Browse by Category: Middle Grade
7 results
Rescue, Responsibility, and Risky DecisionsAlex feels the weight of responsibility for everyone in Artimé on his shoulders as its mage. As we learned in the previous book, Sky’s mother is alive but enslaved by pirates on the Island of Fire. Alex has committed to rescuing her, but he wants to do it the right way, through careful planning and with the right …
Read More
Learning to Lead When Everything Falls ApartIsland of Fire improves on the first two books in the Unwanteds series. In the earlier books, the story sometimes felt slow, and I did not always have a clear sense of where everything was going. We learned about Artimé and Quill, and there were battles and struggles to survive, but I never quite felt that there were …
Read More
Aftermath of Conflict: Survival, Power, and LeadershipIsland of Silence is the second book in The Unwanteds series, and it largely deals with the aftermath of the battle between Artimé and Quill from the first book. Artimé has survived and is now able to come out into the open, as well as allow travel between Artimé and Quill. As such, many of the Necessaries in Quill …
Read More
Creativity, Survival, and Hope in a Dystopian SocietyThe Unwanteds is a middle-grade fantasy novel set in a dystopian society called Quill, where citizens are divided into three groups: Wanteds, Necessaries, and Unwanteds. At the age of 13, children undergo a yearly judgment in which any sign of creativity is deemed undesirable. The only catch is that those labeled …
Read More
Family, Home, and the Environment — An Adventure to Protect LifeThe Wild Robot Protects is the third book in the series. The first book focuses on survival on the island where Roz, a robot, finds herself. The second book follows Roz as she escapes from the mainland and returns home to the island. The third book centers on protecting the island from a poison tide that is killing …
Read More
Taken from Home — An Adventure to Return HomeThe Wild Robot Escapes continues the story of Roz, the wild robot, in this middle-grade science fiction story. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, but as the title suggests, Roz must escape. The story follows her adventure as she breaks free from human civilization and attempts to return to the wilderness island …
Read More
A Heartwarming Survival StoryThe Wild Robot is a middle-grade science fiction book about a robot shipwrecked on an island and forced to survive among the island’s wildlife. Interestingly, it is about survival, community, and family. I first watched The Wild Robot movie and really enjoyed it. However, the movie ended on a cliffhanger, and I wanted …
Read More