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Reading Middle Grade

Books for Kids and Grown Ups

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Book Reviews, Middle-Grade · October 19, 2021

Review | Keeping It Real

Keeping It Real is Paula Chase’s latest upper middle grade offering. It follows Marigold Johnson, daughter of the media moguls who own Flexx Unlimited. Marigold’s friend and crush, Justice hates their private school where both kids are part of the token number of Black kids. Marigold on the other hand tries to conform to white expectations and fit in with the kids and both she and Justice quarrel about this regularly.

Book Reviews, Young Adult · May 20, 2021

Review | Tokyo Ever After

Izumi Tanaka finds out that her father (the one her single mother never wants to talk about) is the crowned Prince of Japan. Immediately, she’s whisked away to Japan to meet her father and the family she didn’t know she had. Of course, this means she had to leave close to the end of her senior year in high school, hoping to return in time for graduation. When she gets to Japan, however, she’s met with a new (handsome) bodyguard, Akio; cunning cousins, and a whole lot of royal etiquette to learn. Will she survive and finally find belonging? Or will she crash and burn?

Book Reviews, Middle-Grade · May 20, 2021

Review | Not All Heroes by Josephine Cameron

Not All Heroes follows 11-year-old Zinnia Helinski whose family has recently moved to Maine after the death of her little brother, Wally, from brain cancer. Although, they seem to have moved for a fresh start, Zinnia’s parents aren’t doing much to create new experiences. They haven’t made new friends and they didn’t even say hi to their new neighbors.

Book Reviews, Middle-Grade · April 8, 2021

Review | The Great Peach Experiment #1: When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Peach Pie

The Peach family is embarking on The Great Peach Experiment, their first one: making and selling pies out of a food truck! Oh, and they’ll be road tripping the whole summer too. Lucy, Freddie, and Herb have spent more time with each other than with their father since their mom died. But now one of their mom’s inventions has sold for a lot of money and their dad has bought a food truck and wants them to spend the summer traveling through the country as a family.

Young Adult · January 27, 2021

Review | Love Is a Revolution

In Love Is a Revolution, Nala Robertson is a big Black girl who lives with her cousin Imani and Imani’s parents. Imani is an environmental activist with the group Inspire Harlem. When Nala attends Imani’s birthday open-mic night, she meets a charismatic young man named Tye. Tye is also an activist who is immediately drawn to Nala. Nala is eager to impress and starts a series of lies, telling Tye that she is a vegan and pretending to be active in community work at her grandmother’s home for the elderly.

The two soon start dating but the relationship is obviously built on lies. Nala quickly becomes uncomfortable, worrying that Tye only likes her for the fake persona she created.

Adult Fiction, Book Reviews · September 9, 2020

Review | His Only Wife

His Only Wife was my return to adult fiction. I always wondered which book would finally do it, and it was this one. Set in Ghana, this debut novel by Peace Adzo Medie follows a young woman Afi Tekple. The story open at Afi’s marriage to Elikem Ganyo, a man from a high standing Ghanaian family — except Elikem is absent during the ceremony, and his brother is standing in for him. The Ganyos are marrying Afi traditionally for their son, because they are displeased with his current relationship with a Liberian woman with whom he has a daughter.

Book Reviews, Middle-Grade · May 6, 2019

Review | Emily Out of Focus

Emily’s parents travel to China to adopt her little sister, they learn about Chinese culture and trans-racial/continental adoption. Emily also meets Katherine, a girl her age who was adopted from China and is — unbeknownst to anyone but Emily — looking for her birth mother.

Adult Fiction, Book Reviews · January 25, 2019

Review| The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls

Anissa Gray’s debut novel is a powerful look at the ways only family can hurt us. The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls boasts a lineup of compelling women with serious, complex issues.

Book Reviews, Young Adult · January 4, 2019

Review | When the Truth Unravels

RuthAnne Snow’s debut novel begins on the evening of Jenna, Elin, Ket, and Rosie’s prom. Readers immediately learn that Elin recently tried to kill herself. After some time in a treatment facility, and prescription meds, Elin’s parents want things to return to normal and pretend she never attempted suicide. Her friends keep her secret and plan for the best prom ever to convince Elin to keep living. Things are going well until midway through prom, Elin disappears.

Book Reviews · December 27, 2018

Review | Family Trust

On the surface, the Huangs are like any other wealthy Chinese-American family. However, a few chapters into Kathy Wang’s FAMILY TRUST, the reader can tell that this isn’t the case.

About Me
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Afoma
✨how ‘bout a little virtual reality?✨

☀️ Addie has reluctantly moved across the country with her dad for his summer job in the virtual reality industry. He's working on research to use VR for therapeutic purposes, such as helping people cultivate empathy. Addie is not into VR, but that starts to change when she meets Matteo another kid on campus, and tries out VR on her own. Eventually, the two find a helpful use for VR that helps other people.

