How do you feel about autumn? Personally, I love it. I love it to pieces, it’s my absolute favorite season! The sky is almost always golden, at least where I live. The days are getting shorter, but not agressively so – by aggressively, I mean that in winter here, it gets dark at around 4 pm. Nobody likes it 😂
But with autumn… It’s not too hot, it’s not too cold. You can wear all your favorite clothes and still look fashionable without having to murder yourself with stupid inventions of the media, like “the bikini body” or the fact that women have to be completely hairless (a fact that I hope fellow women will stop harrassing each other about, because I swear 90% of the guys honestly don’t care, and the 10% who do are really not worth you speaking to them.)
I could talk about cozy autumn sweaters and hot cocoa for days hours, and I feel like you’d be happy to read about it, but instead, I’m just going to share my favorite autumn GIF with you to convey the vibe:
A GIF of a cat shrugging off autumn leaves in the late afternoon sunlight. It is PERFECT.
That is the perfect GIF. It has a cat, sunshine, and autumn. I LOVE IT.
But despite autumn being my favorite season, I am prone to blues. Autumn blues not excluded. Lately especially I’ve been triggered here and there by books, by almost any kind of book. This quickly spiralled out to me being unable to finish and review A LOT of books that I had lined up. Which I feel might have brought on these little changes that my blog will be going through this year, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing. Because it also nudged in the direction of reading more middle grade books. And that’s a change I really, really love.
Middle Grade Books To The Rescue
So you think you’re too old to read middle grade? Or maybe you think I am? Well, I don’t know why you’re reading my blog then, because I refuse to grow up!
A GIF of the alligator from the Peter Pan cartoon, flailing madly and smiling in the water… at top speed, LOL
Anyway. Middle grade books are a splash of joy and light in this world of constant negativity and tension. You switch on the news and you’ve got “this many dead, this many harrassed, these guys at the top of the power pyramid are planning bad things for you”. It’s hard to live in a world like that! You know what I’m talking about.
I know a lot of you manage to read crime and thriller books, and enjoy the hell out of the experience. But it’s not for someone like me, and I know I’m not alone in the world. A lot of you struggle with anxiety and even have panic attacks, or so much more than that. Why should we then read what’s popular and what stresses us out?
That’s another reason why I don’t read YA so much. YA is often built on angst and tension! But middle grade isn’t.
And that’s why I’ve been binge reading so many middle grade books lately. And I’ve enjoyed the crap out of them!!! And I want to talk more about these books. I’m going to go over a few books in this post, but since I’ve already posted reviews for most of them, I’ll start with one which didn’t get a review yet, and since I’m not going to post a lot of straight up reviews anymore, lets give it the attention its due. Because it was an amazing book.
The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarty
Disclaimer: I was given a copy for review. It does not affect my honest opinion.
Gosh was this one a cookie! At first it might have been a little bit harder to get into because of the unusual tone, but after I did? I absolutely loved it. This book has so many good things in it – and I just don’t know where to start. First of all, it has kickass women characters. Starting with Bronte herself – a girl that I’m incredibly proud of, despite her being a fictional character! She’s serious for a ten year old, and she’s grown up without her parents. On top of that, she now has to go on an escapade that they mapped out for her in their will – because it’s magically enchanted to destroy her hometown if she doesn’t!
Who’d want to do that for absent parents? So what if they died just now, where were they during Bronte’s 10 years of life with her aunt? Adventuring, that’s where. So not only does Bronte have to go off ON HER OWN to have these adventures and travel where her absent parents bid her, she also has to deal with her grief and her seemingly inappropriate anger with her parents and… what the flying hell were they even thinking.
True to any self-respecting middle grade book, naturally, Bronte doesn’t just have adventures and fun. She also learns a whole lot. And I loved the values taught in the book! Okay, so a quick rundown of what I loved about the world in Bronte Mettlestone:
- Women are strong. They can travel when they’re just little girls. They can live on their own and be powerful wizards.
