AJ has a big problem a lot of kids go through about the time sixth grade and middle school rolls around. His classmates are getting taller and spreading the news about their big summer adventures. That is, everyone except AJ who spent his summer reading and staying the same size. That doesn’t help to resolve a lingering crush on a girl who pays no attention to him.
His solution is to find out what she likes and become that person. It’s a typical response at that age (Did I actually buy white jeans back in the day?). What makes this graphic novel fun is the girl, Nia Winters, seems to be obsessed with vampires. When the two of them get paired for a project this is AJ’s chance to use eye shadow, plastic fangs, and fake blood to win her over. Turns out she’d rather slay vampires than hook up with them.
The fast paced plot is perfect for Halloween or any any other time of the year. A subtle twist also has a real vampire making a climatic appearance. Hints are tossed in throughout as to who it might be. Other characters make for a diverse group with friends Hunter and Ivy.
Full color spreads are creative and often laugh out loud hilarious. FAKE BLOOD will be one of those books that gets passed around and enjoyed again and again.
RELEASE DATE: 9/4/2018 PAGES: 336
THE OFFICIAL PLOT
In Fake Blood a middle schooler comes head-to-head with his vampire slayer crush in this laugh-out-loud funny graphic novel that’s a perfect coming-of-age story for anyone who’s ever felt too young, too small, or too average. It’s the beginning of the new school year and AJ feels like everyone is changing but him. He hasn’t grown or had any exciting summer adventures like his best friends have. He even has the same crush he’s harbored for years. So AJ decides to take matters into his own hands. But how could a girl like Nia Winters ever like plain vanilla AJ when she only has eyes for vampires? When AJ and Nia are paired up for a group project on Transylvania, it may be AJ’s chance to win over Nia’s affection by dressing up like the vamp of her dreams. And soon enough he’s got more of Nia’s attention than he bargained for when he learns she’s a slayer. Now AJ has to worry about self-preservation while also trying to save everyone he cares about from a real-life threat lurking in the shadows of Spoons Middle School.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Whitney Gardner is an author, illustrator, and coffee addict. Originally from New York, she studied design and worked as an art teacher and school librarian before moving to Victoria, British Columbia, where she lives by the Salish Sea with her husband and two pugs. In the rare moment Whitney isn’t writing or drawing, she’s likely to be reading comics, knitting, or roasting coffee.
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Coming up this Monday is another edition of…
If you would like to join in the MMGM fun, all you have to do is blog about a middle grade book on a Monday (contests, author interviews and whatnot also count–but are most definitely not required) and email me the title of the book you’re featuring and a link to your blog at gpcolo (at) gmail (dot) com
(Make sure you put MMGM or Marvelous Middle Grade Monday in the subject line so it gets sorted accurately–and please don’t forget to say what book you’re featuring) You MUST email me your link by Sunday evening (11 PM Eastern Time) in order to be included in the list of links for the coming Monday.
Thanks for spreading the middle grade love and for being a part of this awesome tradition begun by Shannon Messenger and carried on here at ALWAYS in the MIDDLE! (CLICK HERE FOR PAST MMGM POSTS)
*Please note: these posts are not a reflection of my own opinions on the books featured. Each blogger is responsible for their own MMGM content and I do not pre-screen reviews ahead of time, nor do I control what books they choose. I simply assemble the list based on the links that are emailed to me.
Here are a few news and special feature articles I’ve enjoyed this week:
I was happy to see my CYBILS nomination for Middle Grade Fiction, THE TRUTH AS TOLD BY MASON BUTTLE, was also recognized as a finalist for The National Book Awards. Find all the National Book Finalists here. It’s their 69th Annual Awards!
A big smile this week to all the MG posts. ALWAYS in the MIDDLE has SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT—the first of many reviews I’ll have on a variety of creepy and scary books. Come back for more in the next two weeks. Click the smiley to reach today’s review and be sure to check out all the other sites below.
Joanne Fritz at My Brain on Books is featuring IN YOUR SHOES by Donna Gephart.
Dorine White at The Write Path returns with a review of Rosetown by Cynthia Rylant.
