Episode 12: Middle Grade Mysteries & Werewolves

Episode 12: Marisa and Mary are back and this time we are talking about Middle Grade Mysteries and werewolves. We also discuss print vs ebook, which is better? What about for advance reader copies?  As always, if you need to add more books to your To Be Read pile, check out the Books Mentioned below! Mary's first book, Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling is a middle grade mystery with a strong girl character who was born without arms and her friendship with a boy who has Tourette's.  This is a book about kids with disabilities -but it doesn’t define them. Two friends investigate a mystery while there are also themes of acceptance of yourself and others. Mary’s second book, Fangs by Sarah Andersen, is a love story between a vampire and a werewolf. It is a funny graphic novel all about the awkwardness of meeting someone perfectly suited to you but who is also so vastly different from you (you’ll recognize Andersen’s art style from her webcomic, Sarah’s Scribbles). Marisa’s first book, Chirp by Kate Messner, is a middle grade mystery book about a girl, facing the challenges of growing up and struggling to find her voice, but it is also filled with friendship, science, and summer fun while trying to save her grandmother’s cricket farm. You might even want to eat a cricket after. Marisa's second book, Lobizona by Romina Garber, follows a teen girl with unusual eyes; she has spent her life hiding in Miami as an undocumented immigrant. But besides hiding from ICE, she’s on the run from her father's Argentine crime-family...but as her world crumbles, it also widens up when she discovers a hidden world of magic, brujas, and werewolves. She searches her past for answers for her future in this magical world. Books we talked about this episode: Mary's books: Insignificant Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling. Middle Grade, Grades 5-8. Published by Sterling Kids on September 5, 2017. Fangs by Sarah Andersen. High School, Grades 9+. Published by Andrews McMeel on September 1, 2020. Marisa's books: Chirp by Kate Messner. Middle Grade, Grades 5-8. Published Bloomsbury Children’s on February 4, 2020. Lobizona by Romina Garber. Teen, Grades 7+. Published by Wednesday Books on August 4, 2020. Books mentioned: Momentous Events in the Life of a Cactus by Dusti Bowling Because of Mr. Terupt by Rob Buyea Bouncing Back by Scott Ostler Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen Maybe He Just Likes You by Barbara Dee New Kid by Jerry Craft Class Act by Jerry Craft Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo Adulthood is a Myth by Sarah Andersen Herding Cats by Sarah Andersen Big Mushy Happy Lump by Sarah Andersen Fake Blood by Whitney Garder Moonstruck Vol. 1 Magic to Brew by Grace Ellis Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling Twilight series by Stephanie Meyers Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney Gabriel García Márquez’s books Go With the Flow by Lily Williams Dear Justyce by Nic Stone Cazadora by Romina Garber (out 8/17/21)!