Witchwood, by Kalyn Josephson

 

Witchwood, by Kalyn Josephson (October 2024, Delacorte Press), is the third in the Ravenfall series, middle grade fantasy about a magical hotel on the boarder of our world and the realm of magic.  I very much enjoyed the first two books, Ravenfall and Hollowthorn, so it was a great treat for me to return to this world (and I am wondering what took me so long....).

Anna is the youngest child of the family who tend to Ravenfall, a magical, sentient being in its own right. And soon she will be the only one--her older sisters are headed off to college.  But at least Colin, whose story of magic and murder and growing powers as a Raven (one who keeps magical creatures that are dangerous to ordinary people in check) was integral to the first too books, has come back to visit.  And she's thrilled when the two of them get to set off on a Raven mission of their own  

But it turns out not to be the straightforward, relatively safe mission her parents agreed on. And when there's a strange attack on them, that they can't explain, they are forced to seek out Anna's aunt in the town of Witchwood, a magical community they've never visited before.  There they find the same attacks have been happening in this town where almost everyone is a witch; people have been disappearing, and no one knows just how or why.

Finding out that she herself is a witch, getting to know her aunt and the Jewish heritage of this side of the family, and wondering why her cousin is so hostile is a lot, but Anna and Colin are also determined to solve the mystery of the disappearances.  And in doing so, they are faced with ethical questions that make figuring out what to do even harder.  Should ordinary people be protected against magic, or should magical creatures and practitioners be protected against ordinary people?   

And will they be able to survive the incredibly powerful woman who will stop at nothing to make sure she is so powerful that no one can stand against her, who wants to harness Anna's own powers for her cause?  

There are lots of the lovely magical details that I enjoyed so much in the earlier books, and a climactic adventure of epic proportions in a legendary realm, linked to Jewish mythology, of incredible danger.  The questions of identity and ethical responsibility add depth, making the book thought provoking as well as exciting fun.  (My one personal quibble is that I love the Ravenfall house so much I wanted to spend more time there, even though the village of Witchwood was interesting too....)

I love how each book is its own complete story, but that doesn't stop me from looking forward to the next book lots!

 

Thunderbird, Book Three, by Sonia Nimr, for Timeslip Tuesday

Thunderbird, Book Three, by Sonia Nimr (September 10, 2024 by Ctr for Middle Eastern Studies UT-Austin), is the final book in the story of a Palestinian girl, Noor, who must travel back in time to find the feathers of the Thunderbird in order to save our present-day world from monsters.

I really loved the first book. In my review I said "I completely agree with the conclusion of the Kirkus review (which is how I found out about this one)--"This richly descriptive novel paints a moving portrait of a lost, lonely girl; a historic land with a painful past and present; and an enchanting magical world. The cliffhanger ending will leave readers eager for more."

And I enjoyed the second even more. From my review--"It is a lovely mix of the magical (the boundaries between our world and the supernatural world are starting to slip....) and the historical; very satisfying both as middle grade time travel and as plucky girl adventure! It's a fairly short, tightly written book, with humor alongside of tension and heartfelt emotion, and it's a vivid portrayal of this particular moment in time. Of course "let's save the precious library!" is a plot I am always there for, and fortunately I wasn't kept in too much desperate tension...."

This time she is plunged back to Byzantine Jerusalem in 638 CE, just as Omar ibn al-Kahttab is about to conquer what was then a Christian city.  As was the case with the first two books, she starts her quest for the feather by finding allies--this time a brother and sister with a magical gift for healing.  But rather than an exploration of this part of Jerusalem's history, with real world obstacles such as are to be expected in perilous times, to be overcome, the book turns into an other world fantasy adventure .

Noor and her new friends are captured by monstrous devouring worm creatures, and escape from them to find themselves in a world of gentle telepaths.  This world is under genocidal attack from monstrous, devouring invaders, and it is up to Noor and her new friends, with help from her companion Sabeeka, a djinn who takes the form of a cat, to lead these people in fighting back for the sake of their future.  Once this is successfully accomplished (and if you like fantasy battles you'll find this good reading--lots if ingenuity, unlikely allies, and fantastical creatures), it's back to Jerusalem where the finding the Thunderbird features feels like an anticlimax.

This third book in the series didn't work for me. I was not expecting a fantasy adventure that explicitly underlined a parallel to Palestine vs Isreal, with the Israelis irredeemably monstrous.  Even if this had not been the case, I would have been disappointed not get the cross-cultural, historically rich, time travel experience I'd hoped for.  Additionally, Noor's story began with real world sadness and trauma, and I would have liked this emotional arc to be more fully resolved.

The Mud Puddlers, by Pamela Rushby, for Timeslip Tuesday

The Mud Puddlers, by Pamela Rushby (middle grade, April 2023, Walker Books Australia), is a must read for anyone in the ven diagram of liking mud larking and liking juvenile time travel, as it combines both in a nicely absorbing package!

Nina is tremendously angry that her parents are going off on a scientific expedition to Antarctica and shipping her from their home in Australia to her Aunt Bea in London.  Even the rather cool prospect of living in a converted barge on the Thames, and spending time with her aunt who she has liked before being packaged off to stay with her, does nothing to alleviate Nina's angry sulking.  The first chinks in her studied disinterested in everything and everyone come when she gradually becomes drawn into her aunt's hobby, mud larking.  

At first the discoveries in the mud are just interesting and thought provoking, but then there's a twist--they begin to take Nina back in time.  The very odd old hardcore mudlarking woman who lives nearby also has this knack and warns Nina that she must always keep the object that took her back in time safe, or else....

And of course she doesn't.

The time travel starts as tourism, taking Nina back to observe various eras of London's past, which was fine and not uninteresting, but rather slow.  Then about 3/4 of the way through, Nina is stuck in the past while being evacuated from London in WW II. In the train station, she loses the gas mask that had taken her back in time which she needs to get home again. After arriving in Wales, she and a boy desperate to get back to his own family set out for London, with one "borrowed" bike between them, not enough money, and the fear of being caught and dragged back again nipping at their heals. Their journey becomes do-able when they are taken on as crew by two women doing war work running a canal boat, and I do wish this had been given more page time!

Nicely absorbing, as I said above, but I can't go any further.  Mostly this is because Nina hangs on to her angry sulking so long it became unbelievable; it took being stuck in the past to change her perspective.  It was also a bit because the arc of the story never pushed quite hard enough into truly gripping emotion.  As an archaeologist, there were small material culture irritations too, like Aunt Bea saying you can't tell historic nails apart, which is wrong (it is pretty easy to tell a hand wrought nail from a machine cut nail), and Aunt Bea saying the reason why pipe stems are a common find is that pipes were disposable (almost true, but it was more a matter of breaking off the used end of the pipe and working your way to the bowl). So I can't say with conviction that I'll read it again, though I might well do so.

Sylvia Doe and the 100-Year Flood, by Robert Beatty, for Timeslip Tuesday

As is often the case, to write about a book for Timeslip Tuesday is to spoil it right of the bat. But knowing Sylvia Doe and the 100-Year Flood, by Robert Beatty, involves time travel doesn't spoil the readers enjoyment of the book, and it's pretty clear early on that there's weirdness of a temporal sort going on....

Thirteen year old Sylvia was found alone in a storm as a very young child, and was taken in by Highground, a temporary home and school for children in difficult circumstances.   She watched as the other children went home or found new foster homes, but Highground was always home for her.  When she herself was fostered out, she always ran away back to it, where the horses she loved some much were waiting for her.  And this is how we meet her, stowing away in the back of a truck in a storm.  She had tried to stay at her latest placement, but with a hurricane hitting North Carolina hard, she couldn't stand not being back at Highground to make sure the horses were safe....

When she arrives in darkness and wind and torrential rain, her worst fears are realized.  The barn is empty.  And so she sets out to bring them to safety through the flooding.  The horses are not all she rescues; out in the storm she saves a boy about her own age, Jorna, from drowning.  He's adamant that she not tell anyone she's seen him, as he is in trouble with the law back home upstream from Highground.  When she hears his story, she is determined to help him.

This is not all that is strange about the flooding river--glowing with strange blue light, it's carrying along creatures that have no business at all in 21st century North Carolina.  

Figuring out what's happening, helping to care for the horses, and keeping Jorna hidden, safe, and fed, all the while worrying about her future (Highground has taken her in again, but the authorities are displeased) is a lot.  To help Jorna get home again safely is even more....the river that brought him to Sylvia is indeed extraordinary, and to unravel its secrets means dangerous adventuring through the still flooded landscape.

In the end, all the pieces fall into place, and Sylvia finds her very own family who had been grieving for her ever since she herself had been swept away by floodwaters.

So since this is a Timeslip Tuesday post, I must say that Jorna is from the 19th century, and the river is bringing extinct fauna from a wide variety of ancient and more recent periods.   The author had to walk a difficult line between making Jorna not immediately recognizable as a 19th century kid, while still leaving clues, and he did this pretty well (except that I would expect more differences of language then was the case here...).   And although the time travel river has to be taken as a given, it did have a certain logic to it.  So it was just fine time travel wise, except that this wasn't a book that was centered on exploring the repercussions and experience of time slipping.  The time travel was a mechanism for a story that was ultimately one of finding home.

It also works well as an exciting disaster/adventure story, and there is also a lovely thread of Sylvia's interest in nature (the book includes illustrations form her notebook).  In short, there is much that should please the intended audience.

(The one thing that did not please me was one of Sylvia's horse decisions--her favorite horse collapses exhausted after the first evening of swimming through the flood, but the next day Sylvia makes it canter while carrying both her and Jorna.  There's lots of additional horses being pushed too hard as well, although these weren't anyone's fault....Probably as a 10 year old I would have loved the horsey bits best, but as a grownup I liked the bits that focused on what was happening at the home/school better....)

(It was hard reading this while an actual hurricane was causing devastation to the very same part of North Carolina.  The flood in the book was meant to be terrible, but it didn't come close to real life.)

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

Wicked Marigold, by Caroline Carlson

Wicked Marigold, by Caroline Carlson (Jyl 2024, Candlewick), is a delightful middle grade fantasy; really my only complaint was that the font was a tad smaller than I'm used to in mg books, and as someone who is getting older but refusing to concede any ground, it meant that I had to wait for a beautiful sunny weekend afternoon to finish it in natural bright light  It was a nice way to spend my afternoon, so no complaints on that score, but still a sad intimation of mortality...

Princess Marigold has spent her life living in the bright and beautiful shadow of her older sister Rosilind, who was a perfect princess, whose laugh made flowers bloom and who was beloved by everyone.  Rosilind was kidnapped before Marigold was born by the evil wizard Torville, and Marigold can't help but feel she's a poor replacement.  When Rosilind escapes, and come home, Marigold can't help but feel exceedingly cantankerous about her perfect sister, oozing sweetness and light all over the place, and her feelings culminate with dumping a bucket of water from her bedroom window over Rosilind.

Clearly it was a wicked thing to do, and full of anger and resentment, Marigold decides that the only option open to her is to embrace her wickedness and head of to Torville's tower, to be his evil apprentice. Torville and his imp Pettifog are less than thrilled when she shows up at their door, but take her in.  And Marigold is taken aback to find a tower that is much more domestic than terrifying.  But a bargain is made--if Marigold can prove she really is wicked, she can stay and learn evil magic; if she's not, Torville (who has had lots of practice doing evil magic) will turn her into a beetle.

