Showing posts with label fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fantasy. Show all posts

2/18/24

The Lovely Dark, by Matthew Fox

I loved Matthew Fox's first book, The Sky Over Rebecca, so much that I ordered The Lovely Dark (July  2023 in the UK, Hodder Children's Books) from Blackwells (free shipping from the UK!) and read it pretty much in a single sitting yesterday. I meant to review it, but it felt too raw to do so immediately, so I'm squeezing it in before today's round-up post.

The Lovely Dark is a middle grade reimagining of the story of Orpheus and Eurydice, with a dash of Sleeping Beauty. It begins with sadness, when Ellie's grandmother dies alone of Covid during the height of the pandemic. and it quickly becomes fantasy, when her grandmother's ghost pays Ellie a cryptic visit. As covid restrictions lift, Ellie becomes great friends with Justin, who's just moved in across the street. Justin takes her to see a newly discovered mosaic of the Orpheus story, found deep underground....and disaster strikes when the walls around the excavation give way, and the two children are trapped by the inrushing water.

They find themselves in the underworld, determined to stick together and find a way home. But they each have a different path to follow, and are forced to split up. Ellie's path takes her to Eventide, a sort of school (but with no lessons) filled with other children, with tasty food, pleasant grounds, and secrets. The other children are all dimly content there, despite having died, but Ellie is determined to find Justin again. In her explorations, she finds that in the locked library another girl named Ash is hiding in a secret room behind the books, which are themselves somewhat haunted--fairytales in particular keep being pushed off their shelves.

(This is where the Sleeping Beauty part enters into it--Ash and Ellie agree to give themselves permission to kiss each other if they ever need to be awakened from a cursed sleep, and this is an important plot point later).

Ellie keeps exploring, and finds much that discomfits her, and then she and Justin make contact again, and he helps her go home. And Justin, unlike Orpheus, doesn't look back and I wept.

Slight spoiler--Ellie's experiences could all be written off as a dream, but I am so glad Matthew Fox doesn't throw this in our (tear-streaked) faces. And since the ghost grandmother can't be explained way, the story gets to stay fantasy.

In short, Matthew Fox is now firmly an auto-buy (as expenses allow) author for me.  And I am determined that next time I won't peak at the ending halfway through, concerned though I may be for the fate of characters I am deeply invested in!

2/11/24

The Curse of Eelgrass Bog, by Mary Averling


My first debut middle grade fantasy of 2024--The Curse of Eelgrass Bog, by Mary Averling (Jan 2, 2024, Razorbill)! And it was a good one.

Kess's life is focused on keeping the family's Museum of Unnatural History afloat until her parents return from their expedition investigating unnatural creatures in Antarctica.  It's falling to bits around her, and no-one visits, and her older brother Oliver spends all his time shut in the library, not helping.  Her only friend is a sunken head in a jar, one that actually talks to her; otherwise, she's on her own, desperately hoping that she can make some grand discovery that will revitalize the museum at the edge of the magical, and completely forbidden, Eelgrass Bog, home to witches, demons, and more. It's not much of a life for a 12 year old.

Then a visitor comes to the museum-- Lilou, a girl who's just moved to town.  Lilou's grandfather has left her a cryptic note--

    Beware the witches.
    Break the curse.
    Save the society.

And Lilou enlists Kess's help.  The two girls decide to venture into Eelgrass Bog....and there they do indeed find strange and twisted magic, and clues that start them on a journey to the dark depths of this dangerously warped place.  But the curse isn't what either of them expected, and what they discover upends Kess's world.

It's pretty clear from the get-go that things are Not Ok for Kess, and as the story progresses, Kess herself becomes increasingly trouble by the sense that she's forgetting something, something bad (she isn't wrong).  And though it takes a while for the secrets to all unfold, Kess's hunt for answers, and her journey towards her first friendship (or more than friendship) make for good reading leading up to a satisfying conclusion.

I love books that make pictures in my mind of strange and magical things, and this does not disappoint!  I also was glad to have another book to add to my LGBTQ middle grade list--Kess and Lilou are clearly on their way to a relationship, and Lilou has two dads.  

Give this one to the young reader who loves fantasy mysteries, secret societies, and neglected protagonists ending the book un-neglected.  I'm looking forward to seeing what Mary Averling writes next.


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!


