Middle Grade Monday: Enemies by Svetlana Chmakova

Image: Yen Press

Enemies by Svetlana Chmakova. 224 p. Berrybrook Middle School #5. JY/ Yen Press, September, 2022. 9781975312725 (Review of finished purchased copy.)

Happy Monday! The snow sure was pretty this morning with the waning full moon shining on it. Just enough to say that winter is here and not enough to have to shovel. Middle Grade Monday featuers Enemies by Svetlana Chmakova. This is book # 5 of the Berrybrook Middle School series that began with Awkward. The series is quite popular at my school.

Felicity is a talented artist and loves being in Art Club. She has a bff and a group of friends that she games with. She does have a habit of not finishing what she started and this sometimes lands her in hot water with her parents. Her "perfect" little sister, Letty, lords it over her constantly and the two often fight about it. Felicity convinces Tess to join the Entrepreneur Club because there's a big prize at the end. This leads to some conflict because Felicity keeps shooting down Tess' ideas and doesn't come up with her own. Plus, Tess' attention is focused on the boys in the club, which includes her gaming friend and a former friend, now enemy.

Ms. Chmakova has an eye for middle school drama and a great ear for dialogue. Her characters are diverse (the club advisor is non-binary and the book store owner is in a wheelchair as two examples), and complex. The art tends toward muted and anime-style. This book will have wide appeal. It's a must-read for fans of the series, but non-fans can drop in anywhere in the series and get hooked themselves. Happy reading!

Middle Grade Monday: Twice Magic by Cressida Cowell

Image: Hachette Book Group

Twice Magic by Cressida Cowell. The Wizards of Once series #2. Unabridged e-audiobook, ~6 hours. Read by David Tennant. Hachette Book Group, November, 2018. 9781478999461. (Review of e-audiobook borrowed from public library. Purchased hc.)

Middle Grade Monday features Twice Magic by Cressida Cowell. Book two picks up where The Wizards of Once left off. Xar the Enchanter's son is imprisoned and Wish, daughter of the Warrior queen is locked in a cupboard in the castle. That won't stop the evil that Xar unwittingly unleashed. No one has escaped the magical prison, but Xar is determined. Someone has to save the kingdom! 

I just reread my review and saw that I promised myself to read the second installment with my eyes because I found the sound effects jarring. Oops. Well, I'm glad I read with my ears because Tennant is such a delight. I am also happy to report that there seemed to be fewer sound effects. The world building is wonderful and Cowell's characters are vibrantly alive!

As in Wizards of Once, there are lots of laughs along with lots of action. Secrets are revealed, but all is not solved. And, who is our narrator?  Readers will eagerly await book three, Knock Three Times, due out mid-October. Check this week's "Waiting on Wednesday" post for deeds.