Category: MG Speculative

Title: The Misadventures of Phillip Isaac Penn

Author: Donna Peterson

Publisher: Bonneville/CFI

Release Date: June 14, 2011

ISBN: 978-1599558936

Size: 96 pages, 5.5×8, Hardback

Genre: Middle Grade

Pip is always finding himself in the middle of some kind of trouble, and no wonder! Every day of the week, there are dirt clods to dodge, liars to expose, and dirty cheats to foil. Plagued by problems, Pip somehow manages to figure out a few things that maybe–just maybe–will keep him out of hot water. Hey, it’s not easy being a kid!

Title: Beyonders: A World Without Heroes

Author: Brandon Mull

Publisher: Aladdin

Release Date: March 15, 2011

ISBN: 978-1416997924

Size: 464 pages, hardcover

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Watch the trailer.

Jason Walker has often wished his life could be less predictable—until a routine day at the zoo ends with Jason suddenly transporting from the hippo tank into a strange, imperiled world. Lyrian holds dangers and challenges unlike anyplace Jason has ever known. The people all live in fear of their malicious wizard emperor, Maldor. The brave resistors who once opposed the emperor have been bought off or broken, leaving a realm where fear and suspicion prevail.

In his search for a way home, Jason meets Rachel, who was also mysteriously drawn to Lyrian from our world. With the help of a few scattered rebels, Jason and Rachel become entangled in a quest to piece together the word of power that can destroy the emperor and learn that their best hope to find a way home will be to save this world without heroes.

Title: The Guardians of the Hidden Scepter

Author: Frank L. Cole

Publisher: Bonneville (CFI)

Release Date: March 8, 2011

ISBN: 978-1599554488

Size: 288 pages, hardcover

Genre: Middle Grade

Amber never dreamed her archaeology class would turn into a top secret mission that would take her across the globe, but when her teacher goes missing, Amber realizes it’s up to her to protect the Hidden Scepter or risk unleashing an ancient power too terrifying to imagine.

This guaranteed page-turner from the bestselling author of the Hashbrown Winters series is perfect for the adventurer in your family.

Title: Hazzardous Universe

Author: Julie Wright

Illustrator: Kevin Wasden

Publisher: Deseret Book

Release Date: March 4, 2011

ISBN:

Size: 240 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: Middle Grade

See book trailer.

A guy who works in his grandfather’s magic shop expects weird things to happen. But Hap Hazzard has never had a day like this. First, a freaky old man in a cape who calls himself “Torval” visits the shop and somehow makes a trash can explode. Then Torval delivers an ominous message to Hap’s grandfather, upsetting the old man so badly that he yells at Hap for the first time ever. Next, this girl Tara shows up to apply for a job, and for reasons Hap can’t understand, his cool magic tricks send her away in tears. But that’s nothing compared to what happens next. Under orders to apologize to Tara, Hap searches for the girl. But he can barely say he’s sorry before three spaceships appear, the biggest of the three looking like a burnt slice of pizza.

The weirdness only ramps up as Hap and Tara soon find themselves aboard the pizza-shaped ship piloted by a pair of aliens. Even though they were accidentally abducted, the two humans are now forced to join an out-of-this-world mission that includes razor-toothed multilingual beetles, a psychic queen bee, manic ape frogs, a coveted crystal, and a hundred other bizarre things that just might make sense—if Hap could only remember and understand Torval’s cryptic message. Join Hap and Tara as they begin a fantastic journey into the far reaches of the universe.

Title: The Colossal Fossil Freakout (Splurch Academy for Disruptive Boys, #3)

Author: Julie Gardner Berry

Illustrator: Sally Faye Gardner

Publisher: Grosset & Dunlap

Release Date: February 17, 2011

ISBN: 978-0448453613

Size: 208 pages, 5×7, softcover

Genre: Middle Grade Graphic Novel

Series: The Splurch Academy — The Rat Brain Fiasco (bk1), Curse of the Bizarro Beetle (bk2)

This book is not eligible for a Whitney Award.