Things get complicated when Marigold's efforts at magic go sideways (wizard Torville is sidelined by being turned into a blob which presents many problems for her and Pettifog the imp), and from there things get very tense indeed when all the evil magicians around recognize that Rosilind's remarkable powers of love and kindness threaten their livelihoods.  Marigold and Rosilind must join forces against them, but will this doom Marigold to beetle-hood?  

It is a fun and playful story, with lots of splashes of whimsy; I chuckled considerably!  It's also, underneath the magical shenanigans, a gently thoughtful one about figuring out who one is, which is perfect for the target age range.  I appreciated that Torville, having resisted Rosilind's assertive goodness, remains morally grey at best, and I appreciated that Marigold gets to put her own aptitudes and strength of character to do what Rosilind alone could not have accomplished.

It put me in mind, of course, of Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones, but if you are looking for more middle grade reading along these lines, I highly recommend The Evil Wizard Smallbone, by Delia Sherman!

Exit Nowhere, by Juliana Brandt

If you are looking for a middle grade spooky read for the Halloween season, Exit Nowhere, by Juliana Brandt (Aladin, Sept 4, 2024) is perfect! It's a creepy house of horrors escape room-esque story in which is nested the middle grade friendship/self-awareness arc of the main character.

Barret Eloise focuses on being the best student in her Appalachian middle school.  Since she's not distracted by any sort of social life, her one former friend Helena now only an acquaintance, she has nothing else to do with her time (her older brother invites her to compete in various video games, but she can't stand losing all the time, so she refuses).

When she's forced into a group assignment on local history with Helena, and two boys, Ridge (a somewhat abrasive jock), and Wayne (a geeky tech kid), she is focused on winning this as well.  Her suggestion that the group investigate the creepy history of the town's haunted house, Rathfield Manor, is accepted....

and they start by investigating Norma, now an elderly woman, who with her boyfriend entered the house long ago.  Norma made it out, but her boyfriend, Eugene, didn't.  It turns out Norma is Ridge's aunt, and when they visit her, she won't, or can't, talk about what happened to her, but does whisper to Barret Eloise that "you can't win." 

When the four kids decide to visit the house themselves, it turns out to be a terrible idea. They are trapped inside it by the ghost of a five-year-old boy who died there, and who has been forcing anyone who visits to play his games.   Remembering Norma's words, Barret Eloise is determined to prove her wrong,  Maybe she can't figure out what's wrong with herself, that she can't make friends, but she can solve puzzles....And so begins a terrifying contest, in which one after the other, the kids begin to lose to the traps and tricks of the angry child ghost, starting with a game of The Floor is Lava, in which the lava is all too real.

They meet Eugene, still trapped in the house, and when Barret Eloise and Helena, the last two kids still standing, learn that Eugene actually won the games against the ghost, they just barely figure out what to do to avoid his fate, and lay the ghost boy to rest.

Any kid who enjoys spooky escape room scenarios will love this one!  The supernatural horrors are memorably scary, the progress the kids make in figuring out the mystery they've been trapped, each bringing their own contribution to the successful outcome, makes gripping reading, and the social dynamics of the group, with Barret Eloise forced into introspection and self-realization, adds an appealing personal story to the ghostly side of things.  

Highly recommended!

The Voyage of Sam Singh, by Gita Ralleigh

 

I very much enjoyed The Destiny of Minou Moonshine, by Gita Ralleigh, and so was very happy to read her second middle-grade magical adventure set in an alternate colonial India, The Voyage of Sam Singh (July 2024, Zephyr).  It's not a straight sequel, but it's enough of a crossover to please those who've met Minou while not confusing those who haven't, and it was just as much fun to read!

Sam's older brother Moon has been imprisoned in the legendary Octopus prison on the Isle of Lost Voices by the colonial government and Sam is determined to save him.  But before he can even start figuring out how to do this, he's off on an adventure.

Sam found passage to the island by working for an anthropologist known as "the Collector" who is determined to venture into the island's crocodile infested jungle to gain fame as the "first man" to do so (the Collector is peak 19th-century anthropological explorer...and awfully, but historically accurately, collects human skulls).  Lola, daughter of the tribal leader and shaman, but educated in the island's colonial city, serves as the expedition's cultural liaison, and becomes Sam's friend.  When the Collector makes off with the skull of a revered tribal elder, Sam and Lola set off to get it back.

Which they do, escaping near death by crocodile with a whole suitcase of skulls and their unquiet spirits in tow... but their adventures aren't over yet.  The Princess of Moonlally (where Minou's story took place) is also visiting the island on her own Octopus prison mission, and her help could be just what Sam needs to save his brother....A wild maelstrom of prison escape ensues, facilitated by a steampunk-esque submarine, angry spirits, the ghost of the island's first colonial governor, and the bravery of Sam and Lola.  And it ends with a piratical reunion of Moon and Sam for still more excitement!  

And though this might seem a lot for one story, it all works beautifully (even for a reader like me for whom a little excitement often goes a long way).  The relationship between thoughtful Sam and firebrand Lola makes the book a pleasure, the thoughtful presentation of historical Colonialist wrongs within a story full of magic and adventure is great, and Gita Ralleigh's writing is wonderfully descriptive, making it all come to vivid life.  It's incredibly easy to imagine the 9-12 year old target audience enjoying it even more than I did!

disclaimer: review copy received from the author, and enjoyed lots by me.

Braided (Sisters Ever After #5), by Leah Cypess

I've been enjoying all of Leah Cypess' middle-grade sisterly twists on fairy tales as they've come out, but Braided, the newest in the series (May 28, 2024,  Delacorte Press), is my favorite.  It's a reimagining of Rapunzel, from the point of view of a little sister, Cinna, growing up knowing her big sister was imprisoned in a far-off tower.

