Skylar and the K-Pop Principal by Luan Goldie, illustrations by Amy Nguyen

 

Skylar and the K-Pop Principal by Luan Goldie, illustrations by Amy Nguyen
Publisher:  Candlewick Press
Format:  ARC paperback
Number of pages:   272 pages
Publishing:   February 18th, 2025 
Source:  Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Opening Line: "My eyes ping open as Kookie scratches at my bedroom door and lets out her weird meow, which sounds nothing like a meow but more like an airplane tumbling from the sky."

Eleven-year-old Skylar is the ultimate fangirl, obsessed with the South Korean boy band, AZ8.  She can't wait to get together with her best friend Dana for a release party of AZ8's latest comeback video. Unfortunately, her parents aren't supportive of her obsession.  They could care less if she learns all the lyrics, and dance moves for each of their songs.  In fact, they believe that she should be more involved with activities at home, like spending time with her Nana, helping her mom with her business, or at least practicing math to improve her scores.  So, they remove everything AZ8 from her room, including all her posters and plushies. She's even prohibited from watching any videos on her phone for a week. 

Skylar and Dana are upset by Skylar's parent's decision because they feel like every move they make is controlled by the adults around them. They are told when to eat, sleep, what to study, and the clothes they can and cannot wear by the headteacher/principal, Ms. Callus. When Skylar comes to school wearing a dancing bunny ear hat, which violates the school's uniform policy, Ms. Callus confiscates her hat.  Angered, Skyler attempts to confront her, and a freak accident occurs where they wake up having switched bodies.  Skylar is now the 71-year-old principal of Saint Margaret's Academy, while Ms. Callus returns to Skylar's home as a young girl.  Suddenly, both are navigating life in the other person's shoes without trying to arouse suspicion.  However, when an unexpected dance video contest emerges to win tickets to AZ8's show, can Skylar and Ms. Callus find a solution to resolve their issues and switch back in time for Skylar to participate in the competition?

Skylar and the K-Pop Principal is a comical Freaky Friday inspired body swap story.  I love how Skylar's innocent wish to be in charge is the catalyst for their body swap.  Just goes to show that you should be careful what you wish for.  Now Skyler is experiencing all of Ms. Callus' exhaustion and stress (although all she wanted was a little freedom) while Ms. Callus is experiencing all of Skylar's frustration and feelings of powerlessness.  Or is she?  

Both come into this new experience with a few preconceived perceptions and make a lot of assumptions about each other's lifestyle.  Skylar thinks Ms. Callus needs some friends and a new hairstyle.  While Ms. Callus thinks that all Skylar focuses on is her obsession with AZ8.  Ms. Callus does initially live up to her name, she's rude, demeaning and probably shouldn't have gone into teaching if she has such a disdain for children.  Who goes around calling their students a nobody because they aren't one of the "high achievers."  Ms. Callus views her experience as a vacation, she gets to spend time with Skylar's family, spy on the school and her new youthful body is a huge plus.  

As is often the case with having power, it soon goes to Skylar's head, and she starts changing all the rules at school according to what she thinks the students would want.  Until Dana points out that it's what Skylar wants, and not what everyone else wants.   Dance parties and K-pop clubs after school and flashy lights at assemblies where awards are given out for remembering your PE uniform four times in the semester, these are not the things that all students want.  Dana for example just wants more ecofriendly supplies and an environmentally friendly school.  And soon both Skylar and Ms. Callus agree that they want to switch back, with some comedic changes happening at the end of the book.  

Overall, this was a very amusing story that highlights having empathy, not being selfish, and that we never truly know what a person is dealing with until we've walked in their shoes.  Perfect for fans of K-pop or the reader looking for an amusing story.  There's even a nice glossary of K-pop terms at the back of the book.

 I hope you'll check out all the other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge's blog HERE   

** A huge thank you to Candlewick Press for the paperback ARC in exchange for an honest review. **       

Fairy Door Diaries: Eliza and the Flower Fairies by Megan McDonald , Illustrated by Lenny Wen

Fairy Door Diaries: Eliza and the Flower Fairies by Megan McDonald, illustrated by Lenny Wen
Publisher:  Candlewick Press
Format:  Paperback ARC 
Number of pages:   88 pages
Publishing:   February 4th, 2025 
Source:  Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Opening Lines:  "Imagine a door.  A teeny tiny fairy door.  Now imagine it is magic.  Open the door."

At the end of Salt Pond Lane, atop the hill, lies Eliza's family's cottage. Inside the low curved door in Eliza's bedroom is the entrance to the Land of Understair, a secret space filled with all of Eliza's favorite things—her drawings, stuffed animals, and new diary.  Deeper in the room is another teeny tiny door which with a sprinkle of fairy dust allows her to enter the world of the flower fairies.  Upon slipping a magical bracelet made of thyme onto her wrist, Eliza gains the ability to see the fairies.  Eliza then meets Poppy who introduces her to all of the other flower fairies, and together they begin to explore around the garden.  However, Eliza's curiosity soon leads her to the hedgerow where she becomes trapped in a patch of stinging nettles.  Poppy successfully rescues Eliza, but in doing so, she crosses the hedgerow and incurs the wrath of the witches Wolfsbane and Belladonna. The witches cast a spell creating a Demon Wind capable of stealing a flower fairy's scent, causing both the flower and the fairy to wither and die. Can Eliza find a way to reverse the spell and save her friends?

Megan McDonald, best known for her Judy Moody and Stink series, has a new chapter book series, Fairy Door Diaries which revolves around a girl captivated by magic and fairies, who embarks on enchanting adventures with her dragonfly familiar, Haiku.  

The land of flower fairies is a picturesque realm where each flower is accompanied by a fairy that gives the flower its scent.  I really love the artwork by Lenny Wen and how the combination of gouache and colored pencils subtly mutes the colors of the flowers while accenting the lovely details of each of the flower fairies, i.e. Violet, Lily and Daisy.  The colors are bright and with lots of pinks, purples and greens.  My favorite illustration was the laughing daffodils with giraffe heads.

Overall, this is a delightful story with beautiful illustrations that highlight's Eliza's bravery and determination to assist the flower fairies.  The narrative opens up the possibility for Eliza to further explore the enchanted worlds of pixies, elves, brownies, and even hobgoblins in the future.  This would be ideal for a reader eight years old and up who is practicing reading longer words or who is interested in flowers, fairies and hidden magical worlds.  It might even inspire the reader to make their own flower fairy garden.  

I hope you'll check out all the other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge's blog HERE   

**A huge thank you to Candlewick Press for the ARC paperback which will be donated to my local Little Free Library** 

The Last Great Heir: Feast and Famine by Carina Finn

The Last Great Heir: Feast and Famine by Carina Finn
Publisher:  Sourcebooks for Young Readers
Format:  E-ARC via NetGalley
Number of pages:   278 pages
Publishing:   January 28th, 2025 
Source:  Publisher in exchange for an honest review

Opening Line: "Rue pressed her back flat against the brick wall of the alley, her breath caught in her lungs."

The land of Fauret was once united until a rift was caused by a demon leading the land to divide into two distinct houses: the Feast and Famine's.  The demon was contained within the spiral tower of Helix and since then, the custom in Fauret has dictated that the heirs of Feast and Famine engage in a duel.  The victor will retain rule over the land of Fauret and ensure that the demons are unable to break loose from the tower and inhabit  Fauret.

Merriment "Merri" Feast has always known a life of parties and fine pastries, gold bracelets with a sword charm and elaborate skirts of emerald.  Rue Famine, on the other hand wears an all-black dress and stockings, and a silver bracelet with a tiny skull.  She's never indulged in the frivolity of pastries or parties.  Instead, her house creates the potions and elixirs that help the people of Famine.   

Yet, on the girls thirteenth birthday, which is quickly approaching, they are set to participate in a duel.  Rue would like nothing more than to be a great heir, but her mother hasn't been proactive with her training, so how is she to be successful?  Merri is being trained by her Aunt Ambrosia, and the Feasts haven't lost a duel in three generations, placing considerable pressure on her to ensure that the trend continues.  While she is naturally gifted with charms, Merri begins to experiment in Famine magic and one of her potions accidentally causes her twin sister, Abundance "Bun" to fall into a deep slumber.     

Rue and Merri have always been curious about one another, wanting to learn more about the person who they've been brought up to view as their rival.  Each feeling weighed down by the responsibility and what the consequences of them possibly losing the duel will mean to themselves and their house.  As they get closer and closer to their birthday, they begin to realize that they don't feel prepared to do battle and suspicions begin to form that their families have been holding a valuable piece of information from them.  

The Last Great Heir is the debut novel from Carina Finn, a food writer, critic and content creator.  Finn began writing The Last Great Heir while she was working in NYC as a restaurant critic, stating "living a life of “unfathomable abundance.” She says, “In many ways, it was a dream. But sometimes my dream life felt physically awful, and it was impossible not to think of all the people who went without basic necessities while I spent my days writing about the previous night’s twelve course dinner.  The world of Feast and Famine was born out of this dichotomy."  She can be found at @sheneedsasnack (Instagram, TikTok).

The Last Great Heir is a light middle grade fantasy that focuses on classism, familial ties, the expectations that are placed on us or that we place upon ourselves, and the aspirations of being a kind and just heir who "understands the world beyond the confines of one's inheritance."  Rue and Merri have two very different lived experiences yet have more in common than they even know.  Feasts have a lavish life and vigorish magical training while Famine study history, alchemy and develop elixirs to stave off hunger.  Both families have been keeping secrets from the girls, and I enjoyed watching how their shared hidden past lead them closer and closer toward one another and a final understanding of how and why the duel began in the first place.  Through the alternating narratives of Merri and Rue the author fills in some of the key details and helps the reader to understand these girls better.  What motivates them and who is most important to them.  Fauret is an interesting world of demons, ancient magic, talking cats, an adorable puppy and two houses that have long been divided over social class.  The story includes LGBTQIA+ representation with Rue having two mothers and two gay uncles and that final twist will have the reader eager for the next book in the series.  

 I hope you'll check out all the other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge's blog HERE   

**A huge thank you to Sourcebooks for Young Readers for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review**  

It's Marvelous Middle Grade Monday with a review of The Secret of Honeycake by Kimberly Newton Fusco

The Secret of Honeycake by Kimberly Newton Fusco
Publisher:  Knopf Books for Young Readers
Format:  E-ARC
Number of pages:   368 pages
Publishing:   January 21st, 2025 
Source:  Blue Slip Media

Opening Line: "One thing you don't know about me yet is I am very quiet."

Hurricane and her older sister Bronte have lived alone since their father died in World War I and their mother passed away from Tuberculosis (TB) in 1930.  The two sisters are inseparable.  Being a quiet girl, Hurricane has always relied on Bronte to do all the talking for her.  However, Bronte is suddenly diagnosed with TB and sent to recuperate at Wintering Pines, a sanatorium.  Hurricane is uprooted from her coastal home to reside in the city with her great Aunt Claire.  Aunt Claire is a bit eccentric; she employs Mr. Keats as her chauffeur and cook, and she has embraced modern conveniences like electricity and indoor plumbing.  Hurricane finds the transition challenging, and the thought of being separated from her cherished dog, Brody-Bear and sister, is simply too devastating.  Without Bronte who will be her voice now?

Aunt Claire is well meaning, yet a tad overly concerned with Hurricane wearing overalls and boots.  She's insistent on implementing a few new rules for her also: making the bed first thing in the morning, doing calisthenics daily, completing household chores, and above all, maintaining a "brave demeanor."  Mr. Keats on the other hand is a softy, thoughtful and very kind.  He notices that Hurricane is making an effort to adapt and subtly encourages her aunt to be more lenient with her.  Soon Hurricane meets Theo, a boy who is instrumental in helping her with a stray cat, together with his suggestions and Mr. Keats help, they're able to entice the cat from the basement to the upstairs.  Eventually, Hurricane begins to build her confidence to ask for the things she wants and even convinces her aunt to check in on how her sister is doing in the hospital.       

Hurricane is such a delight.  In a lot of ways, she reminds me of Pippi Longstocking in terms of her energy and desire to dress comfortably.  And Aunt Claire is lovely.  As I said I truly believe she has the best of intentions, having never had children herself to raise.  She even consults the local women's club for pointers and is reading "mothering" handbooks.  As Hurricane's independence begins to grow, her aunt also begins changing.  Even learning to drive the car, which is most comedic.  The story has a very nostalgic feel, little bit of Emily of New Moon and Anne of Green Gables.  With Mr. Keats being a little like Matthew Cuthbert.  Just like the cover, this was a warm, cozy and inviting read for me.  I appreciated the authors note at the end discussing the inspiration for her story, information for the sources of research on TB and class lesson suggestions.

Favorite lines:  "I see, Mr. Keats says now pouring more tea.  And I can tell that he does because he's giving me every ounce of his attention.  He looks me in the eye, soft and warm, and the sun shines through me."   

    **A huge thank you to Blue Slip Media for the E-ARC in exchange for an honest review. **  

 I hope you'll check out all the other Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday posts at Greg Pattridge's blog HERE