Surprised by how much I liked it

I am not a middle grade reader. Not even when I was middle grade aged. But this. This is good! The writing has a banter that I really enjoyed. The story starts with a boy who writes poetry and I love that. As a writer I love that especially but also because it shows poetry being done at a younger age. I love when books encourage kids to express themselves and to keep working on skill even if at first they don't succeed. The cover is a typical middle grade cover that I think will likely blend into all the over middle grade covers. That's my only issue with the cover. It looks nice but it looks like every other middle grade out there. After Harry Potter having a trio of friends is so common that it is dull now. I love a friend trio in a book but I worry it will not appeal to its intended age group. But if it gets enough hype that won't matter. Overall a great middle grade read!