Genre: Fantasy

When Fairies Go Bad

Everyone knows rule #1 in the dragon world: Never, ever mess with a dragon’s mama. So when Danny Dragonbreath’s mom gets kidnapped by fairies, Danny, his best friend Wendell, and know-it-all Christiana hop on the first bus to the Faerie realm to show those fairies who’s boss. But these are not the sparkly Tinkerbell kind of fairies. These guys play dirty. Escaping fairyland with Danny’s mom is no easy task, even for a sort-of-fire-breathing dragon.

When Fairies Go Bad uses fairy folklore to create a hilarious, action-packed story that will have readers giggling. When Danny’s mother is kidnapped by fairies, Danny and his friends, Wendell and Christiana, are determined to save her. As they march through fairyland, they must stay on the path in order to stay safe. However, several of fairyland’s creatures try to trick the three friends into straying off the path. Fairyland’s creatures are more silly than scary, and readers will enjoy seeing how the friends work together to keep focused on their goals.

While in fairyland, Christiana is cursed and all of her sentences must end in a rhyme. To add to the humor, Christiana also doesn’t believe she is really in fairyland. At one point she says, “Yet more talking mammal dreams? My subconscious is obsessed, it seems.” Christiana’s rhymes add humor to the story. Readers will enjoy the humor of the story as well as how Danny and his friends are able to free Danny’s mother.

Green and black illustrations add to the allure of the book. Drawings with dialogue balloons help break up the text and keep the action moving. Dragonbreath shows the value of friendship and will get even the most reluctant readers engaged in the story. Although When Fairies Go Bad is the seventh book of the Dragonbreath series, the story can be enjoyed as a stand-alone story. Readers who enjoy the Dragonbreath series may also want to try The Notebook of Doom Series by Troy Cummings.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Danny wakes up in the middle of the night because he hears a strange noise. “The music rose to a screaming whine, and something reached out of the fairy right, closed over Danny’s mother’s wrist, and yanked her into the right. She vanished. The music halted as if it had been cut with a knife.” Danny’s mother is kidnapped by fairies.
  • Danny finds his mom, who was locked in a cage by the fairies.
  • When Danny tries to talk to his mom, “the fairy king waved a hand. Danny’s mother’s voice cut off abruptly. Her mouth kept moving, but no sound came out. She realized she’d been muted. . .”
  • The fairy king threatens to turn Danny’s mom into a tree. Danny “had no idea what he’d do if the king actually did turn her into a tree. Take her home and plant her in a nice pot in the backyard? Keep her watered with coffee?”
  • Creatures follow Danny and his friends. “Figures staggered out of the woods, moving with jerky, shuddering steps. When they got a little closer, Danny realized that they were little more than sticks lashed together. They didn’t have heads or hands or anything, just twigs animated by some malign magic. . . Wooden claws closed on Danny’s shoulder. Another one grabbed at his mother. . .” Danny breathes fire and “the wood dried up beautifully. The twig-creature dropped him and staggered back.”
  • When the fairy king sends a guard after Danny and his friends, “Danny’s mother lunged at the fairy guard. The fairy plainly hadn’t been paying attention to her at all and went down under a hundred and sixty pounds of very angry female dragon.”
  • Danny threatens to turn a pig into bacon.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Danny’s friend looks at some mushroom in Danny’s yard. The friend says the mushrooms “look like an Amanita to me. They’re really poisonous. Some of them make you hallucinate too.”

Language

  • Christiana has been cursed and must rhyme all of her words. She tells Danny, “Thanks, dude. . . I think I’m screwed.”
  • While in fairyland, Christiana thinks, “We got too close to the mushrooms in your yard, and now we’re hallucinating hard.”
  • Christiana shows a fairyland creature a spook and asks, “Is this what you’re after, you ugly moose-pafter?”
  • Danny’s mother tackles a guard. The guard then asks, “What the heck was that?”
  • Danny’s grandfather says that fairies are “mean little cusses.”

Supernatural

  • A fairy says a curse, “Ash and bone and hag-skin fat, boar’s black tongue and snout of bat, the rhymer’s curse I lay upon thee—from dawn to dusk in heart of faerie.” After Christiana is cursed, all of her sentences have to rhyme at the end. When Christiana says a word that can’t rhyme, she has “the mother of all coughing fits. She rolled around, tearing up handfuls of grass and hacking.”
  • While in the fairies’ world, Danny and his friends must stay on the path because “the white stones seemed to act like a force field.”
  • When bushes begin to talk to Danny and his friends, Wendell says, “Fairies can disguise themselves as all kinds of things. I bet those aren’t really bushes.”
  • In order to break a fox’s spell, Christiana puts in the tear of the fox. “The tear fell onto the spell. There was a shout that seemed to come from all directions of the woods, and the spell gave a great hiss and fizzle. The fox leaped to his feet, did a backflip, and tore off into the woods.

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

 

Mercy Watson to the Rescue

Mr. and Mrs. Watson have a pig named Mercy. Mercy loves when Mr. and Mrs. Watson snuggle her up in bed and sing her to sleep. One night, Mercy decides she doesn’t want to be alone, so she hops into Mr. and Mrs. Watson’s bed. Mercy likes being snuggled up between the two. But soon there is a boom and a crack. The Watson’s bed begins to fall through the floor. How will Mercy come to the Watsons’ rescue?

Silly and suspenseful, Mercy will have readers giggling to the very end. Younger readers will relate to Mercy, who just wants to snuggle up in bed next to Mr. and Mrs. Watson. When Mercy is woken up in the middle of the night, she just wants some warm buttered toast to fill her grumbling tummy. How could Mercy know that looking for toast would wake the Lincoln sisters, who would call the fire department, which sends two firefighters just in time to save Mr. and Mrs. Watson?

With large font, short sentences, and lots of references to buttery toast, Mercy’s adventures are the perfect read-aloud bedtime story. The easy vocabulary and the double-spaced lines of text will make the story accessible to readers who are transitioning to chapter books. Each page contains brightly colored illustrations that use exaggerated facial expressions to show the humans’ wide range of emotions. The frightened neighbor, her opinionated sister, and the helpful fireman all come to life with silly illustrations that readers will want to look at again and again. In the end, Mercy and her love of buttery toast bring everyone together in a happy conclusion. Mercy Watson Saves the Day is a fun story that will leave readers with a smile.

 Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • When the bed begins to fall, Mr. Watson said, “What the –?”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Revenge of the Dragon Lady

After killing a fierce dragon named Gorzil, Wiglaf returns to the academy and begins learning more about being a dragon slayer. But soon, a scout appears warning everyone about Seetha, Gorzil’s mother. Seetha wants to avenge her son’s death. Wiglaf isn’t ready to fight an angry dragon, so he searches for help and finds a librarian, a woman who thinks that “clothes make the man,” and finally a wizard who keeps making mistakes while casting spells.

In order to help Wiglaf, a wizard casts a courage spell that makes Wiglaf feel no fear. Wiglaf isn’t afraid to attack the “Mother of all Dragons” (or at least the mother of 3,684 of them). Will Wiglaf’s fearless attitude get him killed?

Revenge of the Dragon Lady brings more silly magic and dragon danger into Wiglaf’s life. The story adds in a fashion-forward woman that really believes the ridiculous new outfit is all Wiglaf needs to slay the dragon. The selfish headmaster also takes a larger role in the story, which is a fun addition to the story. Readers will want to read The New Kid at School first, because Revenge of the Dragon Lady has many of the same characters as the first book in the series.  

Unlike many children’s books, the Dragon Slayers’ Academy doesn’t rely on bullying to create conflict. Instead, the children encourage Wiglaf and try to help him stay alive. The fast-paced story uses humor and suspense to keep readers engaged. Wiglaf is a kind-hearted boy who doesn’t want to use violence—even on a fire-breathing dragon. Instead of having sword fights and death, each dragon dies in an unrealistic, but comical way.

The story uses simple vocabulary and short paragraphs to tell a fast-paced story. Readers may need help with some of the more complex sentences and the medieval language. For example, Wiglaf’s friends tell him to “smite” the dragon, and Wiglaf tells someone to “unhand me.” Full-page black and white illustrations are scattered throughout the story. The detailed illustrations bring the characters to life with exaggerated facial expressions. A map of the academy and a DSA yearbook appear at the end of the book. Each yearbook page has a picture of a character as well as important information about him/her.

Adventure-seeking readers will enjoy Revenge of the Dragon Lady and cheer for Wiglaf as he proves that you don’t need to be mighty in order to be a hero. Readers who want more medieval fun should read the Roland Wright Series by Tony Davis.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • During a food fight in the cafeteria, Wiglaf throws an eel, and “at that very moment, the flesh-and-blood headmaster walked through the dining hall door. . . The eel stuck to Mordred’s forehead. Green eel juice dripped into his angry violet eyes.”
  • Wiglaf and his classmates discuss killing a dragon named Seetha. His friends tell Wiglaf to “Take up your sword. Smite the dragon on the noggin.”
  • The dragon, Seetha, makes fun of Wiglaf, and then, “she made a hacking sound in the back of her throat. Up came a blob of fire. She spit it at the straw dragon. WHOOSH! It burst into flames.” The headmaster tells Seetha, “Go ahead and have fun with the boy. But, please. Try not to set the school on fire.”
  • Wiglaf charges the dragon and “Seetha’s eyes widened with surprise. Then she blew a puff of red-hot dragon breath right at Wiglaf. The blast of smelly heat almost knocked Wiglaf off his feet. Sweat popped out on his brow. But still he ran toward the dragon. With one claw, Seetha knocked the sword out of Wiglaf’s hand. With the other, she struck him. He went rolling head over heels.”
  • Seetha “dangled Wiglaf further over the moat.” Wiglaf dropped his dagger, which falls on Seetha’s toe. Then Seetha “tossed Wiglaf away. He sailed through the air. With a thump, he landed on the ground. He bounced twice. Then he lay still.”
  • Wiglaf hides from Seetha, and when she tries to go get him, “Seetha teetered on the roof above him. . . Her wings flapped clumsily. Her tail lashed the air. She swayed dangerously back and forth. She lost her balance. Down she plunged. SPLASH. Seetha hit the moat.” Later Wiglaf explains that “Seetha died from her secret weakness! It was a bath that killed the beast.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • “Blazing King Ken’s britches!” is used as an exclamation.

Supernatural

  • The headmaster hears a fluttering noise and thinks it is a bird. He yelped, “A bird of evil omen has come to devour us all!” He realizes that the bird is actually his scout.
  • Wiglaf’s pigs can talk. A wizard “put a spell on her, [so] Daisy could speak Pig Latin.”
  • In order to make a wizard appear, “all Wiglaf had to do was say Zelnoc’s name backwards three times.” Wiglaf said the spell and “suddenly, a tiny bit of smoke appeared. It grew into a smoky, blue pillar. Out of the smoke stepped Zelnoc.”
  • Zelnoc accidentally says a spell that brings the entire wizard convention to a henhouse. He says “Romziz! Romziz! Romziz!” And then “Smoke filled the henhouse. Red smoke. Yellow smoke. Bright purple smoke. The hens sprang from their nest. . . But Wiglaf stood where he was. He watched in amazement as the smoke swirled into great columns. Out of each column stepped a wizard wearing a gown the color of smoke. Some two dozen wizards appeared in all.”
  • A wizard cast a bravery spell on Wiglaf. He chanted, “Spineless, gutless, weak-kneed brat, Chicken-hearted scaredy-cat, cringing coward, yellow-belly, liver-livered, heart of jelly. Change this boy who’s standing here, into He-Who-Knows-No-Fear!” Wiglaf then dashes off to kill a dragon.

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

 

The Girl the Sea Gave Back

For as long as she can remember, Tova has lived among the Svell, the people who found her washed ashore as a child and use her for her gift as a Truthtongue. Her own home and clan are long-faded memories, but the sacred symbols and staves inked over every inch of her skin mark her as one who can cast the rune stones and see into the future. She has found a fragile place among those who fear her, but when two clans to the east bury their age-old blood feud and join together as one, her world is dangerously close to collapse.

For the first time in generations, the leaders of the Svell are divided. Should they maintain peace or go to war with the allied clans to protect their newfound power? When their chieftain looks to Tova to cast the stones, she sets into motion a series of events that will not only change the landscape of the mainland forever but will give her something she believed she could never have again—a home.

The Girl the Sea Gave Back is a Vikings-inspired story that is bloody and brutal. The story focuses on both Tova and Halvard’s points of view and continually jumps between the two character’s perspectives. Because the story switches points of view, there are often times when the same scene is retold from another character’s point of view. In addition to switching points of view, the story also flashes back into each character’s life. The always-changing point of view and the flashbacks makes the plot both choppy and confusing.

Although the story focuses on Tova, she is not an easy character to relate to. It is clear that the Svell dislike her; however, the reason for their fear is never explained. In the beginning, Tova seems content to follow orders and do what she is told. Although she does not like foretelling death, she doesn’t think about the consequences of her actions. Of the two characters, Halvard is more likable and interesting. He constantly doubts his worthiness but is willing to take risks to save those he loves.

In the end, The Girl the Sea Gave Back is a tale of war and fate. Long bloody battles propel the story forward, and although there is plenty of action, the characters lack development. Even though war is described in detail, it is not glorified. Instead, the story makes it clear that peace is difficult to obtain, but it is worth working towards. Halvard learns that “war is easy. It comes again and again, like waves to a shore. But I lived most of my life driven by hate, and I don’t want that for my grandchildren. Or yours.”

Although beautifully written, The Girl the Sea Gave Back lacked in world-building and will leave the reader with many unanswered questions—both about the characters and what will happen to the warring tribes. The complicated story uses graphic imagery that will leave some readers squeamish. Only strong readers who are looking for a Viking-inspired war story should read The Girl the Sea Gave Back.

Sexual Content

  • One of the woman warriors “had never been motherly in nature and though she’d had several lovers through the years, she’d never had children.”
  • In a brief moment alone with Tova, Halvard “took a step toward me and my heart kicked in my chest, the blood running faster through my veins. . . He leaned down, hiding me in his shadow as he pressed his lips softly to the corner of my mouth. His hands wound around my waist and for a moment, I melted into him.”

Violence

  • As a child, Tova went into town, and “something hot hit my face and it wasn’t until I reached up that I realized it was blood—a prayer to their god, Eydis, to ward off whatever evil I might bring. I still remember the way it felt, rolling down my skin and soaking into the neck of my tunic.”
  • When two tribes meet, the chieftain’s brother betrays him by attacking the other tribe’s chieftain. The man “suddenly reared back with the sword, launching it forward with a snap, and it sank into Espen’s stomach. The tip of its blood-soaked blade reached out behind him where it had run him through.” The two tribes fight. Halvard tries to protect his friend, Aghi. Halvard “twisted my sword in an arch around me to catch him in the gut. He tumbled to the grass and I lifted the blade before me, thick blood dripping onto the golden grass.” During the battle, Aghi is stabbed with a knife. “Aghi doubled over and it wasn’t until he hit the ground that I saw it. The handle of my knife was lodged between his ribs. I swallowed a breath as bright, sputtering blood poured from his lips and when I opened my mouth, I couldn’t hear the sound of my own screams.” As the battle continues, Halvard plunged the blade into Bekan’s heart. His head rolled back and he gasped, coughing on the blood coming up in his throat. . .” Many people die during the 12 pages of battle.
  • When the Svell lose the battle, Vigdis is upset and attacks Tova. “. . . He screamed, shoving Jorrund aside and snatching up my arm. He threw me back and I hit the ground hard before he came over me, taking a handful of my hair into his fist. . .” Vigdis threatens to set Tova on fire, but she convinces him that she can still be useful so he lets her live.
  • When Halvard was a child, his village was attacked and he was captured. Some of the captives were tied behind a cart. “The rope cut into the skin around his wrist and his arms ached, blood trailing up into the sleeves of his torn tunic. The woman tied beside him had fallen before the moon had even risen above the treetops and her lifeless body dragged over the ground beside him.” Halvard was saved by his brothers.
  • When the Svell attack a village, Tova could hear the screams. “The light of dusk caught the glistening of wet blood on armor and the warriors passed us. . .” The man Vigdis was looking for was not in the village, so “Vigdis lifted his hand, rearing back and swinging his arm to slap me [Tova] across the face. I fell to the ground, my hands sliding over the wet soil as my mouth filled with blood.”
  • Halvard thought back to his childhood when the Svell attacked his village. Most of the dead “weren’t even wearing their armor or their boots, cut down as they tried to flee in the dark. They’d been sleeping when the Svell came out of the forest and set fire to their homes. . . The bodies of people I’d known my whole life had been strewn throughout the village bright red blood staining the crisp, white snow. . .”
  • At the end of the battle, friends of Halvard appear and save him when “arrows suddenly fell from the sky, arcing over my head and hitting their marks before me. Svell warriors hit the ground hard. . .”
  • Halvard and his men approach the destroyed village and find “bodies still lying where they’d fallen in the fight.” Halvard sees a Svell warrior and “the blunt side of the blade caught him in the jaw. The sword fell from his hand as he tumbled backward, sliding on the stone until he rolled over the threshold, landing in the mud outside.” More Svell appear and “Asmund lifted his ax, stopping the man’s blow overhead, and slammed his closed fist into his face. . . Asmund kicked him in the chest sending him backward.” When it looks like Asmund might die, Halvard “let the knife in my other hand sink back behind my head and slung it forward, letting it fly handle over blade through the air, it hit its mark finding the flesh between his shoulder blades, and he fell face-first into the dirt at Asmund’s feet.”
  • When Tova refuses to cast the stones, “a man’s face appeared over me before he bent down low, lifting me back to my feet. He didn’t even look up as a sob wracked my chest. His hand took hold of the neck of my tunic. . .” The man drags Tova to the meeting place and “he shoved me inside and I toppled forward, sliding on the ground. My palms scraped against the dry, cracked mud. . .” A man threatens to kill her if she does not read the stones.
  • During the final battle there are many deaths. The battle is described over multiple chapters. “An axe flew over my [Halvard’s] head, catching a Nădhir woman behind me, and she was knocked from her feet, hitting the ground hard. I stood just in time to catch the man who’d thrown it with my blade, dropping him with one strike. . .” When a woman attacks Halvard, “I brought my axe down onto her shoulder and she fell to her knees, reaching for Fiske. He toppled backward, driving his sword up to impale the woman with it. The length of the blade shone with blood as Fiske pulled it from where it was wedged between her bones and stood, heaving.” As the battle rages, Tova joins in. “A man crashed into the mud behind me, Halvard’s knife buried in his chest. He coughed blood as I pulled it free and got back to my feet.”
  • During the battle, a Svell man tries to kill Tova. “In the next instant, his knife was swinging wide, catching me in the arm. . . Before he could bring the knife down, I rolled to my side, covering my head with my hands. The blade ripped into my other arm, the edge of the iron hitting the bone, and I cried out.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • When Tova is injured, Jorrund has to stitch the injury. “Her blood shone on the needle as Jorrund pulled the thread in one long motion and tied it off. When a tear finally rolled down her cheek, he gave her another drink of the sour ale. She swallowed it down until the burn in her throat reached her chest.”
  • While preparing for a battle, the Svell drink ale. “Outside, the Svell gathered around smoking fires, drunk on ale and eating what would be for some of them a last meal.”
  • When a woman warrior is injured, she is given ale to help with the pain.
  • During a ceremony to make Halvard the new chieftain, Halvard cuts his palm and allows the blood to pool in a cup. The other leaders then drink the blood.
  • The night before the final battle, Halvard and his family drink ale.
  • After the battle, some of the warriors were “drinking our winter stores of ale.”

