Top Middle Grade Reads 2020

This year has been an absolute shit show for my reading habits. My love for big chunky books has shrivelled up and died in the corner and it’s hard to hold my attention. My saving grace has been middle grade books. They have been sweet, wholesome, brutal and everything I needed to keep reading this year. 

Melody Finch by Ian B. Boyd and Gary Luck

This year I have read quite a few middle grade books. Thank you NetGalley for sending them all my way. The quality has been outstanding and once again I have picked a winner.

Synopsis – Melody Finch is a story about the hardships of drought in Australia’s Murray Darling Basin river system, as seen through the eyes of its native wildlife. When Melody Klomp turns into a Diamond Firetail Finch, she learns from a secret network of frog spies that big rains are coming. An amazing journey begins from Charleville in Queensland to the Coorong in South Australia, so Melody can tell her Nana of the incoming rains before she sells her beloved tour boat, The Isabella. Along the way, Melody meets many wonderful birds, frogs, seals, and even a platypus. At the end of her journey, she and her network of bird friends must fight together to defeat an evil net fisherman and his pet osprey, Silverclaw, to protect the future of all animals living in the Coorong.

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Recent NetGalley Additions

Should I be requesting more books from NetGalley… No. Do I anyway… Yes. Last I checked my % was at 52, so I never expect to get accepted, but I love it when it happens.

The Rush’s Edge by Ginger Smith – I saw the author talking about this one on Twitter and decided it was right up my alley, plus it’s published by Angry Robot, one of my favourite publishers. Also it’s release will coincide with Sci-Fi Month.

Synopsis – With the help of his commanding officer, a genetically engineered ex-soldier fights back against the government that created him and others like him to be expendable slaves.

Release date – 10th November 2020

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