June McCrary Jacobs at ‘Reading, Writing, & Stitch-Metic has a nonfiction history book, ‘The Sinking of the Vasa’— ‘A Shipwreck of Titanic Proportions‘—about a 1628 Swedish ship that sunk on its maiden voyage soon after it launched.
Patricia Tilton at Children’s Books Heal is reviewing Just Under the Clouds by Melissa Sarno, a story about homelessness.
Mark Baker at Carstairs Considers returns to the MMGM parade with a review of A Dastardly Plot by Christopher Healy.
Kara Armstrong at Scribbles of and Aspiring Author also returns with with a review of an upper middle-grade book called Tell Me Three Things, by Julie Buxbaum.
Rosi Hollinbeck has a review & GIVEAWAY of SPEECHLESS. Be sure to also click on her links for writers as they are always very helpful.
The list of returnees isn’t over yet. Violet Tiger at Reading Violet has a review of Resistance by Jennifer A. Nielsen.
Karen Yingling at Ms. Yingling Reads always has an informative MMGM post. Be sure to check out today’s feature and all of her other reviews the past week.
If you would like to join in the MMGM fun and get your own spot in the parade, all you have to do is blog about a middle grade book you love on a Monday (contests, author interviews and whatnot also count–but are most definitely not required) and email me the title of the book you’re featuring and a link to your blog at gpcolo (at) gmail (dot) com
(Make sure you put MMGM or Marvelous Middle Grade Monday in the subject line so it gets sorted accurately–and please don’t forget to say what book you’re featuring)
You MUST email me your link by Sunday evening (11 PM Eastern Time) in order to be included in the list of links for the coming Monday.
Thanks for spreading the middle grade love and for being a part of this awesome tradition begun by Shannon Messenger and carried on here at ALWAYS in the MIDDLE! (CLICK HERE FOR PAST MMGM POSTS)
*Please note: these posts are not a reflection of my own opinions on the books featured. Each blogger is responsible for their own MMGM content and I do not pre-screen reviews ahead of time, nor do I control what books they choose. I simply assemble the list based on the links that are emailed to me.
Me neither, until Harpers 360 suggested this was a must read. A little research led to the reasons this novel published eleven years ago had a less than stellar start in the United States.
Irish Author, Derek Landy, initially landed a three book deal for the series and they were released both in the UK and the US. On this side of the Atlantic, the books received praise but little interest from readers (Just guessing, it might have been the original creepy cover with a skeleton and the ball of fire in his hand. A bit much to give as a gift to your favorite young reader). The series was quietly retired here.
But guess what? The books became wildly popular in the UK, garnering awards and additional books in the series. No less than number twelve in the series will be released in June, 2019!
Harpers 360 made an excellent decision to try this series again in the U.S. It began with the re-release of the first three books last May, books four, five, and six last month, seven, eight, and nine in January 2019, and finally ten through twelve in June, 2019.
I didn’t dare start in the middle of this epic magical series and instead began with volume one pictured here. Same story, and thankfully a different cover, focusing on Stephanie, the spunky protagonist. You don’t even know the shadowy figure in the background is the rather endearing skeleton known as Skulduggery.
The action comes in large doses as a fantasy world right before us is revealed. Stephanie makes the unlikely sidekick to Skulduggery (or vice-versa), though she soon learns why they’ve been thrown together. It’s fast, creepy at times, but what story telling! It will have you on the edge of your seat. If you enjoy a fast paced adventure with some often humorous dialog look no further. I recommend it highly. Even if you aren’t ready for the entire series, the first book wraps up nicely and hints at what is ahead. Even those who don’t like to read might get hooked and that alone is gold.
PUBLICATION DATE: 2008/(2018 Re-released in the U.S.) PAGE COUNT: 361
Stephanie’s uncle Gordon is famous for writing horror stories. But when he dies and leaves her his estate, Stephanie learns that while he may have written horror, it certainly wasn’t fiction. Pursued by evil forces, Stephanie finds help from an unusual source—the wisecracking skeleton of a dead sorcerer.
