The best book I read in July (2024)

[C.J.]

Welcome to August! I just finished my first book for this month, but let's pause for a moment and look back over our reads from July. What middle grade books stood out? Recommend your favorites here!

My reading choices are often steered by the BINGO boards that we create for Middle Grade Carousel. While searching for books to fit the prompts for each square, I realized that I could dip into a new series (or three). I started the Surviving the Applewhites trilogy by Stephanie S. Tolan, which plunks a poor, unsuspecting rebel into the middle of a wildly creative homeschool family. (We homeschooled, so I totally got a lot of the chaos.) I also picked up the entire Chasing Vermeer series by Blue Balliett. These are art mysteries that tiptoe along the edges of the paranormal/magical realism. I guess you could say that famous art has a soul.



How about you?

[Harley]

Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon
The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuers
Amari and the Great Game by B. B. Alston

[C.J.]

Harley wrote: "Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon
The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuers
Amari and the Great Game by B. B. Alston"

Castle Hangnail looks pretty fun. Adding!

[Latina]

A Comb of Wishes by Lisa Stringfellow
Hurricane Chile by Kheryn Callender

[C.J.]

Tina wrote: "A Comb of Wishes by Lisa Stringfellow
Hurricane Chile by Kheryn Callender"

Oooh! A Comb of Wishes looks like it might be suspense? Dangerous mermaids.

[Kara]

My July 5-stars included a lot of Netgalley ARCs. So many of these will release this year, & I highly recommend all of them!!

[C.J.]

Kara wrote: "My July 5-stars included a lot of Netgalley ARCs. So many of these will release this year..."

Gotta love a sneak peek at upcoming titles. I had already marked a few of these To Read since I know & trust the authors. Glad to have these to look forward to!

[Harley]

C.J. wrote: "Harley wrote: "Castle Hangnail by Ursula Vernon
The Last Cuentista by Donna Barba Higuers
Amari and the Great Game by B. B. Alston"

Castle Hangnail ..."
Yes, it is fun. Enjoy it.

[Harley]

Kara wrote: "My July 5-stars included a lot of Netgalley ARCs. So many of these will release this year, & I highly recommend all of them!!

[..."

Adding the first four to my TBR list.

[Latina]

How do you include book thumbnails are underline titles to lead directly to the book? Thanks.

[C.J.]

Tina wrote: "How do you include book thumbnails are underline titles to lead directly to the book? Thanks."

When I write in a comment box like this, there is tiny text above with a link that says "add book/author." If you click that, it brings up a search box. Type in the book title, and it'll bring up likely matches. When you select one, you have the option to insert either the link or the book cover (radio buttons below).

Of course, I'm working on a laptop. If you're working from your phone, the setup may be slightly different.

[Latina]

C.J. wrote: "Tina wrote: "How do you include book thumbnails are underline titles to lead directly to the book? Thanks."

When I write in a comment box like this, there is tiny text above with a link that says ..."

Thank you!