Must Have Middle Grade Reads

Welcome to this week's edition of Must Have Middle Grade Reads, a weekly feature here on Mundie Moms where I spotlight last week's middle grade books I reviewed on Mundie Kids. This week's Must Have Middle Grade reads are:

By: Jennifer A Nielsen

Published by: Scholastic

To Be Released on: April 1st, 2012

5 stars: I LOVED IT!

Pre-Order from: Scholastic | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Series: Book #1 in The Ascendance Trilogy

The False Prince is the thrilling first book in a brand-new trilogy filled with danger and deceit and hidden identities that will have readers rushing breathlessly to the end. 

In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king’s long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner’s motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword’s point—he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage’s rivals have their own agendas as well. As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner’s sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together. An extraordinary adventure filled with danger and action, lies and deadly truths that will have readers clinging to the edge of their seats -quoted from Goodreads

I absolutely love it when I can get completely swept away in a well written middle grade fantasy. That was the case with The False Prince. What an amazing fantasy adventure. The characters, the setting, the story, everything came together perfectly and was so well written. I still can't get over that shocking twist and that fabulous ending! This is one of those books that left me wanting so much more after I read it! I can't wait to see what awaits the characters in the next book. This particular story is centered on Sage, a young orphan who was bought than trained to possibly become an impersonator for King's long lost son. I loved this character. He's relatable, he's real, and he's sympathetic to those around him. I of course also loved that he's feisty, brave, cunning, smart and he knows how to stay ahead of the game. He kind of reminds me of a younger version of one of my favorite YA characters.

You can read the rest of my 5 star review here.

By: Kate Messner

Published by: Bloomsbury Kids

Released on: March 13th, 2012

Source: book from author / publisher

Ages: 10 & up

4 stars: I Enjoyed It

Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

In the not-too-distant future, huge tornadoes and monster storms are a part of everyday life. Sent to spend the summer in the heart of storm country with her father in the special StormSafe community his company has developed, Jaden Meggs is excited to reconnect with her dad after he spent years researching storm technology in Russia. She’ll also be attending the exclusive summer science camp, Eye On Tomorrow, that her dad founded. There, Jaden meets Alex, a boy whose passion for science matches hers, and together they discover a horrible truth about her dad’s research that is putting countless lives at risk. As a massive tornado approaches, threatening to destroy everything in its path, Jaden is torn between loyalty to her dad and revealing his secret. Can she find the courage to confront her dad and save everyone from the biggest storm yet? -quoted from Goodreads

With it's blend of science, intelligent kids, mystery and set in a dystopian world, Eye of the Storm makes for an exciting read for both older middle grade readers and older fans of MG books. Kate Messner does a fabulous job at creating a not so distant feature were the characters not only genetically engineer their food, but they control the weather and live in communities that are safe havens for the increasingly strong storms, unlike what we see in our day. Kate's blend of science with her dystopian world make for an incredibly intriguing setting and story. I really enjoy the way Kate was able to explain the meteorology & scientific part of her story line so that someone like myself was able to understand what was going on and what Jaden was both working on and working to uncover

You can read the rest of my review here.

By: Jill Murphy

Published by: Bloomsbury Kids

Released on: September 14th, 2010

4 stars: I Really Enjoyed It

Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Alfie's your average deer hound puppy—curious about the world around him, happy to chase the cat and laze around in his favorite beanbag bed, and very loyal to his boy, Charlie. So he's extremely upset when Charlie goes away and leaves him with a sitter—upset enough that he escapes into the woods. With the help of some friendly foxes, Alfie learns to live in the wild, but he never stops thinking of Charlie and trying to find his way home. And Charlie, of course, never stops thinking of Alfie, either. Will these two be able to find each other before it's too late?

Featuring irresistible black-and-white line drawings on every spread, Dear Hound is both an accessible, heartwarming story and the perfect choice for readers graduating out of early chapter books. -quoted from Goodreads

Dear Hound is a heart warming story about an adorable young Deer Hound named Alfie. This pup finds himself in the middle of one misadventure after the other. After being sent to spend the night with a care taker while his family goes out of town, Alfie frightens himself and runs off. Finding himself lost and alone in the woods during a stormy night, Alfie wants nothing more than to go home, back to his owner Charlie. Luckily for Alfie he befriends two friendly foxes who have compassion on him and end up helping him learn the ways of the woods, and survive until his owner can find him.

You can read the rest of my review here.

By: Ruth Ames

Published by: Scholastic

Released on: November 1st, 2011

4 stars: It's A Great Read

Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Series: #8 in the Poison Apple Series

Poison Apple Books: Thrilling. Bone-chilling. These books have bite!Ashlee Lambert, the queen bee from THIS TOTALLY BITES, has had a tough time ever since she became a full-fledged vampire. But now that she's moving from New York City to sunny Los Angeles, she's excited to make a fresh new start.But Ashlee never counted on a clique of popular mean girls or awful sunburns. Keeping her huge secret is suddenly harder than ever. And when something -- or someone -- starts attacking people at her school, Ashlee realizes she's not the only vampire in town. It's up to Ashlee to figure out who's behind the attacks before her cover is blown forever! -quoted from Goodreads

At First Bite is a fun vampire story for tweens and younger readers. This is the second book in the Poison Apple series I've read, and boy do I wish these were around when I was younger. This story introducers readers to tween vampire, Ashlee Lambert, who moves from her posh NYC apartment out to to L.A. were her famous mother gets her own reality tv as a judge. Ashlee not only has to make new friends and deal with a whole new school, but she's still learning about being a vampire. The cool thing about the vampires in this book is that they shift into bats, don't drink animal blood and can go outside. Though she's the lone vampire in her family (who have no idea she is one), Ashlee has a mentor there to help her. Things get a little out of hand once she's in L.A.

You can read the rest of my review here.

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Curious about what MG books are being released this month? Here's a list of some of this month's releases that will be featured on Mundie Kids.

I'm celebrating Middle Grade March Madness on Mundie Kids! Through out the entire month of March I'll be featuring a variety of MG reads via reviews, interviews and giveaways. Check out some of this month's MGMM giveaways!

Middle Grade Monday:

Don't miss my Marvelous Middle Grade Monday meme on Mundie Kids, a weekly meme hosted by author Shannon Messenger's. You can check out this week's Mundie Kids feature here