Back of Book: 

Do you ever wish EVERYONE would go away? The Anti-Book is the ANSWER. 

Mickey can't resist the ad inside his pack of gum. After all, lately he's been angry all the time: at his divorced parents, at his sister, at his sister's bully of a boyfriend. He mails in his coupon. But when the book arrives, it's blank—except for one line of instruction: To erase it, write it. 

He fills in the pages with all of the things and people he would like to see disappear... and the next morning he finds himself wandering an anti-world, one in which everything and everyone familiar is gone. Or are they? 

Mickey has begun an adventure full of humor and suspense—a fantastical, slyly meaningful quest for belonging that is a new classic in the making. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

You think you know these stories, don’t you?

You are wrong.

You don’t know them at all.

Twelve tales, twelve dangerous tales of mystery, magic, and rebellious hearts. Each twists like a spindle to reveal truths full of warning and triumph, truths that capture hearts long kept tame and set them free, truths that explore life... and death.

A prince has a surprising awakening...                           

A beauty fights like a beast... 

A boy refuses to become prey... 

A path to happiness is lost...  then found again.

New York Times bestselling author Soman Chainani respins old stories into fresh fairy tales for a new era and creates a world like no other. These stories know you. They understand you. They reflect you. They are tales for our times. So read on, if you dare...

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, or any of the other giants—rather than the BFG—she would have soon become breakfast. When Sophie hears that the giants are flush-bunking off to England to swollomp a few nice little chiddlers, she decides she must stop them once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her! 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

"Hello, stars. I thought I heard you calling me."

 A mysterious voice has been speaking to Louise in her dreams. She and her brother Merwin are Sycamore seeds, who hope to one day set down roots and become big trees. But when a fire forces them to leave their mama tree prematurely, they find themselves catapulted into the unknown, far from home. Alone and unprepared, they must use their wits and imagination to navigate a dangerous world―filled with dinosaurs, meteors, and volcanoes!―and the fear of never finding a safe place to grow up. As the mysterious voice gets louder, Louise comes to realize their mission in life may be much bigger than either of them ever could have imagined!

 Brimming with humor, wonder, mystery, and a profound sense of hope, Big Tree is a trailblazing adventure, illustrated with nearly 300 pages of breathtaking pictures. It is Selznick's most imaginative and far-reaching work to date and a singular reading experience for the whole family. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟

The concept of "Big Tree" is cool. Two oak tree seeds during the time of the dinosaurs try to figure out how to survive so that there will still be trees in the future. Okay, so maybe the premise isn't that cool, but the messages the book want to present are there. It's about saving the planet and taking care of the Earth, but while actually reading the book. . . I was bored. It wasn't a long read, because iconic to Mr. Selznick, half of the story was told in text while the other half of the story was told through pictures. I love Selznick's art style, but even that was lackluster in this book. Even though I didn't love this one, I cannot wait to read more of Selznick's work in the future, because he is a true artist.

Back of Book: 

It’s been five years since Livy and her family have visited Livy’s grandmother in Australia. Now that she’s back, Livy has the feeling she’s forgotten something really, really important about Gran’s house.

It turns out she’s right.

Bob, a short, greenish creature dressed in a chicken suit, didn’t forget Livy, or her promise. He’s been waiting five years for her to come back, hiding in a closet like she told him to. He can’t remember who―or what―he is, where he came from, or if he even has a family. But five years ago Livy promised she would help him find his way back home. Now it’s time to keep that promise.

Clue by clue, Livy and Bob will unravel the mystery of where Bob comes from, and discover the kind of magic that lasts forever.

Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead, two masterminds of classic, middle-grade fiction come together to craft this magical story about the enduring power of friendship. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

 Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Sorcerers, Cyclops, Djinnis... Magic.

Thirteen-year-old Zardi loves to hear stories about fantastical beings long banned from the kingdom of Arribitha. But anyone who is caught whispering of their powers will feel the rage of the sultan—a terrifying tyrant who, even with his eyes closed, can see all.

When her own beloved sister is captured by the evil ruler, Zardi knows that she must risk everything to rescue her. Along with Rhidan, who is her best friend, and an unlikely crew of sailors led by the infamous Captain Sinbad, Zardi ventures forth into strange and wondrous territory with a seemingly impossible mission: to bring magic back to Arribitha and defeat the sultan once and for all. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Alberto lives alone in the town of Allora, where fish fly out of the sea and the houses shine like jewels. He is a coffin maker and widower, spending his quiet days creating the final resting places of Allora's people.

Then one afternoon a magical bird flutters into his garden, and Alberto, lonely inside, welcomes it into his home. And when a kindhearted boy named Tito follows the bird into Alberto's kitchen, a door in the old man's heart cracks open. Tito is lonely too—but he's also scared and searching for a place to hide. Fleeing from danger, he just wants to feel safe for once in his life. Can the boy and the old man learn the power of friendship and escape the shadows of their pasts?

With a tender bond that calls to mind The Girl Who Drank the Moon, charming characters reminiscent of The Penderwicks, and the whimsy of A Snicker of Magic, this is a novel to curl up with, an extraordinary work of magical realism that makes the world feel like a warmer and happier place. Complete with dazzling interior illustrations, a gem from start to finish. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

When eleven-year-old Stella Rodriguez shows up at NASA to request that her recording be included in Carl Sagan's Golden Record, something unexpected happens: A black hole follows her home, and sets out to live in her house as a pet. The black hole swallows everything he touches, which is challenging to say the least—but also turns out to be a convenient way to get rid of those items that Stella doesn't want around. Soon the ugly sweaters her aunt has made for her all disappear within the black hole, as does the smelly class hamster she's taking care of, and most important, all the reminders of her dead father that are just too painful to have around.

It's not until Stella, her younger brother, Cosmo, the family puppy, and even the bathroom tub all get swallowed up by the black hole that Stella comes to realize she has been letting her own grief consume her. And that's not the only thing she realizes as she attempts to get back home. This is an astonishingly original and funny adventure with a great big heart. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Long ago and far away...

There was a castle. But not just any castle. This was a castle that glittered and sparkled and rose majestically above the banks of the winding Winono River: the Castle Corona.

And in this castle lived a family. But not just any family. This was the family of King Guido: rich and royal and... spoiled. And King Guido was so spoiled that neither jewels nor gold nor splendid finery could please him, for what he longed for most was... a nap and a gown that didn't itch.

Far below this grand, glittering castle lived two peasants. But not just any peasants. These peasants, though poor and pitiful, were plucky and proud. And in possession of a stolen pouch. But not just any pouch. A pouch whose very contents had the power to unlock secrets and transform lives...

And oh, there is an author. But not just any author. Sharon Creech is a Newbery Medal-winning author whose tantalizing tale will not only dazzle and delight but also entertain and excite. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Zoe named the kitten Pipsqueak, because she was so tiny, and promised to always take care of her. Then the kitten grew. And grew. Now she's bigger than a horse—and talking as well! 

Fleeing into the woods to escape the curious eyes of the Internet, Zoe and her best friend, Harrison, must keep the giant cat hidden as they desperately search for a way to return her to normal size. If they don't succeed, Pipsqueak may never be safe again. But why did she grow so large in the first place? And what if trying to change her back leads to even greater danger? 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

One boy and his toy are about to change everything...

Jack loves his childhood toy, Dur Pig. DP has always been there for him, through good and bad. Until one Christmas Eve something terrible happens—DP is lost. But Christmas Eve is a night for miracles and lost causes, a night when all things can come to life... even toys. And Jack’s newest toy—the Christmas Pig (DP’s replacement)— has a daring plan: Together they’ll embark on a magical journey to seek something lost, and to save the best friend Jack has ever known...

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Jacques Papier has the sneaking suspicion that everyone except his sister Fleur hates him. Teachers ignore him when his hand is raised in class, he is never chosen for sports teams, and his parents often need to be reminded to set a place for him at the dinner table. But he is shocked when he finally learns the truth: He is Fleur's imaginary friend! When he convinces Fleur to set him free, he begins a surprising and touching, and always funny quest to find himself—to figure out who Jacques Papier truly is, and where he belongs. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Kayla is just an ordinary girl... or so she thinks. When a day at the state fair is interrupted by the news that she’s the daughter of a “Dark Lord,” she and her family are quickly whisked to another world—one that’s chock-full of magic but lacking in technology!

As her family encounters fantastical creatures in place of their Earthly gadgets, Kayla must prepare for the unpreparable: accepting her inheritance as the Dark Lady of Zaradwin. All Kayla wants is to go home, but she must learn magic to do so. The catch? For the Dark Lord’s daughter, the road to mastering magic is filled with evil traditions, treachery, and curses.

As she ventures closer to her inheritance, Kayla must decide whether to accept her birthright. Is she destined for darkness? Or can she become a new kind of Dark Lady?

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

A middle grade fantasy novel that explores what one young girl does when she inherits her evil father's castle, legacy, and curses. 

Kayla and her family were just trying to enjoy their time at the Minnesota State Fair, when suddenly, they are whisked away by a spell that transports them to a magical kingdom. If getting warped away from home wasn't shocking enough, Kayla is in for an even bigger surprise: she is the daughter of the kingdom of Zaradwin's last Dark Lord. This means that whether she wants to or not, she is inheriting everything that being a dark lord entails. Her mother, Riki, is desperate to get the family home, but the longer they are there, the more Kayla begins to realize that being a dark lady has its perks. 

I have pretty mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, it was a really fun concept with some really quirky characters and I found myself mostly having a pretty good time. On the flip side, the beginning of this book was super slow, which made it hard for me to push through the setup of the story. And this book was mostly vibes due to the fact that it had very little plot. Mostly, "The Dark Lord's Daughter" is just Kayla and her family wandering around this mysterious castle trying to restore some form of order to all of the chaotic ruin that the castle has fallen into since her father's death ten years ago. 

I thought it was really fun how technology got transferred to the magic world in this book. The biggest (and most entertaining) example of this has got to be Kayla's tablet, which she named Macavinchy. He gets turned into a bat/cat/monkey familiar that still has many capabilities of a tablet such as the ability to search information, react to Kayla's voice commands, and even play music. Macavinchy is such a fun little guy, and it doesn't hurt that Kayla programmed him to speak in a British accent. I must say, I wouldn't have enjoyed this book nearly as much without Macavinchy being present throughout it. 

It was fun to see Kayla learn about Zaradwin and all that she inherited. From fixing up the castle, to exploring all the hidden nooks and crannies, to talk to animate dragon skulls, this book was filled with Kayla's endeavors to fix things. However, there wasn't really an end goal until like three-thirds of the way through this almost four hundred page book, so I wish there would have been an element that added some urgency. 

Overall, there were several things I really enjoyed about "The Dark Lord's Daughter," but there were also many things that had me a bit bored. This was one of those books that I didn't particularly dislike, but there was nothing that had me wanting to pick it up again when I put it down for the day. If you are willing to put aside the fact that this book has little structured plot and just enjoy the ride of Kayla exploring a magical world, feel free to give this book a try. 

Back of Book: 

Rafi Bywater is unlike anyone else. The people in his village don’t trust him because he spends too much time in an abandoned dragon lair. When a stranger, Mister Flitch, accuses Rafi of being “dragon-touched,” Rafi sets off to discover the truth about dragons—and about himself.

On his journey, Rafi befriends a brilliant scientist, Maud, who has secrets of her own. Together they search for dragons while escaping from a dangerous dragon hunter, engaging in a steam-engine car chase, and figuring out what Mister Flitch really wants with Rafi. And, oh yes, they do find the dragons.

Sarah Prineas delivers a sweeping adventure filled with glorious dragons of all kinds! 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Dragons have invaded Crumbling Castle, and all of King Arthur’s knights are either on holiday or visiting their grannies. It’s a disaster!

Luckily, there’s a spare suit of armour and a very small boy called Ralph who’s willing to fill it. Together with Fortnight the Friday knight and Fossfiddle the wizard, Ralph sets out to defeat the fearsome fire-breathers.

But there's a teeny weeny surprise in store...

Fourteen fantastically funny stories from master storyteller Sir Terry Pratchett, full of time travel and tortoises, monsters and mayhem!

‘So funny I dropped my spoon laughing!’ – King Arthur 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

At her birth, Ella of Frell receives a foolish fairy's gift—the “gift” of obedience. Ella must obey any order, whether it's to hop on one foot for a day and a half, or to chop off her own head! But strong-willed Ella does not accept her fate...

Against a bold backdrop of princes, ogres, giants, wicked stepsisters, and fairy godmothers, Ella goes on a quest to break the curse forever. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review:  🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Young dairymaid Begonia has lost her cow Alfalfa. So she has set off on a search across the countryside even though she has nothing but a magical map to guide her. Along the way she meets a mother and baby, a woodcutter, a very dirty young man, and an eight-foot ostrich.

Meanwhile, the emperor has gone missing from the royal palace in a most mysterious manner. Was it murder? Was it magic? It will take all of Begonia's wits to save the empire and get Alfalfa home safely. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Aidan Cain has had the worst week of his life. His gran died, he was sent to a foster home, and now malicious beings are stalking him. There is one person Gran told Aidan to go to if he ever got into trouble—a powerful sorcerer who lives at Melstone House.

But when Aidan arrives on the doorstep, he finds that the sorcerer's grandson, Andrew, has inherited the house. The good news is that Aidan can tell immediately that Andrew's brimming with magic, too—and so is everyone else at Melstone. The bad news is that Andrew doesn't remember anything his grandfather taught him. Chaos is swiftly rising, and he has no idea how to control it. A sinister neighbor is stealing power from the land, magic is leaking between realms... and it's only a matter of time before the Stalkers find Aidan.

If Aidan and Andrew can harness their own magics, they may be able to help each other. But can they do it before the entire countryside comes apart at the seams?  

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

The Enormous Crocodile is incredibly hungry—and incredibly greedy. His favorite meal is a plump, juicy little child, and he intends to gobble up as many of them as he can! His is sure that his “secret plans and clever tricks” cannot be foiled. But when the other animals in the jungle join together to put an end to his wicked schemes, the Enormous Crocodile learns a lesson he won’t soon forget. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Falling in love is easy...

...for Kezi, a beautiful mortal, dancer, and rug weaver, and for Olus, Akkan god of the winds. Their love brings Kezi the strength to fight her fate, and it gives Olus the strength to confront his fears. Together—and apart—they encounter spiders with webs of iron, the cruel lord of the land of the dead, the mysterious god of destiny, and the tests of the Akkan gods. If they succeed, they will be together; but if they fail, Olus will have to endure the ultimate loss, and Kezi will have to make the supreme sacrifice.

Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine has created a stunning world of flawed gods, unbreakable vows, and ancient omens. Her story of love, fate, and belief is spellbinding. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review:  🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Once upon a time, there was a girl who wanted to be pretty...

Aza's singing is the fairest in all the land, and the most unusual. She can "throw" her voice so it seems to come from anywhere. But singing is only one of the two qualities prized in the Kingdom of Ayortha. Aza doesn't possess the other: beauty. Not even close. She's hidden in the shadows in her parents' inn, but when she becomes lady-in-waiting to the new queen, she has to step into the light—especially when the queen demands a dangerous favor. A magic mirror, a charming prince, a jealous queen, palace intrigue, and an injured king twine into a maze that Aza must penetrate to save herself and her beloved kingdom. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review:  🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Someone's been stealing from the three meanest farmers around, and they know the identity of the thief—it's Fantastic Mr. Fox! Working alone they could never catch him; but now fat Boggis, squat Bunce, and skinny Bean have joined forces, and they have Mr. Fox and his family surrounded. What they don't know is that they're not dealing with just any fox—Mr. Fox would rather die than surrender. Only the most fantastic plan can save him now. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

It begins, as the best superhero stories do, with a tragic accident that has unexpected consequences. The squirrel never saw it coming —the vacuum cleaner, that is. As for self-described cynic Flora Belle Buckman, she has read every issue of the comic book Terrible Things Can Happen to You! so she is just the right person to step in and save him. What neither can predict is that Ulysses (the squirrel) has been born anew, with powers of strength, flight and misspelled poetry. And Flora will be changed too as she discovers the possibility of hope and the promise of a capacious heart. From #1 New York Times bestselling author Kate DiCamillo comes a laugh-out-loud story filled with eccentric endearing characters and featuring an exciting new format—a novel interspersed with comic-style graphic sequences, plus full-page illustrations, all rendered in black-and-white by a talented new artist. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

"I bought the milk," said my father. "I walked out of the corner shop, and heard a noise like this: t h u m m t h u m m. I looked up and saw a huge silver disc hovering in the air above Marshall Road."

"Hullo," I said to myself. "That's not something you see every day. And then something odd happened."

Find out just how odd things get in this hilarious New York Times bestselling story of time travel and breakfast cereal, expertly told by Newbery Medalist and bestselling author Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Skottie Young. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

The last thing she needs is a prince. The first thing she needs is some magic.

Poor Princess Anya. Forced to live with her evil stepmother’s new husband, her evil stepstepfather. Plagued with an unfortunate ability to break curses with a magic-assisted kiss. And forced to go on the run when her stepstepfather decides to make the kingdom entirely his own.

Aided by a loyal talking dog, a boy thief trapped in the body of a newt, and some extraordinarily mischievous wizards, Anya sets off on a Quest that, if she plays it right, will ultimately free her land—and teach her a thing or two about the use of power, the effectiveness of a well-placed pucker, and the finding of friends in places both high and low. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Chosen as one of hundreds to journey to the top of the glacier in their village, Sabira will embark on a dangerous pilgrimage that will guarantee her a life of importance, but only if she can survive,

On Choosing Day, children of Adranna who reach the age of fourteen are finally eligible to undergo the tests to determine if they are worthy of bonding a Frostsliver. Only one in a hundred are destined to succeed. If chosen, they will have to climb to the top of the glacier and cut a piece off for themselves, so that they may be granted the powers they've always dreamed of.

When Sabira is chosen, an entire world of possibilities opens up to her. But in order to see it through, she'll have to embark on a dangerous pilgrimage to the top of the glacier. When a huge avalanche traps her on the glacier and destroys the pass, she must face up to the merciless mountain—but there are dark and fiery secrets hiding in its depths... 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟

"Frostfire" is just not a book that I can enjoy. The beginning was super boring and I couldn't get myself invested in the story until about page 160. I actually fell asleep a couple of times while reading this book. Despite this, once the story began to pick up, the world that Sabira dwells in was actually quite unique. I wish it would have drawn me in more, but I understand why people enjoyed it (the mythology and folk lore of the world were intriguing and unique, just not well developed in my opinion). I also thought that "Frostfire" was terribly predictable.

Personally, I don't love survival stories, so that made the early parts of the book drag on and on. The start of this book was all background info that could have been better implemented as flashbacks as she was wandering around on the mountain by herself, not really doing anything.

Overall, this book just bored me, so I couldn't get into it. I hope that you guys have better luck with it if you decide to pick it up.

Back of Book: 

From international phenomenon Cornelia Funke, the bestselling author of Reckless and Inkheart.

Eleven-year-old Jon Whitcroft never expected to enjoy boarding school. Then again, he never expected to be confronted by a pack of vengeful ghosts, either. And then he meets Ella, a quirky new friend with a taste for adventure...

Together, Jon and Ella must work to uncover the secrets of a centuries-old murder while being haunted by terrifying spirits, their bloodless faces set on revenge. So when Jon summons the ghost of the late knight Longspee for his protection, there's just one question: Can Longspee truly be trusted? 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Who needs ladders? The Ladderless Window-Cleaning Company certainly doesn't. They don’t need a pail, either, because they have a pelican with a bucket-sized beak. With a monkey to do the washing and Billy as their manager, this business is destined for success. Now they have their big break—a chance to clean all 677 windows of the Hampshire House, owned by the richest man in all of England! That’s exciting enough, but along the way there are surprises and adventures beyond their wildest window-washing dreams. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Every year, the people of the Protectorate leave a baby as an offering to the witch who lives in the forest. They hope this sacrifice will keep her from terrorizing their town. But the witch in the Forest, Xan, is kind. She shares her home with a wise Swamp Monster and a Perfectly Tiny Dragon. Xan rescues the children and delivers them to welcoming families on the other side of the forest, nourishing the babies with starlight on the journey.

One year, Xan accidentally feeds a baby moonlight instead of starlight, filling the ordinary child with extraordinary magic. Xan decides she must raise this girl, whom she calls Luna, as her own. As Luna’s thirteenth birthday approaches, her magic begins to emerge—with dangerous consequences. Meanwhile, a young man from the Protectorate is determined to free his people by killing the witch. Deadly birds with uncertain intentions flock nearby. A volcano, quiet for centuries, rumbles just beneath the earth’s surface. And the woman with the Tiger’s heart is on the prowl...

