Hey Y’all! So I realized that I haven’t written about any middle grades lately despite having a post in the back of mind for a while. If you’ve been around this blog a while, then you know that I love stories inspired by mythology. There are so many different ones across cultures and they add a different type of texture to the stories that is almost palpable for me. Mythology inspired books both lend to themselves to the past while being in the present, which is really beautiful when you think about it.
There are 3 books (I think that’s the magic number for me in for these lists) that I’ve read that I wanted to share with you all; 2 that I read a few months back and 1 that I recently finished. Clearly, I think these books are great because they’ve (finally) made their way here and I believe that they deserve to be highlighted so let’s get into it!
Marikit And The Ocean Of Stars by Caris Avendaño Cruz: First, I must say that the cover got me the moment that I saw it! It’s such a gorgeous cover and gives a visually striking representation of the story. This story is Filipino Folklore inspired and is quite the adventure from pretty early on till the end. It weaves (pun intended) the magic of the world Marikit finds herself in and real world scenarios such as the glaring wealth gap in the Philippines (everywhere, really) so beautifully. It was hard not to get wrapped up in (pun intended again) this story and its characters with the banter, emotional beats & hijinx!
Omega Morales And The Legend Of La Lechuza by Laekan Zea Kemp: One, I saw that the sequel was announced and I screamed so you can guess that I’m excited about it! This story was so riveting from the very beginning and I was enamored with the characters in this book. There were so many hysterical moments and I couldn’t wait for Omega to crack the mystery she was trying to solve. I will say that there was a twist or two that caught me off guard, which doesn’t happen often so it earned even more brownie points from me for that. Omega Morales is Mexican Folklore inspired, in case you were wondering!
Winston Chu Vs. The Whimsies by Stacey Lee: I have to start this by saying that when I was reading this E-ARC, adulting was hitting me hard and I resented not being able to just sit and read this but it was a bright spot when I was able to sit and read it in chunks. This book was so funny, I laughed out loud quite often as Winston & his crew really got into some shenanigans. The story balanced the humor and grief so well, which I sincerely appreciated as someone who still grapples with grief. There were a lot of soccer references/puns and creative ways not to curse…the one that will stick with me forever is PITA (Pain In The Armpit, lol…which can really hurt), that I also really enjoyed! Winston Chu is inspired by Chinese Mythology & beliefs.
All of these books are out now and I definitely think that you should consider adding them to your TBR, gifting them to a kid/brood of kids and/or add them to your libraries (personal/classroom/school/public…just sayin’). There are other mythology inspired middle grades that are either coming out this year or are in my TBR that I really can’t wait to get to read. Are the books mentioned above in your TBR? Have you read them? Are you a fan of mythology inspired stories? Let me know! You can find me on Instagram @bookishgirlmagic, Twitter @bookishgrlmagic and Clubhouse @bookishgrlmagic where you can find me mostly in book centered clubs/rooms (mostly on Tuesdays now) to chat with me. Also subscribe to this blog if you haven’t already because it makes me feel like I’ve read a really good mythology inspired middle grade! Sending y’all bookish love and wishing you happy reading!
Bookish Girl Magic 