Audiobook Review: Living at the Edge of the World - Winter (Papala Island Adventure, #1) by S.J. Barratt

Living at the Edge of the World: Winter: The Papala Island Adventure Series, Book 1 by S.J. Barratt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fun, middle-grade fish out of water story.

Living at the Edge of the World – Winter by S.J. Barratt introduces readers to Timothy and Tabitha Brown, twin tweens from London, sent to spend a couple of months with their Great-uncle Tamhas, who lives on the isolated island of Papala in the Scottish Shetland Islands, while their parents take a round-the-world cruise. While Tim is delighted, excited by the prospect of exploring the small island and learning as much as he can about his temporary home, Tabs is completely out of sorts with the lack of amenities and WiFi that are always available in London.

Although the twins, brother and sister, are temperamentally opposites and there’s very little crossover in their interests, they get along very well, and their casual banter is cause for quite a few laughs. They are close and obviously love each other. Problems arise from Tabitha’s privileged attitudes, which lead her to believe she knows better than their local friend, Fenella, and her refusal to listen puts them all in a dangerous situation. Eventually, she comes to acknowledge her responsibility for her actions. I enjoyed how she grew up and came to love the island as much as her brother and the 30-odd souls who call Papala home. I loved how her Uncle Tamhas was so low-key, patient, and, I think, deliberately obtuse about her TikSnap social media obsession and desire to become a successful influencer. However, it was her special expertise that helped her foil a dangerous scheme by a group of older boys on the mainland later in the story.

The story handles the children’s separation from their parents, friends, home, and the only life they’ve ever known gently, and Tabitha’s change in attitude is subtle and gradual. There are plenty of places for discussion, not only of Tabitha’s behavior, but of the culture and nature of the Shetlands, and there’s never a feeling of being lectured to in the narrative.

The audiobook edition, narrated by Gill Mills, was initially a little difficult to follow because I was unaccustomed to her accent and the Shetlandic dialect. But once I synced with the cadence and delivery, I was absorbed by the story. However, Tabitha’s whining and complaining at the start of the book was so strident and shrill, I worried I wouldn’t be able to stick with it for long. Thankfully, Tabitha’s voice mellowed as she settled into life on Papala.I recommend LIVING AT THE EDGE OF THE WORLD – WINTER to middle-grade readers and listeners who enjoy exciting and warm adventure tales, and for use at home, in the classroom, or after-school programs.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from the author through Silver Dagger Book Tours.

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Children's Book Review: Ruby (Service Dog, #1) by Jack Heape

Ruby by Jack Heape
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Inspirational and informative story of Ruby and Toby’s journey from show ring to service dog.

Ruby is the inaugural book in author Jack Heape’s new middle-grade series about service dogs, telling the inspirational story of a budding champion show dog and her young handler who discover another calling in their lives as a service dog and a service dog trainer. Readers of all ages will surely find the story informative and heartwarming.

Toby Durham developed a passion for handling dogs in the show ring early and became one of the youngest and most successful handlers in competition. He longs to start and finish his own champion, and he gets that chance with owner/breeder Madeleine Fulbright and a young Irish Setter puppy named Ruby. The story details much of the behind-the-scenes work and commitment involved in pursuing his dream, including the considerations and accommodations his family and parents make to help him realize it.

While this aspect of the plot is awesome on its own, it’s not the only storyline. When Toby’s family moves for his father’s job, one of Toby’s new neighbors is Rachel Parker, a girl about his own age who experiences seizures of such an unpredictable nature that she is literally restricted to her own home. A chance meeting and Ruby’s instinctive actions, which appear to warn Rachel of an impending seizure, changes life for everyone.

Ruby, Toby, and Rachel’s story is inspirational reading and chock-full of dog care, dog and handler training, and the amazing collaboration between one incredible dog and the humans in her life. I recommend RUBY for readers of middle-grade fiction, especially those who love books about dogs.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advance Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery.

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Children's Book Review: Instafamous by Erika J. Kendrick

Instafamous by Erika J. Kendrick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Catch up with the squad at Valentine Middle School!

Instafamous, the new middle-grade book from the talented and clued-in Erika J. Kendrick, returns readers to Santa Monica and Valentine Middle School, the setting of her previous novels. While both Magic (Squad Goals) and Brooklyn (Cookie Monsters) make appearances, this new tale is all about Lyric Whitney Houston Darby.

Lyric is a self-confident 12-year-old who wants to follow in her famous singer-mother’s footsteps, but she wants to do it NOW. When her favorite reality musical competition television show, American Rockstar, announces auditions in her hometown of Santa Monica, Lyric is set on participating and confident she’s a shoo-in to win and finally launch her career: all against her mother’s wishes and advice. To qualify, however, Lyric must show proof she has “industry” experience, and the quickest way to get that is by starring in Valentine Middle School’s upcoming production of The Wiz. Lyric is supported in her aspirations and schemes by her BFFs and acolytes, Twinkle and Georgia, who are both facing their own struggles.

