Today I’m featuring WHERE THERE BE MONSTERS by Alby C. Williams, a fantastical adventure filled with stunning worldbuilding!
Read on for my review of the book, and then make sure you also check out Alby’s list of top ten addictions to find out more about them!
Where There Be Monsters by Alby C. Williams
Series: The Outersphere #1
Published by Roaring Brook Press on May 6, 2025
Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade
Pages: 352
Source: Purchased, The Publisher
For fans of AMARI AND THE NIGHT BROTHERS and THE MARVELLERS, Alby C. Williams’ debut middle grade fantasy is a sweeping adventure filled with monsters, mysteries, and mischief.
Eleven-year-old Glory Brown is desperate for adventure far from her family’s quaint, quiet life at The Light Inn. Generations of Browns have been stewards of this humble hotel, which acts as a sanctuary in the stretch of monster-filled land called the Seam. But Glory wants nothing more than to learn how to use her Moxie, a special magic only kids have, and to train to become a Spherinaut like her mother, exploring and documenting the perilous depths of the Outersphere.
When a mysterious boy named Marcus appears one day on a top-secret mission for the Parliamentarium – the school for aspiring Spherinauts – Glory packs up her beloved books and sets off on a once-in-a-lifetime journey that will shuttle her across time and space…and reveal new dangers lurking in the worlds beyond the Seam.
For there’s mischief afoot that’s threatening the balance between the worlds, its magic, and its monsters. And it’s up to Glory to find a solution before it’s too late.
Book Events: I had a few different events over the last few weeks. I did an IGLive interview with B&N Classworks that was great fun, an interview with a fantastic kids’ writing organization called The Society of Young Inklings, and an event for Drop Everything and Read Day at B&N Oswego.
Today I’m featuring THE GIRL IN THE WALLS by Meg Eden Kuyatt, a creepy middle grade horror novel in verse!
Read on for my review of the book, and then make sure you also check out the author’s list of top ten addictions to find out more about her!
The Girl in the Walls by Meg Eden Kuyatt
Published by Scholastic on May 20, 2025
Genres: Horror, Middle Grade, Verse
Pages: 288
Source: Edelweiss
Cover Artist: James Firnhaber
When a neurodivergent girl finds a ghost in the walls, she must decide if the ghost is an ally or an enemy — and the wrong decision could destroy her and her family. From Schneider Family Book Award Honor author Meg Eden Kuyatt comes a chilling yet lyrical new novel-in-verse that’s sure to resonate with readers for years to come.
After a hard school year, V has been sent to her Grandma Jojo’s house for the summer in order to get away from it all. But unlike neurodivergent, artistic, sock-collecting V, Jojo is uptight, critical, and obsessed with her spotless house. She doesn’t get V at all. V is sure she’s doomed to have the worst summer ever.
Then V starts hearing noises from inside the walls of the house…
Knocks, the sounds of a girl crying, and voices echoing in the night.
When V finds a ghostly girl hiding in the walls, they seem to have an immediate connection. This might be V’s chance to get back at her perfect grandmother by messing with her just a little bit.
But the buried secrets go much deeper — and are much more dangerous — than V even suspects. And they threaten to swallow her and her family whole if she can’t find a way to uncover the truth of the girl before it’s too late.
A contemporary novel-in-verse with a ghostly twist by the author of Good Different, this book is about the power — and danger — of secrets. The Girl in the Walls will grab you and not let go until the very last page.
Today I’m featuring the CLOUD PUPPY books by Kelly Leigh Miller, utterly adorable early reader graphic novels that celebrate fandoms and teach kids important messages about friendship while still being fun!
Read on for my review of the books, and then make sure you also check out the author’s list of top ten addictions to find out more about her!