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Tova is a Truthtongue and uses runes to tell the future. Before she drops the stones, she chants, “Eye of the gods. Give me sight.” After she throws the stones, she interprets them.

Spiritual Content

  • The story revolves around the Spinners of Fate who “sat at the foot of the Tree of Urṍr weaving the density of mortals.” When Tova was born, her mother consulted the Spinners of Fate and they told her what would happen in the future.
  • Different tribes believe in different gods. Although the gods’ names are mentioned, there is no explanation of how the gods are different from each other.
  • Jorrund is the tribe’s healer and the “interpreter of Eydis’ will.” When he finds Tova on the beach, he thinks Tova is an omen for Eydis.
  • The people believe in an afterlife and refer to it often. For example, a man’s “only child was taken to the afterlife and there she’d wait for her father until he took his last breath.” When a person dies, their body is cremated so they can travel to the afterlife.
  • While preparing to meet another tribe’s leader, a man says, “we’ll make a sacrifice at dawn and ask Eydis to give us her favor.”
  • People, including Tova herself, think that Tova “was a living curse. A betrayal to the Svell god. . . She was a scourge. And there were many that wanted her dead.”
  • When Halvard’s friend Aghi dies, Halvard thinks that he would also like to die in the battle because “it was an end that the gods would favor.” Because Aghi’s body could not be cremated, Halvard performs a ritual. Halvard takes his knife and “I wound my fingers tightly around its blade before I slid it against my calloused palm. The hot blood pooled in the center of my hand before I pressed my finger into it, carefully writing Aghi’s name across the face of the stele.” Someone says a prayer and Halvard thinks, “It had been a long time since I’d prayed to Thora or Sigr. Not because I didn’t believe in them, but because I wasn’t sure they listened.”
  • Someone tells Halvard the story of Truthtongues. When one of the god’s sisters dies and is buried, the god “swore vengeance of the Spinners for taking her life. As an offering, the Spinners gave Naṍr a mortal child with the mark on her chest. They called her the Truthtongue and promised that every woman born into her lineage would have the ability to read the runes and see into the future.”
  • When the Svell were ready to attack a village, Tova tells a man, “There isn’t a single god who looks favorably upon dishonorable killing.” Tova feels guilty that she helped the soldiers find the village. She thinks, “I hadn’t planned the massacre in the glade but it was my rune cast that had justified it. . . I had always known that I was cursed. That something dark had marked me.” Tova thinks she was sent out of her village because her god didn’t want her.
  • The characters often pray to their gods. For example, during a ceremony, a man shouts, “We ask you, Thora and Sigr, to entrust your people to Halvard, son of Auben.”
  • Before battle, a man says a prayer. “We call upon you! We ask for your protection and your favor as we take the fjord!” The tribe’s healer then “dropped the torch at his feet and the flame caught the pitch, writhing over the grass in the paths he’d laid. . .It was an ancient symbol, the shield of the fallen Svell warrior.”
  • As the warriors are praying, Tova thinks, “But there was no one I could call upon. No one who was listening. Instead, I made my plea to the Spinners. I asked for their forgiveness. I begged for their help.”
  • When Tova offers to cast the stones for Halvard, he refuses by saying, “I don’t want to know. I trust the gods.”
  • The night before the final battle, Tova doesn’t pray to a god. “Instead, I prayed to the woman in my vision.” Later, she discovers that the woman in the vision was her mother.
  • When Tova meets her mother, her mother tells her, “The Spinners brought us here to find you. But we don’t know yet what other purpose they have for us. We won’t know until they tell us. . . Mortals and gods cannot be trusted to obey the warnings of the Spinners.”

Saving the Whole World

Hilo doesn’t remember much about his past, but that’s not stopping him from settling into life on earth. Hilo has discovered bowling, knock-knock jokes, and some good friends. Strange portals begin opening up all over town, and strange creatures are coming through them. Hilo has a plan to send the giant mutant chickens, Viking hippo, and the millions of killer vegetables back to their homeworld. Can Hilo, D.J. and Gina send these creatures back to their worlds before they destroy the earth?

Saving the Whole World digs deeper into Hilo and his friends’ backgrounds as well as introduces a sorceress martial-arts cat named Polly. In addition to being a lot of fun, the ferocious Polly jumps into every battle. D.J.’s family also plays a positive role in the story. Readers will enjoy the hilarious awkward parental interactions. Readers will laugh out loud when D.J.’s mom finds monsters in her house and yells, “Monsters are in my kitchen! There’s a talking cat! And Hilo can fly! I need an explanation! Now!”

Hilo isn’t just a fun story about a super-strong robot boy. Saving the Whole World hits on topics such as family, friends, and fitting in. Several times Hilo reinforces the idea that “Trying to find stuff out is the best part of not knowing something.” Without sounding like a school lesson, Saving the Whole World introduces new vocabulary through Hilo’s speech. For example, Hilo says “Y’see, I lured Razorwark into this limbo. Lured. Isn’t it a great word? Lured: verb, past tense. To tempt a person or animal to do something or go somewhere.”

Brightly colored illustrations will capture readers’ attention, but readers will want to keep turning the pages because of the engaging story and the likable characters. The detailed illustrations show exaggerated facial expressions which will help readers understand the characters changing emotions.   For maximum enjoyment, the stories should be read in order. Even though, the first chapter recaps the events in the previous books, the stories’ plots build on each other.

The book ends in a cliff-hanger that will have readers reaching for the next book, The Great Big Boom. Viking hippos, a magical warrior cat, and attacking vegetables combine to make a wonderful story that all ages will enjoy. If you’re looking for a story full of action and humor, Hilo is a perfect choice.

Sexual Content

  • Lisa has a crush on Hilo. Whenever she sees him, a heart pops up over her head.

