Secret in the Stone (The Unicorn Quest 2), by Kamilla Benko

Secret in the Stone is the second book in the Unicorn Quest series by Kamilla Benko (Bloomsbury Feb. 29, 2019). It continues the adventures of two sisters, Claire and Sophie, in the magical land of Arden that they'd entered (in good portal fantasy fashion) by climbing up one of the chimneys of their great-aunt's home.

Arden is a place full of magic, with different guilds each with their own domain of power.  Claire had discovered in the first book that she has Gemmer magic (an affinity with all things stone).  Sophie has yet to manifest any talent. But though Arden still has lots of magic, it's diminished since the unicorns were massacred by an evil queen years ago.   Meeting a unicorn toward the end of book one has given Claire hope that she can find out how to restore unicorns and their magic to Arden, keeping it from falling into civil war.  She and Sophie are possibly the last descendants of Arden's royal family, and if anyone can  wake the unicorns again, it is them.  Sophie is more doubtful.

But their path is complicated by a faction of Royalists, who want to bring the queen who killed the unicorns back (the story many people believe paints the queen in a much more positive light).  And so Claire and Sophie find themselves pawns in a larger game of conspiracies, secrets, and lies, complicated by the rising tensions between the various guilds of magic, and complicated as well when friends require rescuing from mortal peril.  On top of that, there's growing tension between the sisters--Claire's faith in unicorn restoration is not matched by Sophie, who's struggling with her complicated feelings about not having magic of her own.

The dangers mount as the book reaches its end, which comes with many new exciting surprises that will leave readers eagerly awaiting the next book!

It's a very satisfying middle grade fantasy--all the elements that one expects are there, with the interesting addition of explicit tension between the sisters--they love each other, but are frustrated with each other at the same time, and it's complicated by the fact that Sophie was dangerously ill in the real world.   So it's as solid a choice as you can get for offering to the young reader who loves unicorns (though they are actually not physically present in this book), the possibility of other worlds where ordinary kids can become magical, and stories of sisters!  

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

Time Castaways: the Mona Lisa Key, by Liesl Shurtliff, for Timeslip Tuesday

If you enjoy quirky time-travel heist stories for middle grade readers, you'll love The Mona Lisa Key, the first book of Liesl Shurtliff's new Time Castaways series (Katherine Tegan Books, Sept. 2018).

Matt, adopted from Columbia, and his two younger (non-adopted) siblings, Ruby and Corey, have grown up spending almost as much time at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as they have at home--both their parents work there.  They've also been very sheltered by their parents, forbidden to roam the city and never using public transportation.  Then one morning the kids, running late for school, decide to take the forbidden subway.  And it turns out their parent's rule was warranted, when the subway car turns into a time-travelling sailing ship.

The captain of the Vermillion crews his vessel with kids more-or-less randomly plucked from different times, and a few grown-ups of mysterious origin.  His interest in these particular kids, as it turns out, is not random at all.  Captain Vincent needs Max to solve a centuries old puzzle.

The first step is stealing the Mona Lisa in early 20th century Paris, at the exact same time that would-be art thieves are trying to abscond with her.  Captain Vincent explains that he's not a thief himself; he simply plucks treasures in danger from their moments of peril to be returned later.  And since the kids know the Mona Lisa hangs in the Louvre in their own time, they accept that he's not a bad sort of time-travel pirate.

The Mona Lisa has a secret, and once that secret is unlocked, it leads to another clue, even harder to crack. , Captain Vincent become ferociously driven to solve the puzzle, pressing Max to use his gift for puzzle-solving deduction, and pressing the Vermillion on time-trip after time-trip, using the magical compass that lets him pick and choose when and where to go.

At the court of Queen Elizabeth, the kids' suspicions about the Captain prove justified, and only Max's strange rapport with the compass gives them any chance of seeing their own home place and time....

It's a whirlwind adventure.  The kids themselves would have welcomed more peaceful time on the ship in its home ocean between times, getting to know the crew (mostly friendly, all quirky), and the ship herself (she has a mind of her own, and I liked her lots).  Nor do they get to do much sight-seeing back in the past....it's mostly a series of in and out hops, with little interaction with people.  Character development is not a strong part of the story, especially for the two younger kids  (Corey, in particular, was a bit one-note), perhaps that will happen in the sequel.   So not my own personal favorite sort of time-travel book.  That being said, it is a fun mystery-infused adventure, though not, at this juncture at least, wildly original.  The feel of the story reminded a bit of Adrienne Kress, and I think if you like her books you'll like this.

The Kirkus review reaches much the same conclusion as I do: "Time-traveling pirates, whimsical humor, a sentient ship, and cliffhanger predicaments deliver generous helpings of quirky, retro-tinged entertainment." (Except I'm not sure what exactly they mean by "retro-tinged."  The kids had a cell phone, which made it seem totally au currant to me.  But possibly I am so old now that what seems normal to me seems retro to the youth of today....thinking even more about it, perhaps the fact that they shared a cell phone is retro.)

No mg sci fi/fantasy round up today

I have family visiting today, so no time for the round-up!  Come back next Sunday!

Cogheart, by Peter Bunzl

If you are in the mood for a late Victorian steampunk adventure (of the escape the bad guys sort) suitable for younger middle grade kids (8-9 year olds) but a pleasant read for grown-ups too, and like mechanical foxes, pick up Cogheart, by Peter Bunzl (Jolly Fox, Feb 12, 2019).  This has been on my Goodreads tbr list since it was first published over in the UK in 2016, and it was great to get the chance to read it now that it's being published here in the US!  (yes I know I could have gotten it through the Book Depository, but that way lies shopping madness....).

Lily's life at a regimented finishing school is unpleasant.  But when her father's housekeeper comes to fetch her away, things to not improve.  For one thing, tragedy has struck- her father is presumed to have died when his airship crashed.  For another, the housekeeper has taken over the house, tearing it apart in a mysterious search, all the money is (apparently) gone, and orphaned Lily (her mother died several years previously) has no one to care for her, except, perhaps, her godfather (though he is too old and sickly to take her in).

Meanwhile, the mechanical fox belonging to Lily's father survived the crash, and desperately tries to reach her to deliver a message.  But the fox is pursued by two murderous thugs (one of them truly creepy, with glass discs for eyes), and badly wounded by a gunshot, it barely makes it to a safe hiding place in the shed of the village clockmaker.  The clockmaker's son, Robert, finds the fox, who tells him to go get Lily.

Though Lily and Robert make it back to Robert's home safely, the two thugs are now pursuing them as well as the fox, and Robert's father is killed.  Fortunately they encounter a daring young woman who's an aviator as well as a journalist, and they escape in her zeppelin.   But the hunt goes on, and the stakes get ever higher, and the dangers greater...and their path leads to the heart of the mystery--Lily's father's greatest invention, the Cogheart…

Once the chase is on, about a quarter of the way into the book, it's an exciting and vivid adventure.  It had a steampunk Joan Aiken feel to it for me (the evil housekeeper reminded me vividly of The Wolves of Whillouhby Chase), and the mad dash through the skies and wide range of mechanicals was the sort of odd adventure she might have written if steampunk had occurred to her.  (I hope this is useful; if it is not useful because you have not read Joan Aiken, you should read Joan Aiken).

The two kids, Lucy and Robert, both were given the chance to have their characters made clear to the reader before life and death made character development mostly a matter of being brave (which was a greater leap for Robert than for Lily; his self-doubt and personal fears were greater, and it was satisfying seeing him over come them).   I liked them both, Lily for wanting to read forbidden adventures at school, and for appreciating that the mechanical constructs had genuine feelings and personalities, and Robert for being stalwart and endearing.

So all in all, a satisfying story!  Not exactly to my personal taste, because desperate flights from murderous thugs are not my cup of tea, but I enjoyed it nonetheless because of all the interesting details.

(I seem to have used more parentheses here than in any other review I've ever written.  This is probably meaningful in some way, but I'm not sure what way that would be.  In any event, it should not be held against the book.)

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

This week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (2/10/19)

Here's what I found this week; please let me know if I missed your post!

The Reviews

The Adventurer's Guide to Treasure (and How to Steal It), by Wade Albert White, at Say What?

Angel and Bavar, by Amy Wilson, at Crossroad Reviews 

Big Foot and Little Foot by Ellen Potter (series review) at Geo Librarian

The Book of Boy, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock, at Sonderbooks

The Boggart Fights Back, by Susan Cooper, at BooksForKidsBlog

Cogheart, by Peter Bunzl, at Log Cabin Library, Confessions of a Serial Reader, and Cracking the Cover

Dragon Pearl, by Yoon Ha Lee, at the B. and N. Kids Blog

Dragon Slippers, by Jessica Day George, at Hidden in Pages

Eventown, by Corey Ann Haydu, at Waking Brian Cells

The Ghost Road, by Charis Cotter, at Puss Reboots

The Girl with the Dragon Heart, by Stephanie Burgis, at By Singing Light

The Hive Queen, by Tui T. Sutherland, at Hidden in Pages

The Ice Garden, by Guy Jones, at Charlotte's Library

Into the Jungle, by Katherine Rundell, at Redeened Reader

The Last Timekeepers and the Arch of Atlantis, by Sharon Ledwith, at Say What?

Little Red Rodent Hood, by Ursula Vernon, at Jean Little Library

The Lost Girl, by Anne Ursu, at Kristi Call and Maria's Melange

Nightbooks, by J.A. White, at Forever Lost in Literature

Outwalkers, by Fiona Shaw, at Charlotte's Library

The Owls Have Come to Take Us Away, by Roland Smith, at The Winged Pen

A Sprinkle of Spirits, by Anna Meriano, at Charlotte's Library
https://charlotteslibrary.blogspot.com/2019/02/love-sugar-magic-sprinkle-of-spirits-by.html
Sweep, by Jonathan Auxier, at Random Musings of a Bibliophile and Reading in the Middle Grades

Unwritten, by Tara Gilboy, at Sharon the Librarian

Viper, by Bex Hogan, at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books

We're Not From Here, by Geoff Rodkey, at Fuse#8

Authors and Interviews

Henry Lien (Peasprout Chen series) at WriteOnCon

Michelle Harrison (A Pinch of Magic) at A little but a lot

Anna Meriano (A Sprinkle of Spirits) at Nerdy Book Club and Las Musas


Other Good Stuff

The Waterstones Children's Book Prize Shortlists have been announced; here's the "younger fiction:"

• The House with Chicken Legs, Sophie Anderson (Usborne)
• The Train to Impossible Places, P.G. Bell (Usborne)
• Brightstorm, Vashti Hardy (Scholastic)
• The Mystery of the Colour Thief, Ewa Jozefkowicz (Head of Zeus)
• The Boy Who Grew Dragons, Andy Shepherd (Templar)

all but one (The Mystery of the Colour Thief) is speculative fiction!

A round-up of mythic fantasy at Jean Little Library

SLJ is holding a Middle Grade Magic virual summit March 27
https://www.hbook.com/2019/02/news/preview-march-april-2019-horn-book-magazine/

Love Sugar Magic: A Sprinkle of Spirits, by Anna Meriano

It's such a lovely thing to enjoy the first book of a series lots (here's my review of Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble) and then to read the second book and not just enjoy it but love it!  A Sprinkle of Sprits (Walden Pond, Feb. 5 2019) continues the story of Leo, a girl whose family runs a magical bakery in a small Texas town, who longs to learn all she can about magic, even though her family thinks she's too young.  The oldest two of her four big sisters are also unencouraging about her friend Caroline; they don't think that magical folk should share too much with ordinary people.  Leo feels pressured to chose between friendship and magic, and she's knows she has responsibilities to the bakery...and now Caroline's feelings are badly hurt.

When Leo wakes up to find her abuela, dead for years, visiting her in very corporal form, she's sure that this time it isn't her fault.  Other spirits are popping up around town as well, and if it isn't Leo's magic at work, whose is it, and how can it be reversed?  The answer is unexpected, and a lovely surprise!

The six spirits all have their own agendas and unfinished business, and thought it becomes clear that they need to be sent back before they fade into nothingness, they aren't easily corralled.   Leo gets her family's permission to call on her friends to help, and a wild ghost chase ensues.  And finally, in the end, peace returns for both the living and the dead, and Leo finds out what her own particular magical gift is.

A Dash of Trouble is primarily about things going awfully wrong, so it was fun, but not desperately relaxing.  Things go wrong here too, but the point of the book is not magical mistakes, but family, communication, trust, and obligations, so it was a much warmer read!  I loved the spirits, each with their own concerns (they were sweetly mundane concerns--checking on family, garden, piano, and town...), and loved how Leo and Caroline's friendship survives its test to become stronger.  Leo becomes more empathetic, as well as more magical; she's much more likeable in this one!

And there are still all the warm, delicious treats being baked in the family business, sweeting the story even further.



For  more Anna Meriano goodness, including giveaways, visit the other blog tour stops!

February 5      Nerdy Book Club
February 7      Las Musas Reads
February 9      Charlotte's Library
February 10    A Library Mama
February 11    Boricua Reads
February 12    YAYOMG
February 13    Pragmaticmom
February 14    Latinos in Kidlit
February 14.   24hr.yabookblog

And finally, Anna Meriano will be here in Rhode Island in March for Kidlitcon Providence, talking about magic in the real world and signing books!

Outwalkers, by Fiona Shaw

Outwalkers, by Fiona Shaw (David Fickling Books, Middle Grade, Feb 26, 2019), is set in a future England that closed its boarders after the Faith Bombings.  To keep people "safe", they are chipped, and warned not to venture into the countryside for fear of the virus that lurks there.  When Jake's parents die, he's sent to one of the government homes, which are basically prisons for unclaimed kids.  Jake escapes, and returns to his old home, where he's reunited with his beloved dog, Jet.  But then he's faced with an impossible journey--escape from England to his grandparents in Scotland, on the other side of a heavily militarized boarder.

Fortunately for Jake, he's found by a band of Outwalkers, kids in circumstances similar to his own, who are also trying to head to the free north.  The Outwalker kids have been on their own long enough to learn how to survive...but even once they remove their chips, the journey north is fraught with danger.  When a security guard accidently dies while trying to catch them in London, the danger gets even more intense.  Escaping into an abandoned Underground station, they are safe for the moment, but it is a trap.  And when a new girl joins their band, wanted by one of the highest government officials in the country, a safe way north seems even harder to believe in.

But they make it in the end, thanks to remarkable luck and a series of helpful grownups appearing like dei ex machina to risk their own lives to get the kids to safety.

It's certainly an exciting story, with lots of peril and uncertainty and close shaves.  If  you like survival stories, you'll find lots to enjoy in that regard;  hunger is a constant in these kids' lives (aside--I appreciate that one of the things the kids steal is tampons; nice bit of realism!). If you are looking for strong friendships, you'll find them here too, to a certain extent.  The reader is expected to believe in the strong bonds that form amongst the kids as they look out for each other (and I did), but the stress of their journey, and the traumas that each one carries with them, means that there's little time for bonds stemming from sharing and talking.   Fiona Shaw's choice to indicate dialogue with beginning dashes, -like this, she said, is jarring, and didn't work well for me, and what will young readers think of it?

So my reaction was somewhat mixed, but if you like kids on the run from the evil government, and it is a very evil government, terrifyingly plausible, you might well enjoy it lots!

In case you were wondering/worrying-- Jet, Jake's dog, has a role in the story, and (spoiler warning) he doesn't die.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

The Ice Garden, by Guy Jones

The Ice Garden, by Guy Jones (Chicken House, January 2019 in the US), is the story of a lonely girl who finds her way through magic to a frozen garden, a friend, and a terrible choice.

Jess is allergic to the sun, and so her mother keeps her safely, vigilantly working to protect her daughter, which means keeping her inside almost all the time, and letting her go outside only when shrouded against all possible touch of the sun.  So Jess has no friends, and her only escape is in writing stories.  One night she rebels, and walks out of the house unprotected...and finds herself entering a night-time garden all made of ice.  It is a beautiful, magical place, and there Jess finds a friend, a strange boy named Owen.

Owen is not communicative about the garden, though he does hint that there's a dark side to it's beauty.  And Jess is so delighted both to be outside and to have a friend that the whispers of darkness are irrelevant.  In the meantime, her hospital visits become more interesting when she starts sneaking into the room of a boy in a coma to tell him stories.

Then both worlds collide when Owen tests the limits of the ice-gardens magic to give Jess her heart's desire--to stand in the sun, unafraid.  And Jess is faced with undoing the result of that gift, and a terrible choice that will determine the fate not just of herself, but both boys...

One thing bothered me about the book, Jess's mother seems almost pathological in her protectiveness....it seems like she could have given her daughter more semblance of a normal life, but instead infantilizes her, calling her "little one" all the time.   So Jess has almost no agency, which is why sneaking out of the house at night is so important to her.  In the last conversation between Jess and her mother in the book, though, the mother makes Jess promise never ever to do such a thing again, and it's like she wants to trap her daughter forever (quite possibly I'm reading too much into it...but that's how I felt).

The ice-garden is a lovely, magical bit of wonder, such as will delight the young reader who loves beautifully described impossible places.   Jess's friendship with Owen also makes for good reading, and I didn't actually mind the magical healing/unhealing part of the end.  I also wasn't bothered by the complete lack of explanation for the magic; I went as far as to ask myself if I should be, but decided not to be.   Sometimes ice gardens happen.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

This week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (2/3/18)

Here's this week's round-up; let me know if I missed your post!  thanks.

The Reviews

The Alchymist, by Michael Scott, at proseandkahn

The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge, by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin, at Books4yourkids

Cogheart, by Peter Bunzl, at Geek Reads Kids

The Collectors, by Jacqueline West, at Lindsay Maeve Schubert

A Dash of Trouble (Love Sugar Magic #1), by Anna Meriano, at Fafa's Book Corner

The Darkdeep, by Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs, at Cracking the Cover

Dragon Pearl, by Yoon Ha Lee, at Charlotte's Library

Eleanor Roosevelt's in my Garage, by Candace Fleming, at Charlotte's Library

Eternal Seas, by Lexi Rees, at Chrikaru Reads

The Extremely High Tide, by Kir Fox and M. Shelley Coats, at Crossroad Reviews

Lenny's Book of Everything, by Karen Foxlee, at Magic Fiction Since Potter

The Lost Girl, by Anne Ursu, at For Those About to Mock and Teach Mentor Texts

Mabel Jones and the Doomsday Book, by Will Mabbitt and Ross Collins, at Puss Reboots

The Midnight HOur, by Benjamin Read and Laura Trinder, at The Book Activist

The Night Gardener, by Jonathan Auxier, at Suzanne Goulden

The Ropemaker, by Peter Dickinson, at Puss Reboots

Steel Magic, by Andre Norton, at Tor

Thomas Wildus and the Book of Sorrows, by J.M. Bergen, at Always in the Middle, Bookworm for Kids, and Smitten for Fiction

Authors and Interviews

Anne Ursu (The Lost Girl) at Publishers Weekly

Author Kim Ventrella (The Skeleton Tree, Bone Hollow) talks about Magical Realism in Middle Grade at MG Book Village

Other Good Stuff

Congratulations to The Book of Boy, by Catherine Gilbert Murdock (Newbery Honor) and The Collectors, by Jacqueline West (Schneider Family Book Award MG honor) representing MG fantasy in the ALA awards! And congratulations to Sweep, by Jonathan Auxier, winner of the Sydney Taylor Book Award.

Dragon Pearl, by Yoon Ha Lee

The most recent book from Rick Riordan Presents, Dragon Pearl, by Yoon Ha Lee (January 2019), takes Korean mythology on a wild ride into space, and it's lots of fun! Actually I take that back, it isn't really "fun" because mostly things are going wrong for the young heroine, Min, a shapeshifting fox girl from a backwater planet.


The book starts by things going very wrong indeed, with a government agent coming to Min's family farm to ask about her older brother, a cadet in the space corps. who apparently deserted to go find the legendary Dragon Pearl, a device of terraforming magic, Min ends up knocking him out with a sauce pan.


Recognizing that staying peacefully at home isn't a great option for her, Min decides to set out on her own to find her brother. Finding the Dragon Pearl would be great too--her planet's terraforming never was completed. Her journey eventually takes her to the very war ship her brother served on. A newly dead cadet lets her assume his form (something fox magic lets her do), and she, a thirteen-year old girl, has to use all her magic and cunning to pass as a 16 year old boy. And now she has the ghost's agenda (solving the mystery behind his death) to take care of as well as her own quest for her brother and the Dragon Pearl.

The warship, captained by a shapeshifting tiger, is full of secrets and lies, and there is danger both without and within its hull, both to Min and to the thousand planets...

So there are lots and lots of times when everything is very tense indeed, making it hard for me to relax. Happily, there are less fraught elements as well, such as Min's experiences as a cadet, trying desperately to figure out what she's supposed to be doing, and making friends with the friends of the dead boy (which is a little disturbing, but which is all sorted out in the end). The friends are a female dragon and a non-binary goblin with a snack-conjuring fork among other magics, and I loved the parts of the story in which they and Min are together.

The plot is intricate without being confusing, the world-building is superb, and the characters are well-developed, and Min, in particular, with her mix of cunning and naivete, is fascinating. Min's magic, and the magic of other supernatural types of persons encountered along the way, add wonder to the sci fi elements. I now wonder why there aren't more hybrid sci fi/fantasy space stories, because when well done, as it is here, it's great reading!

Eleanor Roosevelt's In My Garage, by Candace Fleming, for Timeslip Tuesday

Eleanor Roosevelt's In My Garage, by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Mark Fearing (Schwartz & Wade, September 2018) , is just the sort of entertaining time travel story the title suggests.  Nolan and his little sister Olive have had experience with time travel--they just hosted Ben Franklin for a visit (Ben Franklin's in my Bathroom).  Now the strange device that brought Ben forward in time, and took him home again, has done it again, and Eleanor Roosevelt shows up in their suburban Illinois home.  And just a little while later, she's joined by her family dog, little Fala.

Eleanor is, of course, a strong minded, level-headed sort of person, and she believes the kids when they assure her she'll get home safely.  But the device doesn't work automatically--some positive change has to be made by the time travelling visitor.  When Eleanor finds the local park is going to be made into a parking lot, she rallies the kids to the cause of saving it.  And though the locals aren't easily swayed to oppose the mayor's plan, Nolan and Olive rise to the occasion.

Saving the park isn't enough, though, to get Eleanor and Fala home.  Something more personal is required, just a small thing to change Nolan's life....

I loved the portrayal of Eleanor--she is just the determined, smart, brave sort of person that I imagine she would be if she found her self in the 21st century (although she's not all that curious about modern times, which is perhaps a wise choice).  Nolan isn't a particularly heroic or interesting kid, but his good-hearted and does his best.  Olive is a total brat, and I couldn't stand her efforts to be winsomely cute and get her own way all the time.  Fala is lots of fun.

It's not a preachy book--it's point is not life lessons, but rather to entertain while perhaps instructing a little.  Short graphic stories flash back to Eleanor's own time, from her girlhood trauma of being constantly put down by her mother, to the time she and her husband entertained the King and Queen of England in true American style.  The author's note at the end expends on the bits of history offered in the story.  So it's not at all necessary to know anything about her to enjoy the story, but by the end of it it's hard to imagine readers not admiring her!

Kids will enjoy the generously-fonted text and the humorous illustrations, and pick up a bit of history in the process!  A good pick for 7-10 year olds.  And I might well go get my hands on the first book....even though Olive is awful.  And probably the next book as well....

This week's round up of middle grade sci fi/fantasy from around the blogs (1/27/19)

Here's what I found this week; please let me know if I missed your post!

The Reviews

The Axe of Sundering (Adventurers Wanted #5), by M.L. Forman, at Say What?

Bob, by Wendy Mass and Rebecca Stead, at Not Acting My Age

Charlie Hernández and the League of Shadows, by Ryan Calejo, at Ice Fairy's Treasure Chest

Dragon Pearl, by Yoon Ha Lee, at Fantasy Book Café and This Kid Reviews Books and The Book Smugglers at Kirkus

City of Ghosts, by Victoria Schwab, at Ex Libris

Echo North, by Joanna Ruth Meyer, at Pages Unbound

Frederik Sandwich and the Mayor Who Lost Her Marbles (Frederick Sandwich 2) by Kevin John Scott, at Sharon the Librarian

The Golden Specific, by S.E. Grove at Pages Unbound

Island of Monsters (Spirit Hunters #2) by Ellen Oh, at Jean Little Library

The Lost Girl, by Anne Ursu, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Neverending Story, by Michael Ende, at proseandkahn

Ollie Oxley and the Ghost: the Search for Lost Gold, by Lisa Schimd, at Say What?

Otherwood, by Pete Hautman, at bibliobrit

The Peculiar Peggs of Riddling Woods, by Samuel J. Halpin, at Magic Fiction Since Potter

Smoke and Mirrors, by K.D. Halbrook, at Rajiv's Reviews

Sands of Nezza (Adventures Wanted #4), by M.L. Forman, at Say What?

Sorcery for Beginners, by Matt Harry, at Log Cabin Library

A Sprinkle of Spirits, by Anna Meriano, at Ms. Yingling Reads

The Star-Spun Web, by Sinéad O’Hart, at Mr Ripleys Enchanted Books and Fallen Star Stories

Starry River of the Sky, by Grace Lin, at Hidden in Pages

Sweep, by Jonathan Auxier, at Literacious

Thomas Wildus and The Book of Sorrows by J.M. Bergen, at Log Cabin Library

The Transparacy Tonic (Potion Masters #2) by Frank L. Cole, at Cracking the Cover

Wundersmith: the Calling of Morrigan Crow, by Jessica Townsend, at Say What?

Two at Alexa Loves Books--The Darkdeep, by Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs, and Savage, by Nicole Conway

Authors and Interviews

Catherine Doyle (The Storm Keeper's Island) at Nerdy Book Club

Other Good Stuff

Kidlitcon 2019 is just around the corner--March 22 and 23.  There will be lots of mg fantasy goodness, including this session:

Diverse Fantasy in the Real World

Middle grade fantasy set in the real world can be a great escape for young readers, but just as importantly, it can offer new ways of seeing what is “real,” bringing attention to critical issues and making visible histories that maybe aren’t part of the standard curriculum. And of course it’s important that we have books with diverse protagonists to reflect the diversity of the real world; every kid should have the chance at magic! As well as addressing diversity gaps in fantasy, and how to fill them, this panel considers what makes good real world fantasy—how much magic do kids want? What stories resonate, and with whom? And how do gatekeepers know when the fantastical elements in a story warrant putting the little unicorn sticker on the spine, or when the magical realism of a particular culture falls on the side of realistic fiction?

With Zetta Elliott, Rajani LaRocca, Anna Meriano, S.R. Toliver (moderator) 

Rajani LaRocca's debut, Midsummer's Mayhem, comes out in June, and Simon and Schuster has generously sent all these lovely arcs for those who come to this session!  (aren't they pretty!)

A Curse so Dark and Lonely, by Brigid Kemmerer

I love reimaginings of Beauty and the Beast; it's always so fun to see what different twists each author brings to the story!  And so it was with great pleasure that I devoured A Curse so Dark and Lonely, by Brigid Kemmerer (Bloomsbury YA, January 29, 2019), because her twists are great fun and add considerably to the basic story.

"Beauty" is Harper, a girl from our world, with a family in trouble, cerebral palsy, and a very strong will.  "Beast" is Rhen,, who lives in a castle haunted by the curse of a nasty enchantress, with his faithful Commander of Guards, Grey, his only companion.  The breaking of the curse requires the usual love between Beauty and Beast, but in this retelling, Rhen is only a beast for part of each season of the curse, and reverts to human back at the beginning of a new season, over and over again.  Grey can pass into our world, from whence he has brought many young women, hoping one will break the curse.  Harper wasn't a girl he intended to bring back, but when she witnessed what looked to her like a girl being kidnapped, she intervened...and got taken instead.

Harper is determined get home....and smart enough to realize how impossible that is pretty quickly.  Rhen (still human) and Grey and Harper, alone in the castle with Harper gradually picking up the clues that things are terribly awry, makes for good reading all by itself (they are all interesting characters, hiding things from each other and themselves), but this is just the introduction.

Where this retelling really broke the mold, and I loved it for doing so, was acknowledging that there's a world outside the cursed castle.  Rhen is the prince of his country, and his people have been suffering, and though he took action at the beginning to try to ameliorate things by closing the boarder, an enemy invasion is imminent.  The closed boarders and lack of cohesive government have caused more mundane problems as well, and Rhen has thought there was nothing he could do about any of it and so he didn't bother trying.

Harper blazes through this misconception like a meteor.  For instance, if your castle produces magic food every day, you feed it to the starving masses.  And her fresh perspective works wonders in Rhen.  His brain, frozen by the bloody horror of his situation, starts to think of the bigger political picture, and what he can and cannot do, and the story become one not just of fairy tale romance, but of Political Machinations/Desperate Schemes, during which romance may (or may not) be happening.
Viz the romance--this isn't actually a love story, though there's enough tension and maybe love in the future not do disappoint the romantic.   I appreciated that Harper, who is in fact a kidnapping victim, doesn't start swooning right and left over either of the two handsome men she is stuck with.  Instead, she thinks about them, finding things to question, and things to admire, in both. And she brings hope to both that there might be an end to the curse....as all three of them do some hard thinking about what they are responsible for, and what they aren't, and what they can do with the choices they have been given.

So lots of interesting twisting of the parent story (there are more that I didn't mention) make this a fabulous read for fairy tale fans, fans of desperate political/military maneuvering, and fans of slow burning trust into (?) love in the future.  Harper is perhaps a bit too good to be true, but her strengths and smarts allow her to play her role convincingly.  The author worked hard to make this a realistic portrayal of someone with CP, and there are things that are hard for her to do as a result (dancing, for instance), but her CP doesn't define her, or keep her from accomplishing what she sets out to do.  Thinking about this, I'm very glad that she struggled with knife throwing (one way to pass the time in an enchanted castle where you are being held against your will), because it kept her from being too perfect (she never does get really good at knife throwing).

If Harper is maybe too good to be true, the evil fairy character is too one-dimensionally bad to be true.  Her motivations are petty (at least, that is how they are presented to the reader) and she's sadistic with no clear point to it all (she reminded me of the evil computer overlord in "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream").  Maybe there is more to her that we didn't get to see here, but it may also be that she's just a really villainous person because that's how she rolls.  I like my villains to have, if not possible redemption arcs, at least a backstory that's not petty....so I'll hope for the former.

It's a long book, almost 500 pages, but the twists keep adding interest, and keep coming, so it didn't feel dragged out.  Most of the story is set in the magic world, but toward the end Washington D.C., and new characters, come into it, bringing fresh energy to the story (and a sweet gay couple). Give yourself a nice long weekend to read it in, and then join me in waiting for the next book (at least one sequel has been promised).

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher

On the Wasteland, by Ruth M. Arthur, for Timeslip Tuesday

I was so sure that On the Wasteland, by Ruth M. Arthur, illustrated by Margery Gill, would finally be the book of hers that I truly loved.  The plot hits all the right notes for me.  The heroine, Betony, is a smart, orphaned girl drawn to the lonely wasteland at the edge of the Suffolk coast, and happily for her the orphanage gives her freedom to wander around in it alone (nice orphanage!).   She makes friends with the old couple whose house is an overturned boat (this isn't something I actually look for in books, but it is a nice touch).   This friendship leads her to working part time in the manor house (for which I give it bonus points) where she's given the run of the library (lots of bonus points).  And there's the handsome teenaged grandson of the lady of the manor, with romance to come hinted at (this would have gotten more bonus points back when I was a young teen myself.  Hardened cynical me rolls eyes, but in a kind way).

And on top of all that, there's a time slip plotline--in the Wasteland, Betony is sometimes swept into the past, when Vikings were settling in Suffolk (not exactly invading, but not invited by the Saxons either, so not peaceful).  At first she is just an observing shadow, but as she grows from child to teen, her immersion in the past becomes deeper, and the Vikings start to see her, and she steps into the role of Estrith, a girl her own age.  Her Viking family starts to matter more and more to her, though the past is sometimes disturbing.  

It is also disturbing that there have been quite a number of people before Betony who were found drowned in the Wasteland.  

So I should have loved this book to pieces, but once again Ruth M. Arthur failed to deliver that for me, and I ended up simply enjoying it quite a bit.   In this case, it is because Betony is narrating the story from a future point of view (for instance, she checks her journal to make sure she's remembering things the way they happened).  So it's clear that we, the reader, aren't living it with Betony; she's telling us a story that she already lived through, with lots of flashbacks.  And this lack of immediacy and lack of closeness made me not care as deeply about her and her world as I might otherwise.  

The other issue is that, except for the threat of drowning hanging over the time travel, the time travel doesn't do anything much to advance the story or Betony's character arc.  The only noticeable result is that she decides to be an archaeologist/early medieval historian.  I like a nice bit of "time travel as tourism" but to be really good time travel, it needs to accomplish something other than provide a bit of family time and some career counseling.  And when it is floaty magic sort of time travel like this, I really like it  to have some emotional hook to the present  that gives a reason for it be happening over and over again beyond "there were Vikings here once."  The only hook here was that Betony was a Suffolk native yearning for family connections, which doesn't much explain why it was Vikings and not 18th century farmers.  Oh well.

Like I said, though, I did enjoy it; it was a pleasant read.  And there was one part I found especially cool--I myself have family who came from Suffolk to Virginia in the 17th century; they were Knotts, and one of the characters in the book is surnamed Nott, and they talk about how that is one of the local Viking lineages.  However, I spent a summer in Suffolk (on an archaeological dig at Sutton Hoo), and didn't time travel one single bit, even when lying on top of a burial mound floating like an island in the night mist, so Betony wins, even though I am just as much Viking as her.

I stuck both middle grade and YA on it as lables for this post; it's suitable for both ages, although they'll get different things out of it--starry eyed wonder of time travel and romance vs. story of a lonely cranky teenager.

The cover at the top of the post is from the Goodreads edition it doesn't really fit the book much at all.  Why have Margery Gill as an illustrator if she doesn't do a cover with people? Having typed that, I checked the cover of my edition--rather unappealing 1970s teenage love--turns out to be in fact by M.G., which just goes to show.