The Daring Dreamers Club: Milla Takes Charge by Erin Soderberg

How I Heard About It:  Author, and friend, Erin Soderberg was kind enough to send me an ARC to share with my Twitter #bookexpedition reading group.  I was thrilled to learn that she is coming out with a new series for middle-grade readers.  Look for the first installment at the beginning of June, 2018.  

What It Is About:  In the first edition of this series, we are introduced to Milla.  She is a talented, spirited, and energetic fifth grader who dreams, and writes, about the all the incredible adventures that are awaiting for her to experience.  Her real life, on the other hand, is not so adventurous.  Dealing with some health issues, Milla fears her moms won't be on board to allow her to attend the fifth grade camping trip.  At the start of fifth grade, she learns each student will be assigned to an advisory group with a teacher advisor.  Milla finds herself in a group with four other girls and a first-year teacher.  She encourages the five girls to pursue their dreams and be all they can.  Each girl is quite different from the other, but in the "Daring Dreamers Club" they learn how to achieve their goals and encourage the other girls to be their personal best.  Milla wonders if the overnight trip will be all that she hoped for, or a terrible mistake away from the safety of her home.  

What I Thought Of It:  As I began the book, I started to think of all the girls in my class that would be engaged in this fresh, upbeat, and page-turner of a story.  One thing that always amazes me about talented authors is how each piece of writing they publish can be different from everything else they have written.  Erin's newest book is completely different from her other works of fiction.  The concept for this book (series) is like nothing else I have read and I know that young readers are going to find complete satisfaction in Milla's story.  The writing was spot on, precise, and entertaining.  I enjoyed Milla and her interactions with the other girls.  While I may not be a "princess loving reader", I thought it was cool how each girl connected with one of Disney's Princesses.  I'm glad to know that each new book in the series will be released every six months.  

Who Should Read It:   In my opinion, this is the PERFECT novel for female middle-grade readers.  I can see third, fourth, fifth, and sixth grade girls reading it and enjoying all five girls.  If you know of young readers that are drawn to the Disney brand and/or princesses, then this is the book for them.  I'm already trying to gather a group of girls in my fourth grade class to read the book and possibly meet with Erin herself to "chat" about the book.  This is definitely a book/series that will be in my classroom library and one that will be book-talked from year to year!  Happy Reading!  

Rating:  5 STARS out of 5 Stars