Middle grade fiction to look for! June 2021

 A holiday weekend, some good books to read, what could be better?  Nothing!  In my opinion!  Here are two super fun new speculative fiction books to look for.

The first one is called Strangeworld Travel Agency by L. D. Lapinski.  It's about Flick (short for Felicity) who has just moved to a new town.  Her parents are very excited about the upgrade in living quarters (two toilets!) but Flick is less enthusiastic.  She takes a lot of responsibility at her house because her parents work different shifts and her baby brother needs taking care of.  As she's wandering through her new town, she comes across a place called the Strangeworld Travel Agency.  It doesn't seem like any kind of travel agency she's ever been to before and it turns out it really isn't.  It's a magical travel agency and people travel by the suitcases that are piled up all around the shop.  Each suitcase takes you to a different world.  The travel agency is run by a young man named Jonathan who is surprised to find that Flick can see the magic through a magical magnifying glass.  Jonathan is showing her how to travel, when they end up at a magical intersection and the trouble really starts.  It turns out that Jonathan's father has disappeared and Jonathan is trying to find out what happened.  The magical intersection has been corrupted by thieves and it's up to Jonathan and Flick to fix it.  This is a really fun and exciting adventure.  The characters are interesting and well thought out.  The dialogue is wonderful.  The magical worlds are fun to imagine, even if I didn't really want to go to them.  There is a mystery that needs solving and this the first in a series, because a big part of the mystery was unsolved.  I think kids are going to love this one.  Don't miss it!  Here's the book trailer.  

Here's the cover!

The second one is called Long Lost by Jacqueline West.  It's about Fiona, who has also moved with her family to a new town, but Fiona is VERY resentful of the move.  They moved because it's closer for her sister, Arden, to train for her figure skating career.  Fiona feels like Arden is the one only being considered in the family, Fiona has had to leave behind her friends, her school, everything, to move to a new (old) house, a new school, a new town.  Fiona is angry.  She starts isolating herself by going to the town library and finds a very intriguing old book called the Lost One.  She starts reading it at the library but is unable to finish, so she steals the book and takes it home to read.  Except that the book disappears.  Fiona is certain that Arden took it and starts to undermine Arden.  Strange things start to happen-a dog appears that no one else can see and a librarian that seems out of place in time talks to Fiona.  This is a creepy, compelling mystery story that was very fun to read.  The characters are very relatable and the story was hard to put down!  My students often ask for scary stories, and although they are not my favorite, this one is going to be perfect for our elementary library.