Book picks similar to
Monster Problems by Jason R. Lady


childrens
middle-grade
first-reads
giveaways

Shattered Grace


K. Anne Raines - 2013
    Despite those struggles, her grandfather remained her rock and confidant. Her life irrevocably shatters the day her grandfather dies. The day of his funeral sets off a chain of events, making Grace question everything she’s ever known to be true, and as a result, who she can truly trust. She inherits his house, part of his money, his Guardian and something that ties them together. Just before Grace’s 18th birthday, she is thrust into a world she couldn’t fathom existed and does everything she can to thwart the destiny suddenly forced upon her. She’s been chosen for greatness, but at what cost? With eyes now open, she must choose to either be Chosen, or watch those around her suffer the consequences. Torn between the man who’s come to protect her and the one sent to destroy her, she teeters on the edge of decision, trying to come to grips with who she is, what she wants and what all of that means for her, those she loves and the rest of mankind.

Why Kimba Saved The World


Meg Welch Dendler - 2013
    Then she learns a secret that changes everything, including her destiny. Will she join this mysterious cat conspiracy? Kimba must choose between the freedom she craves and the human family she loves.

All Those Things Revealed


M. Maureen O'Callaghan - 2017
     Constanza Delamar lives in a part of Ireland where ancient traditions are viewed with nostalgia, by people who are eager to move beyond them. A personal tragedy changes her life and she finds herself in a remote village where these traditions are still a way of life. When a parish priest suddenly arrives to challenge the village's traditional priest and condemn his Priest Woman; the village is turned against itself. Constanza suddenly finds herself confronting and then defending the most controversial of traditions. The mounting tensions in the village culminate in a devastating event with long-term consequences for all those involved.

The Frights of Fiji


Sunayna PrasadSunayna Prasad - 2013
    A sorcerer kidnaps her to an enchanted island, filled with magical creatures and technology, but also danger. It is up to Alyssa to defeat the peril and overcome the warlock.

Quintessence: the poetry of true nature


Sara Priestley - 2019
    She frames this journey using the five fundamental elements of the universe as themes, grouping poems using the principles of earth, water, air, fire, or essence. Not only does this framework help with the discovery of meaning but also the attribution of it, coloring each poem with a new light.Though Sara’s approach to poetry is often described as an inside-out way of knowing, she prefers to call it inside-in, to bring recognition to the directness of the paths of understanding. You’ll find profound truths penned with clarity, lightness, and simplicity as you share in her journey, poem by poem. And after you experience all the joy, freedom, grief, and peace quintessence offers, you may discover a new understanding of your own true nature.

God Loves You. Chester Blue


Suzanne Elizabeth Anderson - 2012
    Chester Blue was originally written as a children's chapter book. However, since its launch it has become an inspirational story for all ages. What if when you most needed help, a blue bear appeared with a note from God One night, Miss Millie of Blossom, Ohio turns her face to the stars and asks God for help. The next day, a package arrives on her doorstep containing a blue teddy bear and a very special note. God will meet us where we are... Over the course of a year, this remarkable blue bear travels across the country, showing up just when he's needed most. During his journey, Chester Blue helps a young girl trying to impress her big sisters; helps a man who has lost his job; saves a sailor caught in a terrible storm; reunites two constantly fighting brothers suffering from a terrible case of sibling rivalry; watches a cowboy become a rodeo clown; and helps a father and daughter after divorce. Each chapter is short story demonstrating God's love for us in every situation. God is everywhere. His love can find us anywhere. Whether you are a child or an adult, God has a very important message for you, too... God Loves You. Chester Blue is an inspirational book for kids, adults, parents, families, in other words, everyone.

If My Name Was Amanda


Curtis Edmonds - 2017
    "If my name was Amanda I'd live in Atlanta, and I'd wave hello to a shark..."A little girl with a big imagination dreams of the adventures she might have, if she was somebody else instead of herself - from befriending sharks in Atlanta to playing jazz in New Orleans to riding her bike in Zanesville.The possibilities are endless, but her favorite person to be is still herself, at home with her family.With playful, rhyming text and colorful, engaging illustrations, this whirlwind introduction to the richness and variety of life in the USA is a story that children will delight in reading over and over, and using as a springboard for their own imaginative adventures.

Brief, Horrible Moments 2: A collection of two sentence horror stories


Marko PandzaMarko Pandza - 2021
    Chill your bones with two hundred horror stories, two sentences at a time.Do you have the courage to face the natural and supernatural scares that lay within these cursed pages? Pull up the blankets, close the blinds, take a deep breath and find out.A series of brief, horrible moments await.

