This list of new releases from the second half of February is much more manageable than the one from the first half of February (thank goodness)! As usual, my information comes from Teens Read Too, the blurbs come from Amazon and Goodreads (since I haven't read the books, I can't write my own), and the decision to put the books in this list comes from me--several of the middle grade books might well not be considered fantasy by those that have read them! (But I've always considered The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place fantasy...)
The Middle-Grade Books (ages 9-12)
RIO by Lexa Hillyer. "Blu, a rare blue Spix's Macaw, has everything he needs—heart, attitude . . . feathers—but he's afraid he may never soar. That's all about to change in the magical city of Rio, where Blu has incredible adventures and makes new friends who show Blu he's always had what it takes to make his dreams come true."
THE BLACK BOX: A CASSANDRA VIRUS NOVELby K. V. Johansen "Something is cutting off Spohrville's communication with the outside world. The phones don't work. There's no radio, no TV -- no internet. Are eco-terrorists trying to shut down the Mars Relay satellite? That's what the government says, but Jordan and Helen and the sentient virtual supercomputer Cassandra don't believe a word of it. The town is overrun with "birdwatchers" who can't tell a hawk from a heron. Jordan's old enemy, Harvey Number Two of the spy agency Bureau 6, is sneaking around pretending to be a cop on holiday. And archaeologist Uncle William has dug up a very strange black rock while excavating an Acadian settlement. With no land-lines to the site of the dig and wireless communication impossible, Jordan and Helen have no back-up from Cassandra. They've taken on corrupt government agents and industrial spies before, but they've always had Cassandra behind them. It's the twenty-first century. The bad guys have night-vision goggles and interference triangulators. How did Jordan and Helen get stuck with a bunch of musket-toting historical re-enactors as their only allies?"
THE COLOSSAL FOSSIL FREAKOUT: SPLURCH ACADEMY FOR DISRUPTIVE BOYS by Julie Gardner Berry & Sally Faye Gardner "Headmaster Farley's back and he's ready for revenge, but an unexpected visit from his estranged sister brings monstrous results as she takes over Splurch Academy. Forced to retreat to his laboratory, he hatches a plan to reclaim the school. Meanwhile, Cody Mack and the other boys are pitted against their new classmates--the girls of Priscilla Prim Academy for Precious and Proper Young Ladies."
THE HIDDEN GALLERY: THE INCORRIGIBLE CHILDREN OF ASHTON PLACE by Maryrose Wood "Of especially naughty children it is sometimes said, "They must have been raised by wolves."
The Incorrigible children actually were. Thanks to the efforts of Miss Penelope Lumley, their plucky governess, Alexander, Beowulf, and Cassiopeia are much more like children than wolf pups now. They are accustomed to wearing clothes. They hardly ever howl at the moon. And for the most part, they resist the urge to chase squirrels up trees.
Despite Penelope's civilizing influence, the Incorrigibles still managed to ruin Lady Constance's Christmas ball, nearly destroying the grand house. So while Ashton Place is being restored, Penelope, the Ashtons, and the children take up residence in London. Penelope is thrilled, as London offers so many opportunities to further the education of her unique students. But the city presents challenges, too, in the form of the palace guards' bearskin hats, which drive the children wild—not to mention the abundance of pigeons the Incorrigibles love to hunt. As they explore London, however, they discover more about themselves as clues about the children's—and Penelope's—mysterious past crop up in the most unexpected ways. . . ."
KINGDOM OF TROLLS by Rae Bridgman. "Spin Wil's black medallion - and you'll find the medallion's silver arrow and triangle turn into a five-pointed star. With each new adventure, another tiny gold symbol glimmers on the magical medallion. What do the symbols mean? All cousins Wil and Sophie know is that an ancient and nasty secret society - none other than the Serpent's Chain - wants its black medallion back. A prize trip to Iceland, land of history, danger, and galdur - magic - sends Wil and Sophie on another quest to unravel the mystery of the Serpent's Chain. Meanwhile, someone is tampering with fortune-telling crystal balls and their friend Mr. Bertram has been imprisoned, falsely accused of murder and the theft of a precious manuscript. When the cousins are captured by trolls, it looks like they and their adventures might end up in the soup!"
THE TIME TUNNEL: A STORY FOR ALL AGES by Donald Walters, "While exploring in Rumania, two boys discover a ruined laboratory with a mysterious tunnel. Entering, their bodies shrink. They emerge into a beautiful countryside and meet Hansel, whose father invented the time-tunnel. Hansel shows the boys how to encase themselves in time-light spheres. The trio journeys through time, visiting the Middle Ages, ancient Greece and Egypt, and forward into a surprising future. Along the way the boys gain valuable lessons about history and human behavior."
WE ARE NOT EATEN BY YAKS: AN ACCIDENTAL ADVENTURE by C. Alexander London "Eleven-year-old twins Oliver and Celia Navel do not like adventures--in fact, they would have preferred it if they had been left out of this story altogether. But, alas, they had no choice in the matter. Unfortunately for the twins, they live on the 4-1/2th floor of the Explorers Club with their parents who are world-famous adventurers and daredevils, and so have been dragged from continent to continent their entire lives. Even worse, their mother has gone missing, and their father has bet the evil Sir Edmund S. Tithletorpe-Schmidt III that he'll find her and make one of the greatest discoveries in history. And the stakes of his bet? Oliver and Celia will be his servants until they graduate from high school. Which, when you have only just finished fifth grade, is a long way off. So, the twins must give up their summer of television and head to Tibet where they fall out of airplanes, battle Yetis, discover secret caves, fly over waterfalls, and ride one very large yak. If they can survive their ordeal, if they can decipher the clues, and if they can outwit Sir Edmund, they might just reunite their family, save the world . . . and get cable television. We shall hope, for their sake, that they do."
The Young Adult Books (ages 12 and up)
ANGELS AND HUNTERS: THE STOKER SISTERS by Kailin Gow. "Torn... Between two sisters...mere rivalry has become deadly. Between two loves...one will be the key to redemption, the other will destroy them. The battle has begun... Angels and Hunters."
DARKEST MERCY: WICKED LOVELY by Melissa Marr "The Summer King is missing; the Dark Court is bleeding; and a stranger walks the streets of Huntsdale, his presence signifying the deaths of powerful fey.
Aislinn tends to the Summer Court, searching for her absent king and yearning for Seth. Torn between his new queen and his old love, Keenan works from afar to strengthen his court against the coming war. Donia longs for fiery passion even as she coolly readies the Winter Court for battle. And Seth, sworn brother of the Dark King and heir to the High Queen, is about to make a mistake that could cost his life.
Love, despair, and betrayal ignite the Faery Courts, and in the final conflict, some will win . . . and some will lose everything."
DARKNESS BECOMES HER by Kelly Keaton "Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is. Her search for answers uncovers just one message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.
She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.
Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed."
FROST KISSES: FROST by Kailin Gow (sorry-couldn't find a blurb)
HAVEN by Kristi Cook "One month into her junior year, sixteen-year-old Violet McKenna transfers to the Winterhaven School in New York’s Hudson Valley, inexplicably drawn to the boarding school with high hopes. Leaving Atlanta behind, she’s looking forward to a fresh start--a new school, and new classmates who will not know her deepest, darkest secret, the one she’s tried to hide all her life: strange, foreboding visions of the future.
But Winterhaven has secrets of its own, secrets that run far deeper than Violet’s. Everyone there--every student, every teacher--has psychic abilities, 'gifts and talents,' they like to call them. Once the initial shock of discovery wears off, Violet realizes that the school is a safe haven for people like her. Soon, Violet has a new circle of friends, a new life, and maybe even a boyfriend--Aidan Gray, perhaps the smartest, hottest guy at Winterhaven.
Only there’s more to Aidan than meets the eye--much, much more. And once she learns the horrible truth, there’s no turning back from her destiny. Their destiny. Together, Violet and Aidan must face a common enemy--if only they can do so without destroying each other first."
THE IRON THORN: THE IRON CODEX by Caitlin Kittredge "In the city of Lovecraft, the Proctors rule and a great Engine turns below the streets, grinding any resistance to their order to dust. The necrovirus is blamed for Lovecraft's epidemic of madness, for the strange and eldritch creatures that roam the streets after dark, and for everything that the city leaders deem Heretical—born of the belief in magic and witchcraft. And for Aoife Grayson, her time is growing shorter by the day.
Aoife Grayson's family is unique, in the worst way—every one of them, including her mother and her elder brother Conrad, has gone mad on their 16th birthday. And now, a ward of the state, and one of the only female students at the School of Engines, she is trying to pretend that her fate can be different."
RESOLVE: WICKED LOVELY, DESERT TALES by Melissa Marr "The conclusion of Melissa Marr's manga series set in the world of her bestselling Wicked Lovely novels!
Hidden away from the concerns of the faery and mortal worlds, Rika has treasured the solitude of the desert. But now a threat imperils her desert home—and as a new romance blossoms, so does Rika's determination to face that threat head-on. The time for hiding is over."
TORTALL AND OTHER LANDS: A COLLECTION OF TALES by Tamora Pierce "Collected here for the first time are all of the tales from the land of Tortall, featuring both previously unknown characters as well as old friends. Filling some gaps of time and interest, these stories, some of which have been published before, will lead Tammy's fans, and new readers into one of the most intricately constructed worlds of modern fantasy."
A TOUCH MORTAL by Leah Clifford. "Eden didn't expect Az. Not his saunter down the beach toward her. Not his unbelievable pick up line. Not the instant, undeniable connection. And not his wings. Yeah. So long happily-ever-after. Now trapped between life and death, cursed to spread chaos with her every touch, Eden could be the key in the eternal struggle between heaven and hell. All because she gave her heart to one of the Fallen, an angel cast out of heaven. She may lose everything she ever had. She may be betrayed by those she loves most. But Eden will not be a pawn in anyone else's game. Her heart is her own. And that's only the beginning of the end.
UNNATURAL: ARCHANGEL ACADEMY by Michael Griffo "Michael Howard and Ronan Glynn-Rowley meet at Archangel Academy, an all-boys school in Eden, a rural town in north western England. Both are outcasts and decried as unnatural, Michael because he's gay, and Ronan because he's a hybrid vampire. But when Ronan, afraid to reveal his true self to Michael, turns him into a vampire against his will, both become drawn into a dangerous new world, where traditional vampires plot to destroy hybrids, and where fellow students, teachers, even their own families have unexpected secrets..."
First, congratulations to The Shadows (The Books of Elsewhere, 1), the winner of the Cybils Award in middle grade sff! The sequel comes out this summer, and I can't wait for it!
Katherine Langrish has wrapped up her lovely Fairy Tale Reflection series with a post of her own, at Seven Miles of Steel Thistles (and by way of thanking her for all the wonderful reading this series offered, I wanted to mention the imminent release of all three of her "Troll" books in one volume, entitled West of the Moon).
More information can be found at Bookyurt.
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