The League of Beastly Dreadfuls #3: The Witch's Glass by Holly Grant

My name is Anastasia, and I'll never stop searching for my missing father. My grandfather's tattoo is the key, but no one knows where he is either. However, the Beastly Dreadfuls are helping me find clues, but we're finding ourselves in forbidden territory. My friends and I have found journals in the office of Calixto Swift, the wizard who did the Dastardly Deed that started the Perpetual War. Anything dealing with witches is now forbidden in Nowhere Special, so we'll be in big trouble if anyone discovers we're here, especially my grandmother, the queen. I still don't see myself as the crown princess in Nowhere Special, and I know it makes my aunt angry. The queen is worried the witches will send armies back to reclaim this land, so she wants higher taxes to bolster our own forces. I'm feeling an urgency to find my father, and I'm worried that something huge is going to happen soon. 

It will probably be best if you read the earlier books first, although I hadn't read them in awhile. This book read like an adventure mystery, as the kids snuck around trying to collect clues to find Anastasia's grandfather. The biggest revelations in the story provided information about the dispute between witches and Morfos, the inhabitants of Nowhere Special able to transform into some type of animal. Anastasia had an internal conflict, as she tried to adjust to morphing into a bat. Silver was normally harmful, maybe deadly, to Morfos, so the fact that silver didn't affect her signaled she was significantly different. The expected truth was revealed near the end. The overall conflict was/is the Perpetual War between Morfos and Witches, although the dispute wasn't as clear as it seemed. The queen and some other leaders wanted to raise taxes in order to bolster their defenses, since they expected witches to invade in the near future. Anastasia uncovered some inconsistencies in the history she'd learned in school, so there's sure to be a major revelation soon. This will undoubtedly involve the disappearances of her grandfather and father, and the questions surrounding Calixto Swift. I recommend you give the series a shot. 

Oliver Blue and the School for Seers #2: The Orb of Kandra by Morgan Rice

My name is Esther, and Oliver's plans to save his mentor have been sidetracked since the Orb of Kandra was stolen from the School for Seers. The school will implode and be destroyed if the orb isn't returned in twenty-four hours. We have the only school for seers, or so we've been told, but it looks like seers may have taken the orb. Oliver's specialism is atomic, the most powerful specialty, and he's the only one who can get the orb back. I'm happy to help and Ralph has joined us too. It looks like we'll need to visit Sir Isaac Newton, so we'll be time-traveling back to the 1690's. The jumps through portals have been making me weaker, but I can't tell Oliver what's really going on. He has enough to worry about, especially now that his brother Chris has shown up helping the Obsidian students. How is that even possible? You can't make someone a seer, so what have they done to Chris?

You need to read this series from the beginning. The seers are able to manipulate their environments based on their specialties, although it comes across as almost magical. I like Oliver's character and his relationship with Esther. He comes from an abusive background, but this book introduces the probability that he hasn't been raised by his actual parents. Time travel is the backbone of the plot, as there are opposing groups battling to maintain and disrupt history. The Obsidian school is introduced as the antagonists, but the big surprise is the reappearance of Oliver's brother. He adds a personal twist to the overall conflict. The thing that most bugs me about the book is how quickly Oliver has mastered his atomic specialty. No one else has that power, so he isn't trained at all, but his body seems to have miraculously enabled him to easily transform things at their atomic level. There's been a minimal learning curve. Despite that, I've enjoyed the overall story of trying to preserve the integrity of historical events. It's easy to connect with Oliver, and he's a bit of a renegade like many middle grade heroes. I'm a little bummed my library system doesn't have the rest of the books in the series, and I can only find them offered for purchase through Kindle or Amazon. 

