Middlegrade books are the best books, okay?
I don’t think there is a genre that I enjoy more. They are so many books of this genre that I utterly enjoy and that’s why I’m happy that MG Takes on Thursday are now a thing. I’m already so excited to show you my favorites and to get new
MGTakesOnThursday is a weekly feature from Mary at BookCraic to celebrate the love for Middle Grade Books! The steps to take part are here.
City of Ghosts by Victoria Schwab
When your parents write books about paranormal activity, people assume you are weird enough to go on your own.
City of Ghosts, page 11
Spooky, Friendship, beyond
To be honest, I hoped picking City of Ghosts for my first #MGTakesOnThursday so it would finally jumpstart the review that has been sitting in my draft folder for months now. But of course there are so many other reasons to show this book and try to make you read it.
Ever since Cass almost died a year prior she is able to see ghost and cross beyond the Veil – a place full of ghosts not ready (or qualified) to go to the Beyond. When Cass’ parents (paranormal researchers and historians by coincidence) land a contract for a TV show about the most haunted places in the world, Cass has to pack her things (and her best friend Jacob who is a ghost) and go on the trip of a lifetime. Or a dead-time, considering. Because the ghosts at their first stop Edinburgh are not so friedly…
First of all, I loved the characters and the magical (spooky?) realism that’s going on. Everything the author cooked up seemed possible to me since it’s imaginative but not over the top. And who knows what’s happening to us after we die anyway? I liked Victoria Schwab’s take on this and since it’s of course am Middlegrade book it never seemed too philosophical or too over the top or too scary. It makes you think and wonder but not frightened.
Some of the ghosts are kinda scary though. I don’t know if I would recommend it to the lower end of the Middlegrade spectrum.
All in all I had great fun exploring this world with Cass and Jacob. I loved the atmosphere and the pacing. It also takes you to historical sites of Edinburgh and made me wanna pay the city a visit. In total it’s a great read for Halloween or any other day of the year.
Have you read this book? What did you think about it? Or do I have you convinced to give it a try?
Thank you for taking part! I have both City of Ghosts and Tunnel of Bones on my TBR. I’m going to read City of a Ghosts for Believathon 2 – I’m really looking forward to reading it after your recommendation.
Well, thank you for that great meme. 🙂 I had great fun writing this and I hope you’ll have fun reading it. Tunnel of Bones is great too and I can’t wait for Bridge of Souls. 🙂
I’m definitely looking forward to reading it! Didn’t know there was a third one – love the title!
Oooh, I love the idea of this! Since I started working at a library and I have a direct say over purchases, I’ve been reading a lot more MG, and I’m LOVING it. :3 I actually have this book! I’m so excited to pick it up. I ordered the sequel through Scholastic before the shutdown, though, so I’m holding off on it until I get the sequel in (whenever that ends up being), but this series sounds fantastic!
It was so nice to wake up to so many nice comments from you tbh. 🙂 I really liked this book and you should totally give it a try. Me not being able to write a decent review for it has nothing to do with the quality of City of Ghosts, lol. And hey, maybe you wanna take part in MG Thursday. I’m sure you have so many great recommendations. 😇
Man, I’m glad. I’ve been so behind in blog hopping and buried under a mound of books and work. I’m so glad to see other blogs again. xD There’s other life forms out here! *cries*
You know, I might. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do tomorrow … because I wait until last minute, like the pro I am. There’s no weekly themes, is there? I’m not seeing any.
I’ll be bumping this one up my list! Soon as the sequel gets in (should be in the next couple of weeks), I need to pick this up. 😀