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

When Oona Britt was born in the magical town of Nordlor, where all of the homes are built from wrecked ships, her parents never expected her to be a girl. Having listened to a faulty prediction from a washed-up soothsayer, they were promised a "bold and brave son," so as the youngest of seven sisters, Oona's birth became a disappointment—especially to her sea captain father, who doesn't believe there's a place for girls aboard ships.

But Oona is different from the rest of her family. She longs for adventure and knowledge. So she steals aboard her father's ship just as he's about to set sail for his annual winter whale hunt, and suddenly finds herself in the midst of a grand adventure! The ship has its own sea cat, Barnacles, and a navigator named Haroyld, who show Oona how to follow the stars. But for all that, Oona's father is furious. Can she prove to him that she's worth his love and pride, even though she's not the bold and brave son he was promised? 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Inside a small Yorkshire parsonage, Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne Brontë have invented a game called Glass Town, where their toy soldiers fight Napoleon and no one dies. This make-believe land helps the four escape from a harsh reality: Charlotte and Emily are being sent away to a dangerous boarding School. But then something incredible happens: A train whisks them all away to a real Glass Town, and the children trade the moors for a wonderland all their own. 

This is their Glass Town, exactly like they envisioned it... almost. Their Napoleon never rode a fire-breathing porcelain rooster. And the soldiers can die; wars are being fought over a potion that raises the dead, a potion that Anne wants to bring back to England. But returning is out of the question—Charlotte will never go back to that horrible School. 

As the older girls find a home in Glass Town, Anne and Branwell are captured by Napoleon's henchman. It's up to Charlotte and Emily to rescue their siblings, but can two English girls stand against Napoleon's armies? And if he escapes Glass Town, will England be safe? 

Together the Brontë siblings must battle their own imaginations in this magical celebration of authorship and creativity by award-winning author Catherynne M. Valente. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

Brodie was a good dog. And good dogs go to heaven.

Except Brodie can't move on. Not just yet. As wonderful as his glimpse of the afterlife is, he can't forget the boy he left behind. The boy he loved, and who loved him in return.

The boy who's still in danger.

So Brodie breaks the rules of heaven. He returns to Earth as a spirit. With the help of two other lost souls—lovable pitbull Tuck and surly housecat Patsy—he is determined to find his boy and to save him.

Even if it costs him paradise. Even if he loses his eternal soul.

Because it's what a good dog would do. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Everyone who wishes upon a star, or a candle, or a penny thrown into a fountain knows that you’re not allowed to tell anyone what you’ve wished for. But even so, there is someone out there who hears it. 

In a magical land called the Haven lives a young fairy named Ophelia Delphinium Fidgets. Ophela is no ordinary fairy—she is a Granter: one of the select fairies whose job it is to venture out into the world and grant the wishes of unsuspecting humans every day.

It’s the work of the Granters that generates the magic that allows the fairies to do what they do, and to keep the Haven hidden and safe. But with worldwide magic levels at an all-time low, this is not as easy as it sounds. On a typical day, only a small fraction of the millions of potential wishes gets granted.

Today, however, is anything but typical. Because today, Ophelia is going to get her very first wish-granting assignment.

And she’s about to discover that figuring out how to truly give someone what they want takes much more than a handful of fairy dust. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Twenty years ago, a door opened between the world of humans and the Netherwhere, allowing all kinds of otherworldly creatures entry. Some, like the kelpies and fairies, who like to bite, are best avoided. But the gargoyles are wise and wonderful, and show a special affection for humans.

Vicky has grown up under the watchful eye of a gargoyle named Rupert, and excels at sword-fighting and magic. But there's so much she doesn't know—like why her mother, once one of the queen's elite Ravens, keeps Vicky hidden away and won't let Vicky train at the elite Corvus school where girls with her gifts perfect their skills. But when a horrific tragedy occurs, Vicky knows it's finally time to use her gifts, and that the only place she should be to avenge the crime against her family is at Corvus. There she bands together with a former street thief and an alchemy student to figure out whom they can trust in a place that's rife with intrigue and secrets. 

And all the while, the gargoyles watch and nudge. Time's not linear to them, so they know change comes in ripples. With their steadying influence, Vicky and her friends just might be the generation to expose the court's secrets and ensure a better future for both worlds. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

Come now or come never! 

The invitation to the Gee Museum was delivered by bees. 

It wasn't addressed to anyone, but Ben knows that it was meant for just him. Why else would the images on the card stir up memories of his father, lost long ago at sea? When Ben makes his way to the museum, he finds a collection of curious talking animals who have been awaiting his arrival, determined that he is the only one that can save the place. But Ben will have to outwit a devious rival before the bulldozer shows up to destroy the museum—and along with it, the answers about his father that Ben has been searching for his whole life. 

A peculiar world of hidden mysteries and dangerous wild magic awaits you... Welcome to the Gee Museum—come inside! 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Once upon a time there was a tiny kingdom called Cornucopia, as rich in happiness as it was in gold, and famous for its food. From the delicate cream cheeses of Kurdsburg to the Hopes-of-Heaven pastries of Chouxville, each was so delicious that people wept with joy as they ate them.

But even in this happy kingdom, a monster lurks. Legend tells of a fearsome creature living far to the north in the Marshlands... the Ickabog. Some say it breathes fire, spits poison, and roars through the mist as it carries off wayward sheep and children alike. Some say it's just a myth...

And when that myth takes on a life of its own, casting a shadow over the kingdom, two children—best friends Bert and Daisy—embark on a great adventure to untangle the truth and find out where the real monster lies, bringing hope and happiness to Cornucopia once more.

Features full-colour illustrations by the young winners of The Ickabog competition. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

Igraine dreams of becoming a famous knight just like her great grandfather, but the truth is, life at the family castle is rather boring. Until the nephew of the baroness-next-door shows up. He's got a dastardly plan to capture the castle and claim as his own the wonderful singing spell books that belong to Igraine's magician parents. To make matters worse, at the very moment of the siege, her mom and dad botch a spell, turning themselves into pigs! Aided by a Gentle Giant and a Sorrowful Knight, it's up to Igraine to be brave and save the day-and the books! 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

When Alice is suddenly bundled off to her estranged grandmother Nell’s house, there’s nothing good about it, except the beautiful Darkling Wood at the end of the garden—but Nell wants to have it cut down. Alice feels at home there, at peace. She even finds a friend, a girl named Flo. But Flo doesn’t go to the local school, and no one in town has heard of her. When Flo shows Alice the surprising secrets of Darkling Wood, Alice starts to wonder: What is real? And can she find out in time to save the wood from destruction? 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

The Rylance family is stuck. Dad's got writer's block. Ethan promised to illustrate a group project at school—even though he can't draw. Sarah's still pining for a puppy. And they all miss Mom. So much more than they can say.

Enter Inkling. Inkling begins life in Mr. Rylance's sketchbook. But one night the ink of his drawings runs together—and then leaps off the page! This small burst of creativity is about to change everything.

Ethan finds him first. Inkling has absorbed a couple chapters of his math book—not good—and the story he's supposed to be illustrating for school—also not good. But Inkling's also started drawing the pictures to go with the story—which is amazing! It's just the help Ethan was looking for! Inkling helps the rest of the family too—for Sarah he's a puppy. And for Dad he's a spark of ideas for a new graphic novel. It's exactly what they all want.

It's not until Inkling goes missing that this family has to face the larger questions of what they—and Inkling—truly need.

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

What if your favorite characters came to life? Billy’s spending the summer in a lakeside cabin that belongs to the mysterious Dr. Libris. But something strange is going on. Besides the security cameras everywhere, there’s Dr. Libris’s private bookcase. Whenever Billy opens the books inside, he can hear sounds coming from the island in the middle of the lake. The clash of swords. The twang of arrows. Sometimes he can even feel the ground shaking. It’s almost as if the stories he’s reading are coming to life! But that’s impossible... isn’t it? 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

After James Henry Trotter's parents are tragically eaten by a rhinoceros, he goes to live with his two horrible aunts, Spiker and Sponge. Life there is no fun, until James accidentally drops some magic crystals by the old peach tree and strange things start to happen. The peach at the top of the tree begins to grow, and before long it's as big as a house. Inside, James meets a bunch of oversized friends—Grasshopper, Centipede, Ladybug, and more. With a snip of the stem, the peach starts rolling away, and the great adventure begins! 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

The Town of Journey's End may not literally by the end of the world, but it sure feels like it to Nolie Stanhope. She does not have high expectations for her summer with her scientist father in the tiny Scottish village—until she finds a friend: native Journey's Ender Bel McKissick. 

While Nolie's father came to Journey's End to study the Boundary, a mysterious fog bank offshore, Bel's family can't afford to consider a threat. Their livelihood depend on the tourists drawn to the spooky legends surrounding it. Still, whether you believe in magic or science, going into the Boundary means you'll never come back...

Unless you do. Albert MacLeish, a boy who vanished into the Boundary in 1918, suddenly returns without having aged a day and with no memory of the past hundred years. Then the Boundary starts creeping closer to the town, threatening to consume everyone within. 

As Nolie's father urges the villagers to evacuate, Bel's parents lead the charge to stay in Journey's End. Meanwhile, Albert and the girls look for ways to stop the encroaching Boundary—and that's when they discover an ancient Scottish spell that requires magic, a quest... and a sacrifice. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Grisha is a dragon in a world that's forgotten how to see him. Maggie is a unusual child who thinks she's perfectly ordinary. They're an unlikely duo—but magic, like friendship, is funny. Sometimes it chooses those who might not look so likely. And magic has chosen Grisha and Maggie to solve the darkest mystery in Vienna. Decades ago, when World War II broke out, someone decided that there were too many dragons for all of them to be free. As they investigate, Grisha and Maggie ask the question everyone's forgotten: Where have the missing dragons gone? And is there a way to save them? At once richly magical and tragically historical, The Language of Spells is a novel full of adventure about remembering old stories, forging new ones, and the transformative power of friendship. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

What goes bump in the night? If you're lucky I do. 

Penhallow is the last of his kind. The stone gargoyle--he'd prefer you call him a grotesque--fearlessly protects his Boston building from the spirits who haunt the night. But even he is outmatched when Hetty, his newest ward, nearly falls victim to the Boneless King, the ruler of the underworld.

Then there's Viola, the mysterious girl who keeps turning up at the most unlikely times. In a world where nightmares come to life, Viola could be just the ally Penhallow needs. But can he trust her when every shadow hides another secret? Can he afford not to? 

Award-winning author Paul Durham delivers a twisted tale about a lonely gargoyle who isn't alone at all. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

When Gran and his family move to Carousel, he has no idea that the town is built atop a secret. Little does he suspect, as he walks his sister to school or casually eats a banana, that mysterious forces lurk mere inches beneath his feet, tearing up the earth like mini-hurricanes and causing the town to slowly but surely sink.

When Gran's friend, the difficult-to-impress Catalina Catalan, presses a silver handle into a hillside and opens a doorway to underground, he knows that she is extraordinary and brave, and that he will have no choice but to follow wherever she leads. With luck on their side, and some discarded hockey sticks for good measure, Gran and Catalina might just find a way to lift their town—and the known world—out of danger.

In The Lifters, critically acclaimed author Dave Eggers establishes himself as a storyteller who can entertain and inspire readers of any age. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

A pilot stranded in the desert awakes one morning to see, standing before him, the most extraordinary little fellow. "Please," asks the stranger, "draw me a sheep." And the pilot realizes that when life's events are too difficult to understand, there is no choice but to succumb to their mysteries. He pulls out pencil and paper... And thus begins this wise and enchanting fable that, in teaching the secret of what is really important in life, has changed forever the world for its readers.

Few stories are as widely read and as universally cherished by children and adults alike as The Little Prince. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

When orphaned young Maria Merryweather arrives at Moonacre Manor, she feels as if she's entered Paradise. Her new guardian, her uncle Sir Benjamin, is kind and funny; the Manor itself feels like home right away; and every person and animal she meets is like an old friend. But there is something incredibly sad beneath all of this beauty and comfort—a tragedy that happened years ago, shadowing Moonacre Manor and the town around it—and Maria is determined to learn about it, change it, and give her own life story a happy ending. But what can one solitary girl do? 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

To the Gregg family, hunting is just plain fun. To the girl who lives next door, it's just plain horrible. She tries to be polite. She tries to talk them out of it, but the Greggs only laugh at her. Then one day the Greggs go too far, and the little girl turns her Magic Finger on them. When she's very, very angry, the little girl's Magic Finger takes over. She really can’t control it, and now it's turned the Greggs into birds! Before they know it, the Greggs are living in a nest, and that's just the beginning of their problems...

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Matilda is a sweet, exceptional young girl, but her parents think she's just a nuisance. She expects school to be different but there she has to face Miss Trunchbull, a kid-hating terror of a headmistress. When Matilda is attacked by the Trunchbull she suddenly discovers she has a remarkable power with which to fight back. It'll take a superhuman genius to give Miss Trunchbull what she deserves and Matilda may be just the one to do it! 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

Fovea Munson is nobody's Igor. True, her parents own a cadaver lab where they perform surgeries on dead bodies. And yes, that makes her gross by association, at least according to everyone in seventh grade. And sure, Fovea's stuck working at the lab now that her summer camp plans have fallen through. But she is by no means Dr. Frankenstein's snuffling assistant!

That is, until three disembodied heads, left to thaw in the wet lab, start talking. To her. Out loud.

What seems like a nightmare, or bizarre hallucination, is not. Fovea is somebody's Igor, all right. Three somebodies, actually. And they need a favor. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Enter a world where magic bubbles just below the surface...

When Jack is sent to Hazelwood, Iowa, to live with his strange aunt and uncle, he expects a summer of boredom. Little does he know that the people of Hazelwood have been waiting for him for quite a long time. When he arrives, he begins to make actual friends for the first time in his life-but the town bully beats him up and the richest man in town begins to plot Jack's imminent, and hopefully painful, demise. It's up to Jack to figure out why suddenly everyone cares so much about him. Back home he was practically... invisible.

The Mostly True Story of Jack is a stunning debut novel about things broken, things put back together, and finding a place to belong. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Barry Wolverton's masterful middle-grade debut, Neversink, is an epic tale of some very un-epic birds, a fast-paced and funny story of survival, friendship, and fish, in the vein of Watership Down and Kathi Appelt's The Underneath.

Along the Arctic Circle lies a small island called Neversink, home to a colony of odd-looking seabirds called auks, including one Lockley J. Puffin. With their oceanfront views and plentiful supply of fish, the auks have few concerns—few, save for Lockley's two best friends, Egbert and Ruby, a know-it-all walrus and a sharp-tongued hummingbird.

But all of this is about to change. Rozbell, the newly crowned king of the Owl Parliament, has long had his scheming eyes on the small colony to the north. Now Neversink's independence hangs in the balance. An insurgence of owls will inevitably destroy life as the auks know it—unless Lockley can do something about it.

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

A silly story featuring a puffin, a walrus, and a hummingbird as they fight to reclaim their homeland from the nefarious owls that are holding it hostage. 

Lockley J. Puffin has a pretty simple life, but he loves it dearly. He has a loving wife, he's about to become a father, and his best friends are eccentric, but he wouldn't trade them for the world. But one day, peace on the island of Neversink is shattered when the new king of the Owl Parliament decides to take matters into his own hands. Neversink is an independent colony of the Owl kingdom, but it's about to become a lot less independent under the rule of Rozbell (who has a bit of a Napoleon complex). Now, it is up to Lockley and his best friends, Egbert the walrus and Ruby the hummingbird to save Never sink before the owls take everything that they love from them. 

My sister came across this book at the library and when she showed it to me, I just couldn't get over how cute it looked. However, many books featuring anthropomorphic animals can get really cringey quite quickly so I was skeptical about how good it was actually going to be. I am glad to report that I had a silly good time reading this book today. It reads a bit like a Disney/Pixar movie with quirky characters, a niche sense of humor, and an abundance of heartwarming themes buried beneath a cute concept. Also, it kinda reflects the American Revolutionary war, which I was not expecting. I've never consumed the "Warrior" series or "The Guardians of the Ga'hoole" series, but I'm sure that the vibes are pretty similar with the whole animals at war plot. 

One of my favorite things about this book has to be the weird forms of humor. I don't why, but I just found all the cheesy remarks to be so comical, so this book landed really well for me today. This book breaks the fourth wall a bit (which I almost always think is fun, not annoying) and it also is written in a way that the narrator took an ancient story written by a walrus and made it palatable for kids in our modern era. Both of these things made for a unique narrative experience that had be smiling at the narrator's insights. Also, there are moments that are just so corny (shout out to the red herring moment!), but I found them to be so much fun to read nonetheless. 

Egbert the walrus was definitely my favorite character. Yes, he is totally a snobby scholarly walrus who never shuts up, but I just found his character so endearing despite this. And the lengths he is willing to go to be there for his best pal Lockley is so sweet, and I found myself falling in love with his entire vibe as the story progressed. 

It most definitely was not on my bucket list to read a story about arctic animals facing their prejudices and racist ideals as they fought for their independence and peace, but here I am anyway. It most definitely was based somewhat on the American Revolution with the puffins being unfairly taxed by the owls (taxation without representation is not okay, people). Also, it also kinda gave me Zootopia vibes with many of the animal species thinking they are superior to the others and avoiding those that their species have notoriously had bad blood with. I was quite alarmed when the animals would be casually talking to one another and all of the sudden one of them would eat the other one. I get that's how nature works, but this book is so light and fluffy I wasn't ready for various events like that to go down. 

Overall, "Neversink" was a cute and fluffy read that I flew through in a couple of sittings the same day. The humor was on point, the characters were mostly likable, and the found family vibes are fun. I appreciate the fact that there was a main character who was married and about to become a father in a middle grade book; that is truly something you don't encounter every day. I would definitely recommend this one for young readers who have enjoyed books about animals at war in the past or are looking for a fun book that features some pretty cool animals. 

Back of Book: 

What would happen to a fairy if she lost her wings and could no longer fly? Flory, a young night fairy no taller than an acorn and still becoming accustomed to her wings—wings as beautiful as those of a luna moth—is about to find out. What she discovers is that the world is very big and very dangerous. But Flory is fierce and willing to do whatever it takes to survive. If that means telling others what to do—like Skuggle, a squirrel ruled by his stomach—so be it. Not every creature, however, is as willing to bend to Flory’s demands. Newbery Medal winner Laura Amy Schlitz and world-renowned illustrator and miniaturist Angela Barrett venture into the realm of the illustrated classic—a classic entirely and exquisitely of their making, and a magnificent adventure. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Bestselling author Alice Hoffman’s bewitching Nightbird is perfect for ages 10-13: love and friendship empower a lonely girl to embrace her uniqueness and discover her strengths.  

Twig lives in Sidwell, where people whisper that fairy tales are real. After all, her town is rumored to hide a monster. And two hundred years ago, a witch placed a curse on Twig’s family that was meant to last forever. But this summer, everything will change when the red moon rises. It’s time to break the spell.

 Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

In this inventive, short, yet perfectly formed novel inspired by traditional Norse mythology, Neil Gaiman takes readers on a wild and magical trip to the land of giants and gods and back. 

In a village in ancient Norway lives a boy named Odd, and he's had some very bad luck: His father perished in a Viking expedition; a tree fell on and shattered his leg; the endless freezing winter is making villagers dangerously grumpy.

Out in the forest Odd encounters a bear, a fox, and an eagle—three creatures with a strange story to tell.

Now Odd is forced on a stranger journey than he had imagined—a journey to save Asgard, city of the gods, from the Frost Giants who have invaded it.

It's going to take a very special kind of twelve-year-old boy to outwit the Frost Giants, restore peace to the city of gods, and end the long winter.

Someone cheerful and infuriating and clever...

Someone just like Odd . 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

Maybe, the Ogress thought, this was the place where she could belong. 

Stone-in-the-Glen, once a lovely town, has fallen on hard times. Fires, floods, and other calamities that have caused people to lose their library, their school, their park, and even their neigborliness. The people have put there faith in the Mayor, a dazzling fellow who promises he alone can help. After all, he is a famous dragon slayer. (At least, no one has seen a dragon in his prescence.) Only the clever children of the Orphan House and the kindly Ogress at the edge of town can see how dire the town's problems are. 

