Middle Grade Madness! discussion
September Reading Challenge 2025
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Team Moose Flanagan
Mod
1. REFER TO THE RULES
- You can find them here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
- They list every detail from how the points are calculated to information on the bonus tasks.
- If you have a questions, please check it against the rules and if you’re still looking for an answer please put it to your team captain who will ask me in the Captain’s Chat and refer back to you.
2. MAKE SURE YOUR BOOKS COUNT
Please always check your book counts towards our challenge before starting to read it!
Refer to the rules below to remind yourself of what counts as an mg book for the challenge:
WHAT COUNTS AS A MIDDLE GRADE BOOK:
- Must be more than 100 pages long.
*For audio books*: The print edition must be more than 100 pages long.
*For graphic novels*: must be more than 150 pages long.
- Must be categorised as MG+ or MG on this website: https://www.arbookfind.com/
If it says LG or UG on the website it DOESN’T COUNT.
OR
Must be categorised as MY+ or MY on this website: https://www.arbookfind.co.uk/
If it says LY or UY on the website it DOESN’T COUNT.
- Only books started on/after 1st September count!
Mod
1. Introduce yourself! Tell your fellow team members what your favourite genres to read are and some things you like to do besides reading. Also talk about your recommended book and why you recommended it.
2. Decide on a team name! Choose the name of a protagonist (or main character) from a middle grade book/series. This challenge has been hosted four times in the past and here are what past teams have chosen: Coraline, Alice Queensmeadow, Logan Sweet, Lucy Pevensie, Sirius Black, Merlin, Charlotte, Morrigan Crow, Mary Poppins, Amari Peters, Matilda Wormwood, Wolf, Zenobia, Diana Barry, Remus Lupin, Anthony Lockwood, Cimorene, Sophie Foster, and Percy Jackson so please don’t choose those!
3. Decide on a special category to be revealed! The categories are numbered 1 to 20, so pick a number as a team and that category will be one of the special categories revealed on either the 2nd, 3rd or 4th week and the tasks of this special category will be work more points!
1. I’m Kala Abigael & I live in MDT timezone, so I’ll be among the last to start midnight reading on the first day. I like mystery/suspense, fantasy, adventure, historical, & contemporary. I avoid reading romance, horror, sci-fi, dystopian, & really sad books. I read most books by audio but graphic & visual (i.e. “normal”) books sometimes, too. This is my 4th (I think) year of this Challenge.Other than reading, I like puzzles & games, theatre (not an artist, just a supporter), & volunteering. I am privileged to be a young-ish person who doesn’t have to work, so I read A LOT & try to make good suggestions for Challenge Prompts. Let me know if you’d like suggestions for a prompt you want to do.
I recommended Beauty Queen because it’s a Beauty & the Beast retelling & while I don’t enjoy romance novels, Belle is my favourite Disney princess & this was my highest-rated book this summer.
2. My suggestions for Team Names are: Belle, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Shenanigan Swift, Nancy Drew, Moose Flanagan (Tales from Alcatraz series), Pepsi McDonald (Genius Files series), Sven (Frozen), Luigi Lemoncello, Serafina, Juniper Lane, Tilly Pages, Princess Emeralda (Tales of the Frog Princess series)
Note: My answers are long, but yours don’t have to be! No pressure! 🙂
1. Hi! My name is Anna. I read a wide spread of genres, but my favorites are: speculative/sci-fi, fantasy, and mystery. Besides reading, I like walking, baking, and watching movies. I recommended Wolf Wilder because it is beautiful! I like that it treads that line between magical and historical, and that it has a strong girl protagonist. This is my first year of this challenge.
2. I am already getting such great recommendations from Googling Kala's team name suggestions! I really like the sounds of Shenanigan Swift, Moose Flanagan, and Pepsi McDonald. Of course Nancy Drew is a classic.
Looking forward to this challenge with everyone!
Hey guys omg im so excited to be on the team! Im Eden (she/her) im from Northern Ireland and have done this challenge every year since 2021. Fav genres are mystery,contemporary and action adventure.I also do like a good YA. I recommended Tilly and the book wanders /the pages and co series because it is just so relatable for us book lovers and also who doesn’t love a bit of magic as well plus the pictures are also gorgeous . Outside of reading i really enjoy spending time with my cats, listening to podcasts and volunteering Also love the name suggestions Moose Flanagan is standing out for me!
Hi, all! My name is Filli. i live in a country which time is GMT+7 .i love doing this annual challenge, already on my 4th time.
i really like spooky, adventure, fantasy, and mystery one. another than middle grade, i also love adult fantasy/scifi.
for the name, shenanigan swifts or moose flanagan is fine for me :))
Hi team, I'm Rory. I have done this challenge for a few years now and look forward to it every year.I like to read fantasy and contemporary with the occasional sci Fi
I chose a kind of spark as my recommendation because I wanted to uplift a favorite author of mine Elle McNicoll who writes MG and YA.
