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sillyselkie 's review for:
The Middler
by Kirsty Applebaum
I think this is actually the perfect book to read in the winter months, preferably when curled up inside while the rain pitter-patters against the window pane. The Middler was the first middle-grade book I’ve read in ages and a welcome break from all the thrillers and gory dystopian reads I’d been consuming thus far.
It takes place in the fictional village of Fennis Wick, after a mysterious Quiet War has resulted in towns and villages closing off their borders to the Wanderers that live out in the wilderness. The protagonist, Maggie, is a middle child – the unenviable invisible child – overshadowed by the glory that surrounds her older sibling and adoration that people feel for her younger brother. In this world, the eldest siblings from each family are chosen to go and fight in the Quiet War. As such, they are revered and treated favourably. Things don’t look like they are going to change for our Middler-Hero, until Maggie comes across a Wanderer girl who is her age. They form an unlikely friendship and the secrets that plague the village begin to unravel.
I absolutely loved this book. It was a fast read, with an exciting adventure and what feels like the beginnings of a series (or at least, I hope it will be a series).
It takes place in the fictional village of Fennis Wick, after a mysterious Quiet War has resulted in towns and villages closing off their borders to the Wanderers that live out in the wilderness. The protagonist, Maggie, is a middle child – the unenviable invisible child – overshadowed by the glory that surrounds her older sibling and adoration that people feel for her younger brother. In this world, the eldest siblings from each family are chosen to go and fight in the Quiet War. As such, they are revered and treated favourably. Things don’t look like they are going to change for our Middler-Hero, until Maggie comes across a Wanderer girl who is her age. They form an unlikely friendship and the secrets that plague the village begin to unravel.
I absolutely loved this book. It was a fast read, with an exciting adventure and what feels like the beginnings of a series (or at least, I hope it will be a series).