Violence

  • Hilo and his friends find a robot in the bowling alley. When Hilo talks to the robot, the robot slams Hilo into a wall. Then, the robot begins “chucking bowling balls. Hilo throws the robot into the snow, where it short-circuits. Hilo sends the robot back to its home planet.”
  • Hippopotamuses fall from a portal and Polly shoots them with a laser. Polly yells, “That’s right whale bellies!” Then the hippopotamuses fight back with their own lasers.
  • A monster robot falls from a portal and begins pounding a “mighty mart.” The robot grabs Hilo and Hilo uses his power to knock out the robot.
  • A jabberwocky appears. When Hilo and his friends try to put the big bird into a cage, the bird steps on Polly.
  • When four monsters appear in D.J.’s kitchen, D.J. throws tennis rackets at them. The monsters chase D.J. who runs outside and jumps on a trampoline. When the monsters follow, the trampoline breaks, and the monsters get stuck.
  • Rapscallions, living vegetation, begin taking over everything, including buildings. Hilo and his friends begin whacking them with maces and lasers. Hilo yells, “I think we’ve got these veggies on the run!” When it looks the vegetation might win, Hilo blasts them with ice. The rapscallions are sent through a portal to the void.
  • Razorwark controls another robot and grabs Hilo, so Hilo cannot help his friends. In an attempt to hurt Hilo’s friends, Razorwark opens a portal that sucks Gina up. When Razorwark tries to convince Hilo to join him, Hilo shoots the robot with his laser hands

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Hilo is in a space void. Hilo says the void smells “like a gorilla’s armpit.” Later Hilo gets “hurled into a new spot. Smells like elephant butt.”
  • Some kids call D.J. a dweeb.
  • “Holy Mackerel” is used as an expression occasionally.
  • While eating dinner, D.J. and his sibling discuss how mangos make Dexter “poop weird.”
  • When fighting hippopotamuses appear, Polly yells, “Come back and fight, you bloated, zit-caked boils from a troll’s butt.”
  • There is some name-calling. For example, space squid, bubble butt, phlegm-spitting ogre.
  • “Dang” is used twice.

Supernatural

  • Polly is a magical warrior cat and an “apprentice sorceress third class.”
  • Hilo is a living, feeling robot who can shoot lasers out of his hand. He discovers that he can also “freeze your hands with your breath and blast ice.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Star Shepherd

All Kyro wants is to be a Star Shepherd, like his dad, Tirin. Star Shepherds are the heroes that save the stars that fall to the ground. Without them, the stars would fizzle out and die.

Star shepherding is hard enough when Kyro is just trying to impress his dad, but when clusters of stars all begin to fall at once, Kyro realizes something is very wrong. His father goes out to investigate but never comes back. Now, with only his dog, Cypher, and his friend, Andra, Kyro must journey across the land to find out what’s happening to the stars. He may become the Star Shepherd he always dreamed of being, but it won’t be easy.

Focusing on Kyro, the story unfolds from his perspective as he journeys around the land trying to find his father and solve the mystery of the falling stars. Kyro is a likable character who works to overcome the many obstacles in his way. He has many fears, including the fear that he isn’t good enough to be a Star Shepherd, and the fear that his father may be too obsessed with saving stars to love Kyro anymore. However, Kyro not only overcomes these fears but strives to protect even Star Shepherds who don’t help him and those who hate Star Shepherds.

One of the best aspects of the story is Kyro’s relationship with Andra, his only friend. Even though the townspeople do not like Kyro, Andra doesn’t care. She is a steadfast and loyal friend who believes Kyro when no one else does. When Kyro is abandoned by the townspeople and by the other Star Shepherds, Andra takes it upon herself to support Kyro. Without Andra, Kyro might not have found the strength to see his journey through to the end.

Even though the story has some difficult vocabulary, the plot is easy to understand and the writing flows well. Young readers will enjoy watching Kyro journey from place to place through the well-thought-out world, especially as more fantastical parts of the story are revealed. While there are moments of potential violence, the scenes are done tastefully, never going too far. Also, there are illustrations within the book, one at the start of each chapter. These illustrations are in black and white and illustrate the characters and creatures in the novel. These illustrations usually take up half a page, though a few take up entire pages.

Overall, The Star Shepherd is a great read for middle schoolers. The unique setting will engage readers because it includes mythical creatures, ancient robots, and stars. Readers will root for Kyro, who fights for what he believes in and ends up succeeding in the end. Throughout the story, Kyro gains confidence and learns more about himself.  The Star Shepherd is more than an adventure story; it shows the importance of communication, the effects of grief, and the importance of friendship.  With a well-paced story, fun characters, and an interesting plot, The Star Shepherd would be a great book for any middle school reader who love fantasy.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Stars fall from the sky every so often. If a Star Shepherd can’t return a star to its rightful place in the sky, then the star dies. “When one fell, it was the Star Shepherd’s job to bring that family member home. If one died, they were separated forever.” Kyro hates to see a star die, “He never again wanted to see one die in a vissla’s hands like he had a week ago.”
  • Many of the stars that fall down are intentionally cut down. Kyro tells Andra, “Since then, I’ve discovered someone isn’t just taking the stars; someone is cutting them down. See?” Since the stars are being cut down, clusters of them all fall at once. Andra’s father says, “A whole slew of them crashed right here in the market. Set the rooftops ablaze. We’re lucky no one was killed.”
  • Kyro is attacked by a giant, insect-like creature in a desert. “It opened its maw and let out an earsplitting scream, then lunged toward them. Kyro ducked to the side, narrowly avoiding one of the terrible pincers, then jumped out of the way of the thing’s tail.”
  • The vissla are evil creatures that haven’t been seen in hundreds of years. Kyro describes his encounter with one. “It was cold, like it radiated pure evil. One of them got to a star before me, and the vissla killed it.”
  • Andra’s father, Bodin, blames all of the village’s misfortunes on Kyro and his father. Therefore Bondin continually puts Kyro down. A ship captain reprimands Bodin for badmouthing Kyro, saying “I didn’t expect to find you bullying a mere boy.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Tirin, Kyro’s father, isn’t well-liked by the villagers of Drenn. When Tirin goes into town to pick up a fallen star, the village leader says, “You are a fool.” That animosity extends to Kyro as well. Bodin tells Kyro, “You two fools have done more than enough damage to our village.”
  • The Star Shepherd council accuses Tirin of being a traitor to the Star Shepherds. Kyro defends him by saying, “He is not a traitor!”
  • Kyro tells a ship captain that the Star Shepherd council banned him from saving the stars. The man responds, “Then they’ve grown stupider with age.”

Supernatural

  • If the stars fall to the ground, they can die if they aren’t sent back into the sky. Kyro fails to save a star. “The sun rose, its rays bursting over the sky. The molten star’s light sputtered out, leaving only a gray rock cooling in Kyro’s hands.”
  • The stars hold back evil creatures called vissla. Kyro meets a vissla in a forest. “Shrieks began to echo from all sides. The cold wormed all the way into Kyro’s bones, making him completely numb.” Kyro thinks about the legend of the star net, “When the stars were first hung and the starlight net formed by interconnected beams of light, the dark creatures were banished underground and to the darkest corners of the world.”
  • The stars can be used to attack the vissla. However, the vissla can also destroy the stars. Kyro thinks, “But the vissla could destroy a star if it wasn’t being actively used against them. The creature had done the deed quickly, as though it couldn’t stand to touch the star for too long.”
  • Star Shepherds can collect stardust from fallen stars. Tirin gives Kyro some. “His father picked up two large vials of sparkling powder from the kitchen table and shoved them into Kyro’s hands.”
  • During the final fight with the vissla, Kyro merges with a star to keep the darkness away. “Suddenly, warmth flooded his veins. Brilliant light flared, pouring from his eyes and mouth. Everything was bright as day despite the late hour.”
  • The giants are said to be the ones that hung the stars in the sky hundreds of years ago. Kyro and Andra eventually meet the fabled giants. One of the giants tells them, “We wove the star casings, Stitchers sewed the pieces together, and Framers crafted the hooks to hang them in the night sky.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

by Jonathan Planman

The Darkest Part of the Forest

Fairfold is just like any normal, small-town—except for the faeries. The people of Fairfold have always lived alongside the Faerie Folk and have grown accustomed to their way of life. They live alongside each other by appeasing the faeries. They thread flower garlands for the Alderking. They don’t go to the forest hills at night. They don’t even bat an eye when a tourist goes missing after a visit to the forest to try and catch a glimpse of the Folk.

Even among all this strangeness, the biggest mystery of all is the horned boy in the glass coffin. In the woods, for as long as anyone can remember, a glass box has sat on the forest floor with a sleeping boy inside. Tourists come from across the world to see the boy, but no one can explain his existence or his ageless body. Anyone that attempts to break open this glass coffin has been met with explainable injuries, so the boy has stayed in his resting place for centuries.