Headmaster Farley’s back and he’s ready for revenge, but an unexpected visit from his estranged sister brings monstrous results as she takes over Splurch Academy. Forced to retreat to his laboratory, he hatches a plan to reclaim the school. Meanwhile, Cody Mack and the other boys are pitted against their new classmatesÑthe girls of Priscilla Prim Academy for Precious and Proper Young Ladies.

Title: Black Dragon

Author: Rebecca Shelley

Publisher: Wonder Realms Books

Release Date: January 30, 2011

ISBN:

Size: ebook

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Twelve-year-old Weldon is a gifted artist, but when his drawing of fairies and dragons come to life, he finds himself caught between some deadly criminals and the jewels they want. Only his dedication and imagination can save him and his friends.

Title: Alcatraz versus The Shattered Lens (Book #4)

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Release Date: December 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-0439925570

Size: 304 pages, 6×8″, hardcover

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Series: Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians (bk 1), Alcatraz vs The Scrivener’s Bones (bk 2), Alcatraz vs The Knights of Crystallia (bk 3)

The fourth and final book in the fabulously funny Alcatraz Smedry series!

Alcatraz Smedry is on a mission to save the day! In his final adventure in the series by bestselling adult fantasy writer Brandon Sanderson, Alcatraz has a lot to prove and, as always, little time in which to do it!

Title: The Clockwork Three

Author: Matthew J. Kirby

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Release Date: October 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-0545203371

Size: 400 pages, 6×8″, hardcover

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Download a chapter here.

View book trailer here.

Three ordinary children are brought together by extraordinary events. . .

Giuseppe is an orphaned street musician from Italy, who was sold by his uncle to work as a slave for an evil padrone in the U.S. But when a mysterious green violin enters his life he begins to imagine a life of freedom.

Hannah is a soft-hearted, strong-willed girl from the tenements, who supports her family as a hotel maid when tragedy strikes and her father can no longer work. She learns about a hidden treasure, which she knows will save her family — if she can find it.

And Frederick, the talented and intense clockmaker’s apprentice, seeks to learn the truth about his mother while trying to forget the nightmares of the orphanage where she left him. He is determined to build an automaton and enter the clockmakers’ guild — if only he can create a working head.

Together, the three discover they have phenomenal power when they team up as friends, and that they can overcome even the darkest of fears.

Title: Elliot and the Goblin War

Author: Jennifer A. Nielsen

Illustrator: Gideon Kendall

Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

Release Date: October 1, 2010

ISBN: 978-1402240195

Size: 208 pages, 6×7″, hardcover

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Read excerpt here.

WARNING!

As of today, there are only 7 CHILDREN who have ever read this book and lived to tell about it. 95 CHILDREN successfully read the first chapter, but upon beginning chapter 2, they started BLABBERING in some language known only as “flibberish.” 38 CHILDREN made it halfway through this wretched book before they began SUCKING THEIR THUMBS THROUGH THEIR NOSES.

If you’re VERY BRAVE, perhaps you are willing to TAKE YOUR CHANCES. Be sure that you have told your family who gets your favorite toys if you DO NOT SURVIVE this book. Read it now, IF YOU DARE. But don’t say you haven’t been warned, for this is the story that unfolds the MYSTERIES OF THE UNDERWORLD.

Title: The Limit

Author: Kristen Landon

Publisher: Aladdin

Release Date: September 7, 2010

ISBN: 978-1442402713

Size: 304 pages, hardcover

Genre: Middle Grade Speculative

An eighth grade girl was taken today . . .

