Crossing Magical Borders: 3 Middle Grade Fantasies

Posted on February 18, 2026 by Katy K.

Join any of these three kids from our world as they find their way across the border to worlds of magic.

Cover of The Forgotten Summer of Seneca by Camryn Garret
Cover of Vanya and the Wild Hunt by Sangu Mandanna
Cover of Nox Winters and the Stygian Serpent by Rochelle Hassan

The Forgotten Summer of Seneca by Camryn Garret. Read by Renika Williams-Blutcher. Abrams/Recorded Books, 2025. ISBN 978-1419773334 – This book was recommended by Jenna @ Falling Letters. Since her father’s death,12-year-old Rowan is no longer excited about spending the summer in New York City with her Aunt Monica. Still, she finds some comfort in taking pictures with his old film camera. This helps her to notice a shimmering portal in the middle of Central Park – which transports her to a magically isolated Seneca Village. There she meets a slightly younger girl, Lily, and learns that the mostly Black population of this tiny village lives with magic but without modern conveniences like electricity. In trying to solve the mystery of a missing older girl, Rowan dives into research about what’s known of the historical Seneca Village, adopts a cat, and starts living her life in the present again. There are a lot of different story strands weaving together here into a satisfying whole story with a sympathetic and believable main character.

Vanya and the Wild Hunt by Sangu Mandanna. Roaring Brook Press, 2025. ISBN 978-1250899835 – Indian-British Vanya, who has ADHD in addition to living in a mostly white town, has never felt like she fits in. She spends a lot of time with the collection of books that talk to her in the special corner of her parents’ bookstore, especially as she knows her mother has secrets that she won’t tell Vanya. The plot heats up quickly as Vanya comes home one day to find that both her parents have been attacked by a monster that looks like something out of a storybook. Before she quite knows what’s happened, Vanya is bundled off to live with her parents’ (married) best friends, Jasper and Roman, and to attend the magic school she never knew her went to, located in a beautiful mountain valley in India. Despite missing her parents, Vanya finds that she fits in better here than at home, with other neurodivergant kids to befriend, more interesting and relevant class that help her mind want to focus, and even more talking books. Auramere trains people to fight the monsters from legends all around the world, and though it seems like a paradise, the boundaries that keep these monsters out are weakening. Even the monsters are coming to warn Auramere of a force they’re frightened of – the Wild Hunt. Naturally, Vanya’s personal interests and history lead her to finding clues to the mystery of what’s going on with the Wild Hunt before the adults who tell her they’ve got it covered. Like Kiki Kallira, Vanya and the Wild Hunt is an excellent mix of adventure and the inner life of a neurodivergant kid. I loved Vanya, her sassy familiar, the way the adults were allowed to be loving and imperfect, and the mix of global mythology.

Nox Winters and the Stygian Serpent by Rochelle Hassan. Narrated by Jacob McNatt. HarperCollins, 2025. ISBN 978-0063314627 – Nox Winters returns in this sequel to Nox Winters and the Midnight Wolf. In that book, Nox journeyed to the magical Nightwood, saved his twin brother Noah with the help of Noah’s new friend Thea, defeated the Keeper of Night, and learned some family secrets he really didn’t want to know. Some months later, Nox does not want anything to do with the Nightwood – especially not talk about it with Noah or Thea. But the Nightwood is literally in his blood and there is only so long that Nox can resist the messages calling for his return. With one of the previous Keepers in exile, animals in the Nightwood can no longer die normally, so that zombie-like dead animals are walking out of the Nightwood and into the regular world. This situation is not just frightening for the humans in the regular world, but disastrous for the small village in the Nightwood that relies on the animals for food. When Nox gets a call for help he can’t ignore, all three of them head into the Nightwood to solve the problem. This is an adventurous journey with many enemies and challenges – but it also requires Nox to reevaluate his relationships with Noah, Thea and the Nightwood itself.

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2025 in Review – My Favorite Books

Posted on February 5, 2026 by Katy K.

Here is my annual list of books that I rated at 9 or above. I rate most books I really enjoy as 8, but since that list would be over 100 books, I feel the need to limit myself.

Here is my standard disclaimer about rating books:

“I have never liked doing a public scale rating of books – the librarian in me would rather describe what’s in the book and let you decide if it sounds good for you. But I do give books number ratings on my own private spreadsheet. I shamelessly borrowed the Book Smugglers’ 10-point rating system for this, where 0 is “I want my time and my money back”, 5 is “meh” and so on. For my purposes, 7 is a book I enjoyed, 8 is one I loved and 9 is one I really, really loved. 10 only gets given out retrospectively to books I find myself re-reading and thinking about a lot – a true personal classic.”

Middle Grade

The cover of The Gate, the Girl and the Dragon by Grace Lin.
Cover of Max in the Land of Lies by Adam Gidwitz
Cover of Silverborn: the Mystery of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
Cover of The Library of Unruly Treasures by Jeanne Birdsall
Cover of The Poisoned King by Katherine Rundell. Illustrated by Ashley Mackenzie.
Cover of All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson

Teen

Cover of Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le
Cover of Brownstone by Samual Teer and Mar Julia.
Cover of Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by C.B. Lee
Cover of Sunbolt by Intisar Khanani
Cover of Memories of Ash by Intisar Khanani
Cover of Debts of Fire by Intisar Khanani
  • Heartstopper v. 3 by Alice Oseman
  • Heartstopper v. 4 by Alice Oseman
  • Heartstopper v. 5 by Alice Oseman
Cover of Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman
Cover of Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko
Cover of Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko
  • Nick and Charlie by Alice Oseman
  • Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko. Read by Joniece Abbott-Pratt
  • Redemptor by Jordan Ifueko. Read by Joniece Abbott-Pratt
Cover of Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley
Cover of Tangleroot by Kalela Williams

Adult

Cover of Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
Cover of A Honeymoon of Grave Consequence by Stephanie Burgis
Cover of A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
Cover of The Lost Story by Meg Shaffer
Cover of the River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
Cover of The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater
Cover of Wooing the Witch Queen by Stephanie Burgis
Cover of Half a Soul by Oliva Atwater
Cover of Time of the Cat by Tansy Raynor Roberts
Cover of See No Stranger by Valarie Kaur
Cover of Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Cover of The Elements of Baking: Making Any Recipe Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Egg-free or Vegan by Katarina Cermelj
Cover of Patty Lyons' Knitting Bag of Tricks

Rereads

Cover of Legendborn by Tracy Deonn
Cover of Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn
Cover of Oathbound by Tracy Deonn
  • Legendborn by Tracy Deonn.
  • Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn
  • Oathbound by Tracy Deonn. 
Cover of Heartstopper v. 1 by Alice Oseman
Heartstopper v. 2 by Alice Oseman
Ghosts of Greenglass House by Kate Milford
The Hero and the Crown
Cover of Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien
Wundersmith: the Calling of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend
Cover of Accidental Demons by Clare Edge
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal
Cover of Stephanie Burgis
Cover of Snowspelled by Stephanie Burgis
Cover of Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
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Monthly Reading Round-Up Middle Grade-Adult: December 2025

Posted on January 23, 2026 by Katy K.

Happy December! Here are some mostly quick takes on the books I read in December – so many good books! I hope your winter season is filled with lots of cozy reading.

Picture Books

Cover of Every Monday Mabel by Jashar Awan
Cover of All You Can Be With ADHD by Penn and Kim Holderness. Illustrated by Vin Vogel
  • Every Monday Mabel by Jashar Awan – A small child goes through her very careful routine every Monday morning, culminating in sitting in her chair by the window just in time to watch the garbage truck go by. I purchased this for a young nephew and can see why this is on so many end-of-the-year favorites lists.
  • All You Can Be With ADHD by Penn and Kim Holderness. Illustrated by Vin Vogel. Little, Brown and Company, 2025 – This rhyming picture book welcomes kids to the ADHD clubhouse, going over how bad a diagnosis can feel, some of the many problems experienced by people with ADHD, and also its strengths and some famous people who have it. The book is astonishingly detailed in its descriptions given how little text there is, while staying upbeat. As the mother of two ADHDers, I teared up at just how much this book gets it. The illustrations are also a lot of fun, showing kids of diverse skin colors, with sneaky ninjas and squirrels in almost every picture.

