Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard
By: Jonathan Auxier
My Rating: FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS
Best for: 12 and up

A(nother) perfectly magical fairy tale!

I am SO digging Jonathan Auxier. His middle grade stories are exactly the right balance between challenging and accessible for his target audience. Most authors who try to write for the middle grades miss the mark—understandable because it’s such a hard age to write for. There is a significant disparity between 10-year-olds and 14-year-olds in reading ability, so writing a story that appeals to both ends of the spectrum is a trick. Jonathan Auxier has figured it out. [Insert Applause Here.]

Peter Nimble and His Fantastic Eyes was Auxier’s debut novel, and he nailed it from the start. Sophie Quire is another story featuring Peter Nimble, but stars Sophie Quire–a new character who I loved even more that Peter! Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard is packed with adventure, characters I connect with, and essential life lessons; all perfectly targeted for that tricky middle grade audience. I LOVED IT!

Sophie love books. She works in her fathers bookshop, carefully and tenderly repairing the worn out or damaged books her father’s customers bring her. Sophie is good at her job, but no where near as good as her mother was before SHE DIED A MYSTERIOUS DEATH. Now, her town leaders have decided books are nonsense, and the best way to move the town into the industrious future is to be rid of nonsense. So…let’s burn all the books! Of course, Sophie, book lover/book protector can’t let that happen. But what can she do?

Nothing, until a certain blind thief and his trusty part human/part horse/part cat sidekick bring her a magical book that needs some extra protecting. (Trust me, it’s fun. Just go with it.)

Soon Sophie finds herself singled out for a magical adventure to save the day, where she learns all the valuable lessons, figures out what happened to her mom, and learns who she really is…

The Last Storyguard!

Peter and Sophie were great together, and their banter was a highlight of the story. I found myself wanting to read more of their adventures together, and I think kids are going to love them as much as I did.

The story seamlessly oscillates between doses of humor, instances of sorrow, moments of suspense, and mountains of mystery. Jonathan Auxier artfully builds plot momentum with unexpected twists and turns that kept this dad’s attention and interest throughout. It’s not simply an exciting adventure. It’s a thoughtfully layered tale with profound life lessons around friendship, bravery, and resilience.

Jonathan Auxier has earn himself a life-long fan. I vote you give Peter and His Fantastic Eyes a try yourself, then Sophie Quire and the Last Storyguard. See if your middle graders readers will enjoy them as much as I think they will!

Best for 12 and up.

Happy Reading!