Middle Grade Monday (1)

Hey! Welcome to Middle Grade Monday, a weekly feature I started to talk about anything middle grade bookish related! I never thought I would really enjoy middle grade novels but after reading my first one this year, I was hooked! Since I review mainly YA on this blog, I didn't want the middle grade reviews to get shuffled in with the YA books so I decided to create this feature!

Title: Skary Childrin and the Carousel of Sorrows
Author: Katy Towell
Find it here: Amazon, Goodreads
Source: Purchased

Twelve years ago, for 12 days straight, the town of Widowsbury suffered a terrible storm, which tore open a gate through which escaped all sorts of foul, rotten things. Strange things and strange people were no longer welcomed in Widowsbury, for one could never be sure of what secrets waited under the surface . . .

Adelaide Foss, Maggie Borland, and Beatrice Alfred are known by their classmates at Widowsbury's Madame Gertrude's School for Girls as "scary children." Unfairly targeted because of their peculiarities—Adelaide has an uncanny resemblance to a werewolf, Maggie is abnormally strong, and Beatrice claims to be able to see ghosts—the girls spend a good deal of time isolated in the school's inhospitable library facing detention. But when a number of people mysteriously begin to disappear in Widowsbury, the girls work together, along with Steffen Weller, son of the cook at Rudyard School for Boys, to find out who is behind the abductions. Will they be able to save Widowsbury from a 12-year-old curse?

My thoughts:

Skary Childrin and the Carousel of Sorrows is a book that I purchased at ALA this year. What initially drew me to the book was not only the cover but the spelling of the title Skary Childrin. Right off the bat I knew this book would be a fun and slightly spooky read and great for my Middle Grade Monday feature! After flipping through the book I knew I had to purchase it because the illustrations are pretty awesome!

Skary Childrin and the Carousel of Sorrows centers around the three main characters who are the “outcasts” of their private boarding school in a town that hates outsiders or anything new. Adelaide is believed to be a werewolf, Maggie has super-human strength and Beatrice says she can see and talk to ghosts. Everything that ever goes wrong at the school is always blamed on the three of them and they spend most of their days in detention. Weird things start to happen around town when a mysterious carousel appears and people start to go missing!

Even though this is a middle grade novel, I still didn't catch on to whom the villain was until he was revealed. After the villain tells his story, I found myself feeling sorry for him even though he was doing all these terrible things. He was a product of those who bullied him when he was a child.

I really enjoyed the overall message that the story gave. Be better than those who bully you because you still have a choice to make the right decision. The villain gave the three girls a chance to take revenge on those who bullied them and in the end they made the right decision. Even though they were still considered “outcasts” and not well liked, they had clean consciences.

The story got a little scary at parts but it was really fun to read! I give Skary Childrin and the Carousel of Sorrows 4 hearts for being a little spooky but also sending out a great message to the younger audience!