Hello and welcome to a gushy review. Today, I am going to be IMPLORING you to read M. G. Leonard’s fabulous ‘The Battle of the Beetles’ trilogy.

You may have heard me talk about this trilogy before. In fact, I’ve reviewed both of the two previous books, BEETLE BOY, and BEETLE QUEEN. I loved the first two books in this trilogy–they were funny, compelling, tightly plotted and full of characters you can’t help but love. But THE BATTLE OF THE BEETLES is the crowning glory in this fabulous kidlit series–a crescendo of a book that hits every note, that left me in floods of tears when I turned the last page.

So I could tell you that a billion reasons why you should pick up this series–that its concept is unique and completely captivating, that it shines a light on creatures that many (me included, prior to reading this series) regarded as repulsive, that our hero subverts so many tropes–his caring nature, his thoughtful and clever approach to thwarting enemies. Simply put, this is an extraordinary story, told beautifully.

However, what I loved so so much about THE BATTLE OF THE BEETLES was its comments on environmental issues. The environment has been a consistent theme throughout this trilogy, but it culminated in this final book. Talking about this issue in books could’ve easily come across as preachy, but M. G. Leonard presents the environmental issues in a sophisticated manner–that treats the issue as complex, but doesn’t patronise the reader.

Basically, this was a fabulous ending to a trilogy that is sure to become a children’s classic. I am so so excited for what Maya does next. If you take one thing away from this blogpost, GO READ THIS TRILOGY.