When I was looking over the hundreds of books on my YA TBR mountain, Goblin Secrets jumped out at me. It is a 2012 National Book Award Winner in the Young People's Literature category. You can read an interview with William Alexander here. Goblin Secrets is his debut novel. Will also has a Minnesota connection since he is an Adjunct Professor at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. I was also looking for a Middle Grade book to read next. Goblin Secrets is an enchanting fantasy is a richly conceived world where magic is possible and acting—especially while wearing masks—is forbidden. Rownie is a young orphan boy aged somewhere between 8 and 10 (he doesn't really know) who lives with Graba who takes in orphaned children to use. She provides shelter and not much else for the orphans. Rownie used to have an older brother named Rowan who was an actor but he has disappeared. Rownie is determined to find him but he is not the only one looking. Graba would like to find him as would a troop of goblin actors. Rownie goes to the goblins and becomes interested in their lifestyle. He is fascinated by the masks that let them become someone else and by the stories that they tell. Also, the goblins accept him and treat him with much more kindness than he had been shown by Graba. Together with the goblins he continues the search for his missing brother who might be the only one to stop the river from flooding the city of Zombay.We gradually learn about the city and the world with Rownie. Because he is so young, he doesn't have a full understanding of the problems that the city is facing which means that our understanding grows slowly too. I liked the adventures that Rownie had as he searched for his brother. I liked how he found his own courage and place in the world. I thought the world was fascinating and I am eager to learn more about it. I think middle grade readers will enjoy the adventure and the mysteries in this book.