Early Chapter

Cover of Jo Jo Makoons: the Used-to-Be Best Friend by Dawn Quigley
  • Jo Jo Makoons: the Used-to-Be Best Friend by Dawn Quigley. Illustrated by Tara Audibert. Heartdrum, 2021
  • Jo Jo Makoons: Fancy Pants by Dawn Quigley. Illustrated by Tara Audibert. Heartdrum, 2022
  • Jo Jo Makoons: Snow Day by Dawn Quigley. Illustrated by Tara Audibert. Heartdrum, 2023

Do early chapter books count towards my Indigenous author reading goal for the year? Even if the trio only counts as a single book, I’d been meaning to read these since they came out, as they’re by Dawn Quigley, who would have been one of our keynote speakers at the sadly-canceled KidLitCon of 2020. Jo Jo is a spirited and irrepressible 7-year-old living on a fictional Ojibwe reservation. Though she’s full of energy and means well, she misreads social cues to a degree that has people constantly shaking their heads at her, making her fit in well with classic early chapter book heroines like Junie B. Jones. Jo Jo’s stories are funny and heartfelt and shine a light on her Ojibwe culture , including words in Ojibwemowin and traditions like bringing food to elders and children playing inclusive games. Spirited and cartoony pictures for Tara Audibert add to the kid appeal. I wouldn’t read more of the series just for myself, but I’ll certainly recommend them to kids looking for fun realistic books for this age.

Middle Grade

Cover of Super Great Kids' Stories by Kim Normanton
Cover of Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien
Ghosts of Greenglass House by Kate Milford
  • Super Great Kids’ Stories by Kim Normanton. Bloomsbury, 2025. Read from an ARC provided by the publisher – I’ve never listened to the podcast of the same name, but I do love a good collection of folktales. This is a solid collection of international stories from five continents and Oceania, many though not all retold by storytellers from that region of the world and each section illustrated by an artist from that region. The stories are meant to be read aloud with someone, with full color art and dynamic text throughout, as well as tips for the storyteller such as suggested voices or traditional story openings from that part of the world. There are also some insert circles with backgrounds on the story for listeners. I could wish that all of the storytellers came from the background the story is from, but the stories are solid and I appreciate that the backmatter includes information on the storytellers and where they found each of the stories they told. There were only a few pages of full-color art in the ARC that I saw, but it is beautiful, and I’m sure the finished version is even better.
  • Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien. HarperCollins, 1999. Growing up, my family had an older edition called The Father Christmas Letters. I’ve talked before about how much I loved it and how it influenced my perception of Santa growing up. This year, I read through the letters again. This newer edition includes more of the personal notes to Tolkien’s children and the full images of all the original letters in their beautiful calligraphy, as well as the letters typed out for easier reading. I wish the book designers hadn’t put so many decorative images behind the typed text, but I still love the letters themselves.
  • Ghosts of Greenglass House by Kate Milford. Read by Chris Henry Coffey. Recorded Books, 2017 – Another Christmas reread, and still a delight.

Teen

Cover of Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley.
Cover of Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen
  • Sisters in the Wind by Angeline Boulley. Read by Isabella Star LaBlanc. Henry Holt, 2025. This latest book by the author of Firekeeper’s Daughter takes place mostly in 2009, 5 years after the events of that book and before Warrior Girl. Lucy Smith was raised by her white Catholic father and told that her unknown mother was Italian. After he dies, though, she’s thrown into the foster care system. In the present day the story starts with Lucy living on her own, knowing she’s being followed but not precisely by whom. One very clearly Native Mr. Jameson comes to meet her there, telling her she is Native American and that he can help her find her family. But can a young woman battered by her past trust a stranger, even a seemingly well-meaning one? This is a mystery/thriller, with explosions and all kinds of foster care-system ickiness. I chose to listen to it to hear the Anishinabemowin that I figured would be there pronounced, but I think I am too sensitive to listen to thrillers as I found myself just anxious a lot. I am pretty wimpy that way, though, and this book has characters I really believed in, as well a look into how the foster care system exploits Native children in particular. Daunis and Jamie are bigger characters here that they were in Warrior Girl Unearthed, which I appreciated. Highly recommended.
  • Escape from St. Hell by Lewis Hancox. Graphix, 2024 – This was my kid’s pick at a recent bookstore trip. They’ve already read it at least twice and wanted me to read it as well. This is an honest account of YouTuber Hancox’s post-high school life, as he starts university and spends a lot of energy trying to figure out what it means to be a man and what kind of man he wants to be. At the same time, he’s failing to notice the effects his self-absorption is having on his friends and on the rest of his life. The topic is pretty serious, but the drawings are fun, as are regular side bars with his anxiety levels and man points, and interruptions with advice from his current self. This is the sequel to Welcome to St. Hell, which my teen also enjoyed but I have yet to read.
  • Angelica and the Bear Prince by Trung Le Nguyen. Random House Graphic, 2025 – I’m always excited to see a fairy tale retelling – and this beautifully illustrated graphic novel remix was as thoughtful as I’d expect from Trung Le Nguyen. It tells the story of “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” as presented in a children’s play, alternating with the story of Jelly (the Angelica of the title) as she works through burnout from overcommitment and grief over losing her grandmother. Her biggest comfort is sending messages to someone writing for the lead of her local theater’s signature play, Per the Bear from The Bear Prince. But who is actually writing for the account? So many common issues – I was going to say teen issues, but dealing with burnout, grief, friendships, and finding a safe space to let go of your image are issues relevant to everyone. I’m trying to recall if I’ve read another “East of the Sun, West of the Moon”-based story since East by Edith Pattou – have you?

Adult

The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal
Cover of Wyrde and Wayward by Charlotte E. English
  • The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal. Tor, 2018 – A reread. I don’t see much about my emotional response in my review from the first time I read it, but I was tearing up a lot this time around, and still laughing out loud at parts.
  • Behooved by M. Stevenson. Bramble, 2025 – I went into this expecting a really light and fluffy romantasy. And yes, it has a lot of laugh-out-loud moments and a few steamy scenes – but it’s also the story of two people forced into a political marriage who are nonetheless determined to do the best they can by their different countries. Duchess Bianca knows she was sent to marry Crown Prince Aric of the neighboring kingdom both to prevent war and because her parents consider her too weak to be worth keeping at home because of her chronic health condition. Prince Aric isn’t at all a fan of hers – but was also told that his bookish ways made him unfit for the crown. When Bianca accidentally turns him into a horse in an attempt to protect him from an assassin on their wedding night, it seems like this will make things even worse. But it’s just a first step…
  • Wyrde and Wayward by Charlotte E. English. Frouse Books, 2019. Purchased ebook. – This Regency fantasy was my first book from this Lamplighter’s Discord author. Gussie Werth has the dubious honor of being one of the very few members of the notorious Werth family not to have a Wyrde – a magical skill that could be something as inconvenient as being able to turn into a Gorgon or something slightly more useful, like being able to freeze someone temporarily. Gussie is long past old enough to be married, but has never been permitted to leave the family estate, so she’s actually somewhat excited when she’s kidnapped by the family of a woman who used to be her grandmother’s best friend. Magic, mayhem, and complicated families filled with quirky people abound in this witty story that hints at the possibility of romance to come. I’ve saved the second book to my wishlist, though I’m trying to make myself wait until I read more of the first books I’ve saved to my ereader before I go out buying more.
Cover of The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older
  • Daughter of the Merciful Deep by Leslye Penelope. Read by Shayna Small. Redhook, 2024 – Jane Edwards had such a traumatic experience when she and her father and sister were forced to leave their town in the 1920s that she hasn’t been able to talk since, relying on sign language and writing. A decade later, they’ve made a new home in all-Black Awenasa, founded by a formerly enslaved man who saved for decades to build a safe place for his family and others like them. But “progress” is coming for them, as a new dam will flood their town. Jane isn’t sure what to think – but when she sees a man she remembers dying violently in her old life walking in and out of the river while staying dry, her curiousity insists that she investigates. This will upend her beliefs, force her to revise her opinions of her past self, and step out of her fear. It’s filled with small-town personalities, ancient African gods, and fantastical other worlds. Shayna Small does a beautiful job bringing the voices of the characters and the time period to life, with accents ranging from Southern to African.
  • Chai and Cat-tales by Lynn Strong. Independently published, 2024. Purchased ebook – This came up in a cozy fantasy sale, and I am not one to resist tales of magic, tea, and cats, particularly when it comes with a Middle Eastern setting and disability rep. This is a trio of stories from the perspectives of three different people, including a mostly nonverbal stray kitten. The whole thing is heart-warming in the best way, and I was delighted to see that the sequel is on Hoopla… though see my earlier statement about my ereader being full of unread first books.
  • The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older. Tor, 2023 – I asked a librarian friend at my home library for recommendations for one of my niblings, which I then checked out to read first. I wasn’t able to buy it for the nibling, but I did very much enjoy reading it. This is a sapphic gaslamp sci-fi mystery, which sounds like way too many adjectives but works together quite delightfully as a scholar of Old Earth and a probably spectrum-y investigator pair up to solve a missing persons case on Jupiter, while reviving their university romance. I’ve been having a problem with series, but I read the first two nearly together and have the third book on my shelf already.
Cover of 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-tech World by Jean M. Twenge
  • Time Anxiety : the Illusion of Urgency and a Better Way to Live by Chris Guillebeau. Crown Currency, 2025. ISBN 978-0593799550 – Do you ever feel like there isn’t enough time in the day to do everything you need to do? (That would be me, every day.) Or that time is running away from you and you’re sure there’s something more important that you should be doing with your life right now? Most of us, it turns out, feel at least one of these nearly all the time. This book looks at how to cut down what you feel you need to do and really look at your priorities to help you feel more satisfied and less anxious. It’s one that I’d probably need to use as a long-term project to get the most benefits out of, but it was still helpful as a one-time thought exercise.
  • It Rhymes with Takei by George Takei, Steven Scott, Justin Eisinger, and Harmony Becker. Top Shelf Productions, 2025 – George Takei stayed closeted for years, fearing for his career and safety. Here, he returns with the same team that put together They Called Me Enemy to tell his life story through the lens of his coming out, his gay identity, and the political activism that has been part of his life from the beginning. I had a little trouble getting going with this, but once he joined Star Trek I was hooked and kept wanting to share anecdotes with anyone around. My love also read and enjoyed this.
  • 10 Rules for Raising Kids in a High-tech World by Jean M. Twenge. Atria Books, 2025 – I know I’m not the only one who struggles with a teen who’s on their phone all the time and is much more depressed than before they got the phone. I put this on hold as soon as I saw it in the library’s new book email. And… I have some mixed feelings. Dr. Twenge presents a lot of evidence for the benefits of keeping technology away from kids and teens as long as possible – waiting until high school to give them phones, giving them dumb phones at first, keeping tech out of the bedroom, and balancing all the time restrictions and parental controls with more real-life experiences like driving, jobs, and in-person time with friends. It’s all good stuff, but hard to implement when I already have a 16-year-old, and her hard-and-fast rules are hard to align with our normal coaching parenting style. I did successfully limit screen time over break, though, with positive results once the initial protests died down.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts – what have you been reading lately? Have you read any of these books yourself?

Posted in Adult, Audiobook, Books, Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Historical, Lists, Middle Grade, nonfiction, Print, Realistic, Romance, Sci-Fi, Teen/Young Adult | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

2025 In Review – by the Numbers

Posted on January 21, 2026 by Katy K.

Every year since 2014, I’ve tried to do an audit of my reading, as well as a list of my favorite books of the year. It’s my way of keeping myself accountable to my goals of reading about 50% books by authors of color and including good LGBTQ representation as well. I was disappointed with the diversity of my reading in 2024, so I set myself specific goals to read at least 20 books by Black authors and 8 by Indigenous authors. This year also marks the first year in a decade that I wasn’t reading for the Cybils Awards, with a noticeable affect on my reading.

2025 Overview

Bar graph of the numbers of books I read in 2025: 178 read, 119 reviewed, 84 rated 8 or 8.5, 48 rated 9 and above, and 5 read with one or both of my kids.
Pie chart of where I got what I read in 2025: 43% print from the library, 27% from Libby, 3% from hoopla, 17% purchased, 7% from publishers, and 3% borrowed from a friend or relative.
This is my fifth year splitting out the digital library loans (Libby and hoopla) from the physical books. My total library reading including those was 73.4%. My joining Stephanie Burgis’s Discord channel has resulted in me buying a lot of books from the other authors on the channel, so that my level of books read that I own has doubled since last year.
Pie chart of the formats I read my books in in 2025 - 45% print, 33% audiobook, 13% ebooks, and 9.6% graphic novels.
A slight downturn in audiobook reading – probably partly because I’ve been doing an audio course in Welsh that takes up some of my former audiobook time. Ebook reading is down – I did much less reading on Netgalley this year than last.

What I Read

Pie chart of the genres I read in 2025: 61% fantasy, 14% realistic, 8% romance, 7% nonfiction, 5% sci-fi, 3% historical, and 2% mystery.
Fantasy is in the lead as always, but all the other genres except Verse had gains from last year, pushing Fantasy down from 73% of my 2024 reading.
Pie chart of the intended audience age of my 2025 reading: 43% adult, 32% middle grade, 24% teen, and 2% early chapter.
My adult reading nearly doubled and overtook Middle Grade for the first time probably since I started tracking. I want to read some more middle grade in 2026, but it’s also been refreshing to read some more adult and teen books as well.  

The Authors

Hurrah! I set some goals for myself with reading more books specifically by Black and Indigenous authors, where I felt I was especially short last year. I met the goals and it also accomplished my goal of increasing my overall percentage of books read by authors of color.
Just for fun, a map of where the authors are from. Google Sheets is oddly looking mostly at authors from multiple countries, which is why the US and the UK are so pale.
The genders of the authors of the books I read in 2025 - 80% female, 13% male, 5% nonbinary, and 2% partnerships between people of different genders.
My reading of books by men has gone back down 13%, more similar to my 2023 reading levels. The two unlabeled slices are partnerships between women and men on the same book.

The Characters

Pie chart of the ethnicity of the characters of the books I read in 2025: 50% white, 4% Latine, 17% Asian, 15% Black, 3% South Asian, 5% Indigenous, 4% Middle Easter, and a few of multiples races.
Well, I read more books by authors of color, but my percentage of white characters is nearly the same as in 2024. Still, I won’t feel too bad about a near 50-50 split.
I count religions if they are mentioned and are not Christian. Unless it’s a work of nonfiction, this is looking at the religion of the main character, not the author. The vast majority of my reading features characters who aren’t openly religious, though.
A bar chart of the other character diversity in my 2025 reading - 58 LGBTQ books this year, y'all!
This graph looks at counts of books with diversity besides racial. I counted religion if the MCs practiced any religion besides Christianity, Economic if they were low income, Ability for physical disabilities. Neurodiversity includes main characters with ADHD, autism, anxiety, etc. Economic diversity is so common in fantasy books that this is the first year it hasn’t been the highest of all the counts..

I’ve been doing these graphs over ten years now – here they are from 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, and 2014. As always, if you know of any speculative fiction books that would help me round out the diversity of my reading, please let me know! And if you have thoughts on these stats or other things you’d like to see, let me know in the comments.

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Book Round-Up Adult: September-October 2025

Posted on December 17, 2025 by Katy K.

This is my valiant attempt to catch up with this year’s reviews – brief as they are – before the end of the year. There are several books here I’ll want to reread, and others I want to explore more of the author.

Adult

Cover of Longshadow by Olivia Atwater
Cover of A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna.
Cover of The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst
  • Longshadow by Olivia Atwater. Orbit, 2022 – The Regency Faerie Tales conclude with this romantic meditation on courage and death. Abigail Wilder is the adopted daughter of the Lord Sorcier and Dora, the central couple of Half a Soul, now herself old enough to be on the marriage market. As a former low-class orphan, she’s never felt welcomed into the upper-class circles she’s now expected to inhabit, and she’s certainly not interested in a husband. Still, when a string of young ladies her age start dying, she’s determined to use the magical skill she has to investigate, despite what her father says. When Mercy, a laundress with starry night skies in her eyes, appears under the bed of the most recent victim and one of Abby’s worst tormentors, the two of them team up to find out what’s going on – but Abby finds herself as interested in Mercy as she is in solving the mystery. There are many more books by Olivia Atwater that I need to read!
  • A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna. Berkley, 2025 – The much-anticipated, long-awaited follow-up to The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches! As a teen, Sera Swan was the most powerful witch of her generation – until she kind-of accidentally used up all her magic resurrecting her beloved aunt and guardian, Jasmine. This act also got her permanently banned from the Guild of Magic, which had been training her. Now she’s running an inn with her grandmother, one that still has the spells she put on it years earlier to keep it cozy and to attract only the people who need it, including several eccentric long-term residents and the enchanted fox (self-cursed) who talked her into resurrecting her aunt. Cue the discovery of a spell that just might return her magic to her, and the entrance of the very handsome, very reserved magic researcher Luke Larsen and his autistic 8-year-old sister and you’ve got the perfect set-up for adventure, self-discovery, and a delicious romance. Was it better than The Very Secret Society? I might just have to re-read both to make up my mind. And I see she has a new middle grade out, as well!
  • The Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Beth Durst. Bramble, 2025 – This second book set in the world of The Spellshop takes on the creator of Caz, the enchanted talking spider plant. Terlu was a people-loving librarian in the Great Library. When it turned out she never got to talk to people, she made Caz to keep her company – only to be turned into a statue to serve as a warning for others. Before the library burned, a kind friend sent her to an island of enchanted greenhouses – with just one other human, the very grumpy and solitary but dedicated gardener Yarrow left on it. This is a cozy story of renewal and tenacity, love and community. Its culmination at a Winter Solstice feast would make it a great holiday read.
Cover of Daindreth's Traitor by Elisabeth Wheatley.
Cover of Gender Identity Guide for Parents by Tavi Hawn
  • Transitions: a Mother’s Journey by Élodie Durand. Translated by Evan McGorray. Top Shelf Productions, 2023 – I finally got around to reading this graphic novel based on interviews with a real French mother and her trans son. Realistic panels alternate with large, more metaphorical art as the biologist mother reconsiders her beliefs in the wake of her son’s coming out. This is a nuanced and thoughtful look at a topic that is all to easy to look at in black and white, no matter which side of the political spectrum you’re on.
  • Daindreth’s Traitor by Elisabeth Wheatley. Book Goblin Books, 2022 – I keep going with the series! I don’t have much to say here without spoilers for the first.
  • Gender Identity Guide for Parents by Tavi Hawn. Callisto, 2022 – I read this in preparation for a presentation to the local PFLAG group. It is a gentle look that’s nonetheless firm on the innateness of gender sense separate from sex assigned at birth, and works to help parents be open to that both in their own children and with helping children not to make gender assumptions about others.
Cover of Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala
Cover of Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See
Cover of A Honeymoon of Grave Consequence by Stephanie Burgis
  • Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala. Read by Danice Cabanela. Berkley, 2021 – This is the series opener for a smart Filipino-American foodie cozy mystery series. It’s one of my love’s favorites, and I’m slowly working my way through it on audio.
  • Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See. Narrated by Jennifer Lin and Justin Chien. Scribner, 2023 – This was our fall read for my English Language Learner’s book club. As popular as I know Lisa See is, I’d never read any of her books before, and this is an excellent introduction. There’s lots to think and talk about in this story of 14th century Chinese noblewoman trained to doctor women.
  • A Honeymoon of Grave Consequence by Stephanie Burgis. Five Fathoms Press, 2025 – Lord and Lady Riven attempt take their honeymoon in this sequel to A Marriage of Undead Inconvenience. They’d hoped that an inn catering to supernatural beings in the Black Forest would be a suitable place – but Lady Riven still being human gets them off on the wrong foot, while something has the residents of the inn on edge. Naturally, Lady Riven can’t resist a puzzle to solve. I am very much enjoying this spooky-cozy-romantic series!
Cover of The Summer War by Naomi Novik.
Cover of Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala
Cover of The Bodyguard by Katherine Center.
  • The Summer War by Naomi Novik. Del Rey, 2025 – There is a plot, of course, revolving around a young noblewoman who finds out that she’s grown into having magic when she accidentally curses her beloved older brother. I checked this out, though, solely because of it being written by Naomi Novik. It is beautiful and dreamy, but also heartfelt and witty.
  • Homicide and Halo-Halo by Mia P. Manansala. Read by Danice Cabanela. Berkley, 2022 – Book 2 has our protagonist helping with the local beauty pageant, confronting its racism and long-standing narrow views of acceptable body types while dreaming of starting her own cafe and of course eating lots of delicious halo-halo. It’s a good thing literary treats don’t trigger my many food allergies!
  • The Bodyguard by Katherine Center. St. Martin’s Press, 2022 – As much as my English Language Learners enjoyed Lady Tan, the other tutors and I thought that something lighter might be in order as our next pick. This low-spice rom-com came highly recommended by one of my colleagues, and was just delightful – the perfect mix of banter, simmering attraction, and soul-searching. Contemporary romance isn’t normally one of my top genres, but this was so addictive that I want more of Katherine Center.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts – what have you been reading lately? Have you read any of these books yourself?

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Monthly Book Round-Up Middle Grade-Adult: November 2025

Posted on December 5, 2025 by Katy K.

Happy December! Here are some mostly quick takes on the books I read in November – so many good books! I hope your winter season is filled with lots of cozy reading.

Middle Grade

Cover of Splinter & Ash 2: City of Secrets by Marieke Nijkamp.
Cover of Berry Parker Doesn't Catch Crushes by Tanita S. Davis.
Cover of he Star That Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson.
  • Splinter & Ash 2: City of Secrets by Marieke Nijkamp. Read by Vico Ortiz. Greenwillow Books, 2025 – Trouble comes to the city as Splinter and Ash continue to chase down the secret faction trying to overthrow Ash’s mother, the Queen. As Splinter meets another person who doesn’t identify as male or female, and they both struggle with class issues as Ash try to befriend people on the poor side of town in an effort to really know her city. Despite these issues, this is an engaging and action-filled book, and a series I’ll keep following.
  • Berry Parker Doesn’t Catch Crushes by Tanita S. Davis. HarperCollins, 2025 – Berry’s mother, whom she calls by her first name, has lived in a different state almost as long as she can remember, coming back on for “August Invasions” to help Berry get ready for the next school year. Berry still dreams of her parents getting back together, but now her mother is talking more and more about a “friend” from work and moving to London with him. Meanwhile, Berry’s best friend has a crush and can’t seem to think or talk about anything but him and occasionally, who Berry might be crushing on. Berry just wishes the crushes and the pressure to have them herself would go away. This is a realistic and sympathetic portrayal, the kind that keeps me coming back to read Tanita’s books.
  • The Star That Always Stays by Anna Rose Johnson. Read by Elise Randall Modica. Holiday House, 2022 – In this book based on on the author’s great-grandmother’s life, Norvia spent the first years of her life on beautiful Beaver Island in northern Michigan. Then, her parents get divorced and the rest of the family moves to Boyne City. When her mother decides to remarry, Norvia is not happy – the social consequences in the 1910s are real, plus her mother doesn’t want them to tell their white stepfather about their Ojibwe heritage. With help from girls’ books like Anne of Green Gables and Pollyanna and Bible verses, Norvia works to find a way to be happy in her new life. It bothered me that Norvia’s older brother gets completely over his fear of being drafted for World War I because of his Bible verses, but the book still has the feel of early classics. I think it would be an especially good choice for families looking for books that address real-world topics like prejudice and divorce from a Christian framework. I’d also suggest print over audiobook here, as the narrator doesn’t distinguish between character voices and the print includes notes and photos of the real-life characters in the book.
  • The Misewa Saga: the Great Bear by David A. Robertson. Read by Brefny Caribou. Puffin Canada, 2021 – I read the second book in this Cree portal fantasy series, thinking that perhaps I’d remembered wrong about not being impressed by the first book. Friends, I so want to love this series! Somehow, though, the writing feels like it’s telling more than showing and I never connected to the characters as much as I wanted to. This book and others in the series are well-reviewed, though, so perhaps you’ll like it better than I.

Teen

  • Fireblooms by Alexandra Villasante. Nancy Paulsen Books, 2025 – Two wounded teens connect in this beautiful, lightly speculative look at the way we can hurt each other and what price we’re willing to pay for safety. Sebas has moved to New Gault only briefly to help his estranged mother with her cancer treatment; she sends him to the shiny, happy TECH high school. There, Lu (they/them) is charged with signing them on to the TECH suite of tools – high-powered, ultramodern tech in exchange for constant monitoring, including a monthly word budget. I loved these characters so, so much.
  • Coffeeshop in an Alternate Universe by C.B. Lee. Feiwel & Friends, 2025 – Another book that won my heart! Brend Nguyen is an ambitious and organized Vietnamese-American teen with a detailed plan to get to her goal of saving the world. Kat Woo, in contrast, deliberately underperforms in school, refusing to cooperate with the prophecy that says she’s needed to save the world from magical disaster.

Adult

Cover of Lady Like by Mackenzi Lee
Snowspelled by Stephanie Burgis
  • Lady Like by Mackenzi Lee. Dial Press, 2025 – A first adult book from Lee, author of The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue, continuing on with the theme of historical gay romance. Here, we have two women in Regency England – Harry, daughter of a whore and now almost earning a living acting in notorious sapphice theatre in London, and Emily, a minor noblewoman. Harry learns who her father is and is told she must marry to earn an estate. Emily’s parents, meanwhile, due to an unfortunate incident in the past, have decided that their only option for respectability is to betroth her to a horribly cruel man old enough to be her grandfather. They find themselves at the same ball, both trying to win the hand of the same eligible duke, only to be more charmed (at least eventually) by each other. I learned reading this that I don’t like when one of my romantic leads has meaningless sex on page – but your tastes may differ, and the rest of it was charming. I also really enjoyed the backmatter, complete with information about lesbians and other norm-smashing women of the era.
  • Blackmail and Bibingka by Mia P. Manansala. Read by Danice Cabanela. Berkley, 2022 – Book three in the Tita Rosie’s Kitchen cozy mystery series! This is set at Christmas, and involves Lila’s long-lost black sheep of a cousin, Ronnie, coming back and asking for help starting a business – only to bring trouble with him. There’s also a bit of development in Lila’s romantic relationship. I’m finding the series entertaining, while my love waits eagerly for each new installment.
  • Snowspelled by Stephanie Burgis. Seven Fathoms Press, 2017 – There’s a new “boxed” set of the ebooks for the Harwood Spellbook series, and I had to reread the first one on a late and stressful evening. So worth it!
Cover of Daindreth's Sorceress by Elisabeth Wheatley.
Cover of The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater.
  • Daindreth’s Sorceress by Elisabeth Wheatley. Book Goblin Books, 2023 – Book 3! There’s not a lot to say without spoilers, so I’ll just say that I very much enjoyed the story from the point of views of our main heroes, and am less fond of things from the villain’s POV. I’ll still finish out the series, though!
  • The Listeners by Maggie Stiefvater. Read by Erin Bennett.Viking, 2025 – I’d been waiting for a while for Steifvater’s latest book, her first foray into adult fiction. Many of my coworkers were not excited by the idea of spending time with the general manager of a luxury hotel forced to house Axis diplomats during World War II. I wasn’t necessarily thrilled with the premise – but, oh! It’s still Stiefvater, a hotel in the mountains of West Virginia built over a spring of “sweet water” – magical water – and the few people, including that general manager, who can listen to what the water needs. It is beautifully done. Kudos to narrator Erin Bennett, too, who did admirably reading with a wide variety of accents.
  • Can’t Spell Treason without Tea by Rebecca Thorne. Bramble, 2024 – Have I ever mentioned that I love tea? I do, and you’ll probably have noticed by now that I am really fond of cozy fantasy, so this story of an archmage and a former Queen’s guard running away from their respectve stressful lives and trying to build a book- and tea shop in a remote border town really was my cup of tea (sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Of course things aren’t as peaceful as Kianthe and Reyna would want – but there are bandits, dragons, griffins, and rival town officials fight-flirting with each other. So much fun I had to check out book two immediately, even though I already have half a dozen library books on my TBR.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts – what have you been reading lately? Have you read any of these books yourself?

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Book Round-Up Middle Grade-Teen: September-October 2025

Posted on November 26, 2025 by Katy K.

Things are finally slowing down a bit at work, and I thought I’d split my round-ups by age a bit, to keep them from being quite so overwhelming for me. Here are sequels, new-to-me authors, and new books by old favorite authors. Enjoy!

Middle Grade

Cover of Forest in the Sky by Pari Thomson. Read by Sophia Nomvete.
Cover of The Vale by Abigail Hing Wen
  • The Forest in the Sky. Greenwild #3 by Pari Thomson. Read by Sophia Nomvete. Farrar, Straus and Giroux/Macmillan Audio – This environmental/school fantasy trilogy concludes! I don’t recall hearing much buzz about these books (maybe I’m just out of the loop), but they are a great choice for readers looking for a balance of action, character, and world-building, told with both humor and thought.
  • The Vale by Abigail Hing Wen. Third State Books, 2025. Review copy provided by the publisher – A boy’s AI fantasy world comes to life and affects his real life in this highly illustrated middle grade debut by YA bestseller Abigail Hing Wen. This is a fun choice especially for fans of video games and felt skewed a little younger to me, despite a crush.
  • Silverborn: the Mystery of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend. Read by Gemma Whelan. Orion Children’s Books, 2025 – the latest in this series, the first of which won the Cybils award. My youngest listened to this in about two days, and said that the story doesn’t let up. I can’t disagree. It’s still a heady mix of intrigue, charm, adventure, and countering prejudice.
Cover of Dreamslinger by Graci Kim
Cover of Fury of the Dragon Goddess by Sarwat Chadda.
  • The Library of Unruly Treasures by Jeanne Birdsall. Illustrated by Matt Phelan. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2025 – Ms. Birdsall takes on contemporary fantasy with the classic feel that made her Penderwicks books so popular. Gwen, unwanted by her parents, is thrilled when her Uncle Matthew is pleased to meet her and even given her a bedroom painted her favorite color. Of course she doesn’t believe the little neighbor girl when she starts telling Gwen about the small flying beings – definitely not fairies – who live at the neighborhood library that Gwen’s own ancestor founded. But it turns out that they are very real, and endangered – so that it’s up to Gwen and her ancestral magic to save them. Even though we sometimes give too much weight to ancestral powers, it was so very satisfying to see Gwen, tossed backed and forth between parents and across continents, come into true family, power, and home, and the tiny flying people are a delight.
  • Dreamslinger by Graci Kim. Disney Hyperion, 2025- In this contemporary fantasy, those who can draw energy from dreams into reality are mostly feared. 14-year-old Aria lives in a home founded by her father to help Dreamslingers like her control the chaos and destruction that their dream power can cause. But when a public demonstration goes badly wrong, Aria volunteers to train at a school for Dreamslingers in a tiny kingdom hidden in Korea where Dreamslingers are revered and trained to use, rather than suppress, their powers. Will the lessons from her father hold up to the new training? This has an exciting mix of fast-paced action, enticing powers, friendship drama, and unburying of family secrets.
  • Fury of the Dragon Goddess by Sarwat Chadda. Read by Vikas Adam. Rick Riordan Presents, 2023 – I read City of the Plague God back in January of 2021, when this series based on Mesopotamian myth was alarmingly prescient. I lost track of book two for a couple of years, but I’m happy to say that the story still holds up, beautifully combing modern-day commentary and ancient myth with the action and humor you’d expect of a Rick Riordan Presents book.
Cover of Storm Singer by Sarwat Chadda.
Cover of Return to Sender by Vera Brosgol
The Poisoned King by Katherine Rundell. Illustrated by Ashley Mackenzie.
  • Storm Singer by Sarwat Chadda. Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2025 – 12-year-old Nargis is a Worm, a poor and wingless human living in the desert lands ruled by the garuda, the winged bird creatures. Despite being orphaned and needing a crutch, she has not lost her spirit, nor the rare ability to sing magical songs to summon the elements. When her antics get her exiled and thrown into the path of an exiled garuda prince, the adventure really gets going, involving sky pirates, long-buried secrets, and learning to work together with people once considered enemies.
  • Return to Sender by Vera Brosgol. Roaring Brook Press, 2025 – Oliver and his mom have their first stable home in a long time, an apartment inherited from a deceased aunt. This bonus comes with some downsides – overly-nosy nieghbor Eliza, and Oliver going to a private tech-focused school, where his poverty and lack of gadgets stand out. When he discovers that the mail slot in the wall in the apartment can make wishes come true, Oliver is thrilled at first. But when he and his new friend, mischief-loving Colette, really get going, things get out of control. This starts out sad, proceeds to over-the-top hijinks, and finished up on a more serious note as Oliver and Colette figure out the high cost of their wishes. It has spot illustrations throughout, making this an illustrated middle grade as opposed to Brosgol’s previous graphic novels. The anti-consumerist message might be a bit heavy-handed, but I still enjoyed it lots.
  • The Poisoned King by Katherine Rundell. Illustrated by Ashley Mackenzie. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2025 – Impossible Creatures was one of my favorites last year, and the winner of the Cybils MG Speculative-Fiction category, so naturally I had to read this sequel. It couldn’t, of course, be the same, but it was beautiful and immersive and I’m looking forward to more.
Cover of Sir Callie and the Witch's War by Esme Symes-Smith.
Cover of Labyrinth of Souls by Lesley Vedder. Illustrated by Abigail Larson.
  • Sir Callie and the Witch’s War by Esme Symes-Smith. Labyrinth Road, 2024 – Another continuing series here, in book 3 of 4 of the Sir Callie series. Here, Callie and their friends find themselves separated and seemingly on opposite sides of the conflict, yet all trying to find a way to build a world that has room for people like them. It’s a mix of action and introspection that I enjoy, though I felt like it could have been a little shorter for me. I’m still looking forward to reading book 4, which is out now.
  • Labyrinth of Souls by Lesley Vedder. Illustrated by Abigail Larson. G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2025. Thanks to the author for a review copy! – Ix Tatterfall has always had to keep a lot of secrets – she often crosses over into the realm between life and death, the Labyrinth of Souls, and she can see and sometimes befriend the Nightmare creatures that cross over from the Labyrinth into the regular world. Others know they exist, but have to rely on the elite Candle Corps to push them back into the Labyrinth. The other secret is that she and her aunt have not turned over her father’s crystal-encased body to the Candle Corps. The consequences for both of these things are very serious – so Ix is astonished when she’s caught in the Labyrinth and invited to join the Candle Corps instead of being punished. This is a lovely cozy-spooky magical school story that I’d give to fans of Amari and the Night Brothers or The Marvellers for the similar themes of kids loving and yet not quite fitting in to their magical schools.
  • The Firefly Crown by Yxavel Magno Diño. Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2025. Review copy kindly provided by the publisher. – In a world where magic users are strictly divided into heirarchies by what insect their powers borrow from, Yumi and her parents are lowly crickets, dressed in brown and working to rid crops of pesky crickets. Yumi wants more – but being attacked by the Ghost Horde of life-sucking ghost insects on the way to a mandatory meeting at the capitol, and then being blamed for both the horde and royal Firefly Crown is much more excitement than Yumi really wants. On the plus side, while working to clear herself and her parents and figure out who really is behind the theft and the Ghost Horde, she might actually make her first friends.

