Small Spaces (Small Spaces #1) by Katherine Arden | “At nightfall they’ll come for the rest of you.”

I became a big fan of Katherine Arden’s work after falling in love with the Winternight Trilogy, especially with the first installment «The Bear and the Nightingale». She released her first middle-grade book – «Small Spaces» in 2018 and I’ve been trying to get my hands on it ever since. 

What I didn’t know going into this book, but was pleasantly surprised by, was that this is going to be a four-book series! With each book representing one season. «Small Spaces» focuses on autumn, it’s set in October and is filled with scarecrows. I assure you, you won’t look the same at scarecrows after reading this.

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The Castle of Tangled Magic by Sophie Anderson | Magic, adventure & Russian folklore!

What an interesting month! It’s the 19th of September as I’m writing this review and only yesterday I finished my second book of this month. Hooray! 🤯 That’s why I love adding books to Goodreads as soon as I start reading them so I can see for myself how long it takes me to finish them. And oh my, I started «The Castle of Tangled Magic» on the 8th! 

Ten days to finish a middle-grade book that could be read in a couple of hours!

I won’t be blaming this all on the book, as September has been very busy and I just didn’t read for the most part of it. But at the same time, if the book was a little bit more engaging, I wonder if I would have made the time for it. Hm…

The Ten Riddles of Eartha Quicksmith by Loris Owen | A Scientific magical school & tons of adventures!

I LOVE MIDDLE GRADE! 😀 Every single time I pick up a middle-grade book, it makes me feel so content, happy, cozy. Basically, everything you want to feel while reading a good book. Middle-grade is the only genre that will ALWAYS accomplish that for me.

I’ve been checking my excel spreadsheet recently (because Goodreads is not enough) and I noticed that this year I read at least one MG book every month. Seeing this makes me very happy. As one of my goals, every single year is to read for fun. With constant blog posts, ARCs, reviews, new releases, and the need to stay relevant, I tend to forget to pick up books outside of popular YA or Adult books.

The Unadoptables by Hanna Tooke | All elements I love about middle-grade in one book!

I’m obsessed with «The Unadoptables» by Hanna Tooke! It’s one of the best middle-grade books I’ve read in a long time. This book had it all – adventure, friendship, family, high stakes, endearing main characters, and incredible story-telling. 

Currently, it’s not marked as part of a series on Goodreads, but I would love to read more about the main group of friends. I definitely can see the potential for at least 4 more books. This one was focused on Milou’s story, but we still have Lotta, Egg, Fenna, and Sem’s backgrounds to discover.

Wonderscape by Jennifer Bell | “Travel with wonder!”

The main reason why I love watching booktube videos so much is the opportunity to discover new amazing books! «Wonderscape» by Jennifer Bell is a new middle-grade sci-fi / fantasy that I first heard about from Jade @Jadeyraereads, and I was so excited to find it on NetGalley and also getting my request approved!

Currently, on Goodreads, this is not listed as part of a series, but I’d love to read more about Arthur, Ren, and Cecily, even their school and normal life shenanigans. I just miss them and want more of these characters, and hopefully more Wonderscape worlds (?!).

The Fantastical Exploits of Gwendolyn Gray (The Chronicles of Gwendolyn Gray, #2) by B.A. Williamson | Middle Grade books are the answer to the reading slump!

Tell me honestly, do you love reading Middle Grade? I’ve been escaping into these whimsical worlds since March and loving every single experience! No other genre can make me feel so warm and fuzzy inside. So, of course, I had to jump on the chance of reading the sequel in the middle-grade series by B.A. Williamson. 

The first book, «The Marvelous Adventures of Gwendolyn Gray» came out in 2018 and I had a lot of fun trying to come up with adjectives to describe Gwendolyn that would start with the first letters of rainbow colors. I know! I have the craziest ideas sometimes! 😀

Since Gwendolyn lives in a Gray world that has no colors, besides her wonderful red hair, I thought it would be appropriate to bring some color in her life that way.

