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Read something you really liked?    

Read something to your family that they really liked?    

Know of a book middle grade children enjoyed?    

Share your success.    

Write a review.    

Include title, author, what you liked and ISBN.    

email your review to me judy.wollin@gmail.com    

I'd love to hear from you.

Peter loves playing with his friends in the street outside his apartment in Berlin in East Germany. He ignores his mother calling him inside and is left at home with his grandparents when his parents visit friends in West Germany. 

The strangest thing happens overnight and the next day. Soldiers appear and people are prohibited from going to the West from East Germany. 

Peter and his grandparents are trapped in East Germany, with his parents and baby sister stuck in West Germany. Peter must escape to join his family. He sees desperate people taking extraordinary risks to flee to the West. What are his plans to escape? 

I enjoyed the child’s perspective of momentous events. 

Recommended for Middle Grade and reluctant readers looking for a fast-paced story. 

Published by Puffin Books 2019 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Audrey’s family have been through hard times with her father laid off and struggling to find work. 

A new start in the country is decided on, and Audrey finds herself living in a farmhouse amongst grapevines with new neighbours and a new school after the holidays. 

Audrey loves birds, but it is nerdy, and she keeps it to herself. She finds making friends difficult. 

Off exploring, she comes across a cave. Something strange is there, someone’s belongings. Who would live in a cave? 

I enjoyed the strong imaginative element and Audrey’s trials settling in a new place.   

Recommended for Middle Grade 

Published by Walker Books 2018 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Billy finds himself at a remote location in China for a Summer of learning Mandarin. A class of gifted students from across the globe have been brought together for the Summer of learning. 

Billy is grouped with Charlette, Dylan and Ling-Fei. Four groups are pitched against each other in competitions. The first task is to collect an item. Billy and the others head out. What they find shakes their confidence. They must overcome an earthquake, a mountain opening and a tiger. When they tell their tale, no one believes them. 

Determined to get to the bottom of their experience Billy and his three friends head back to the mountain. What do they find? 

I enjoyed the fantasy of the novel. 

Recommend for middle grade readers. 

Published by Simon & Schuster 2020 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Set in the southern USA in 1926, Darby finds life can be confusing and harsh. Her friend Evette is black and goes to a different school. She is clever and wants to be a newspaper girl – a journalist. 

Evette convinces Darby that it is a fine career, as evidenced by her aunt, a journalist in New York. Evette's aunt is in a great job. She owns a house and drives a car. Neither is anything Darby has seen black people do in her little town.  

Darby writes for the local newspaper and gets quite the following.  

A black boy is beaten to death on the farm next door by his white boss. 

Darby's third article threatens her family, Evette's family, and their little town. What did she write? I enjoyed the strong southern voice of the characters and insights into life for Darby and her friend Evette in 1926. 

Recommended for Middle Grade and tween readers 10-13 years. 

Published by Candlewick Press 2006 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Bill and his mother have moved house to keep their secret a secret. He isn’t looking forward to going to another school or being lonely for the holidays. 

Matty, who has her own secret, leaps into Bill’s life. Exciting, unusual, and very friendly. Bill is relieved and very happy to have such a great friend at school. 

Isabelle arrives and stuns Bill with her looks, attitude, and wish to have him as her friend. Isabelle wants Bill to herself. 

How does Bill find a way to keep Matty as his friend and live up to Isabelle and her family’s high standards? 

I loved the rich characters, and the dilemma’s the children find themselves in. 

Recommended for Middle-Grade readers 8-12 years 

Published by UQP 2009 and recently in 2017 

Shortlisted Book The Book Council of the Year Awards, Australia. 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Henry finds life tough. He lives on the Ballarat goldfields with his father and sister. His mother died shortly after giving birth to a little boy who died too. Dad is fighting to make enough from gold mining to keep his family fed. He cannot afford either the miner’s licence or the fines if he doesn’t have one. 

The poor miners play cat and mouse with the corrupt local police. The police caught Henry and his father parts with his only valuable item to avoid a fine. Henry fights with his father about the fines, friends, and life on the gold fields as tension rises about the miner’s licence. 

Who does Henry become friends with? What is the outcome of the licence, corrupt police and poverty? 

I enjoyed the descriptions of life on the goldfields. 

Recommend for Middle Grade readers 8-12 years 

Published by Puffin Books 2015

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

I read and I write.  

If you read why not write?  

More reviews coming from me and you.

Read something you really liked?  

Read something to your family that they really liked?  

Know of a book middle grade children enjoyed?  

Share your success.  

Write a review.  

Include title, author, what you liked and ISBN.  

email your review to me judy.wollin@gmail.com  

I love to hear from you.

Life is complicated for Rose and Merdyn. Rose desperately wants to win the talent contest at school, but her dance moves and singing cause only humiliation. Merdyn is cursed and sent to the 21st century. He is a confused Dark Ages wizard who struggles to understand why people are not afraid of him. 

Rose and Merdyn strike a deal to help each other, and Merdyn is presented to Rose’s mother as long lost and strange, ex-racing car driver Uncle Martin.  

Merdyn is desperate to get back to the Dark Ages and makes a promise to Rose that keeps her helping him. What does he promise? 

I enjoyed the humour and unusual characters. 

Recommended for readers aged between 10-14 years 

Published by Hodder and Stoughton 2020 Illustrated by Claire Powell 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Harley is shocked to see three of her grandparents vanish in the caravan toilet, leaving only a smelly cloud of green dust. Nanna explains her family are gatekeepers, guiding restless souls into the Beyond. 

Nanna vanishes with her cart in another puff of green smoke from the toilet. The trouble is, so does Harley’s baby brother, who was hiding Nanna’s cart. 

Harley makes a life-changing decision and sets about rescuing her brother. What does she find? 

I enjoyed the humour and the fantasy. 

Recommended for Middle Grade and Tweens 10-12 years 

Published by Farshore 2021 Illustrated by Olia Muza 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Sarah lives with her father, and they battle to keep the family farm and have any money at all. Desperate for help but unable to pay for it, they employ a dragon to clear their fields. 

Sarah befriends the dragon, but her father is nervous. Letters blackmailing him into killing the dragon add to his worries. 

The dragon tells of a prophecy where Sarah saves the world, but an assassin is hunting her. The dragon also points out that prophecies are notoriously imprecise. What do Sally and her father decide? Can the dragon help them? 

I enjoyed the fantasy of the novel. 

Recommended for Young Adults, Tweens aged 12years+ 

Published by Walker Books 2020 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Scarecrow and his Marine Corps are on deployment to Hell Island. He is suspicious. Other elite personnel have been deployed too, an Airborne Division, SEAL team and one Delta team. Why so many elite personnel on a deserted island? 

Dropped onto USS Nimitz, all hell breaks loose. Death, destruction and demented apes make survival an unlikely outcome for Scarecrow and his team. With a history of ‘time-off’ and not following the rules, Scarecrow’s team worry he’s not the leader to see them through. What is the outcome? 

I enjoyed the tension of the story in this novella. 

Recommended for YA and adults. Great for older reluctant readers. 

Published by Pan Macmillan Australia 2005 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

William and Melissa are coerced to go with their grandparents to help them tidy up their holiday house in seaside, rural New Zealand.  

The isolated location, dirt roads, lack of electricity, party-line phone and no internet challenge William and Melissa. It’s not all bad. William learns to drive a car, and Melissa hears things about her family history that intrigue her. A family crisis challenges everyone. What is the outcome? 

I loved the New Zealand location and the development of the characters across the story. Insights into grandparent/grandchildren relationships. 

Recommend for Middle Grade readers. 

Published by Gecko Press 2013 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Sam loves a prank. It’s his thing. He gets caught in an earthquake a long way from home on a dark night. He wakes in a different land. 

Thugs steal his bag of techno wizardry on day one, and Sam needs to retrieve it to have any chance of getting home. The signal on his phone is intermittent, but maybe his techno friend Rinni can help. How will he get back? 

I enjoyed the pace and technological elements of this story. 

Recommended for Middle Grade and Tween readers aged 10-13 years, particularly those interested in hand-held electronic wizardry. 

Published by Hooligan Press 2018

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Ben’s family has never been on a family holiday. Something is odd. His parents insist on a different car, ugly holiday haircuts and a tedious road trip to Grandfather’s forest cabin.  

Nature is not Ben’s thing. He likes his room and making stop-motion videos. Living in an isolated one-room cabin with no electricity or running water was never his idea of fun. In addition, his parents are behaving strangely. Ben begins to investigate what’s going on. What does he find? 

What makes things turn deadly? I enjoyed the tension of this story.

A page-turner I read through the night. 

Recommended for Middle Grade readers, particularly reluctant readers looking for fast pace and tension. 

Published by Puffin Books 2014 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Molly loves swimming. She’s also nervous about going to high school next year. Luckily her friend Chloe is going to the same high school. 

The problem Molly has is that Chloe is being rude and nasty to her and their friends and classmates. Chloe criticises Molly’s body shape, which humiliates her. Molly gets more and more anxious that whatever she’s doing, wearing, whoever she’s talking to is not good enough for Chloe. 

Molly’s mother throws a party for her, and it comes to a head. What happens at the party? 

I enjoyed the strong characters and the portrayal of Molly’s anxiety. 

Recommended for Middle Grade 

Published by Nosy Crow 2018 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

Aya must look after her mother and brother. Her father asked her to as they struggled to survive when their inflatable migrant boat was upturned in a storm off the coast of Greece. 

Manchester is so different from Syria. Hours spent trying to see their case worker, trying to navigate the immigration system.  

Aya hears music she recognises from her ballet classes back home in Syria. She sneaks a look and is transported to her dream to be a dancer. She is spotted by the teacher. What happens next? Where is her father? 

I enjoyed the realism of a child migrant, the burden of adult responsibilities and uncertainty the only constant in her life. 

Recommended for Middle Grade and Tween readers 10-14 years 

Published by Nosy Crow 2019

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

School camp would be fabulous with their favourite teacher Mr Bambuckle. The class couldn’t believe it when the Deputy Principal arrives on the first night. 

She starts by getting Mr Barbuckle to fill in all the forms he is required to. That takes hours. Luckily the class cook dinner and they all have something to eat. 

The deputy Principal sets a mean task the next day. Who does she want punished? How can the other classmates save their friend? 

I enjoyed the humour and the changes in font. 

Recommended for Middle Grade and reluctant readers. 

Published by Random House Australia 2018 

Illustrated by James Hart 

Read and reviewed by Judy Wollin 

I read and I write.

If you read why not write?

More reviews coming from me and you.