12/2/23

Omega Morales and the Curse of El Cucuym by Laekan Zea Kemp

It was a pleasure to revisit Omega Morales in her second adventure--Omega Morales and the Curse of El Cucuy (Omega Morales, 2) by Laekan Zea Kemp (October 2023, Little Brown).  A new monster, the legendary Mexican boogeyman El Cucuy, has come to town, and he is kidnapping children, and sending adults into an enchanted sleep.  Omega, her cousin Carlito, and Clau, her ghost friend, are determined to defeat him, but the game he is playing with them has twists and turns that seem to make this almost impossible.

Fortunately Omega has a new magical creature friend at her side, who is both cute and brave, as well has help from other kids in town.  And although most of the adults in her family are asleep, she can still find some help through dreams with them, and those who aren't asleep try to help (with little success, though).  In the end, as was the case with the first book, it is understanding and empathizing with the monster that lets Omega put an end to his reign of terror.

As I said in my review of the first book in the series, Omega Morales and the Legend of La Lechuza, "it never ceases to amaze me how the familiar middle grade themes of navigating family and friends and one's own changing self can be explored in so many different magical ways."  And as was the case with the first book, Omega isn't just dealing with a monstrous external threat but is also struggling to understand her own magic and how it is manifesting.  As was the case in the first book, her mother and grandmother are not helpful in this regard (even when awake), and I continue to be displeased with them.  On the plus side, though, this sequel doesn't have the disturbing bullying Omega experienced in the first book.

It is a book dense with magic, dangers, and Omega's relationships with a swirl of other characters (lots of minor characters)--it pays to read it slowly, because if you are a fast reader like me, you might from time to time become unsure of the particulars of what's happening and who is involved.  And be warned--it ends with a cliffhanger.  But those two caveats aside, it's an engrossing and entertaining story!

6/28/23

Conjure Island, by Eden Royce

I was very impressed by Eden Royce's middle grade fantasy, Root Magic, and so was naturally excited about her new book, Conjure Island (June 27, 2023, Walden Pond), and was not disappointed.  In fact it is my favorite new middle grade fantasy of the year so far, the one I read most intently lost in the story.  I am always there for magical school stories, though after reading so many it's always a lovely surprise when they feel fresh and new and transport me vividly right there with the main character.  

In this case, the main character is an eleven-year-old girl named Del, sent to stay with a great-grandmother she didn't know she had when a medical emergency sends her grandmother to the hospital while her dad is deployed.  Packed off to an island of the coast of South Carolina, Del embarks on a summer she'll never forget.  Turns out her grandmother runs a school for conjure magic, and she's expected to start learning it!

Del had no idea that magic was real, or that her family was part of a long line of conjure users. When she arrives on the island and is confronted with this truth, it is (naturally) a huge shock, one that comes with lots of feelings--why did her grandmother never say anything about this, and why did she leave the island when she was still a teenager, never to return?  

Del is determined to answer these questions, but she can't do it alone.  With her growing knowledge of conjure magic, and help not just from her new friend Eva, but from a magical library, a ghost, and even a truly intimidating magical alligator, that the sad story from long ago becomes clear, and she can help her great grandmother set things to rights.  And not just that, but she can begin to take up the work of her ancestors, protecting and preserving the magic and its people.

I very much appreciated that there was no great magical malevolent antagonist.  Instead, Del's challenges are very real world relatable--overcoming the closed-in protective shield she's developed to cope with constantly being the new girl in school, that makes it hard to trust her new friend, and learning to trust herself as well, and to ask for help when she needs it.  And I appreciated as well that though Del has a gift for conjure, she doesn't immediately become a magical wunderkind, but has to put in work.  

It is really everything I love in a magical school story, and if you love the Southern Gothic genre as well, you will love it even more!

Check out the Conjure Island_Educators Guide, which has great background on the story and the real world history that is at the heart of the book, as well as tons of helpful content for educators.  

Thank you, Walden Pond, for including me in the book tour!

CONJURE ISLAND Blog Tour

June 27 Nerdy Book Club  @nerdybookclub

June 27 Unleashing Readers.   @unleashreaders

June 27 Helping Kids Rise @helpingkidsrise

June 28 Charlotte's Library @charlotteslibrary

June 28  StoryMamas @storymamas

June 29  LitCoachLou @litcoachlou

June 29  A Library Mama @librarymama

June 29  Teachers Who Read @teachers_read

6/22/23

Grimwood, by Nadia Shireen

Grimwood, by Nadia Shireen (May 30, 2023 by Andrews McMeel Publishing) is great summer reading for kids who love funny illustrated books who are still getting their reading feet firmly planted!

It's the story of two young foxes, who must flee the city after little brother Ted accidentally bites off the tail of Princess Buttons, the vicious ruler of the town dumpsters.  Big sister Nancy is determined to keep Ted safe until their parents come back to find them, so they  make their way to Grimwood, a forest full of animals living in harmony.   It takes a while for Nancy, a true city fox, to get used to having no cell phone service, but Ted jumps right in, making new friends and happy to be part of the community.

And what a whacky community it is!  Any semblance of actual nature goes out the door, there are high jinx galore, and the looming threat of Princess Buttons is the only shadow over Ted's life.  

There's some violence (like Princess Buttons' tail being bitten off), but it's swirled into a mix of more wholesome friendship and community.

Narrated by a cockroach bus driver, and very generously illustrated, it's easy to imagine this tickling the funny bones of young readers!  The perfect beach read for goofy 8-9 year olds.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher.

5/9/23

Kingston and the Echoes of Magic, by Rucker Moses and Theo Gangi, for Timeslip Tuesday

Yay for me!  I have a Timeslip Tuesday offering, and happily it was a book that was such a fast fun read that I was able to get it read between coming home from work and now---Kingston and the Echoes of Magic, by Rucker Moses and Theo Gangi (October 2021, G.P. Putnam's Sons).  

It's the second of a duology, and if you haven't read book 1 (Kingston and the Magician's Lost and Found) you will want to before opening this one, because otherwise you will probably flounder not knowing who everyone is, and all that happened before this one starts--in a nutshell, Kingston, his cousin Veronica, and their best buddy Too Tall saved Brooklyn from a magical catastrophe involving a portal to an alternate dimension, but couldn't rescue Kingston's dad, who remains trapped there.

Life is going on after those adventures....or maybe not.  Kingston and Veronica realize they are stuck in a time loop, repeating the same day over and over again.  And when they start hunting for an explanation, they find that the looping is tied to a plot to rewrite the timeline of the world, destroying all the reality they love.  Hints and strange helpers lead them on a path through time, as they slip into different pasts trying to find a way to stop the magician mastermind who is behind it all.  They spend time with their teenaged dads, for instance, and a fascinating visit to ancient Egypt is key to saving their world.  

Though it's said several times in the book that it isn't time travel, per se, it certainly was time slip, and very entertaining slipping it was.  And the authors did a great job making it all complicated, but easy to accept without fuss.  The kids are great characters, though I wish Too Tall, the only one without magic, had had a Moment of Helping that wasn't just him being tall enough to get out of the lap of a giant Pharoh statue and such.  He deserved more than just being the tall sidekick.

These are great books for kids who like arcane secrets, riddles, and magic tricks, kids who want books about city kids with magic, especially black urban kids who will get to see themselves here, and for grownups like me who enjoy good magical time slipping.


5/8/23

The Golden Frog Games (Witchlings #2), by Claribel A. Ortega

The Golden Frog Games (Witchlings #2), by Claribel A. Ortega (May 2, 2023, Scholastic), begins soon after the tumultuous events of the first book. Seven and her two best friends, Valley and Thorn, are still well aware that they are "spares"--young witches not chosen for one of the covens,  looked down on by most, and held in utmost contempt by too many- but they are not letting that stop them from living their own magical lives. 

There's lots of stress for all three. Seven, who has found herself an Uncle (in charge of her town's magical relationship with and care of magical creatures), is terribly worried about her magic--it isn't considered right for an Uncle to communicate with monstrous creatures as well as ordinary ones, but that's what Seven is doing.  Valley's coping with the fallout from the collapse of father's reputation, and is embarking on a very sweet relationship with another girl witch.  Thorn has put her shy self out front and center, competing in the Golden Frog Games, where witches from all the twelve towns compete for glory.  It's almost unheard of for a Spare to be a strong contender, but Thorn's skill with magical clothing is hard to beat.

And then the tension gets worse when someone starts using forbidden, archaic magic to attack Thorn.  It's only chance that the magic attacks harm others nearby...and since they aren't stopping, and no one in authority is able to figure out who is behind them, Thorn is in grave danger.

