I’m a middle school librarian who finds spiders fascinating. I read this book to see if it would be a good recommendation for my students.

Two Sentence Summary: Maria, a 7th grade student, receives a mysterious and powerful ring that gives her the power to control spiders. While the ring brings many possibilities, it also carries a dark history with dangerous consequences.

The plot starts slow, but the second half of the story captured my attention. The lore behind the spider ring is interesting, and the main character learns an important lesson about not abusing power and instead using it to save the ones she loves. There is also a message about friendship and how true friends don’t take their friendship for granted.

Maria was a likable character because the reader gets to see her grow and change throughout the story. At the beginning, she sees the ring as a way to get back at a school bully. She views herself as a “shadow queen”, and it’s all a sort of an act. Once she learns where the ring came from and what the antagonist, the Black Widow, will do to get it, she has to change her attitude. There is also a message woven through the book about “stories”. First, Maria reflects on how she likes to reread books with a happy ending since she knows the story ends well. She wished real life was like that. Later, once the history of the ring is revealed, there is a quote about the ring bearers not starting a new story but joining one that was going on long before they joined it. Finally, the villain gives a speech where she says she will “be the story” once she completes her goal. Being a lover of stories, I liked this repeated “story” metaphor.

LibraryThing* Rating: 4 stars
Book Lady** Rating: 3 stars

I liked…
-The ring’s powers
-The spiders’ friendship
-Maria’s friendship with Derek

I disliked…
-The slow start

Content: Appropriate for all ages, kids afraid of spiders might feel squeamish during some scenes

Recommended for kids who like super powers, spiders, and books that are a loosely fit “spooky season” vibes.

*LibraryThing rating takes into consideration the intended audience’s comprehension and interests.
**Book Lady Rating is what I would give it if I based it on my personal preference and likes/dislikes ( )

Maria is a seventh grader who is sort of the outcast, the odd girl whose family doesn't have a whole lot of, well, anything. Her clothes are all second hand because she is raised by a single mom and she would rather spend her time with her eccentric grandmother than doing much of anything else.

Grandma Esme has a lot of stories and a lot of secrets. Maria never imagined in her wildest dreams that any of those stories, or those secrets, could possibly have really been true and that they would take her on the adventure, or the nightmare, of a lifetime.

The Spider Ring is the kind of middle grade read that will get the attention of both boys and girls because it has elements that will hold the interest of both. While having a female main character, something that we are lacking in a lot of MG fiction these days, the content is kind of icky and scary and more on the level of something that will draw in the boys. Then, of course, you throw in a bit of Jr High teasing and drama for the girls, and you have the complete package.

It did start off a little on the slow side and I was kind of worried that I was not going to be able to get into it, but I hit about the 25% mark and the story took off on it's own. While the pacing in the beginning was slow, that did improve toward the middle, though the end to me felt a bit rushed and like there was something missing from the story and that there needed to be something more. It's hard for me to explain that without giving anything away.

Overall, if you like middle grade reads and you want something completely different, give this one a try. It very definitely is unique! ( )