middle grade march – Still Life, With Cracker Crumbs..

Hello everyone! It’s time for another mini book review post!

First up: Days at the Morisaki Bookshop by Satoshi Yagisawa, translated by Eric Ozawa

A book about books and bookshops – I had a feeling I was going to like it. And I did! Takako is a young woman, who was blindsided one day by her boyfriend, when he tells her that he is getting married – but not to her. I think this could throw anyone for a loop! She falls into a depression, and an unexpected phone call from her uncle whom she hasn’t spoken to in years changes her life, when he offers her a job, working for room and board in his bookshop. For maybe anyone else this would be a dream come true. But Takako is not a reader.

I of course loved all of the aspects of being a reader who loves books that is touched upon in this book, but what I loved most was the relationship between uncle and niece. It just felt unexpected, and I found it refreshing. Her uncle Satoro is a bit of a free spirit, and at first Takako has a hard time relating to him. Throughout the book however, their relationship figures itself out, and Takako learns some things about her uncle she didn’t know. I absolutely loved this short read.

“No matter where you go, or how many books you read, you still know nothing, you haven’t seen anything. And that’s life. We live our lives trying to find our way.”

Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery

I had been wanting to read Emily of New Moon for awhile, although I wasn’t sure if I would like Emily as much as Anne. Imagine my surprise when I liked her maybe a little bit more? Don’t come for me Anne fans! Lol. I still love Anne!

However, I loved Emily of New Moon. She is feisty and temperamental, resilient and independent. I loved reading her story. There were flashes of Anne, with her whimsy and love of words and writing and poetry, but Emily is her own character. In the foreword written by Kate MacDonald Butler, Montgomery’s granddaughter, she states that Emily was her grandmother’s favorite creation, and that her grandmother has been quoted as saying “People were never right in saying I was Anne, but in some respects, they will be right if they write me down as Emily.”

I only had two criticisms – and a TW – there are a lot of references to cat deaths and also a character that had some off-putting vibes.

Otherwise I was completely sucked into this story that Montgomery has said reflected a lot of her own inner life in childhood.

“Emily had inherited certain things from her fine old ancestors – the power to fight – to suffer – to pity – to love very deeply – to rejoice- to endure.”

Greenwild by Pari Thomson

I loved this book. I love the idea of green magic, the green wild, the characters. It was just a really fun middle grade read for @middlegrademarch!

One thing in particular that I really loved was the fact that they said they were not witches – they were Botanists who worked with the magic of nature, but not witches. I thought that was just a neat distinction. I also loved that all wore overalls; I too love overalls. The whole Greenwild reminded me of Harry Potter, if Harry Potter was all nature-based and immersed in plants and greenery, greenhouses, trowels, dirt, parakeets. I could go on and on but I won’t. I will just urge you to go ahead and read this! I have already recommended it to all the moms I know who have middle grade aged children, but if you are an adult who enjoys middle grade, like me, I suggest you read it as well!

“Daisy began to feel like a seed taking root. She was insect-nibbled and wind-ruffled and elbow-skinned. Her hair was full of twigs, her fingernails were filthy – and every part of her felt hungry and alive.” That passage just feels so spring to me! It makes me excited to get outside and get my own hands in the dirt, planting things.

Publisher Summary:

An inventive and fantastical reimagining of Anne of Green Gables—with magic and witches!—that explores found family, loss, and the power of a girl’s imagination, from the acclaimed author of The Language of Ghosts and The School Between Winter and Fairyland.

Grace has never been good at anything except magic—not that anyone believes her. While other children are adopted from the orphanage, nobody wants Grace. So she decides to make a home for herself by running away and offering herself as an apprentice to the witch in the nearby woods. After all, who better to teach Grace to use her magic? Surely the witch can’t be that bad.

But the witch is that bad—she steals souls for spells and gobbles up hearts. So Grace offers a deal: If she can learn all 100½ spells in the witch’s grimoire, the witch will make Grace her apprentice. But if Grace fails, the witch can take her magic. The witch agrees, and soon an unexpected bond develops between them. But the spells are much harder than Grace expected, and when a monster from the witch’s past threatens the home Grace has built, she may have to sacrifice more than her magic to save it.

Inspired by Anne of Green Gables, this is a magical story of found family, loss, and the power of a girl’s imagination.

My Thoughts:

I thought this book was so much fun! I would have absolutely loved it as a kid – I loved it even as an adult!

So the big question everyone wants to know the answer to…how much of it is an Anne of Green Gables story? In my opinion, the similarities are mostly very broad ones. Grace is an orphan, her first adoption didn’t work out, and the character Grace is very inspired by the character of Anne. Grace is enthusiastic, curious, is prone to flights of fancy and romanticism, has a very dear and close friend, and there are two direct incidents that were definitely directly out of Anne of Green Gables but with a twist to make it work with this book.

There was magic, and witches, fairy princes, and a quest that Grace had to fulfill. The witch was not nice, she was definitely an evil witch (at least in the beginning) but the book takes a turn, and Grace and the witch become a family of sorts, so it is also a book of found family, which I love.

By far though one of my favorite characters is Windweaver, Grace’s familiar and pet crow. She found him as a baby and nursed him to health, and Windweaver is arrogant, yet loyal and loving with Grace. He also adores poetry, but only poetry about birds.

The ending felt maybe a bit rushed but it was also emotional, and moving. I was actually pretty upset over something that happens in the end but like Grace I understood it was the right thing.

Overall, this is a fantastic book that is like Hansel and Gretel meets Anne of Green Gables, yet strong enough to not simply be a retelling. Grace and the witch, Windweaver and Sareena, all are wonderful characters in their own right and stand on their own against these famous backdrops and comparisons. I do think this book might be scary for sensitive young readers, who are not fans of scary stories. While most of the book is not scary there are references to children being cooked in the oven, so be mindful of that if there is a child in your life who would not react well to those parts.