Hazel and her brother, Ben, have lived in Fairfold all their lives and have always been drawn to the Folk. As children, Hazel and Ben secretly would go to the forest at night to hunt the Folk. Ben used his unearthly gift of music to lure creatures to them, while Hazel used her strength and sword to cut down the Folk. A near-death experience caused them both to retire from hunting, but they always had an internal pull to the Folk and to the boy in the glass coffin. They grew up fantasizing about who the boy in the glass coffin truly was. They knew they would never get the real answer . . . until the day the boy woke up.

The Darkest Part of the Forest is an adventure through a mystical town that exists in the human world. Magic and humans coexist in Fairfold, and Hazel and Ben have always thrown themselves into the dangerous faerie world. When the mysterious boy in the glass coffin awakens, they are caught on a mission to help save the boy and get him back to his home.

Hazel wants to help the boy, but she also has a secret to keep. As a child, Hazel made a bargain with the Alderking and now owes him her services. She now must choose between helping the horned boy and fulfilling her bargain to the Alderking. As Hazel, Ben, and the horned boy become friends, mysteries unravel, friendships blossom and love awakens. Will Hazel choose to help the boy or fulfill her bargain? Will Hazel and Ben be able to save the horned boy? Will they survive the journey to bring the boy home?

Fans of Holly Black will not be disappointed with this gripping story of faeries and young love. The Darkest Part of the Forest takes the reader through a fantasy world filled with betrayal, trickery, and most of all, love. The Darkest Part of the Forest is well-written, but the story can be confusing because of the intricate world stuffed into one novel. This story features unique characters and different points of view, but the excessive background information slows the plot. Readers will enjoy the relatable characters in a mystical world filled with mystery, romance, fantasy, and a satisfying ending.

Sexual Content

  • Hazel is known for kissing many boys “for all kinds of reasons.”
  • Hazel regrets kissing Robbie Delmonico because “ever since they’d made out at a party, he’d follow her around as though he was heartbroken.”
  • Hazel also shares a kiss with her brother’s boyfriend. “His mouth was soft and warm, and while she didn’t kiss him back, she didn’t exactly squirm away.”
  • In order to trick Hazel into drinking the faerie wine, a faerie girl kisses her “full and deep with soft lips and a cool tongue.”
  • Hazel asks a boy to “distract her.” So, “leaning over, not speaking, he brought his mouth to hers. She rolled toward him, and his arm came around her, pressing her closer, his fingers against the small of her back.” She removes his shirt and they continue to kiss on the ground until interrupted. This scene lasts about one page.
  • The horned boy, Severin, kisses Ben. “It was a searching, hungry kiss. His hand wrapped around Ben’s head and Ben’s hands fisted in Severin’s hair, bushed over horn, rough and cold as the back of a seashell.”

Violence

  • Hazel talks about some of the tourists’ disappearances. “Some got dragged down into Wright Lake by the water hags. Some would be run down at twilight by horses with ringing bells tied to their manes and members of the Shining Folk on their backs. Some would be found strung upside down in trees, bled out and chewed upon.”
  • There’s violence in Hazel’s stories of them hunting faeries. “Ben lulled faeries with his music, while Hazel struck them down with her sword.”
  • A water hag kills Hazel and Ben’s dog by “slamming him on the ground as if he weighed nothing.” Hazel avenges her dog by killing the hag, doing so by “hefting a large sword like a baseball bat and brought it down, bashing the edge against the monster’s head. Her skull split like a rotten melon.”
  • Hazel goes hunting alone one night and finds her classmate, Natalie “hanging upside down with her throat cut.”

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • Hazel and Ben attend parties in the forest where people often “looked flush with alcohol and good cheer.”
  • At these parties, different characters, including Hazel and Ben, drink alcohol. For example, “Leonie Wallace lifting her beer high over her head” and “Stephen drank moonshine from a flask.” There are multiple parties described throughout the book in flashbacks, and the novel begins at a party that Hazel is attending.

Language

  • Profanity is used sparingly. Profanity includes: hell, shit, damn, asshole, and bastard.
  • A mother tells the faerie woman, “damn the consequences and damn you, too.” Then she tells the faerie to “get the hell out.”

Supernatural

  • Supernatural events are a huge part of the plot since the town of Fairfold coexists with faeries and deals with them every day.
  • There’s a glass coffin in the woods and “in it slept a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives.”
  • The town of Fairfold lives alongside the Folk. In the forest “it wasn’t odd to see a black hare swimming in the creek or spot a deer that became a sprinting girl in the blink of an eye.”
  • The townsfolk feared a creature in the forest that “lured tourists with a cry that sounded like a women weeping, with fingers of sticks and hair of moss.”
  • People can go to a tree in the forest to “bargain for your heart’s desire.” A local girl had gone to the tree “and wished herself into Princeton, promising to pay anything the faeries wanted. She’d gotten in, too, but her mother had a stroke and died the same day the letter came.”
  • Townfolk tell a story about Carter’s parents and how their child was taken and replaced with a changeling. Carter’s mother had “gathered the neighbor ladies” and “baked bread and chopped wood and filled an old earthenware bowl with salt.” Carter’s mother then heated a poker and pressed it against the changeling’s shoulder because “burning a changeling summons its mother.” The faerie mother arrived carrying a bundle and Carter’s mother confronts her. The faerie woman gives back Carter and “reached out her arms for her own wailing child, but Carter’s mother blocked the way.” Carter’s mother states as a punishment for taking her child, she would be keeping both boys to raise as her own.
  • When Ben was a baby, his mother took him into the forest for a picnic. His mother was painting the scenery when a faerie woman comes out of the forest and compliments the drawing. The faerie woman asked the mother to draw her a picture. When she was done, the faerie woman gifted her with a “boon.” The faerie touched Ben and said, “I can’t change his nature, but I can give him the gift of our music. He will play music so sweet that no one will be able to think of anything else when they hear it, music that contains the magic of faeries.” Ben uses his musical talent later to save Hazel and to lure faeries to them.
  • Hazel makes a bargain with the Folk to get her brother a full scholarship to a music school. In exchange, Hazel must serve the Alderking for ten years.
  • Something possesses a classmate’s body. “Hazel knew that she might be looking at Molly’s body, but Molly was no longer looking out through her eyes.”
  • At one point, Hazel is hiding in the bathroom and sees a monster that is “easily over seven feet in height and looked roughly human shaped, if a human could be made from branch and vine and soil.”
  • To get into the faerie’s realm, Hazel must “stomp three times,” make up a rhyme, and then step through a moss-covered archway.

Spiritual Content

  • None

by Adeline Garren

House of Salt and Sorrows

Annaleigh Thaumas was once one of twelve sisters, but four of them have gone to an early grave. After burying four sisters who were lost to various circumstances—the plague, a freak accident, a suicide, and falling from a cliff—the townspeople start to whisper that the Thaumas girls are cursed. Despite a large estate and a grand coming out party, no one is interested in courting the sisters, even though five of them are already of age. Despairing of ever finding a match, the sisters stumble upon a magic door used by the god Pontus. It will take them anywhere they desire, and soon the girls are wishing themselves to a new ball every night, hoping desperately to find a suitor from far away who hasn’t yet heard a rumor of the cursed Thaumas sisters.

But Annaleigh starts to wonder if there is something sinister behind her sister’s deaths. As she tries to discover what happened the night her sister fell from the cliffs, she discovers that she was pushed. Someone murdered her, and they might be coming after the rest of them. Haunted by horrifying visions, Annaleigh doesn’t know if the ghosts of her dead sisters are trying to warn her, if they’re angry with her, or if she is simply going mad. As the hauntings escalate, Annaleigh becomes desperate for answers. When she meets a handsome man named Cassius, who seems perfect and wants to help, Annaleigh falls for him instantly but doesn’t know if she trusts him. And even worse—can she trust herself?

House of Salt and Sorrows is a delightful tale of magic and wonder. Erin A. Craig paints vivid pictures of fairy shoes and magical balls and does a skilled job developing a wide cast of characters. While the number of sisters can be hard to keep track of at the beginning, the Thaumas family takes readers on a fun adventure that is worth the ride. There are some inconsistencies and implausible occurrences at the beginning of the book that might turn off more advanced readers, but most of them are actually resolved by the end of the book. While a magical story, there are disturbing images in the second half of the book when the Harbinger of Madness and Nightmares starts tormenting Annaleigh. House of Salt and Sorrows is sure to enchant readers who are brave enough to stomach the more graphic images without having nightmares.