The two of them soon realize that Gordon knew a lot more than he had ever let on and that his death might not have been so accidental after all. Legend has it that the very first sorcerers used a weapon called the Sceptre of the Ancients to banish and defeat their tyrannical gods. If the Sceptre is real, and if Gordon had it, then it’s up to Stephanie and Skulduggery to find it and make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.
She’s twelve. He’s dead. But together they’re going to save the world.
Hopefully.
FIVE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT:
SKULDUGGERY PLEASANT by Derek Landy
Skulduggery is not a character I expected to like, but his sense of humor and plot dropping hints had me hooked. He foretells what is ahead with lines like “Doors are for people with no imagination.” He’s a walking, talking, good guy skeleton. No typecasting here.
Stephanie is full of brave thoughts and actions. She is just the type of heroine both girls and boys will enjoy.
The dialog among the characters is a fast volley that will have you smiling and rereading many of the exchanges.
What fun the author must have had creating the other character names. China Sorrows, Ghastly Bespoke, and Tanith Low were my favorites.
The new cover. This is Stephanie’s new beginning and she should be front and center
FAVORITE LINES :
She turned. When his hat came off, his hair had come off too. In the confusion all she had seen was a chalk-white scalp, so she turned expecting to see a bald albino maybe. But no. With his sunglasses gone and his scarf hanging down, there was no denying the fact he had no flesh, he had no skin, he had no eyes and he had no face.
All he had was a skull for a head.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Derek Landy is far too modest to talk about any awards or accolades his books may have won. He will not, for instance, mention the fact that his first book, Skulduggery Pleasant, won the Red House Children’s Book Award, or that his second,Playing With Fire, won an Irish Book Award for Children’s Book of the Year, or that his third, The Faceless Ones, is his mother’s personal favourite.
He lives in Ireland with a variety of cats, a German Shepherd, and two geriatric Staffordshire Bull Terriers who keep peeing on his kitchen floor because they think it’s funny.
The fight might be more about who gets to first read this new book from National Geographic Kids. Food industry leader Tanya Steel has put together a five star look at the history of food and also a peek into the future. Fifteen chapters are each centered around a time period. The colorful and in-depth look begins with the prehistoric era and takes you all the way to what imagined life on Mars will be like.
Here are my eight delicious, delectable, and delightfully favorite morsels of what you’ll find in every chapter. It’s a feast fit for young and old.
Each chapter begins with a history of what was happening at the time. It’s not so much about the food, but a look at the major events that impacted life. You’ll get a real sense of how far we have come and how much more work we have to do.
What was it like for a child’s typical day? A Day in the Life breaks it all down from rise and shine to bedtime. Included is how they learned, worked, played, and ate. Read how life was much different during those times. I was fascinated by the Renaissance and World War I to name a few.
Common foods eaten at the time is a list that will have you surprised at some of the commonalities to our food today and at the differences. There’s nothing like a woolly mammoth to get your taste buds going!
Spicing Things Up! and Table Manners are all about how food effected life and how you behaved at mealtime. How times have changed!
A feature called Kitchen Tools gives you a peek at what was used to prepare the food. Images are included and will have you comparing to what we use today. Fun stuff. A cast iron pan goes all the way back to Mongolian times in 1210!
In Menus of the Rich and Famished readers get a taste of what the well-to-do did for meals.
Each chapter is followed by two kid friendly recipes from the period (thirty total). Some are modified to fit today’s healthy lifestyle, but you will want to try them all. I loved the kid comments from teens and tweens who made and tasted the recipes. Grant (age 9) loved the UNCRUEL GRUEL from the Renaissance period, calling it “Amazing! It tastes just like a cinnamon roll.”
A fun multiple choice POPCORNY Quiz completes each chapter. Test your memory on what you’ve read.
For more features on the book and to order visit the Food Fight! page at National Geographic Kids.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
TANYA STEEL is a global food industry leader. She initiated the Healthy Lunchtime Challenge & Kids’ “State Dinner” with former First Lady Michelle Obama, an annual event that was held at the White House. Steel is the former editorial director of Clean Plates, Epicurious.com, Gourmet Live, and Gourmet.com; she was an editor at Bon Appétit and Food & Wine, and wrote for the New York Times for four years. She co-wrote the award-winning Real Food for Healthy Kids, and The Epicurious Cookbook, a New York Times best seller.
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Coming up next week is another…
If you would like to join in the MMGM fun, all you have to do is blog about a middle grade book on a Monday (contests, author interviews and whatnot also count–but are most definitely not required) and email me the title of the book you’re featuring and a link to your blog at gpcolo (at) gmail (dot) com
(Make sure you put MMGM or Marvelous Middle Grade Monday in the subject line so it gets sorted accurately–and please don’t forget to say what book you’re featuring) You MUST email me your link by Sunday evening (11 PM Eastern Time) in order to be included in the list of links for the coming Monday.
Thanks for spreading the middle grade love and for being a part of this awesome tradition begun by Shannon Messenger and carried on here at ALWAYS in the MIDDLE! (CLICK HERE FOR PAST MMGM POSTS)
*Please note: these posts are not a reflection of my own opinions on the books featured. Each blogger is responsible for their own MMGM content and I do not pre-screen reviews ahead of time, nor do I control what books they choose. I simply assemble the list based on the links that are emailed to me.
I previously reviewed Donna Galanti’s The Lightning Road series: JOSHUA AND THE LIGHTNING ROAD and JOSHUA AND THE ARROW REALM—both fantastic adventures. Today I’m thrilled to give you a look at these awesome new cover reveals! Plus enter to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card at the end of this post and get the first e-book in Donna’s series, Joshua and the Lightning Road, on sale now through October 15th for just $0.99cents.
Donna rewinds herself back to being 9-years-old and shares a day in her kid life plus read an excerpt from Joshua and the Arrow Realm!
Middle Grade Rewind
A Day in The Life at Nine-Years-Old in 1978 by Donna Galanti
Every day I dream about getting my first dog! I imagine she is so real that when I come home from school I run to meet her (her name will be Beauty after Black Beauty). But not yet…so while I wait I keep busy roaming the campground we own.
It’s fun to wear my strap-on roller skates and hunt the paths for dead butterflies and shotgun shells (this is New Hampshire after all and they make cool noise makers when you put them in old coffee cans). There are always kids to play with here (awesome for an only child like me!) and swim with at the pool.
I especially love to hang out in the recreation hall and play pinball machines and records on the juke box. My favorite song is Escape by Rupert Holmes. I asked my dad what a Pina Colada is and he said it’s a party in a glass for grownups.
Each morning I get to pretend I’m my hero, Laura Ingalls from Little House in the Big Woods, as I pick rotten apples in the orchard to feed our fat hogs. My mom says we’ll be butchering them soon (just like Laura!).
My mom wants to make head cheese (ewww!) but I want to blow up the pig’s bladder like a balloon and roast its tail over the fire, just like Laura did. Little House on the Prairie is my favorite show and sometimes I even pretend that Mr. Ingalls is my dad.
After hog feeding time, I get to gather the eggs in the chicken coop. Today I found a double yolk egg without a shell! It was see-through and wobbly just like a Weeble. Although, I think it would fall down if I wobbled it.
Tomorrow is dump day. I get to collect the trash with my dad from all the campsites (we even saw a bear last week!). It’s a smelly chore but the best part is that I get to stand up in the back of our rickety 1965 Ford truck and hang onto the wood sides as we cruise to the dump. Wheeee! It’s almost as fun as snowmobiling on the campground trails in winter.
If I help my dad out good, he’ll take me fishing on Lake Squam this weekend to use my new tackle box. I caught my first pike there last month (my dad almost crashed the boat up on the rocks just so I could get it)!
Well, time to go practice my after-dinner show for mom and dad. I’m singing and dancing to The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers and On The Good Ship Lollipop. I even made my own sailor and Tigger costumes (I’m a blue fuzzy Tigger in one-piece footed pj’s with my dad’s striped tie for a tail and my mom’s wig). Oh, and there’s a big thunderstorm coming tonight so I plan to sleep on the screened-in porch and watch the lightning all night long!
Being nine is the best. Getting a dog would make it even better.
JOSHUA AND THE ARROW REALM EXCERPT:
Rain streamed down and the wind whipped at me, driving the stinging pellets. Charlie and I ran on, leaving our enemy behind. We held each other up as we staggered through the storm.
“Joshua, stop! Can’t. Go. On.” Charlie gasped out the words as he dragged me back.
I tugged his shirt, ripping it. “We’ve got to!”
Oh, where was this Grand Tree and could these Wild Childs help us?
When my lungs threatened to explode, a howl behind us pushed my aching legs to full throttle. Claws swiped at us and a blast of rotten meat stench hit me. Anger at this world choked me into a fury. For sucking me up into its danger and death again. For turning my friend against me. For having to run for my life again. For wanting me to be their hero.
I skidded to a stop, riding wet leaves. Charlie’s eyes blinked with surprise as I shoved him aside and turned to face the unleashed creature. It flew over my head—an exploding mountain of fur and legs and tail—and slammed onto the ground. It turned to face me, panting. Pacing back and forth, its massive paws glinted with curved nails as it smashed the mud. Steam bellowed from its giant nostrils and horns protruded from a head covered in a shaggy brown mane. Tinted burnt orange, the beast raged part lion, part bull. I backed away from the monster, hauling Charlie with me.
“What now?” Charlie stuttered.
I carefully nocked an arrow to my bow, keeping my eyes on the beast as it snorted and pawed the ground, spewing up clomps of dirt. The rain spiked harder.
“Let us go,” I said.
The beast churned up the ground and shook its giant mane, groaning low in its throat. “Hungrrrry.” I must’ve imagined him speaking. Without my lightning orb, I didn’t have powers to understand animals on Nostos.
Charlie pulled me back. “What did it say?”
“I don’t know,” I said.
“Well, I think it said ‘time to eat’.”
He had no idea how right he was.
With each step the beast inched toward us, we took one back. I pulled back my arrow, the tension scorching my arm. The lion-bull shuddered; loose skin flapping against its gigantic, bony frame. Its swollen tongue hung from its mouth, and its ribs outlined sharp against its skin with each desperate pant. Red-rimmed eyes burned into mine.
“It’s starving, Charlie,” I whispered.
“And we’re dinner!”
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ABOUT JOSHUA AND THE LIGHTNING ROAD: Twelve-year-old Joshua Cooper learns the hard way that lightning never strikes by chance when a bolt strikes his house and whisks away his best friend—possibly forever. Armed with only luck and his grandfather’s mysterious crystal, Joshua must save his friend by traveling the Lightning Road to a dark world that steals children for energy. New friends come to Joshua’s aid and while battling beasts and bandits and fending off the Child Collector, Joshua’s mission quickly becomes more than a search for his friend—it becomes the battle of his life.
PRAISE FOR JOSHUA AND THE LIGHTNING ROAD: “Vividly imagined characters in a gripping action fantasy that never lets you go until the very last page.” —Jenny Nimmo, New York Times bestselling author of the Charlie Bone series
ABOUT JOSHUA AND THE ARROW REALM: Joshua never thought he’d be called back to the world of Nostos so soon. But when his friend King Apollo needs his help in the Arrow Realm, Joshua braves this dark world once more in order to save him. With Joshua’s loyalties divided between Nostos and Earth, he must rely on his courage and powers to restore magic to this desperate world and to free its people. Abandoned by his friends in his quest, unarmed, and facing great odds, can he survive on instincts alone and not only save those imprisoned—but himself?
PRAISE FOR JOSHUA AND THE ARROW REALM:
“Fast-paced and endlessly inventive, this is a high-stakes romp through a wild world where descendants of the Greek gods walk beside you, beasts abound, and not everything—or everyone—is as it seems.” –Michael Northrop, New York Times bestselling author of the TombQuest series
Joshua and the Arrow Realm is available through these book sellers: Amazon: mybook.to/ArrowRealm
Barnes & Noble: https://bit.ly/2N3OYGG
Kobo: https://bit.ly/2IjXYGX
Apple iBooks: https://apple.co/2xFU4Ea
ABOUT DONNA: Donna Galanti is the author of the bestselling paranormal suspense Element Trilogy and the children’s fantasy adventure Joshua and The Lightning Road series. Donna is a contributing editor for International Thriller Writers the Big Thrill magazine, a writing contest judge at nycmidnight.com, and regularly presents as a guest author at schools and teaches at writing conferences. She’s lived from England as a child, to Hawaii as a U.S. Navy photographer. Donna also loves teaching writers about building author brand and platform through her free training series at yourawesomeauthorlife.com. Visit her at donnagalanti.com.
ALWAYS in the MIDDLE (that’s me) has an exciting historical fiction to share—JOURNEY OF THE PALE BEAR. Click the MMGM logo to reach my review and be sure to check out all the other sites below.
June McCrary Jacobs at ‘Reading, Writing, & Stitch-Metic has a STEAM book, ‘Plant, Cook, Eat! A Children’s Cookbook‘ by Joe Archer and Caroline Craig. She’ll also be celebrating the fifth-anniversary of the release of her first book, ‘A Holiday Miracle in Apple Blossom‘ on a separate post later today with a GIVEAWAY.
Natalie Aguirre at Literary Rambles interviews debut author Miranda Cruz with a GIVEAWAY of her MG contemporary Everlasting Nora. I’m sure its another great Q & A post!
Andrea Mack at That’s Another Story is featuring the wonderful FRONT DESK by Kelly Yang. The story reminds her of the many things she can be thankful for in life.
Suzanne Warr at Tales From The Raven has her first spotlight of the month on The Boy Who Knew Too Much, by Commander S. T. Bolivar III.
Completely Full Bookshelf returns this week with a recommendation for Invisible Emmie by Terri Libenson. Check out the review with a click on MMGM.
Patricia Tilton at Children’s Books Heal is reviewing Harbor Me by Jacqueline Woodson, a book getting a lot of buzz for awards this year. Take a look at what Patricia has to say about it.
Beth Mitchell at Imaginary Friends gives us her take on The Wishmakers by Tyler Whitesides, a funny book about wishes and their consequences.
Rosi Hollinbeck has a review of SPOOKED!: How a Radio Broadcast and The War of the Worlds sparked the 1938 Invasion of America by Gail Jarrow. Rosi also includes some helpful links for writers.
Tonya’s Trunk of Amazing Books has an excellent review of THE PARKER INHERITANCE. Also included are references to enhance your understanding of this work of historical fiction.
Karen Yingling at Ms. Yingling Reads always has an informative MMGM post. Be sure to check out today’s feature and all of her other reviews the past week.
If you would like to join in the MMGM fun and get your own spot in the parade, all you have to do is blog about a middle grade book you love on a Monday (contests, author interviews and whatnot also count–but are most definitely not required) and email me the title of the book you’re featuring and a link to your blog at gpcolo (at) gmail (dot) com
(Make sure you put MMGM or Marvelous Middle Grade Monday in the subject line so it gets sorted accurately–and please don’t forget to say what book you’re featuring)
You MUST email me your link by Sunday evening (11 PM Eastern Time) in order to be included in the list of links for the coming Monday.
Thanks for spreading the middle grade love and for being a part of this awesome tradition begun by Shannon Messenger and carried on here at ALWAYS in the MIDDLE! (CLICK HERE FOR PAST MMGM POSTS)
*Please note: these posts are not a reflection of my own opinions on the books featured. Each blogger is responsible for their own MMGM content and I do not pre-screen reviews ahead of time, nor do I control what books they choose. I simply assemble the list based on the links that are emailed to me.
four, five, and six last month, seven, eight, and nine in January 2019, and finally ten through twelve in June, 2019.
FIVE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT:
the children’s fantasy adventure Joshua and The Lightning Road series. Donna is a contributing editor for International Thriller Writers the Big Thrill magazine, a writing contest judge at nycmidnight.com, and regularly presents as a guest author at schools and teaches at writing conferences. She’s lived from England as a child, to Hawaii as a U.S. Navy photographer. Donna also loves teaching writers about building author brand and platform through her free training series at 
