Bone Jack, by Sara Crowe, for Timeslip Tuesday

I just gave Bone Jack, by Sara Crowe (Philomel Books, Feb. 2017, April 2014 in the UK)  five stars over at Goodreads, something I almost never do, not because I think it was an absolutely perfect book, but because it did what it set out to do very well indeed, and because it was a book I would have been so happy to find when I was the age of the target audience-11 -14 years old..  I loved  books in which the old stories and legends of the British Isles slipped through into the present day, with dark and dangerous consequences (books like The Owl Service, and A String in the Harp). (I still do, but a less naïvely romantic way....).  If I didn't already know better, I'd believe that Bone Jack was written back in the 1960s or 70s; it has very much the feel of so many excellent British children's books of that era. 

13 year-old Ash has won the competition to be this year's Stag Boy in a race that is now a quaint folkloric custom n his village in the north of England, but which  has dark roots--the other local boys, playing the hounds, are not expected these days to hunt the stag to his death in a ritual to renew the land,  but in the past.....It is a hard time for Ash's bit of the world--foot-and-mouth disease has wiped out the sheep, and a draught is drying up the land.  His best friend Mark's father killed himself after his sheep were slaughtered, and Ash's own father has come home from fighting in the Near East with PTSD.  

The darkness of the present calls to the past, and stirs up the old pattern.  Ash sees the ghosts of a past Stag Boy hunted till he falls from the cliff at Stag's Leap by merciless boys playing the hounds.  Bone Jack is walking the hills again, and the boundary between the past and present is slipping.  Mark, Ash's friend, will be a hound in this year's chase, but for Mark, who's now living wild in the hills, the Stag Chase has become a chance to bring his father back.  For that to happen, the Stag Boy must die.

So the story is filled with things inexplicable at first falling into an ancient grove, and the tension grows very nicely as Ash realizes that what had seemed a simple way of pleasing his father by running as the Stag Boy is turning into something that might end up with Mark trying to kill him.  He considers backing out, but he can't bring himself to do so....

It is not all mythos and ancient darkness--there are side notes of human relationships, giving Ash the opportunity for character growth, that I found moving and convincing--Ash and his mother hoping that Ash's father can come back to them, Ash's feeling of guilt from having pulled back from Mark after Mark's tragedy, Mark's little sister coping as best she can with the tragedy and now with the madness, that has overtaken her life.

I'm counting this as a time slip not because any of the main characters travel through time, but because the Past, embodied in a sense in Bone Jack, has very much awoken in the present.  The boys of the Stag Hunt long ago are perhaps ghosts, or time slipped echoes, but there is a wolf who has slipped from the past in true corporeal form, and that's good enough for me.

So if you like Celtic infused fantasy in which there isn't a Prophecy or a Chosen One or an epic struggle against a power hungry Dark Lord, but in which the tension comes from old stories manifesting in the present, you will like this one!  It might look like YA, but it isn't quite; it's being marketed as 10 and up (in the grades 4-6 slot at School Library Journal, and ages 11-13 at Kirkus), which is as it should be.  I don't know how many young Celtophiles/Anglophies there are today, but it's also a good one for kids who like horror.

My one real, strong, substantial objection to the American edition of Bone Jack is that they Americanized it, most obviously substituting "Mom" for "Mum."  Which subverts the whole point of the book being rooted in its particular, very non-American place.  And which also makes me wonder, in a suspicious and vaguely hostile way, what other changes were made for the American edition...

But in any event, Sara Crowe is now an auto-buy author for me (I think I will go with her UK editions, although I strongly prefer the American cover of this one; the UK cover is at right), and I can't wait to see what she does next.

Here's the Kirkuk Review, which more or less comes to the same conclusion as I do.

The Bone Maker, by Sarah Beth Durst

Sarah Beth Durst has been a favorite author for ages, and is among the select few whose books get a place on my bookshelf of favorite contemporary sci fi/fantasy. Here is the relevant shelf, as well as a less relevant one, with several more not shown at all:

As you can see, I have enough room on the shelf for one more of her books before I have to re-arrange.*  And that book will be The Bone Maker (Harper Voyager, March 9, 2021), her newest adult fantasy.

Kreya was the leader of a small group of heroes that defeated the evil bone maker Eklor, who had used bone magic to animate an army of murderous constructs in a bid for power.  Kreya's husband Jentt was killed in that battle.  25 years later, Kreya is desperately practicing her own bone magic in an isolated tower, following Eklor's forbidden path of using human bones to bring Jentt back to life.  The only thing holding her back is the difficulty in acquiring those bones (people in this country are cremated)--Eklor murdered and killed, but Kreya won't, and the bones she's gotten ahold of have only been enough for a few days of Jentt's life at a time.  She knows, though, where a lot of unburned bones can be found--the battleground where Eklor was defeated.  A forbidden place, guarded by soldiers, located within a deadly jungle.  

It's not a journey she can make alone, so Kreya enlists the help of one of her old companions, Zera, who has gotten fabulously wealthy from her gift of making bone talismans (which briefly grant the user gifts such as speed, strength, stealth, etc.)  What they find at the battlefield (after a difficult journey) appalls them--a new army of killer constructs.  Eklor, it seemed, wasn't defeated.  So the original group is all regathered (with Jentt brought fully back to life, at a great cost to Kreya), and they revisit the battlefield to confirm that Eklor's back.  They barely escape with their lives.

None of them have any interest in being heroes again.  

At this point, about halfway through the book, I was afraid they were going to just revisit what they did the first time, but happily the plot twisted.  And instead of being a story about fighting, it became a story in which the group have to solve a mystery.  Since I prefer to read about people thinking more than I enjoy people fighting, this made me happy!  One reason for this preference is that when people are thinking, there's also a lot more opportunity for recognition of ambiguous moral choices and interesting reflections about grief, friendship, and mindfully choosing what you want from your one wild and precious life.  Which isn't to say that there wasn't a lot happening--after all, with a mass murder megalomaniac trying for his second chance at world domination, there's a lot that happens, not much of it pleasant.

Kreya is a great, really solidly developed, character, who carries the book.  Hers is the primary pov, and the supporting cast pretty much orbits around her  (Zera gradually becomes more three dimensional, in step with her and Kreya rebuilding their friendship, which makes for nice reading, the other three guys are not as deeply explored).  The magic of bone working wins second place in book carrying--it is really nifty!  My only hesitation about the book was my unassuaged feeling of anthropological uncertainty about how the society functioned, coupled with some geographical uncertainty.   This was also the first book I've read in ages that was this long (496 pages), which is a different type of reading than I mostly do (middle grade, and old comfort reads).  But though it could perhaps have been a bit shorter for my personal taste, I was so invested in the story that nothing else was really important and I was sad to have finished.

Recommended in particular to those no longer in their first flush of youthful heroics, and fans of older women friendships that make it possible to save the day.  Fans of T. Kingfisher's books set in her fantasy world (like Clockwork Boys, and Paladin's Grace) should enjoy this one lots, as similar themes are explored.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

*back to my bookshelf--perhaps the best solution will be to move all of Pratchett to their own shelf, with lots of room to grow, because I want all the Discworld books in hardcover, and move Diana Wynne Jones to her own appropriately sized bookshelf....and that will free up a lot of space, which is good, because all the other authors (Kate Milford, Stephanie Burgis, Leah Cypess, Sage Blackwood, Rachel Neumeier, and more) are still writing new books.....(except that Sarah Crowe, the author of Bone Jack just to the right of the SBD books hasn't written anything since, sigh) and also I am slowly working on replacing ARCs with hardcopies, while keeping many of the ARCs, so there is a clear need to plan for future growth  (I hope to use part of my anticipated stimulus money on a couple of additional lally columns in the basement, to ensure that this book growth isn't too much for the poor old house...)

New releases of science fiction and fantasy for teenagers and kids, the beginning of February, 2010 edition

Here are the new releases of fantasy and science fiction books for kids and teenagers for the beginning of February. My information comes from Teens Read Too, and the blurbs are lifted from Amazon.