Sexual Content

  • Annaleigh accidentally bursts into her father’s room when he is having intercourse with his wife, Annaleigh’s stepmother. “From the noises coming out of the bed—its drapes blessedly closed—it was suddenly painfully obvious that Papa was not sleeping. Morella’s cries of ecstasy turned into a strangled howl of frustration.”
  • Rosalie jokes about finding a man. “‘I need a man at home on the ocean. One who can handle the curves and swells of the waves.’ She ran one hand down the curve of her own hip, dipping theatrically, her voice growing husky. ‘One who can maneuver his ship into any port, however tempestuous. . . One with a very large, very thick, very hard. . . mizzenmast.’”
  • Annaleigh gets lost and ends up in the red light district. “The first storefront I saw was bathed in a pink glow, and my stomach turned as I guessed at what merchandise was sold behind such lurid trappings. . . Some had girls in the windows, waving and posing. Others were awash with tinsel and gaudy paste jewels.”
  • Cassius kisses Annaleigh. “His mouth was warm against mine and softer than I’d ever imagined a man’s could be. My skin sizzled as his hands cupped my cheeks and he pressed a kiss to my horsehead before returning to my mouth. I dared to bring my fingers up to explore his jawline.”
  • Cassius kisses Annaleigh again. “I tilted my chin, and his lips were on mine, soft and achingly sweet. I ran my fingers up his chest, letting them linger on the back of his neck and twist into his dark curls.”
  • Cassius and Annaleigh kiss one more time. “Cassius released a murmur of pleasure before sweeping me into a kiss. His mouth was soft against mine before his arms tightened around me, pulling me into a more intimate kiss, a sweeter ache.”

Violence

  • Annaleigh discovers her little sister Verity has been drawing horrible images of her dead sisters, who Verity says have been haunting her. “She flipped to a scene in black and gray pastels. In it, Verity cowered into her pillows as a shadowy Eulalie ripped the bedsheets from her. Her head was snapped back unnaturally far . . . Octavia curled up in a library chair, seemingly unaware that half her face was smashed in and her arm was too broken to hold a book straight…I turned the page and saw a drawing of all four of them, watching Verity as she slept, hanging from nooses.”
  • A man saw Annaleigh’s sister fall from a cliff. “I’ll never forget that sound as long as I live…Like the slap of meat landing on the butcher’s block.”
  • Annaleigh sees a dead man who died from falling. “Edgar lay in a growing spread of blood, his body broken and smashed on the cobblestones. His spectacles lay feet away, one of the lenses cracked.”
  • At a party buffet, Annaleigh sees “A sea turtle…showcased on a bed of dead eels.” She sees the turtle’s head move and thinks maybe she can save him, but then, “The turtle’s eyelids burst open as a string of fat white maggots fell from the hole. They poured out of the poor loggerhead’s skull onto the platter. His body was full of them, ready to explode.”
  • Annaleigh discovers her friend has been dead for weeks and his body was possessed by a goddess. Annaleigh sees the goddess come out of her friend’s body. “Thick, viscous phlegm spewed from his mouth, landing on the floor like globs of tar. His body shook from the force, struggled to expel whatever was lodged deep in his throat. When his lips began to peel away, curling back like rolls of coiled tree bark, I pressed my face into Cassius, fighting the urge to throw up…Fisher’s body lay split open, pieces and parts flung out in a gruesome explosion. In the center of this absolute horror stood a figure, her back turned to us. Covered in viscera, she rolled her neck from side to side, stretching her muscles, delighting in her sudden freedom after such a tight confinement.”
  • When Annaleigh hears a horrible cackling in her head, “I smacked my temple to dislodge this most unwelcome intruder, but the cackling only grew. I hit myself again. And again, using more force…If I could just break it open, even a little, the voice could escape and leave me in peace.”
  • Annaleigh’s stepmother reveals that she met Annaleigh’s father when she was a prostitute. When he got bored of her, “He struck me. In front of his new little whore. He didn’t even care that she saw. He called me names, screamed, berated me.”
  • Annaleigh’s stepmother is killed by a Trickster. “Cries rose from the chaos, and for one awful moment, they echoed the sounds I’d heard her make when I’d walked in on her with Papa. But the pleasure was short-lived, and her whimpers of ecstasy soon turned into shrieks. The shrieks turned to screams. And then the screams cut off into silence.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Annaleigh’s sister Lenore drinks champagne at her coming out party. “She downed a glass of champagne in one swallow…I began to suspect that was not her first or second glass of champagne.”
  • Before going to a ball, Annaleigh’s friend snagged “three glasses of wine.” He says, “I filched it from the kitchen—thought we might need a little courage.”
  • At a feast, “wine flowed freely all evening. The women sipped with restraint, but the men were already a little worse for wear.”
  • Annaleigh’s father gets drunk at a feast and becomes belligerent. “‘Stop meddling with me! He roared, lashing his arm out to knock her aside.” When someone tells him that he is drunk, he replies, “And if I am? This is my house. My home! You can all be turned out into the cold if you don’t like it.”
  • Annaleigh goes to many balls, which usually serve wine and champagne. At one, there “was a fountain spouting wine. Couples in formal court fashions mingled around the circular base, sticking out cups to catch the scarlet liquid as it flowed from an ornate bronze battle scene.”
  • A man at a party offers her a drink from her flask. Annaleigh declines.
  • Annaleigh’s stepmother admits that she “mixed a bit of hemlock into [Annaleigh’s mother’s] nightly medicine, and [Annaleigh’s mother] died in her sleep, none the wiser.”

Language

  • Damn is used a few times. A man says, “Damned storm took us three days off course.” When drunk, Annaleigh’s father says, “Damn this coffee and damn these madeleines! Where’s my brandy?”
  • Cassius was born out of wedlock, so he tells Annaleigh, “I’m a bastard.”
  • Phrases referring to the gods are used occasionally as exclamations. For example, Hanna says, “Be sure to space them out evenly, and for Pontus’s sake, don’t set them too close to the plants!”

Supernatural

  • A dressmaker hints that she “design[s] dresses for the goddess of beauty.”
  • Annaleigh thinks her dead sisters are haunting the manor. “As she leaned in to find the stopper, a hand reached out of the water, grabbing her neck and dragging her under. Elizabeth surfaced from the churning waters, her eyes filmed a sickly green.”
  • It’s said the gods had magic doors to travel to and from the mortal realm. Annaleigh and her sisters find a hidden door that takes them wherever they want, and they use it to go dancing at elaborate balls every night in the hopes of finding a suitor.
  • Annaleigh’s sister Verity says their dead sister and their sister’s dead fiancé are in the room. Annaleigh doesn’t look, but she hears “a soft rustling, silk skirts raking across the marble tiles. . . the footsteps stopped behind me, and I suddenly felt them, felt their presence.” When Annaleigh asks her dead sister who killed her, the ghost “shoved me forward with such force, I struck my head on the marble tiles.”
  • Annaleigh remembers how a performance caught fire and “One of Pontus’s daughters. . . summoned a waterspout to rain down its fury upon the flames. When the fire was out, the stage was a mess of puddles and soot, but everyone cheered for the goddess’s quick thinking.”
  • Cassius reveals he is the goddess Versai’s son, which makes him half-god.
  • When in Versai’s temple, Cassius and Annaleigh see “Versai’s postulants. The Sisters of the Night. They live at the abbey, tending to the wishing wall and paying homage to my mother. They’re about to begin their first service of the day.”
  • Annaleigh meets Kosamara, “Harbinger of Madness. . . And Nightmares.” Annaleigh discovers that Kosamara has been plaguing her sisters with the goal of driving them mad to the point of killing themselves.
  • Things start to fly off shelves and the piano plays by itself. Annaleigh thinks it’s a poltergeist.
  • It’s revealed that Annaleigh’s stepmother summoned a Trickster to make Annaleigh’s father love her and marry her. To seal the deal, she had to let the Trickster “ravish me.” When she gives birth to twins, one is Annaleigh’s father’s son and the other is a monster that the Trickster comes to claim.

Spiritual Content

  • Annaleigh’s world has many gods. “Other parts of Arcannia worshipped various combinations of gods: Vaipany, lord of sky and sun; Seland, ruler of earth; Versai, queen of the night; and Arina, goddess of love. There were dozens of other deities—Harbingers and Tricksters—who ruled over other aspects of life, but for the People of the Salt, Pontus, king of the sea, was the only god we needed.” While the gods used to be “much more active in the affairs of mortals,” they have become less and less involved over time.
  • The islanders believe Pontus created them. “The High Mariner says Pontus created our islands and the people on them. He scooped salt from the ocean tides for strength. Into that was mixed the cunning of bull shark and the beauty of the moon jellyfish. He added the seahorse’s fidelity and the curiosity of a porpoise. When his creation was molded just so—two arms, two legs, a head, and a heart—Pontus breathed some of his own life into it, making the first People of the Salt. So when we die, we can’t be buried in ground. We slip back into the water and are home.”
  • At her sister’s funeral, Annaleigh’s “Papa stepped forward to place two gold pieces at the foot of the crypt—payment to Pontus for easing my sister back into the Brine.”
  • At a feast, the Higher Mariner says they are gathered “to give our thanks to mighty Pontus for his great benevolence, blessing us with a season of bountiful plenty.”

by Morgan Lynn

 

Sif and the Dwarfs’ Treasures

Twelve-year-old Sif attends Asgard Academy, but she’s keeping important secrets from her podmates. No one knows that her magical hair allows the wheat crop to grow. When mischievous Loki cuts her hair in a horrible prank, Sif must rely on her podmates and Loki for help.

