The best book I read in May (2020)

[C.J.]

Who else has been tackling ye olde To Read pile? It's time to look back over the past month and recommend your favorite middle grade reads from the month of May.

For me, May is always a big month for reading because I participate in #BookADayMay. This year was a little different because I've been on deadline (writerly stuff), so I kept it simple by doing something I've *always* wanted to do ... read a series straight through. There are 28 Junie B. Jones books. Perfect! I mixed things up with a few graphic novels and ebooks.

[Manybooks]

I have been reading very eclectically and my star rankings have been pretty varied.

So the best two middle grade books I read in May have actually been rereads.

The Pistachio Prescription (five stars, loved it as much as when I read it as a teenager)

The Annotated Little Women (five stars, great reread of course, but it is the annotations after each chapter, the time lines etc. that make this edition so special).

I also read a couple of pretty good three and four star books.

Across Five Aprils (four stars and really enjoyed the writing style and how author Irene Hunt so poignantly shows the devastation of war)


Listening for Lions (three stars, found the last bit a bit too much like a report and not as personal as the first chapters)

[Harley]

The best book I read in May was Guest: A Changeling Tale by Mary Downing Hahn. Connect the Stars by Marisa de los Santos and David Teague was a close second.

[Becky]

The best book I read in May was Willa of the Wood. It was beautifully written and so unique. I was in the mood for something different and unpredictable, plus with all the pandemic craziness, I was craving escapism, so I think this book hit me at just the right moment. I loved it.

[Desta]

The best book I read in May was Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

[Manybooks]

Another lovely and solidly four star book I read in May was Fruitlands: Louisa May Alcott Made Perfect, but yes, if you consider Bronson Alcott in any way a role model, you might want to steer clear because he is definitely (and for me very appreciatively) depicted negatively and as a totally unsuitable husband and father.

[Justine]

I have two books I'd recommend from my May haul.

The 1,000-year-old Boy will inspire an interest in history. It is along the lines of Tuck Everlasting, where the character does not grow old. Except this book alludes to certain points in history our protagonist has lived through.

The second book is a book cover to fall in love with. Shadows of Winterspell is about an orphan sprite disguised as a girl who sneaks into school and learns about the dark history of her past.

[Rebecca]

My best May read was Talking Leaves by Joseph Bruchac. It's historical fiction about Sequoyah, who invented the Cherokee alphabet. Bruchac is very good, though some elements of the style of this one took a little getting used to. But I learned something, and enjoyed a good story along the way.