Since I was flying out, Megan also set up a lunch with the Colorado contingency of our agency, East West Literary! It just so happens that my agency represents several authors in the Denver area, so it was a great chance for us to get together, and my agent actually flew all the way out from LA to attend! While I was in Denver, I also went to the Maurice Sendak exhibit at the Denver art museum and signed books at a bunch of Denver bookstores! (more…)
Today I’m featuring BEA MULLINS TAKES A SHOT by Emily Deibert, a heartfelt MG contemporary about taking chances in life.
Read on for my review of the book, and then make sure you also check out the author’s list of top ten addictions to find out more about her!
Bea Mullins Takes a Shot by Emily Deibert
Published by Random House Books for Young Readers on February 25, 2025
Genres: Contemporary, Middle Grade, Sports & Recreation
Pages: 336
Source: Edelweiss, Purchased
Cover Artist: Isabelle Duffy
A League of Their Own meets The Mighty Ducks in this fierce and heartfelt queer MG contemporary novel about learning to face your fears even when your goals are on thin ice.
Some goals are worth falling for.
After a lifetime of humiliating sports experiences, Bea Mullins knows the best way to survive middle school is to stick to the sidelines. When PE is suddenly canceled, though, Bea is forced to join an after-school activity…which is how she ends up as a member of the Glenwood Geese, her middle school’s first all-girls hockey team.
Bea would be happy sitting on the bench, but she doesn’t want to let down her best friend, Celia. Plus, the more time Bea spends on the rinks, the more she comes to enjoy her teammates, especially the incredibly talented–and incredibly cool–co-captain Gabi. But when low funding puts the Geese in danger of never playing again, Bea realizes she may lose everything she didn’t know she wanted.
A hilarious and heartfelt middle-grade contemporary about first crushes and fierce friendships from debut author Emily Deibert.
It’s been a blur. Honestly, this whole week has just been a smudge in my mind. My release party was super successful, and everything since then has felt like “recovery” from the adrenaline involved in the event. LOL! I have been scheduling future events, interviews, school visits, etc. though, so preparing for those has been occupying me!
World Read-Aloud Day and School Visits – I participated in my first WRAD, giving six virtual presentations. And then the next day, I did my first post-publication school visit and did eight in-person sessions. They went amazingly – these kids were so incredibly engaged, and they asked the best questions. I truly love school visits – I would do them all the time if I could!
Today I’m featuring THE GHOSTS OF BITTERFLY BAY by Mary Averling, a spooky ghost story with a twist – the main character is a ghost!
Read on for my review of the book, and then make sure you also check out the author’s list of top ten addictions to find out more about her!
The Ghosts of Bitterfly Bay by Mary Averling
Published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers on February 4, 2025
Genres: Contemporary Fantasy, Horror, Middle Grade
Pages: 224
Source: NetGalley, Purchased
Cover Artist: Alla Khatkevich
A ghost must team up with the living girl she’s been haunting in order to defeat a monster out of her nightmares and save her little brother, from the author of The Curse of Eelgrass Bog.
Maudie isn’t your typical twelve-year-old girl—she’s the ghost of one. Along with her best friend Kit and little brother Scratch, she haunts a cottage in the woods, doing her best to scare off the vacationers and forget her old life.
But everything changes when Kit and Scratch go missing. Maudie knows something terrible must have happened, and she’s right: Longfingers—a monster from her own nightmares, with spidery fingers and needle-sharp teeth—has stolen her friends away.
Longfingers makes Maudie a twisted deal: find the key to a door in a mysterious cabin, or she’ll never see her friends again. With nobody else to turn to, Maudie has to beg for help from Gianna, the living girl she’s been haunting. Together, the girls search for a way to thwart the monster and save Maudie’s friends.
But Maudie’s keeping secrets about the cabin and her friends. Unless she finds a way to finally face the truth, she may never be able to rescue her friends from Longfingers’s grasp.
My book launch party! I was going to write a whole thing about it here, but I realized as I was typing that I want to write a whole post because I just have too much to say. Suffice it to say, it was beyond what I ever imagined!!