- More than that, they don’t need a princes or kings to marry them to ‘save’ them. Don’t open the spoiler if you’re going to read the book – they can be
elected as queens and rule countries on their own, and rock at it. - And even if they’re annoying as hell like one of Bronte’s aunts, they can be tough business ladies as well.
- But it doens’t stop at #girlpower – this book makes the effort to explain to the reader that every conflict has two points of view and two stories behind the events of any war
- And most importantly – this book addresses the thoughts in an abandoned kid’s head – a thought a lot of our children could be having right now, with how high divorce rates are.
Let me elaborate. I feel like I’ve elaborated enough about the women part in the bullet points, so I’ll just talk about the other parts. First of all, I really loved how the political conflicts were talked about. It really needs to be presented like this more often – that in any war, there is rarely a “right” side and a “wrong” side. Yes, one side might be more right than wrong, but even so – it’s not the entire nation’s fault that their leader is being a total [insert preferred swear word here]. And it also doens’t mean that these people are ALL evil and should be murdered.
Another thing is the problem of the abandoned child. Our society struggles a lot with the problems that come from childhoods with separated parents. Don’t we know that a lot of children blame themselves for their parents splitting up? Or worse, a parent (or both) abandoning the child altogether? These thoughts and feelings should be addressed, and where else than in a middle grade novel? It’s done SO well here too.
Bronte was abandoned as a child, because her parents went off ‘to have adventures’. Of course she blames herself! She thinks she must’ve been boring, so they left her. Throught talks with her aunts and the adventures in general, these ideas are dealt with and explained, resolved very well. But that’s not all – the amount of mental baggage this book deals with is staggering. It talks about depression in adults and how a child should understand it, it talks about grief and that everyone deals with it differently. It talks about overwork in adults and how that is not a life path you should take, despite it being extolled in our money-driven society. Those are things I won’t go into very deeply, but considering the ones I already mentioned, you must agree that this is a lot of stuff to be talked about in a childrens’ book – and talked about in a natural, non-invasive or weird way. 10 points for Gryffindor Hufflepuff. (I just wanted to say that.)
And with all of these issues discussed, does the book get bogged down or droll? Nope! It has a light-hearted tone that will fix that autumn blues, just like I promised!
A GIF of Bugs Bunny, munching on a carrot and possibly saying ‘What’s up, Doc?’
Anyway, I could be talking about The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone day and night, but we need to be moving on to another book. So buy it or add it to Gooreads and we’ll be moving on.
And oh yes. Did I mention the illustrations? THEY’RE AMAAAAAAAZIIIIIIING ❤️❤️❤️
Wildwood by Colin Meloy
Would you be surprised if I said I loved Wildwood pretty much just as much as I loved Bronte Mettlestone? I believe it’s a bigger book, although it reads just as quickly. It also has amazing illustrations and some similar topics.
Just like with Bronte, it revolves around a magical adventure, but this time it’s not just a girl going on it – it’s a boy as well. One thing I really loved about this book was how well balanced it was for both boys and girls! There is no one side that is followed up more or accentuated more. They both have their separate version of the same adventure and they’re both included and just as important. This helps integrate children so well – no more separation of what’s for girls, what’s for boys. It makes it the perfect story to read to siblings or basically all children. No more pink or blue – it’s for everyone.
You could say Wildwood is a sort of coming of age story for both the girl and the boy, and also a story of coming to terms with how your family is built and where you stand in it. That it doesn’t revolve around you – or if it does, it’s in terms of your responsibility to everyone else, and not what you’re entitled to. Those are all great messages.
Also, another good thing about Wildwood was how it treats the reader as an adult – no matter if it’s a child reading the story or not. There’s no sugarcoating things, and some truly scary things do threaten to happen. That’s the whole point of the adventure – to stop them from happening. Some kids books will try to protect the reader from the sad truths of life, and I don’t feel like that’s a good thing – it creates a bubble of lies which bursts one day as we grow up. We need to learn to deal with the world the way it is.