Sif has a prophetic dream that gives her a hint on how to solve the problem. Sif and Freya must convince Loki to go to Ivaldi’s sons, dwarves who are skilled blacksmiths. Loki must strike a bargain with them to help Sif get her hair back. An overconfident Loki strikes a deal with the blacksmiths, and as part of the deal he could lose his head—literally.

To make things worse, there are rumors of a looming attack that could hit Asgard Academy. Sif is afraid that Ragnarok, or doomsday, might be about to begin. Is there any way Sif can save the wheat crops and her beloved school?

Fans of Goddess Girls will enjoy this new series which focuses on Norse Mythology. Sif is a relatable character who has a difficult time overcoming her embarrassing insecurities. She doesn’t want anyone to know that she is a seer—or that she has a difficult time reading. As Sif gets to know her podmates better, she realizes that no one, not even a goddess girl, is perfect.

Sif and the Dwarfs’ Treasures has many positive messages that pertain to younger readers. Odin has created the school in order to get people from different worlds to interact. “[He] wished them to understand and appreciate everyone’s differences.” As Sif learns more about her roommates, she realizes the importance of working together. Sif also knows that looks do not define a person’s (or a god’s) character. Even though “many girls found Loki cute,” Sif knows that “a person’s behavior, not his appearance, was what made him attractive.”

Readers will enjoy learning about Sif, who is a well-rounded and caring goddess. Sif and the Dwarfs’ Treasures has interesting characters and actions, humorous puns, and a sprinkle of crushing moments that will entertain readers. Although many of the characters appeared in Freya and the Magic Jewel, the stories do not need to be read in order. Each book is told from a different goddess’s point of view and allows the reader to see that even goddesses need help from others.

Readers who are unfamiliar with Norse mythology will want to read the glossary first. The story introduces Norse mythology in a kid-friendly way, while still staying true to the original stories. Sif and the Dwarfs’ Treasures uses a relatable character to embed important life lessons in an entertaining story that readers will love. Readers will eagerly look for the next book in the series, Idun and the Apples of Youth.

Sexual Content

  • Freya has noticed Sif and Thor looking at each other and thinks the two are “crushing on each other” because “crushes often start with just looking.”
  • After Sif and Thor have several conversations, Sif thinks, “She likes him, too. As a friend anyway. As far as crushing. . . well. . . time would tell.”

Violence

  • The large painted friezes that covered a wall come to life. When Sif and her friends are eating, “all four girls studied the nearby frieze, [and] an armor-clad warrior reached out of it to grab a dish of lemon-flavored snow pudding from a Valkyrie rushed by with a tray of desserts. With a wide grin on his face, the warrior took aim and then flung the snow pudding at a painting of heroes directly across the room.” A food fight begins. Most of the food being thrown “was directed at warriors occupying friezes on opposite walls, but occasionally the thrown food accidentally hit students, too!” They start a food fight several times in the story.
  • When Loki says a mean joke, Thor gets angry. “In an instant Thor was across the room, his fists balled to punch Loki out. Before he could follow through[;] however, Loki shape-shifted into fire. ‘‘Yow!’ Thor leaped back, blowing on his singed fingers to cool them.”
  • Loki changed into an eagle and stole an apple, “even though he could eat them anytime he wanted in the Valhallateria.” When Loki stole the apple from Idum, she scraped her knee and it was bleeding.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • After Loki plays a mean trick, someone calls him a bonehead.
  • Loki says, “It’s easy to predict events that have already happened. Even a dummy like Thor could do that!”
  • Someone calls Loki a rat.
  • Loki calls a group of students idiots.

Supernatural

  • Sif takes a class on how to read Runes and the students share their “‘rune-words’ meanings and suggest[ed] prophecies that might be connected to them.”
  • In order to hide from Thor, Sif “transformed into a rowan tree. It was one of only two forms she could take, the other being a swan.”
  • When Sif was younger, she was “proud” of her talent at prophecy and tried to use her talent at school. However, soon people started calling her “fortune-tattler instead of fortune-teller.” She also lost her best friend. Sif was trying to help her friend by carving the rune word for brave, but Sif made an error and wrote the rune word for poison instead. When Sif’s friend became ill, the friend’s parents wouldn’t allow them to spend time together.
  • A dwarf chanted a spell, “For one whole day, you’ll zip your lip. Nothing will you say. Nothing will you sip.” The spell makes it so the Loki cannot speak or eat for a day.
  • The large painted friezes that cover a wall come to life. “These painted friezes cover all of the V’s walls and were peopled with heroic warriors who had died in battle. The warriors had been brought into the friezes by Odin’s Valkyries as painted figures that magically came to life toward the end of every meal.”
  • Freya has a marble that contains cats and a cart. When Freya says, “catnap,” the cats and cart grow. The first time Freya uses the marble, she thinks, “if anyone had been watching at that moment, the cats and cart would’ve seemed to instantly disappear. However, in reality, they had only shrunk down to a single cat’s-eye marble.”
  • Freya drinks juice that won’t make her immortal, but will make her “stay the same age.”
  • Several characters are shapeshifters.
  • Mimir, an oracle, only has a head. When Sifi sees him, “suddenly a column of bright-blue water shot through one of the tubular slides to bubble up in a tall, fountain-like spout at eye level. Atop the spout sat a disembodied bald head!”
  • Sif goes to the library to learn about rune spells and charms. One of the things she learns is that “difficult rune interpretations can sometimes be solved through dreams.” Later in the story, she uses the book’s advice and has a prophetic dream.
  • Talking acorns can give students a message. Odin uses one to deliver a message to Sif.

Spiritual Content

  • The story focuses on Norse mythology and includes Norse gods and goddesses as characters.
  • Sif is a seer, a shapeshifter, and also the “girl goddess of bountiful harvest.” Her power comes from her hair; however, how her hair helps the harvest is never explained. When Sif’s hair is cut, the humans’ wheat fields begin to wither.
  • Freya is the goddess of love and beauty. She is also a seer. Another character, Odin, was “the leader of the Asgard gods and the supreme ruler of all the worlds.” (This is not a complete list of the Norse gods that appear in the book.)

The Bad Guys in Intergalactic Gas

The bad news? The world is ending. The good news? The Bad Guys are back to save it! But, they might have to “borrow” a rocket, there might be something nasty in one of the spacesuits, and Mr. Piranha might have eaten too many bean burritos. Surviving this mission may only be one small step for man, but it’s one giant leap for the Bad Guys.

Younger readers will giggle their way through The Bad Guys in Intergalactic Gas. Wolf and his friends head into space in order to track down the villain Marmalade. The Bad Guys are convinced that they can keep Earth safe, but readers will never expect how bean burritos and farts help save the day. The story contains many humorous events, but also uses body humor. For example, when Wolf finds Piranha in a spacesuit, Piranha is embarrassed to admit that “I needed somewhere to poop out my burritos and I decided to do it in the spacesuit.”

The Bad Guys in Intergalactic Gas pulls readers into the text in various ways. The large text has nine or fewer sentences per page, and many of the words are huge and bold. In addition to the large text, black-and-white illustrations appear on every page. Some of the illustrations are full-page, while others appear in panels. The illustrations add to the humor by showing the story’s actions as well as the characters’ facial expressions.

Even though The Bad Guys in Intergalactic Gas is not great literature, the story will engage readers and help them build reading confidence. Readers will enjoy the silly situations, plot twists, and unique characters, including the character Piranha, who sprinkles Spanish words into his dialogue. Each book begins with news reporter Tiffany Fluffit recapping the previous book’s events; however, readers will get maximum enjoyment if the books are read in order.

The Bad Guys Series will introduce the joy of reading to younger readers and have them clamoring for the next book in the series—The Bad Guys in Aliens vs. Bad Guys. Readers who enjoy the silly humor of The Bad Guys Series may also want to try the Inspector Flytrap Series by Tom Angleberger and Cece Bell. Both series use humor and an unexpected character to show children that reading can be fun.

Sexual Content

  • Snake yells at Wolf, “If we survive, your precious Agent Fox will give you a kiss.” Shark accuses Snake of being jealous. Snake says, “What?! You think I’m jealous that Agent Fox thinks this numbskull is ‘sweet’?”

