Middle Grade Characters and Trust in Authority Figures

I don’t have an MMGM review today, although this post was inspired by a middle grade book–one I’m not going to name because it would lead to a bit of a spoiler. Here’s the situation: The main character places her trust in two adults who turn out to be the bad guys. Why did she…

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MMGM: DESTINY, REWRITTEN by Kathryn Fitzmaurice

A few weeks ago Kimberley Griffiths Little reviewed this book, and I was immediately intrigued by the premise. An eleven-year-old who loves romance novels? This was so me, except I’ve never read Danielle Steel. I’m totally with Emily on the happy endings, though. Anyway, here’s the description. Eleven-year-old Emily Elizabeth Davis has been told for…

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Make Your Pitches Specific and Other WriteOnCon Takeaways

Another WriteOnCon is over, and once again I feel energized and ready to get back out there with my manuscript. It’s amazing to me how different the conference is from one year to the next. The organizers do a great job coming up with new topics and presenters. In case you missed it, here is…

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MMGM: SECRETS FROM THE SLEEPING BAG by Rose Cooper

I came across this book as I was looking for stories set at camps, and I really enjoyed it. SECRETS FROM THE SLEEPING BAG is actually the third book in a series, but you don’t need to read the others first. Here’s a brief description: During four weeks at Camp Krakatow (pronounced Crack-A-Toe), Sofia Becker…

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MMGM: ONCE UPON THE END by James Riley

So, I usually wouldn’t review two books by the same author in the same series so close together, but I can’t help myself. It’s been a while since I read a book and just had to read the next, and the next right away. But that’s how I felt about the HALF UPON A TIME…

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MMGM: VANISHED by Sheela Chari

Two weeks ago, I was intrigued by Akoss’ post on VANISHED by Sheela Chari. A middle grade book about a mysterious instrument? Plus, I love this cover. I had to read it! Here’s the blurb: Eleven-year-old Neela dreams of being a famous musician, performing for admiring crowds on her traditional Indian stringed instrument. Her particular…

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The Power of a Well-Planned Twist

I’ve talked before about how much I love a good twist, and a book I read last week featured one that was so well done I wanted to give the author a slow clap. The few times I even entertained the thought that this twist might come, she cleverly misdirected me, the reader, so that…

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What I’ve Learned in Two Years of Querying

I really hoped I wouldn’t have to write this post, but here we are. It’s officially been two years since I sent my first round of queries. During that time, I’ve queried two manuscripts, one of which underwent a major revision before restarting the querying process. I posted last year on what I’d learned in…

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MMGM: HALF UPON A TIME by James Riley

I’m back! I took a couple of weeks off from Marvelous Middle Grade Monday to go on vacation and then catch up, but I do have a review this week. It’s a book I first heard about on Shannon Messenger’s blog. She recently reviewed the final installment in this series, and I had to check…

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MMGM: IN A GLASS GRIMMLY by Adam Gidwitz

First of all, the winner of the paperback copy of MY VERY UNFAIRY TALE LIFE is: Jennifer Rumberger Thanks to everyone who entered! I’m excited to share IN A GLASS GRIMMLY this week for MMGM. I read Adam Gidwitz’s first book, A TALE DARK AND GRIMM, before I started this blog, so I didn’t get…

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