My Book of the Year for 2019 is… one of the following. Book of the Year 2019 long list I long list nearly all of those I’ve given five stars on Goodreads during the year. So those are (links to
Book of the Year 2019 – the long list!
Book Review | The Earthkeepers by Shawn Underhill
The Earthkeepers: I thought it might have survived a few passes of Down the TBR Hole, as I knew I had the cover in my system here. It turns out I uploaded it in 2014 for a blog tour. I
Book Review and Tour | Secrets of the Great Fire Tree by Justine Laismith
Today is a book review on Justine Laismith’s blog tour for Secrets of the Great Fire Tree. I ‘meet’ Justine on the GMGR Goodreads group, and I’m delighted to host her today. The tour organiser is Aurelia Leo. Secrets
Chronicles of Marsh – OUT TODAY!
Chronicles of Marsh hits the online bookstores today! Join in the celebrations by getting your own copy, reading the interviews, and entering the giveaway! If you have your own blog, you still have time to make your own post –
Cosmic Colin, and The Witches | Double MG Book Review
Cosmic Colin: Hairy Hamster Horror and The Witches both came from my library. MG means middle grade, a period of schooling in the US that translates into the roughly 8-12 age group in the UK. I regularly peruse the childrens
Book Review | Witchbone Book One ~ The Goblin’s Winter
Witchbone Book One ~ The Goblin’s Winter: a paranormal fairy tale is a very long title for a book. Several other things make me wonder whether the author took heed of editorial advice for MG tales [also demonstrated by the
Book Review | Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon
Castle Hangnail is the GMGR Book of the Month selection for October, Halloween month. I’m very grateful to the Amazon resellers for getting a copy to me in time. It arrived around 12, I started it at 3.30, and finished
Book Review | Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones
Witch Week caught my eye as I was browsing the mobile library shelves. The GMGR and other book of the month choices eluded me, so I hunted for something else that fell into the categories MG and suitable for Halloween
Book Review | After Zero by Christina Collins
After Zero was published on 1st September. I got a pre-release copy from the publishers via Net-galley on August 31st. Had I not have been in the middle of something else, I might have got this review out by the
Book Review | Dreamwood – a #30DaysWild wood
Dreamwood is my book review for today. This fantasy adventure for middle grade readers takes place around the north-west coast of a settler-era America. What’s so #30DaysWild about that? Well, with all the things going on with the trees, I thought
Book Reviews | Shadows from the Past series catch-up
Shadows from the Past is an MG historical time travel mystery suspense adventure series by Wendy Leighton-Porter. Wendy has won several awards in the last year. These are thoroughly deserved, as it’s an excellent series, which gives you a real
Book Review | The Company of Eight by Harriet Whitehorn
The Company of Eight was a book I requested on Net-Galley, so I thank them and the publishers for allowing me a review copy. As usual, my review is my honest opinion of the book. The Company of Eight Harriet
Book Review | The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
The Girl Who Drank the Moon was a Book of the Month from the Great Middle Grade Reads group on Goodreads; it was an excellent choice. It’s won various awards, which can sometimes be off-putting, but I thought it deserved
Book Review | Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson
I got Journey to the River Sea from my library. It was recommended at the conference I went to in 2011, which started me off as a self-published MG author. I read one of Eva Ibbotson’s (many) other books a
Halloween Trick-or-Treat | Traveler in Black and White
Halloween. It’s tomorrow, or if you’re in Australia or New Zealand, it might even be today, depending on when you read this. No matter. From now till 1st November Pacific time, I’m offering a FREE ebook as your Halloween treat.
Book Reviews – two MG reads for Halloween
Ghoulish Guinea Pig and Kit’s Wilderness featured in my TackleTBR in September, and both MG reads, strangely, feature ghosts. I thoroughly enjoyed both of them, although they are probably at opposite ends of the middle grade reader range. Gasp of
Book Review | Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH was a Book of the Month for the July/August period on the Great Middle Grade Reads Group. We ended up with a shortlist of seven books to read over the summer. A surprising
MG Book Review Roundup – or what I read on the beach
This book review roundup grabs all the books I read in July and August – many for the GMGR Book of the Month – while I’ve been posting reviews from earlier (mainly for the Clean Sweep ARC). I didn’t do
Book Review | Blood Moon (Redstone 2) by Rebecca Weinstein
Blood Moon is the second in the series about the wolf Nashoga and his pack. I thought I had this book, hunted everywhere for it, then realised that in spite of putting it on my TBR in 2013, I hadn’t
Book Review | The Fourteenth Goldfish
The Fourteenth Goldfish was the Goodreads Great Middle Grade Reads group’s Book of the Month for May. They didn’t have it in my library, so I asked for it. They eventually agreed, and only charged me the regular reservation fee.
Book Review | Shirley Link & the Black Cat (Shirley Link 4)
Shirley Link and the Black Cat follows Shirley Link and the Safe Case, Shirley Link and the Hot Comic and Shirley Link and the Treasure Chest, in this wonderful MG detective series. Shirley Link and the Black Cat by Ben
MG or not MG? My Book Review question
MG or not MG – a question that came up recently for two books intended for tweens and young teens. Okay, the older end of MG, but still. We often discuss what makes a book suitable for ‘middle grade’ readers
Book Review | The Camelot Kids Book 1 by Ben Zackheim
The Camelot Kids is Ben Zackheim’s second series, or at least I think so. He started publishing it after the Shirley Link series, and I’ve already reviewed a few of those. I read Part 1 of the Camelot Kids without realising
Book Review | Oy Yew #AtoZChallenge
Oy Yew is a book I got as a result of the Read 4 Review programme on Goodreads groups. Ana is a member of the Good Middle Grade Reads Group; I took up the offer of a free ebook March last
#Flashback Friday | X Marks the Spot #AtoZChallenge
I was looking forward to finding a title beginning with X for my flash fiction today, although I was also tempted to borrow Rebecca Douglass’s spaceman Xavier Xanthum. Then I realised it was the last Friday of the month, so