Rise of the Dragons by Angie Sage, a review
Rise of the Dragons by Angie Sage (2019), a middle-grade series opener, involves two worlds. In one, young Sirin Sharma is in the slow process of losing her only parent to illness (and her cat to hard-hearted caregivers). It seems to be the same world you and I live...
The Edge of Extinction: The Ark Plan by Laura Martin, a review
The Edge of Extinction by Laura Martin, a series of two books published in 2016 and 2017, provides a dystopian Jurassic Park tale for middle-graders. Plucky Sky Mundy, in an underground colony in what once was northern Indiana, is just one of a few hundred humans...
Louisiana’s Way Home by Kate DiCamillo, a review
Louisiana’s Way Home, a middle-grade historical novel by Kate DiCamillo, took ahold of my heart somehow. I read it a couple of days ago, and it’s still hanging around in my mind. I think it’s the amazing combination of the quirky characters, the awful...
The Faithful Spy by John Hendrix, a review
The Faithful Spy: Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Plot to Kill Hitler, by John Hendrix, is a hybrid graphic novel for teens and adults, telling an unforgettable story in an unforgettable way. It was published in 2018 by Amulet. The book alternates chapters about...
Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate, a review
Crenshaw by Katherine Applegate, a review Published 2015 by MacMillan, 245 pages Genre: Middle grade, realistic with a touch of fantasy Crenshaw, a huge cat, used to be Jackson’s invisible friend — when Jackson was three years younger. So now that...
The Hate U Give movie, a review
In the movie “The Hate U Give,” 16-year-old Starr is an African-American living in what she calls “the ‘hood,” a place called Garden Heights, while attending a nearly all-white high school. She lives in both worlds, trying to fit in both...
The Language of Spells by Garret Weyr, a review
The Language of Spells by Garret Weyr, illustrated by Katie Hartnett Published by Chronicle Books, 2018, 299 pages Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy Grisha the dragon had a very unfortunate encounter with a sorcerer named Leopold, and as a result spent a century or so as an...
The Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters by Kara LaReau, a review
The Jolly Regina and The Uncanny Express by Kara LaReau, Books 1 and 2 of the Unintentional Adventures of the Bland Sisters, a review. Published 2017 and 2018 by Amulet Books, New York, each about 160 pages, illustrated by Jen Hill Genre: Middle grade, aimed at...
Hi, I'm Phyllis Wheeler
Award-winning middle-grade Christian fiction writer extraordinaire! I'm excited to have you here. To learn more about me and my story as an author and homeschool mom, visit the About page.
Featured Book by Phyllis Wheeler
The Dog Snatcher: Guardians of Time Book 1
The kid just wants his beloved dog back. Before it’s too late.
Disbelief and shock fill eleven-year-old Jake when a stranger grabs his beloved dog. Jake and his twin Ava chase the scruffy teen down their suburban street, but the thief simply vanishes. So … what is this ancient-looking skeleton key Jake finds in the street? Turning it in the air takes the twins—somewhere else!