The plot is fun and lively while exploring important life lessons in friendship, family, honesty, mental health care, and handling attention and fame. The interactions and dialogue among the middle-grade girls felt authentic, and I smiled and laugh-cringed in equal measure. The author subtly includes a diverse range of characters so naturally, you’ll think you were actually back in school yourself. The story resolves nicely with the main character re-discovering what’s truly important in life.

I recommend INSTAFAMOUS to readers of middle-grade fiction, especially those who appreciate strong female characters and fans of the author’s previous work.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy through TBR and Beyond Book Tours.

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Book Review: What I Must Tell the World: How Lorraine Hansberry Found Her Voice by Jay Leslie, illustrated by Loveis Wise

What I Must Tell the World: How Lorraine Hansberry Found Her Voice by Jay Leslie


Well done and thoughtful biography for upper middle-grade and older readers about playwright Lorraine Hansberry, the groundbreaking Black female playwright.

What I Must Tell the World: How Lorraine Hansberry Found Her Voice, words by Jay Leslie and pictures by Loveis Wise is a well-done and thoughtful introduction for upper middle-grade and older readers to the life of renowned playwright Lorraine Hansberry. The evocatively illustrated text presents the highlights of the first Black woman to have a show produced on Broadway (A Raisin in the Sun).

Starting with her surprising childhood as the daughter of a man who had to go to the Supreme Court of the land (and won!) to establish his right to purchase a home in the white Woodlawn area of Chicago and her preparation and journey in pursuing her dream of crafting a play representing the Black experience in America. There is a short, forthright discussion of her gradual awareness of her true sexual orientation, offering parents an opportunity to discuss and answer questions with their young readers. While this little book examines her life, it naturally brings up many important social issues that can also offer additional topics of one-on-one or group discussions with readers. Hansberry experienced the gamut of discrimination in her short life: for being Black, for being a woman in a traditionally male profession, and for being attracted to another woman rather than a man.

I recommend WHAT I MUST TELL THE WORLD: HOW LORRAINE HANSBERRY FOUND HER VOICE to young readers who want a look into the life of this fascinating woman.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy via Netgalley.


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Book Review: The Queen of Ocean Parkway by Sarvenaz Tash

The Queen of Ocean Parkway by Sarvenaz Tash
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

A magical mystery for middle-grade readers!

The Queen of Ocean Parkway is a new, fantastical mystery story for middle-grade readers from the creative mind of author Sarvenaz Tash. Young Roya Alborzi and her precocious new friend and neighbor, Amin Lahiri, travel through time to try and break a curse that makes the women of the Petrov family disappear, never to be seen again.

The main character, Roya Alborzi, is the only daughter of their Brooklyn apartment building’s super, and while only 11 years old, she is carrying an emotional load that adults would have trouble managing. Though her parents are divorced, her father is desperately ill with cancer, and she does all she can to assist her mother in her job to free her up to care for him. Then, one of her favorite tenants, Katya Petrov, suddenly disappears without a trace. She joins forces with Amin, the son of the new family in the building, to find her and break the chain of disappearances that have plagued the Petrov family for the past four generations.

The Brooklyn setting is well-developed, feeling familiar and comfortable. Roya’s descriptions and tales of the other neighbors for her fledgling podcast are entertaining and made me laugh about some of her observations.

The plot thickens as soon as the characters are introduced, and some surprising twists make the story even more suspenseful and intriguing. As time travel is involved, the author must re-describe the Coney Island setting each time Roya and Amin land in the past. The gorgeous cover, rich with jewel tones, attracts the eye and had my imagination working before I even read the first page. I liked how the author populated the apartment building with an array of different configurations of families and enjoyed meeting each one as the mystery of the disappearing Petrovs unfolded.

I recommend THE QUEEN OF OCEAN PARKWAY to upper elementary and middle-grade readers or for reading aloud in the classroom, in afterschool programs, or at home.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy through TBR and Beyond Book Tours.

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Book Teaser Tour: Gobbledy by Lis Anna-Langston

 

Middle-Grade / Holiday

Date Published: 10-20-2023

Publisher: Mapleton Press

 

Ever since Dexter and Dougal’s mom passed away, life has been different—but things take a whole new turn when a shooting star turns out to be a creature from outer space! Gobbledy is a fun-filled holiday story that adds up to two brothers, three friends, unlimited jars of peanut butter, a ketchup factory, and one little alien far, far from home.

 

 

Excerpt

 

“What do you think these things are?” she asks.

          A loud wail comes from the new jar full of dirt.

          Slowly, I lift the jar off the work table and unscrew the lid.

          Fi and I look down at the strange bug. The little thing wails. It's not much bigger than the two crickets standing on the sidelines, staring.

          Fi looks at me with a wild look in her eyes. “Does your dad know?”

          I shake my head. “Absolutely not. No. Dad will just make me take him back to the forest.”

          I pull the lid off. The strange little bug opens his mouth really big.

          “Okay, okay,” I whisper. “I’ll feed you, but you have to be quiet.”

          He closes his mouth and blinks. For a second, I think he might actually understand what I’m saying.

          There's a bag of potato chips on the counter in the kitchen. I drop chips into the jar one by one, avoiding the crickets.

          Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.

          “Where’s the rock?” Fi asks.

          Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.

          The back door opens. Startled, Fi jerks upright abruptly, smacking her head on the slanted ceiling. I try to grab her hand as it flies past my face.  Her arms flap wildly as she falls in a woozy, slow motion out into the hall.

          “Fi?” I say loudly.

          Ka-thunk.  

          “Fi?”  I drop to the floor next to her and check her pulse, like I've seen people do in movies.  “Can you hear me?”

          She undoubtedly cannot.  She does not move or answer.

          The jar wobbles on the wooden table.

          “Excuse me,” I quickly step over her limp body and grab the jar.  I tighten my grip as it jerks around in my arms.  Hurky-jerky, it shifts against my shirt.  I hold tight and screw the lid back on.

          “Dexter?”

          Huh? “What are you doing home, Dougal?” I yell.

          “I live here.”

          “I know that, but you're early.”

          “Not really. School is out. Dad asked Fran to pick me up because you got in trouble again, and he couldn't leave work twice.”

          “Umm...”

          Fran walks into the hall and says, “Oh my gosh, what happened?”

          I look left, then right.  Up, then down.  Over, then under.  My eyes settle on my backpack next to my work table. I shove the jar inside quick, listening to the hurky-jerky sound of glass tapping against my notebooks.  I cover the jar with my jacket and step quickly into the hall.

          Fran pulls her hand to her mouth.  “What happened to Fi?”

          Fi is on the floor where I left her.

          “She was, ummm, we were doing our science projects and then she fainted.”

          “I thought you had to turn those in today?”

          “We did, but mine got loose and she was ...”

          I stare at her limp, oddly twisted body.

          “Do you want me to perform CPR until the emergency workers arrive?” Dougal asks.

          Fran rolls Fiona over on her back.  “They'll be no emergency workers. I got this,” she says quietly, tapping Fi’s cheeks. “Fiona?”

          Fi's eyes pop open. “Wha?”

          “You passed out, girl.  Are you okay?”

          “Huh?”

          Fran helps Fi to her feet.  She sways, woozy, reaching for the wall.

          Their cat, Sir Shreds-A-Lot, scratches and howls at the back door.

          “Don't let that cat in,” Dougal says.  “He's been sneaking up to the attic and eating the villagers in Mom's village.”

          “What's the last thing you remember?” I ask Fi.

          She rubs her forehead.  “Let me get an ice pack. I'll answer that in a minute.”

 

About the Author

Hailed as “an author with a genuine flair for originality” by Midwest Book Review and “a loveable, engaging, original voice…” by Publishers Weekly, Lis Anna-Langston was raised along the winding current of the Mississippi River on a steady diet of dog-eared books.

You can find her any day of the week in the wilds of South Carolina plucking stories out of thin air.

 

Contact Links

Website

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Purchase Links

Amazon

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The Daredevils by Rob Buyea

The Daredevils by Rob Buyea
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Even though THE DAREDEVILS is not a fantasy, it is still a magical story of summer and growing up.

The summer between sixth and seventh grades was a critical one for the twins, Loretta and Waylon. Seventh grade meant moving from elementary to middle school, and the twins who had always been together in classes would most certainly be separated among the larger crowd of students.

Loretta was worried. She had always been Waylon’s protector. How would he make it at the bigger school without her around to scare off trouble? (Of the two, Waylon was the smaller and enjoyed nature and science rather than sports, and he seemed to attract bullies like a magnet.) This summer, she was determined to toughen her brother up and prepare him to fight his own battles.

Waylon had plans for the summer as well. He knew Loretta felt it was her responsibility to keep him safe, and it wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate his twin’s concern, but he knew it was time for them to have separate lives. It was time for him to prove to Loretta he could take care of himself, help her learn to reel in her temper, and let go.

Only a few days into their summer, Loretta and Waylon had already built a fort in the woods behind their home and met a new friend. Louie lived on the other side of the woods with his odd mother in an old house rumored to be haunted. While in the woods one afternoon, the three friends discover a hidden, old cigar box containing mementos from someone named “RON.” Inspired to complete a quest described in a message found in the box, they begin a challenging summer of fun, excitement, and self-discovery.

Although not a fantasy, The Daredevils is a story filled with magic. Told from the dual points of view of Loretta and Waylon, readers are privy to the thoughts and feelings of these two precocious and adorable pre-teens. Loretta is a bright, savvy, strong, capable “older” sister who loves her brother and wants to do the best for him. Her chapters are witty while revealing she’s still young and vulnerable herself. Waylon is beyond smart and very creative, and he loves his sister. He’s quirky but not as helpless as his sister seems to want to think.

Their summer of adventure is one of achieving their personal goals and accomplishing their quest while avoiding people that make their lives difficult. The story is an entertaining and engaging one that both boys and girls will enjoy. Many smile-inducing moments and a couple of heart-wrenching turns of events will keep readers turning the pages to see what happens next.

With its likable and relatable characters and inventive storyline, THE DAREDEVILS is tremendous fun and a worthwhile chapter book for upper elementary and middle-grade readers. It would work well as a read-aloud book as well.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from the author or publisher through TBR and Beyond.

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