Hello, dear visitor! Welcome to my first middle-grade
(MG) compilation post of 2025. I firmly believe that MG stories can be easily
enjoyed by adults as well as youth. Don’t knock it because it’s MG. Open your
minds and your imaginations. You never know what doors will open for you!
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<This is
the first book in a series.>
An orphan pickpocket knocks on a tiny door that grows
into a sizable higgledy-piggledy house. Nine knows nothing of her origin, and
the only possession her baby self came with was a treasured music box, which is
in the literal clutches of Pockets, the grimy man who took her in and who,
apparently, never gets strawberries. Life’s circumstances have made Nine
cynical from a young age, and she has not an altruistic bone in her body. To
say the word “sorry” is almost painful for her. The house, cursed by a witch,
houses an eccentric group. There’s Flabberghast, a young wizard and champion
hopscotch-er, Eric, a troll housekeeper whose most beloved possession is his
feather duster, and Dr. Spoon, an alchemist who really is a sword-wielding
wooden spoon. Nine will be the one to help end the curse, because she’s the one
who knocked. There’s a life-changing reward in it for her, but is she ready for
a zapping cabinet, acid dung, a burping sugar bowl and a clever witch? A room
with a dark purple door has chosen her, because “the House at the Edge of Magic
has manners” (unlike Nine), but the toilet is never in the same spot and has
reportedly grown teeth (so “Sit down very carefully”), and there’s a skeleton
in the closet. For real. He’d like his ribs dusted.
An
eccentric group, a house that can’t move because it’s missing its toad tongue
and magic mix together to craft a delightful, middle-grade adventure. It’s
filled with wonder and mayhem, ferocity and hidden vulnerability, with clever
world-building and characters that you want to root for, no matter how
ridiculous or rough-around-the-edges. It’s an adventure story, but the main
character may find herself learning the significance of friendship, teamwork
and compassion. If you found the House at the Edge of Magic, would you knock on
its door?.jpeg)
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The Lost Library (Aug. 29, 2023) by Rebecca
Stead & Wendy Mass.
<This is
a standalone novel.>
A mysterious little free library has popped up overnight
in the small town of Martinville. It’s guarded by a large orange cat called dear
cat/Goldie/Sunshine, but his name is Mortimer. Seeing it on his way to school,
11-year-old Evan McClelland plucks two books from its shelves and later
realizes they’re books from the former Martinville Library, which burned down
20 years ago. As Evan looks through the books, he discusses with his best
friend, Rafe, that one book was checked out multiple times by his father. The
other had one checkout to H.G. Higgins, a famous mystery writer.
Evan thinks this writer had something to do with the mystery fire, a cause for
which was never determined. There is an unknown past in his town, and Evan
seeks to find the answers as he also navigates his anxiety about entering
middle school. At one point, visiting the History House, he’s able to talk to
Al (short for Assistant Librarian), a ghost woman, who resides in the House
with ghost residents Ms. Scoggin and Mr. Brock. All three perished in the
library fire. Al has struggled to remain invisible to others, and Ms. Scoggin
reminds her to, “Take your place, my dear!” Ms. Scoggin’s Reminders and
Criticisms have been a constant since Al first started at the library as a
17-year-old. It’s a constant that’s about to change. Is Al ready? Is Evan?
A
contemporary, middle-grade novel with light supernatural elements, “The Lost
Library” is a timeless ode to libraries, books that take readers to an infinite
number of places, making “rooms and rooms up here” in readers’ minds, and the
amazing librarians who know the power of reading. The fast pacing, well-rounded
characters (even though physical character descriptions are mostly absent) and
courage of this crafty, softly mysterious tale make for a dynamic, wholesome,
engaging page-turner that’s full of heart and quiet magic. I adored it!
Tristan Strong Keeps Punching (Oct. 5, 2021)
by Kwame Mbalia.
<This is
the final novel in a trilogy.>
<Possible spoilers ahead.>
Hm, should Tristan Strong be on fire like that? Tristan
is angry, and that uncontrolled anger “is chaotic at best.” He’s searching for
his Alkean friends, now in this world, including Anansi’s son Junior. Anansi
remains trapped in the SBP (Story Box Phone), though he continues to plead for
his release. Or he will, once he sees Nyame again. Tristan’s also been pulled
into a mystery involving missing children. The haintiest haint of them all, his
foe King Cotton, must be behind it, but he has help, and not only from his
monsters, but other troublesome haints. They’re snatching children as well as
spirits, but for what nefarious purpose? Tristan reunites with Ayanna and
manages to find Gum Baby. Old Familiar is around, too, but look sharp, because
he isn’t only in his giant shadow crow form. Tristan must learn to overcome his
impetuousness and harness his anger to use it as a tool to rid the world of his
archenemy once and for all. “STRONGS ON THE MOVE,” and this Strong keeps
punching.
This
book, along with the entire trilogy, is a triumphant adventure with superb
world-building, standout characters and antagonists to make one’s skin crawl,
featuring West African and African American mythology. Tristan’s recklessness
is grating, especially when his choices tend to affect others outside of him,
like children, but he’s still a hero to root for, because readers trust that he’ll
remember his strength as an Anansesem (storyteller) and his family,
blood-related and not. The story is compelling; its fantasy and action is
fast-paced. There isn’t humor without heartbreak, the playful scenes balancing
the serious climate and weight of the world. It’s a satisfying conclusion, and
I would happily read a spin-off series.
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