Middle Grade Marvels August Announcement

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Hello Hello! How are you?

July went by so fast, I can’t believe it’s August in a few days, but I’m very excited for my reading plans, and I’m also getting excited for my Masters starting in September, eeek!

I’m actually really proud of how far our little Middle Grade Marvels book club has come, and I wanted to thank everyone who has shared our Tweets and posts, talked about it and everyone who has been a member from the start, and of course all the new members too. If you don’t know what this book club is, head over to my announcement post here, and if you are interested in joining our book club on Twitter or Goodreads, you can find all the info you need for August in the pinned tweet at @GradeMarvels.

In July we read The Jumbies (#1) by Tracey Baptiste and Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows by J.M. Bergen. We finished both of these books over the weekend, they were both very different, and everyone had some very interesting things to say about them. I personally wasn’t that much of a fan of Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows, and I might not write a review for it on my blog (I will, of course, write a small one on Goodreads). But I adored The Jumbies and you can read my review of it here.

The August BOTM poll has been voted on, and the information Tweet has been published and pinned, so you may already know that in August we will be reading Small Spaces (#1) by Katherine Arden as the BOTM. The members of the Twitter chat are really looking forward to this book, as am I, and I really can’t wait to dive into it as the blurb just drew me in.

After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie only finds solace in books. So when she happens upon a crazed woman at the river threatening to throw a book into the water, Ollie doesn’t think–she just acts, stealing the book and running away. As she begins to read the slender volume, Ollie discovers a chilling story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who both loved her, and a peculiar deal made with “the smiling man,” a sinister specter who grants your most tightly held wish, but only for the ultimate price.

Ollie is captivated by the tale until her school trip the next day to Smoke Hollow, a local farm with a haunting history all its own. There she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she’s been reading about. Could it be the story about the smiling man is true? Ollie doesn’t have too long to think about the answer to that. On the way home, the school bus breaks down, sending their teacher back to the farm for help. But the strange bus driver has some advice for the kids left behind in his care: “Best get moving. At nightfall, they’ll come for the rest of you.” Nightfall is, indeed, fast descending when Ollie’s previously broken digital wristwatch, a keepsake reminder of better times, begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN.

Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed the bus driver’s warning. As the trio head out into the woods–bordered by a field of scarecrows that seem to be watching them–the bus driver has just one final piece of advice for Ollie and her friends: “Avoid large places. Keep to small.” And with that, a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure begins.

If you haven’t yet joined our book club and you love reading Middle Grade books, what are you waiting for?

You can sign-up on this form to tell us where you want to discuss the book (Twitter, Goodreads), if you will read the BOTM with us or just read something from your own TBR. Those already in the Twitter chat no longer need to sign-up, so you can sit back, relax and get ready for some spooky reading in August! If you are in the MGM – BOTM twitter chat, but do not want to follow the August BOTM discussion, you are free to leave, and of course if you would like to come back in following months, just fill out the form again!

We have made a Nominations form where you can give us your nominations, and please remember to join us on Goodreads where we post our BOTM discussions for you to join in. We have also posted the Recommendations list and Nominations board for you on there. If you are not on Goodreads, you can find our Recommendations list here.

The Similar Books list for August has been posted and you can find it here, or just head over to @GradeMarvels on Twitter where all this info is in the pinned Tweet! And of course, you can read any Middle Grade book you have on your bookcase, just let us know what you will be reading with the hashtag #middlegrademarvels on Twitter!

We are so excited for the August book and we hope that you are too! Join our club if you love Middle Grade and want to discuss some amazing books with our amazing members! Looking forward to having you on for the ride!

That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed this post, see you soon, stay safe,

Ellie xx

Middle Grade Marvels Book Club links: Twitter – Goodreads – Recommendations List – August BOTM Similar Books List – Monthly Sign-up Form – Nominations Form