Category: Middle Grade

August Wrap-Up

Well, y’all, I didn’t get to all the books I had wanted to. I had tried to read 8 books during August and I was only able to fully complete 5 of them. I’m in the middle of 2 others and one I wasn’t able to get to. Let’s dig in, shall we?

So what did I read this month? To recap, there was White Fox by Sara Faring, How It All Blew Up by Arvin Ahmadi, The Talented Miss Farwell by Emily Gray Tedrowe, Eleanor, Alice, & The Roosevelt Ghosts by Dianne K. Salerni, and Dress Codes for Small Towns by Courtney C. Stevens.

I didn’t find any new favorite books this month, but there were two that I did enjoy more than the others. Those books were White Fox by Sara Faring, and Eleanor, Alice, & The Roosevelt Ghosts by Dianne K. Salerni. I hadn’t read from either of these authors before but I found myself enjoying both books and I will look for more books from them in the future. Faring did a great job with the atmosphere in White Fox and I found that a particularly strong element in that story. Salerni really brought the characters to life in Eleanor, Alice, & The Roosevelt Ghosts and made me want to continue down the history tunnel. I gave each book a 4/5.

The books that were misses for me were a tie between Dress Codes for Small Towns by Courtney C. Stevens and The Talented Miss Farwell by Emily Gray Tedrowe. Both had interesting premises but seemed to fall flat in their execution. I struggled to get through both and can’t say I’d recommend either one. Both received 2/5.

So there you have it, folks. What books did you read last month? Were you able to find some awesome new books? Any that you’d recommend?

Eleanor, Alice, & The Roosevelt Ghosts by Dianne K. Salerni

I won a free copy of this book during BookCon thanks to Holiday House in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are solely my own.

This is a middle grade book set in 1898 New York City, a time when humans and ghosts co-exist. We’re following cousins Eleanor and Alice, who team up when they suspect sinister ghosts in their house who are not there for friendly reasons. Previously unable to get along, the girls set aside their differences in order to eradicate the ghost from the home of their Aunt Bye, each for different motives. Ghost hunting isn’t as easy as it may seem, and these girls are in for a frightening time. But with each other’s help, and their own unique skillsets, they may be able to fend off the ghost for good.

I really enjoyed this book! It was a quick read and super interesting. The way Salerni combined history and supernatural elements in this book was such a good way to get younger readers interested in history. I know even myself, having my BA in history, wanted to keep reading up on the characters mentioned in this story because the way they came to life in the story was so fascinating. I just wanted to keep learning. 

Some of the elements in this story seemed a bit heavy for middle school grade, although I’ve been out of middle school for quite some time, so I can’t remember what types of books I was into. But this book contains murder and attempted murder. I would just take that into consideration when deciding if this is right for you and/or your child.

Overall, however, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. It was a fun spin on history and a quick read. It would be a good read for fall. Publication is set for September 1.