Charlotte's Library: 12/01/2022

12/19/22

The books my loved ones are getting for Christmas

Here are the books my loved ones are getting for Christas this year! (my sister no longer reads my blog, as mg fantasy/sci fi isn't her thing which is fine, so I can include her. My other sister and her family are in the Netherlands, and not coming this year, so no books for them).

For my oldest (now 22)

Housekeeping, by Marilynne Robinson (a request--this was much loved required reading in high school that I didn't buy at time, and I have been urged to read it too)

Parable of the Sower, by Octavia Butler (a lucky booksale find--I need to read it too!)

Babel, by R.F. Kuang (also one I want to read)

For my youngest (now 19)

Elric of Melniboné: The Elric Saga Part 1 (1) by Michael Moorcock (a request, and the book I was most reluctant to spend my money on. I tried really hard to read it myself back in the 1980s, and just could not.)

History in 100 Numbers, by Joel Levy (he likes learning things, and it was a booksale find)

The Wordhord: Daily Life in Old English, by Hana Videen (the one book I got for him that I want to read too!)

For my sister

A Picnic in the Shade, by Rosemary Edisford (a lovely copy of a scarce mid 20th century book that sounded good; she will also get the pleasure of adding it to goodreads)

Janet, Her Winter in Quebec, and Janet at Odds, by Anna Chapin Ray (early 20th century girls books there were on her wish list)

For my sister (and me too)

Once Upon a Tome, by Oliver Darkshire (we like books about bookselling)

Run Sheep Run, by Bob and Jan Young (we like vintage books and saw the cover of this one and made fun of it just two weeks ago and then I found it in a used bookstore this past weekend, so it will make her laugh when she opens it and we might well enjoy it too. I will let her be the one to add it to goodreads)

For my nephew (also 19)

Shuna's Journey, by Miyazaki (beautiful graphic novels by favorite film makers seem a safe pick for the less committed reader....)

For my mother

Beartown, by Fredrik Backman (with reservations--she loves his earlier books, but this one apparently is darker, so maybe she won't like it, but I snagged it like new from a little free library, leaving something in its place of course, so it is no loss if she doesn't want to read it and I have other presents for her)

Here, mostly of interest to me but in case you need ideas for younger kids, are 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018

12/18/22

The Jewish middle grade fantasy books of 2022

Happy Hanukkah! Jewish middle grade fantasy is pretty thin on the ground, but this year was the best ever, with four books (that I know of).

The one that is getting the most buzz is Black Bird, Blue Road, by Sofiya Pasternack (September 2022, Versify/Harper Collins) , which tells of a desperate quest by a sister to save her brother who is dying of leprosy. When he has a vision that the Angel of Death will come for him in one month, on Rosh Hashanah, Ziva persuades him to run away from home with her to find doctors who can cure him. On the journey they accidently set a half-demon boy free from servitude, and he tells them of the city of Luz, where death has no sway. The journey is long and arduous, with the Angel of Death always breathing down their necks....and in the end is up to her brother to make his own choice. Deeply moving, this is a memorable story indeed.

On a lighter note, but still with suspensefully high stakes, is Naomi Teitelbaum Ends the World, by Samara Shanker (September 2022, Atheneum). When Naomi gets a small golem as a Bat Mitzvah gift, and it comes alive, her life gets more than a little complicated. The golem needs work to do, and with every task she sets it, it grows. It's an impossible situation, so she and her friends decide to give it a job that it can never finish--saving the world. Things go very wrong indeed, and soon the kids are off chasing down the golem before its ideas about what "saving the world" entails do just the opposite. This is one for readers who like entertaining mayhem, but it is given depth when Naomi, guided by conversations with her rabbi and others, starts thinking deeply about the Torah lessons she has been learning (and this part of the book is really well done indeed, thought provoking without being at all preachy!)

In Aviva vs the Dybbuk, by Mari Lowe (February 2022 by Levine Querido), a grieving girl whose father has died and whose best friend has rejected her contends with a troublesome dybbuk who is making her life even more difficult. Her mother, deeply depressed, cannot help her. But the bond of old friendship is strong enough to bring the two girls back together in a tentative alliance to fight the dybbuk, and the antisemitism that is threatening the Orthodox community. Much more than just a story of a magical being disrupting real life, this is a powerful portrayal of a girl, and a community, who need to heal and survive.

The Two Wrong Halves of Ruby Taylor by Amanda Panitch (August 2022 by Roaring Brook Press), also features a troublesome dybbuk. 12 year old Ruby is only half Jewish--her mom is Christian--and so she feels not Jewish enough compared to her cousin Sarah, who their grandmother favors. Then Ruby finds an old box that her grandmother tells her never to open--inside is a trapped dybbuk, brought over from Europe. Ruby breaks open the box in a scuffle with Sarah, and when Sarah starts behaving out of character, no longer the perfect Jewish granddaughter, Ruby becomes convinced that the dybbuk has possessed her cousin....Now Ruby has to figure out how to dispel the troublesome spirit, something that only a "pious Jew" can do....It's a story in which the fantasy element supports the more central, realistic story about family and identity, so a good one for kids who only need a light touch of magic to enjoy a good read!

Please let me know if I missed any other Jewish MG fantasy books of 2022!

this week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (12/18/22)

Here's this week's round-up; I hope you find something to enjoy and as always please let me know if I missed your post!

The Reviews

Dragon Realm books 1-3 by Katie Tsang and Kevin Tsang, at Charlotte's Library

The Fire Star, by A. L. Tait. at BooksYALove

From Spare Oom to War Drobe: Travels in Narnia with my Nine-year-old Self, by Katherine Langrish, at Books For Keeps

Futureland: Battle for the Park, by H.D. Hunter, illustrated by Khadijah Khatib, at Books Teacup and Reviews

Handbook for Dragon Slayers, by Merrie Haskell, at Colorful Book Reviews

Hummingbird, by Natalie Lloyd, at A Kids Book A Day

The Lords of Night (Shadow Bruja 1) by J.C. Cervantes, at

The Lost Ryu, by Emi Watanabe Cohen, at BooksYALove

Moon Flower, by Kacen Callender, at Kiss the Book

Oculum Echo, by Philippa Dowding, at Always in the Middle…

Shad Hadid and the Alchemists of Alexandria. by George Jreije, at Log Cabin Library:

Sky Born, by Sinead O’Hart, at Valinora Troy

Authors and Interviews

Katharine Orton (Mountainfell), at Peters

Valinora Troy (The Lucky Diamond) at Hayley Reese Chow

Dan Smith (The Terror of Hilltop House) at Scope for Imagination

12/13/22

Dragon Realm books 1-3 by Katie Tsang and Kevin Tsang, for Timeslip Tuesday

In an unusual Timeslip Tuesday post, I have a series of three books to offer--the Dragon Realm series, by Katie Tsang and Kevin Tsang. (nb: the dates I give are for the US publication).

Four kids meet in China and begin the adventure of a lifetime in Dragon Mountain (November 2020). They find the secret way inside a mountain of legend where four dragons have been trapped by powerful magic, and form heart bonds, pairing each kid to a dragon. The dragons are made stronger by the bonds, and the kids gain powers of their own....and together this team might be strong enough to defeat the Dragon of Death, who will destroy both the dragon and human realms if she isn't stopped.

And to do that, in the second book, Dragon Legend (September 2021), the kids and dragons travel in back in time to the dragon realm, to face the Dragon of Death on her home turf and save one of the boys, who has been kidnapped....as well as various fantastical adventures in the dragon realm, there's a visit to the imperial palaces of ancient China that's a lovely bit of time travel goodness!

But the time slippiness of the series really gets going in book 3, Dragon City (April 2022) when the kids and their dragons are swept into the future that awaits if the Dragon of Death succeeds. It's a horrible place, where the city is the only place where life persists, and but that life force is sucked up by the evil dragon queen to fuel her strength. The kids are separated from their dragons, and one of the dragons has turned to the dark side, but nevertheless they persist, and with help from some unexpected allies, and an even more unexpected magical force, they overthrow the Dragon of Death and her horrible future is no more.

The kids and their dragons (even the one who turned evil, who was redeemed) return to their own time....and both the dragon and human realms are safe once more.

So time travel isn't the point of the series (the point being brave kids bonded with dragons, magical powers, and evil to be conquered) but the time travel does work well to provide an interesting scaffolding for the plot and the world building. It is tremendously easy to picture the target audience loving the books lots (and wanting dragon bonds of their own!). Happily for these readers, the adventures continue with afresh with Dragon Rising and Dragon Destiny.

Short answer-- prefect for younger middle grade kids who want lots of maigcal action and adventure, but are not ready or willing to read large tomes, with bonus time travel to raise the stakes!

12/11/22

this week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and science fiction (12/11/22)

Welcome to this weeks' round-up! bloglovin didn't cooperate with me this week, so I probably missed things; let me know!

The Reviews

Along the Saltwise Sea, by "A. Deborah Baker", at Puss Reboots

Artemis Sparke and the Sound Seekers Brigade, by Kimberly Behre Kenna, at Log Cabin Library

Empty Smiles, by Katherine Arden, at Puss Reboots

The Enchanted Sonata, by Heather Dixon, at Faith Elizabeth Hough

Game Over, by M.C. Ross, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Haven: A Small Cat's Big Adventure, by Megan Wagner Lloyd, at Redeemed Reader

Map of Flames (The Forgotten Five #1), by Lisa McMann, at Say What?

The Rat Queen, by Pete Hautman, at Say What?

Serwa Boateng's Guide to Vampire Hunting, by Roseanne A. Brown, narrated by Soneela Nankani, at Sharon the Librarian (audiobook review)

The Sleeping Stones, by Beatrice Wallbank, at Valinora Troy

The Song Walker by Zillah Bethell, at Magic Fiction Since Potter

Strangeville School Is Totally Normal, by Darcy Miller, at Twirling Book Princess

This Appearing House, by Ally Malinenko, at Lit Addiction

Unseen Magic, by Emily Lloyd -Jones, at Puss Reboots

Two at Charlotte's Library--Ruby Finley vs. the Interstellar Invasion, by K. Tempest Bradford, and Nothing Interesting Ever Happens to Ethan Fairmont, by Nick Brooke

Authors and Interviews

L.D. Lapinski (The Secrets of the Stormforest) at the Kirkus podcast

George Jreije (Shad Hadid and the Alchemists of Alexandria) at The National News

Getting Storyshaped With M.G. Leonard | Storyshaped on Acast

Other Good Stuff

Kirkus presents its list of Best Middle Grade Fantasy

A list of MG fantasy favorites for an Australian bookseller (Readings) --some familiar ones, but always interesting to see books that aren't out here in the US!

And a best of 2022 from one of my favorite UK bloggers, Magic Fiction Since Potter

12/10/22

two excellent middle grade books in which Black kids meet aliens

One of the reasons I enjoy reading for the first round of the Cybils Awards is that it puts books in my hands that I might otherwise not have read and enjoyed, such as these two excellent books in which Black kids meet aliens...and their real-world lives are turned upside down.

Ruby Finley vs. the Interstellar Invasion, by K. Tempest Bradford, feels like realistic middle grade fiction for about the first half of the story, but the signs are there that it is anything but. Eleven-year-old Ruby is young scientist in training, fascinated by insects, hanging out with her friends, leading an ordinary life. But when she captures a bug she's never seen before, her life becomes very unusual indeed. The bug escapes, burning a hole through her window. Then government investigators show up looking for it, disturbing and disrupting the neighborhood. Ruby and her friends (all of them very smart in their own different ways) are looking for answers too, and though there is no interstellar invasion, the "bug" is indeed an alien, in trouble and far from home. And Ruby is determined to help....

A lot of the story, even after the alien plot begins to be revealed, is real world happenings (including racism, most notably dealing with an unpleasant white science teacher who won't believe Ruby is capable of the science fair project she's been planning), and this is where the book is strongest. The sci fi part takes the better part of the book to really get going, and then wraps up in a mad rush of excitement at the end (like a fireworks show). Kids who come for an interstellar invasion might well put it down halfway, which is too bad, because it all comes together in the end to make for a fun sci fi read, full of science, mystery and great team work.

Since this is gift giving season, pair this with a magnifying glass and a guide to insects for the science loving kid in your life.

Nothing Interesting Ever Happens to Ethan Fairmont, by Nick Brooks, was subjected to the daunting task of sustaining my interest while horribly expensive repairs were happing to my car, which I needed for a six hour drive the next day....and it came through with flying colors. Ethan's home town of Ferrous City used to be an industrial powerhouse, but those days are gone, leaving behind a huge abandoned factory and lots of junk. Ethan's an inventor, and this junk is the raw material for his creations (along with the family vacuum cleaner, which did not go over well with his parents), and so he visits the factory often, even though it's forbidden. On one such expedition, he and the new kid in town, Juan Carlos, find a big silver ball that seems to have crashed into the factory.

It is an alien space craft, and its occupant is desperate to get home again. Communication is difficult and choppy, but Ethan is determined to help the alien, nick-named Cheese (its first English word) repair its vessel. There are complications. Ethan's former best friend, and school bully and his sister who he's now pals with, find out about the alien, and get involved in trying help (there's a nice bit of real world friendship tension sub plot I liked lots here). The other complication is worse--the feds have come to town, working with the local police to track the space ship down, and Ethan's Black community is threatened, with his father getting arrested. (This is the first middle grade sci fi/fantasy book that I have read that shows police brutality to people of color right there front and center, and the first in which the parents have to have the Talk with their son....).

Nick Brooks strikes a lovely balance between the entertaining story of "boy meets alien" (it's lots of fun, sometimes goofy--note, for instance, Ethan's hamster on the cover--but never ridiculous) and the more serious aspects of book. I truly enjoyed it.

Could be paired as a Christmas gift with the box of miscellaneous bolts you have in your garage and/or a gently used vacuum cleaner.....or more reasonably a lego spaceship (safer except when you step on them...)

12/4/22

This week's round up of middle grade fantasy and sci fi from around the blogs (12/4/22)

Welcome to this week's round-up! I myself spent considerable time this week hunting for Target's Christmas birds (shown below, on one of my many tbr piles), which has brought me much joy (the hunt as much as the acquiring), and of course reading, though not so much reviewing...hopefully this coming week I will do more of that! As always, please let me know if I missed your post!