The best book I read in August (2020)

[C.J.]

Did you wrap up your summer with some great middle grade reads? It's time to share your favorites from August. What books will you recommend to the group?

While I didn't do a whole lot of reading last month, I managed to grab good books. The Accidental Afterlife of Thomas Marsden by Emma Trevayne is an intriguing twist on changeling lore. Grave robbers, anyone? I finally got around to reading The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street by Karina Yan Glaser brings together family and community in heartwarming ways. Un Lun Dun by China Miéville is a portal story that intentionally breaks all the usual rules for adventuring. Whereas Wildwood by Colin Meloy offers a more traditional portal adventure.

[Camille]

Just like you C.J., I didn't read many books. However, the ones I did read were good. I read Swing it, Sunny by Jennifer L. Holm and I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf by Grant Snyder. Swing it, Sunny was a good sequel to the first book and I have the next book close at hand. And even though I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf isn't a middle grade read, it is a wonderful read for authors who are also avid readers.

I was about to mention Crumbled! by Lisa Harkrader but then I realized I finished it early this month. XD

[Jemima]

I started reading a bit more as things settled down in my topsy-turvy life. Mind you, I have a lot of books to catch up on my Goodreads target - usually I'm ahead of the game, this year I'm five behind schedule!

My best MG book was A Pony for Quarantine.

This short book about a girl and her pony are absolutely spot on for these times. Author Clare O'Beara has just released another about a boy who takes on a dog from his seriously ill neighbour. I'll probably review them as a pair in October.

[Louie]

My favorite reads of last month are, a well developed character centric contemporary, Something to Say by Lisa Moore Ramee, an extremely funny and fantastical graphic novel, Making Friends by Kristen Gudsnuk, a compelling futuristic feeling tale, Shuri: A Black Panther Novel by Nic Stone, and a lovely journey back to Prince Edward Island through the eyes of one of my all-time favorite literary characters, Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery.

[Harley]

I reread a fabulous book by Gary Paulson: Molly McGinty Has a Really Good Day. Best of my first time reads was Greetings from Witness Protection! by Jake Burt.

[Manybooks]

The best book I read in August (and I sure wish that I had encountered this as a child) is Rascal, and I really love how the ending does not have the pet raccoon dying or needing to be shot, but that Rascal is just returned to the wild.

I also read a Canadian themed fictional diary novel I have had on my to-read list for aeons. But while I found Mable Riley: A Reliable Record of Humdrum, Peril, and Romance interesting enough and that Mable as a first person narrator also started to slowly grow on me, I did find that until about half way through Mable’s musings, she was actually quite annoying and much too self centred. And thus, my reading experience has certainly been tainted a bit by how I at first rather massively despised Mable (and yes, until Mable becomes more mature and less full of herself, I was actually even toying with giving up on Mable Riley: A Reliable Record of Humdrum, Peril, and Romance).

[Justine]

My favourite read in Aug was Song for a Whale. This is a lovely heart-warming tale about a deaf girl and her determination to communicate with an unusual whale. I didn’t know sign language has its unique way for doing poetry.

In a mainstream school, a deaf girl wants to communicate with a lonely whale three thousand miles away. When her parents do not support her travel to the whale sanctuary, Iris decides to find her own way there.