Publication Date: January 21, 2020
Edition: Hardcover, ebook; 400 pgs
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Source: Rockstar Book Tours
Buy: Amazon - Kindle - Barnes & Noble - iBooks - Kobo - The Book Depository
Audience: Upper Elementary/Middle Grade
Disclaimer: I received a copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.
Tour Schedule
Week One
1/20/2020 - Lifestyle of Me - Review
1/20/2020 - BookHounds Ya - Excerpt
1/21/2020 - For the Love of KidLit - Excerpt
1/21/2020 - She Just Loves Books - Review
1/22/2020 - Jazzy Book Reviews - Excerpt
1/22/2020 - Trapped Inside Stories - Review
1/23/2020 - Descendant of Poseidon Reads - Review
1/23/2020 - Books,Dreams,Life - Excerpt
1/24/2020 - Fazila's Book Review Corner - Excerpt
1/24/2020 - fictitious.fox - Review
Week Two
1/27/2020 - Savings in Seconds - Review
1/27/2020 - Precious books world - Review
1/28/2020 - Little Red Reads - Review
1/28/2020 - Two Chicks on Books - Excerpt
1/29/2020 - Ficticiouswonderland - Review
1/29/2020 - Books and Zebras - Review
1/30/2020 - jrsbookreviews - Review
1/30/2020 - Jena Brown Writes - Review
1/31/2020 - Eli to the nth - Review
1/31/2020 - Two Points of Interest - Review
The Summary
AVERY MILLER is looking for a fresh start, away from all the bomb sirens and talk of war in Los Angeles. She expects to find a haven in Callaway, Texas, where the cool new substance “glow” was first discovered. What she doesn’t count on is making friends with glowboard skaters Dani, Bastian, and Lola, aka the Sardines. . . .
DANI HIRSCH, captain of the Sardines, knows for a fact they’re the best glowboarding team in Texas—if only they could prove it. Nothing will distract Dani from leading the team to victory at this summer’s big race. Not even food explosions in the school cafeteria, or a mysterious midnight message, or secretive government workers in Callaway. . . .
BASTIAN GIL is sick of the bullies who tease him for being a Sardine, for being different. Sure, he and his twin sister, Lola, can share thoughts. That’s just twin telepathy, though—nothing too weird, right? But when Bastian finds he can do even stranger things, he starts to wonder if maybe he really is different from the other kids at school. . . .
LOLA GIL wants life to go back to normal, to a time before big glowboard races and government investigations. But the more the Sardines discover about themselves—like how they can share thoughts and move objects with their minds—the more Lola begins to fear there was never anything normal about her. . . .
When the Sardines receive an ominous, otherworldly message, they must decide if they’ll use their newfound powers to stop an impending disaster—one that could have more to do with the war, their bullies, and glowboarding than they can possibly imagine.
My Review
Action, mystery, and strange incidents surround four young friends trying to not only figure out who they are, but what the heck is happening in their small town, and what does "glow" have to do with it?
I loved this book. I think it is great book for middle grade kids. It focuses on friendship, independence, individuality, and success, all while a huge mystery is happening. So the action is there for readers who like fast-paced, suspenseful builds, but also quieter, more reflective moments are there for the quieter reader.
Avery, Dani, Lola, and Bastian are such great characters to follow. They all are different from each other, but connected through glowboarding, a new type of skateboarding using "Component G" or "glow". Glow is a mysterious substance found in their small town in Texas, and eventually all over the world, that can be used to power small machines. Glowboarding is what is on the characters mind 24/7, but they also find out that glow itself may be leading to bigger things happening around, and to, them.
I don't want to give more away than that because everything builds to the end of the book, and the final glowboarding event that the kids have been practicing for. The ending lends itself to a sequel, where we may find out about what exactly is happening on a larger scale, as you are really focused on the small town in this story.
While it is not plot heavy as far as learning more about the "Global War" that is alluded too, it is a fun, fast-paced book, that gives the ultimate lesson of learning who you are, and finding a group of friend that accepts that.
Final Rating
Excerpt
Dani didn’t slow down. She wrapped her legs around the branch, hoisting herself and, without pause, throwing her hands out to catch the next branch up.
One of her hands did not catch.
It slipped free, upsetting Dani’s balance and sending her hurtling downward.
What happened next happened very quickly. Lola raised her hands to her mouth. Bastian shouted at Dani’s descent. And Avery thought, No, she can’t hit the ground.
The way Dani had thrown out her arms, the way she had twisted her back—Avery couldn’t bear to watch the impact. Stubbornly she kept thinking it: Dani can’t hit the ground, she can’t, she can’t, she won’t.
That’s when something inside Avery began to burn. It was a sensation she’d first felt at her old school in LA. It was the heat between her stomach and her heart that burned every time she skated downhill on a curve. She felt the blue light’s energy, and suddenly she saw it, pulsing out of her. It washed around Avery, poured over the branches like water, rushed under Dani’s back and cradled her in its arms.
Then, in a snap, everything was fast and loud again.
About the Author
K.E. Ormsbee writes books, cooks food, & records podcasts in Austin, TX. She is the author of the WATER AND THE WILD fantasy trilogy (Chronicle Books and Gumption Press), folk mystery THE HOUSE IN POPLAR WOOD (Chronicle Books), and the upcoming sci-fi adventure MIDNIGHT ON STRANGE STREET (Disney-Hyperion, January 2020).
She also writes Young Adult novels as Kathryn Ormsbee: LUCKY FEW, TASH HEARTS TOLSTOY, and THE GREAT UNKNOWABLE END (Simon & Schuster).
K.E. Ormsbee likes clothes from the 60s, music from the 70s, and movies from the 80s. She is from the 90s. You can visit her online at keormsbee.com or follow her on Twitter & Instagram @kathsby.
Giveaway
3 winners will receive a finished copy of MIDNIGHT ON STRANGE STREET, US Only.
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