Mundie Moms

Monday, August 22, 2011

Must Have Middle Grade Reads

Must Have Middle Grade Reads is a post that spotlights a few of our favorite MG reads that we've reviewed the previous week on Mundie Kids. First on the list is one of my all time favorite MG reads! Wildwood by Colin Meloy is absolutely brilliant! Normally I don't include my entire review for the MG spot light, but with Wildwood I couldn't help myself. This is simply a MUST HAVE book.


Illustrated by: Carson Ellis
To Be Released on: August 30th, 2011
Ages: 8 & up
5 stars- This Is A Must Read

Colin Meloy's Wildwood is a spellbinding, enticing story that creatively blends together the "what if" with magic, fantasy and an unforgettable adventure. Colin is a masterful story teller who will whisk readers away with his enchanting story, and incredible world.
If I already wasn't sold on the premise of this book, and the beautiful artwork on the cover, the setting would have had me. Being from the Northwest, I have a huge soft spot for books set there and I loved this setting. I liked how Colin created a magical world set in the middle of the woods. Growing by near some woods, I often wondered what really lies in the middle of the woods and Wildwood's magical adventure finally gave me my answer. A lot of things happen. There's a whole world full of myths, danger, adventure, secrets, and magic.

I've never felt compelled to compare another story with The Chronicles of Narnia, like I have with Wildwood. Both stories have that same classic fantasy feel, talking creatures, adventure, good vs evil battle and rooted into the story's rich plot, a wonderful message. Both stories have a rich story line, strong well written characters who along their journey discover more about themselves, and a fascinating, secret world that lies hidden within our own modern day one. Along with Colin's mesmerizing story telling are breathtakingly beautiful illustrations that match the story perfectly from well know artist Carson Ellis. These illustrations alone are completely captivating.
Wildwood is a thrilling new fairytale that has the same charm and appeal of the classic fairytales I grew up with. This is absolutely one of my most favorite MG reads for 2011! It's a story that can be read as a family, individually or in a classroom, as there are so many elements that can be openly discussed. Wildwood is a book I highly recommend picking up. I'm eagerly awaiting to read more of this series.
I HIGHLY recommend picking up this book! This is one of my all time favorite MG reads. You can read the rest of my 5 star review here.


Published by: Simon & Schuster Kids
Released on: August 9th, 2011
Ages: 8-12
4 stars- I love this series
I really adore this series. The Goddess Girls is a fun series that allows young readers a chance to get to know the young Greek Goddess and Gods, while sharing empowering messages with it's readers. In past books the messages have been about being true to yourself, loyalty, being strong, being a true friend and being proud of who you are. With each book, the characters deal with much of the same things or similar things their readers do. These young Gods and Goddess learn to deal with fitting in, first crushes, new friendships, dealing with bullies, school life and finding out who they are. I love that as the series continues, we not only see more of the characters, but with each new book a different Goddess Girl tells the story.

This is book six in the series. It's a great series for young readers. You can read the rest of my review here.

Written & Illustrated By: Deborah Freedman

Published by: Viking/Penguin Books
To Be Released on September 15th, 2011
Ages 3 & up
5 stars- It's A Great Read
This is such a delightfully, fun, creative read. I love the way Deborah brings her story to life through her illustrations. By creating a story that is centered on a painting and then bringing that painting to life within the story is both clever and engaging. It's also unique, as there aren't many children's books I've read that have done this.
I know this one isn't a middle grade, but this children's book is simply a must have. The illustrations are fantastic and I love the unique approach the author took in telling her story. You can read the rest of my 5 star review here.

Book Review: Nocturne (Claire de Lune BK #2)


Published by: Simon & Schuster
To Be Released On: August 23rd, 2011
Source: ARC from publisher to review
4 stars- I Liked It

Some secrets are too dangerous...

After the tragic events of the summer, Claire is looking forward to a new school year. All she wants to worry about is finding the most gorgeous dress to wear to the Autumn Ball with her perfect boyfriend.But as Claire knows all too well, the life of a werewolf is never that simple, or that sweet.When Claire’s human and wolf lives start to collide, her worst nightmares come true. She is hurting her best friend. She has been caught lying. And then the unthinkable happens: Someone discovers Claire’s secret.If Claire’s werewolf identity is exposed, everyone she knows will be put at risk. And the pack’s response comes at a cost higher than Claire can imagine. Claire will be forced to determine just how far she is willing to.

I like it when I sit down to read a sequel and it begins not long after the previous book, which is exactly how Nocturne starts. Nocturne continues with Claire's story, only this time it focuses more on her struggles with trying to find balance within both the human and wolf world, something that's becoming harder and harder for her to do.

As if being a teenager and dealing with high school wasn't complicated enough, keeping her wolf side a secret and living in the human world at the same time proves to be a tougher feat for Claire. She struggles with feelings of insecurity throughout the story, as she wants to be the perfect wolf and complete a task that if she fails will have her removed from the pack and she's also not as close to her best friend Emily anymore. She wants to remain close to her friends, yet she's constantly having to lie to them to keep her wolf side a secret. Claire is constantly waging a battle within herself on whether or not she should follow in her mother's footsteps and have as little contact as possible with humans or try an almost impossible feat and keep doing what she's doing.

With Nocturne I felt I was able to connect more with Claire on an emotional level than I did in Claire de Lune. I felt sympathetic towards her struggles and wanting to maintain some sort of normalcy in both worlds. I like Christine's writing with this series. The story line flows well, and the characters have become a little bit more in-depth. The only thing I felt was missing was some action. However, Christine did keep me invested with the story through Claire and the choices she makes. I also really like Christine's unique twists with her wolf mythology. I'm sure I said this before in my review of Claire de Lune, but I like that Christine's characters aren't typical werewolves. Her wolves are much like Andrea Cremer's and Maggie Stiefvater's, and I love that about her characters. They're humans who happen to turn into actual wolves. They have a similar wolf hierarchy, pack rules and they have the same mannerisms as wolves in the wild would have, when they become their wolf selves.

Nocturne for me was a nice book to sit back and relax with, and it's one I read in one sitting. I liked the flow of the story, and surprisingly it's a wolf story that reads well even without any action. It has a nice pace to it and after reading a few books with a lot of action in them, I enjoyed being able to and read a book that was really all about the main character and her struggles. If you enjoyed Claire de Lune than I'd recommend picking Nocturne up.

Mundane Monday #98


"I thought Jocelyn said her dress wasn't white," Simon said.

"Well," said Jace, "I suppose that ship has sailed."

Luke choked on his coffee. Before he could say- or do- anything, Clary walked back into the room. Her hair was up now, in sparkling pins, with a few curls hanging loose. "I don't know," she was saying as she came closer to them. "Karyn got her hand on me and did my hair, but I'm not sure about the sparkles-"

She broke off as she saw Jace. It was clare from her expression that she hadn't been expecting him either. Her lips parted in surprise, but she said nothing. Jace, in his turn, was staring at her, and for once in his life Simon could read Jace's expression like a book. It was as if everything else in the world had fallen away for Jace but himself and Clary, and he was looking at her with an unconcealed yearning and desire that made Simon feel awkward, as if he had somehow walked in on a private moment.

- City of Fallen Angels, page 102


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