The Best Book I Read in OCTOBER was...

[Jemima]

What have you been reading that you enjoyed and we should know about?

This is a good place to share recommendations for books for MG readers that you've enjoyed. (no self-promotion, please)

[Jemima]

I read Journey to the River Sea in October.

This classic was recommended to me a long time ago as an example of excellence in children's stories. I tend to agree, although for the modern child I wondered if the plot was too predictable. It was gorgeously written, and brought the Amazon to life for me.

It also gave me my J in this year's A to Z Reading Challenge ;)

[C.J.]

My favorite middlegrade read for October was The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby. Here's my review. Lately, I've been enjoying books with a steampunk feel or a historical setting.

[M.J.]

I read only one MG book in October -- Natalie Lloyd's The Key to Extraordinary. It was very good, though I enjoyed her first novel, A Snicker of Magic more. She has a new book coming out in February -- The Problim Children which looks really interesting.

[Amanda]

I enjoyed Orphan Island, but it left me wanting more. I also loved As brave as you are. I'm not sure which I loved more.

[Manybooks]

Not sure I can choose between two books so I will post about both, as they are also very different type of books.

I absolutely loved Gillian Avery's The Warden's Niece, a British historical school based novel about a 19th century girl determined to prove her academic talents (and whose dream it is to become a professor at Oxford). In the USA, the book was marketed under an alternative title, Maria Escapes.

I also much enjoyed this collection of American folktales the feature women as the main protagonists, Robert D. San Souci's Cut from the Same Cloth: American Women of Myth, Legend, and Tall Tale.

[Cindy]

Hmmm....I read a number that I really enjoyed...some YA, some Middle Grade...Al Capone Does My Shirts, Pax, Brown Girl Dreaming, Ungifted and Wonder were my Oct middle grade reads. They were all good, really so I feel bad picking favorites....but I'm going to choose Ungifted by Gordon Korman and Al Capone Does my Shirts by Gennifer Cholodenko, I expected Pax, Brown Girl Dreaming and Wonder to be wonderful, and they were. Ungifted and Al Capone were surprisingly good for me-- more than I expected.

Ungifted was funny, engaging and heartwarming and cleverly written from different characters points of view. The main character, who is sort of a troublemaker, inadvertently causes a great deal of trouble and realizes that there is more to life than being simply reacting to it.

Al Capone takes place in the 30's when Alcatraz was in its hey dey--but unbeknownst to me, was essentially about another young boy making some pretty heavy realizations about life. His family's life mainly revolves around getting help for his sister who has autism. Its a realistic portrayal of the impact of autism on a family unit and how it can bring a family closer together.

[Marianna]

Love, love The Boy Who Painted the World.

[Melody]

Marianna wrote: "Love, love The Boy Who Painted the World."
Thank you, Marianna!

My favorite book from October is Fortune Falls, which is about this town where everyone is either "lucky" or "unlucky", and one girl named Sadie learns that you need create your own destiny.

[Rebecca]

I have a couple of candidates. Nothing earth-shaking, but both good reads.
The Odds of Getting Even by Sheila Turnage is the 3rd in a series that really works for me. Good kid-detective stories, with some underlying good themes of family and justice.

Last Day on Mars by Kevin Emerson was some of the best SF for kids I've seen. It does verge on YA for violence, and is perhaps too obviously just the beginning of a series. But for all that, it was good reading.

[Carolien]

C.J. wrote: "My favorite middlegrade read for October was The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby. Here's my review. Lately, I've been enjoying books with a steampunk feel or a historical setting..."

Have you read Gail Carriger's Finishing School series? It combines both and are fun to read. Etiquette & Espionage is the first in the series I think.

[C.J.]

Carolien wrote: "Have you read Gail Carriger's Finishing School series? It combines both and are fun to read. Etiquette & Espionage is the first in the series I think...."

I have not! The series concept is fun. I'll have to check it out sometime when I'm in the mood for YA. Thanks for the rec, Carolien!

[Marianna]

Sounds like great fun. Will give it a try. Thanks for the recommendation, Caroline!

[Jemima]

There are lots of really interesting books here - thank you!

[Justine]

I only managed one MG book in October. Frozen in Time. Two children today stumbled upon an underground lab and accidentally "defrost" two children who were frozen in the 1950s. The most entertaining part is the way the two different generations speak. Words acceptable in 1950s raises eyebrows in today's world, and what we use today are totally foreign to them (eg Google it).

[Jemima]

Justine wrote: "I only managed one MG book in October. Frozen in Time. Two children today stumbled upon an underground lab and accidentally "defrost" two children who were frozen in the 1950s. The m..."

That looks really interesting!

[wanderer]

I read Moccasin Trail to my students. Why I've not read it sooner is beyond me, but it's definitely better late than never. I had to stop reading for a bit towards the end. Without spoilers, let me just say, "Jim's braids!"