I've only read her MG though. please check out her books. I found her when trying to diversify my reads because a lot of MG books seemed similar to each other.
If you do read it please check out the show A Kind of Spark on Byu TV, it's free to watch no account needed. the first season is based off the book. Season 2 is different but really good. It's a fun show. Elle McNicoll was a co writer and it has autistic actress playing the autistic characters.
Other than reading I enjoy crocheting animal plushies and spending time with my family.
for the name I think Shenanigan swifts or moose Flanagan would really stand out against other names from MG series and so making it easier to know what team we are lol 😂 but I also like Nancy Drew.
Thank you all for the responses! Everyone who has responded so far has agreed on Moose Flanagan & not everyone chose another, so unless Aeriell or Priya would rather not, I think we should go with Moose.
In 2022, people on our current team were in the following teams: Mary Poppins (Aeriell), Wolf (Eden), Amari Peters (Aurora), Zenobia (Filli & me)I've read most of the books on the lists & don't really care to read the ones I haven't read, so if these books interest you, they probably also fill a few other tasks for this year and you'll have specific titles to start out with/ put holds on at your library.
Special Category: 9 is one of my favourite numbers & 3 looks like it might not be too hard & probably fantasy, so I vote Category 9 or 3.
Hello Y'all! My name is Aeriell and I am your captain! I've been one previously so woo!! I'm so happy and glad to be back here with ya'll for another round of middle grade readathon!! I am currently in Alaska in the USA so its UTC -9
I tend to read Fantasy and Scifi in general with some romance or romantasy.
My all time fav middle grade series is the Warrior Cats by Erin Hunter and Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer.
I see some names already and it seems like one has many people liking it lol. It's funny be ause i've seen Moose up here in Alaska so it sounds fitting!!
I'm fine with any special category, just let me know which one ya'll decide!
voting 3 for special category since it might be fantasy and I have tons of those on my tbr.
Artemis Fowl series is so good, I read that series in 2020.
Hi everyone! I'm Priya from Bangalore, India. This is my first time participating. I love MG books. My favourite genres are historical fiction, thrillers and Non-fiction but I read just about everything. Looking forward to the game.I'm good with any name you all pick. I love the ones above. I could only think of The Secret Seven seeing that we are also 7!
As for special category, my favourite number is 9 but I love 3 and its multiples so 3 is also good!
Also fine with either special category!
Mod
I’ve just shared your team’s challenge spreadsheet with you all. Please check your junk mail for the invite.
If it’s not working for you or you want me to add a second email address, please send me a private message. Please remember this is a public group so do NOT share your email address on here!
I’m sharing the challenge spreadsheet in advance, but please make sure you only start reading when it’s 1st September for you. Any books started before 1st September do not count!
Please make sure you add your read books to your challenge shelf to help your Captain out. If you have any questions please ask your Captain who can check with me on the Captain’s Chat or drop me a private message directly😊
Ive requested access Kadi 2 days still to go for me tho!!
woa, i have 2 hours to go until 1st september! gonna try to search some books to squeeze in the task (or more points for the title) :D
Thanks Kadi, I will get some books reserved. I hope you have a good first day of the challenge Filli. :)
Do we decide together which categories we are reading first? Or do we just start and update the sheet? I have a book set more than 87 years ago ready to read.
Priya wrote: "Do we decide together which categories we are reading first? Or do we just start and update the sheet? I have a book set more than 87 years ago ready to read."
In past groups I was in we just said what Cat/task we wanted to read and just read it after giving a heads up. Some even had a separate team spread sheet.
So for now I'd say start that one on the first.
Cat 2 Task 8 Set in high school
Priya wrote: "Do we decide together which categories we are reading first? Or do we just start and update the sheet? I have a book set more than 87 years ago ready to read."
you can choose whatever task you like first. in the meantime, we will fill the tracking sheet, and write ALL the possible tasks (more than 1 task is absolutely okay, and usually we find another possible task during the reading).
maybe after that, the captain can choose the most suitable task from the available ones
So it begins!I'm going to start reading:
The First Rule of Climate Club by Carrie Firestone
A book set in the United States of America (Category 4 Task 19)
Happy reading everyone! Let us know how your book is going!
Edited to add:
Reason (How it fulfils the task) - Set in Connecticut, US
Pages: 368
Welcome to September Ya'll!!!Woooo the start of this and another readathon I'm taking apart in!
So What are gonna do is that you have access to the spreadsheet, you can inout stuff on the spreadsheet as you read and also your possible plans!
If you have any questions can message me directly or here and I can answer ya'll!
I am a college student so I do have classes currently but will be checking daily!
Good luck everyone. I'm just finishing some library books and then I'm going to read some graphic novels for this challenge I started my first book and will read more later, so far only have access to one. Waiting on the others which will fit other prompts. Those are physical copies from library hoping they come in and can be picked up this week.
Just a reminder for the final count 1 book per task but someone else can read the same book for another task I believe.So for example Alice Fleck's recipe for disaster Kala can read it and count it for a task
Then someone else can read and count it for another task.