Teen

Cover of Lady's Knight by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner.
Cover of Flamer by Michael Curato.
Cover of Somadina by Akwaeke Emezi
  • Lady’s Knight by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner. Read by Helen Keeley and Barbara Rosenblatt. Storytide, 2025 – Gwen is a blacksmith’s daughter who’s secretly both doing most of the blacksmithing work for her father and longing to be a knight, making her own beautiful sword and armor. Isobel is the most beautiful and eligible lady in all of Darkhaven, set – very much against her will – to be the prize in the tournament that Gwen has her heart set on competing in. Perhaps together they could both achieve what they long for – if longing for each other doesn’t get in the way. It has a lot of the sensibility of Gwen and Art Are Not in Love and My Lady Jane, together with the dry intrusive narrator and bold, self-aware anachronisms of the Bridgerton Netflix series. If you hate any of those things, this might not be for you, but I thought it was a lot of fun.
  • Flamer by Michael Curato. Henry Holt and Co, 2020 – This has been one of the most banned books every year since it came out. I’d been hesitant to read it because I knew it dealt with a boy being treated badly for being gay and I was worried that my tender heart couldn’t take it. Not to worry! Yes, the main character, like the author, is dealing with being an overweight, effeminate Filipino boy at a Boy Scout camp filled with thin white boys. There is bullying, and one particularly heart-wrenching scene. But there’s also friendship, both in person and by mail, the joy of camping, the majesty of nature, and the comfort of faith. This is absolutely a book that belongs in every library for teens.
  • Somadina by Akwaeke Emezi. Read by Nene Nwoko. Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2025 – I’ve been hearing blogging friends and colleagues praise Akwaeke Emezi for years, and finally got around to reading one of her books. In an African-inspired world where young people receive magical gifts at puberty, Somadina and her twin brother Jaiyeke have grown taller and taller without every hitting puberty. When their powers finally arrive, Somadina and her parents are terrified by her power, while her brother is quickly kidnapped by a horrible, yet powerful man. As she journeys to save him, she must come to peace with her own power. This was original and engaging, with plenty to think about.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts – what have you been reading lately? Have you read any of these books yourself?

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Monthly Book Round-Up Middle Grade-Adult: August 2025

Posted on September 3, 2025 by Katy K.

Here I am with the lovely books I read in August! I was on vacation the first half of the month, and so missing most of the normal audiobook listening I do – my total count is just nine books this month.

I’d set myself the goal of reading 20 books by Black authors this year, and I have now met that goal – though of course that won’t stop me from reading other good books by Black authors I come across. I still have quite a ways to go with my goal of reading 8 books by Indigenous authors – this month’s reading has brought me up to just 3. If you have any recommendations for any books, especially fantasy or science fiction books, by Indigenous authors, please let me know in the comments!

Middle Grade

Cover of The Green Kingdom by Cornelia Funke
  • The Green Kingdom by Cornelia Funke. Read by Jessica DiCicco. DK Children, 2025 – Caspia, from rural Maine, is horrified when her parents announce that they’ll be spending the summer in Brooklyn, where she knows no one. The apartment they’re renting is still furnished and decorated in the heavily floral style of the previous owner – and in a jammed dresser drawer, Caspia finds a sheaf of letters from the deceased previous owner’s blind sister, who traveled around the world with their botanist father, and sent a riddle about a different plant, or member of the Green Kingdom, in each letter. Through tracing the riddles, Caspia meets and befriends lots of new people – the grandmotherly owner of the local spice store, the teen who helps run the flower and book store, the woman who runs the gate at the Botanic Garden, and a boy her own age who turns out to be the son of one of the gardeners at the Botanic Garden. She also feels like she might be friends with the unseen writer of the letters – and certainly no longer finds Brooklyn boring. I was a little surprised that this wasn’t fantasy, as I didn’t read the summary when I saw it was Cornelia Funke, but it was still a very enjoyable story of discovery. Caspia is described as white, while her new friends are many different ethnicities.

Teen

Cover of Titan of the Stars by E.K. Johnston
Cover of Debts of Fire by Intisar Khanani.
  • Titan of the Stars by E.K. Johnston. Tundra, 2025 – Longtime personal favorite author Johnston returns with a story in which Canada (rather than Michigan) has been destroyed by natural disaster. Two white-cued teens whose paths split in childhood meet again. Celeste Sparrow was orphaned in the disaster that created the Rift and has worked as hard as she can for a position as a lowly engineer on the beautiful starship Titan, hoping that good work here will mean a better permanent position on Mars. Dominic, also orphaned, was rescued as a young child by wealthy and prominent parents, who now expect him to carry on their dreams. On the surface he has everything – but with a jerk of a boyfriend and parents who won’t let him make his art, it sure doesn’t feel like it. There are enough stressors on board the Titan already – but we know from the opening that things are about to get much, much worse. This starts a little slowly and ramps up quickly into a horrifying look at luxury gone wrong.
  • Debts of Fire by Intisar Khanani. Snowy Wings Publishing, 2025 – This is the third book in the Sunbolt Chronicles, though not the last. I’m really going to try to write a longer review of the series so far and so won’t try to summarize here, other than to say I continue to be impressed by Khanani’s writing.

Adult

Cover of Daindreth's Outlaw by Elisabeth Wheatley
Cover of Ten Thousand Stitches by Olivia Atwater
Cover of She Who Knows by Nnedi Okorafor
  • Daindreth’s Outlaw by Elisabeth Wheatley. Book Goblin Books, 2022 – Exiled from their kingdom, the former assassin Amira, her beloved betrothed Daindreth, and his handsome best friend flee from his kingdom to try to find the witches who cursed him to be inhabited by a demon and undo the curse. There is a lot of action and a lot of unfulfilled longing that kept me reading, even as the whole book is essentially the journey to find the community of sorceresses.
  • Ten Thousand Stitches by Olivia Atwater. Orbit, 2022 – The Regency Faerie Tales continue with this Cinderella twist that takes a look at who deserves a happily-ever-after. Effie is a housemaid who’s fallen quite unexpectedly in love with the handsome Benedict Ashbrooke, one of the Family she serves. When a faery lord with no understanding of human customs attempts to help her win him over, things definitely do not go as planned.
  • She Who Knows by Nnedi Okorafor. DAW, 2024 – This is a first novella in a newer series exploring the history of the mother Onyesonwu, the main character of Who Fears Death. Najeeba is just 13 when we meet her, but experiencing the Call to journey on the Salt Road that only boys and men are supposed to hear. Najeeba fighting for what she knows is right for herself is the beginning of the ripple that will change her society. This Afrofuturistic science fantasy is utterly absorbing, and I went right on hold for the next book (see below.)
Cover of Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer.
  • Claws and Contrivances by Stephanie Burris. Read by Emma Newman – Hooray! There’s now an audio version of this! I already love the story, full of romance and small dragons, and especially loved hearing this read aloud, where I could hear the differences between the upper class British accents and the Welsh accents of the servants and townsfolk.
  • Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Read by the author. Milkweed Editions, 2013 – This had been on my mental TBR for years without my realizing just how many years had passed since it came out. Seeing her new book, The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, come out last fall triggered me to read this book. Braiding Sweetgrass wanders through seasons and the author’s life as she explores Native attitudes towards nature and contrasts them with the scientific and Western methods she learned in college. Her writing is beautiful and contemplative, reflecting on the beauty of strawberries, maple syrup, harvesting and gifting traditions, reciprocity and more. Her reading on audio is slow enough that if it had been fiction, I would have sped it up a little. However, given the nature of the narrative, I let myself be unhurried and just listen along. I’ll read The Serviceberry just as soon as I work through the half dozen books I have checked out right now.
  • One Way Witch by Nnedi Okorafor. DAW, 2025 – You can read She Who Knows just fine without reading Who Fears Death first – but that’s not the case with the second book in this duology. Now, Najeeba’s daughter is a young adult, and we experience the very end of Onwesonyu’s story and then the aftermath through Najeeba’s eyes. As always, a complex world with deep thoughts in a story told in deceptively straightforward language. Okorafor is an author I keep returning to with good reason.

As always, I’d love to hear your thoughts – what have you been reading lately? Have you read any of these books yourself?

Posted in Adult, Audiobook, Books, Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Historical, Lists, Middle Grade, nonfiction, Print, Realistic, Romance, Sci-Fi, Teen/Young Adult | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Monthly Book Round-Up: June 2025

Posted on August 27, 2025 by Katy K.

Hello again, dear readers! It has been a while – a lesson for me never to underestimate the chaos of Summer Reading at the library. I’ve been valiantly trying to keep up with these short reviews in the few spare moments, and now that Summer Reading is almost over, I hope to get back to sharing my reading with.

Middle Grade

Cover The Deadly Fates. A Conjuror Novel by Dhonielle Clayton.
Cover of Study in Secrets. Last Chance Academy 1 by Debbi Michiko Florence.
  • The Deadly Fates. A Conjuror Novel by Dhonielle Clayton. Read by Joniece Abbott-Pratt. Henry Holt, 2025 – I’m still enjoying keeping up with this series – good for magical adventure and for the figuring out life and friendships aspects.
  • A Hero’s Guide to Summer Vacation by Pablo Cartaya. Read by the author. Kokila, 2025 – Gonzalo has never been a reader or been close to his grandfather, who’s written a best-selling fantasy book series starring a boy also named Gonzalo. Neither Gonzalo nor his mother are pleased when his grandfather announces that he will be driving his own ancient powder-blue convertible from California to Florida for the launch of the last book in the series – but the family road trip will change all of them. I have yet to read a Pablo Cartaya book that didn’t have humor and action tied together with heart and strong family relations, and this one is no exception. Highly recommended.
  • A Study in Secrets. Last Chance Academy 1 by Debbi Michiko Florence. Read by Mirai. Aladdin, 2025 – 12-year-old Megumi “Meg” Mizuno has been struggling since her mother’s death and her father’s retreat into endless work travel. She isn’t thrilled about being sent to a boarding school – especially one nicknamed “Last Chance Academy” by its students – but it’s infinitely better than living with her cold aunt, so she’s willing to do what it takes to succeed. When a secret treasure hunt is announced, Meg needs to find a way to succeed in this, make and keep friends, and do it all without getting caught and expelled. This was so much fun, while keeping the themes of belong real. I’ll definitely be reading more, and plan to get a copy for my niece.
Cover of Rainbow Fair by Diana Ma.
Cover of Underwild: River of Spirits by Shana Targosz.
Cover of The AI Incident by J.E. Thomas
  • Rainbow Fair by Diana Ma. Read by Dana Wing Lau. HarperAudio, 2025 – Sophie Mu has always helped out at the Chinese booth at her school’s multicultural Rainbow Fair. But when she – and the school coordinator – finds out that she’s also Muslim – she’s assigned to work with a new student on the Muslim booth instead. This requires a crash course in a culture she doesn’t really know anything about, and puts a lot of strain on her existing friendships. This is a great one for kids interested in friend drama, as well as being a sincere look at intersectionality without needing to use the word. Also, robot bunny hilarity. Recommended by Intisar Khanani, from her Muslim writer’s group.
  • Underwild: River of Spirits by Shana Targosz. Aladdin, 2025 – As Assistant Ferryer to Charon, Senka lives in between the world of the dead and the world of the living, hoping that one day Charon will let her ferry passengers all by herself. But when a living girl chasing the spirit of her dead brother – who also ran away from the ferry – comes by, Senka finds herself drawn into the quest to help her. Senka’s tone is casual and funny, she’s borrowed a cloak with an attitude from Charon, and the adventures are many – but under it all is a heartfelt look at grief.
  • The AI Incident by J.E. Thomas. Levine Querido, 2025 – Foster kid Malcolm wants a permanent home more than anything, so when the new AI robot at school says he can help, Malcolm is inclined to believe him. But an AI willing to do anything to achieve its own goals might not be as trustworthy as it seems. A winning combination of true feelings and relationship-building with on-the-nose thoughts about AI and hijinks.
Cover of Bird of a Thousand Stories by Kiyash Monsef.
  • Bird of a Thousand Stories by Kiyash Monsef. Simon & Schuster, 2025 – This is the sequel to Once There Was, which I read on audio last year and really enjoyed. It is about a teen, with no romance, so good crossover appeal. Marjan Dastani is carrying on her father’s work as a veterinarian to magical creatures. She loves the creatures, but she’s led to them by a sinister secret organization who sells them to wealthy clients without regard for the creatures’ happiness. So when Marjan starts getting messages from the universe leading her to something big, she sets out hopping around to the world trying to figure out the puzzle without being tracked either by the Fells or a new and even more destructive person. All while struggling to keeps her friends at home close but not in danger. Among all of this are beautiful thoughts about relationships and the importance of stories and magic to life.

Teen

Cover of Into the Bright Open by Cherie Dimaline.
  • Into the Bright Open: a Secret Garden Remix by Cherie Dimaline. Feiwel & Friends, 2023 – I’ve set an explicit goal to read at least 9 books by Indiginous authors this year. I’d enjoyed both Cherie Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves and the first several books in the Remixed Classics series, so I was very excited to read this one. In 1901 Ontario, 15-year-old Mary Craven is sent from the city to live with the uncle she’s never met. She told to be wary of the trees and the Indians – but the Metis staffing the house are the friendliest people she’s ever met. She also discovers that she has an invalid cousin, Olive, being kept in the attic by her stepmother. This queer retelling has all the joy of nature of the original Secret Garden without the outdated worship of colonialism.

Adult

Cover of The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
  • Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao. Del Rey, 2025 – A dreamy story of the owner of a magical pawn shop that buys regrets and the handsome young man who walks in from the mundane world one day. I’m sorry to say that I can’t remember much of it, trying to write about it a couple of months later, but I enjoyed it and the cover does a good job of capturing the mood.
  • Shadow of a Dead God: A Mennik Thorn Novel by Patrick Samphire. Seven Fathoms Press, 2020 – Mennik Thorn is a mage living in poverty, mostly because he refuses to get involved in the cut-throat politics of the big magic houses in the city. But when he’s accused of murder, he has to go all out to prove his innocence and find the real culprit. This fast-paced, snarky fantasy mystery reminded me a lot of the Vlad Taltos books by Steven Brust.
  • The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar. Read by Gem Carmella. Tordotcom, 2025 – This gorgeous short book revisits the ballads of murder over love, set in an old English village on the border of Faerie in a world where magic is grammar and conjugated rather than cast. I highly recommend the audiobook, both for Gem Carmella’s narration, and because of the original flute and harp music that the author and her sister play between chapters.
Cover of Behind Frenemy Lines by Zen Cho
Cover of Time of the Cat by Tansy Raynor Roberts
Cover of Daindreth's Assassin by Elisabeth Wheatley
  • Behind Frenemy Lines by Zen Cho. Bramble, 2025 – Zen Cho continues the smart contemporary romance series she began with The Friend Zone Experiment. Kriya Rajasekar is an attorney whose every painfully embarrassing professional moment has been in front of Charles Goh, so that she views him as a nemesis. She’s horrified when, moving to a new firm with her boss, she’s assigned to share an office with Charles. But when her boss starts openly hitting on her, faking a relationship with Charles seems the only way to keep the boss away. This gets at the heart of how insidious sexual harrassment can be. I also loved Charles, who read as quite spectrumy to me, and whose narration appears in short notes that aren’t even full sentences that perfectly expressed this.
  • Time of the Cat by Tansy Raynor Roberts. Read by Ciaran Saward. Self-Published, 2023 – The horned Viking helmet on the cover is a joke, but in the world of the book, humans absolutely can time travel, as long as they have a cat companion. The cats are snarky, the adventures are hilarious and mind-bending, all the characters are fans of a now-obscure but much-beloved British TV series with many very different incarnations, and there is a sweet, low-key gay romance. This was just a delight.
  • Daindreth’s Assassin by Elisabeth Wheatley. Book Goblin Books, 2025 – I read this thanks to my mother, who bought the series in print after enjoying, like so many of us, the Book Goblin video shorts. The plot runs approximately thusly: elder princess Amira, daughter of the king’s witch first wife, has been declared illegitimate and magically bound to her father so he can use her to an assassin. Naturally, he orders her to assassinate the prince who’s supposed to marry her younger sister – but instead, Daindreth. There is lots of drama and blood and demon possession and very slow-burn romance. I keep saying I’ll just read one more of the series and then asking my mother for the next one after that.
Cover of The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope
  • The Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope. Read by Shayna Small. Redhook, 2022 – It’s summer 1925 in Washington, DC’s “Black Broadway”. Clara Johnson officially works in a printing office, but sometimes helps people talk to spirits on the side, though the spirits’ deals always come with nasty strings. But when more and more people from her neighborhood start going missing, she has to investigate. She teams up with her former circus acrobat roommate, a handsome young jazz musician who has his own history with spirits, and his Pullman Porter friend with secret pickpocket skills to stop what’s going on – and try to placate some unhappy spirits. With a determined heroine, a vivid historical setting, a great cast, and a look at the social and racial issues of the day – so many, of course, still with us – this was very enjoyable. It was recommended by Stephanie Burgis, and I definitely now want to read more of Leslye Penelope’s books.

Let me know in the comments if you’ve read or want to read any of these, and as always, if you have any recommendations for me!

Posted in Adult, Audiobook, Books, Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Historical, Lists, Middle Grade, nonfiction, Print, Realistic, Romance, Sci-Fi, Teen/Young Adult | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Monthly Book Round-Up Middle Grade-Adult: May 2025

Posted on June 23, 2025 by Katy K.

Dear friends, life has been a bit much of late! Both work and home life have been so busy I can scarcely get a thought in edgewise, let alone find time to write. Even as my June reads are piling up on my desk waiting to be reviewed, it’s taken me until now to finish putting together the round-up I started at the beginning of the month. There are still lots of excellent books, and I hope you find some to enjoy as much as I did!

Middle Grade

Cover of Field Guide to Broken Promises by Leah Stecher
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Cover of A Split Second by Janae Marks.
Cover of Afia in the Land of Wonders by Mia Araujo.
Cover of Song for You and I by K. O'Neill
Cover of Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon by Grace Lin
  • Field Guide to Broken Promises by Leah Stecher. Bloomsbury, 2025.
  • Split Second by Janae Marks. Quill Tree Books, 2024.
  • Afia in the Land of Wonders by Mia Araujo. Scholastic, 2025 – This is a re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland set in medieval West Africa with beautiful full-page paintings throughout and a new focus on sibling relationships as Afia thinks of the beloved twin she left behind to have her adventure. I have, alas, never been a fan of Alice. This did not convert me, but I did find it more interesting and I very much enjoyed the art.
  • A Song for You and I by K. O’Neill. Random House Graphic, 2025 – I was excited for a new graphic novel by K. O’Neill of The Tea Dragon Society! Rowan has been waiting through years of training for a real assignment as a ranger, saving people and nature and riding a flying horse. But her first small solo assignment, taking care of a young shepherd who only wants to play violin, ends in her beautiful horse, Kes, being unable to fly. Rowan is stuck escorting Leone across the country on foot – a journey that leads to self-discovery and an unexpected friendship. I wanted more of the story, but the sentiment is genuine and the art beautiful, cozy, and magical all at the same time.
  • The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon by Grace Lin. Little, Brown, 2025 – Another eagerly anticipated book! I preordered this instead of borrowing it from the libary, as Grace Lin is one of my favorite authors. (See Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Starry River of the Sky, When the Sea Turned to Silver, Year of the Dog and Mulan: Before the Sword.) Jin is a young stone lion who is a living lion in the world of the Gongshi, the guardian spirits who live in special statues, and normally a statue in the human world. He and the other Gongshi are supposed to cross over to our world to help humans – but Jin finds this too boring. It will take a string of things going wrong, trapping him in our world and putting both his world and his new friends in the human world in great danger, for Jin to find the motivation and courage to do something for others. As usual, the larger narrative contains a lot of shorter stories woven into it, as well as Grace’s gorgeous full-color paintings. It would be an excellent choice for a read-aloud.

Teen

Cover of Oathbound by Tracy Deonn
Cover of Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger.
  • Oathbound by Tracy Deonn. Read by Joniece Abbott-Pratt, Andrew Elen Hillary Huber, Tim Paige, and Adenrele Ojo. Simon & Schuster Audio, 2025 – I had just started this at the end of April, and wound up with such strong narrative withdrawal that I had to start it over again immediately as soon as I was done, even though my son was waiting for me to finish the audiobook. I won’t say much about the plot except that, as happened to me before with Maggie Stiefvater’s Raven Cycle, I went in expecting a trilogy, and there is definitely more story coming. I’m addicted, y’all.
  • Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger. Read by Kinsale Drake.Levine Querido/Recorded Books, 2024 – I’m glad I circled back to this from last year! Somehow, I’d been expecting a story set in the distant past – but I am old enough that the 70s seems not so far away. Regardless, a lovely and satisfying story.
  • The Baker and the Bard by Fern Haught. Feiwel & Friends, 2024 – A sweet and cozy fantasy graphic novel in which a baker and her nonbinary bard friend travel to find special mushrooms and need to help the village near the forest where they grow. I wanted a more involved story, but it is good for the short story-amount of content it has. Our teen librarian reports that it was the most popular teen graphic novel of 2024 at our library. I’d add that while there is a little bit of romance, there’s nothing inappropriate for middle schoolers.

Adult

Cover of That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemmon.
Cover of Empire of Shadows by Jacquelyn Benson
  • That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemmon. Orbit, 2024 – I saw this on display when I went to a long-awaited branch reopening in my home town and had to check it out. It is very silly fun, with lots of drinking and some very spicy scenes. I really appreciated that the world has lots of people of different skin colors and body shapes, while fighting against prejudice is prejudice against non-humans.
  • Glorious Day by Skye Kilaen. 2022 – A sweet F/F sci-fi romance novella that I bought on Stephanie Burgis’s recommendation. This one is high on longing and low on spice and worked perfectly.
  • Empire of Shadows by Jacquelyn Benson. Crimson Fox Publishing, 2024 – I got this one on sale, as the author is a member of the Lamplighter’s Guild, but this and the sequel are available on Libby in my library system, at least. Ellie studied to be an anthropologist, but being a woman in Victorian England, she’s instead working in archives. But when she’s fired from even that job, she finds herself with a pre-Columbian map and sets out to find the hidden city it portrays – with the help of a very annoying, very handsome American, and chased by villains who want the magical power this hidden city is supposed to contain. Lots of adventure, sparkling dialogue, and sizzling (but only slightly improper) romance. The sequel is in my line-up to read soon!
Cover of See No Stranger by Valarie Kaur
Cover of Greenteeth by Molly O'Neill
Cover of Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater
  • See No Stranger by Valarie Kaur. One World, 2020 – this memoir of a Sikh social justice lawyer and activist came strongly recommended by the Muslim chaplain who was preaching at my UU church. It starts out with 9/11, as Sikh men around America were suddenly under attack for wearing turbans like Osama bin Laden, and follows her search for understanding and healing, looking for how we can love those who show hate to us. Deeply moving and powerfull.
  • Greenteeth by Molly O’Neill. Read by Catrin Walker-Booth. Orbit, 2025 – In a sleepy pond in a forgotten village lives Jenny Greenteeth – one of the last of the Jenny Greenteeth that used to live in ponds around England. She’s lived there for centuries, collecting odd treasures and mostly not eating villagers anymore. But when a strange preacher tries to drown the village’s previously-loved witch, Jenny saves her. This leads both of them down a path of adventure, as Jenny decides it’s worth leaving her pond to help the witch drive out the preacher and regain her family. This is cozy with an edge and some unexpected twists.
  • Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater. Orbit, 2022 – Dora Ettings has been unable to feel or express emotions properly ever since a fairy lord stole half her soul when she was a child. Naturally, this means that her marriage prospects are very low indeed. She travels to London for the Season with her cousin mostly to keep her lovely cousin company – but instead of staying in the background as she prefers, finds herself pulled into the circle of the Lord Sorcier, who is too upset by the injustices he sees in the world to worry about following the proper rules of society. There is a lot of focus on the horror of the workhouses of the period, a compelling, low heat romance, and the very interesting potential of reading the half of Dora in the real world as on the spectrum, learning to love herself as she is without longing for the half of her soul stuck in fairy.
Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall.
  • A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathrall. Read by Claire Morgan, Joshua Riley, Justin Avoth, and Kit Griffiths.Orbit, 2024 – This epistalatory novel is set in a probably-future world where there are no longer continents and everyone lives in something either floating or submerged. A year ago, the reclusive E. and her friend, Scholar Henery Clel, disappeared at the same time that the legendary underwater house that E.’s architect mother designed exploded. Now E.’s sister Sophy is exchanging letters with Henery’s brother Vyerin, both getting to know each other and exploring the development of the deep relationship that developed between E. and Henery, also mostly by letters. This is a world where academia is extremely important. I’ll note that while it’s blurbed by Freya Marske and there is romance, both straight and gay, it is all low heat. I found the story beautifully absorbing, and got on hold for the sequel, A Letter from the Lonesome Shore, immediately, though it’s popular enough that I expect I’ll still have to wait a while. I also recommend the audiobook, with each of the main characters read by a different narrator.

Posted in Adult, Audiobook, Books, Fantasy, Graphic Novel, Historical, Lists, Middle Grade, nonfiction, Print, Realistic, Romance, Sci-Fi, Teen/Young Adult | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment