Welcome to AwesNoSt MiGraSt, a series dedicated to digging deep into some of the best middle grade novels published in the last decade. What on earth is AwesNoSt MiGraSt, you ask? Awesome Novels Studies for Middle Grade Students!

We'll laugh together, cry together, and grow together as we ask hard questions of these characters and get answers that aren't sitting out in the open. We'll take a hard look at foreshadowing and plot development, and then tie these discoveries to the novel's themes. The book will be examined both in whole and in parts, and we will pass judgment on the author: Did he or she succeed in delivering the awesome novel we expected, or was the contract broken, leaving us wanting more?

The six meetings in this course are dedicated to Neil Gaiman's award-winning classic novel, The Graveyard Book.

Each of the meetings will drill deep into a portion of the book as they tackle a different aspect of the writer's craft. Check out the week-by-week descriptions below to get a general idea of what we'll be working on each meeting:

MEETING ONE: An introduction to the book, the genre, and the author. We'll talk about what we should expect from the story and you'll get your first reading assignment. No reading is expected (or should be done) before the first meeting!

MEETING TWO: We'll begin examining possible instances of foreshadowing and try to predict where the story is going. The second reading assignment will be given.

MEETING THREE: What has the author promised us, and are we even deep enough into the plot to figure that out? Has the foreshadowing paid off yet? Where is the story going next? Reading assignment three will be shared.

MEETING FOUR: Who is our main character, really? How is he or she dealing with the journey that the author has set them on? Is the author forcing the character to grow, or letting him or her off the hook? Is the book living up to its promise? The fourth reading assignment will be explained. 

MEETING FIVE: Does all seem lost? Is the character facing defeat? Did the things foreshadowed at the beginning of the story ever come to be? And, most importantly, has the theme become clear through the character's journey? The final reading assignment will be given.

MEETING SIX: The big finale! Was the ending satisfying? Was the theme clear? Did the author deliver? YOU be the judge! Similar books along the same theme or from the same author will be recommended at the very end.