Cinna is thrilled when Rapunzel is rescued and comes home again, but Rapunzel seem less than thrilled by the role of princess that's she's expected to assume.  Yes, she has the family's magical hair, that enables the kingdom to confine the fey (more or less) to their own realm (as does Cinna).  But unlike their mother, the Queen, who devotes all her energy to this task, Rapunzel just doesn't seem to see the point.  

Cinna wants Rapunzel to be the big sister she's always wanted, but Rapunzel wants more for Cinna, and for herself, than being trapped by a giant wall of responsibility.  And Rapunzel must return to the fey realm after only three days....

The bond that the two of them manage to build, and the magic and wits that they have in plenty, will save them both, despite fierce challenges both from the fey realm and from their own circumstances.  

I loved the sisterly part of the story lots, especially all the letters that Cinna wrote (but never sent) to her missing sister that start each chapter),  It was both sweet and emotionally rich, and when combined with dragons (as shown on the cover), some monsters, wonderful hair magic, and the machinations of both the fey and the people of the court, the result was a lovely gripping story! Cinna, and the reader, must question what is good and what is evil, and what they owe to others, and what they owe to themselves.

Young readers just meeting this series with Braided will almost certainly want more!

The Ship in the Garden, by Zetta Elliott, for Timeslip Tuesday

The Ship in the Garden, by Zetta Elliott (middle grade, 2023, independently published, 104 pages), this week's Timeslip Tuesday book, is many things in one--a fantasy story with magical beings, a story of 13 year old Scottish kids with non-magical worries, a story about the slave trade in Scotland, and a time travel story that sends one of the kids back in time into enslavement on a Caribbean island.

It starts with a school field trip to Pollok House, build by an 18th-century Glasgow merchants whose fortune was based on slavery.  The day is marred for Kofi when he's paired with Gavin, a racist tough who is determined to make him miserable.  Kofi is also a new kid, followed by rumors about what he did to get suspended from his previous school, and he's also a kid living with the sadness of his beloved Ghanaian grandmother's sickness.  

So things are already a lot for Kofi when the tour of Pollok House is full of weirdness with no logical explanation, including a shadowy doppelganger and sounds no one else hears (this part is great haunted house reading!).  Then he explores outside and finds a book Gavin nicked from the house's library, smeared with blood, lying on the ground near the replica of an 18th-century merchant ship. And then Gavin doesn't show when it's time to get back on the bus to school.

Kofi shares his worry that something's happened to Gavin with a Kaylee, a black classmate who seems like a possible friend. But Kaylee, who Gavin has also targeted because she is trans, refuses to care.  So Kofi goes back to the garden alone....and meets an urisk, a strange and lonely Scottish magical creature.  The urisk is trying to bring back his one friend, a Caribbean boy who was the enslaved page boy of the 18th century family.  Gavin was the offering he used to try to make this happen....

And though I could go on and on synopsizing, because there's a lot of story in this relatively slim book, suffice it to say that Gave has travelled back in time into enslavement in the Caribbean, and Kofi is determined to bring him back (partly because he doesn't want the other enslaved people to have to deal with a racist young Nazi bully in their midst, but a bit also because he is horrified by the wrongness of the whole thing).

But to save Gavin, Kofi must resist the urisk's schemes and deflections, and he must be brave enough to face the great Water Mother herself and make a sacrifice that tears at his heart.....all for a racist bully, who, it turns out, is furious about being saved....

Although most of the story is Kofi's first person point of view in the present, we also get glimpses of Gavin's life in the past.  It is tragic and grim, but it does give Gavin the chance to feel connection such as he lacked in the present.  It's not a redemption arc in which Gavin is magically en-nicened, but an explanatory arc with hope for change.  As for Kaylee, she's such a strong and vibrant character that when she's on the page we don't need to be in her head.   

Like I said, there's a lot of story here, and it kept me reading past my bedtime with much interest and enjoyment. Older middle grade fantasy readers will probably do the same, and they'll get some learning of Scottish and Carribean history in the process, and have thoughts provoked about the present as well. There's weight here of past and present sadness, but the fantastical elements, likeable main character, and the vivid pictures created by the fine writing relieve enough of the pressure to make it a (thought-provoking) pleasure for the reader (me).  I wish, though, (and this might be a matter of personal taste) that it had been less brisk and gripping, with more moments of inflection and reflection, smoothing the transitions, and giving space for the powerful moments to reverberate more clearly. 

For more about Zetta Elliott and how she came to write this particular book, here's a talk she gave over at her website--“‘I AM MYRTILLA’S DAUGHTER’: WEAVING SCOTLAND, SLAVERY, AND SITHS INTO HISTORICAL FANTASIES”  (well worth reading!)

A Game of Noctis, by Deva Fagan

 

A Game of Noctis, by Deva Fagan (April 9, 2024 by Atheneum Books for Young Readers), is a beautifully gripping, thought-provoking, and fun magical read!

In Pia's home city, the Game is all that matters. Winning games gives you the de facto currency needed to survive, and if you fail as a player, you are relegated to a low status life of service jobs or exiled to a life of servitude outside the city.  When Pia's grandfather's game rank falls below the minimum (he can't afford the new glasses he needs to be a competitive player) and he is taken away by the policing automatons of the city, Pia is determined to use her own skills as a game player to win enough to bring him home again.  But it's a ridiculously large amount of game credit; even if she never loses, it would take years.  

Except that wining the annual Great Game of Noctis would take care of it all.  And so when she meets Vittoria, a girl her own age with a brash confidence in her gaming skill, who offers her a place on the team she's assembling to compete in the Game of Noctis, Pia says yes.  Even though Noctis is a deadly game, played with Death herself as a piece on the board.

Vittoria's team, the Seafoxes, are underdogs in a competition dominated by the wealthy, but each member brings their particular skills beautifully to bear.  And each has their own reason for needing to win, and their own journeys that have brought them to this point.  But the Game of Noctis turns out to be rigged--those who have power and privilege are perfectly happy to bend to rules to keep it.

Pia and her teammates must question the underpinnings of their world if they are going to win.  But challenging the status quo can be just as dangerous as playing games with Death herself.  (And Death really is a real "person" who Pia meets outside of the game, giving extra fantasy depth to the story).

It was a tremendously entertaining read, with just the right amount of detail about the various matches in the Great Game--enough to make it all wonderfully clear without being pages of unbroken description.  The characters to are allowed to reveal themselves and their stories gradually, so the reader gets to know them as real people alongside Pia, instead of them being intro-dumped.  It was really well done!

I have to confess the premise of the world's economy built on game victories was initially hard for me to accept.  But revelations about how it works, which are slowly revealed to both the characters and the reader, made it all make sense by the time it was ready to be blown to bits!

Highly recommended, in particular to fantasy readers who like games and competitions along with a touch of magic, and who are eager to cheer on a revolution.  It's easy to imagine wanting to re-read it.

The Color of Sound, by Emily Barth Isler, for Timeslip Tuesday

This week's Timeslip Tuesday book is The Color of Sound, by Emily Barth Isler (March 2024, Carolrhoda), is a really absorbing book about Rosie, a girl whose mother is determined not to let her tremendous musical talent be neglected in any way whatsoever. When this pressure breaks Rosie's one friendship, she decides to go on strike and stop playing, so she can make space to find out who she is outside of music.  And so instead of spending her summer focusing on her violin as she has every summer for years, she's off with her mother to the family home in the countryside of Connecticut, where her grandmother is dying of Alzheimer's.

Rosie doesn't know her grandparents well at all, because the violin has always taken precedence in her life, and she doesn't know what to do with herself at her grandparents.  Music still fills her mind, coupled with synesthesia, leaving her disquieted.  But then she finds an old shed being used as a retreat for a girl her own age, Shoshanna, and it seems like they might become friends....Quickly Rosie realizes that this girl isn't an ordinary neighbor--she is her mother, back when she was a kid in 1994.  And Rosie wonders how this lively girl, longing for music herself, became the controlled and controlling woman dedicated to always making sure that the violin comes first.

In the weeks that follows, Rosie manages to make friends with ordinary kids, an older group doing an improv class at the library, she becomes comfortable for the first time with the resident large dog, and she gets to know her grandfather. She learns from him about the history of her Jewish family, and how they escaped the Holocaust, though leaving many of the family behind.  This history leads her back to music, through the song her grandmother remembers her own mother playing....a song she longs to hear again.  It leads her to think more about being Jewish, too, something that wasn't part of her violin focused life.  

And she wonders if somehow she can connect with her mother back in 1994, pushing her toward a present where Rosie's musical genius isn't the whole of their relationship.

I loved all the elements of the family, the memories, Rosie's introspection, and the music that fills the book (even though Rosie only plays three times), and of course the time slipping, though never explained, and never a real driver of the story, was a nice bonus.  But I expected there to be some dramatic reveal about why Rosie's mother ended up the way she did, and there wasn't. It's not at all clear why she is the way she is and not believable that she changes so much at the end of the story (even though this is what Rosie was trying to do with hints and nudges back in the past).  

That being said, it was pretty much a single sitting read for me and I might well re-read it in a few years.

Sona and the Golden Beasts, by Rajani LaRocca

Sona and the Golden Beasts (March 5, 2024, Quill Tree Books) is Rajani LaRocca's first other world fantasy, and having read and enjoyed many of her other books (especially Midsummer's Mayhem) this was a must read for me with no languishing on the tbr pile as soon as I got my hands on it! 

The alternate world is a fantasy version of India under British rule. Devia is a place where music calls forth magic, now forbidden by the conquering and exploiting Malechians.  They grow rich from Devia's gems, mined at great cost to its people.  Sona has lived relatively safe and privileged life as the daughter of a Malechian farmer, but her world is upended when she finds that she's actually his niece, and her father was a Devian (a forbidden marriage).  But the implications of this are overshadowed by the threat to the young wolf cub she's just adopted--one of the Malechian Hunters, who's determined to kill all five of the Great Beasts of Devia, its magical protectors) arrives at the farm, and cub shows signs that she might be the child and heir of the mythical golden wolf.  

She flees with the cub to the nearby Devian village that is her beloved Ayah's home and her extraordinary journey across the provinces of Devia begins. 

At first this is a relatively straightforward sort of challenge--to find a legendary cure for her Ayah accompanied by Raag, Ayah's grandson.  But it turns out it's a journey to fulfill a prophecy about the Great Beasts that will free Devia from its oppressors....and the two children must learn to work together to bring it about, while the fearsome Hunter pursues them.  

It's no surprise that they succeed, and the twist was apparent enough that even I, who am usually dim about things, saw it coming.  That being said, it's a gorgeously detailed journey full of wonder and danger, vividly described and full of excitements.  And in-between the happening are bits of folklore, letters, and songs that make the Devia and its history come even more to life.

As an adult reader, I came into the story with a fairly solid grasp of the English colonial exploration of India, and so the parallels were glaringly obvious.  For young readers with less knowledge, this will be eye-opening.  What with all suppression of books that hold harsh truths about the past, I'm glad that this story of the evil of colonization comes in what looks to be an ordinary fantasy, so that those young readers might have a better chance of finding it in their schools (maybe?), and get the chance to think about it.  It's also a good read, with great magic and characters to cheer for too!

Fox Snare (Thousand Worlds #3), by Yoon Ha Lee

Another very busy week for me, with none of the reviews I wanted to write being written...so here once more is a quick one before I post today's round up.

Fox Snare (Thousand Worlds #3), by Yoon Ha Lee, is the third installment of great space adventure for upper middle grade readers on up (but do read the first two books in the series first).

