WELCOME TO ANOTHER MARVELOUS MIDDLE GRADE MONDAY!

The Children of Exile series closes with this heart pounding finale.  Each book is narrated by one of the young characters. In book one, Children of Exile, twelve-year-old Rosi, led the charge. Her friend, Edwy, took over in book two, Children of Refuge. In Children of Jubilee the final book, (releasing tomorrow, November 6th), Edwy’s older sister—thirteen-year-old Kiandra gives us her narrative.

Three viewpoints provided much depth to the series. It was interesting to read their first person reactions to the other characters. With Kiandra, she is the tech nerd, and finds her older brother Enu’s tough guy approach quite irritating. When all the kids are captured by the evil Enforcers and taken to another planet, the scenes are terrifying. It’s gut wrenching to experience the feeling of what they go through thanks to the top notch writing. The Enforcers mean business and you can’t resist.

This sci-fi thriller will appeal to both boys and girls and all three read well as a standalone. I in fact started with Book 2, before going back and reading Book 1, and then the final. The author does a great job filling in the blanks along the way in case you missed a plot point.

Surprises abound with new characters and settings. Nothing is quite what it seems. It made me glad to be a simple human on good old planet earth. Here I can enjoy the great ride present in each of the Children of Exile stories. It would be a perfect book for a parent and child to read at the same time—a thought provoking tale sure to bring about much discussion.

PUBLICATION DATE: 2018   PAGE COUNT: 320

FULL PLOT (From Margaret Peterson Haddix)

Since the Enforcers raided Refuge City, Rosi, Edwy, and the others are captured and forced to work as slave labor on an alien planet, digging up strange pearls. Weak and hungry, none of them are certain they will make it out of this alive.

But Edwy’s tech-savvy sister, Kiandra, has always been the one with all the answers, and so they turn to her. But Kiandra realizes that she can’t find her way out of this one on her own, and they all might need to rely on young Cana and her alien friend if they are going to survive.

FIVE THINGS TO LIKE ABOUT: CHILDREN OF JUBILEE

1. This is my favorite cover of the three. It hints at a planet with two different sides. What you see is not always what you get.
2. Kiandra is a problem solver. Her outward toughness and inner fears will remind you of many girls at this age.
3. Alcibiades is the new creature/character and he brings a helpful hand (I mean tentacle) to the adventure.
4. Little five-year-old Cana provides a soft spot and also bravery to the unthinkable situation she is in.
5. The theme of seeing each other in different ways, but also understanding other’s actions is the full encompassing feeling you get after completing the series.

FROM THE AUTHOR, Margaret Peterson Haddix:  

When my daughter was in third grade, she brought home a list one day that described what everyone in her class wanted to be when they grew up. Most of the kids clearly picked the same jobs their parents held. But a few went for the fantastical. One kid said he wanted to be a spy; another was longing to be a professional dirt-biker; another saw himself as a future movie director. And I looked at that list and thought, “Yep, I’m with the dirt-biker and the spy.” (For the full story visit Margaret’s bio page).

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***I received a galley of this title in return for my review. Leave a  comment below. I enjoy reading all of them!***