The Undertakers #2: Queen of the Dead by Ty Drago

My name is Helene, and the Corpses have a new leader. This woman also wants to destroy all humans, but we can't figure out how she plans to do it. She had her Deaders capture an FBI agent, and he's being kept in the abandoned Eastern State Penitentiary. What do they want with him? The Chief decided we need to go on the offensive, so I'm on a rescue mission with Sharyn, Will, and the Burgermeister. However, things have gone terribly wrong. We've found the FBI agent, but Sharyn's been seriously injured. We don't know if the Chief's sister will survive, and we need to find a way out of the penitentiary. The Ritter is a new weapon that gives us a chance to actually kill Deaders, but will it be enough to safe humanity?

You should read the first book before reading this sequel. The summary above shares the gist of the plot, but details make the book more entertaining. Most humans can't see Corpses through their "Masks", but Undertakers are kids with the ability to see their true, undead form. Consequently, Deaders are able to exist among humans, and they hold many positions of power, including the police. The Undertakers use unique inventions made from common materials, and luckily, one of the kids is the son of a surgeon. The book includes plenty of action, but the character interactions make it most interesting. Will's father founded the Undertakers and was the only adult able to see the Corpses. Will has a connection to a "guardian angel", although it's unclear where she comes from. She allows Will to ask one question per book, so the author provides crumbs about what's going on. There are still many unanswered questions, but the Ritter offers a hope for success. Some new characters are added to the series, so it will be interesting to see how that changes future events. Overall, I'm enjoying the series and recommend you give it a shot. 

Oliver Blue and the School for Seers #1: The Magic Factory by Morgan Rice

My name is Oliver, and I'm sick and tired of being bullied by my brother Chris. My parents don't even care, and they let him get away with it. So, it was an easy decision to leave home after meeting my favorite inventor, Armando. I decided to stay in his factory and help with the development of his fantastic inventions; I even finished making an invisible coat! How was I to know the other strange things happening to me were due to my powers as a seer? I now find myself in the School for Seers, and I've made some good friends. I can't say where they're from, but it's more important to say when they're from. Esther, the cute girl in class, is from my neighborhood, but about fifty years before me. However, I've discovered Armando's assistant is planning something dangerous against the school, and no one can stop him. Except me.

This book will appeal to lovers of science and inventions, as Oliver loves to create new things. There is some magic involved, as the seers are able to manipulate things using their specialized powers. Of course, the main character is going to have the rarest and most powerful specialty. Bullying is a big part of the plot, as Oliver faces it almost everywhere he goes. His brother, parents, classmates, and teachers all treat him unfairly. Friendship is another big part of the story, although his relationship with Esther isn't typical for most eleven-year-olds. Ralph is his best friend, but their bond isn't as close as I would expect. They're buddies, but they don't seem much closer than others in the group. The hardest thing to accept is Oliver's mastery of his ability. It's first presented as something difficult to perfect, but he somehow performs powerful spells with almost no training. He's also told he could end up good or evil, so that question continues throughout the book. I appreciate his loyalty and caring toward Armando and his friends, and his positive qualities will most assuredly come out on top. Overall, time travel, magic, and comradery appealed to me, so I recommend you give the book a shot. 

The Remarkables by Margaret Peterson Haddix

My name is Marin, and I hoped the move to Pennsylvania would help change my life in a good way. I'm still upset about how my friendships ended back in Illinois, but my first impression with the boy next to my new house wasn't much better. Charley and I are the only people able to see the teenagers on the other side of the hill. They looked really happy while I was watching their party, but then they just disappeared! Charley is sure one of the boys is his father, and one of the girls is named Missy. Something tragic happened at this house twenty years ago, and it's haunted Charley's father ever since. Are we seeing time travelers? Ghosts? I'm not sure what they are, but Charley calls them the Remarkables. He's convinced we can do something to change the past and heal his father. Can it be possible?

