Back to the fantasy!
Since October, I've pretty much read nothing but middle grade realistic fiction. I liked it a LOT but a steady diet of anything, even the good stuff, can leave you craving something different, something spicy, something sweet, something surprising. So these books totally fill that bill! The first one is called "Inkling" by Kenneth Oppel. It's a really interesting combination of realistic and fantasy fiction. The main character is Ethan. He lives with his dad and his younger sister Sarah. Sarah has Down's Syndrome and their mother died about two years ago. Ethan's dad is struggling with depression and unresolved issues around his wife's death. He is a successful graphic novelist, but he hasn't sold anything since his wife died. The savior comes from an unlikely source-ink. One day, the ink magically gathers itself into a ball and starts to gather more ink, and more and more until it's animated. It soaks up some words and t...