this week's middle grade sci fi/fantasy round-up (6/4/23)

Settling back in to life with two kids home from college, which is always a shock to the system....Here's what I found this week of interest to us fans for mg sci fi/fantasy!

And speaking of MG sci fi fans--maybe you have thought about being a panelist for the Cybils Awards (perhaps in MG Speculative Fiction even?) but have been daunted by the thought of over 100 nominated books and three months to read them in....Us Cybils organizers have come up with an answer!  We are having an early call for panelists, so that the summer months can be spent reading.  No books will be nominated until fall, but this will be a book club like chance to share recommendations, read ones we are interested in, and talk about what we are reading!  There is no commitment to becoming an official panelist come fall, so if you'd like to spend the summer talking MG spec fic with me, or reading in one of the many other categories, apply here before June 14!  

If you only want to read for the second round, you can join the chatting for the summer, and move to Round 2 in fall.  Folks from outside the US are welcome to apply, though only books published in the US between Oct 16, 2022-Oct 15 2023 are eligible.  If you have any questions, leave them in the comments or email me at charlotteslibrary@gmail.com

The Reviews

Aliyah Serin and the Box of Zenas, by Lucy Anne Holland, at Mark My Words

The Cobra's Song, by Supriyata Kelkar, at Ms. Yingling Reads

Middle-Grade Review: The Counterclockwise Heart by Brian Farrey – YA Books Central

The Grace of Wild Things, by Heather Fawcett, at Dead Houseplants

Greenwild: The World Behind the Door, by Pari Thomson, at Library Girl and Book Boy and Scope for Imagination

Grimwood, by Naida Shireen, at Always in the Middle… 

Lia Park and the Heavenly Heirlooms, by Jenna Yoon, at Bookworm for Kids and  Cracking the Cover

The Magic Hour, by David Wolstencroft, at Sifa Elizabeth Reads 

Matteo, by Michael Leali, at  Paw Prints in the Sink

Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecyn by Angie Thomas, at Pages Unbound, Rapunzel Reads, and Mark My Words

The Probability of Everything, by Sarah Everett, Fuse #8 (nb: I'm not actually certain this is spec fic having not read it yet....)

Ravencave, by Marcus Sedgwick, at Charlotte's Library

The Sister Switch, by Sarah Mlynoswki and Debbie Rigaud, at YABookNerd

Time Traveling Through Yellowstone National Park – The Adventures of Bubba Jones, by Jeff Alt, at Always in the Middle… 

The Witch of Woodland by Laurel Snyder, at A Library Mama

Authors and Interviews

H. S. Norup (Into Faerie Hill), at Valinora Troy

Pari Thomson (Greenwild: The World Behind the Door) at Scope for Imagination

Jenna Yoon (Lia Park and the Heavenly Heirlooms) at Writer's Digest 

Other Good Stuff

8 Middle Grade Magical Realism Novels to Read Right Now (bookriot.com)