Then one day a child goes missing from the Orphan House. At the Mayor's suggestion, all eyes turn to the Ogress. The orphans know this can't be: the Ogress along with a flock of excellent crows, secretly delivers gifts to the people of Stone-in-the-Glen. 

But how can the orphans tell the story of the Ogress's goodness to people who refuse to listen? And how can they make their deluded neighbors see the real villain in their midst? 

From Newberry medalist Kelly Barnhill comes a new story about the power of generosity and love—and what happens to a community when they disappear, 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟

I have read most of Kelly Barnhill's books and enjoyed them. But I'm starting to think that I have outgrown them. "The Ogress and the Orphans" was a major miss for me. There was a few concepts that I thought were interesting, but overall, I was just bored. I give this book kudos for how unique the world's dragons were.

At the beginning, I really enjoyed the story-telly aspect of the novel. But I can say the mystery narrator felt rather obvious to me. And I feel that the messages could have been delivered a bit better, but that's just my opinion.

To reiterate, I was just bored, though.

Back of Book: 

On the island, everything is perfect. The sun rises in a sky filled with dancing shapes; the wind, water, and trees shelter and protect those who live there; when the nine children go to sleep in their cabins, it is with full stomachs and joy in their hearts. And only one thing ever changes: on that day, each year, when a boat appears from the mist upon the ocean carrying one young child to join them—and taking the eldest one away, never to be seen again.

Today’s Changing is no different. The boat arrives, taking away Jinny’s best friend, Deen, replacing him with a new little girl named Ess, and leaving Jinny as the new Elder. Jinny knows her responsibility now—to teach Ess everything she needs to know about the island, to keep things as they’ve always been. But will she be ready for the inevitable day when the boat will come back—and take her away forever from the only home she’s known? 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review:  🌟🌟🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

A prodigal inventor flees his home to find his destiny.

In the humdrum town of Moormouth, Walter Mortinson’s unusual inventions cause nothing but trouble. After one of his contraptions throws the town into chaos, Walter’s mother demands he cut the nonsense and join the family mortuary business.

Far off on Flaster Isle, famed inventor Horace Flasterborn plans to take Walter under his wing, just as he did Walter’s genius father decades ago. When a letter arrives by unusual means offering Walter an apprenticeship, it isn’t long before Walter decides to flee Moormouth to achieve his destiny.

Walter runs away in the family hearse along with Cordelia, the moody girl next door with one eye and plenty of secrets. Together they journey through a strange landscape of fish-people, giantess miners, and hypnotized honeybees in an adventure that will not only reveal the truth about Walter’s past, but direct his future. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

Snow and Rose didn't know they were in a fairy tale. People never do...

Once, they lived in a big house with spectacular gardens and an army of servants.

Once, they had a father and mother who loved them more than the sun and moon.

But that was before their father disappeared into the woods and their mother disappeared into sorrow.

This is the story of two sisters and the enchanted woods that have been waiting for them to break a set of terrible spells.

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

On the brink of her Quinceañera, and her official coronation, Solimar visits the oyamel forest to sit among the monarch butterflies. There, the sun pierces through a sword-shaped crevice in a boulder, which shines on her and sends the butterflies humming and swirling around her.

After the magical frenzy, she realizes she's been given a gift—and a burden: she can predict the near future! She has also become a protector of the young and weak butterflies. This alone would be a huge responsibility, but tragedy strikes when a neighboring king invades while her father and brother and many others are away. The remaining villagers are taken hostage—all except Solimar.

Can this princess-to-be save her family, the kingdom, and the future of the monarch butterflies from a greedy and dangerous king? 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Twelve-year-old Merryn lives with her fisherman father in a little cottage by the sea. Each day, her father braves the tumultuous waves and returns home in time for dinner. One stormy evening, he doesn’t come back. Merryn has a vision that he’s been dragged underwater by a terrifying sea creature, and he needs her help. Determined to rescue him, Merryn builds a tiny submarine and embarks on a journey through the undersea worlds she’s only heard about in her father’s lullabies. As she faces the dangers and wonders of the world below the waves, she realizes that her father’s stories were all real. 

Readers can also experience Merryn’s daring journey firsthand in the new Song of the Deep video game from acclaimed developer Insomniac Games. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟

Back of Book:

When a shy girl and her dragon-like companion discover their country’s idyllic weather comes at a steep—and secret—cost, they recruit fellow students to defy authority and attempt to spread the truth.

Storm beasts and their guardians create perfect weather every day, and Mina longs for a storm beast of her own. But when the gentle girl bonds with a lightning beast—a creature of fire and chaos—everyone’s certain it’s a mistake. Everyone but Mina and the beast himself, Pixit. Quickly enrolled in lightning school, Mina struggles to master a guardian’s skills, and she discovers that her country's weather comes at a devastating cost—a cost powerful people wish to hide. Mina’s never been the type to speak out, but someone has to tell the truth, and, with Pixit’s help, she resolves to find a way to be heard. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

For nearly a century, Victorian London relied on "climbing boys"—orphans owned by chimney sweeps--to clean flues and protect homes from fire. The work was hard, thankless and brutally dangerous. Eleven-year-old Nan Sparrow is quite possibly the best climber who ever lived—and a girl. With her wits and will, she's managed to beat the deadly odds time and time again.

But when Nan gets stuck in a deadly chimney fire, she fears her time has come. Instead, she wakes to find herself in an abandoned attic. And she is not alone. Huddled in the corner is a mysterious creature—a golem—made from ash and coal. This is the creature that saved her from the fire.

Sweep is the story of a girl and her monster. Together, these two outcasts carve out a life together—saving one another in the process. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple, impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle, and, ultimately, into each other's lives. What happens then? As Kate DiCamillo would say: Reader, it is your destiny to find out.

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Two orphaned brothers, Prosper and Bo, have run away to Venice, where crumbling canals and misty alleyways shelter a secret community of street urchins. Leader of this motley crew of lost children is a clever, charming boy with a dark history of his own: He calls himself the Thief Lord.

Propser and Bo relish their new "family" and life of petty crime. But their cruel aunt and a bumbling detective are on their trail. And posing an even greater threat to the boys' freedom is something from a forgotten past: a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Pip lives on his wits in the city of Clarel. When he pickpockets the wrong man, he finds himself in possession of a strange object—a heart in a silver casket. What’s more, the heart seems to be trying to communicate with Pip, and the royal officials who lost it will stop at nothing to get it back.

Pip has unwittingly broken an ancient spell, and his theft will have far-reaching consequences for the whole city. As the ancient war between the Spectres and witches of Clarel reignites, the heart prepares to seek revenge for all it has suffered...

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟

Back of Book: 

Raccoon brothers Bingo and J’miah are the newest recruits of the Official Sugar Man Swamp Scouts. The opportunity to serve the Sugar Man—the massive creature who delights in delicious sugar cane and magnanimously rules over the swamp—is an honor, and also a big responsibility, since the rest of the swamp critters rely heavily on the intel of these hardworking Scouts.

Twelve-year-old Chap Brayburn is not a member of any such organization. But he loves the swamp something fierce, and he’ll do anything to help protect it.

And help is surely needed, because world-class alligator wrestler Jaeger Stitch wants to turn Sugar Man swamp into an Alligator World Wrestling Arena and Theme Park, and the troubles don’t end there. There is also a gang of wild feral hogs on the march, headed straight toward them all.

The Scouts are ready. All they have to do is wake up the Sugar Man. Problem is, no one’s been able to wake that fellow up in a decade or four…

Newbery Honoree and Kathi Appelt’s story of care and conservation has received five starred reviews, was selected as a National Book Award finalist, and is funny as all get out and ripe for reading aloud. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

What if you could live forever? 

Is eternal life a blessing or a curse? That is what young Winnie Foster must decide when she discovers a spring on her family's property whose waters grant immortality. Members of the Tuck family, having drunk from the spring, tell their experiences watching life go by and never growing older. But then Winnie must choose whether or not to keep the Tucks' secret—and whether or not to join them on their never-ending journey. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

All Aran has ever known is the sea. The spray of the waves. The swirl of the deep currents. Feasts of salmon and mussels and crabs. 

Aran is a selkie and lives on the open sea with his clan. But he has never quite belonged. He was born without a selkie skin, and he's stuck in human form, never able to transform into a sleek, powerful seal the way his family does. Then Aran discovers that his clan has been keeping a secret from him. And the secret means that Aran may never get his pelt. That he is a danger to the entire clan. 

That maybe he doesn't even belong to the sea at all. 

So Aran gets his first taste of life on land and all the wonders it holds: trees and birds' nests and cookies and most surprising of all, friends. 

Yet the land is dangerous, too. When the unimaginable happens, Aran will be forced to choose: Will he fight for his place on land, or listen to the call of the sea? 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Mr. and Mrs. Twit are the smelliest, nastiest, ugliest people in the world. They hate everything—except playing mean jokes on each other, catching innocent birds to put in their Bird Pies, and making their caged monkeys, the Muggle-Wumps, stand on their heads all day. But the Muggle-Wumps have had enough. They don't just want out, they want revenge. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

When eight-year-old Kirstie and her family go beachcombing near their home in Scotland, she finds something that looks like a giant fish egg, which is just too interesting to leave on the beach. So she brings it home and sneaks it into the bathtub overnight. The next morning, she is surprised to find that the egg has hatched, but the newborn is unlike anything anyone has seen before. With its long neck, head like a horse, skin like a toad's, flippers like a turtle, and a tail like a crocodile, her brother Angus declares it a monster. Grandfather knows better and tells them it's a kelpie, or what he calls a water horse. The family keeps the baby and names it Crusoe. But as Crusoe grows, he becomes a bigger and bigger problem, literally. They are forced to find him a new home, away from people and boats. They settle on a beautiful Loch, now known as Loch Ness. From the author of beloved Babe, comes the soon-to-be-classic story of how, thanks to the love and kindness of the human family that raises him, the Loch Ness Monster found his home. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟 

Back of Book: 

A fun, funny ghost story about a nobody kid who becomes a somebody while helping a ghost right a wrong from the past.

Cooper Vega's family moves so often that he's practically invisible at any school he attends. Now they've relocated to the town of Stratford—where nobody even makes an effort to learn Cooper's name. To them, he's just... whatshisface.

Cooper's parents feel bad about moving him around so much, so they get him a fancy new phone. Almost immediately, it starts to malfunction. First there's a buzzing. Then there's a weird glare on the screen. Then that glare starts to take on the form of... a person?

It's not just any person trapped inside Cooper's phone. It's a boy named Roderick, who says he lived in the time of William Shakespeare—and had a very tangled history with the famous playwright. Cooper thinks his phone has gone haywire, but there's nothing he can do to get rid of Roderick.

Then, even stranger, Roderick starts helping him. Even though his 17th-century advice isn't always the best for a 21st century middle school.

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Some stories refuse to stay bottled up...

When Lily and her family move in with her sick grandmother, a magical tiger straight out of her halmoni's Korean folktales arrives, prompting Lily to unravel a secret family history. Long, long ago, Halmoni stole something from the tigers. Now, the tigers want it back. And when one of those tigers offers Lily a deal—return what Halmoni stole in exchange for Halmoni's health—Lily is tempted to accept. But deals with tigers are never what they seem!

 With the help of her sister and her new friend Ricky, Lily must find her voice... and the courage to face a tiger.

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

One of the best-known classics of children's literature, a timeless masterpiece and a vital portrait of an age, The Wind in the Willows began originally in Kenneth Grahame's letters to his young son, where he first recounted the adventures of Rat and Badger, of Mole and Toad—all narrated in virtuoso language ranging from lively parody to elaborate fin-de-siècle mysticism. Yet for a children's book, it is concerned almost exclusively with adult fear of radical changes in political, social, and economic power.

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

There's nothing wrong with Wilma Sturtz. She's perfectly nice. But nobody cares about nice at Claverford, her middle school. Wilma is left out, forgotten, ignored—until she meets an extraordinary old lady who grants a wish: for Wilma to be the most popular kid in school. Presto! Everything changes. Now Wilma has more best friends than she can keep track of and forty dates to the Graduation Night Dance; and someone is writing her love poetry. What more could she want? Nothing! But will it last? How can Wilma make sure she is never unpopular again?

From Gail Carson Levine, author of the Newbery Honor book Ella Enchanted, this modern-day fairy tale shows a very real girl in a very unusual predicament, and along the way it reveals some painful truths about whether or not we really want to be liked for who we are. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review:  🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

When Ned and his identical twin brother tumble from their raft into a raging river, only Ned survives. Villagers are convinced the wrong boy lived. Across the forest that borders Ned’s village, Áine, the daughter of the Bandit King, is haunted by her mother’s last words: “The wrong boy will save your life, and you will save his.” When the Bandit King comes to steal the magic Ned’s mother, a witch, is meant to protect, Áine and Ned meet. Can they trust each other long enough to cross a dangerous enchanted forest and stop the war about to boil over between their two kingdoms? 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

This is not a fairy tale. This is about real witches.

Grandmamma loves to tell about witches. Real witches are the most dangerous of all living creatures on earth. There's nothing they hate so much as children, and they work all kinds of terrifying spells to get rid of them. Her grandson listens closely to Grandmamma's stories—but nothing can prepare him for the day he comes face-to-face with The Grand High Witch herself! 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Back of Book: 

Meet the boy who can talk to animals and the man who can see with his eyes closed. And find out about the treasure buried deep underground. A cleaver mix of fact and fiction, this collection also includes how master storyteller Roald Dahl became a writer. With Roald Dahl, you can never be sure where reality ends and fantasy begins. 

Book Number: Stand Alone 

Genre: Middle Grade | Fantasy 

Review:🌟🌟🌟🌟