The Middler - Kirsty Applebaum

Eleven-year-old Maggie lives in Fennis Wick, enclosed and protected from the outside world by a boundary, beyond which the Quiet War rages and the dirty, dangerous wanderers roam.

Her brother Jed is an eldest, revered and special. A hero. Her younger brother is Trig - everyone loves Trig. But Maggie’s just a middler, invisible and left behind. Then, one hot September day, she meets Una, a hungry wanderer girl in need of help, and everything Maggie has ever known gets turned on its head.

The Middler had been sat on my imaginary to be read pile for a looooong time. Imaginary because it's full of the books I don't own but have already read reviews of and those that I'm desperate to get my hands on. So when I spotted a copy on offer in Morrisons of all places I snapped it up immediately.

The Middler follows the story of Maggie, a middle child (hence The Middler), forever jealous of the eldests - the older children who are sent off to war to help fight for the town and are always held in highest esteem by all. As Maggie's older brother, Jed, is sent away, she begins to question her own place in society and how she too can make her mark in history.

The Middler is set in a world which reminded me a little of the horror film The Village, in that there is a boundary which the villagers cannot pass for fear of the wanderers and what horrors they might bring. Thankfully the similarities end there, and Maggie soon comes to realise that actually the wanderers may not be as evil as they were first made out to be and that something closer to home may be the real problem.

Maggie's adventure is certainly a relatable one for all middle children out there and this truly is a coming-of-age story in which she begins to step out of the shadow of her older brother. I loved the constant action and I really did feel the same dilemmas as Maggie did in regards to who she could trust within the town.

This is a perfect UKS2 read for those who like darker fiction and I have now added Kirsty's new book Troofriend on to my imaginary to be read pile...

A page-turning mystery that leaves you wondering if everything is always as it seems.

Comments

Blog Tour | Mirrorland - Carole Johnstone

Cat lives in Los Angeles, about as far away as she can get from her estranged twin sister El and No. 36 Westeryk Road, the imposing gothic house in Edinburgh where they grew up. As girls, they invented Mirrorland, a dark, imaginary place under the pantry stairs full of pirates, witches, and clowns. These days Cat rarely thinks about their childhood home, or the fact that El now lives there with her husband Ross. But when El mysteriously disappears after going out on her sailboat, Cat is forced to return to the grand old house, which has scarcely changed in twenty years. No. 36 Westeryk Road is still full of shadowy, hidden corners, and at every turn Cat finds herself stumbling on long-held secrets and terrifying ghosts from the past. Because someone—El?—has left Cat clues all over the house: a treasure hunt that leads right back to Mirrorland, where she knows the truth lies crouched and waiting… Mirrorland is a thriller on paper, but very different to any I have read for a wh

Blog Tour | Amari and the Night Brothers - B.B Alston

Amari Peters knows three things. Her big brother Quinton has gone missing. N oone will talk about it. His mysterious job holds the secret... So when Amari gets an invitation to the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, she's certain this is her chance to find Quinton. But first she has to get her head around the new world of the Bureau, where mermaids, aliens and magicians are real, and her roommate is a weredragon. Amari must compete against kids who've know about the supernatural world their whole lives, and when each trainee is awarded a special supernatural talent, Amari is given an illegal talent - one that the Bureau views as dangerous. With an evil magician threatening the whole supernatural world, and her own classmates thinking she is the enemy, Amari has never felt more alone. But if she doesn't pass the three tryouts, she may never find out what happened to Quinton... Amari and the Nightbrothers is a truly magnificent addition to the middle grade world of fantasy f

Blog Tour | Kate In Waiting - Becky Albertalli

[PRINCIPAL CAST LIST] Kate Garfield Anderson Walker Best friends, and contrary to popular belief, not co-dependent. Examples: Carpooling to and from theatre rehearsals? Environmentally sound and efficient. Consulting each other on every single life decision? Basic good judgement. Pining for the same guys from afar? Shared crushes are more fun anyway. But when Kate and Andy's latest long-distance crush shows up at their school, everything goes off-script. Enter Stage Left: Matt Olsson He is talented and sweet, and Kate likes him. She really likes him. The only problem? So does Anderson. Turns out, communal crushes aren't so fun when real feelings are involved. This one might even bring the curtains down on Kate and Anderson's friendship... Becky Albertalli's latest YA offering is just what you would expect from the blurb - full of theatre, drama, and high school relationships, which are always the most complicated. Kate and Anderson are best friends, inseparable and r

What Miss T Read

Search This Blog