Goodreads

Great Middle Grade Books

One of my favorite parts of becoming an author has been learning about all the other great books that are coming out soon. And even better, I’ve gotten to read a lot of ARCs (Advance Reader Copies). My son has also been taking advantage of this, and he’s gotten to read a lot of them, too. I think I’m going to have him post some reviews in the near future.

But in the mean time, I wanted to share with you some of the amazing middle grade novels that have been and will be released this year.

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Of these 19 books listed above, I have read 16 of them (including my own). You can check out my Goodreads reviews to see what I had to say. But honestly, I have been so impressed! Science Fiction. Fantasy. Mystery. Magical Realism. Historical. Contemporary. Books dealing with loss. Books dealing with change. Books dealing with mysteries. I found kids facing their fears and learning to find their voice.  I found kids trying new things and making hard choices. I could go on and on (for your sakes, I won’t).

There is truly a book for every reader on these posters above! And although we say that middle grade is for kids ages 8 – 12, I disagree. These books are for people of all ages. I have learned so much about myself and about the world around me as I’ve read these stories. They truly are for everyone. I hope you’ll look some of these up and share the ones you love.

So tell me . . . which ones are you most excited for? Or, if you are looking for a book on a certain topic or of a certain genre, please tell me, and I’ll make a recommendation. I just love, love, love hooking up books and readers!

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A Girl with a Dream (and a Goodreads Giveaway)

Once upon a time there was a girl. And this girl had a dream.

The dream was so big, it leaked from her thoughts and colored everything in her life. It made her food tastier when she drew closer to it, but drained all the flavor when she stumbled in her efforts. It made the sun shine brighter on the best of days, but hid it away in gloomy clouds on the worst. It drew people to her when she  succeeded in even the smallest of ways, but made her a hermit when she failed.

She began to wonder if this dream was really what she wanted.

But it had become such a part of her life, she couldn’t let go. She didn’t want to let go.

And then it happened.

She reached her dream! And everything was sunshine and roses.

Until it wasn’t.

Because reaching her dream was not an ending. It was simply a new beginning.

And she embraced it.

The End. (Or rather . . . The Beginning)

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P.S. Today starts the first Goodreads giveaway for THE LAST GREAT ADVENTURE OF THE PB&J SOCIETY. It runs through January 19th and is open internationally. Go forth and enter! And may your lucky socks be dirty enough, and your clovers all have four leafs.

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The End of Summer

• Moved to
  Oregon

• Entered
  my first ever county fair (with my awesome cinnamon twists)

• Won 2nd
  prize in the county fair (I thought this deserved its own bullet point)

• Made
  hand-shaken ice-cream with my kids (4th annual, baby!)

• Canned
  actual fruit (the lids sealed and everything!)

• Attended
  my first-ever crawdad cook-out (yep, they just lay it all out on the table)

• Painted a
  painting (can you tell which one’s mine?)

• Spent
  time with family

• Joined
  the Sweet Sixteens debut author group

• Received
  and returned 1st edits (on time!)
• Wrote a
  dedication and an acknowledgments page (surprisingly hard!)
• Started
  a Facebook Author Page
• Became a
  “Goodreads Author“
• Discovered
  PB&J on a list of anticipated 2016 MG releases (!!!)
• Received
  my ARCs (still swooning!)

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