one of my favorite ever. Others include Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer and Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow by Jessica Day George. This one may not be the most faithful to the tale, per se, but it has the best plot overall.

My main problem with this book that knocked it down from five stars to four stars was the family. As it usually is with these stories, the family is horrible. You’re supposed to hate them. But usually, they go away within the first thirty pages. This family came back. Especially when the main character, Rose, was just getting into something good, then we would go back to the family’s POV. Which I hated.

My only content warning here is that the romance is more upped in this fairy tale than in others. It’s clean, but there is romance. Which is why I’m saying that this book is more geared towards older middle school and early high school (that’s when I read it).

General Stats:

  • Genre: Fantasy (fairytale)
  • Book 1 of 2
  • Age: 8th grade and above
  • My rating: ★★★★☆

Dragon Slippers

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By Jessica Day George

I loved Tuesdays at the Castle when I was a little kid. So of course I read almost everything else by Jessica Day George. This series was probably top three by her (even though I’ve only read three lol). I would say it reads similarly to the Castle Glower series, but for a quite older audience. (Yes, my sister read this series in 3rd grade. I was a bit shocked. No, you should not do that.)

Dragon Slippers follows Creel, who, instead of staying away from dragons as one ought to, is sent to the dragon by her family so that she can be saved by a heroic knight. Instead, Creel decides to save herself and set off to the capital city to seek her fortune as a seamstress. But in the process of saving herself, Creel also ends up with a pair of shoes.

As Creel continues on her journey, she soon learns that her shoes aren’t as simple as she thinks they are. The might actually be very special. But she has more important things to focus on, things like dealing with her slightly evil boss and figuring out why Prince Luka keeps showing up around her.

I really liked this book not only because it’s fantasy and has dragons and a strong main character, but also because there’s so much that deals with Creel’s sewing. That was really cool and honestly made me wish that I could make dresses like she could. The plot was interesting and the stakes were high.

It’s also a trilogy! The first and third books are probably the best, but don’t read the third book until you’re a bit older. Please just trust me on that. I was a bit scandalized in eighth grade 😬

Here’s my one content warning. In the first book in the series, and even in the second book, the romance is mild. But in the third book, all the characters are adults, so the romance has progressed quite a lot beyond what shows up in the first book. I would not have anyone read the third book until they’re probably 13-14 because the end is a bit….let’s just say there’s a lot implied.

General Stats:

  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Book 1 of 3
  • Age: 7th grade and above
  • My rating: ★★★★☆

Over Sea, Under Stone

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By Susan Cooper

Do you like Arthurian fiction?

The answer should be yes.

And if the answer is yes, then you will like this book.

Think about it this way. Imagine that you went on holiday to an old house in Cornwall. In this house, you and your siblings proceeded to find a map – an ancient map – that revealed the location of an ancient Arthurian artifact. And as you and your siblings set out to recover this artifact, you realized that you had become caught up in the fight against the Dark itself, which is as old as time itself.

Pretty epic, right?

This is one of my favorite retellings of the King Arthur legend because it creates a world I desperately wish I could inhabit. It takes place in the real world (probably 30-40 years ago) and the characters are ordinary kids. But they get to participate in the world of this legend that goes back hundreds of years. How cool is that? As someone who has always loved King Arthur legends and wants to go into the field of medieval studies, I love this book.

The best part is that this book is also a part of series, The Dark is Rising Sequence. I believe that there are five books in total and I think I have most, if not all of them. Each of the other books takes spin in a slightly different direction, and though on the surface they might not all seem connected, they definitely are.

One of my favorite parts of this book, and really in the series in general, is that the overall conflict is between Dark and light, good and evil. While there may not be a real villain, all the “bad guys” are serving the same forces of evil, and that is a literary device that I particularly love. It’s definitely a theme rooted heavily in ancient Celtic and British myths.

Overall, I wouldn’t say this book has any content to watch out for. The only thing I would note is that it can be a bit creepy at times, as some of the plot features the main characters (who are children) coming into conflict with adults who are working for the Dark.

General Stats:

  • Genre: Fantasy (Arthurian)
  • Book 1 of 5
  • Age: 5th grade and above
  • My rating: ★★★★☆

Mark of the Thief

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By Jennifer A Nielsen

A lot of people know Jennifer A Nielsen for her historical fiction. A lot of people know her for her fantasy. But did you know that she writes historical fantasy? 🤯 Shocking, right? Or maybe not…..

Anyway, this book is fantasy, but, it takes place in ancient Rome. So basically, it’s just twice as great!

If you have read and liked the Ascendance Series, I am almost completely positive that you will like this book, and the subsequent series. For one, the main character (Nic) does read almost identically to the main character of the Ascendance books (to the point where I would regularly have to do a double take when another character said Nic because I was thinking something else in my mind). But we love Sage here, so it’s fine. Honestly, Nic is basically Sage, but better. Sage 2.0.

If you haven’t read Ascendance, ignore all that stuff I just said, you’ll just be confused. Sorry. Here’s the basic premise.