Seven is determined to solve the mystery.  In order to do so, she'll have to embrace the part of her magic that scares her most, and she'll need her friends.  But their tight bond is in danger of breaking.  And the dreadful Nightbeast of the first book calls to her from its magical prison....

This is a book that starts with a focus on magical extravaganza--the Golden Frog Games are lavish and lushly described, and will hook young readers who love to read of marvels.   The friendship tension, and Seven's anxiety that her magic is wrong, make it relatable.  But as the danger grows (and it gets very real and close to home), the tension of the mystery takes center stage.  There's still plenty of neat magical detail, and Seven's ability to communicate with animals adds lots of delightful moments, but the plot really starts boiling. 

I (a non-target audience reader, in case you didn't know that), liked the last third of the book best (I prefer reading about people figuring things out than about people being anxious)...and enjoyed it even more than I did the first one.  I continue to be a bit uncertain about the world building-- what lies beyond the twelve towns? How does their economy function?  but again--not the target audience.  And I continue to cheer for the struggle of the three Witchlings against prejudice, and am happy to cheer for the LGBTQ inclusion.

The book ends at a reasonable point, I guess, but also no it is not reasonable because there's a very big tense thing unresolved and there's clearly lots and lots more of the story to come.  It looks like there will be plenty of more dangerous and twisty plot to look forward to and of course big tense thing had better not stay that way!

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher




4/28/23

The Lake House, by Sarah Beth Durst

Happy slightly belated book birthday to The Lake House, by Sarah Beth Durst (April 25th, 2023, HarperTeen)!  I am a huge fan of her books in general and was not disappointed.

Three young teenaged girls arrive at a house camp on an island in the middle of the Maine woods; none of them wanted to go, but their parents, who had been there themselves long ago, promised them a wonderful, transformative experience.  

They have doubts, and these doubts are more than realized.  Dropped off by boat and left to make their own way through the woods to house, they are stunned to find the Lake House is a burned shell.  The discovery of a fairly fresh corpse who has been shot is not a comfort.  They have no way to communicate with the outside world, and no food or clean water, and presumably there's a killer on the loose, possibly still on the island. And then things get worse, when they must survive a horrible evil that makes the island its home....

I loved the growing friendship between the girls, and especially how Claire's anxiety and tendency to catastrophize proves incredibly valuable.  The other two girls also emerge as fully three-dimensional characters with much to offer the survival of the group, and the trio works through a lot together, growing in understanding and acceptance of themselves and each other.  Though the horror was not exactly to my own personal taste (I had to take it with lots of grains of salt), it offered nicely high stakes and plenty of twists.  The friendship and survival elements were totally my jam (I am always up for catching fish with a tennis net, starting a fire with a hair dryer battery, etc.) and so I ended up being both gripped and entertained.

 A great one for 12-14 year olds who like friendship stories mixed with supernatural horror.  This really falls into the sweet spot of upper middle grade/younger YA!

disclaimer: review copy received from the author

4/8/23

Speculation, by Nisi Shawl

My recent middle grade fantasy reading has been mostly mythology infused quests, and although it's great to have such a wealth of diversity, it was refreshing to read Speculation, by Nisi Shawl (Feb 2023, Tu Books), set firmly in our own world, albeit back in 1962.

I fell hard for Winna, the young heroine, who when we first meet her is reading Edward Eager, a favorite fantasy author of my own youth, and dreaming of magic.  I  thought how very nice but odd it was to see a contemporary character reading vintage books, and it wasn't until it was spelled out for the reader that this was 1962 that I realized I was reading a historical fantasy.  Indeed I also had been struck by Winna's grandfather using the term "colored" in relation to the family, who are Black, but being engrossed I didn't stop to think about it.  But in any event, I knew I'd enjoy spending time with her, and I did.  

Winna and her little sister are at their grandparent's house while their mother is in the hospital.  When her sister breaks her glasses (by accident), Winna is crushed; new glasses are both expensive and inaccessible.  So her grandfather gives her a pair that belonged to her great aunt Estelle. The glasses make her vision even sharper than her old ones, and there's a glimmer to what she sees...and so on the off chance that it's magic, she speculates-what if they show her ghosts?  And they do.  Generations of ghosts, including Estelle, haunt the family cemetery.  

Winna learns from Estelle's ghost about the curse on her family.  Winona, Estelle's mother, escaped slavery and while still moving toward freedom, gave birth to a baby boy, Key.  But Key vanished, or was taken from her, and Winona's grief stayed with her all her life.  So much so that when dying she unintentionally cursed her family, a curse that can only be broken if she and Key can be reunited.

Winna is sure her mother, getting worse in the hospital, is a victim of the curse.  So joining forces with a boy cousin she can't stand, she sets out to solve the mystery of what happened to Key.....and if he's still alive, to bring him back to the family. 

It's a great story, full of dualities that balance each other beautifully-- past and present, magic and reality, the loving family and the racist world.  I loved the historical and genealogical research that Winna and her cousin undertake, I loved how the magic wasn't just seeing ghosts with magical glasses but was aided and abetted by Winna's grandfather's affinity for African infused magic (for lack of a better word) of his own.  And of course I hated the racism that Winna and her family face, and hated too that this part of the book didn't read as much like historical fiction as it should.

Spoiler-- Key was raised as white, with a white family.  And so one of the horrors of chattel slavery, rape, is there in the story, not explicitly discussed by name but an unavoidable fact of what happened.  I'm all in favor of fiction that kids to think about the painful parts of the past and how they affect the present, and sure do hope this one gets to stay on the shelves....




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3/30/23

Unicorn Island: Beyond the Portal, by Donna Galanti

Unicorn Island: Beyond the Portal, by Donna Galanti, illustrated by Bethany Stancliffe (April 4, 2023 by Andrews McMeel Publishing), is the third and final book in one of the strongest new fantasy series for the younger range of middle grade (8-10 year olds, or even 7 year old voracious readers like young me).  That being said, there aren't, actually, all that many books for this demographic compared to all the series for kids 10-14, which means these books really feel a felt need, and kids who loved all the magical vet books like the Pip Bartlett series, the Imaginary Veterinary Series and the like will find the Unicorn Island a good place to continue their fantasy reading! Here are my reviews for Unicorn Island and Secret Beneath the Sand, the first two books- the series really needs to be read in order both to understand what's happening and appreciate the steadily deepening plot.

Discovering Unicorn Island, a sanctuary for magical creatures, and learning the father she'd never met before was its caretaker was just the start of Sam's adventures.  In this final book, she's determined to find her biological mom, who vanished through a portal into the land that was the unicorns original home, a place where they were hunted almost to extinction.   Her best friends, Tuck, and a young unicorn, Barloc, go with her.  They have only a narrow window to find Sam's mother....and when they discover, to their horror, that unicorn hunting is still being practiced, and Barloc is captured, things become very tense indeed!  And then Sam finds that her mother is the community unicorn hunter, who takes their horns from them, and all her hopes for bringing this stranger back into her life are upended.

But things aren't black and white.  The community needs the magic of the unicorn horns to survive; they aren't just hunting them for fun.  She can't let Barloc be robbed of his magic, but she wants to help the townsfolk too....fortunately, with a little luck, lots of determination, and unicorn magic, she and her friends find a way to save not only the town but the de-horned unicorns.

It's not a deeply complex story, as expected, but it is a satisfying and memorable one, full of unicorn goodness, an interesting ethical dilemma, and the mending of a family.  The full color illustrations add to the charm.

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher


3/22/23

The Extraordinary Curiosities of Ixworth and Maddox, by J.D. Grolic


I am mostly saying no to review copies from independently published authors these days, because of feeling overwhelmed by books and life, but I'm really glad I took a chance on The Extraordinary Curiosities of Ixworth and Maddox, by J.D. Grolic!  I enjoyed it lots.

Chloe is sad--her busy parents are neglecting her, and her best friend is growing up faster than she is and has started leaving her behind.  Then one rainy London afternoon, walking home from school through a curious little London street, she tries to shelter in a shop doorway.  The rain comes down harder, and though the shop isn't open for business yet, she tries the door in desperation, and enters "The Extraordinary Curiosities of Ixworth and Maddox."  

There she finds magic, for Ixworth and Maddox aren't just ordinary sellers of curious things.  They are London magicians, creating, with the help of their resident brownies, magical marvels to sell to others such as themselves...and surprisingly, they welcome Chloe; after all, the door opened for her.  She finds herself spending more and more time with them, and the two kindly magicians encourage her own potential for magic.  