What I also loved about the story was the feel it had – magical surroundings, animals living along with people in the woods – much like in Wind in the Willows. The vibe was very cozy and accomodating, despite the danger! Things weren’t taken too seriously either, which helped the book be very readable indeed. I can truly recommend this one!
Sleep, Merel, Sleep by Silke Stein
I’ve already reviewed this one here, but I can’t fail to mention it again because it was simply the perfect book for me. A truly touching story about a child whose family is going through something tough and who feels threatened as a consequence, and doesn’t know what to do. Of course, there’s a magical adventure involved, and of course she must go on it to fix things. The adventure is well written and despite being tense, it’s still a story that will leave you feeling so much better after you’ve read it. Perfect for the autumn.
Omnia by Laura Gallego García
I’ve also reviewed this one before, here. But it was clearly so good I can still not forget it! Dealing with sibling problems, like Wildwood and Sleep, Merel, Sleep, it’s also both a craaaaazy adventure, as well as a way to learn some things about yourself and your family. This book also had the feeling I was talking about – the feeling of coziness and safety, even despite reading the tense story. The feeling of knowing things will be alright in the end!
So these are the kinds of books I’ve been reading lately. Do you have such feel-good comfort books? Is it a genre, or is it a certain theme, or maybe an author?
I’m Evelina and I try to blog about books that matter, with a bit of fun there too! Disability and equality will be topics you see a lot, but there’s also a lot of scifi, fantasy and… GIFs. I’m also the proud founder of #ARCsAnonymous.
I feel exactly the way you do about Autumn. And middle grade books have such a unique magic about them, which your descriptions of these books point out – they hold great adventure, tension, realism, all the while maintaining a comforting, can-do atmosphere.
They really do, don’t they 🙂
Oh, how i not look forward to the time when it’s gonna be full dark at 4pm.
I love Autumn <3 I'm kinda like the kitty in the gif just with blankets 😀
I don't think i know any particularly feel-good or comforting books. I usually go for dark stuff, and autumn is perfect for spooky crime stuff and scandinavian noir for me 😀
I just read your list so I know what you mean 😀 I haven’t been able to handle dark books at all lately. It’s been a hard time. So I’m seeking out fluffy books right now 😀
Autumn is my jam. I love it so much. I feel like we only get a week or so of proper Autumn weather before Winter cold hits, but it is a great week 🙂
I read to my son every night before bed so I’ve read a bunch of Middle Grade lately. Our favorite series is The Last Kids on Earth series: http://www.maxbrallier.com/series-last-kids-on-earth/. I will recommend that to everyone always.
Me too! Thankfully, we normally get a long autumn, at least a few months before all the rain, and then the snow hits 🙂
Ooh, cool, I’ll check out the series 🙂
You make some amazing points about why middle grade books are amazing. I’d like to try to read some more this year, especially now that I’m working with children. I’d love to be in the know and be able to recommend some <3
Thanks 🙂 yes, do try to read more – they can be so much fun. Thanks for reading!
I love middle grade stories too. We both loved Sleep, Merel, Sleep and now I must check out these others you mentioned. Love the gifs!
Thank you! And yes, I think you’d love these stories as well 🙂
I have been so happy with all my middle grades reads lately. They do tend to be rather uplifting, even when they cover heavier topics. Moriarty’s books sounds perfect for me. I have to check that out.
Yes, you absolutely have to! I think you’d love it 🙂
Thank you so much for thoses recs ! I do really love autumn and how much more fresh it is ; however, I haven’t been quite myself lately. Probably as it’s becoming “depression season” as we like to call it and well .. that’s no good for me ahah Books really do help ! I finished when dimple met rishi last night, and it was so cute it gave me that little boost of love <3 I do really need to try middle age book, I.. I haven't read any I think. I have a bit of that useless "shame"… Read more »
My pleasure 🙂 yeah, autumn is great, but sometimes the gloomy weather makes it hard to keep your mood straight. I guess we need the sunlight.
