Review: A Smidgen of Sky by Dianna Dorisi Winget

A Smidgen of Sky
by Dianna Dorisi Winget

Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 208
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication date: November 6, 2012
Suggested tags: middle grade, realistic fiction



From Goodreads:

"Whether she likes it or not, ten-year-old Piper Lee DeLuna is about to get a new family. Four years after the plane Piper's daddy was piloting disappeared, her mama is remarrying. The way Piper sees it, Mama's being plain disloyal. Besides, who'd want to get stuck with a prison guard for a stepdad and that weenie, Ginger, for a stepsister? But when Piper Lee hatches a foolproof plan to get the wedding called off, it quickly spirals out of control. And by the time Piper realizes what she’s done—and just how much she really cares about her new family—it might be too late. With a perfect blend of heartbreak and humor, this refreshing middle-grade debut explores opening one’s heart and learning to let go."

{ The author kindly provided a hardcover edition of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. }


A Smidgen of Sky is everything I love about middle grade fiction. It has a fun, feisty main character with a unique voice and personality. It tackles big issues and really gets you in the main character's head, but it's done on an appropriate level for the character and for readers. It pulls you into the story from page one and wraps you up in the emotions, adventures, and misadventures of the main character, keeping you flipping the pages compulsively till you get to the warm and fuzzy end.

Piper Lee is having a hard time dealing with the loss of her dad after he disappeared flying his plane, and now her mom's getting remarried. And it doesn't help that she doesn't get along very well with her future stepdad, Ben, and stepsister, Ginger. She decides she's going to try to get answers to some questions she has, but she finds that her actions are affecting others in ways she did not anticipate...and in ways that she may not be able to fix.

Piper Lee is a great character, and Winget is a great writer - she really pulls you into Piper's world and her problems and makes you feel all her ups and downs right along with her. One of Piper's schemes involves meeting up with someone she met online, which I will admit made me a little uncomfortable when I first read it, but Winget develops it into a good message on internet safety. Being a southern girl at heart, I loved the southern touches Winget weaves throughout her characters' words and actions. I would pick up another middle grade book by Winget in a heartbeat!


Overall rating: 4 out of 5 stars

{ More about A Smidgen of Sky }

author Dianna Dorisi Winget's website

New Release Round-Up: April 1-7, 2013

Young Adult


The Collector
by Victoria Scott

Release date: April 2, 2013
Available as: paperback, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 352
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Suggested tags: young adult, paranormal, romance



First in the Dante Walker series. From Goodreads:

"He makes good girls...bad.

Dante Walker is flippin’ awesome, and he knows it. His good looks, killer charm, and stellar confidence have made him one of hell’s best—a soul collector. His job is simple: weed through humanity and label those round rears with a big red good or bad stamp. Old Saint Nick gets the good guys, and he gets the fun ones. Bag-and-tag.

Sealing souls is nothing personal. Dante’s an equal-opportunity collector and doesn't want it any other way. But he’ll have to adjust, because Boss Man has given him a new assignment:

Collect Charlie Cooper’s soul within ten days.

Dante doesn't know why Boss Man wants Charlie, nor does he care. This assignment means only one thing to him, and that’s a permanent ticket out of hell. But after Dante meets the quirky Nerd Alert chick he’s come to collect, he realizes this assignment will test his abilities as a collector…and uncover emotions deeply buried."

The Sweetest Dark
by Shana Abe

Release date: April 2, 2013
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 352
Publisher: Bantam
Suggested tags: young adult, historical fiction, paranormal



First in The Sweetest Dark series. From Goodreads:

" “With every fiber of my being, I yearned to be normal. To glide through my days at Iverson without incident. But I’d have to face the fact that my life was about to unfold in a very, very different way than I’d ever envisioned. Normal would become forever out of reach.”

Lora Jones has always known that she’s different. On the outside, she appears to be an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl. Yet Lora’s been keeping a heartful of secrets: She hears songs that no one else can hear, dreams vividly of smoke and flight, and lives with a mysterious voice inside her that insists she’s far more than what she seems.

England, 1915. Raised in an orphanage in a rough corner of London, Lora quickly learns to hide her unique abilities and avoid attention. Then, much to her surprise, she is selected as the new charity student at Iverson, an elite boarding school on England’s southern coast. Iverson’s eerie, gothic castle is like nothing Lora has ever seen. And the two boys she meets there will open her eyes and forever change her destiny.

Jesse is the school’s groundskeeper—a beautiful boy who recognizes Lora for who and what she truly is. Armand is a darkly handsome and arrogant aristocrat who harbors a few closely guarded secrets of his own. Both hold the answers to her past. One is the key to her future. And both will aim to win her heart. As danger descends upon Iverson, Lora must harness the powers she’s only just begun to understand, or else lose everything she dearly loves.

Filled with lush atmosphere, thrilling romance, and ancient magic, The Sweetest Dark brilliantly captures a rich historical era while unfolding an enchanting love story that defies time."

Other YA new releases for this week:

Middle Grade


Genie Wishes
by Elisabeth Dahl

Release date: April 2, 2013
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 288
Publisher: Amulet Books
Suggested tags: middle grade, realistic fiction



From Goodreads:

"This sweet, funny novel follows fifth-grader Genie Kunkle through a tumultuous year. From the first day of school, Genie knows there will be good, bad, and in-between. The good? She’s in homeroom with her best friend, Sarah. The bad? Sarah’s friend from camp, Blair, is a new student at their school, and is itching to take Genie’s place as Sarah’s BFF. The in-between? Genie is excited to be elected to write her class’s blog, where she’s tasked with tracking the wishes and dreams of her class. But expressing her opinion in public can be scary—especially when her opinion might make the rest of her class upset.

Elisabeth Dahl authentically captures the ups and downs of a tween girl’s life, and the dramas—both little and big—that fill the scary transition between childhood and adolescence."

The Key & The Flame
by Claire M. Caterer

Release date: April 2, 2013
Available as: hardcover, Kindle edition, ebook
Pages: 480
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Suggested tags: middle grade, fantasy



From Goodreads:

"Eleven-year-old Holly Shepard wants nothing more than to seek adventure outside of her humdrum American life. She gets her chance at last when her family travels to England and Holly receives an unusual gift: an iron key that unlocks a passage to the dangerous kingdom of Anglielle, where magic is outlawed and those who practice magic are hunted. When her friend Everett and brother Ben are captured by Anglielle’s ruthless king, Holly must rescue them. But that means finding—and using—the magic within herself and learning which magical allies she can trust."

Other Middle Grade new releases for this week: