Tag Archives: youth fantasy

Oddity and the Daybreak Bond

Posted on May 16, 2018 by

Here are two books that have little in common besides being contemporary speculative fiction at the middle grade level.  The first I picked solely because of the adorable yet fierce kid on the cover; the second because I liked the … Continue reading →

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Guest Post by Lexi Kozlar: Charlotte, Sometimes

Posted on May 10, 2018 by

A while back, a page at my library came asking for one of the New York Review Children’s Collection books.  I don’t remember what it was any more – we didn’t have it, I filled in a purchase request, the … Continue reading →

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A Dash of Trouble. Love Sugar Magic #1 by Anna Meriano

Posted on April 23, 2018 by

I had an unplanned little Latinix series as holds came in on various fun-sounding books all at the same time. Here’s the next one, a funny fantasy with lots of baking. A Dash of Trouble. Love Sugar Magic #1 by … Continue reading →

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The Dollmaker of Krakow and the Ice Sea Pirates

Posted on April 14, 2018 by

I said I was done reviewing Cybils books.  I lied.  Here are two more that were nominated for last year’s Cybils, both read from review copies kindly sent to me by the publisher. The Dollmaker of Krakow by R.M. Romero. … Continue reading →

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The Marvelwood Magicians

Posted on March 14, 2018 by

I’ve enjoyed books by Diane Zahler in the past, including Baker’s Magic and The Thirteenth Princess, so I was happy when this new offering came up in my Cybils reading last year. The Marvelwood Magicians by Diane Zahler. Boyds Mills Press, 2017. … Continue reading →

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Rebel Genius by Michael Dante DiMartino

Posted on March 10, 2018 by

This book was a 2016 Christmas gift from my love to my son and I.  We finished the book we were reading and then took several months reading it aloud together. Rebel Genius by Michael Dante DiMartino. Roaring Brook Press, … Continue reading →

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Beast & Crown by Joel Ross

Posted on March 8, 2018 by

Beast & Crown by Joel Ross. HarperCollins, 2017. This most recent book by the author of the 2015 Cybils Middle Grade Speculative Fiction winner, The Fog Diver, features a similarly diverse cast, this time in a historical fantasy world. (I … Continue reading →

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Dominion by Shane Arbuthnott

Posted on March 7, 2018 by

My catching up with books I read for the Cybils continues… Dominion by Shane Arbuthnott. Orca, 2017. Twelve-year-old Molly Stout lives and works on her family’s airship, the Legerdemain, along with her father and two older brothers. Following the legacy … Continue reading →

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The Painting by Charis Cotter

Posted on February 21, 2018 by

Here is another creepy, atmospheric story from the author of 2015 Cybils finalist The Swallow: a Ghost Story. The Painting by Charis Cotter. Tundra Books, 2017. In the present day, our heroine, Annie, is struggling with her mother being in … Continue reading →

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Victor Shmud, Total Expert

Posted on January 31, 2018 by

Victor Shmud, Total Expert: Let’s Do a Thing. Victor Shmud, Total Expert: Night of the Living Things by Jim Benton.  Scholastic, 2017, 2018. Victor is an expert at everything he puts his mind to, from makeovers to intergalactic space battles … Continue reading →

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