When Ixworth disappears with no warning or reason, Chloe is determined to help Maddox find him.  They set off on a journey that takes Chloe deep into magical London, where dark and ancient magic is being worked in a struggle for power.  It's not just Ixworth who needs saving (if saving him is even possible).....

Like I said, I enjoyed this.  I very much like interesting fantasy shops, and though some readers might find the first half of the book slow, I loved being introduced gently, with lots of details, to what the shop was selling and the workings of the magical city.  And then when things got going plot wise, and there was a mystery to solve and bad people and dangerous magic to foil, I enjoyed that too. Chloe has both believable agency and believable emotional reactions.  

In short, it doesn't break any particularly new ground, but it is does what it sets out to do very satisfactorily.  And if, like me, you like middle grade fantasy shop keeping, it's a must!  I hope there is a sequel.


1/13/23

Witching Moon, by K.E. Bonner

I don't often participate in blog tours these days, but when I was offered the chance to read and review Witching Moon, by K.E. Bonner (Belle lsland Books), I was intrigued by the synopsis and said yes please!

"Every once in an eon, when the Earth eclipses the moon on a winter solstice, an immortal is born under a witching moon. Anne has always had the strangest feelings—memories she couldn’t place; strangers she inexplicably yearned for. After she rescues the enigmatic Phillip from a shipwreck, her comfortable life on the island of Cusabo is shattered, and the mystery of her destiny starts to fall into place. Anne leaves behind the life she’s always known and sets out with Phillip on an arduous journey to Amaranth, where her ancient family awaits her. But the path is dark and daunting, and Anne’s powers have only just begun to manifest."

Mysterious destinies and occluded pasts intrigue me lots...and indeed this was my favorite part of the story.  When we first meet Anne, she's a young teenager, orphaned at birth, raised by a wise woman along with her sister and little brothers--not blood relatives, but a strong family even though they have little in the way of material comforts.  Watching as Anne is drawn from this safe haven into an adventure she never wanted that started centuries ago makes for interesting reading---reader and character try to make sense of all the bits of her backstory together.  Unlike the reader, comfortably at home, though, Anne is trying to do this while running for her life, moved from place to place by Phillip, and then captured by Phillip's enemy.  

She is aware that she is almost a commodity, wanted for who she is and for the magical powers she manifests, but can't do much about this.  And she is aware that she has a whole past with a powerful, magical family, and has half dream/half memories of this, that start to become stronger--this is the most interesting aspect of the story for me, and I wish the author had given a bit more of Anne's mental state when confronted with all this....

Readers who enjoy girls discovering they have destinies and magical powers and handsome men wanting them will doubtless enjoy this lots; it was not quite a book for me.  Though the pages turned quickly, I was frustrated that for much of the  story Anne was basically a pawn, fought over by powerful men, never in a position to exercise her own agency, and to make her own choices (that being said, when she finally gets a chance to take vigorous and decisive action she takes it with a vengeance!).  And also I kept getting thrown out of the moment by tiny details that jarred, individually minor things (like could her cropped hair really have a bit long enough to braid?) that distracted me from the story.  I think I would have enjoyed it lots more if I'd read it as a teen, but still had no problem being carried onward by the story--I never considered putting it down because I wanted to reach the resolution!


About the Author

K. E. Bonner, author of Witching Moon, was always the first kid to sit down during a spelling bee. It wasn’t until she was an adult that she was diagnosed with dyslexia, which explained why she always had to study three times harder than her peers. Being dyslexic taught her perseverance and kindness, her two favorite attributes. She lives in Georgia with her husband, two sons, and two dogs. When not writing, she loves to read, swim, explore new places, and meet fascinating people. If you have a dog, she would love to scratch behind its ears and tell it what a good pup it is.

Learn more about K.E. Bonner on her website or follow her on Instagram @kebonnerwrites. 


and here's the rest of the blog tour!

December 19th @ The Muffin

Join WOW as we celebrate the launch of K.E. Bonner's blog tour of Witching Moon. Read an interview with the author and enter to win a copy of the book!
https://muffin.wow-womenonwriting.com


December 20th @ Mindy McGinnis’s blog
Stop by Mindy’s blog to read “Release the Idea of Getting Rich or Published and Focus on Your Craft.” by K.E. Bonner
https://www.mindymcginnis.com/blog

December 20th @ Rockin’ Book Reviews

Join us as Lu Ann reviews Witching Moon

http://www.rockinbookreviews.com

December 21st @ All the Ups and Downs

Join Heather as she spotlights Witching Moon. Enter to win a copy of the book!

https://alltheupsandowns.blogspot.com/


December 23rd @ Michelle Cornish’s blog
Visit Michelle’s blog to read her review of Witching Moon.
https://www.michellecornishauthor.com/blog

December 24th @ A Storybook World

Join Deirdra as she features a spotlight of Witching Moon.
https://www.astorybookworld.com/

December 27th @ Lisa Haselton’s Reviews and Interviews blog

Join Lisa for an interview with K.E. Bonner.
https://lisahaselton.com/blog/


December 28th @ Author Anthony Avina’s blog
Join us today for author Anthony Avina’s review of Witching Moon.
http://www.authoranthonyavinablog.com

December 30th @ Author Anthony Avina’s blog

Revisit author Anthony Avina’s blog to read “The Best Writing Advice I Received” by K.E. Bonner. 
http://www.authoranthonyavinablog.com


January 4th @ Bev Baird’s blog
Join us on Bev’s blog as she reviews Witching Moon.
https://beverleyabaird.wordpress.com

January 5th @ The Knotty Needle

Stop by for Judy’s review of Witching Moon.
http://knottyneedle.blogspot.com

January 6th @ Bev Baird’s blog

Meet us back at Bev’s blog for “Ideas are Everywhere” a guest post by K.E. Bonner.
https://beverleyabaird.wordpress.com


January 6th @ Look to the Western Sky
Join Margo as she reviews Witching Moon by K.E. Bonner.
https://margoldill.com/

January 7th @ Chapter Break

Visit Julie's blog where she interviews author K.E. Bonner about her book Witching Moon.

https://chapterbreak.net/

January 9th @ Sue Edwards’s blog

Visit Sue’s blog to read “Magical Realism Surrounds Us” by K.E. Bonner.
https://suebe.wordpress.com/


January 10th @ Celtic Lady's Reviews
Visit Kathleen's blog and read her review of Witching Moon by K.E. Bonner.
https://celticladysreviews.blogspot.com/

January 10th @ World of My Imagination

Stop by Nicole's blog where K.E. Bonner is a guest for "Three Things on a Saturday Night."
https://worldofmyimagination.com


January 12th @ Life According to Jamie
Join us as Jamie reviews Witching Moon
http://www.lifeaccordingtojamie.com


January 14th @ Boots, Shoes, and Fashion
Join Linda as she interviews author K.E. Bonner.
https://bootsshoesandfashion.com


January 15th @ Fiona Ingram’s author blog 

Stop by Fiona’s blog to see her spotlight feature of Witching Moon

https://fionaingramauthor.blogspot.com


January 16th @ the Freeing the Butterfly blog
Visit Freeing the Butterfly to read “Life is Short, Do What You Love” by K.E. Bonner.
https://www.freeingthebutterfly.com/blog

January 18th @ Jill Sheets’s blog 

Stop by Jill’s blog to read her interview with K.E. Bonner. 

https://jillsheets.blogspot.com/


1/5/23

The Lost Ryƫ, by Emi Watanabe Cohen

What with the hectic rush of family Christmas at my mother's house, and the frantic rush to deal with all the piles of paper that accumulated at work while I was gone, it's been hard to actually sit at the computer and write a review (this is my first review since mid-December...).  But the books aren't going to review themselves, and I have a couple I got review copies of for the Cybils Awards that I liked lots, so here I am.

The Lost RyĆ« by Emi Watanabe Cohen (middle grade, June 2022,  Levine Querido) is about dragons-the ryĆ« of the title.  There were once massive dragons flying over Japan, but after WWII those dragons vanished and only little companion dragons remain. Ten year old Kohei has a little dragon, Yuharu, whom he loves; the new neighbor girl, half Japanese, half Russian Isolde, who has just moved from the US, has a Yiddish speaking dragon named Cheshire.  These dragons are charming. 

