Just another teen reading books: Yay For Middle Grade Books 2023

Monday, May 15, 2023

Yay! For Middle Grade Books: Interview With Elizabeth C. Bunce!

Hi, everyone! Today I'm happy to present an interview with Elizabeth C. Bunce, the author of Myrtle, Means, and Opportunity, which releases in October! She is the author of multiple other books, including the first four novels in the Myrtle Hardcastle series, which are out now.

Would you please tell us a little about your book, Myrtle, Means, and Opportunity?

The fifth volume in the Myrtle Hardcastle Mysteryseries finds Myrtle embroiled in an age-old treasure hunt at a haunted castle in Scotland! But her search takes on a sinister twist when a series of mysterious attacks (and a murder) hits closer and closer to home—endangering her beloved governess, Miss Judson. I’ve been thinking of it as And Then There Were None meets Scooby Doo. With foxhounds.

What was the inspiration for the Myrtle Hardcastle books?

The inspiration was twofold. The title of Book 1, Premeditated Myrtle, was the world’s most fortuitious slip of the tongue, and I immediately said, “That is a middle grade mystery!” The second inspiration was Myrtle’s Highly Opinionated Cat, Peony. She was inspired by a real-life cat I met the summer I began writing the book, who really did say “No!” every time she meowed.

The foxhounds in Myrtle, Means, and Opportunityare inspired by my own real-life dogs, who are actually pictured on the cover.

Random Question! What’s your favorite time of year?

I live in the Midwest, and I’m all about fall. I love the early part, when summer is just winding down and the leaves are starting to change and the colors are warm and glorious… and I love the later part, when everything is chill and spooky and bleak, bare trees and dead leaves skittering along the ground… Fall is the only season that has two wildly different moods, which is one of my favorite things about it.

If you’re able to talk about it, what are you currently working on?

I am getting a new manuscript (one of my favorites ever) ready for submission! That doesn’t tell you much, alas, but prepare to be dazzled. :D

What are some of your favorite MG books you've read recently? And what are some that you're looking forward to reading?

The book I am most looking forward to is Sarah Jean Horwitz’s The Demon Sword Asperides (coming from Algonquin Young Readers in July). I think Sarah is one of the current masters of middle grade fantasy—her books are so clever and funny but with tremendous heart.

I’ve just finished Delilah S. Dawson’s Mine, which is a deliciously creepy contemporary ghost story set in Florida, and would make a fantastic readalong to Zora and Me by Victoria Bond and T.R. Simon, a terrific historical mystery with a ghostly twist, set in Florida at the turn of the 20thcentury. (You can tell I’ve had ghosts on my mind lately.That’s actually true all the time, really, and it was probably inevitable that they crept into a Myrtle book eventually!)

Thank you so much to Elizabeth C. Bunce for participating in this event!

Here Are A Few Links:

Sunday, May 14, 2023

Yay! For Middle Grade Books: Interview With Meg Eden Kuyatt!

Hi, everyone! Today I'm happy to present an interview with Meg Eden Kuyatt, the author of Good Different, which is out now!

Would you please tell us a little about your book, Good Different?

Good Different is a middle grade novel in verse about an autistic girl named Selah who learns to advocate for her needs and accommodations through writing poems. Her special interest is dragons, and she wishes she was powerful like a dragon, as her sensory needs often make her feel so powerless. But as she finds a voice through poems, sensory tools, and allies, Selah learns she doesn’t have to be a dragon to feel empowered.

Did you always want to be a writer?

No! My mom used to have to pay me to read! But I started writing poems because “all my friends were doing it” (ha!) and began to fall in love with it as I practiced, especially when my eighth grade history teacher told me I was a good writer. As I wrote, I realized it was a great space to process and communicate my thoughts.

Random Question! What’s your favorite TV show?

Ooof, hard question! A few of my favorites are Bojack Horseman, Avatar the Last Airbender, Legend of Korra, and Crazy ExGirlfriend. I always love learning how tv shows effectively tell stories and how I can apply that to my writing.

If you’re able to talk about it, what are you currently working on?

I’m drafting a new middle grade novel in verse, and have a couple things in the pipeline I’d love to see on shelves, but we’ll see. So much of this process is completely out of my control. The main thing I can do is write the next thing and be patient. Stay tuned on my website for any updates!