With this first sentence, readers are immediately thrust into a fast-paced thriller that doesn’t let up for a moment. In a world not too far removed from our own, kids are being taken away to special workhouses if their families exceed the monthly debt limit imposed by the government. Thirteen-year-old Matt briefly wonders if he might be next, but quickly dismisses the thought. After all, his parents are financially responsible, unlike the parents of those other kids. As long as his parents remain within their limit, the government will be satisfied and leave them alone. But all it takes is one fatal visit to the store to push Matt’s family over their limit—and to change his reality forever.

Title: Dizzy Fantastic and Her Flying Bicycle

Author: Andrew Hueller

Publisher: Bonneville (CFI)

Release Date: August 12, 2010

ISBN: 978-1599553955

Size: 160 pages, 5.5×7, paperback

Genre: Middle Grade

Not eligible for a Whitney Award.

Read an excerpt here.

The kids at school make fun of her, her brother thinks she’s annoying, and her parents are always busy at their ice cream shop. It isn’t until she discovers she can fly atop her white Thunderstrike bicycle that Debbie Fine knows deep down she’s “Dizzy Fantastic-Fourth-Grade Superhero!” After all, who else but a superhero would be brave enough to befriend Mean Mr. Wilson and his rabid black Labrador, T-Rex? But when a terrible tragedy strikes that even Dizzy Fantastic is powerless to stop, Debbie must learn how to trust herself and her own abilities before she can save the day once more.

This delightful debut from Andy Hueller is perfect for anyone who’s ever felt alone or misunderstood–or has ever dreamed of unlocking the superhero within.

Title: The Bent Sword

Author: Stephen Gashler

Publisher: Cedar Fort

Release Date: July 7, 2010

ISBN: 978-1599554013

Size: 240 pages, 6×9, Paperback

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Steffin is just an average peasant who has big dreams of becoming a knight and saving the world from the dangerous Lord Bore and his Box of Boredom. Too bad Lord Bore is just a made-up nemesis from Steffin’s childhood–or is he?

When a crazy old storyteller insists that Lord Bore is real, Steffin must take things in his own hands and begins a quest that will forever change his destiny. With the help of a few friends, Steffin is soon running away from bad guys, escaping prison, and infiltrating castles to woo princesses, all in the pursuit of adventure. But when his friends grow weary of the journey, Steffin is left to pull them back together in order to defeat Lord Bore before it’s too late.

Title: Choke (#2)

Author: Obert Skye

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Release Date: June 4, 2010

ISBN: 978-1606416532

Size: 352 pages, 5×7, hardback

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Series: Pillage (#1)

Pillage was the first of three books in the fantasy adventure that Obert Skye calls a Pillogy. Choke, the second, continues the eccentric adventures of Beck Phillips, who seems to have a knack for causing mischief in the secluded village of Kingsplot. In book one, Beck used his unique gift to unexpectedly hatch several dragon eggs. Thankfully, the dragons were destroyed . . . or were they?

In Choke, a stranger has discovered that Beck Phillips is the key to finding and hatching a lost dragon s egg a task that will bring the riches and fortune that Beck s family was destined to have. Beck learns that outward appearances can be deceiving and that grown-ups really do have valuable lessons to offer. Readers will laugh out loud at Beck s antics and sit on the edge of their seats while Beck and his friends confront Liz, the largest, most ferocious dragon Beck has ever seen!

Title: The 13th Reality: The Blade of Shattered Hope

Author: James Dashner

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Release Date: April 7, 2010

ISBN: 978-1606412398

Size: 432 pages, hardcover

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Series: The Journal of Curious Letters (v1); The Hunt for Dark Infinity (v2)

Link to 13th Reality site

Things have changed for Atticus Higginbottom.

After the near catastrophe in the Fourth Reality, Tick’s being homeschooled in the fields of science, trying to master the mysterious Chi’karda. But just as he begins to make progress, Mistress Jane reappears, now hideously scarred and much more powerful. She has tapped into the universe’s darkest secret to create the Blade of Shattered Hope, and in her quest to attain a Utopian Reality for the future of mankind, she’s ready to risk billions of lives—including those of Tick’s parents and sisters—to set her plan in motion. Her vengeance knows no bounds.