It is about much more than charming dragons, though, and more also than the story of the friendship that develops between the two kids (though Isolde's uncomfortable life experience of never belonging and how she deals with it was a great part of the book).  At its heart is a story of intergenerational trauma, tied to dragon magic and the challenges of belonging, to make for very moving reading.

Kohei's family (him, his mother, and his maternal grandfather) has secrets.  He barely remembers his father, who died when he was three, but he does have a memory of seeing one of the last of the great dragons.  Following a trail of snippets of information and considerable intuition, he sets out with Isolde to find the ryĆ« his grandfather loved and lost, to dispel the miasma of past trauma hanging over his family. 

It is a magical journey of impossible wonder--the realism (with small dragons) of the first part of the book becomes lovely, full-blown fantasy.  For Kohei the quest is a bright flare of refusal to accept his mother's creed of  ‘shikata ga nai’ (“there’s nothing to be done --just keep existing without fighting) and his grandfather's drinking and anger.  It is his father's words, words that he treasures, that keep him going--

Do not quit. You must keep trying to make things better, Kohei, because there are always good things you can do.’

And gee but that is a message that so many of us need to remember, and if we can be reminded while reading about lovely ryĆ« in Japan, adventuring with two brave kids, so much the better.

short answer--come for the smart, funny, loyal little dragons, stay for big dragons and big heart!

disclaimer: review copy received from the publisher for Cybils Award consideration

12/18/22

The Jewish middle grade fantasy books of 2022

Happy Hanukkah! Jewish middle grade fantasy is pretty thin on the ground, but this year was the best ever, with four books (that I know of).


The one that is getting the most buzz is Black Bird, Blue Road, by Sofiya Pasternack (September 2022, Versify/Harper Collins) , which tells of a desperate quest by a sister to save her brother who is dying of leprosy. When he has a vision that the Angel of Death will come for him in one month, on Rosh Hashanah, Ziva persuades him to run away from home with her to find doctors who can cure him. On the journey they accidently set a half-demon boy free from servitude, and he tells them of the city of Luz, where death has no sway. The journey is long and arduous, with the Angel of Death always breathing down their necks....and in the end is up to her brother to make his own choice. Deeply moving, this is a memorable story indeed.

On a lighter note, but still with suspensefully high stakes, is Naomi Teitelbaum Ends the World, by Samara Shanker  (September 2022, Atheneum). When Naomi gets a small golem as a Bat Mitzvah gift, and it comes alive, her life gets more than a little complicated. The golem needs work to do, and with every task she sets it, it grows. It's an impossible situation, so she and her friends decide to give it a job that it can never finish--saving the world. Things go very wrong indeed, and soon the kids are off chasing down the golem before its ideas about what "saving the world" entails do just the opposite. This is one for readers who like entertaining mayhem, but it is given depth when Naomi, guided by conversations with her rabbi and others, starts thinking deeply about the Torah lessons she has been learning (and this part of the book is really well done indeed, thought provoking without being at all preachy!)



In Aviva vs the Dybbuk, by Mari Lowe (February 2022 by Levine Querido), a grieving girl whose father has died and whose best friend has rejected her contends with a troublesome dybbuk who is making her life even more difficult. Her mother, deeply depressed, cannot help her. But the bond of old friendship is strong enough to bring the two girls back together in a tentative alliance to fight the dybbuk, and the antisemitism that is threatening the Orthodox community. Much more than just a story of a magical being disrupting real life, this is a powerful portrayal of a girl, and a community, who need to heal and survive.





The Two Wrong Halves of Ruby Taylor by Amanda Panitch (August 2022 by Roaring Brook Press), also features a troublesome dybbuk. 12 year old Ruby is only half Jewish--her mom is Christian--and so she feels not Jewish enough compared to her cousin Sarah, who their grandmother favors.  Then Ruby finds an old box that her grandmother tells her never to open--inside is a trapped dybbuk, brought over from Europe.  Ruby breaks open the box in a scuffle with Sarah, and when Sarah starts behaving out of character, no longer the perfect Jewish granddaughter, Ruby becomes convinced that the dybbuk has possessed her cousin....Now Ruby has to figure out how to dispel the troublesome spirit, something that only a "pious Jew" can do....It's a story in which the fantasy element supports the more central, realistic story about family and identity, so a good one for kids who only need a light touch of magic to enjoy a good read!


Please let me know if I missed any other Jewish MG fantasy books of 2022!

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