What are some of your favorite MG books you've read recently? And what are some that you're looking forward to reading? And what are some you’re looking forward to reading?

Just finished Worst-Case Collin which was great. I’m reading lots of novels in verse. Currently reading Dear Mothman which is beautiful and heartbreaking in the best way possible. I’m really excited to dive into The Fire, The Water and Maudie McGinn (though that’s YA), Tethered to Other Stars and Peril at Price Manor.

Thank you so much to Meg Eden Kuyatt for participating in this event!

Author Bio: Meg Eden Kuyatt teaches creative writing at colleges and writing centers. She is the author of the 2021 Towson Prize for Literature winning poetry collection Drowning in the Floating World (Press 53, 2020) and children’s novels, most recently Good Different, a JLG Gold Standard selection (Scholastic, 2023). Find her online at https://linktr.ee/medenauthor.

Here Are A Few Links:

Saturday, May 13, 2023

Yay! For Middle Grade Books: Interview With Lindsay Currie!

Hi, everyone! Today I'm happy to present an interview with Lindsay Currie, the author of It Found Us, which releases in September! She is also the author of multiple other books, including The Girl in White, which is out now.

Would you please tell us a little about your book, It Found Us?

I'd love to! IT FOUND US follows the story of 12 year old amateur sleuth (and wannabe podcaster) Hazel Woods. Hazel really loves solving mysteries in her town, but finds that many of the adults in her life don't take her seriously and this is something she desperately wants to change. Her opportunity to prove herself comes a bit faster than she ever expects (and in a much more frightening way) when her older brother, Den, sneaks out one night to play hide and seek in a local graveyard. Hazel follows him, hoping to get material for her podcast, and while there, Den's best friend Everett runs off to hide and . . .

dum dum duuuuum . . .

NEVER COMES BACK.

That's right, Everett Michaels is officially missing and the town is being turned upside down by police and scent tracking dogs. When some very mysterious and frightening things begin happening to Hazel, she suspects perhaps there's more to the disappearance than everyone thinks. Perhaps there's more to the graveyard and its sinister history, too. *cue all sorts of scary paranormal things*

I'm so excited for this book! It releases September 5th, but please consider pre-ordering. It helps authors like me so much - plus there's some cool freebies my publisher is sending out. Check out www.lindsaycurrie.com for details on that!

What was the inspiration for the book?

History! It's no secret that I really love researching obscure/forgotten history, especially in the Chicagoland area and this idea stemmed directly from an article my father sent me about two years ago. It was dark, but fascinating and like many of the other historical events I include in my books, I couldn't believe I hadn't heard of it before! That's when I knew it would be a perfect moment in history to shine a light on.

Random Question! What’s your favorite time of year?

This is probably fairly easy to guess, but Fall! I love autumn, especially October. HELLO, HALLOWEEN!

If you’re able to talk about it, what are you currently working on?

Ahh, so I'm not sure how much I can say about what I'm working on except that it will release in Spring of 2024 and is NOT spooky. You read that right, not spooky! I'm not abandoning my scary stories, so don't worry about that, but this book idea popped into my head and really gripped me. I'm fortunate that my publisher, Sourcebooks Young Readers, and my editor Annie Berger trusted me enough to take the leap into a different genre with me! Stay tuned for more details, hopefully soon!

What are some of your favorite MG books you've read recently? And what are some that you're looking forward to reading?

Ahh so many! I've blurbed several great books that release this year, so I'll share those. FIELD OF SCREAMS by Wendy Parris was delightfully eerie. PERIL AT PRICE MANOR by Laura Parnum was equal parts spooky and whimsical, not to mention unique! And last but not least, I share a release date with Ciera Burch, whose book FINCH HOUSE features a thoughtful and very different approach to the classic haunted house type story. I'd recommend all of them wholeheartedly!

Thank you so much to Lindsay Currie for participating in this event!

Author Bio: Lindsay Currie is the author of spooky middle grade novels. While she's never experienced anything truly paranormal, Lindsay enjoys researching her city's forgotten history and learning about the events that shaped the many ghost legends in Chicago. When she's not reading or writing a mystery novel of her own, Lindsay can generally be found taking long walks with her family, chilling with one of her three dogs, or searching the graveyard for her next antagonist.

Here Are A Few Links:

Friday, May 12, 2023

Yay! For Middle Grade Books: Interview With Janet Sumner Johnson!

Hi, everyone! Today I'm happy to present an interview with Janet Sumner Johnson, the author of The Winterton Deception 1: Final Word, which releases in October! She is the author of multiple other books, including the Picture Book illustrated by Stacy Ebert, Open for Business, which is out now.

Would you please tell us a little about your book, The Winterton Deception: Final Word?

Hi Jessica, thanks so much for including me in your celebration, Yay! For Middle Grade Books!

THE WINTERTON DECEPTION: FINAL WORD is a puzzle mystery. When 13-year-old Hope Smith and her twin brother Gordon discover their absentee (and long-since dead) father was a Winterton—the uber rich dictionary magnate family—Hope wants nothing to do with them. But Gordon is desperate to connect. He secretly enters them into the Winterton’s charity spelling bee, and when their mom loses her job, and they face eviction from the motel where they live, Hope has no choice but to participate since they desperately need the money.

After winning the preliminary round, the Smiths are whisked to Winterton Chalet to compete in the official Winterton Bee against their long-lost relatives. Though Hope plans to get in and out—after hopefully beating the snobbish family at their own game—deceased matriarch Jane Winterton had other plans for this final family showdown. Before her death, she set up a clue hunt throughout the manor—an alternate way for Hope and Gordon to get the money that could change their lives.

But its not just Hope and Gordon who are on the trail. Others are desperate to find the treasure as well. With tensions at an all-time high, a fortune at stake, and long-simmering family secrets about to boil to the surface, anything could happen.

What was the inspiration for the book?

One of my very favorite books is THE WESTING GAME by Ellen Raskin. That book is brilliant. I found myself wishing there were more books like it, so I began to read and re-read trying to decipher exactly how she’d done it, in the hopes that maybe I could try to write one. I probably read it through ten times in a row, including once aloud to my whole family. They are now all fans of that book, lol!

My first beginning included multiple points of view (like you get in the Westing Game) and was told from an omniscient third-person perspective, many of which were adults. I loved the feel of it, but middle grade has changed a lot, so I re-envisioned, and ended with the current first-person, single character POV through Hope.

One other inspiration for this book is my love for a good redemption arc. There is something so satisfying to me about watching a character change when others don’t think they can.

And speaking of redemption arcs, I wanted to use the backdrop of the spelling bee, because I still feel bad about missing the word “Accident” in my fourth grade bee (I added an extra ‘c’ because I was so nervous!).

Random Question! What’s your favorite time of year?

Fall. There is something about the cooling weather and the changing colors as the trees give everyone a beautiful finale before they rest up for the winter and start fresh in the new year. I also loved the first day of school, and the fall sports I got to play (Soccer and Softball). So many good memories from Fall.

If you’re able to talk about it, what are you currently working on?

I can’t tell details yet, but since THE WINTERTON DECEPTION is a series, I’m actually working on Book 2! It has been so fun to expand on these characters that I love and build the world a little more. I’ve gotten to dive deeper into some of the minor characters, and of course, I’ve been crafting another twisty puzzle mystery around the Wintertons who are quite the interesting family. They have so many secrets, and it is just fun to uncover them.

What are some of your favorite MG books you've read recently? And what are some that you're looking forward to reading?

Well, it’s a good thing you said “recently” or I wouldn’t know where to start. PLOTTING THE STARS: MOONGARDEN by Michelle A. Barry is a super fun futuristic retelling of The Secret Garden. I’m dying for book 2! And GNOME IS WHERE YOUR HEART IS by Casey Lyall was so fun and touching. Such a great story! (I got to read that one early, but it comes out May 30th, so soon!).

As for what I’m looking forward to, Book 2 of THE CURIOUS LEAGUE OF DETECTIVES AND THIEVES: S.O.S. by Tom Phillips comes out in August, and I can’t wait for that one. Fun and wild shenanigans plus a mystery? Totally my jam.

And then PARACHUTE KIDS: A GRAPHIC NOVEL by Betty C. Tang is at the top of my list. It just came out on April 4th, so I can’t wait to get my hands on it. It’s about three siblings who go on a trip to Disneyland from their home in Taiwan, and their parents inform them they will be staying in the U.S. (while the parents return home). I grew up with a brother and sister from Taiwan, so the topic feels personal.

One last one . . . FREE THROWS, FRIENDSHIP, AND OTHER THINGS WE FOULED UP by Jenn Bishop. I was a big basketball player back in the day, and Jenn is so good at capturing the feelings of middle school, while dealing with tough subjects. It’s sure to be awesome!

I could go on all day, I love reading middle grade so much! Thanks again for having me and for spotlighting so many wonderful middle grade books!

Thank you so much to Janet Sumner Johnson for participating in this event!

Author Bio: Janet Sumner Johnson lives in Utah with her husband and three kids. She bakes a mean cinnamon twist and eats way more cookies than are good for her, which explains her running habit. Though her full-time occupation as evil tyrant/benevolent dictator (aka mom) takes most of her time, she sneaks in writing at night when her inner funny bone is fully unleashed.

Here Are A Few Links:

Thursday, May 11, 2023

Yay! For Middle Grade Books: Interview With Dianne K. Salerni!

Hi, everyone! Today I'm happy to present an interview with Dianne K. Salerni, the author of The Carrefour Curse, which is out now! She is also the author of multiple other books, including the Eight Day trilogy, which is also out now.

Would you please tell us a little about your book, The Carrefour Curse?

The Carrefour Curse was primarily inspired by Dark Shadows, the supernatural soap opera from the 1960s and 70s. I was fascinated by this show as a kid, watching it in reruns, and I was delighted by its brief 1990s revival (although critics were not). As for the modern Johnny Depp movie version, let’s pretend that doesn’t exist, okay?

In my book, Garnet Carrefour and her mother, Emerald, are summoned to the family estate to witness a transition of power. Garnet’s great-grandfather, Jasper, is supposedly dying—although this is not the first time an illness should have carried him off. On that prior occasion, Jasper miraculously recovered while several members of his family died or vanished. This time, the entire family finds themselves trapped on the grounds of Crossroad House, the semi-sentient family mansion. While the family squabbles, Garnet discovers doors that lead to other times, revealing snippets of Carrefour history. Crossroad House is trying to tell Garnet something important—but what is it and how can it help them?

Do you have plans for any more books featuring the Carrefour family?

When I wrote this book, I intended it to be a standalone story. But I have been asked this question often enough that I am reconsidering that idea. The time travel element allows me to explore many decades of Carrefour history. I’d only need to uncover more secrets and a story that needs telling!

Random Question! What’s your favorite color?

I tend to be drawn to blue, although I occasionally like a splash of orange!

If you’re able to talk about it, what are you currently working on?

Keep an eye out for an announcement about my next MG book, coming soon! In the meantime, I am toying with several first drafts, wanting to see which one I fall in love with.

What are some of your favorite MG books you've read recently? And what are some that you're looking forward to reading?

Some of my recently read favorites are The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste, The Clackity by Lora Senf, The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton, and The Polter-Ghost Problem by Betsy Uhrig. One book I’m really looking forward to is No One Leaves the Castle by Christopher Healy, which comes out in August.

Thank you so much to Dianne K. Salerni for participating in this event!

Author Bio: DIANNE K. SALERNI is the author of eight YA and middle grade novels, including Junior Library Guild Selections Eleanor, Alice, & the Roosevelt Ghosts, Jadie in Five Dimensions, and The Carrefour Curse, as well as the state award nominated Eighth Day series. Dianne was a Pennsylvania public school teacher for 25 years before leaving the profession to spend time hanging around creepy cemeteries, attending ghost hunting classes, and climbing 2000 year-old pyramids in the name of book research. In her spare time, she volunteers at her local animal rescue shelter, walking dogs and serving the needs of the feline overlords.

Here Are A Few Links:

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

Yay! For Middle Grade Books 2023: Interview With Leah Cypess!

Hi, everyone! Today I'm happy to present an interview with Leah Cypess, the author of The Piper’s Promise, which is out now! Her next book, The Last Rose, releases in December.

Would you please tell us a little about your book, The Piper’s Promise?

The Piper's Promise is a sequel to the fairy tale "The Pied Piper." This book is about the Pied Piper's little sister, Clare, who comes to Hamelin after she hears rumors that her brother has kidnapped all the children. Clare loves her brother, who has always protected her, and she knows he couldn't possibly be guilty of such a terrible crime. Or could he? In order to save the children of Hamelin, she will have to face both her brother's secrets and her own...

The Last Rose, the 4th book in the Sisters Ever After series, releases in December. Can you tell us anything about it?

The Last Rose is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, told from the point of view of Beauty's little sister. I'm not going to say too much more about it... yet!

Random Question! What’s your favorite color?

This is an easy one for me! Blue.

If you’re able to talk about it, what are you currently working on?

I can talk about it, but it's a little confusing, because what I'm working on now is Book #6 in the Sisters Ever After series. Random House does things *very* far in advance, and has also accelerated the publication of these books, with the end result that I'm writing Book #6 right after Book #3 came out! So: As you know, Book #4 is going to be a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Book #5 (I might as well tell you!) is going to be a retelling of Rapunzel. And Book #6, which I'm drafting now, is a retelling of The Little Mermaid.

What are some of your favorite MG books you've read recently? And what are some that you're looking forward to reading?

Now this is a hard one! I recently read The Guardian Test by Christina Soontornvat, which is younger MG (ages 8-10, probably), and which I liked a lot -- it's absolutely perfect for its audience. I love how she handles her world-building. I just started Creatures of the In Between by Cindy Lin, which I'm really enjoying so far. As for what's ahead, I am really looking forward to The Museum of Lost & Found by Leila Sales, who is one of my favorite authors. I also really want to find the time to re-read the first 3 books in Jessica Townsend's "Nevermoor" series before the fourth book comes out in October! I have to admit, my prospects don't look great, but I'm going to try.

Thank you so much to Leah Cypess for participating in this event!

Here Are A Few Links:

Tuesday, May 9, 2023

Yay! For Middle Grade Books 2023: Interview With Sarah Henning!

Hi, everyone! Today I'm happy to present an interview with Sarah Henning, the author of Monster Camp, which releases today! She is also the author of multiple YA novels, including It's All In How You Fall, which is out now.

Would you please tell us a little about your book, Monster Camp?

The pitch for Monster Camp is that it’s a fish-out-of-water mash-up of Ghost Squad and Hotel Transylvania about a human girl who must put on the performance of her life when she realizes what she thought was a LARPing summer camp is full of real monsters!

A little more unofficially, it’s a super fun spooky summer camp book about being yourself and finding belonging. With monsters:) Sylvie, the main character, struggles with bullying and anxiety in addition to general pushback about her favorite pastime, LARPing. There's a mouthy werewolf named Chad, ghosts who are total sugar freaks, and more than one hike with a very friendly (and very huge) Yeti.

You’ve written a bunch of YA novels, however this is your first MG book. How did you decide to write Monster Camp?

Honestly, I really like the energy of middle grade and had been trying to find the right project. My son is in middle school (at least for the next two weeks before he’s a rising ninth-grader) and it’s such a fun and interesting time in a person’s life. That’s really what draws me to YA too, but I wanted the challenge of writing for a new, younger audience.

Random Question! What’s your favorite color?

Blue! It’s just calming, and I think my eye is always drawn to it. I own a lot of blue clothing, have entire rooms in my house that are blue, and my school (the University of Kansas) has it as one of its main colors.

If you’re able to talk about it, what are you currently working on?

I’m not able to talk about it yet! I feel like I’ve been talking around this book for a year. LOL. Hopefully I’ll be able to say something more descriptive soon but at the moment I can say I have another young adult coming out in Fall 2024 with Tor Teen and that it’s a contemporary fantasy. I’m anxiously awaiting my first edit letter on it—perhaps after that arrives I’ll be able to talk about it. Fingers crossed.

What are some of your favorite MG books you've read recently? And what are some that you're looking forward to reading?

I loved Sarah Cannon’s Oddity from a few years ago—the voice is just amazing. Recently, I got a chance to read Ciera Burch’s middle grade debut, Finch House (out in September), and it was just fantastic. She also writes YA and I’m stoked to get to read her across genres. Speaking of YA authors, I’ve really loved reading middle grades from Emily Lloyd-Jones, Roseanne A. Brown, Dhonielle Clayton, Natalie C. Parker, and so many others who also write YA.

