Middle Grade Monday: The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman

Image: Hachette Book Group

The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest by Aubrey Hartman. Unabridged audiobook, ~6 hours. Read by Marisa Calin. Hachette Audio/ Little, Brown Young Readers, February, 2025. 9781668647448.

Clare, the undead fox of Deadwood Forest, is rather relieved to be undead. He's a silver-tailed fox who was run over as a kit and was convinced that his afterlife would be spent in the realm of Pain. Instead, he became an usher, one who welcomes the newly dead to Deadwood Forest and prepares them to enter one of four realms, Peace, Pleasure, Progress or Pain. Excepting for the yearly taunting by children each Halloween about how he's a monster who feasts on bones, his life is orderly and predictable. He enjoys helping souls move on and loves tending to his mushroom garden.

Things become a bit unsettled though, when a badger named Gingersnipes appears. Clare hates badgers, but this one doesn't seem so bad. She has way too many questions for Clare's liking, and he tries to show her the way quickly. Unfortunately, Gingersnipes knocks on Clare's door again, apparently unable to pass on. With great foreboding Clare attempts again, and again, and again. What does this mean?

This was an absolutely immersive audiobook! Ms. Calin's smooth narration and unique voices added dimension to this layered, lovely and magical story. The world building was deeply engaging. There was humor, suspense, sadness, heartbreak and hope. It's a story that can be read on many levels and should have broad appeal. 

As I listened, it occurred to me to check out the print book. Something told me it was illustrated. It was, and they were a lovely addition! 

Waiting on Wednesday: Landslide by Betty Culley

Image: Penguin Random House

My sons always make fun of me over the number of tabs I have open in my browser. I do that so that I don't forget about whatever I come across that I find interesting. Unfortunately, I sometimes still forget because those tabs become teeny-tiny. News about this story popped up some time ago and I left the tab open in order to feature it on a Waiting on Wednesday post. It releases next week!

Publisher synopsis: A perceptive boy worries the landfill across the street is on the verge of collapse, forming a brave plan to save his dad who works at the top of the heap.

Nathan Savage has always been fascinated by anything that moves; he sees movement others don’t notice. But what he sees now out his living room window sets off major alarm bells—the massive landfill across the road is shifting, and could be heading toward a catastrophic landslide.

The landfill is also where Nathan’s dad works, on the top of the heap driving the huge compactor that crushes the garbage with its enormous metal wheels. The more Nathan watches the landfill, the more worried he becomes. What will happen to his father if he’s at work when the garbage hill collapses? A fate that seems closer and closer to happening every day if Nathan doesn’t act soon. But how does a ten-year old boy stop a force of nature? In this fascinating and fast-paced story, author Betty Culley exposes kids to lots of garbage, and the natural and environmental impact country landfills have on local towns.

Happy reading!

Middle Grade Monday: The Last Resort by Erin Entrada Kelly

Image: Scholastic Inc.

The Last Resort by Erin Entrada Kelly. 240 p. Scholastic Press/ Scholastic Inc. September 16, 2025. 9781546132431. Review of arc courtesy of the publisher. 

Middle Grade Monday features a review of an arc I finally got around to reading, The Last Resort by Erin Entrada Kelly. I'm sorry it took so long. 

This was fun, even if horror is my least favorite genre. It's also multi-platform, where readers can scan a QR code and speak to three ghosts from the many haunting the inn where twelve-year-old Lila has to spend part of her summer after her Grandpa Clem dies. 

She doesn't want to leave her Arizona home at the start of summer before seventh grade. Her friendship with Lexi and Ava is on the skids and she has to repair it before school starts. To make matters worse, they are driving from Arizona to Ohio because her dad is afraid to fly. Lila has a "near death" experience along the way and when the family arrives at the inn, she discovers she can see ghosts, of which there seems to be many inhabiting the inn, including her grandfather's. She has never met him, but she recognizes him from photos. He claims that he was murdered before flickering out. It's up to Lila and her neighbor Teddy to get to the bottom of this mystery.

This fast-paced tale has plenty of suspense and features a relatable tween dealing with realistic friendship issues along with surprising grief over the grandfather she never met. 

The QR code in the arc brought me to the site for the book and a demo. If you click on the link to the image, you can check out the demo. The actual book will feature more. The Last Resort is a series starter and sure to be a hit with your tween lovers of horror. It strikes just the right note of scary. 

The second book in the series, The Claiming, was written by Jasmine Warga and was released in late January. I'm ordering it now, because, you know, I don't like horror. 

Waiting on Wednesday: Rowan and Gemma by Sally J. Pla

Image from the author's Facebook page 

Rowan and Gemma by Sally J. Pla. 304 p. Quill Tree Books/ HarperCollins Publishers, September 29, 2026. 9780063395886.

Waiting on Wednesday features Rowan and Gemma by Sally J. Pla. I've been a fan of Ms. Pla's since reading her debut, The Someday Birds. Her latest is due out on September 29. 

Publisher synopsis: In this new middle grade novel by Schneider Award-winning author Sally J. Pla, two neurodivergent tweens, one of whom is nonverbal, forge a friendship against the backdrop of their feuding families.

Rowan Monahan has lived in the town of Friendship Prairie forever and feels permanently stuck in his cousin’s shadow. With some learning disabilities and ADHD, his Uncle Lucky labels him as “not the sharpest tool in the shed.”

Gemma Caplan just moved to Friendship Prairie with her family. She’s on the autism spectrum and uses a device to speak, and she’s going to be attending school in person for the first time. Gemma thinks her lawyer mom is too overprotective, but no one ever asks for her opinion.

After Rowan and Gemma meet on the first day of school, they bond over feeling like they don’t fit in. But just as the two are becoming friends, their mothers decide to run against each other for the town’s school board—and the campaign turns nasty. Loosely based on Romeo and Juliet, Rowan and Gemma are characters readers will be rooting for to overcome the bad blood between their families, and maybe even win their acceptance.

Waiting on Wednesday: Hijacked by Goats by Anne Braden

 

Image: Penguin Random House

Hijacked by Goats by Ann Braden. 176 p. Nancy Paulsen Books/ Penguin Young Readers, September 8, 2026. 9798217110964.

Waiting on Wednesday features Hijacked by Goats by Ann Braden. Isn't that an amazing cover? The book is due out in September and here's the publisher synopsis:

The moving story of a girl struggling with OCD—the bully hijacking her brain—who gets the help she needs to push back.

Josie arrives at Bryce Haven Psychiatric Hospital sure that she’s a bad person and a bad friend. She must be, because her brain constantly yells at her for not being good enough. It tells her she needs to be perfect or else she’ll be alone and miserable forever. She’s so overwhelmed with worries about bad things happening as punishment for her imperfections that she sometimes feels compelled to punish herself.

Then, when Josie gets discharged and returns home, she’s forced to deal with Hal—the mean, smelly bully of a goat her dad is goat-sitting. Hal has a bad habit of climbing where he shouldn’t and refusing to get out of the way.

When Josie’s therapist diagnoses her with OCD, describing it as a bully in her brain, Josie denies it. Surely her brain is just trying to be helpful . . . right? But eventually, she begins to see that her OCD bears a striking resemblance to Hal, so maybe she shouldn’t feel guilty about wanting to kick it out. With her therapist’s help and the support of her dad and friends, Josie might finally be ready to stand up to the bully in her brain.

#tbt: Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Image: Penguin Random House

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys. 400 p. Philomel Books/ Penguin Young Readers, February 2, 2016. 9780399160301.

Last week, I happened to see online that this book was ten years old. This book illuminates an event in history of which I was unaware, a maritime tragedy whose losses actually dwarf the more well-known sinking of the Titanic and Lusitania. 

The story switches POV between four young narrators. They are trekking across war torn Europe in 1945 hoping to obtain passage on the Gustav Wilhelm, a pleasure cruiser, now tasked with evacuating refugees. It is a difficult read that is both poignant and heartbreaking as it depicts the horrors of war in unflinching detail. 

Salt to the Sea was named to many State Book Awards lists, was a Goodreads Best for 2016, and won the Carnegie Medal. I can't recommend this, or any other book by this author enough. 

Waiting on Wednesday: Styx and Stones by Gary D. Schmidt and Ron Koertge

Image: HarperCollins Publishers

Styx and Stones by Gary D. Schmidt and Ron Koertge. 240 p. Clarion Books/ HarperCollins Publishers, May 5, 2026. 9780063380974.

Waiting on Wednesday features Styx and Stones by Gary D. Schmidt and Ron Koertge. Here's the publisher synopsis:

Percy Jackson meets The Labors of Hercules Beal in this hilarious, page-turning fantasy adventure with a heart of gold from two award-winning authors.

Simon expected more from life than being orphaned in ancient Greece and stuck in the Underworld for eternity. Determined not to forget who he is, he commits himself to escaping Hades. Along the way, he faces the monster Cerberus, befriends the tormented Sisyphus, and becomes Persephone’s favorite servant. Then, after centuries of failed attempts, he is finally thrust into modern times—and into the stall of a middle school bathroom. Naked.

With the help of Zeke, a nerdy rich kid on the social fringes, Simon learns to navigate this amazing and bewildering world. And with Simon’s help, Zeke begins to question his comfortable life and understand the true meaning of friendship. Everything seems to be going great . . . until the god of the Underworld sends a demon girl to bring Simon back. And suddenly, it’s not just the secret of Simon’s past that’s threatened, but their very lives—and everyone’s around them, too. Is their friendship strong enough to withstand the Will of Hades and save St. Nikolaos Academy Middle School?

From two-time Newbery honoree Gary D. Schmidt and two-time PEN Award winner Ron Koertge, Styx and Stones is an unforgettable coming-of-age adventure about friendship, courage, and identity, brimming with Greek mythology and high-stakes action.

This one had me at Hercules Beal. I'm a fan of both authors although their collab on A Day at the Beach was not a fave of mine. Ever hopeful.