After lots of thought I've decided not to accept middle grade novels for review anymore. I enjoy reading the genre and when I find a book I truly connect with it's amazing, but more and more I'm feeling like it's difficult to know what books I'll like without being more immersed in the genre.
If I'm being honest, most of the middle grade books I love are ones that I read originally when I was the target age. (I don't even think it was called middle grade back then -- they were just children's books.) I really liked Shug which I read recently, but it's become more and more rare for me to find a MG book I really love and connect with. I think part of this is that I'm not as immersed in the genre, so I'm not as knowledgeable about it and less able to predict what books I'll really like. And part of it is, I think, that I don't have the same connection to MG (which is often plot/adventure-oriented) as I do to YA (which is often relationship/character-driven).
I'm still going to be reading middle grade. And occasionally reviewing it. However, these will be books that I have searched out for myself, not ones sent for review. (That said, if anyone has any great middle grade suggestions, please throw them my way!)
I find MG books hard to get into. I think it's probably the age thing. There are some MG books I still adore, though. The Wednesday Wars being one.
ReplyDeleteI forget what all you've read, but I highly recommend The Invention of Hugo Cabret, Wonder by RJ Palacio.
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