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Middle Grade Book Spotlight--Thrillers & Suspense!!!

Our middle grade book spotlight this week is on books that are filled with suspense and thrills!! Sometimes I think these are the scariest types of books because you have no idea what is going to happen next and your brain prepares for the worst as you turn the page, not knowing what is going to be there waiting for you.  If you are looking for a read that is going to keep you on the edge of your seat then you have come to the right place!  These books and more can be found by searching the catalog using the search tag #youththriller as well as on Libby and Hoopla.  Check back next week for a new middle grade book spotlight and if you have any book suggestions, please let us know!!

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier--At the worst point of the Irish Potato Famine, orphans Molly and Kip travel to England hoping to find employment. Using her wit and skill with words, Molly secures servant positions for them in the Windsor manor, where things are not quite right. The locals whisper of the gnarled tree behind the house, and of the oddness of the Windsor family. At night Molly and Kip hear footsteps, and in the morning tracks of dirt run through the house to each of the Windsors' bedrooms. Who is the Night Gardener and what does he want? Molly and Kip discover the secret of the darkly magical tree and how the Night Gardener waters it, and know they must find a way to break the curse on the Windsors.

Fuzzy Mud by Louis Sachar--It begins with a bully named Chad challenging seventh-grader Marshall Walsh to a fight. Marshall and fifth-grader Tamaya Dhilwaddi have walked with each other to and from school ever since they were little, always on the same route. To avoid a fight, Marshall and Tamaya decide to take a detour home through the mysterious woods. Chad follows, the kids get lost, and the world will never be the same. The kids discover “fuzzy mud,” a strange, dangerous byproduct of unchecked scientific experimentation. The government gets involved, and Marshall, Tamaya, and Chad learn what it means to face real danger.

Beneath by Roland Smith--Pat O'Toole always idolized his older brother, Coop. One day after a fight with their parents, Coop ran away from their home outside Washington, D.C. Now a year later, Pat receives a package with a digital voice recorder and a cryptic message from his brother that leads Pat on a dangerous journey to a mysterious community living beneath the streets of New York City to bring his brother home.

Disney After Dark by Ridley Pearson--Finn Whitman and four other teenagers are hired to be guides at Walt Disney World in Florida. The theme park uses a new DHI technology to transform the teens into hologram projections that guide the guests around. However, DHI--which means both Disney Host Interactive and Daylight Hologram Imaging--leads Finn and his friends into the Magic Kingdom after hours where they learn that the park is in danger. As they try to save Disney World, the five teens encounter a series of Disney villains and witches.

Splendors and Glooms by Laura Amy Schlitz--In 1860, young Clara Wintermute is in awe of the marionette skills possessed by master puppeteer Gaspare Grisini. Spellbound, she asks her wealthy father to hire Grisini to perform at her twelfth birthday party. Grisini's two assistants, orphans Lizzie Rose and Parsefall, come along to help and end up forming a social class-defying friendship with Clara. All is well until Clara disappears. With Grisini nowhere to be found, the blame is put on Grisini and the two orphans. To clear their names, Lizzie Rose and Parsefall must find Grisini before the puppet master's old lover-a powerful witch with terrible plans for Clara-finds him first.

Guys Read: Thriller by Jon Scieszka--A collection of short stories written by bestselling authors, including Margaret Peterson Haddix, Walter Dean Myers, Matt De La Pena, Gennifer Choldenko and James Patterson, contains mystery, suspense, intrigue and even comedy. Ten, mildly-scary tales take readers on a wild ride, complete with ghosts and monsters, a pirate and detective, and the inexplicable.