Aw, I’m glad you loved that book! Mm, and you should give some middle grade stories a go 🙂 I think you have read them when you were a kid though! Everyone’s read one or two 🙂
I love autumn too! The middle weather, the pretty leaves, the start of a new school year, so many lovely things. Anne – Books of My Heart
Yeah! 🙂 autumn is ust the best 🙂
We do not have much of an autumn (sure the leaves fall but not in all those varied colours) where I live so there are no ‘blues’. We straight jump to winter. I have Wildwood on my shelves. So maybe it is time to crack that open x
I wonder what’s the winter there 🙂 the autumn colors are my favorite. It’s a shame you don’t get to see them.
And Wildwood is great! You should definitely try it 🙂 also, gorgeous photos! That book is so beautiful.
I looove autumn so much, I’m generally living for the colder season, as they give me a reason to cozy up with a blanket, book + hot drink and never go outside 😀 ♥ I have not even considered reading Middle Grade to lighten the mood, but it sounds like a very good plan 🙂
Hahaha 🙂 must be a little warmer there than here 😀 winter can get so annoying here… And the heating in the houses totally sucks. So you spend most of the half a year just freezing, inside or outside. Just Lithuania things I guess 😀
And you should totally try middle grade to lift the mood! 🙂
oh these all sound cute! I have a love/hate relationship with fall I really LOVE it but I hate the fact that it marks the end of summer LOL
Haha, you’ve got a good point 😀
I love autumn and cannot wait for the weather to cool where I live, because curling up with a good book is better when you aren’t melting! Great list of books, sweets!
Haha, I wish it stayed this ‘cool’ here, cause it will soon get much cooler xD
HHAHAH OKAY THAT CROCODILE GIF KILLED.ME. But that’s so truee I always find myself going back to middle grade books if I got a reading slump LOL So glad to be back and see your posts <3 As amazing and entertaining as usual 😉
LOL 😀 aww, thank you! (And sorry I’m replying to comments so late xD)
Ha! I’m pretty sure 90% of them don’t care anyways about being hairless because it’s not like you can stop hair from growing with a snap of your fingers?
Middle grade is such a fun age group to venture into reading – it’s like YA is full-blown puberty mode sometimes and middle grade is that childhood period where everything is completely blissful. Despite the fact I feel I’m growing out of it lately, it’s always nice to read something where there isn’t so much tension and anxiety.
Oh they care alright. Otherwise my own personal friends wouldn’t have harrassed me about not being like them. Apparently they think you’re lazy if you’ve got any sort of skin condition or something like that. I have some well hidden grudges against several of my personal friends for judging on me about my looks :/ they just don’t understand it’s actually not the snap of a finger. They think it is. But maybe it’s only like that here? We don’t have a lot of genetic diversity here. I might just be an unfortunate monkey xD Yeah, that’s why I don’t… Read more »
I love Autumn too. The weather is perfect for reading – however, I’m still waiting for Autumn to really arrive because where I live the temperatures have been too high in the past week. I just want curl in an warm blanket. Thank you for the recommendations. I’ve decided to read some Middle Grade books this Autumn – I bought City of Ghosts, A Place Called Perfect and The Girl Who Drank the Moon in these past weeks. These type of books have such great messages without any of the angst that can be found in YA. Right now all… Read more »
We have had weird weather, like, one day it was 28C, then it switched straight to 14C the next day and it was cold for a long while, and now it’s back like 18C so we’re saying bye to summer xD I also bought City of Ghosts, but still haven’t started reading it! #FAIL xD I am very curious about The Girl Who Drank the Moon because it has been on my wishlist for about a year now. Will be curious about your review 🙂
I absolutely love this season as well! And it’s Halloween season to boot, which just brings me all the joy in the world, ironically because Halloween’s supposed to be this morbid event or something… Not for me xD
Thanks so much for the recs, Evelinah <3 I haven't read MG as much as I should!
Ah, Halloween is still a very new thing where I live, so it’s kind of neither here nor there for me 🙂 although I’ll enjoy a movie or two! Haha, yes, Halloween is somehow not morbid in this day and age at all 😀
Love the checklist you have for these middle grade books. It’s a great way to give feedback on a book without having to do a complete review. https://theglobaldig.blogspot.com/
Thank you! 🙂
Well, autumn seems to be the biggest news at the moment. We have autumn here too, but it’s not anything like you guys. the part where I am living currently is all wet. It’s raining almost daily. But still, I love the feeling of autumn 🙂
Your post reminded me that it’s been a long time since I read a middle-grade book. Last month I read one, The Night Diary but it was on a tough topic, India-Pakistan partition. So I guess I need to find more fun books 😀
I hope you keep getting such fun books to read 🙂
Oh don’t worry, it will start raining here soon too 😀 autumn here is made up of two parts – the early pretty autumn (the kind you see in pictures) and the real autumn (freezing rain and it’s always dark). It will turn into the second one really soon unfortunately xD
Thanks!
Ah, yes, Omina, I remember when you recommended me that book! Great choice for Autumn read, although the cover can also be put as decoration for winter reads. What a great post! I may “steal” the idea myself 😉
Thank you! Steal away, haha 😀
I am so with you about middle grade. Sometimes it is exactly the refreshing break from adult complicated life stuff that we need. I’ve always loved Jaclyn Moriarty – though I’ve only read her YA – so it doesn’t surprise me that Extremely Inconvenient Adventures was absolutely delightful.
Have you ever read any Kate DiCamillo? She writes BEAUTIFUL middle grade – sweet, funny, poignant stories that will stay with you for a long time. My favourite of hers is a book called Flora and Ulysses, about a little girl and a squirrel with super powers.
Oh wow, I didn’t know she wrote YA – I did think her name was familiar though 🙂 so that’s why. I don’t read a lot of YA myself, so I guess I wouldn’t have known. Thanks for pointing it out 🙂
And nope, I haven’t! I’ll be certain to look her up, thank you 🙂
[…] Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone and I rave about this middle grade masterpiece here. Of course, I adored the final installment of The Murderbot Diaries – Exit Strategy, and […]
Though we technically do not have a fall season, I love it. Just the happiness that summer is finally out and the excitement that winter might set in soon are good enough for me. And i love reading MG too, they are the best for getting over a reading slump.
Hahaha it’s so funny, where I live it’s the opposite, because you do NOT want the winter to set it, it’s death xD I wonder what you’d think of our seasons if you had a chance to visit! (It would be so cool if you could.)
[…] such a colorful, all-encompassing middle grade book! I believe I’ve already rambled about it here in my list of middle grade stories that might pick your mood up in the autumn. I really, really […]
I tend to re-read The Lord of the Rings in the later part of the year – I just started last night. That’s my comfort read 🙂 I love that you’re promoting middle grade reads! My favourite~ I totally forgot that Jaclyn Moriarty has a middle grade novel out now!! Thanks for the reminder, haha. I was a big fan of her Ashbury/Brookfield YA novels.
Haha, that’s a nice tradition 🙂 and yes, middle grades are something I can’t go long without reading 🙂 I actually haven’t read anything else by Jaclyn Moriarty, but I am now on the lookout for book two of Bronte Mettlestone, as it’s already been published, but by a different publisher. I’ll have to look into it 🙂
[…] @ avalinahsbooks talks about the autumn blues and how middle grade books can get you of […]
I feel the same!!! I love Autumn but this year it really hit me hurt with days when I couldn’t do anything and the blues are still around a bit, but I am fighting back – and I agree, middle grade books are perfect this time a year!
Middle grades are perfect always 😀 😀 😀