Keeper of the Lost Cities (Keeper of the Lost Cities, #1) by Shannon Messenger | I’m hooked and plan to binge-read this series!

I need to thank Regan from PeruseProject for voraciously reading this fantasy series last year, always so excited about the next installment! Her reading vlogs made me want to purchase the entire box set for myself, and that’s when I spotted the ARC of the first book on NetGalley! 

Simon & Schuster Children’s UK are re-publishing this wonderful middle-grade / YA series, and I’m so happy that I got approved and had a chance to try the first book.I instantly became addicted to the characters and already got myself a couple of next books in this series.

Houdini’s Curse (The Phantom Files #2) by William B. Wolfe

Last year, I was lucky enough to read William B. Wolfe new book – «Twain’s Treasure», absolutely loved it and hoped that there will be more installments in this children’s series!

Before and during my teenage years, I used to be obsessed with children’s series, especially something like Nancy Drew. The Phantom Files brought back that nostalgia. So you can imagine my excitement when I spotted book number two on NetGalley, and was once again very lucky to get approved for this ARC. 

Saving Fable by Scott Reintgen | Learn how to be the best book character in Protagonist Preparatory school!

I don’t think I will ever fall out of love with middle-grade books. There is something so special about the friendship, the simplicity of good vs evil and the most exciting adventures and quests. 

Ever since I read «Nyxia» by Scott Reintgen two years ago, I fell in love with his engaging writing style, the intricate worlds that he creates and also his characters. I’ve mentioned before how much I love Scott Reintgen’s competitions and now, after reading «Saving Fable», I can also say how much I love his adventures.

Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows by J.M. Bergen

«Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows» is the first book in the magical middle-grade series ( trilogy?), perfect for the fans of “the chosen one” tropes, adventures and magic! 

Middle-grade books will always have a special place in my reader’s heart. The middle-grade books made me fall in love with reading, they made me stay up late with a torch under the blanket finishing “just one more chapter” and hoping that my parents wouldn’t notice the light coming from beneath my door.

Adventure, magic, and most importantly friendship in my favorite books made me the avid reader I am today.

Twain’s Treasure: The Phantom Files, Book 1 by William B. Wolfe | A promising beginning to a new Children’s Fiction collection!

When I was little, I constantly asked my parents to buy me more books. I think it was the only thing I ever asked for. My favorite book series back then was something similar to Nancy Drew – crime, mystery solving stories within a large collection of adventures.

When I picked this book up from NetGalley, I didn’t even realize that it was going to have that same adventurous vibe that I used to love in children books.

The Marvelous Adventures of Gwendolyn Gray by B.A. Williamson | A perfect dystopian tale for a middle-grade audience (and not only!)

Have you ever thought that a middle-grade novel could have the perfect plot of a dystopian world? Neither did I! And I was pleasantly surprised by the world created by B.A. Williamson in this book. If someone decides to make a movie based on this story, I will be the first buying cinema tickets!

Furthermore by Tahereh Mafi | 20 Things you should know before venturing into Furthermore

No matter how inviting magical worlds might be, one should never go unprepared and under-informed into the unknown. Especially when the unknown is a large world filled to the brim with mischief, treachery and magical secrets.

But DO NOT FEAR!

It is my job and duty to prepare curious boys and girls like you to the uncontrollable magic of Furthermore, as it is a far more dangerous place than you might let yourself to believe.

Children’s Graphic Novels | How did children’s books get so sinister?

Happy Monday! Let’s start this week with something a little bit different and take a look at the new children’s fiction. I requested a few graphic novels from NetGalley, because frankly I was interested to see what kind of books kids read nowadays, and decided to combine all three reviews in one post.

The Science of Breakable Things by Tae Keller | The most heart-touching middle grade novel!

What is depression, and how can you explain to your child that her mother is suffering from an illness that even adults sometimes don’t understand?

Natalie is struggling to understand. What happened to her mother that triggered these dark days? Why doesn’t she try better for her, Natalie, to push the darkness away?

Tae Keller’s witty and emotional writing, mixed with a heavy subject, resulted in a perfect book for any ages.