Great Middle Grade Reads discussion

The group choice for our book of the month is The False Prince, with over 30,000 GoodReads reviews!

Here's the GoodReads description:

THE FALSE PRINCE is the thrilling first book in a brand-new trilogy filled with danger and deceit and hidden identities that will have readers rushing breathlessly to the end.

In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king's long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner's motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword's point -- he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage's rivals have their own agendas as well.

As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner's sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.

An extraordinary adventure filled with danger and action, lies and deadly truths that will have readers clinging to the edge of their seats.

Wait--it's April already?

I haven't even ordered a copy. My April is completely vaporized and I have no idea how it happened.

Sorry, this one totally doesn't interest me, on a variety of aspects.

I read it a couple years ago. I saw the twist at the end coming a mile away, but my boys loved it and have reread it a couple times. Reminds me a lot of Avi's Crispin: The Cross of Lead.

“If I had to do it again, I would not have chosen this life.” I think it’s got a great opening line that entices you to carry on reading. Within the first couple of paragraphs I can tell this is an intelligent but rebellious MC. His antics charmed me and just kept me reading, wondering what tricks he was going to get up to next. As the story unraveled, he turned out to be more complex and so it compelled me to read even more to try and understand him. I also like the way how his relationship with Mort developed. When I finished the story, it was so good I had to re-read it again. At the second reading, many of his words made sense because I understood the double, underlying meaning behind them. So all in all, I thought it was a very cleverly written book.

Are any of you (who enjoyed it) going to read the sequel(s)?

I try not to read sequels, but I loved this one so much that I did!

My son absolutely loved this trilogy. When I handed him this first book in the series I wasn't sure how he'd feel about it but he devoured it and asked me to get him the second book. Wonderful series.

MG, following your comments, I borrowed Crispin from the library to see what it's like. Probably it's not a fair comparison as I knew from the outset that he obviously has some noble heritage/background. Nevertheless, I see what you mean about the similarity, but for me, The False Prince is much more enjoyable as the MC has a lot more personality and the story-line more swashbuckling.

Justine wrote: "MG, following your comments, I borrowed Crispin from the library to see what it's like. Probably it's not a fair comparison as I knew from the outset that he obviously has some noble heritage/backg..."

It's been several years since I read Crispin -- now you've piqued my curiosity. I may have to read it again!

I read Crispin several years ago...I remember it being pretty dark, and that I didn't like it all that much.

Good grief, after I escaped Mr. lemoncello's library I must have gone brain dead. I'm too months behind here? Sorry I've been involved in family drama instead of books for a couple months.

That's okay, Dixie. I've not done any from the last two months either!

Finally got around to reading this. I love that it was suggested for the cover. I picked up the last three books of the month at the same time and this cover was the one that grabbed my attention.

About the book: love it! The author did a wonderful job keeping me guessing how the predictable ending would come about. I liked the character development and found Sage/Jaron extremely likable.

One more comment, I had considered reading this with my son but was glad I read it first. He's seven and I think it would've been a little too old for him. Maybe when he's ten.