The Teens Read Too list includes the links from Amazon, so I have been using those to make life simpler for myself. But because Amazon is still not playing nice with Macmillan, I have gone through all the books to link any Macmillan titles to Powells instead.

ATTACK OF THE NINJA FROGS: DRAGONBREATH by Ursula Vernon. "Danny Dragonbreath knew girls were trouble. But the new foreign exchange student, Suki the Salamander, is beyond trouble. Not only has she reduced his best friend, Wendell, to a blithering, lovesick tadpole, but she’s apparently the object of an elaborate ninja frog kidnapping plot. Danny is never one to pass up an adventure (especially one involving ninja frogs), and so he and Wendell and Suki set out on a dangerous quest through the mythical Japanese bamboo forests to find out what these fearsome frogs want. Danny may not be able to breathe fire like a normal dragon, but he and Wendell have watched lots of kung fu movies and can totally take on a bunch of ninja frogs. Or, um, so he hopes..."

BETTER THAN OK: THE OK TEAM by Nick Place. "Focus and his team are Level D, Third Grade Heroeswho are finding their feet. But the bad guys have a new secret weapon—the Serum That Overly Magnifies Powers. And Focus has agreed to a Knighthood Pact without checking the fine print. Can the OK Team overcome the effect of S.T.O.M.P and survive the Knighthood Pact? Or has Hazy lost his focus for good?"

BONE HANDBOOK by Jeff Smith. "This is the ultimate handbook for every BONE fan! Includes character profiles, a timeline of events, interviews with creator Jeff Smith and colorist Steve Hamaker, a showcase of cover art from the original BONE editions, a behind-the-scenes look at how the Scholastic editions were colorized, and other fun stuff!"

DARKSOLSTICE: LYONESSE by Sam Llewellyn. "Not long ago twelve year old Idris Limpet was just an ordinary schoolboy. That was until he was taken from his home and taught to tame monsters from another world. Then he pulled a sword out of a stone. Now, he is Idris House Draco, Rightful King of the Land of Lyonesse. Rightful kings have their problems, however, and Idris has his fair share. He is an exile - hunted from his country by the evil regent Fisheagle and her wicked son Murther. Moreover, Idris's dear friend and sister Morgan has been carried off as a slave to the distant land of Aegypt.And before he can return to fight for his throne and his people, Idris must make the treacherous journey to rescue Morgan. . . . But Idris is never on his own, for as he travels, he meets a company of friends. Friends who shall become Idris's faithful Knights of the Round Table, who will raise armies and return with Idris and Morgan to challenge Fisheagle's monstrous armies and reclaim his Kingdom of Lyonesse unless it is already too late."

EXPLORER X - ALPHA by LM Preston. "For most kids, a trip to space camp is the trip of a lifetime for Aadi it was life altering. After receiving a camp immunization needed for travel to Mars, Aadi finds that the immunization is the catalyst of an insidious experiment. He realizes what is happening too late for a change of fate. The full experiment is set in motion when he and his co-pilot, Eirena, crash in a distant galaxy called Shrenas, where they change and realize the full extent of their power. This turn of events forces him to grow up quickly, accept his change, and to decide to save a world, or to do what he was trained to do dominate it. His power is coveted by the warring leaders of Shrenas, and he is forced to choose sides a decision that may prove just how much humanity he has left."

FREEFALL: TUNNELS by Brian Williams & Roderick Gordon. "DEEPER sent Will and Chester into FREEFALL-- tumbling through the subterranean Pore with the evil Rebecca twins in hot pursuit, both toting phials of the lethal Dominion virus. When, where, will they ever land?! Just when the drop seems infinite, the boys hit bottom, and find themselves in a realm of near-zero gravity atop a giant spongy fungus stuffed with artifacts from some lost golden age. But they are not alone. And above ground, black-clad Styx are sprouting like poison mushrooms, dead-set on spreading their plague!"

HAMSTER MAGIC by Holly Webb. "Eleven-year-old Lottie's magical adventures continue! She's still enchanted with her uncle's magical pet shop and loves chatting with all of the animals that live there. Her own magical abilities are growing as well. A new neighbor is in town, with magic stronger than Lottie's and a mind to make trouble. Fortunately, the pet shop's newest resident, Giles the hamster, is ready to help. Lucky for Lottie, he's bold, bossy, and incredibly brave!"

THE HIDDEN BOY: BELL HOOT FABLES by Jon Berkeley "When the Flints win the trip to Bell Hoot, they board Captain Bontoc’s Blue Moon Mobile with the expectation of a grand holiday. Then something terrible happens: Bea Flint’s little brother, Theo, disappears on the journey, and the peculiar Ledbetter clan of Bell Hoot, who call Theo the Hidden Boy, is more desperate than even Bea and her family to find him. Bea will have to trust herself and the weird and wise words of an old man called Arkadi in order to find Theo. In her search, she’ll discover that Bell Hoot is more than a vacation destination, a wish is no good unless you give it legs, and Mumbo Jumbo is much more than nonsense—it’s hidden potential that she can find within herself."

JACK: SECRET CIRCLES by F. Paul Wilson. "When his five-year-old neighbor goes missing, Jack can’t help feeling responsible. He should have taken Cody home when he found him riding his bicycle near the Pine Barrens. And then a lost man wanders out of the woods after being chased all night by...something. Jack knows, better than anyone, that the Barrens are dangerous—a true wilderness filled with people, creatures, and objects lost from sight and memory. Like the ancient, fifteen-foot-tall stone pyramid he, Weezy, and Eddie discover. Jack thinks it might have been a cage of some sort, but for what kind of animal, he can’t say. Eddie jokes that it could have been used for the Jersey Devil. Jack doesn't believe in that old folk tale, but something is roaming the Pines. Could it have Cody? And what about the strange circus that set up outside town? Could they be involved?."

THE KING IN RESERVE: THE CHRONICLES OF KRANGOR by Michael Pryor. "Queen Tayesha's plan to rule all the saur is tormenting the land itself. Earthquakes, volcanoes, and vast crevasses are threatening to tear Krangor apart. To halt the queen's plans, Adalon and his friends must rescue a young king in exile. Their mission is thrown into turmoil, however, when the mysterious and terrible A'ak redouble their efforts to return from their magical banishment. Adalon, Targesh, and Simangee must rise to challenge after challenge as their lives hang in the balance and the fate of the world rests in their claws."

KNIGHTS OF THE RUBY WAND: SECRETS OF DROON by Tony Abbott. "Oh no! The secret of Droon is a secret no longer. Eric's mother knows about the rainbow staircase . . . and what's worse, so does Gethwing. The Moon Dragon has sent his minions to the Upper World to search for a magical object that could give him power over all of Droon. Now no place is safe from Gethwing's dark magic. . . "

THE THIRTEENTH PRINCESS by Diane Zahler. "Zita is not an ordinary servant girl—she's the thirteenth daughter of a king who wanted only sons. When she was born, Zita's father banished her to the servants' quarters to work in the kitchens, where she can only communicate with her royal sisters in secret. Then, after Zita's twelfth birthday, the princesses all fall mysteriously ill. The only clue is their strangely worn and tattered shoes. With the help of her friends—Breckin the stable boy, Babette the witch, and Milek the soldier—Zita follows her bewitched sisters into a magical world of endless dancing and dreams. But something more sinister is afoot—and unless Zita and her friends can break the curse, the twelve princesses will surely dance to their deaths."

Young Adult:

CITY OF CANNIBALS by Ricki Thompson (ETA--straight historical fiction, although it's not clear from the description, but it sounds like a good one for readers of fantasy...). "It’s 1536, and Dell lives on an isolated hillside with her bitter auntie and drunken father. Father has warned Dell never to venture past her mother’s grave to the City of Cannibals. But unanswered questions plague Dell. Why did her parents leave the court of Henry VIII? Was her mother’s death really an accident? And what about the mysterious Brown Boy who leaves sacks of supplies for her family? Dell risks traveling to the City of Cannibals. Once inside London, she is not eaten alive but is confronted with a different horror—the Oath of Allegiance. If she and the Brown Boy don’t sign, they could be executed. Dell has good reason not to sign. But who can defy King Henry VIII and live?"


THE CLONE CODES by Patricia C. & Fredrick McKissack. "The Cyborg Wars are over and Earth has peacefully prospered for more than one hundred years. Yet sometimes history must repeat itself until humanity learns from its mistakes. In the year 2170, despite technological and political advances, cyborgs and clones are treated no better than slaves, and an underground abolitionist movement is fighting for freedom. Thirteen-year-old Leanna's entire life is thrown into chaos when The World Federation of Nations discovers her mom is part of the radical Liberty Bell Movement. After her mother's arrest for treason, Leanna must escape as she is chased by a ruthless bounty hunter. Soon Leanna finds herself living among the Firsts, and nothing will ever be the same again. But what does The World Federation want with the daughter of a traitor? So much is uncertain. Danger hides everywhere. Fear takes over. With help from unlikely sources, Leanna learns the origin of The Liberty Bell Movement and how its members may have answers about her past-and her new reality. As family secrets are revealed, Leanna must face startling truths about self-identity and freedom. Through time travel, advanced technologies, and artificial intelligence, this exhilarating adventure asks what it means to be human and explores the sacrifices an entire society will make to find out."



IN A HEARTBEAT by Loretta Ellsworth. "When a small mistake costs sixteen-year-old Eagan her life during a figure-skating competition, she leaves many things unreconciled, including her troubled relationship with her mother. From her vantage point in the afterlife, Eagan reflects back on her memories, and what she could have done differently, through her still-beating heart. When fourteen-year-old Amelia learns she will be getting a heart transplant, her fear and guilt battle with her joy at this new chance at life. And afterwards when she starts to feel different—dreaming about figure skating, craving grape candy—her need to learn about her donor leads her to discover and explore Eagan’s life, meeting her grieving loved ones and trying to bring the closure they all need to move on."

THE IRON KING: THE IRON FEY by Julie Kagawa. "Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined…Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school…or at home.When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart."

LEX TRENT VERSUS THE GODS by Alex Bell. "Law student Lex Trent’s world is inhabited by fearsome magicians, ageing crones and a menagerie of Gods and Goddesses. And while Lex is seemingly dedicated to his legal studies he’s always enjoyed a challenge – which is why he leads a double life as the notorious cat burglar ‘The Shadowman’ who has been (luckily) evading capture for years. But Lex’s luck is about to run out because the Goddess of Fortune has selected him to be her player in the highly dangerous Games. Losing is not an option for Lex (particularly as it so often involves dying) but can he really win each of the perilous rounds? Given that the reward for doing so is money, fame and glory – all things that Lex is quite keen on – he’s going to do whatever it takes to make sure he will... and he’s certainly got good experience of cheating."

LIGHT BENEATH FERNS by Anne Spollen. "Elizah Rayne is nothing like other fourteen-year-old girls. More interested in bird bones than people, she wraps herself in silence. Trying to escape the shadow of her gambler father, Elizah and her mother move into an old house that borders a cemetery. All her mother wants is for them to have "normal" lives. But that becomes impossible for Elizah when she finds a human jawbone by the river and meets Nathaniel, a strangely hypnotic boy who draws Elizah into his dreamlike and mysterious world.Only by forgetting everything she knows can Elizah understand the truth about Nathaniel—and discover an unimaginable secret."

NUMBERS by Rachel Ward. "Ever since she was child, Jem has kept a secret: Whenever she meets someone new, no matter who, as soon as she looks into their eyes, a number pops into her head. That number is a date: the date they will die. Burdened with such awful awareness, Jem avoids relationships. Until she meets Spider, another outsider, and takes a chance. The two plan a trip to the city. But while waiting to ride the Eye ferris wheel, Jem is terrified to see that all the other tourists in line flash the same number. Today's number. Today's date. Terrorists are going to attack London. Jem's world is about to explode!"

THE POISON EATERS AND OTHER STORIES by Holly Black. "In her debut collection, New York Times best-selling author Holly Black returns to the world of Tithe in two darkly exquisite new tales. Then Black takes readers on a tour of a faerie market and introduces a girl poisonous to the touch and another who challenges the devil to a competitive eating match. These stories have been published in anthologies such as 21 Proms, The Faery Reel, and The Restless Dead, and have been reprinted in many “Best of” anthologies. The Poison Eaters is Holly Black’s much-anticipated first collection of stories, and her ability to stare into the void—and to find humanity and humor there—will speak to young adult and adult readers alike."

POSSESSED by Kate Cann. "Rayne can't wait to start her summer job at a remote country mansion, far from the crowded, noisy London she so desperately wants to escape. But the retreat soon turns into a nightmare -- the mansion is creepy, the legends of ghosts keep Rayne up at night, and she doesn't feel safe anywhere. Can Rayne figure out why she's so freaked -- before she becomes a ghost story herself?"

RENEGADE: HELL'S UNDERGROUND by Alan Gibbons. "Paul has met his most audacious - and powerful - ancestor yet, Samuel Rector, who seemingly has the entire East End in thrall to him in the 1830s. His legion of 'rat boys' use terror and menace ordinarily, but with the demon seed inside them, their powers know no end. Their only match is Paul, the renegade, the one member of the Rector clan determined to strike each poisoned generation from the family history. But nobody is stronger than Lud, the King of London, struggling against imprisonment in his cell where the city's five gates meet."

SAVANNAH GREY: A HORROR STORY by Cliff McNish. "It's a difficult time for fifteen-year-old Savannah Grey - she's settled into her latest foster placement, but her body is acting strangely. Then other strange things begin to happen: nature, it seems, is exerting an overpowering force on the world. Birds behave erratically; gusts of wind blow leaves so fiercely they seem to lure people away. And Savannah discovers she has supernatural powers. Meanwhile, she feels drawn to the new boy Reece whose life is even stranger than hers. Quickly Savannah and Reece realise that nature has a purpose for them both. For they are on course to meet the vile and evil Ocrassa, who wants to destroy the world by corrupting nature. And it wants Savannah Grey to help realise its savage intent."

SECRETS OF THE DRAGON RIDERS: YOUR FAVORITE AUTHORS ON CHRISTOPHER PAOLINI'S INHERITANCE CYCLE

Halfway through my reading year

On Sunday I made it halfway through my reading year when I hit 250 books read (not counting picture books).  My goal is to read 500 books this year to try to make a dent in the backlog; clearly I'm going to have to pick up the pace.  It is also clear that re-reading the Betsy-Tacy books and all the books of L.M. Montgomery short stories don't help my immediate problem of tbr piles, though I enjoyed  them (especially Emily of Deep Valley, which I Love), and they were fast so added nicely to my tally.

Here's a bit of a look at some of my favorite reading thus far:

There were quite a few books in series that I was so happy to get and read--the newest Wings of Fire book, Darkness of Dragons, Emperor of Mars, by Patrick Samphire (my review),  Hamster Princess: Giant Trouble, by Ursula Vernon, Realm Breaker, by Laurie McKay, and The Reluctant Queen, by Sarah Beth Durst.  No disappointments here!

I don't often give five star reviews on Goodreads, and I mostly don't give any starts at all because of suffering existential meltdowns when thinking too hard about it.  When I give a book five stars, it's because I had no doubt--

Bone Jack, by Sarah Crowe
Train I Ride, by Paul Mosier
The Someday Birds, by Sally Pla (partly because the birdwatching made me think of my mother, so I was thinking loving thoughts all through the book...)
The Dragon with a Chocolate Heart, by Stephanie Burgis
All Birds Have Anxiety(it spoke to me)

The downside of the busy reading is that I have reviewed less this year than in years past.  And since only 28 of the 250 were off the tbr pile, there is no appreciable difference in the backlog.  But at least I am trying. 

Action plan:

Sensible and doable:

-stop requesting books from the library during breaks at work.
-pick up and start at least one tbr pile book every two days, to see if it is worth keeping.
-take the bus to work more often so I can read instead of drive (I listen to audiobooks, but that doesn't help much with my tally or my tbr problem).  Bus to work and back time--1 hour, so one book, especially if it is a good book and I go past my stop.

do-able but not sensible:

-when I leave my desk at work, take book and read it while walking to my in-work destination (my co-workers already sense I am Different, so they wouldn't bat an eyelash, but it would make me walk slower which is not fair to the People of Rhode Island who pay my salary and expect a modicum of efficiency in return).
-read while grocery shopping (this is a bad idea because while grocery shopping I look for loose change, so it would involve Financial Hardship (over $10 found this year!)
-read faster (I read fast enough; I could read faster if I tried but it would be less fun)

Not doable, but boy it would free up time:
-quit job
-give up on weeding/home renovation/cooking/communicating with my family

I am now at 257.  I can make it to 500.  There will still be piles of books, but at least the dust will have been stirred.

This week's roundup of middle grade fantasy and science fiction from around the blogs (3/19/17)

Welcome to another week of links; please let me know if I missed your post!

The Reviews

Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book, by Jennifer Donnelly, at A Backwards Story

Bone Jack, by Sara Crowe, at books4yourkids and Charlotte's Librarys

The Celestial Globe, by Marie Rutkoski, at Say What?

The Crooked Sixpence, by Jennifer Bell, at Ms. Yingling Reads and Word Spelunking

Dragonwatch: Revolt of the Dragons, by Brandon Mull, at Fantasy Literature and Cracking the Coverhttps://www.crackingthecover.com/13296/brandon-mull-dragonwatch/

The Evil Wizard Smallbone, by Delia Sherman, at Jean Little Library

The Firefly Code, by Megan Frazer Blakemore, at Geo Librarian

The Forgotten Sisters, by Shannon Hale, at Leaf's Reviews

The Girl Who Drank the Moon, by Kelly Barnhill, at Sonderbooks

Magyc, by Angie Sage, at Say What?

The Night Spinner, by Abi Elphinstone, at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books

Return Fire, by Christina Diaz, at On Starships and Dragonwings

The Secret Horses of Briar Hill, by Megan Shepherd, at Hidden in Pages

Winterling, by Sarah Prineas, at the Shannon Messenger Fan Club

The Wizard's Dilemma, by Diane Duane, at Fantasy Faction

Authors and Interviews

Eric Kahn Gale (The Wizard's Dog) at Word Spelunking

Joshuan Kahn (Shadow Magic) at Cybils

Laurel Snyder (Orphan Island) at Word Spelunking

Kandi Wyatt (Dragon's Future) at Word Spelunking

Other Good Stuff

Anne Nesbet "On Fiction, History, and Wishing the World Were Otherwise" with particular mention of A Crack in the Sea and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban at Project Mayhem

A retrospective look at ten of my favorites from the past decade for this week's Timeslip Tuesday

For the past 10 years I've been posting reviews of kids and YA time travel and time slip books on (most) Tuesdays (413 of them to date), and I thought it would be fun on this last Tuesday of 2019 that is also the decade's last day do go through the c 250 time travel books I've reviewed in these past 10 years and pick ten favorites published between Jan.1 2010 and today.

It was indeed fun to remember all the books, and it was fun in a nostalgic way to be reminded of the close-knit blogisphere I was part of back in the day (we all linked to each other's reviews, for instance...), but boy is it excruciating to be confronted with my poorly edited prose!  I dash off my posts and hit send before I can change my mind, and it shows.  I am sorry.  

It was hard to choose just ten, and I really wanted to include one from 2009 too (The Hotel Under the Sand, by Kage Baker), but I managed...The links are to my reviews.  I will try to come back tomorrow morning to add pictures (and almost certainly fix mistakes); it has gotten too late for me to do anything more right now.

Happy New Year to us all, and may the next decade bring lots more good time travel books (I have a vague sense, having read 413 time travel books, that there are more published under left leaning govenments; someday I'll crunch the numbers and find out if this is really true!) and may we fix our problems before time travelers from the future have to come interfere!

Here are my ten favorites:

The Opposite of Always, by Justin A. Reynolds (2019) YA

A suspenseful time-loop YA romance, with great characters who are excellent at lively banter.  I enjoyed it very much, and though it's well over 400 pages long, it only took a few hours to read it because the pages were turning so fast (and of course at one point they turned very quickly indeed to the end, because I had to make sure it turned out all right.  Which it does).

Time Sight, by Lynne Jonell (2019) MG

An American kid taken to his ancestors' home in Scotland finds he can travel through time...and many adventures ensue.  It has a very classic mid-20th century feel to it, in my mind, and since the best of the mid 20th century is just about my favorite sort of book, I enjoyed it lots!

Bluecrowne, by Kate Milford (2018) MG

Time travel drives the plot of this story about Greenglass House when it was young, and the two kids who lived there.  It's a beautifully visual story, with lots of tangle threads of fate and story and imagined history that get tangled-er by the time travel.

Weave a Circle Round, by Kari Maaren (2017)  billed as YA, but  upper MG to my mind

This story of a 14 year old girl getting swept up in a time-travel filled struggle between the forces of order and chaos won't be to everyone's taste; as I said in my review "the plot is nuts."  I also said "I highly recommend it to fans of Diana Wynne Jones, not because it is a DWJ read-alike, but because it has a similar chaos resolving into a mythically rooted central order/origin point.  You have to be able to tolerate chaos and not understanding things for much of the book to appreciate this one."

The Girl with the Red Balloon, by Katherine Locke (2017) YA

This one uses time travel brilliantly to make a particular piece of the past come alive (Berlin in 1988), and also to set the stage for forbidden love and a gruesome mystery!

Bone Jack, by Sara Crowe (2014 in the UK, 2017 in the US) upper MG/YA

I loved this book!  There aren't people hoping back and forth in time; it's more a matter of old stories manifesting in the present, so it's a slippage in time, not time travel...the darkness of the present calls to the past, stirring up old, deadly patterns from centuries ago.  Someday I must get a copy of the UK addition (the US edition is Americanized. Why?)


Timekeeper, by Tara Sim (2016) YA

A mystery set in an alternate world where time is actually controllable, with the help of clocktower spirits. Do try this one if you are looking for a sweet but fraught romance (especially if you're looking for an LGBTQ one).  Do try this if you think that the main character spending lots of time cleaning and repairing clockwork with the clock tower spirit helping, and falling in love while doing so, sounds interesting. 

The Devil's Intern, by Donna Hosie (2014) YA

Time travel from Hell (literally).  The premise is riveting, the characters are great and nicely snarky when snark is called for, the writing is crisp and tight (it's under 300 pages), and the time travel is really cool.

The Four Seasons of Lucy McKenzie, by Kirsty Murray (2013 in Australia, 2014 in the US) MG

I'm not alone in thinking this gentle time travel story, in which the past helps a young girl come to peace with her present is lovely; it was an Aurealis Award winner.  If you are at all a fan of Tom's Midnight Garden, you must read it.  If you are a fan of intergenerational friendships, read it.  if you like lovely descriptions of beautiful places, and kids being kids, read it.

Tilly's Moonlight Garden, by Julia Green (The Moonlight Fox in the UK) (2012) MG

This one drives home the point that this is a list of  what I enjoyed most, and not of "the best" by however you want to define best.  It's a dreamy sort of story of a girl finding distraction from her real life worries in time-slipping into a moonlight garden where she meets a strange girl who becomes her friend.

My top books of 2017

In 2017, I took part for the first time in the Goodreads reading challenge, setting myself a goal of 500 books.  My previous top total in the five years I've kept track was 324, so it was ambitious, but I wanted to be pushed to get some of the tbr shelves actually read.  I ended up having read 466, of which 6 were picture books that I didn't count for the challenge.  And I only read about ten from the tbr shelves, so it was pointless in that regard.  So the only thing to do, of course, is to read 501 books in 2018.

Here are the books I read for the first time that I liked best.  My criteria for "liking best" is a book that I can imagine re-reading (links go to my reviews).  The books are in the order in which I read them.

Realm Breaker (Last Dragon Charmer 3), by Laurie McKay.  I hope there are more to come in this very fun series, and I can imagine starting at the beginning in preparation for book 4...fingers crossed!

Thick as Thieves, by Megan Whalen Turner, because she repays re-reading awfully much.

Bone Jack, by Sara Crowe, I don't feel an immediate need to re-read, because it is all still so clear and vivid in my mind.  But I will want to someday, I'm sure.

What Goes Up, by Katie Kennedy It was both funny and tense, and in a re-read the tense is less so and you get to enjoy the fun more!

Paladin of Souls, by Lois McMaster Bujold.  I hadn't read any of her books before this year, and I loved this one in particular!  I'll probably be reading it again sooner rather than later, because I listened to it, and want to experience it as text as well.

The Emperor of Mars, by Patrick Samphire.  Another I'll want to re-read to prepare myself for a much hoped for book 3!

The Reluctant Queen, by Sarah Beth Durst.  ditto!

Winter of Ice and Iron, by Rachel Neumeier.  I already want to go back to this world and read it again and it's only been a few months.  I also want to read it in finished hardcover form, because the printing of the ARC I read was mangled in places (whole paragraphs with no spaces between the words), and I think I will enjoy it unmangled even more. Also I know the ending now, which is so much more relaxing.

It was a slightly odd reading year for me in that a lot of the books I read I didn't pick because I thought I'd like them--I wrote quite a few list posts for the Barnes and Noble Kids Blog, which meant basically trying to read all the middle grade fiction of 2017.  I read a lot of middle grade and YA fantasy and science fiction for my own enjoyment, and lots of those books were very good, but there were surprisingly few that I will give shelf space to. I hope my 2018 list of to be re-reads is longer! 

And just as a postscript, here's the most interesting non-fiction book I read in 2017--The Buried Book: The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh  It didn't have much competition, because I didn't read much interesting non-fiction, but I'm glad I read this one! I picked it up because Thick as Thieves made me think of Gilgamesh and Enkidu, and I realized I didn't actually know that much about Gilgamesh.  And now that I do, I have another reason for wanting to re-read T. as T....

This week's Middle Grade fantasy/sci fi round-up (6/30/13)

This is the last round-up I will pull together from Google Reader (waily waily).   After doing this 185 times using Google Reader, I have it down to an efficient system, and I am very worried about trying to do it with Bloglovin.   But hope on, hope ever...and let me know if my efficient system failed to find your post this week!

The Reviews

The 13 Clocks, by James Thurber, at Seven Miles of Steel Thistles

The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, by Terry Pratchett, at Charlotte's Library

The Apprentices, by Maile Meloy, at Waking Brain Cells

The Borrowers Afloat, by Mary Norton, at Tor

The Cloak Society, by Jeramey Kraatz, at Project Mayhem (giveaway)

The Cypher (Guardians, Inc. 1), by Julian Rosado-Machin at The Write Path

Doll Bones, by Holly Black, at Sonderbooks

The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens, at Deb A. Marshall

The Hero's Guide to Storming the Castle, by Christopher Healy, at Kid Lit Geek

Hollow Earth, and Hollow Earth: Bone Quill, by John and Carole E. Barrowman, at Nerdophiles

Jack Templar and the Monster Hunter Academy, by Jeff Gunhus, at Mother Daughter Son Book Reviews

Lair of the Serpent, by T. Lynn Adams, at Geo Librarian

The Last Synapsid, by Timothy Mason, at Time Travel Times Two

The Magician's Tower, by Shawn Thomas Odyssey, at Geo Librarian

The Mouse with the Question Mark Tail, by Richard Peck, at Becky's Book Reviews

Odessa Again, by Dana Reinhardt, at Becky's Book Reviews and Charlotte's Library

Pegasus--The Flame of Olympus, by Kate O'Hearn, at My Precious

Pi in the Sky, by Wendy Mass, at Abby the Librarian and Charlotte's Library

Playing with Fired, by Bruce Hale, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Prairie Thief, by Melissa Wiley, at Secrets & Sharing Soda

Rules for Ghosting, by A.J. Paquette, at Akossiwa Ketoglo

Sidekicked, by John David Anderson, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The School For Good and Evil, by Soman Chainani, at A Backwards Story (giveaway)

The Summer of Moonlight Secerts, by Danette Haworth, at Akossiwa Ketoglo

The Water Castle, by Megan Frazer Blakemore, at Waking Brain Cells and The Book Smugglers

Winterling, by Sarah Prineas, at Candace's Book Blog

The Whizz Pop Chocolate Shop, by Kate Saunders, at Jen Robinson's Book Page

And three short reviews (Thrice Upon a Marrigold, The Menagerie, and The Fellowship for Alien Detection) at In Bed With Books

Authors and Interviews

Soman Chainani (The School for Good and Evil) at A Backwards Story


Other Good Stuff

I put up a call for help last Friday--I would very much like to know how one can keep current with MG and YA fantasy/Sci Fi releases in the UK, and indeed in all countries where books in English are published.    Here's the post with the useful links I know of so far....more are welcome!

Top ten horror stories for junior high readers, at The Nerdy Book Club

And a beautiful (mostly) middle grade fantasy giveaway at Random Musings of a Bibliophile

Even though I don't actually love McDonalds, per se, I am tickled to pieces by this Hello Kitty meets Fairy Tales promotion (which happened in Singapore, and is now over...). This is Hello Kitty meets "The Singing Bone."

Read more at Once Upon a Blog

(not middle grade, but I have an ARC of Proxy, by Alex London, to giveaway courtesy of the publisher here, just in case anyone's interested....)

New Releases of Science Fiction and Fantasy for Teenagers and Kids--the beginning of May, 2010 edition

Happy May Day! Happy Free Comic Book Day! Happy (?) add even more books to your tbr list day! Never since I started doing new release posts have so many books I want to read all come out in one week....the last Charlie Bone book, a new Sisters Grimm book, the sequel to Wings, the third Gone book, a new Mette Ive Harrison book, and tons of new ones...

My information comes from the new release list at Teens Read Too, and the blurbs, unless otherwise noted, are from the publishers, generally via Amazon.

CHARLIE BONE AND THE RED KNIGHT: CHILDREN OF THE RED KING by Jenny Nimmo. "Charlie and his friends take on the most powerful and dangerous magic in Book Eight of this extraordinary series. As wicked forces come to a head at Bloor's Academy, Charlie and his friends must use all their magic and all their might to fight the evil and save Charlie's parents. In his greatest adventure yet, Charlie must discover the fate of his family, the evil intentions of the Bloors, what has become of Septimus Bloor's will, and, most important, the destiny of the Red King's heirs. But are the Children of the Red King strong enough to defeat the darkness to find the answers? Join Charlie and his friends as they race to unlock the mystery of the Red King in this final chapter."

CROSSING OVER: SUDDENLY SUPERNATURAL by Elizabeth Cody Kimmel Medium-in-training Kat Roberts is one year older and feeling a whole lot wiser when it comes to healing the living dead. But when her spirit-seeing mother volunteers to chaperone her class trip to Old Montreal, Kat's problems become drop dead-serious. From dealing with French-Canadian ghosts to trying to win the heart of her former bio lab partner and top-secret crush, Kat is finding beaucoup drama on this border and boundary-crossing adventure.

DARK LIFE by Kat Falls. Set in an apocalyptic future where rising oceans have swallowed up entire regions and people live packed like sardines on the dry land left, DARK LIFE is the harrowing tale of underwater pioneers who have carved out a life for themselves in the harsh deep-sea environment, farming the seafloor in exchange for the land deed. The story follows Ty, who has lived his whole life on his family's homestead and has dreams of claiming his own stake when he turns eighteen. But when outlaws' attacks on government supply ships and settlements threaten to destroy the underwater territory, Ty finds himself in a fight to stop the outlaws and save the only home he has ever known. Joined by a girl from the Topside who has come subsea to look for her prospector brother, Ty ventures into the frontier's rough underworld and begins to discover some dark secrets to Dark Life. As Ty gets closer to the truth, he discovers that the outlaws may not be the bloodthirsty criminals the government has portrayed them as. And that the government abandoning the territory might be the best thing for everyone, especially for someone like Ty, someone with a Dark Gift."

THE DEAD END by Mimi McCoy. "Casey Slater can’t believe her bad luck. It’s the summer before seventh grade, and instead of the perfect vacation she’d planned with her best friend, Casey is in a remote country town, where her parents are restoring an old, creaky, creepy house. Worst of all, everyone else in town thinks the old house is haunted. And soon Casey thinks so, too -- a vase explodes, a heavy china cabinet falls over on its own -- and it seems like the ghost doesn’t want them there. Casey thought she’d be dying of boredom, but now she’s scared to death!"

FELIX TAKES THE STAGE: THE DEADLIES by Kathryn LaskyThe Deadlies are like any other family with a loving mother and bright, rambunctious children. Except they're spiders. Really, really poisonous ones. But Edith and her children are kind and cultured. In fact, the Deadlies had been happily living in a symphony hall until Edith's son, Felix, had a . . . misunderstanding with the maestro. Now they're on the hunt for a new home. That is, if they can outwit the overzealous arachnologists and evil exterminators on their tail. Will they ever find a place to live in peace?

HOME OF THE BRAVE: SLUGGERS by Phil Bildner & Loren Long The final book of a magical baseball series (sorry I couldn't find a blurb on-line! Or a picture the right size).

THE INSIDE STORY: THE SISTERS GRIMM by Michael BuckleyAfter the shocking ending of The Everafter War, this book picks up with Sabrina, Daphne, and Puck stuck in the Book of Everafter, where all the fairy tales are stored and enchanted characters can change their destinies. The girls (and Puck) must chase the Master through a series of stories, where they’re willing to change what they need in order to save their baby brother. Soon, however, they are confronted by the Editor—the book’s guardian—who, along with an army of tiny monsters known as Revisers, threatens the children with dire consequences if they don’t stick to the stories. As they chase their quarry and dodge the Revisers, they meet Alice, Mowgli, Jack the Giant Killer, Hansel and Gretel, the Headless Horseman, and more. But will they find their brother in time?

LOST TALES OF GA'HOOLE: GUARDIANS OF GA'HOOLEby Kathryn LaskyGuided by the Knower, Otulissa has studied long in the libraries of the Others; she has probed the ancient lore of the strange and powerful dire wolves of the Beyond. And at the Great Ga'Hoole tree itself she has uncovered secret histories of Guardians she thought she knew well! Attention Dear Reader! Great mysteries will be revealed to the attuned mind in these last Lost Tales of the Great Tree! Otulissa embarks on a journey to revitalize academic vigor and historical interest at the Great Tree. Lost Tales of Ga'Hoole is the result of her labor. In finding and compiling these tales previously lost to the annals of Ga'Hoolian history, she composes her magnum opus. Otulissa tells the never-before-known tales of minor and invented characters in the world of Ga'Hoole. They contain new information about the owls, dire wolves, and other creatures of Ga'Hoole, but always refer back to the world and overarching storyline that readers of the series have come to love.

MOLLY MOON & THE MORPHING MYSTERY by Georgia Byng. "Molly Moon is back! Not only can she hypnotize anyone who crosses her path, travel through time and read minds, now she has a new power: morphing! From human to animal and back again, Molly must find her way back to her own body—and save the world while she’s at it—before it’s too late. In this fifth book in the wildly popular Molly Moon series, Molly is braver than ever before."

PUPPET MASTER by Joanne Owen. "From riches to rags, Milena is growing up in the city of Prague at the turn of the 20th century. Her parents' once prosperous theater lies in disrepair, and her life seems to be in ruins since the fateful night her father died in a tragic accident and her beautiful, talented mother went missing. Milena has never lost hope that her mother will come back. The day she meets the flamboyant Puppet Master and his menacing twin protégés, Zdenko and Zdenka, under the shadow of Prague's famous Astronomical Clock in the Old Town square, is, coincidentally, the date of her mother's birthday. It's also the day Milena's grandmother chooses to reveal to he the story of her ancestors—and of her legacy. Perhaps it's not such a coincidence?"

THE PYRAMID OF SOULS: MAGICKEEPERS by Erica Kirov. "It was stolen from Alexander the Great. To keep it safe, Edgar Allen Poe bargained away his sanity. And somebody suckered P. T. Barnum to get their hands on it. It's the most closely guarded secret in the magician community. And it's missing. What would you do to protect your family from an ancient pyramid capable of stealing your very soul? Nick Rostov finally has the life he's always dreamed-and he'll do anything to protect it. Nick has only now discovered he is part of an extended Russian family of magicians: the Magickeepers. He lives with his eccentric new relatives at the Winter Palace Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, where they perform daring feats of magic to a packed house. Real magic. But Nick and his family face a new danger in the form of a stolen relic, the Pyramid of Souls. The tiny pyramid has traded hands many times throughout history. Its power can steal a magician's very soul. Nick knows who took it: Rasputin, leader of the Shadowkeepers. Using his unique ability as a Gazer-one who can see into the past-Nick enlists his cousin Isabella to help him find it. Soon, the two are hot on the evil sorcerer's trail...until Isabella's soul is trapped by the very relic they're trying to find. Nick will do anything to rescue Isabella and recover the Pyramid of Souls. But will it be enough to save his family?"

RABBIT MAGICby Holly Webb. "Lottie has discovered an unhappy rabbit at Netherbridge's other pet shop (the non-magical one). He seems to have budding magical abilities, but can't possibly express them in his tiny, dingy cage. Lottie is determined to rescue him! Jealous of Lottie's new interest in rabbits, her dachshund, Sophie, sulks and runs away from home. If that wasn't enough, a startling dream means big changes. Lottie's long-lost father is still alive--and he's headed for Netherbridge!"

THE RED PYRAMID: THE KANE CHRONICLES by Rick Riordan. "Since their mother’s death, Carter and Sadie have become near strangers. While Sadie has lived with her grandparents in London, her brother has traveled the world with their father, the brilliant Egyptologist, Dr. Julius Kane. One night, Dr. Kane brings the siblings together for a "research experiment" at the British Museum, where he hopes to set things right for his family. Instead, he unleashes the Egyptian god Set, who banishes him to oblivion and forces the children to flee for their lives. Soon, Sadie and Carter discover that the gods of Egypt are waking, and the worst of them--Set--has his sights on the Kanes. To stop him, the siblings embark on a dangerous journey across the globe--a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family, and their links to a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs."

TALES FROM THE ODYSSEY by Mary Pope Osborne. "Brave Odysseus is far from home, tossed by stormy seas, and cursed by an angry one-eyed giant. If he ever wants to see his family again, he will have to face hungry cannibals, outwit a beautiful witch, and sail past a six-headed serpent. And when he finally does return home, he will have yet more dangerous enemies to face. His journey is the ultimate test of endurance and courage."

THIS TOTALLY BITES! by Ruth Ames. "Twelve-year-old Emma-Rose Paley has always felt different from her bubbly, outgoing parents. Unlike them, Emma-Rose has pale skin and jet-black hair, is quiet and moody, and prefers gray weather to sunshine. She also hates the taste of garlic, has very sharp incisors, and loves rare burgers. When Emma-Rose uncovers a dark family secret, she has a sudden revelation. Could Emma-Rose be a real, live vampire?"

TORTILLA SUNby Jennifer Cervantes. "When twelve-year-old Izzy discovers a beat-up baseball marked with the words 'Because magic' while unpacking in yet another new apartment, she is determined to figure out what it means. What secrets does this old ball have to tell? Her mom certainly isn't sharing any especially when it comes to Izzy's father, who died before Izzy was born. But when she spends the summer in her Nana's remote New Mexico village, Izzy discovers long-buried secrets that come alive in an enchanted landscape of watermelon mountains, whispering winds, and tortilla suns."


Young Adult (sorry,YA fans--I ran out of steam on the pictures...)

ANXIOUS HEARTS by Tucker Shaw “Evangeline,” he repeated, calling at a whisper. “Evangeline.” He was not calling that she may hear, he was calling that somehow her soul might know that he was devoted entirely to her, only to her. “Evangeline, I will find you.” Eva and Gabe explore the golden forest of their seaside Maine town, unknowingly tracing the footsteps of two teens, Evangeline and Gabriel, who once lived in the idyllic wooded village of Acadia more than one hundred years ago. On the day that Evangeline and Gabriel were be wed, their village was attacked and the two were separated. And now in the present, Gabe has mysteriously disappeared from Eva. A dreamlike, loose retelling of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s famous love poem “Evangeline,” Anxious Hearts tells an epic tale of unrequited love and the hope that true love can be reunited."

THE DAYKEEPER'S GRIMOIRE: PROPHECY OF DAYS by Christy Raedeke. "When her safe-cracker mom and code-breaker dad inherit a dreary Scottish castle, sixteen-year-old Caity Mac Fireland is not happy. Ripped from her cushy life and friends in San Francisco, Caity’s secret fantasy of being discovered by a Hollywood agent, talent scout, or even just a pageant coach seems more unlikely than ever. But when Caity stumbles across a hidden room in the castle, its walls covered in strange symbols, her life takes a bizarre turn. She finds herself center stage in an international conspiracy involving warring secret societies, assassins, the suppressed revelations of the Mayan Calendar and the year 2012, plus the fate of humanity.With the help of her friend Justine back home, and Alex, a gorgeous and mysterious Scottish boy, Caity must race to decipher the code and reveal its message to the world before time runs out."

THE ELIJAH PROJECT by Bill Myers. "Previously published as four separate books, the exciting series, which has sold almost 15,000 copies, can now be found in one low-priced volume. In The Elijah Project, Zach and Piper aren’t the only ones to notice their little brother Elijah’s supernatural gifts. Something evil also is paying attention, and the children must draw strength from heaven while being pursued by the powers of darkness."

FLECKS OF GOLD by Alicia Buck. "Mary Margaret is not the type of girl to fall in love, especially after seeing what a string of bad relationships has done to her mother. That's why it's so weird when Mary finds herself strangely attracted to Kelson, a guy at her new school. It's almost . . . unnatural. What she doesn't know is that she's been put under a spell. And when Kelson kidnaps Mary's mother and takes her to his home world, Mary will have to rescue her by relying on something she never knew existed, magic. Flecks of Gold is an enchanting blend of fantasy, action, and even a little romance."

FIRE WILL FALL by Carol Plum-Ucci. "Scott, Owen, Cora, and Rain are the Trinity Four, teen survivors of a bioterrorist attack in Trinity Falls, New Jersey, that has left them famous in People magazine but also seriously ill and sequestered in a remote compound, where they receive intensive medical care and wait for the terrorists who planned the attack to be apprehended. The Four alternate narration, along with two other teen spies, also ill and hidden in another location, who hack into chat rooms and collect information on the terrorists. This thriller’s pacing is slow, considering the multiple narrators, the promising premise, and the elements of danger and espionage. Most of the story takes place over a few days in the spring following 9/11. After security is breached, and the hackers are announced dead in a house fire, figuring out whom to trust gets harder for everyone, including the reader, and the narrative picks up speed."

HAWKSMAID: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ROBIN HOOD AND MAID MARIAN by Kathryn Lasky. "Before she was Maid Marian, she was Matty...Matty has been raised to dance well, embroider exquisitely, and marry nobly. But when Matty's mother is murdered before her very eyes and her father, a nobleman, is reduced to poverty, Matty's life changes. As the daughter of Nottingham's most famous falconer, she finds a new destiny in the hawks her father keeps. She begins to understand their thoughts and even speak their language. The beautiful merlin Marigold becomes Matty's closest winged companion and her fiercest ally. It is a treacherous time in England. The sheriff of Nottingham is rising to power, and a true king has been kidnapped. Determined to fight, Matty's friend Fynn becomes Robin Hood. As Maid Marian, Matty joins Fynn and his Merry Men, famously robbing from the rich to give to the poor."

JEKEL LOVES HYDE by Beth Fantaskey. "Jill Jekel has always obeyed her parents' rules--especially the one about never opening the mysterious, old box in her father's office. But when her dad is murdered, and her college savings disappear, she's tempted to peek inside, as the contents might be the key to a lucrative chemistry scholarship.To improve her odds, Jill enlists the help of gorgeous, brooding Tristen Hyde, who has his own dark secrets locked away. As the team of Jekel and Hyde, they recreate experiments based on the classic novel, hoping not only to win a prize, but to save Tristen's sanity. Maybe his life. But Jill's accidental taste of a formula unleashes her darkest nature and compels her to risk everything--even Tristen's love--just for the thrill of being...bad."

THE KEEPERS' TATTOO by Gill Arbuthnott. "Ten years ago, Alaric, leader of the Shadowmen, killed most of the Keepers--teachers of ancient knowledge that threatened his barbaric rule. Young Kit was captured, but his twin sister, Nyssa, escaped. Only later will she learn that both she and her lost brother bear the secret words of their people: three lines each of strange, unintelligible writing tattooed on their scalps. Now the Shadowmen are on the attack again, determined to quell a growing rebellion. Nyssa must find her brother, and together they must unlock the meaning--the power--behind the mysterious words."

LIES: A GONE NOVELby Michael Grant. "It's been seven months since all the adults disappeared. Gone. It happens in one night. A girl who died now walks among the living; Zil and the Human Crew set fire to Perdido Beach; and amid the flames and smoke, Sam sees the figure of the boy he fears the most: Drake. But Drake is dead. Sam and Caine defeated him along with the Darkness—or so they thought. As Perdido Beach burns, battles rage: Astrid against the Town Council; the Human Crew versus the mutants; and Sam against Drake, who is back from the dead and ready to finish where he and Sam left off. And all the while deadly rumors are raging like the fire itself, spread by the prophetess Orsay and her companion, Nerezza. They say that death is a way to escape the FAYZ. Conditions are worse than ever and kids are desperate to get out. But are they desperate enough to believe that death will set them free?"

LITTLE VAMPIRE WOMEN by Louisa May Alcott & Lynn Messina"Christmas wont be Christmas without any corpses." The dear, sweet March sisters are back, and Marmee has told them to be good little women. Good little vampire women, that is. That's right: Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy have grown up since you last read their tale, and now they have (much) longer lives and (much) more ravenous appetites. Marmee has taught them well, and so they live by an unprecedented moral code of abstinence . . . from human blood. Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy must learn to get along with one another, help make society a better place, and avoid the vampire hunters who pose a constant threat to their existence. Plus, Laurie is dying to become a part of the March family, at any cost. Some things never change."

LIVING OUTSIDE THE LINES by Lesley Choyce. "Nigel is a 16-year-old high school student who writes a class assignment about a world in which teenagers become the leading actors in society, politically, economically, socially and medically. Unexpectedly, a publisher expresses interest, the book is published, and very quickly Nigel becomes an unwitting celebrity, subject to praise and sometimes violent opposition. Nigel’s a loner, not a social animal, and to his surprise a mysterious new classmate fastens onto him - and strongly encourages him to complete his novel. Where she’s from is unknown, but Michelle is beautiful and intelligent and as it turns out, from the future, and the book Nigel’s written has become in her time a guidebook for the youth of her day. Complicating Nigel’s life is the fact that Michelle has to return to her own time—and it’s left to him to decide whether he must say goodbye to her forever or else join her in the future. If he does, he can never return to his own world, in a time where teenagers remain outside the realms of power and control."

THE ODYSSEY: ALL-ACTION CLASSICS by Homer. "Welcome the next entry in the fabulously received and brilliantly created ALL-ACTION CLASSICS series. The brainchild of former Marvel Comics artist Ben Caldwell, these graphic novels are the freshest, coolest approach to the classics ever. Each one takes a famous work of fiction and translates it into a kid-friendly comic book narrative—with full-color illustrations and a fast-paced tone that will have even reluctant readers flying through. Shipwrecks, angry gods, magical lands, beautiful nymphs, and siren songs: this vivid retelling of Homer’s legendary Greek epic follows Odysseus on his long, arduous journey home from Ithaca after the fall of Troy. Done in comic-book style, it features the highest-energy kid-grabbing details and plot twists, all dramatized in brilliant, action-packed images. It’s the perfect way to introduce kids and fans of graphic novels to one of literature’s great works."

PICTURE THE DEAD by Adele Griffin & Lisa Brown. "A ghost will find his way home. Jennie Lovell's life is the very picture of love and loss. First she is orphaned and forced to live at the mercy of her stingy, indifferent relatives. Then her fiancé falls on the battlefield, leaving her heartbroken and alone. Jennie struggles to pick up the pieces of her shattered life, but is haunted by a mysterious figure that refuses to let her bury the past. When Jennie forms an unlikely alliance with a spirit photographer, she begins to uncover secrets about the man she thought she loved. With her sanity on edge and her life in the balance, can Jennie expose the chilling truth before someone-or something-stops her? Against the brutal, vivid backdrop of the American Civil War, Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown have created a spellbinding mystery where the living cannot always be trusted and death is not always the end."

THE PRINCE OF MIST by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. "It's war time, and the Carver family decides to leave the capital where they live and move to a small coastal village where they've recently bought a home. But from the minute they cross the threshold, strange things begin to happen. In that mysterious house still lurks the spirit of Jacob, the previous owners' son, who died by drowning. With the help of their new friend Roland, Max and Alicia Carver begin to explore the strange circumstances of that death and discover the existence of a mysterious being called the Prince of Mist--a diabolical character who has returned from the shadows to collect on a debt from the past. Soon the three friends find themselves caught up in an adventure of sunken ships and an enchanted stone garden--an adventure that will change their lives forever."

THE PRINCESS AND THE SNOWBIRD by Mette Ivie Harrison. "She is the headstrong daughter of the hound and the bear, heir to all her royal parents' magic and able to transform at will into any animal she wishes. He is an outcast, a boy without magic, determined to make his way in the forest beholden to no one. Though Liva and Jens are as different as night and day, from the time their paths first cross they are irresistibly drawn to one another. Each wrestles with demons: Liva with the responsibility that comes with the vast magic she's inherited, Jens with the haunting memories he's left behind. Separately, they keep a lookout for each other and for the immense snowbird whose appearances signify a dark event on the horizon. When a terrible threat surfaces, Liva and Jens set out in an attempt to protect all they hold dear. Much is at stake—for while their failure could spell an end to all magic, their success could bring them together at last."

THE REASON: GHOST HUNTRESS by Marley Gibson. "It’s not everyday you have a premonition of your own demise. But two months after Kendall had a vision of her own death, all is well in her world. Maybe some cosmic wires got crossed. Then Kendall gets a request by the mayor of Radisson to investigate the mayoral manor. Emily and Loreen warn her against it: This spirit is dangerous. But not even they can see just how dangerous. But during the aftermath of her run-in with the spirit Kendall learns a life-shattering secret. Now Kendall has an even bigger problem. Somehow, she’s got to pull her life together if she wants to cleanse the mayor’s mansion and bring peace to the home—and herself."

SHADE by Jeri Smith-Ready. "Best. Birthday. Ever. At least, it was supposed to be. With Logan's band playing a critical gig and Aura's plans for an intimate after-party, Aura knows it will be the most memorable night of her boyfriend's life. She never thought it would be his last. Logan's sudden death leaves Aura devastated. He's gone. Well, sort of. Like everyone born after the Shift, Aura can see and hear ghosts. This mysterious ability has always been annoying, and Aura had wanted nothing more than to figure out why the Shift happened so she can undo it. But not with Logan's violet-hued spirit still hanging around. Because dead Logan is almost as real as ever. Almost. It doesn't help that Aura's new friend Zachary is so understanding--and so very alive. His support means more to Aura than she cares to admit. As Aura's relationships with the dead and the living grow ever complicated, so do her feelings for Logan and Zachary. Each holds a piece of Aura's heart...and clues to the secret of the Shift."

SPELLS by Aprilynne Pike. "In this second installment of a series that started with the best-selling Wings (2009), Laurel, who recently discovered she is a faerie, finds herself completely immersed in her new world when she begins studies at the Academy at Avalon. There she can spend more time with Tam, the faerie who is hopelessly in love with her, and also learn about the benefits and burdens her heritage entails. But the action really begins when she returns home. The trolls that stalked her in the previous book are more dangerous than ever, and this time Laurel is not the only one being targeted. Pike astutely mixes these breathtaking events with the real meat of the story: the angst and uncertainty Laurel feels as she tries to combine—and sometimes keep separate—her two lives. At the heart of that conundrum is the affection she feels for both her earthly love, David, and the deliciously different Tam. Mixing a little bit of Harry Potter and a lot of Twilight (Team David! Team Tam!), Pike has hit on a winning combination. Yet it is her own graceful take on life inside Avalon that adds a shimmering patina sure to enthrall readers." (Booklist)

TAURUS EYES: STAR CROSSED by Bonnie Hearn Hill. "Having been accepted into the summer writing camp in Monterey, CA, Logan worked so hard for in Aries Rising, she is on her way to becoming a real published author! She needs to impress the camp’s instructor, Henry Jaffa, a renowned journalist, paranormal investigator, and fellow Aquarian, whom she hopes will see the promise in her writing and become her mentor. But when Logan is stuck writing about an obscure folk singer Sean Baylor, whose spirit is rumored to be haunting the quaint seaside town, she is not sure that she will be able to complete her assignment. Will Logan be able to utilize her knowledge of the planets to impress Henry Jaffa, work through her romantic tug-of-war with the camp brooding bad boy Jeremy, solve the mystery of Sean Baylor’s death, all while competing with the overachieving writers for the coveted spots in the camp’s anthology?"

VAMPIRE RISING: ALEX VAN HELSING by Jason Henderson. "Trouble seems to follow Alex Van Helsing wherever he goes. First, the 14-year-old got kicked out of school for fighting. Then, after being transferred to Switzerland’s Glenarvon Academy, he slays what appears to be a vampire in the surrounding woods. And he swears none of it has anything to do with his famous vampire-hunter surname. Right. Soon Alex’s English teacher reveals that he is part of the Polidorium, a stealth quasi-military vampire-tracking organization with its eye on the Icemaker—a vampire clan lord who, incidentally, is actually the poet Lord Byron. It all has something to do with the backstory to Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, and Alex’s Da Vinci Code–style digging for historical clues is the plot’s high point. If there’s a low point, it’s probably the action-movie assault on the Scholomance (“an MIT for vampires”), but even that is invigorated by likable teen heroes with believable interests (one loves vampire lore, the other manga)." (Booklist)

WHAT CURIOSITY KILLS: THE TURNING by Helen Ellis. "Nobody can know your secret. Nobody can know your power. But if nobody knows who you are to begin with...what's stopping you? I whisper, "What's so special about me all of a sudden?" Nick says, "The Turning." Mary feels different, but can't explain why. The fainting, the strange cravings...and worse, the things she's noticed about her body. Mary doesn't know where to turn. If she tells her parents or her sister, she'll risk losing everything. She has no other family, no way of knowing if what she's going through is normal. Everyone she's ever known and loved could reject her..."

WHITE CAT: THE CURSE WORKERS by Holly Black. "Cassel comes from a family of curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail -- he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago. Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen."


And then there are two new releases that I've added to my list just because they sound so interesting:
SCARRED HEARTS by Max Blecher and STOLEN by Lucy Christopher