🥽 I loved the illustration style in this one and while I found the VR setting a bit disorienting, I appreciated the unique lens of the story. The graphic novel format works brilliantly for helping readers appreciate the power of VR. I think with text, it would have just been too much “world-building.” This is more engaging and exciting for kids.

🐢 Lo and Behold is a clever middle grade graphic novel about virtual reality, grief, and parental addiction. Readers who enjoy VR will love this one, but as the Author's Note mentions, it will also be a fantastic introduction for those who, like me, aren't familiar with it. A fun summer read with hints of serious themes.

#mglit #middlegrade #bookstagram
✨surprisingly heartwarming middle grade✨ 🗺 ✨surprisingly heartwarming middle grade✨

🗺️ Ginny’s summer is thrown off when her dad gets a surprise redeployment in the middle of their family’s moving to another city. Then, her geography camp gets canceled. Her sister seems to be making new friends, but no one appears to like Ginny–even when she starts her own geography camp. 

❤️ I loved this book way more than I thought I would (from the synopsis). Ginny has such a great voice and she isn’t always the most likable character but she’s always real. I loved watching her grow throughout the story.

📍This sweet, unique young middle grade book made my heart grow and ache for Ginny and her family as they navigated a season of change. Features illustrations and a new geography fact in each chapter.

#amreading #mglit #middlegrade
My current adult reads! HAPPY TRAVELER is a non- My current adult reads! 

HAPPY TRAVELER is a non-fiction title about making travel work for you and creating enjoyable, memorable experiences. So far, I’m enjoying the author’s musings on travel.

HELLO BEAUTIFUL is a bookstagram darling (need I say more?) and I already know I’ll be reading it for a while. It’s one of those books that really forces you to slow down. The writing is so tender; it feels like the author loves her characters ❤️

#bookstagram #amreading #readersofinstagram
✨growing up is full of bumps on the way✨ 🤓 ✨growing up is full of bumps on the way✨

🤓 Sixth grade is off to a rocky start for Rex. His district moved most of his elementary school to another middle school, his best friend ditches him for the popular crew, and his blurry vision means he has to get clunky new glasses–the only kind his family can afford. 

❤️ This sweet graphic novel for fans of Telgemeier is an ode to middle school, family, and finding your people.

#graphicnovel #middleschoolbooks #kidlit
Do you like to hop on the “buzz train”? I find Do you like to hop on the “buzz train”? I find that buzzy books are often worth the hype. Even the few people who dislike them tend to have STRONG feelings about them 👀 which to me is a sign that the story got to you somehow. Of course, not every book is for every reader — hype or not. I share my tip for finding a hyped book that matches your reading tastes.

Which hyped books did you love? And which ones missed the mark for you?

#reader #bookstagram #unpopularopinions
✨a different kind of sunshine✨ I loved this g ✨a different kind of sunshine✨

I loved this graphic memoir about the author’s time as a counselor at a camp for kids with cancer. It was my first time reading anything by this author and I totally get the appeal.

This one didn’t end up being as sad as I thought it would be but it was very moving, especially because Krosoczka shares newspaper clippings and pictures of one the families with whom he forged a particularly close relationship even until his college years.

If you’re looking for an engaging graphic memoir for older kids ages 11+ this is a great choice.

#graphicnovel #kidlit #yareader
✨a devastating debut✨ This book! Brilliantly ✨a devastating debut✨

This book! Brilliantly written, impressive characterization, and a plot so unexpected. It left me physically shaken (it's not feel-good), but it feels so necessary, so timely. A solid debut about the search for the great American Dream, familial sacrifices, and confronting our ugly inner selves -- all in less than 300 pages. 

You'll like this if you like:

Multiple perspectives (3 perspectives, 3rd person POV)
Character-driven stories
Time-jumping plots
Devastating endings

If you prefer straightforward, plot-rich, fast-paced stories, you might struggle a bit with this one at the start. But it's worth it!

#bookstagram #amreading #fiction
☀️ Meet the Bookstagrammer ☀️ Hi, new fol ☀️ Meet the Bookstagrammer ☀️

Hi, new followers! It’s such a pleasure to have a few new faces around. I love finding new readers to follow on the gram. 

My name is Afoma and I run a book blog called Reading Middle Grade. I also run a Facebook Group and newsletter related to my blog. In my day job, I’m a freelance writer and editor, with a degree in medicine.

I’ve lived in three continents (born in Nigeria, med school in Ukraine and the Caribbean). I live in Nigeria now with my husband and many, many books 🤭 I love to cook and travel and run. This year, one of my goals is to become a better runner. I’m currently able to run 2K without stopping. 

Even though we don’t have traditional four seasons in Nigeria, the summer months are my favorite. From childhood, they were the one time when my overachieving, perfectionistic self could RELAX. And do nothing! And even now, I try to take time off in the summer to do nothing.

Some of favorite books this year have been LASAGNA MEANS I LOVE YOU, THE LOST YEAR (I lived in Ukraine for 3 years, so this resonated with me!), and MAAME. 

Thank you so much for following my reading journey! Tell me something about yourself — hobbies, favorite books, anything! ❤️
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