Min, the fox spirt who was the central character of Dragon Pearl, is now the keeper of that titular pearl, which can magically terraform in hospitable planets.  Before this, terraforming relied on Dragon magic, and now the Dragons are unhappy that they now outclassed.  Haneuol, a young dragon, was once Min's friend, and when she arrives on the vessel where Min is currently in residence as part of the Dragon delegation to important diplomatic negations with the leader of the Sun Clan nations, Min hopes they can rekindle their relationship, but it doesn't go well. Sebin, the non-binary tiger spirit who was the central character of Tiger Honor, is a cadet on this same ship, and finds themselves drawn into the diplomatic tensions as well.

The leaders of the Thousand Worlds want to use Min and the pearl to terraform a planet that lies at a crucial junction between the two hostile factions...but it's not just location that makes this planet a prize both sides want--long ago an immensely powerful war ships crashed there, and whichever side can recover it will have a huge military advantage.

Then the space station where the negotiations are being held explodes.  Min, Haneuol, and Sabin crash land on the contested planet, along with a fox spirit woman who is clearly a suspicious character, and whose own agenda is occluded by her fox gift of charm.  Travelling across this alien world to the site of the crashed warship, Min is troubled by the conflict between her loyalty to the Thousand Worlds and her desire to trust another Fox, Sabin is torn between strict adherence to duty and critical examination of what is happening, and Haneul must wrestle with familial expectations and her own wishes.

And then they reach the ship, and things get enormously more tense as the threesome realizes the truth about why it was never recovered, and just what the Fox spirit woman has planned.

Told in alternating points of view by Min and Sebin, this is a gripping read in which the character's personal conflicts and the external dangers are beautifully balanced, and the magical abilities of the shape shifters, and some unexpected supernatural elements, make for lovely reading.  This installment is more direct than the previous book in identifying the Thousand Worlds as being of Korean descent, and the Sun Clans as being Japanese, making it an even more thought-provoking read. 

My only worry is that this seems to be the final book about these characters and their universe, and that thought makes me sad.  On the other hand, I can look forward to a nice re-read....

The Curse of Eelgrass Bog, by Mary Averling

My first debut middle grade fantasy of 2024--The Curse of Eelgrass Bog, by Mary Averling (Jan 2, 2024, Razorbill)! And it was a good one.

Kess's life is focused on keeping the family's Museum of Unnatural History afloat until her parents return from their expedition investigating unnatural creatures in Antarctica.  It's falling to bits around her, and no-one visits, and her older brother Oliver spends all his time shut in the library, not helping.  Her only friend is a sunken head in a jar, one that actually talks to her; otherwise, she's on her own, desperately hoping that she can make some grand discovery that will revitalize the museum at the edge of the magical, and completely forbidden, Eelgrass Bog, home to witches, demons, and more. It's not much of a life for a 12 year old.

Then a visitor comes to the museum-- Lilou, a girl who's just moved to town.  Lilou's grandfather has left her a cryptic note--

    Beware the witches.

    Break the curse.

    Save the society.

And Lilou enlists Kess's help.  The two girls decide to venture into Eelgrass Bog....and there they do indeed find strange and twisted magic, and clues that start them on a journey to the dark depths of this dangerously warped place.  But the curse isn't what either of them expected, and what they discover upends Kess's world.

It's pretty clear from the get-go that things are Not Ok for Kess, and as the story progresses, Kess herself becomes increasingly trouble by the sense that she's forgetting something, something bad (she isn't wrong).  And though it takes a while for the secrets to all unfold, Kess's hunt for answers, and her journey towards her first friendship (or more than friendship) make for good reading leading up to a satisfying conclusion.

I love books that make pictures in my mind of strange and magical things, and this does not disappoint!  I also was glad to have another book to add to my LGBTQ middle grade list--Kess and Lilou are clearly on their way to a relationship, and Lilou has two dads.  

Give this one to the young reader who loves fantasy mysteries, secret societies, and neglected protagonists ending the book un-neglected.  I'm looking forward to seeing what Mary Averling writes next.

Nightspark, by Michael Mann

I very much enjoyed Ghostcloud, by Michael Mann, the first book in the duology (? maybe there are more adventures to come) that now continues with Nightspark (Peachtree 2023). Luke has been reunited with his family after foiling the evil plots of Tabitha, who used enslaved children, such as Luke and his best friend Ravi, as well as captured ghosts for her power station in an alternate England. He even has the job as a junior detective he always wanted.  

But he can't settle into ordinary life.  For starters, Tabitha has started on a new evil plan over on the continent, and his best friend Ravi is still her prisoner.  On top of that, Luke is a half ghost, and though he tries to enlist the aid of the Ghost Council, they are hostile to him and think he'd make a better 100% ghost.  But Luke is nothing if not determined, and so with a mixed lot of reluctant helpers and friends, including his best ghost friend, a mission to rescue Ravi and foil Tabitha is launched. 

It seems hopeless, but a string of daring adventures takes the little band across the English Channel...where things get even more dangerously exciting. It's not just extravagant adventure though; sprinkled into the story are thought-provoking moments where the characters have to make hard choices--like an encounter with an overloaded boat of refugees in the Channel, and the question of whether someone who has done horrible things can become trustworthy....

If you like action-packed adventure with supernatural shenanigans, dystopian settings, and brave kids full of heart triumphing over horrible circumstances, you will love Nightspark! But it is essential to read Ghostcloud first (and since I liked that one even more than its sequel, I'm sure you won't mind at all). 

Time after Time (Best Wishes #3) by Sarah Mlynowski and Christina Soontornvat for Timeslip Tuesday

 

If you are in the mood for a fun middle school ground-hog day timeslip, Time after Time (Best Wishes #3) by Sarah Mlynowski and Christina Soontornvat (November 2023, Scholastic) is a great pick!  This series is built around a magic bracelet, passed on from girl to girl, and it arrives at Lucy's house in Fort Worth, Texas, on the day she most needs a magic wish!

Lucy's life (before this day) has been fine--she loves the days she spends with her mom and stepdad and the two little babies, but she also loves going to the calm of her dad's house, where she can count on every thing to be in its place (she likes order and control very much).  And she's really excited for her class field trip to the Natural History Museum, where her dad works. The first shadow comes when Ms. Brock, the school librarian, turns out to be a chaperone--she's dating Lucy's dad, and always seems to be harder on Lucy than she is on anyone else.  That shadow darkens when another kid pukes on her, and  Grace, her best friend and science fair partner, gets angry at her during the museum scavenger hunt (extra credit to the winners!) and Lucy can't see why she would be. 

And then the real storm hits when her dad proposes to Ms. Brock in front of her whole class, and she runs from the museum....

When the police find her and bring her home, the bracelet has come in the mail with a letter of explanation from the girl who had it before, who had made a wish on it that came true.  And Lucy is thrilled to make her own wish, to live this terrible day again but this time to do it right.  But she doesn't, and the magic sends her back day after day, with things not improving.  Lucy has to do some hard thinking about herself before the bracelet lets her day stick, but finally, with help from the two girls who had their own complications from the magic in the first two books, it does.

Some of the repeats are entertaining (especially for the target audience), like the struggle to avoid puke, and some are thought provoking, like the reasons for Grace to be angry with her, and her feelings about her father marrying again.  The clues she picks up each time around let these bigger issue get resolved realistically and though I wanted to shake Lucy a bit, the time travel was doing that for me so that was ok and it was good to see her take a hard look at herself!

It doesn't break any new ground for those of us who have read hundreds of time travel books, but it should be a hit with those who love the first two books, and especially for readers who love the idea of getting second (or third or fourth) chances to do things over.  And I might well pick up book #4--there's a mysterious antagonist trying to get a hold of the bracelet for herself, and I'm curious about her....

Not Quite a Ghost, by Anne Ursu (blog tour)

It's a pleasure to be a stop on the blog tour for Not Quite a Ghost, by Anne Ursu (Walden Pond Press)!  I have been a keen looker-forward-to-er of her books ever since we met at Kidlitcon years ago when it was in Minnesota (2010), and she told me about the book she was working on at that time, Breadcrumbs, which sounded like (and proved to be) right up my alley.  And Not Quite a Ghost is even more up my alley, what with the old house part.

Violet is not opposed to moving to a larger house, where she can have a room of her own instead of sharing one with her big sister who has become an unfriendly teenager.  But the room that Violet gets is up in the attic, and it smells musty, and it has horrible wallpaper of tangled vines with berries that look like eyes.  And Violet wasn't opposed to starting middle school, but her two best friends, her pod from covid times, aren't in her classes, and without a cell phone, it's easy to feel like her bond with them might be in danger.  And Violet didn't mind staying home sick one day, but when the being sick part last and lasted, she minded very much indeed.

Violet's post-viral body goes into failure mode, and just can't cope with exertion.  The doctor's think it's all in her head, and even one of her best friends doesn't believe she really isn't well.  Fortunately, her mother and stepfather take it as seriously as she deserves, and fortunately as well the miserable friendship part of her life works out in the end, with new friendships begun.  

But barely able to leave her bed, Violet is stuck in the attic of malignant wallpaper, and it really is malignant--there is a terrifying, hungry, presence trapped inside the vines, and it wants to get out and consumer her.  

I found this a very gripping read.  The realistic part, focused on Violet's illness, is great, and the supernatural part allows the story to come to a climax and then satisfactory conclusion--after figuring out how to thwart the evil being, Violet's attic becomes a safe place, and even the horrible wallpaper is bearable.  Though there is (as is the case for many in real life) no happy end to Violet's post viral chronic fatigue, she at least has friends and a room that isn't trying to attack her.  I also appreciated how Violet's underlying worry that her biological father abandoned the family because of her, was also resolved.   I do wish the supernatural part had been fleshed out a bit more, tied to some story in the past, perhaps, and more strongly linked to Violet's sickness, but it was still beautifully tense and horrible!  

I think it has lots of appeal for young readers of both realistic middle school fiction and haunted houses. The writing is lovely, and I was solidly hooked through my reading, and in the end I closed the book with that happy feeling of time having passed like a blink in the real world! 

Anne Ursu is the author of acclaimed novels The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy, The Lost Girl, Breadcrumbs, and The Real Boy, among others. Her work has been selected as a National Book Award nominee, a Kirkus Prize finalist, and as a best book of the year by Parents Magazine, Publishers Weekly, Amazon.com, and School Library Journal. She lives in Minneapolis with her family and an unruly herd of cats. Find Anne online at anneursu.com.

BLOG TOUR STOPS

January 16 Nerdy Book Club @nerdybookclub

January 17 A Library Mama (@librarymama)

January 18 Charlotte’s Library (@charlotteslibrary)

January 21 Teachers Who Read (@teachers_read)

January 22 Bluestocking Thinking (@bluesockgirl)

        ReadWonder (@patrickontwit)

January 23 A Foodie Bibliophile In Wanderlust (@bethshaum)

January 25 Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers (@grgenius)

And just as personal coda--my own old house was troubled last night--the shower came on briefly all by itself, and the thermostat somehow got shut off, so it is 47 degrees inside this morning as I type this.  I removed the most terrifying wallpaper the house came with, which graced the old nursery, years ago, so it's not that...though this girl, repeating through the pattern, is still a disturbing memory...

The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto, by Adrianna Cuevas

You might think that The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto, a middle grade fantasy by Adrianna Cuevas (April 2023, Farrar, Straus and Giroux), is about ghosts on a ranch....but since this is my Timeslip Tuesday book, you can guess that actually it's time travel, not hauntings, creating fantastical mayhem (sorry for the spoiler!).  It is set on a ranch though, and so, very reluctantly, is the young protagonist.

Cuban American middle schooler Rafa (Raphael) and his best friends decided to take their fantasy adventure game to the next level, real life, and got busted when the school slushie machine they were absconding with breaks loose and crashes into the principal's car.  Rafa's dad skips all the regular punishments, and packs him off to spend a month working at a friend's ranch in New Mexico. Rafa is distressed about leaving his Miami friends, but even more worried about leaving his mother, who has cancer.  

But Rafa is a really good, cooperative kid, and soon he's learning the parts of a horse and getting to experience manure for the first time.  And there's a really cool girl his own age, Jennie Kim, the Korean American daughter of the ranch librarian. She too has a sadness-the recent death of her father.  But their growing bond is formed not just from shared sadness, but from their partnership in figuring out what's up with all the weirdness going on at the ranch (and a shared love of snacks).

A mysterious man in a green sweater keeps showing up...which isn't that odd. But Rafa being blamed for unpleasant mischief he had no part in is, and that's just the start of reality on the ranch going seriously off-kilter.  And when Rafa learns who the strange man is, and what he wants, he's faced with a desperately serious situation (spoiler--it involves time travel, and Rafa's mom....)

It's a truly engrossing story, and though there's sadness here the twists and turns make for entertaining reading.  Although it's a little distracting to think too much about the dad's questionable decision to keep Rafa from spending potentially precious time with his mother, the story more than kept my enthusiasm high. A secondary character, a veteran suffering from PTSD who looks after the ranch's horses, was a great addition to the ensemble, providing a grounding adult perspective.   And the mystery that need solving was very satisfying in a thought-provoking time travel way.

short answer--I liked it lots!

Nimbus, by Jan Eldredge

If magical cats are a thing you like, Nimbus, by Jan Eldredge September 2023, Balzer + Bray) is an obvious and excellent choice!  

Nimbus was rescued by Fletcher's family when she was a wounded, abandoned kitten, unwanted because of being a black cat.  Nursed back to health and dearly loved by Fletcher, Nim thought her bad luck was a thing of the past.  But then Flecher opens an old jar which had imprisoned a nightmare demon.  Nim instantly fought the demon when it attached Fletcher, and thought she'd one, though she'd been badly injured.  But Fletcher's cat-hating Aunt Caroline, roused by the commotion, assumed Nim had been the one to attach the boy, and took her off to a dump and left her there.

Happily, a friendly rat helps Nim reach the safety of a witch's home.  Agatha has a soft spot of cats in need (she has four already), and tries to help Nim heal (though Nim is so desperate to get back to Fletcher to make sure he's safe that this is rather frustrating for Agatha).  While at Agatha's, Nim discovers she's taken the demon's ability to dream walk, and at night she finds herself in the dream world, where her travels through the dreams of her new cat companions, and her own dreaming, help her to figure out how to defeat the demon for once and for all.

It's about more than just cat vs demon, though....a large part of the story is set at Agatha's house, an interlude of little direct action and much about Nim learning from the other cats, and understanding their stories.  It's also about the brave rat friend who helped Nim, who has his own important role in defeating the demon.  I found this enjoyable reading, though kids who come for demon fighting action might find it a bit slow....

That being said, the final demon showdown is great, with Aunt Caroline making a humorously grotesque appearance! 

Nim is a very sweet brave kitten, and the supporting cast of rat, cats and witch are great too!  I enjoyed it, and it would be a great gift for a kid who read all the Warriors books last year and still doesn't want to part with them.

Dogtown, by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko, illustrated by Wallace West

Dogtown, by Katherine Applegate and Gennifer Choldenko, illustrated by Wallace West (younger middle grade, September 19, 2023, Feiwel & Friends) arrived at my home unexpectedly, and I'm very glad it did, because it is a charmer!  It touched the heart of even cynical non-dog person me, and if it can do that, I'm sure that young uncynical dog lovers will be utterly and completely in love with it!

It's the story of a dog named Chance, who lives at Dogtown, a shelter for both regular dogs and robotic ones.  Chance longs every day for her family to come take her home again, though she's worried that they won't want her anymore when they find she only has three legs now.  But this doesn't mean that she spends her days pining.  She has a wonderfully caring personality, and this is what drives the plot.

When a robot dog, Metal Head, arrives at Dogtown, Chance is at first dismissive of them--robot dogs don't have hearts like real ones.  But Metal Head proves her wrong.  This is the catalyst for a chain of events include a tense (and entertaining) adventure for Chance, Metal Head, and Chance's mouse friend outside the safety of Dogtown.  And it's because of Metal Head that Chance finds her family again.  

And although I (cynical, as noted above) tend to squirm at sweet messages, the last message Chance gets from Metal Head made me sniff (in a good way)--"Your heart is a muscle.  It grows stronger the more you use it."  The sweet message is set in the context of a solid story, with characters the reader can't help but care for, and the illustrations make the book all the more appealing.  So many cute dogs!  

But don't think it is all caring friends and happy endings!  Sensitive kids might be distressed by some aspects of the story--Dogtown, sadly, is not a no kill shelter.  And although none of the dogs we meet suffer this fate, it hangs over their heads, adding to their desperate wish to find homes.  Chances backstory is sad--a horrible dog sitter was responsible for the accident that cost Chance her leg.  And Metal Head's story has a twist that might distress--(spoiler) the boy he lived with discarded him as being a childish toy, which reminds me of what happens to kids when friends grow up faster than they do.

Still, the feeling at the end is warm and loving, and I would happily give it as a gift if I had any 8 or 9 year old animal lovers to shop for.