Marin had an ongoing, internal conflict regarding her past friends, and it was hard for her to resolve. The plot began when she saw the teenagers beyond the trees and thought they had the ability to become invisible. Charley brought focus to the events, as he knew local backstories and had been watching the Remarkables for a while. The Remarkables felt more like ghosts than time travelers, and they created a curious cast of characters. Charley and Marin tried to figure things out, but the story tended to meander around. It wasn't clear where the plot was headed or when it might end. However, I should have known the author had something up her sleeve, as the last fourth of the book flipped everything around. Assumptions were corrected, inconsistencies were cleared up, and the story would probably end happily ever after. The story addressed common middle school issues and the complications of friendship. Once again, the answer to the problems boiled down to communication. Overall, I enjoyed the book very much and recommend you give it a shot. 

The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart

My name is Constance, and I'll call you whatever I want to. I don't know why Benedict allowed me to pass all of his tests, but he's put me on a "team" with three other weird kids. Stinky memorizes everything he sees, but the kid is ridiculously nervous. Kate carries a stupid bucket around where she holds "useful" things like a kaleidoscope. Reynie seems kind of normal, and he's the only one willing to give me a chance. I know I'm a pain and mouthy, but I'm going to give him a chance too. Benedict thinks our team (I came up with the name Mysterious Benedict Society) is the only hope for stopping the Emergency. Someone is sending hidden messages through televisions and radios, but we don't know why. Benedict thinks they're coming from a private school on an island, so he's going to send us there as students. I don't know why he'd send kids into a dangerous situation, but I'm going to go anyhow. It's my choice, not his. 

The plot contains a lot of thinking, as the kids try to figure out what's going on with the Emergency. Most of the book takes place at the private school where the kids try to excel in the strange classes. They try to advance to a higher level where they'll gain access to more secrets. The director is clearly manipulating the minds of the students and public, but he has an unexpected connection to Mr. Benedict. This becomes important to resolving the conflict, although the problem will continue in the book's sequel. As mentioned above, the main characters are a strange blend of personalities. The most entertaining part of the book is how they work together in unconventional ways. Reynie becomes the leader and is able to think through and solve perplexing problems. Kate is impulsive but athletic, Sticky is very book smart but anxious, and Constance is just plain difficult. The others don't understand why Constance is part of the team, but her personality is important during the climax. All of the kids have issues with their family situations, but the plot's resolution brings everything to a happy conclusion. Overall, the book was very entertaining, and I recommend you give it a shot. The movie follows the gist of the book, but the book is almost always better.

The Magnificent Monsters of Cedar Street by Laurn Oliver

My name is Cordelia, and I wish I could tell people that my father is a veterinarian for monsters. My mother was a famous author of a book on monsters before she disappeared several years ago. However, most people are either terrified of them or don't believe they exist. It makes life difficult, since I often find myself fighting with classmates. I regret that a monster cost me my best friend. Today, I woke up to discover all of the monsters and my father missing, and a threatening letter in his desk. I don't have any clue as to where they've gone, but a homeless boy named Gregory has offered to help. We make a strange team. I'm trying to hide a baby dragon and a filch, while Gregory has a zombie puppy, a zuppy. I don't know where this adventure will lead, but I have a feeling there's much more to this kidnapping than I know.

The plot didn't provide anything new or novel, but that only made the events easily relatable. The book was set it late 1800's in England. I most enjoyed the three monsters with Cordelia and Gregory, as they were quirky and unpredictable. The zuppy was impulsive, needed a little blood each day, but was Gregory's best friend. The dragon mostly remained hidden until his fire breath was needed. I had some trouble picturing the filch, but he reminded me of a bundled up little chimpanzee. A subplot developed, as Cordelia was forced to face some unresolved issues with her former best friend. This led to the emergence of some additional details about the relationship between monsters and humans. The kids met a gentleman later in the book with interesting views of monsters, the animal kingdom, and humans. Are humans the real monsters? When was the last time you read a middle grade book that discussed Darwin and his theory of evolution? The conflict boiled down to humans' intolerance for things that are different or unexplained. The story's antagonist, revealed late in the book, had a surprising backstory of his own regarding monsters and humans. The plot became an adventure mystery, as the kids tried to locate Cordelia's father and the missing monsters. Overall, I enjoyed the book and can easily recommend it to you. Give it a shot.