Nic is a slave outside Rome. He works in the quarry where he spends his time digging, being sassy, arguing with the overseer, being sassy, protecting his little sister, not actually getting any work done, and being sassy. So basically, we already love him.

Then he finds a golden bulla that belonged to Caesar. Wow! If that’s not special enough, it also is filled with divine magic. Maybe now he can finally be free! But the cherry on top? Everyone wants Nic’s new magic and he gets involved in a dangerous conspiracy.

So now Nic doesn’t only have to worry about getting free, he also has to stop the conspiracy and save Rome. Oh, and let’s not forget dealing with the dangerous magic he now possesses. Sounds like a lot for one guy to handle, right? It’s a good thing that he ends up with some awesome allies.

For any Jennifer A Nielsen fan, I’m sure that you will love this book. Especially if you liked her other fantasy series. It’s funny at times, witty, and generally just keeps you invested. And the best part is that it’s a trilogy. My favorite of the series was probably the 3rd one (the end is spectacular!!!) but there are some really great moments in the 1st and 2nd as well (don’t ask me about how my parents bought me the 2nd book and then it was printed wrong so the entire best scene in the book was taken out and I had to wait like a week to read it).

Only content warning is romance, but it’s pretty mild. It’s very cute though.

General Stats:

  • Genre: Historical Fantasy
  • Book 1 of 3
  • Age: 6th grade and above
  • My rating: ★★★★☆

Half Upon a Time

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By James Riley

This has got to be another of my favorite books of all time, at least, it was in middle school. My parents got it for my younger brother for Christmas and I stole it as soon as possible and probably finished the series before he did. It’s one of the best fairytale mashup/retellings I’ve ever read, and this is coming from someone who read all of the Sisters Grimm books (this is ten times better I’m sorry).

Jack has spent the majority of his life training to rescue a princess. What else is a guy going to do if he lives in the world of fairytales? Unfortunately, he’s kind of a failure at that. But luckily, an opportunity drops right into his lap when a princess falls from the sky practically on top of him. At least, Jack thinks she’s a princess. What else would her Punk Princess shirt mean? (You have no idea how hard I tried to get my hands on a shirt that said that and failed 😭) So Jack decides to rescue the princess (and we all know how we wake up sleeping princesses).

As one would expect, the “princess” is none to pleased at her situation. She’s even less pleased when she realizes that the only person who can help her escape from the huntsman who is chasing her and rescue her grandmother is……..Jack! Yay!

So Jack and the princess set off on their quest, in which they meet up with countless other fairytale characters who I’m sure you will recognize. It’s ridiculously funny and you will fall in love with the characters – they’re so well written. You will find yourself wanting more, which is great because it’s a trilogy!

Twice Upon a Time and Once Upon the End (the rest of the trilogy) are both amazing books as well. The writing, the humor, and the plot are so consistently high quality, which is why James Riley is one of my favorite middle grade authors. If you decide to read the entire series (which you totally should) you will love the ending. Does anyone else love prophecies/ultimatums, even if they’re a bit cliche? Chapter 22 of Once Upon the End, anyone? IYKYK 😊

Only “content warning” is hilarious romance, but I would say that it is appropriate for everyone!

General Stats:

  • Genre: Fantasy (fairytale)
  • Book 1 of 3
  • Age: 6th grade and above
  • My rating: ★★★★★

The False Prince

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By Jennifer A Nielsen

You have no idea how many times I’ve read this book. Frankly, neither do I. All I know is that I read it for the first time for Battle of the Books in eight grade, and then again in ninth grade, where I finally finished the series.

This book is so good. There’s practically nothing else I can say about it. If you like sassy main characters who don’t take anything from anyone, you will like this book. If you’re a fan of books where the main characters are participating in something a bit underhand, you will like this book. If you like unreliable narrators – read this book!

Here’s the basic plot overview. Sage is a normal orphan who does normal orphan things, like stealing, getting into trouble, and escaping from people who want to catch him. One day, he gets caught (as you could probably have expected). But he doesn’t get caught by the authorities and prosecuted for his petty crimes. He is caught by a nobleman named Conner, who is looking for a boy who resembles the long-missing dead prince to play the part. Sage, along with three other boys, foots the bill. So he and the others compete for the role of the puppet prince. Sage has his doubts about the plan, both its success and its morality, but he doesn’t have another choice. Because Conner is a patriot, and will do whatever it takes to keep his country out of civil war.

Now when picking up this book, you may think to yourself that the plot line looks overdone, it looks familiar, it looks like your run-of-the-mill fantasy book about a fifteen-year-old boy in a competition, if he doesn’t win he’ll be killed, blah blah blah….

But wait. There’s so much more to this book than you realize. Yes, it can be a bit slow at the beginning, and from a distance, it may seem normal. But this book will hook you by the end. This was one of my favorite books of late middle-school and early high-school because of how good the plot twists are. And it has an unreliable narrator, which I love.

If you’ve read The Mark of the Thief by Nielsen, you’ll like this one. You may, like me, think that the main characters are the same person because they sound so similar and start calling them by the same name (but in my case I read The False Prince first).

So I encourage you to give this book a try. Pick it up, read it through (it should go fast like other Nielsen books), and I am confident that you will love it.

And if you like this book, there’s far more where it came from. This series (called Ascendance) has 5 books. The best one (in my opinion) is the third book (iykyk), but the 2th one was fun as well. I do have to say, it was originally going to a trilogy, but Nielson then wrote the 4th and 5th books several years later. To me, they feel a bit redundant and aren’t my favorite, but there are still some good parts. Read the whole series, but really read the first 3 because those are the great ones.

Almost forgot this, but the only content warning I have is that there is mild romance. It’s nothing explicit, but it is there, and it increases as the books go along, but is always very family friendly.

General Stats:

  • Genre: Fantasy
  • Book 1 of 5
  • Age: 6th grade and above
  • My rating: ★★★★☆

Number the Stars

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By Lois Lowry

Once again, we are in Denmark under German rule in 1943. The Jews are about to be relocated, and it’s up to the characters in this story to save their friends.

Annamarie is not Jewish, but her best friend Ellen is. So when the Nazis start acting suspiciously, Annamarie’s family decides to hide Ellen. But even though they have a good plan, unfortunately, it does not hold forever.

Suddenly, life has become a lot more dangerous for not just Ellen. By hiding her, Annamarie’s family could be in danger as well. Soon, Annamarie has to embark on a mission that could be very dangerous. Is she willing to risk her own life for the safety of her friend?

Why should you read this book?

If you’re looking for a WWII novel for kids, this is a classic and a very common recommendation. And that is for a good reason. Though it may seem simple at first, it is a very good story and quite well written. There are some good plot twists and you will be quite invested in the story. Also, if you like other Lois Lowry books, you will probably like this book as well.

Who should read this book?

If you’re in early middle school and looking to get into historical fiction, read this book. If you already like historical fiction, you should still read this because the odds are that most other people who read historical fiction will have read this book. Again, although it deals with tough themes, it is not in a disturbing way.

General Stats:

  • Genre: historical fiction – WWII
  • Standalone
  • Age: 5th grade and above
  • My rating: ★★★★☆

Seesaw Girl

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By Linda Sue Park

Living in 12th century Korea, Jade Blossom can never go beyond the walls of her family’s inner court. She will never get to run around outside or go to the market or the mountains. All she’s allowed to do is help with domestic tasks like laundry or sewing. Because someday, she will leave her family’s home, but not to go anywhere interesting. She’ll just end up in her husband’s inner court.

Jade thinks that this system is completely unfair. Her brothers get to spend their days doing interesting activities like writing and painting. Sometimes they even leave the house and get to travel. They have a whole world of opportunity waiting for them. If only she could get the same experience as they do. If only she could leave the enclosing walls.

Unfortunately, she seems to be the only one who thinks this way. Everyone else around her seems content. But Jade isn’t going to give up that easily. She is determined to see what lies beyond her house’s walls.

Why should you read this book?

Although it is a very short read, you will be pulled into the story. It’s quite interesting to learn about this era of history and I’m sure that you will discover things that you didn’t know before. And, if you’re already a fan of Linda Sue Park, you will like this book. It’s a fun family story and about not giving up on your dreams, even if they seem impossible.

Who should read this book?

It is very accessible to everyone. There’s nothing upsetting or disturbing about it and it’s written in an easy to read manner. All middle schoolers could read this book and will probably enjoy it.

General Stats:

  • Genre: historical fiction – 12th century Korea
  • Standalone
  • Age: 5th grade and above
  • My rating: ★★★★☆

Lines of Courage

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By Jennifer A Nielsen

Here we have yet another WWI novel, but this time, it doesn’t just discuss one character and their story. The cool thing about this book is that instead of just focusing on one character, it explores multiple different perspectives. Felix, Kara, Elsa, Dmitri, and Juliette are all suffering from the effects of the war. But though the future is not bright, they all still have hopes and dreams, from surviving the war to becoming a Red Cross nurse. Not all of what they wish will come to pass, but they all may still end up with a happy ending.

What I liked about this book was that you could see so many different parts of the war in one book alone. Where usually you might have to read a two books to get to learn about a British nurse and a Russian soldier, here, you can get both. It was slightly confusing at times, but overall a pretty decent book.

Why should you read this book?

If you’re interested in learning a lot about WWI or getting a general overview of a lot of the different aspects, then this is the book for you. It’s less of an in depth dive on one aspect and touches more on a lot of the important parts. And if you generally like Jennifer A Nielsen’s books, I think you will like this one.

Who should read this book?

As with most books by Nielsen, this one deals with hard concepts in a way that is very appropriate for middle grade readers. Yes, it’s about WWI, and terrible things happened. But you won’t finish this story and feel disturbed or like you’ve read something that you didn’t want to read. It’s very accessible to all middle schoolers.

General Stats:

  • Genre: historical fiction – WWI
  • Standalone
  • Age: 6th grade and above
  • My rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