When rumors begin to circulate about the secret scientific experiments taking place at the Factory, Tick and his friends Sato, Sofia, and Paul are faced with their most dangerous task yet. And they must not fail; the entire universe could cease to exist.

Title: Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Kingdom (bk 5)

Author: Brandon Mull

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Release Date: March 23, 2010

ISBN: 978-1606412381

Size: 544 pages, hardcover

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Series: Fablehaven (v1), Rise of the Evening Star (v2), Grip of the Shadow Plague (v3), Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary (v4)

Since ancient times, the great demon prison Zzyzx has protected the world from the most dangerous servants of darkness, including Gorgrog, the Demon King. After centuries of plotting, the Sphinx is on the verge of recovering the five artifacts necessary to open the legendary prison.

Facing the potential of a world-ending calamity, all friends of light must unite in a final effort to thwart the Sphinx s designs and find a safe home for the five artifacts. To this end, Kendra, Seth, and the Knights of the Dawn will venture far beyond the walls of Fablehaven to strange and exotic magical preserves across the globe, where the end of every quest becomes the beginning of another.

In this explosive series finale, allegiances will be confirmed and secrets revealed as the forces of light and darkness collide in a desperate struggle to control the keys to the demon prison.

Title: Farworld: Land Keep

Author: J Scott Savage

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Release Date: September 30, 2009

ISBN: 978-1606411643

Size: 374 pages, 6×9″, hardcover

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Series: Farworld: Water Keep (v1)

Four mythical Elementals—Water, Land, Air, and Fire—have the power to save two worlds, Earth and Farworld, from a common enemy: the Dark Circle.

In book one, Water Keep, a portal has been opened between the two worlds, allowing Marcus, from Earth, and Kyja, from Farworld, to combine their unique gifts and begin their epic quest to find the Elementals.

In book two, Land Keep, Marcus and Kyja travel with Cascade, a Water Elemental, toward Land Keep, the home of the powerful and wise Land Elementals. However, their journey may end before it even begins.

Land Keep is empty, deserted for at least a thousand years, and the rumor is that the creatures who once controlled all land magic are extinct. Marcus and Kyja’s only hope seems to lie in finding the Augur Well, a legendary Oracle protected by subtle traps and mind-bending trials. To succeed in their quest, Marcus and Kyja must also avoid the Keepers of the Balance, an order dedicated to redistributing magic to the rich and powerful. And they must travel far underground, where Cascade is unable to follow and where they will be unable to leap to the safety of Earth.

As the Dark Circle closes around them, Marcus and Kyja are faced with the temptation of what they desire most. Sacrifices must be made, and not everyone will survive unscathed.

Title: Alcatraz versus The Knights of Crystallia

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Release Date: October 1, 2009

ISBN: 978-0439925556

Size: 336 pages, 6×8″, hardcover

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Series: Alcatraz vs the Evil Librarians (v1), Alcatraz vs The Scrivener’s Bones (v2)

When Alcatraz and Grandpa Smedry make a pilgrimage to the Free Kingdom city of Crystallia, the Smedry home base, Alcatraz is shocked to see that he is, in fact, a legend. When he was a baby he was stolen by the Evil Librarians, and his mother, a Librarian herself, was behind the whole scheme. Now, with his estranged father, who is acting indeed strange, Bastille, who has been stripped of her armor, and Grandpa Smedry, who is, as always, late to everything (that’s his Talent), Alcatraz tries to save a city under siege. From who? Why, the Librarians of course!

Title: Leven Thumps and the Ruins of Alder

Author: Obert Skye

Publisher: Shadow Mountain

Release Date: September 29, 2009

ISBN: 978-1606411469

Size: 363 pages, 6×9″, hardcover

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Series: Leven Thumps and the Gateway to Foo (v1), Leven Thumps and the Whispered Secret (v2), Leven Thumps and the Eyes of the Want (v3), Leven Thumps and the Wrath of Ezra (v4)

“Do you think he’ll be able to do it?” Clover asked, worried.

