Great writing, definitely a bit too involved for newcomers.

I have no familiarity with the parent series to this spin-off. This read as very involved and the introductory portion didn't do much to explain or guide me into the proceedings. I really felt, while reading, that I have to check out the author's earlier works to "get" this. The high action and fun descriptions do seem well suited to middle grade though, and there should definitely be more action/adventure-oriented books out there of which this seems to be one. I do think it reads a little older than I expected for middle grade though, it feels more like a YA novel.