Thank you so much to Sarah Henning for participating in this event!

Author Bio: Sarah Henning is a recovering journalist who has worked for the Palm Beach Post, Kansas City Star and Associated Press, among others. When not writing, she runs ultramarathons, hits the playground with her two kids, and hangs out with her husband Justin, who doubles as her long-suffering IT department. Sarah lives in Lawrence, Kansas, hometown of Langston Hughes, William S. Burroughs, and a really good basketball team.

Here Are A Few Links:

Monday, May 8, 2023

Yay! For Middle Grade Books 2023: Interview With Evelyn Skye!

Hi, everyone! Today I'm happy to present an interview with Evelyn Skye, the author of Princess Private Eye, which is out now! She is also the author of multiple YA books, including Damsel, which released earlier this year. Her debut Adult novel, The Hundred Loves of Juliet, releases in August.

Would you please tell us a little about your book, Princess Private Eye?

I'd love to! Princess Private Eye is like The Princess Diaries meets Nancy Drew, and the book introduces Disney's new princess, Genevieve Sun. Gen is just an ordinary foster kid in NYC—okay, an ordinary kid who happens to be an awesome hacker—when she finds out she’s actually the long-lost princess of a country called Raldonia! But when the secret agents whisk her away to her new kingdom, she finds out there’s a curse that’s supposedly tied to her arrival… When things start to go very, very wrong, Gen will need to get to the bottom of the mystery and catch the real criminals who are sullying her name, before the Queen decides to cancel Gen’s coronation and send her packing back to New York.

You’ve written a lot of YA books, however this is your first MG book. How did you decide to write Princess Private Eye?

It's funny because this book actually happened because of a failed YA. I had written an outline and some sample chapters of a YA rom com involving a princess, and my agent shopped it to some publishers. Disney read it and said that although they weren't interested in my YA, they loved my voice and thought I'd be perfect for a new MG novel they were coming up with. So the tables kind of turned and they sent me their outline to see if I would want to work on the book. I loved the idea of a smart, spunky princess who has to learn how to be properly royal while also sneaking out of the castle to solve mysteries. The result is a clever story with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments, and it was so much fun to write.

Random Question! What time of year is your favorite?

Summer! Because of cherries, berries, peaches, and all the delicious pies you can make with them. Plus, I just feel like the world feels a little lighter when it's summer. Maybe because the kids are out of school and their vacation joy permeates the air? I don't know, but summer is my favorite... as long as it's not humid!

If you’re able to talk about it, what are you currently working on?

My next book is The Hundred Loves of Juliet. It's adult fiction that comes out on August 1st of this year, so I'm starting to do publicity for that. The Hundred Loves of Juliet is like Romeo & Juliet meets The Time Traveler's Wife: What if Shakespeare got it wrong? What if Romeo never died, but Juliet did, and she has been reincarnated over and over. And in every lifetime, Romeo is doomed to meet her, fall in love, and watch her die, again and again. Fast forward to present-day...

What are some of your favorite MG books you've read recently? And what are some that you're looking forward to reading?

Since May is AAPI Month, I'll shout out a couple of great MG books by AAPI authors:

I loved Winston Chu vs The Whimsies by Stacey Lee. Honestly, I love everything Stacey writes. She's so witty and her humor works so well in this new middle grade series.

And I'm excited to read Momo Arashima Steals the Sword of the Wind by Misa Sugiura. It's on my shelf and Misa is a lovely person, so I'm really looking forward to that one.

Thanks so much for having me here today, Jessica! And thanks for being such a wonderful advocate for books!

Thank you so much to Evelyn Skye for participating in this event!

Author Bio: Evelyn Skye is a New York Times bestselling author of books for adults, young adults, and children. Her highly anticipated forthcoming novels include Damsel (which will also be a Netflix film starring Millie Bobby Brown, Robin Wright, and Angela Bassett) and The Hundred Loves of Juliet.

Evelyn is a graduate of Stanford University and Harvard Law School. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and daughter.

Here Are A Few Links: