Instead of making a nice round-up, I'm at my mother's house with a laptop that just died, failing to remove toilet seat bolts, and failing to figure out how to install her new printer. Sigh.
2/4/24
2/3/24
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).
1/30/24
Magic of the Black Mirror, by Ruth Chew, for Timeslip Tuesday
Amanda and Will are in a museum exhibit of Northwest coast art, when they see themselves in a strange black mirror. Next thing they know, they've arrived in a Native village. Happily, a Native boy, Fox-of-the-water, who befriends them. Lots of time travel tourism ensues. Amanda and Will are very interested in everything, are bothered by the enslaved workers captured from other tribes, are warm, comfortable and well-fed, and are a little anxious about getting home again. They get home again.
It is a reasonable description of a generic Northwest coast community, superficial but not deprecating. The one bit that I found interesting was the kids' interaction with the community's medicine man, who is set apart from everyone else because of his calling, and lonely as a result. Though this is somewhat questionable, it was just about the only emotionally resonant bit of the time travel experience. And I appreciated it that Chew did not treat the medicine man's work with contempt, but described it at face value.
So I guess as an introduction to Northwest coast culture for younger readers written from an outsider perspective it's not terrible, but it's really not an interesting story. Straight up time travel as tourism/educational opportunity. That being said, there is a slightly though-provoking time travel twist--the black mirror is an obsidian slab polished by the medicine man after he hears how the kids got there; and if he hadn't made it, they never would have come....
1/28/24
This week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (1/28/24)
Hi all! Here's what I found this week; let me know if I missed your post.
The Reviews
The Beasts of Knobbly Bottom: Attack of the Vampire Sheep, by Emily-Jane Clark, illustrated by Jeff Crowther, at Bellis Does Books
The Beast of Skull Rock (Monsterious 4), by Matt McMann, at Mark My Words
Beastlands: Race to Frostfall Mountain, by Jess French, at Book Craic
The Boy Who Fell From the Sky, by Benjamin Dean, at Sifa Elizabeth Reads
Cameron and the Shadow-wraiths: A Battle of Anxiety vs. Trust, by Mark Cheverton, at Mark My Words
A Council of Ghosts, by Ryan Harper Jones, at Dan's Sci Fi and Fantasy BlogNot Quite a Ghost, by Anne Ursu, at Ms. Yingling Reads, Blue Stocking Thinking, and A Foodie Bibilophile In Wanderlust
The School for Invisible Boys, by Shaun David Hutchinson, at Biblio Nerd Reflections
Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston, by Esme Symes-Smith, at Youth Services Book Review
The Thirteenth Circle, by MarcyKate Connelly and Kathryn Holmes, at Ms. Yingling ReadsWicked Marigold, by Caroline Carlson, at Mark My Words
Authors and Interviews
Anne Ursu (Not Quite a Ghost), at ReadWonder
Basil Sylvester and Kevin Sylvester (Night of the Living Zed), at MG Book Village
Shaun David Hutchinson (The School for Invisible Boys) at From The Mixed Up Files
MarcyKate Connolly and Kathryn Holmes (The Thirteenth Circle), at The Nerd Daily
Other Good Stuff
a fascinating look at how little MG sci fi is coming out in the first half of 2024, and many other very interesting things--Middle Grade Fiction by the Numbers for the First Half of 2024 (teenlibrariantoolbox.com)
1/23/24
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.1/22/24
Kindling, by Kathleen Jennings
If you are looking for lovely fantastical short stories, such as a perfect for savoring on a cold winter night (or hot summer day if you are antipodal), I enthusiastically recommend Kindling, by Kathleen Jennings (Small Beer Press, January 23, 2024).
Reviews of short story collections are hard to write. I want to speak of each story individually, but that would take ages and spoil the lovely twists of them. I could generalize, and say that the writing is lyrical and lovely, except that this is trite, and "lyrical" is, I feel, an overused and rather meaningless way to say that the words paint pictures in the mind, and call feelings from the heart and thoughts from the mind. I could say in equal fairness that there's a very pleasing range of story collected here, ranging from fairy tale-esque to horror-esque, and I was never bored (though this is a boring sentence).
But I am an INFP, and the book through which I learned this says of me and my ilk that "metaphors come easily but may be forced" or words to that effect. And so here's a metaphor that captures how I feel about these stories.
Some collections of stories are like eating cookies I enjoy, one after another, rather mindlessly, in a single sitting, and when I get the bottom of the bag of double chocolate milanos aka the end of the last story, I feel full but not deeply appreciative.
Others are like a collection of artisanal cupcakes, each a distinct flavor, some weird, some familiar, each beautifully ornamented so that one must stop and appreciate each before biting into it. And each so rich and full in its own right that binge eating/reading is not possible. Kindling is a box of such cupcakes. I read no more than one story in a single sitting, because that was enough.
As is the case with a box of mixed artisanal cupcakes, some were more to my taste than others. The first story was the one I liked least, as I felt the writing got slightly in the way of the story, but all the rest of them I enjoyed lots and I am happy to have them in my mind's library now to revisit at my leisure.
And I will keep the ARC on my shelf, for when all I need is one really good short story. And when I have paid for my new roof and can buy new books again, I will see this ARC and replace it with the finished copy, and hope for more books from Kathleen Jennings. (I have shelved it between Kelly Link's books and Ursula Le Guin's books, as sown below, where I think it is happy. Except that there is now no more room on that shelf, and though there are sadly no other Le Guin's to buy, there will be more Kelly Link, and hopefully more Kathleen Jennings, and so I guess I will have to move Connie Willis, which is ok because I'm not sure how well she plays with Le Guin.......)
In any event, thanks very much to Small Beer Press for the review copy!
1/21/24
1/18/24
Not Quite a Ghost, by Anne Ursu (blog tour)
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...
1/14/24
This week's round-up of middle grade fantasy and sci fi from around the blogs
Here's what I found this week; please let me know if I missed your posts!
The Reviews
Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans, by Isi Hendrix, at A Library Mama
The Drama with Doomsdays, by Scott Reintgin, at Kiss the Book
The Ever Storms (Wilderlore #3), by Amanda Foody, at Kiss the Book
Extra Normal, by Kate Alice Marshall, at Always in the Middle…
Guardians of the Source: Gargoyles #1, by Tamsin Mori, at Mr Ripley's Enchanted Books
Harley Hitch Takes Flight, by Vashti Hardy, at Sifa Elizabeth Reads
The Kingdom Over the Sea, by Zohra Nabi, at Sonderbooks and WOW Recommends
The Little Match Girl Strikes Back, by Emma Carroll and Lauren Child, at Kiss the Book
Lulu Sinagtala and the City of Noble Warriors, by Gail D. Villanueva, at Ms. Yingling Reads
The Puppets of Spelhorst, by Kate DiCamillo, at Redeemed Reader
The Rise of the Legends, by Jake Zortman, at Mark My Words
Shinji Takahashi: Into the Heart of the Storm, by Julie Kagawa, at Kiss the Book
A Stranger Thing, by Ruth Tomalin, at Charlotte's Library
Theo Tan and the Fox Spirit, by Jesse Q. Sutanto, at The Story Sanctuary
Other Good Stuff
and finally, will a middle grade fantasy/sci fi book win the Newbery Medal this year?
The Puppets of Spelhorst, by Kate DiCamillo feels Newberyish to me, as does The Eyes and the Impossible by Dave Eggers. Are there any you'd add?
"Greta Gerwig Is Approaching Her 'Narnia' Films With a Perfect Mix of Care and Terror" at themarysue.com
1/9/24
A Stranger Thing, by Ruth Tomalin, for Timeslip Tuesday
Kit, sent to boarding school for the first time when his mother must travel for work, is nervous at first, but gradually adjusts, making friends and enjoying the expeditions into the countryside. But then a bully gets a hook into him, and plays him like a fish, making his life miserable. Kit's old habit of sleepwalking resurfaces, and he wakes outside on snowy night, far from school. Fortunately, he finds shelter in an old glasshouse on a nature preserve that had once belonged to a naturalist back (I think, though it's not clear) in the early 20th century.
1/7/24
Welcome to the first MG sci fi/fantasy round up of 2024! I hope we all have a lovely reading year (especially me because last year I read and reviewed less than I have since I started blogging....)
First--here are the finalists for the 2023 Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction Cybils Awards! Do consider joining in the fun next year if you haven't already.
The Reviews
The Bellwoods Game, by Celia Krampien, at Falling Letters
Crazy Creek, by Evelyn Sibley Lampman, at Charlotte's Library
The Creatures of Killburn Mine, by Dan Smith, at Scope for Imagination and Book Craic
The Curious Vanishing of Beatrice Willoughby, by G.Z. Schmidt, at Kiss the Book
The Curse of Eelgrass Bog, by Mary Averling, at Ms. Yingling Reads
The Eyes and the Impossible, by Dave Eggers, at Heavy Medal
Field of Screams, by Wendy Parris, at Twirling Book Princess
Fright Bite, by Jennifer Killick, at Scope for Imagination
Gone Wolf, by Amber McBride, Heavy Medal
Graysen Foxx and the Curse of the Illuminerdy, by J. Scott Savage and Brandon Dorman, at Cracking the Cover
Harley Hitch Takes Flight, by Vashti Hardy, at Scope for Imagination
The Invisible Spy (The Forgotten Five 2) by Lisa McMann, at Mark My Words
The Last Rose (Sisters Ever After), by Leah Cypess, at Kiss the Book
The School for Invisible Boys, by Shaun David Hutchinson, at Ms. Yingling Reads
Stitch, by Pádraig Kenny, at Book Craic
We Will Comfort Them (Time School #4), by Nikki Young, at Scope for Imagination
Two at A Library Mama--The Demon Sword Asperides, by Sarah Jean Horwitz, and The Dark Lord’s Daughter, by Patricia Wrede
Authors and Interviews
Mary Averling (The Curse of Eelgrass Bog), at Literary Rambles
Linda Crotta Brennan (The Selkie's Daughter) at Teen Librarian Toolbox
Other Good Stuff
1/2/24
Crazy Creek, by Evelyn Sibley Lampman, for Timeslip Tuesday
It was really good time travel--Judy's family in the past was fortunately able to overlook and try to explain away all of Judy's nonsense, and she in turn was able to find a place in there where she loves and is loved. A poignant note brings the book to a close, as Judy, reunited with her grandfather, very old and unwell, tries to tell him she's been back to his childhood. "That's where I figure to go now," said Grandpa, and his eyes closed gently. "I go there all the time, Judy."
The problem with mid-20th century books about time travel back to the 19th century frontier is that the depiction of Native Americans is almost always horrible. And sadly, Crazy Creek, though not as bad as many, still manages to dehumanize the three Native Americans Judy meets. Though there are inklings that the kids are starting to have a more nuanced perspective, with Judy, for instance, starting to realize it's not fair that their land got taken from them, and a touch of compassion taking the place of fear and prejudiced distaste, it is still pretty awful and makes it hard. even impossible, to stay peacefully complicit in the happy family life that is otherwise such very pleasant reading.
12/19/23
The Ghosts of Rancho Espanto, by Adrianna Cuevas
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!
12/17/23
This week's roundup of mg sci fi/fantasy from around the blogs (12/17/23)
Here's what I found this week; let me know if I missed your post!
The Reviews
An Adventure Through the Togetherwood, by Sean Anderson, at Literary Potpourri
The Eyes & the Impossible, by Dave Eggers, at Book Barmy
Gargoyles: Guardians of the Source, by Tamsin Mori, at Mrs Sydney's Famous World's Smallest LibraryGoblin Monday (Goosebumps House of Shivers 2), by R.L. Stine, at Mark My Words
Graysen Foxx and the Curse of the Illuminerdy, by J. Scott Savage, at Log Cabin Library
Holly's Secret (Woodwalkers 3) by Katja Brandis, at Mark My Words
Juniper's Christmas, by Eoin Colfer, at Faith Elizabeth Hough
Last Exit to Feral, by Mark Fearing, at Ms. Yingling Reads
Lia Park and the Heavenly Heirlooms (Lia Park #2), by Jenna Yoon, at Kiss the Book
The Mossheart’s Promise, by Rebecca Mix, at Pages Unbound
The Quest of Danger (Once Upon a Tim 4) by Stuart Gibbs, at Mark My Words
The Secret Library, by Kekla Magoon, at YA Books Central
Three Tasks for a Dragon by Eoin Colfer, at A Library MamaTwo at Falling Letters--The Unfortunate Wish of Melony Yoshimura & The Last Hope in Hopetown
Three mini reviews at Utopia State of Mind -- The Tale of the Gravemother by Rin Chupeco, The Destiny of Minou Moonshine by Gita Ralleigh, and Peril at Price Manor by Laura Parnum
Authors and Interviews
Gregory Slomba (The Deliverers Series), with series review, at The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow
12/10/23
this week's roundup of mg sci fi/fantasy from around the blogs 12/10/23
Please let me know if I missed your post or a post about your book!
The Reviews
Champions of the Fox, by Kevin Sands, at Cracking the Cover
The Dark Lord's Daughter, by Patricia Wrede, at Ms. Yingling Reads
Hither & Nigh, by Ellen Potter, at Pages Unbound
Hollowthorn, by Kalyn Josephson, at Ms. Yingling Reads
The Ice Children, by M. G. Leonard, at Book Craic and Sifa Elizabeth Reads
The Lumbering Giants of Windy Pines, by Mo Netz, at Mark My Words
No Way Out (Shadowhouse #3), by Dan Poblocki, at Puss Reboots
THE PUPPETS OF SPELHORST — Kate DiCamillo, at Rosi Hollinbeck
Shiver Point: It Came From the Woods, by Gabriel Dylan, at Twirling Book Princess
The Sky Over Rebecca, by Matthew Fox, at Teen Librarian Toolbox
The Thirteenth Circle, by MarcyKate Connolly and Kathryn Holmes, at Mark My Words
The Wild Robot Protects, by Peter Brown, at proseandkahn
Worst Broommate Ever! by Wanda Coven, at Bookworm for Kids
Two at A Library Mama --Abeni’s Song and Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston |
Authors and Interviews
James Haddell (Tales of Truth and Treasure Book 4: Dagger, Spear and Sword), also with a review, at Scope for Imagination
12/5/23
The Sky Over Rebecca, by Matthew Fox, for Timeslip Tuesday
It's the story of ten-year-old Kara, a lonely girl living in Stockholm with her mother. Although her beloved Grandfather lives close enough to visit often, which is a comfort, she has no friends, just bullies. But one day looking out the bus window on her way to school, she sees a snow angel...with no footprints left by its maker. And that is the start of a magic timeslip adventure, that leads her to Rebecca and her little brother Samuel, two kids living in hiding on an island in the middle of the frozen lake where she and grandfather go ice skating.
Even Kara's great happiness about making a friend (and being the sort of person who can make friends, which she had worried about), doesn't mean she's not curious about the strangeness of Rebecca and her circumstances. Gradually she realizes that Rebecca and Samuel slipped through time to hide from the Nazis, the only two from her family to escaped being murdered by them back during WW II. Now Rebecca and Samuel, who can't walk, are stuck in their island hideaway, in the middle of the Swedish winter, in need of food and warmth, which Kara tries to provide (I liked that Kara's mother is able to help with this, concerned about situation but trusting Kara to do the right thing without trying to take over). Even the boy who is the worst of the bullies is drawn into the mystery and becomes a good companion and helper (Kara grew tired of living in fear, and punched him, which tilted the balance of their relationship enough so that he, not redeemed but with a greater appreciation of Kara, can reshape their relationship).
But she can't think of what she can do to help them move on....until Rebecca's prophetic vision of an airplane, from the Allies in the war, landing on the frozen lake comes true. And oh my gosh do things take an utterly gut wrenching turn at this point, and I wept.
It is utterly gorgeous time travel, of just the sort of magical slipping through the years that I love best. It's not just the two kids from the past here in the present, but enough of Kara slipping back to make the whole thing dreamlike and wonderful (and also gut wrenching). It won awards over in England where it was first published, and I'm so glad I heard about it and got hold of a copy. If you like Action and Adventure, it might not work for you, but if you want a story of a remarkable friendship between brave girls in a cold and snowy setting, with time travel that will remind you of old favorites (and some tense moments that I would count as action with a small a) do seek it out!
I would so dearly love to give it to my young self, who would have read it over and over, but am glad I haven't gotten so old as to not love children's books (even though I have so many on hand that I don't get to reread as much as I'd like...)
12/3/23
this week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy from around the blogs (12/3/23)
The Little Match Girl Strikes Back, by Emma Carroll, at Ms. Yingling Reads
12/2/23
Omega Morales and the Curse of El Cucuym by Laekan Zea Kemp
11/26/23
this week's round-up of middle grade sci fi and fantasy (11/26/23)
Morning all! Here's what I found this week. As ever, let me know if I missed your post, and feel free to let me share if you have one for next week!
The Reviews
Amari and the Great Game, by B. B. Alston, at The Story Sanctuary
Beak to the Future (Two-Headed Chicken 2), by Tom Angleberger, at Mark My Words
Charmed Life, by Diana Wynne Jones, at Shiny New Books
City of Bones ( Bubba and Squirt), by Sherry Ellis, at The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow
The Girl in White, by Linday Currie, at Twirling Book Princess
The Golden Key, by George MacDonald, at Faith Elizabeth Hough
The Ice Children, by M.G. Leonard, at Bellis Does Books
The Impossible Girl, by Ashley White, at Log Cabin Library
The Incredibly Amazing and Magical Flying Chair, by Bob Schumaker and Nancy Machlis Rechtman, at Bookworm for Kids
The Kingdom of Broken Magic, by Christine Aziz, at Book Craic
The Lost Library, by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass, at Ms. Yingling Reads
The Lucky Diamond, by Valinora Troy, at Carol Baldwin's Blog
Nimbus, by Jan Eldredge, at Charlotte's Library
The November Witches, by Jennifer Claessen, at Sifa Elizabeth Reads
The Queen of Thieves, by Johan Rundberg, at Mark My Words
The Secret Library, by Kekla Magoon, at Rosi Hollinbeck
Slumber of Silence (The Talisman #4.5), by Brett Salter, at Mark My Words
The Sky Over Rebecca, by Matthew Fox, at Ms. Yingling Reads
Stitch, by Pádraig Kenny, at Valinora Troy
World Weavers, by Sam Gayton, at Magic Fiction Since Potter
Two at A Library Mama--The Grace of Wild Things and Moongarden |
Two at The Book Search--Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom, by Nina Varela, and The Spirit Glass by Roshani Chokshi.
Other Good Stuff
Best Middle Grade Books 2023 | SLJ Best Books | School Library Journal
Nimbus, by Jan Eldredge
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.