A blog recommendation for those who like science with their science fiction, plus today's new releases

I've added a new blog to my list, and vexingly, it's not showing the current post. So I wanted to just point it out a bit, because I think it's fascinating: Biology in Science Fiction.

Here are today's new releases in science fiction and fantasy for children and teenagers:

Dragonbreath, by Ursula Vernon. This is a comic book/text mix that is on my shopping list: "It’s not easy for Danny Dragonbreath to be the sole mythical creature in a school for reptiles and amphibians—especially because he can’t breathe fire like other dragons (as the school bully loves to remind him). But having a unique family comes in handy sometimes, like when his sea-serpent cousin takes Danny and his best iguana friend on a mindboggling underwater tour, complete with vomiting sea cucumbers and giant squid. It sure beats reading the encyclopedia to research his ocean report..."

Paris Pan Takes the Dare, by Cynthea Liu. "So what if it’s a rite of passage for every seventh grade girl in town to spend a night in the woods? Paris Pan only just moved here, the woods are super creepy, and she has enough weirdness to deal with in her own family. Finding out a girl died mysteriously years ago while on the Dare—right near Paris’s new house, no less—is bad enough, but the unmistakably ghostlike noises coming out of the broken-down shed at the edge of the Pan’s property? Definite deal breaker."

Simon Bloom: The Octopus Effect, by Michael Reismann Simon Bloom, The Gravity Keeper, Simon Bloom and his friends used the Book of Physics to narrowly defeat villainess Sirabetta. Now Simon’s nemesis, stuck as a helpless thirteen-year-old, wants revenge. In this exciting sequel, Simon and company must enter the mysterious undersea realm of the Order of Biology to find Sirabetta before she can restore her powers. Aided by old allies and some new ones, the kids struggle with fierce beasts, dangerous enemies, and their own evolving abilities.

YA:

Goddess Boot Camp (Oh.My. Gods), by Tera Lynn Childs. I enjoyed Oh. My. Gods considerably, and am looking forward to this sequel: "...teenage Phoebe continues to adjust to her new life on Serfopoula, the island where her stepdad runs a boarding school for the descendants of Greek gods. Phoebe still hasn’t learned to control her newly discovered divine powers, so she enters a remedial Goddess Boot Camp program. Fans of the first book will recognize the same chick-lit elements here: snappy dialogue, picture-perfect mean girls, and misunderstandings and reconciliations with a dreamy boyfriend. A mystery about Phoebe’s dad’s fate adds to the lighthearted, magic-packed fun that provides enough background for series newbies."

Me, My Elf & I, by Heather Swain. "It’s not often you see an elf in the middle of Brooklyn, let alone a tall, blond, gorgeous elf in the middle of one of the most prestigious performing arts high schools in the country. And yet, that’s just where Zephyr Addler finds herself: smack dab in the middle of a bustling New York City school, worlds away from the secluded woodland community she knows so well. But Zephyr knows that she has to figure out how to live in the world. And dress in the world. Thanks to a little friendly advice from her new friend Mercedes, Zephyr starts to get the hang of Brooklyn. That is, until Zephyr snags a role in a commercial, beating out the most popular girl in school, Bella Dartagnan. Now with Bella and her friends out to get her, can Zephyr out-maneuver the mean girls (and catch the eye of a certain cute boy) without losing herself?

Prada and Prejudice, by Mandy Hubbard. Here's one to add to my timeslip wants list. "To impress the popular girls on a high school trip to London, klutzy Callie buys real Prada heels. But trying them on, she trips…conks her head…and wakes up in the year 1815! There Callie meets Emily, who takes her in, mistaking her for a long-lost friend. As she spends time with Emily’s family, Callie warms to them—particularly to Emily’s cousin Alex, a hottie and a duke, if a tad arrogant. But can Callie save Emily from a dire engagement, and win Alex’s heart, before her time in the past is up?"

And here's one that not sci fi/fantasy, but that I have read and enjoyed and, I hope, will be reviewing tonight: When the Whistle Blows, by Fran Cannon Slayton