An anthology doesn’t always have to be allegorical. Windswept is a fantasy book that combines elements of those two categories into something that also crosses over in fables and fairy tales. To add to the trippy attitude of the book it has the all-seeing eye that’s firmly placed below a tree. And this is before you know anything about the plot, which is about children being literally swept away by the winds, never to be seen again.
What if The Princess Bride and Back to the Future Part II had a baby? Hear me out. The former has familiar fairy tale characters but is completely its own entity. The latter is in a trilogy of films that build upon its created world and ends on a cliffhanger. Once Upon Another Time: Tall Tales is the second in this series of mglit books by New York Times bestselling author James Riley. It’s a book that combines elements of those two things in middle-grade fiction that zip and zags with speed, humor, and aplomb.
The 80s were chaotic, riddled with bad fashion that people thought was cool, produced some fabulous music, and is entertaining legions of teens nowadays. For the record ‘nowadays’ is possibly the oldest sounding word in the English language and is usually followed up with ‘back in my day’. Dead Flip is mglit that is all but served up with a heaping serving of Raisin Bran, featuring the iconic dancing raisins from 1989. It’s a fun book that today’s tweens and lower teens will enjoy because of the accurate 80s and 90’s shoutouts, as well as, the age-appropriate scares and drama.
The other day in the podcast and over on Youtube I mentioned that I read a graphic novel and had no idea of how to accurately describe its content. It’s not that it was bad or poorly presented; it’s just that the subject matter was high level and required a second reading. Having said that, even after reading Neurocomic twice I’m still unable to tell you the details from memory, despite the fact that I enjoyed reading it both times. That is also quite ironic or appropriate, given the fact that Neurocomic is about the brain, memories, and how they’re made, or in my case, forgotten.
Mglit is an abbreviation for middle-grade fiction. However, there are many instances where an mglit book can also be perfect for upper-elementary school readers. It’s kind of like the colloquial definition of art, it varies and can depend on who is viewing it. By any definition, Spy School is one of the go-to, must-read book series for the aforementioned groups. Spy School Project X is the tenth book in that series and, while it does show signs of maturity, it doesn’t show signs of decreasing quality or tired characters.
Steampunk is another person’s Gilded Age, albeit with possibly more action, intrigue, and impossibly complex wooden machines. Spineless has a certain steampunk vibe about it, but when the rubber hits the road it’s more late 1800s, which is when that popular aforementioned show takes place. However, this is about the mglit book that we recently read. It’s called Spineless and is a case where the cover sucks you in, and the story manages to keep you there. This is a book that patient, middle-grade mystery with periods of adventure.
Protest! How People Have Come Together to Change the World takes a wide-angle look at protests over the course of history. It’s by Alice & Emily Haworth-Booth and it’s not as divisive as it could be, but is also not a reference book on what to do if things aren’t going your way or you’re being legitimately repressed. In short, if you’ve protested about more than one topic over the past 25 years then this book will be speaking to the choir, if not, it’ll provide an interesting overview on how discourse started.
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