middle school book | Daddy Mojo

Escape From A Video Game: The Secret of Phantom Island review

Our now 11-year-old son loved the Trapped in a Video Game book series by Dustin Brady. He read all of them and was quite bummed out when that series ended. Thus, when Escape from a Video Game: The Secret of Phantom Island arrived he was very excited. That excitement didn’t last long and I was curious as to why he gave up on the book less than 10 minutes after starting it. The answer will make some readers agree with him, might re-categorize the book for others, or have those puzzle kids jumping through book hoops to do the book.

Puzzle and choose-your-adventure peeps come hither

The Great Upending aims high, but is a Mcguffin too far

Whenever a middle grade book is published that might be a bit melodramatic or have a character who’s dealing with an illness or physical condition it’s compared to Wonder. I really need to read that book. We read one recently that was compared to that and found it quite uplifting. The Great Upending has been compared to that book and there are certainly lots of story threads in the book to make it an interesting read. We’re not going to list any spoilers about the book, it’s better for readers if they know fewer details about that.

Middle grade melodrama, with a dash of realism

Roll With It sneaks up on any middle school reader

For some reason the cover to the book and its title didn’t connect with me. The cover of Roll With It has a teenage girl in her wheel chair, balancing on her back wheels whilst holding a pie with finger like she’s spinning a basketball. The cover image and the title imply the vibe that the book puts forth perfectly. So much so that after reading it I realized I had brought my expectations to a book that I expected to be one that I couldn’t relate to and dour.

Trying to get middle schoolers to read something different? Try this

The Wonder of Wildflowers, excellent soft sci-fi for ages 8-12

The magic of Anna Staniszewski’s book, The Wonder of Wildflowers is how it blends the familiar with the unknown areas that our imaginations are left to play in. It’s a novel that’s set in the present, with people who are in the same situations as you and I, yet there are elements happening in the book that make it as if it’s set in the future. Is ‘soft science-fiction’ a thing or has Staniszewski touched a niche that’s just begging for a USA Network genre series? Whatever it’s called, The Wonder of Wildflowers has enough dramatic elements in its science-fiction or science-fiction in its drama to hook most readers in grades 3-7 with ease.

With short chapters and a fast story this is a great read for grades 3-7

Alien Superstar is funny, whip smart and a book ages 9 and up will love

You might’ve seen the press tour for Alien Superstar. I was skeptical of the book because my bias against celebrity authors. The jaded side of my personality sometimes thinks that the quality of the book will be less and that the author is simply coasting by on their fame in another profession. Alien Superstar is written by Henry Winkler and Lin Oliver and is a hoot of a book. It’s one that our fourth grade student read in three nights and could not put down. Curious about the book that he couldn’t stop raving on I picked it up and can attest to his impression.

Alien Superstar is upper elementary gold, kids 9 and up will love it!

King of the Mole People, reluctant reader middle school gold

The story of Doug Underbelly starts out fast. Underbelly is the king of the mole people and it’s important to know that because he’s being called back to do the king’s work by the end of the first chapter. Granted, there is a two-page prologue that gives readers a very quick overview of the situation. Doug is just trying to be a typical seventh-grade student, but he’s also the King of the Mole People. Unfortunately for him, the later seems to always have the upper hand.

King of the Mole People is middle school reluctant reader gold. It’s funny, very fast paced and perfect for that age that needs to level up their reading skills.

Middle school reluctant readers, check this series out

The Tornado, approachable middle school fiction with self-discovery

A story is only as good as its heel. Toss in that the heel is also a bully and it can take on primal feelings of disdain, guilt and shame. Not only are they not a good person, they’re actively picking on other people. It’s on. The Tornado is by author Jake Burt. Its tagline is “Only a force of nature can stop this bully”. This is middle school reading that’s more fun to read than that tagline infers. Ultimately, it’s about friendship, making mistakes and owning up to them.

The Tornado deals with middle school problems in an age appropriate manner; from new friends, discovering yourself, bullies and more in an entertaining way.

The Tornado, it’s not what you think it is.

The Beast, middle grade scares that build up perfectly

The Darkdeep was one of our favorite books of 2018. Imagine a world where a sequel to Back to the Future or The Matrix isn’t known yet. Doc Brown or Neo are about to fly off into the sky that’s either a great ending or a great jumping off point for the next movie. The Darkdeep ended like that for us. And just like Back to the Future 2 (which we consider to be an excellent movie, there, we said it) and The Matrix 2 (not so much….), The Beast takes the setup from The Darkdeep and extends it into a world in which monsters live among us.

The Beast is the second book is the Darkdeep series and provides the scares, humor and plot that middle grade readers crave.

The Beast is as good as the first entry in the series, this is go-to scary stuff for middle school readers and up