The Girl Who Sees Angels


Jeffrey McClain Jones - 2020
    Even her mother doubted her as a child. Psychiatrists doubted her too. Psychics tried to recruit her to enrich and empower themselves. Now she’s thirty-two, living on her own, and sharing her secret only with her mother and a few friends.A threatening specter begins to visit her at night, and more than her sleep is at stake. She follows a friend’s recommendation to visit Detta Washington, a church lady who believes that Sophie does see angels and demons. Even if Sophie is skeptical about the labels Detta uses for what she sees, she comes to respect Detta and finds ways to use her gift to help others.When she helps free Detta from an incurable disease and releases two of her friends from creepy creatures shadowing them, Sophie starts to embrace her identity. But she still needs help with the ghoul that hovers above her bed at night. And that’s not the last enemy who threatens her in the dark.Anthony, Detta’s handsome son, helps Sophie understand his mother’s religious language, and he becomes convinced that Sophie is for real. After years of doubt and frequent commitments to mental hospitals, Sophie’s mother comes to trust her daughter’s visions as well.Recovering from a life of being condemned as a crazy person, Sophie finds new confidence. She is gifted. She is the girl who sees angels.

ALS Saved My Life ... until it didn't


Jenni Kleinman Berebitsky - 2018
    But what do we do when nothing goes as we had ever hoped? Jenni Berebitsky, diagnosed in 2009 with ALS has been answering these questions every day. With the hope of helping others move forward after life altering events, Jenni shares her story of life wiht ALS, outlining practical and existential changes needed to adapt and thrive.

Trail of Destruction


Tracy Buchanan - 2021
    Can one woman uncover the truth before it all goes up in flames?Eager for distraction in the aftermath of her messy divorce, Ellie Mileham dives into moderating the petty squabbles on her local Facebook group. When a prankster starts trolling uptight members, it’s a welcome diversion at first. But then the war of words moves onto the streets of Forest Grove, with threatening letters escalating into violent destruction. It’s suddenly clear there’s something much more dangerous at play.With lives at risk, Ellie delves into the history of Forest Grove and realises the so-called rural paradise has a dark and sinister heart. As she pieces together the puzzle of her own troubled childhood on the edge of the forest, Ellie learns this is not the first time the villagers have been targeted by an anonymous vigilante with an axe to grind…Could the two cases be connected? Ellie is determined to find out. But with everybody watching and nobody quite what they seem, can she uncover the truth before online threats become nightmarish reality?

The Changelings


Christina Soontornvat - 2016
    But as time goes on, strange things start to happen; odd piles of stones appear around Izzy’s house, and her little sister Hen comes home full of stories about the witch next door. Then, Hen disappears into the woods. She’s been whisked away to the land of Faerie, and it’s up to Izzy to save her. Joined there by a band of outlaw Changelings, Izzy and her new friends set out on a joint search-and-rescue mission across this foreign land which is at turns alluringly magical and utterly terrifying.

Dragon's Green


Scarlett Thomas - 2017
    After a mysterious incident leaves Griffin close to death, Effie is given an unusual silver ring and told she must look after her grandfather’s library of rare and powerful books. But then the books fall into the hands of shady scholar Leonard Levar, and Effie is propelled into the most dangerous adventure of her life.Now, Effie and her friends—nerdy Maximilian, rugby-mad Wolf, helpful Lexy, and eccentric Raven—must discover their true powers if they are to get the books back. And Effie alone will have to travel to the Otherworld, where she will uncover the true meaning of the strange old book called Dragon’s Green…

InvestiGators


John Patrick Green - 2020
    MANGO and BRASH are the INVESTIGATORS:sewer-loving agents of S.U.I.T.* and scourge of supervillains everywhere!With their Very Exciting Spy Technology and their tried-and-true, toilet-based travel techniques, the InvestiGators are undercover and on the case! And on their first mission together, they have not one but two mysteries to solve! Can Mango and Brash uncover the clues, crack their cases, and corral the crooks—or will the criminals wriggle out of their grasp?*Special Undercover Investigation Teams

Gauntlet Fall (The Gauntlet #1)


Maddy Edwards - 2017
    A fragile peace has allowed hopes for rebuilding to blossom, but they rest on the shoulders of those who run the Gauntlet, the lethal trail to the stronghold of the man whose strange creatures started the war many years ago. The stronghold lies deep in Torrent’s Valley, protected by deadly weapons that defeat every attempt to penetrate it, and it holds information crucial to the survival of Samantha’s world.Samantha wants to go to Harknell School, where Gauntlet Runners are trained. The only trouble is, she's the wrong gender. Determined not to let a little thing like that stand in her way, she disguises herself, calls herself "Sam," and risks everything to learn the skills she needs.Fraught with unimagined dangers, Harknell shows Sam a whole new world and forces her to keep a cool head as she fights to maintain her place and become a Runner. Along the way she'll make lifelong friends, watch loyalties crumble, and learn what it is to love. In this scorching world that no one saw coming, . . .until it arrived.