Yesterday, I posted the first five books on my list of must read Middle Grade upcoming releases. These books cater to the young fantasy/sci fi reader, and there is a lot to choose from. Below is the last half of that list. I hope you find them as enticing as I do.
Expected Publication date: April 22, 2014 by Harper Collins
Back cover: In this riveting fantasy adventure, thirteen-year-old Jax Aubrey discovers a secret eighth day with roots tracing back to Arthurian legend. Fans of Percy Jackson will devour this first book in a new series that combines exciting magic and pulse-pounding suspense.
When Jax wakes up to a world without any people in it, he assumes it’s the zombie apocalypse. But when he runs into his eighteen-year-old guardian, Riley Pendare, he learns that he’s really in the eighth day—an extra day sandwiched between Wednesday and Thursday. Some people—like Jax and Riley—are Transitioners, able to live in all eight days, while others, including Evangeline, the elusive teenage girl who’s been hiding in the house next door, exist only on this special day.
And there’s a reason Evangeline’s hiding. She is a descendant of the powerful wizard Merlin, and there is a group of people who wish to use her in order to destroy the normal seven-day world and all who live in it. Torn between protecting his new friend and saving the entire human race from complete destruction, Jax is faced with an impossible choice. Even with an eighth day, time is running out.
Stay tuned for The Inquisitor’s Mark, the spellbinding second novel in the Eighth Day series.
Expected Publication date: April 22, 2014 by Waldon Pond Press
Back cover: A young orphan searches for his family and the meaning in his grandfather’s book of lost fairy tales in this stunningly original coming-of-age middle-grade fantasy
Vince Elgin is an orphan, having lost his mother and his father in a fire when he was young, but beyond that, his life hasn’t been much of a fairy tale. With only a senile grandfather he barely knows to call family, Vince was remanded to a group home, where he spun fantastical stories, dreaming of the possibility that his father, whose body was never found, might one day return for him. But it’s been a long time since the fire, a long time since Vince has told himself a story worth believing in.
That’s when a letter arrives, telling Vince his grandfather has passed away. Vince cannot explain it, but he’s convinced that if his father is somehow still alive, he’ll find him at the funeral. He strikes out for his grandfather’s small hometown of Dyerville carrying only one thing with him: his grandfather’s journal. The journal tells a story that could not possibly be true, a story of his grandfather’s young life involving witches, giants, magical books, and evil spirits. But as Vince reads on and gets closer to Dyerville, fact and fiction begin to intertwine, and Vince finds that his very real adventure may have more in common with his grandfather’s than he ever could have known.
M. P. Kozlowsky, the author of Juniper Berry, has crafted a powerfully imaginative novel of the spaces in life where fantasy and reality intersect, a touching story of the things we give up to recover the things we’ve lost.
Expected Publication date: May 6, 2014 by Katherine Tegen Books
Back cover: Hand in hand, the witch’s children walked down the empty road.
When Kara Westfall was six years old, her mother was convicted of the worst of all crimes: witchcraft. Years later, Kara and her little brother, Taff, are still shunned by the people of their village, who believe that nothing is more evil than magic . . . except, perhaps, the mysterious forest that covers nearly the entire island. It has many names, this place. Sometimes it is called the Dark Wood, or Sordyr’s Realm. But mostly it’s called the Thickety.
The black-leaved trees swayed toward Kara and then away, as though beckoning her.
The villagers live in fear of the Thickety and the terrible creatures that live there. But when an unusual bird lures Kara into the forbidden forest, she discovers a strange book with unspeakable powers. A book that might have belonged to her mother.
And that is just the beginning of the story.
The Thickety: A Path Begins is the start of a thrilling and spellbinding tale about a girl, the Thickety, and the power of magic.
Expected Publication date: April 22, 2014 by Simon & Schuster for Young Readers
Back cover: All aboard for an action-packed escapade from the internationally bestselling author of Airborne and the Silverwing trilogy.
The Boundless, the greatest train ever built, is on its maiden voyage across the country, and first-class passenger Will Everett is about to embark on the adventure of his life!
When Will ends up in possession of the key to a train car containing priceless treasures, he becomes the target of sinister figures from his past.
In order to survive, Will must join a traveling circus, enlisting the aid of Mr. Dorian, the ringmaster and leader of the troupe, and Maren, a girl his age who is an expert escape artist. With villains fast on their heels, can Will and Maren reach Will’s father and save The Boundless before someone winds up dead?
Expected Publication date: April 29, 2014 by Harper Collins
Back cover: The Luck Uglies is the first in a tween fantasy-adventure trilogy brimming with legends come to life, a charming wit, and a fantastic cast of characters-and is imbued throughout with the magic of storytelling.
Strange things are happening in Village Drowning, and a terrifying encounter has Rye O’Chanter convinced that the monstrous, supposedly extinct Bog Noblins have returned.
Now Rye’s only hope is an exiled secret society so notorious its name can’t be spoken aloud: the Luck Uglies. As Rye dives into Village Drowning’s maze of secrets, rules, and lies, she’ll discover the truth behind the village’s legends of outlaws and beasts…and that it may take a villain to save them from the monsters.
The first in a series, The Luck Uglies is an altogether irresistible cross of Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain, Stefan Bachmann’s The Peculiar, and Chris Healy’s The Hero’s Guide to Saving Your Kingdom, overflowing with adventure, secrets, friendship, and magic.
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There is also one more book that I want to mention here as the #1 book I have my eye on. The reason I didn’t post it here is because the cover and the blurb have not yet been released. What is this MG book? It’s Shannon Messenger’s, EVERBLAZE, the third installment in her Keeper of the Lost Cities series. I am hooked on this series and highly recommend the first two to anyone who loves reading MG/YA novels full of magic and adventure. The first two in the series are:
and 
Goodreads has an awesome list of Middle Grade Novels for 2014 that span many genres. You can find that list by clicking here. No matter what your 8-13 year old likes to read, he or she is bound to find something on this list to excite the mind.
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In two days, my speculative short story, THE PASSING OF MILLIE HUDSON, will appear alongside 12 other speculative short stories in the anthology, #READINGGLASSES. Take a look below at the thirteen reasons why you absolutely, have to have READING GLASSES:
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