We love sharing upcoming Middle Grade books here are Middle Grade Minded, so we are thrilled to provide you with the first look at three gorgeous books that will be released in 2017!
First up: RULES FOR THIEVES by Alexandra Ott (June 6, 2017)
I mean seriously - how evocative is that cover?
About the book:
After twelve-year-old orphan Alli Rosco is cursed with a deadly spell, she must join the legendary Thieves Guild in order to try and save herself in this high-stakes debut.
Twelve-year-old Alli Rosco is smart, resourceful, and totally incapable of keeping her mouth shut. Some of these traits have served her well during her nine years in Azeland’s orphanage, and others have proved more troublesome…but now that she’s escaped to try her luck on the streets, she has bigger problems than extra chores to contend with. Surviving would be hard enough, but after a run-in with one of the city’s Protectors, she’s marked by a curse that’s slowly working its way to her heart. There is a cure, but the cost is astronomical—and seems well out of her reach.
Enter Beck, a boy with a gift for theft and a touch of magic, who seems almost too good to be true. He tells Alli that the legendary Thieves Guild, long thought to be a myth, is real. Even better, Beck is a member and thinks she could be, too. All she has to do is pass the trial that the King of Thieves will assign to her. Join the Guild, collect her yearly reward and buy a cure. Plus, Alli hopes the Guild will be the home—the family—that Alli has always wanted. But when their trial goes wrong, innocent lives are put in danger, and Alli has to decide how much she can sacrifice in order to survive.
Author Bio:
Alexandra Ott holds a B.A. in English from the University of Tulsa. She currently lives in Oklahoma with her tiny canine overlord. Rules for Thieves is her debut novel. Visit her online at www.alexandraott.com and on Twitter at @Alexandra_Ott.
Fun fact about this book:
As a child, Alexandra Ott loved to invent stories and games to entertain herself and her younger sister. One of those early games, which featured a group of orphans living in hidden ice caves, inspired parts of Rules for Thieves.
Pre-order link (Amazon):
https://www.amazon.com/Rules-Thieves-Alexandra-Ott/dp/1481472747
Cover illustrator: Eric Deschamps
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Ready to go into Space? It's time for:
HOLLY FARB AND THE PRINCESS OF THE GALAXY by Gareth Wronski (June 6, 2017)
There is nothing I don't love about this cover! I want to climb into this world!
About the book:
Holly Farb is not the Princess of the Galaxy. She may be top of the class in every subject, but she can’t even win a school election, never mind rule the Milky Way. The aliens who kidnapped her have gotten it all wrong.
Unfortunately Holly’s alien pirate kidnappers believe that she’s the princess they’ve been looking for, and so she finds herself hurtling through space on an alien pirate ship together with her teacher, Mr. Mendez, and Chester, the most annoying boy in her class. Now all she has to do is escape the pirates, find the missing princess, and get back to Earth in time for her big test on Friday.
But it turns out that space is a pretty big place, and before they can go home, Holly, Chester, and Mr. Mendez must face down space cruise liners, bounty hunters, giant worms, perky holograms, cosmic board games, sinister insectoid librarians, and a robot who is learning how to lie. Between running from space pirates, defying the President of the Universe, and meeting a host of rather unusual new friends, Holly starts to wonder if there might be more to life than being top of the class after all.
Author bio:
Gareth Wronski was born and raised in Toronto. After watching Star Wars as a child on his grandparents’ VCR, he decided he wanted to tell science fiction and fantasy stories of his own. He currently resides in an old house by the Avon River in Stratford, Ontario, where he lives in constant terror of roaming swans. Visit him online on Twitter at @garethwronski.
Fun fact about this book:
Holly Farb once caused an intergalactic revolution by throwing a ball.
Pre-order link (Amazon):
https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1481471775?tag=simonsayscom
Cover illustrator: Karin Paprocki
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Now it's time for a a few monster cooking lessons...
A DASH OF DRAGON by Heidi Lang & Kati Bartkowski (July 11, 2017)
You just know that Lailu has something up her sleeve (and in her pot!)
About the book:
A thirteen-year-old master chef has a lot to prove as she tries to run a five-star restaurant, cook the perfect dragon cuisine, repay a greedy loan shark, and outsmart the Elven mafia in this entertaining novel that combines all of the best ingredients—fantasy, humor, adventure, action, cute boys, and a feisty heroine!
Lailu Loganberry is an expert at hunting dangerous beasts. And she’s even better at cooking them.
For years Lailu has trained to be the best chef in the city. Her specialty? Monster cuisine. When her mentor agrees to open a new restaurant with Lailu as the head chef, she’s never been more excited. But her celebration is cut short when she discovers that her mentor borrowed money from Mr. Boss, a vicious loan shark. If they can’t pay him back, Lailu will not only lose her restaurant—she’ll have to cook for Mr. Boss for the rest of her life.
As Lailu scrambles to raise the money in time, she becomes trapped in a deadly conflict between the king’s cold-blooded assassin, the terrifying elf mafia, and Mr. Boss’ ruthless crew. Worst of all, her only hope in outsmarting Mr. Boss lies with the one person she hates—Greg, the most obnoxious boy in school and her rival in the restaurant business.
But like Lailu always says, if you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen. And she’s determined to succeed, no matter the cost!
Author bio:
Heidi Lang and Kati Bartowski are a writing team of two sisters with twenty years of experience in Judo. Heidi likes to fling food across her stove while attempting to cook new dishes, and Kati enjoys trying new cuisine at fancy restaurants. Between the two of them, they love creating characters that kick butt both inside and outside the kitchen. You can find them on Twitter at @hidlang and @ktbartkowski.
Fun fact about this book:
Lailu Loganberry is a master at hunting and cooking ferocious beasts, but she's deathly afraid of chickens.
Pre-order link (Amazon):
https://www.amazon.com/Dash-Dragon-Heidi-Lang/dp/1481477935/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1476221347&sr=1-1&keywords=dash+of+dragon
Cover illustrator: Angela Li
All of these books can be pre-ordered and I highly recommend that you do so! Pre-ordering helps authors by creating buzz and interest, and these books are all buzz-worthy!
Congratulations Alexandra Ott, Gareth Wronski, Heidi Lang and Kati Bartowski! We can't wait to read your books and we are thrilled to share them with our blog readers!!!!
4 comments:
Love them all! Just tweeted.
These all look so great!! :D
aren't they great!
These look awesome!
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