A riveting fantasy full of adventure and romance. While it does diverge from the original somewhat in the end this is a rather brilliant retelling of Beauty and the Beast (with a brief reference to Cinderella if you know the story in its original form).

Such an engrossing and attention-grabbing book. A class of middle schoolers head on a field trip to some nearby caves. While below ground, an earthquake strikes and they are all trapped. Where this might sound like the start of a tragic story, it turns fantastical as they discover an unknown Underworld, where danger lurks, and challenges arise, around every corner. A book surely to captivate the attention of many middle-grade, and older, readers.

This spooky story about the paranormal in our world, and the ability of the main character, Cass, to cross to place beyond, will interest many middle school readers.

A fabulously fun adventure for upper elementary kids to enjoy. Rowan, next in line to be queen, gets the opportunity to prove that she is capable of being what she has always wanted to be, Royal Monster Hunter, but must face scary monsters to prove her worth and save her kingdom. Along the way she assembles quite an unusual assortment of sidekicks who help her in her journey.

This book is definitely worthy of all the praise it has received. An intriguing story about surrounding Dia de Muertos where Yadriel is trying to prove himself to his family, who has rejected him being a brujo because he is transgender and gay, that he should be part of special rites of this day. Interweaving this with a mystery around the death of two teens and their spirits, this story is a winner. 

I have read this book too many times to remember, and it's on my list of favourite Middle Grades books. I have read this book with classes, kids book clubs and with small groups of kids and it is always a hit! I particularly love it is book about books and the library. The competition to solve the challenges and escape the library are brilliant and holds the reader's attention throughout. The books mentioned in the story are often added to students' lists of books they want to read because Grabenstein makes them all sound so great. A fun book all around and most definitely should be in all libraries and classrooms. Love, love, love this book. Even better is that it's the first in the series, so there is more fun to be had after reading this one.

This stunning fantastical retelling of Victor Hugo's Les Miserables caught my attention right away and I loved this story. While the main themes of Les Miserables are respected, the characters, setting, and storyline are developed in a very original way.

There are so many things to discuss within this fantastic book- poor vs rich, peace vs war, loss, forgiveness, family loyalty, and magic are just a few of the elements of this fantasy book. A great read and well worth the time!

A suspenseful, fast-paced page-turner. I have read this to numerous groups of kids and the common reaction is "don't stop!". Toxic mud, government secrets, and plenty of unexpected twists makes this book a favourite for middle-grade kids.