“I’m not sure,” Geth replied, amazed by his own doubt. “I’m not sure.”

In the fifth and final volume of the epic saga of Leven Thumps, all of Foo is rushing madly to exit the realm of dreams while Leven is headed in the opposite direction. Fate snatches him to the island of Alder, where he is poised to pass or fail the final test.

Meanwhile, in Reality, Ezra and Dennis are welcoming those flowing out of Foo but only so they can selfishly conquer them and gain control of both realms. Phoebe is loose, and it takes Geth getting ahold of her to begin to balance the emotions and passions of all that is crumbling.

And Winter? Well, Winter just might hold the answer to everything.

Ride with Leven and Clover as they travel through the ruins of Alder hoping he has what it takes to save all mankind and restore the power of dreams.

Title: Ravenspell: Freaky Flyday

Author: David Farland

Publisher: Covenant

Release Date: October 2009

ISBN: 978-1-59811-667-0

Size: 236 pages, 5.75” X 7.75”, hardcover

Genre: Fantasy

Series: Of Mice and Magic, The Wizard of Ooze

After saving Oregon from a nuclear crisis and revealing the plight of enslaved micedom to the human population, Amber, the valiant mouse wizard, and her partner Ben, the once-human mouse, head to Disneyland for a much-deserved vacation. But greater trouble lurks ahead.

Mouse mentor Lady Blackpool prophesies that the Ever Shade, an ancient evil force, will soon be returning to the earth. Then the mice receive word that Belle Z. Bug, a giant mutant fly associated with the Ever Shade, has hatched in a Los Angeles landfill. In the twitch of a whisker, Belle Z. Bug’s seductive multilevel marketing campaign enslaves a massive army of unsuspecting flies and throws the human race into chaos.

When the mice’s plane falls under attack, they join forces with the indomitable Harold Shortzenbeggar (governor-extraordinaire of California) to confront their common enemy. But their recent battle with evil wormlord Sebaceous Ooze sapped the heroes’ vital powers. Will the victories won in Of Mice and Magic and The Wizard of Ooze come to naught as they face the sinister Lord of the Flies?

Title: Green Dragon Codex

Author: R.D. Henham (aka Clint Johnson)*

Publisher: Mirrorstone

Release Date: June 9, 2009

ISBN: 978-0786951451

Size: 256 pages, small hardcover

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Fall in love with an evil baby dragon in the next dragon codex!

When ten-year-old Scamp Weaver finds a locked chest in a forest clearing, he feels like his life is finally about to change for the better. But he doesn’t bargain for just how much change the chest will bring. Inside he finds a dragon egg and a mysterious ancient scroll, which set Scamp and his best friend Dannika off on a harrowing adventure, chased by dragon hunters who want the contents of the chest for themselves. Life gets ever more complicated when the baby green dragon hatches. Will this cute, mischievous hatchling really grow up to be an evil green dragon?

*R.D. Henham is a pen name shared by several authors. While there are several Dragon Codexes (Codii?), only the ones by LDS authors are posted on this site.

Title: Alvor

Author: Laura Bingham

Publisher: Sweetwater Books

Release Date: May 15, 2009

ISBN: 978-1599552729

Size: 288 pages, 6×9, softcover

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy

Erin and her twin brother, Bain, never expected to find that the cabin in the woods near their home is actually a secret entrance to a magical world. Surrounded by pegasi, dragons, and fairies, they discover new powers within themselves and a secret they have unknowingly been preparing for: they are training to become elves. Now they are faced with the decision to stay in this dream world or return home to the life they knew. A spellbinding tale of fantasy and fairy tale, Älvor draws you into an enchanting world of all things magical.