I think Cat 15 Task 72 apprentice, should this say apprentice in the text? I'm not sure if just learning someone from someone would count as being an apprentice. Something to ask Kadi.
For Cat 18 task 87 I'm getting a book where the MC uses a virtual reality headset. It was hard to find graphic novels that fit the tasks, since most of the info seems to be you have to know the contents/ plot of the book.
Just started my first one! It covers quite a lot of tasks so will see where it best fits after
EdenB15 wrote: "Just started my first one! It covers quite a lot of tasks so will see where it best fits after"Sounds good, hope you enjoy it.
Aeriell, can you ask Kadi about ‘A boy called Bat / Elana K. Arnold’? AR says LG, publisher website says Age 8-12 & School Library Journal (well-known periodical relevant to our target demographic says Grades 3-6. I’m very quickly running out of time to read the series (library books), so I need an answer A.S.A.P.Thank you!
on my 2nd read now its a manga! need to hv a look where it might fit tho
Abigael wrote: "Aeriell, can you ask Kadi about ‘A boy called Bat / Elana K. Arnold’? AR says LG, publisher website says Age 8-12 & School Library Journal (well-known periodical relevant to our target demographic ..."Hey so here is the response from Kadi:Hey Aeriell sorry I was sleeping (time difference!). Sadly LG is LG and that book won’t count. You could still read it if you need to return it to the library soon but it won’t count for the challenge😞
AurorainBookland wrote: "Artemis Fowl series is so good, I read that series in 2020."I love that series, I read it in elementrary and middle school... Artemis Fowl was my first Book boy crush lol.
Aeriell wrote: "AurorainBookland wrote: "Artemis Fowl series is so good, I read that series in 2020."I love that series, I read it in elementrary and middle school... Artemis Fowl was my first Book boy crush lol."
:) Nice.
@Aeriell How would you feel about me being co captain? I can help get the questions answered and put the books read on the spreadsheet when there is only one cat/task they go in. Kadi is okay with it, but I wanted to get your opinion.
I was going through the tracking sheets and the tasks and here's my idea of where the books that have been read but aren't on the main spreadsheet yet Kala for
Alice Flecks recipe for disaster 6#30 sun burn
The wild things 14#67 hike
Sophie's world 5#22 eat a meal together
A tale of magic 4#18 speech
On my honor 20#100 sleep
The cat ate my gym suit 1#2 cries
The wise woman 19#91 royalty or 7#35 title is blue
Eden any idea what tasks these will fit? The tracking sheet has that section blank
Percy Jackson and the wrath of the triple goddess
The hidden life of trees
AurorainBookland wrote: "@Aeriell How would you feel about me being co captain? I can help get the questions answered and put the books read on the spreadsheet when there is only one cat/task they go in. Kadi is okay with ..."Let me think about it, I'll let you know
Also people why is there no page count on your finished books?
Task 60 and Task 8 has no page count!
Mod
I've spun a random picker, and our Special Category which will be added to your team spreadsheet tomorrow night is.... *drum roll*... Category 9!!
Remember, all Category 9 tasks will be worth 2 points instead of 1🎉
Aeriell wrote: "AurorainBookland wrote: "@Aeriell How would you feel about me being co captain? I can help get the questions answered and put the books read on the spreadsheet when there is only one cat/task they ..."sorry about that. I added page count to task 8
Hiya! Sorry I’m a bit confused- why is category 9 empty?
Anna wrote: "Hiya! Sorry I’m a bit confused- why is category 9 empty?"It's a special category and will be filled tomorrow as Kadi says above.
AurorainBookland wrote: "I was going through the tracking sheets and the tasks and here's my idea of where the books that have been read but aren't on the main spreadsheet yet Kala for
Alice Flecks recipe for disaster 6#..."
hmm not sure yet will hv a look and see
Hey everyone have updated some of my sections in the spread sheet hope everyone is doing ok
Does story starts 1 week after lady died in childbirth count for 1#1 (legally in my region, these kids get “orphan pay” from the government even though other parent is still there), 1#5, & 19#93?
Middle Grade Madness!
Books mentioned in this topic
The Tiny Mansion (other topics)City of Ghosts (other topics)
The False Prince (other topics)
A Kind of Spark (other topics)
The Wolf Wilder (other topics)
More...
1. (CAPTAIN) Aeriell - The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen
2. Rory - A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll
3. Anna Calinawan - The Wolf Wilder by Katherine Rundell
4. Eden - Tilly and the Bookwanderers by Anna James
5. Abigael Kala - Beauty Queen by Sarah Mlynowski
6. Priya - The Last Super Chef by Chris Negron
7. Filli - City of Ghosts by Victoria Blake
(Each person’s name is linked to their challenge bookshelf and the book listed beside their name is their mg book recommendation)
The spreadsheet containing all the tasks will be shared with every team member via email invite on 1st September: (countdown: )