Violence

  • Wolf and his friends steal a spaceship. When they get close to the moon, beams shoot the ship, “ZAP! ZAP!” The spaceship is “trapped in some kind of tractor beam” and gets pulled to the moon’s surface.
  • Legs, Snake, and Shark are tied to the wall after the ship is pulled to the moon’s surface.
  • The villain threatens Legs, saying, “Keep quiet, Legs, or I’ll pull off all your furry little digits and they’ll have to start calling you Body instead.”
  • Piranha’s farts touch the flames from a jetpack and cause an explosion. After the explosion, the “poisonous gas” causes the villain to faint.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Snake gets upset and begins yelling, “I get the feeling the international league of heroes is just a big load of . . .”
  • Characters call each other names, including idiot, monster, coward, poop burglar, and maniac.
  • Shark calls the villain an “evil lunatic.”
  • The villain turns into an alien that has tentacles “with a butt on the end of it.” There are several illustrations and references to the tentacles’ butts.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Flunked

For the royals, Enchantasia is a grand place to live. But for Gilly’s family, life is difficult. Gilly and her five little brothers and sisters live in a run-down boot. Gilly doesn’t want her family to go hungry, so she gets creative. Gilly doesn’t think it’s wicked to steal from the royals. She just doesn’t want her family to suffer.

When Gilly gets caught stealing for the third time, she’s sentenced to three months at Fairy Tale Reform School—where all of the teachers are former villains. The Big Bad Wolf, the Evil Queen, and Cinderella’s Wicked Stepmother have all changed. When Gilly meets fellow students Jax and Kayla, she learns there is more to this school than its heroic mission. When strange events begin to happen, Gilly wonders if the bad guys have truly turned good.

Told from Gilly’s point of view, Flunked takes a fun, fresh look at fairytale villains. Fans of fairy tales will enjoy seeing the evil villains in a new light. Although the story had several interesting characters, Gilly is the only character that is well-developed. Gilly’s roommate, Kayla, plays an important role in the story; however, she quickly disappears and only makes a brief appearance at the end. The princesses and the villains also only appear for a brief time, which may disappoint some readers.

Flunked breaks up the chapters and recaps some events by using Happily Ever After Scrolls—tabloid-like news articles. The interesting setting and fast-paced plot will keep readers entertained. The ending of the story has several twists, but the climactic end scene is over too quickly. Although middle school readers may wish for more depth of character, younger readers will enjoy the fun trip into Enchantasia. All readers will benefit from the theme—everyone, no matter how villainous, can change their evil ways and find a new, better path.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Gargoyles attack Gilly and Jax. The gargoyles “are wrinkly and dark grey with red eyes and long wings that fold under themselves, but the long, sharp claws on their hands and feet frighten me the most. One lets out a long wail when he sees us and Jax shoves me forward again, shaking me from my trance…” A Gargoyle grabs Jax, and his “face twists in pain and he begins sliding backward into the tunnel… I drop the grate and grab Jax’s hands, pulling as hard as I can and getting nowhere. It’s like we’re locked in a tug-of-war and Jax is the rope.” Jax is able to get free. Kayla uses a mirror that shoots bolts. A bolt hits the gargoyles and the kids are able to escape. The scene is described over four pages.
  • A student makes a loud noise that causes Madame Cleo, a Sea Siren, to “scream so loudly that bubbles take over the tank and the floor actually begins to quake…  And that’s when the tank begins to crack.” Jax uses his watch to break the lock. As they are leaving, the student “continues to chant, a smug smile on her face. When I look back Madame Cleo has passed out and is just floating in the middle of the tank.” Gilly jumps on the girl in order to get her to stop chanting. No one is injured.
  • One of the students lists some of the black magic that has been causing problems. “The crack in the tank, the swarm of pernicious peony ants that were accidently released in the botany lab, the poisoned fruit found in the cafeteria at the breakfast buffet.”
  • During a class, the students hear “the sound of a crash from above that sends glass raining down on the room.” Then gargoyles appear and a “thick, purple fog fills the room.”
  • As the students try to escape the gargoyles, “a gargoyle grabs hold of one of the Ladies-in-Waiting and takes off again. She screams and kicks, but it’s no use. She’s a goner…” The students try to hide, but Jocelyn gets picked up by a gargoyle. “I watch as she swings wildly with her sword and nicks one of the gargoyle’s legs. The gargoyle drops Jocelyn like a hot potato. She falls to the ground and bumps her head as the fog evaporates. We stare at her as she lies there motionless.”
  • During the gargoyle attack, teachers and students are sucked into a bubble. Harlow, a teacher, “throws her sword through the air. Maxine screams as the sword hits the bubble and bounces off of it. The gargoyles jump up and down excitedly as Harlow picks up a few of the discarded swords on the ground and aims another one at the bubble… This sword pierces the bubble and hits Princess Snow in the arm… Harlow throws another sword, and it pierces the bottom of the bubble, hitting a student in the shoe.” Gilly runs towards Harlow and slides as “hard as I can into Harlow, knocking her straight off her feet. I cover my head as swords rain down on me, and then the world goes black.” The scene is described over seven pages.
  • Later Gilly finds out that “Professor Harlow lost her pinkie in the mess and had to charm it back on.”
  • The villain shoots purple bolts from her hands and locks a student, Jocelyn, in a cell. When Jocelyn starts a chant, the villain “notices and flings bolts toward the bars, Jocelyn goes flying back…”
  • In order to break the students out of a cell, “Professor Wolfington transforms… Wolfington’s clothes begin to tear, his hair begins to grow, and he falls to all fours before letting out a wolf howl…” He is able to break the cell bars and free the students.
  • Gilly points a magic mirror at the villain. When two mirrors are pointed at each other, “the connection causes an explosion that sends us both flying backwards. The ground shakes, and large chunks of the ceiling begin to cave in…” The villain runs away.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Someone says, “God, no!”
  • “Oh God” and “Oh My God” are both used once.
  • Heck is used twice.
  • “What the—” is used once.

Supernatural

  • Mira lives in a mirror, but can “come and go between mirrors as I please.”
  • Some of the characters can perform magic and cast spells. Kayla’s mother was upset when she “caught me flying over Royal Manor. I was already grounded for casting a spell on my sister that made her nose as big as her face.”
  • One of the teachers “snaps her fingers” and makes Gilly’s boots disappear. In the boot’s place are the school shoes.
  • Gilly is given a quill. “I dip the quill in the ink, and nothing happens. Then I try putting the quill to paper. That’s when things get weird. I know what I want to write, but instead, different words come out.” Using the magic quill allowed Gilly’s roommate to secretly leave Gilly a note.
  • The school’s hallways are always shifting and making new ones.
  • A student casts a spell “on Maxine that made her right ear as big as her head.”
  • While dancing, a girl gets upset, and “her lips begin to move, and a glow emits from her eyes…  Gayle lets out an ear-piercing scream, and her troll partner flies backward, hitting one of the torches on the wall, which falls and causes a small fire that short-circuits the music.”
  • Kayla was sent to reform school after “[she]’d been busted for flying without a license, illegal use of magic, and casting love spells on people who hate each other.”
  • The villain is revealed when “a purple cloud of smoke surrounds her, and within seconds, Gottie’s ragged clothes, wart-covered face, and white frizzy hair have disappeared.” The villain’s appearance drastically changes.
  • Rumpelstiltskin made Kayla’s family forget her and “turned them all into hollow trees.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Unravel Me

Juliette has escaped from The Reestablishment, who wanted to use her as a weapon. She no longer has to hide her love for Adam. But even though Juliette can now make plans, she can never be free from her lethal touch. And even though she doesn’t want to hurt people, she cannot contain her power, and others continue to suffer at her hand.

Juliette doesn’t decide if she wants to join the resistance until Warner threatens her friends. When her friends are taken captive, Juliette knows she must join the fight. But she is haunted by her past and terrified of her future. In the end, Juliette may have to choose between her heart or saving lives—including Adam’s.

Although Unravel Me has an interesting premise, readers will find it difficult to connect with Juliette because she cannot look past her own needs. Not only is Juliette whiny, but she also constantly berates herself and apologizes for her actions. Instead of focusing on understanding her power, Juliette allows her powers to take control, which leads her to hurt others. Instead of taking action, Juliette repeatedly says she’s sorry, but the apologies lack depth because she does nothing to learn how to control her power and prevent further harm.

The evil leader, Warner, reappears in the second installment of the series. Although Warner is self-centered and craves power, Unravel Me tries to paint him in a more positive light. Soon Juliette is confused by her growing attraction to the man who tried to kill Adam. Even though Juliette is trying to understand Warner, the three-way romance just doesn’t work. Juliette was so devastated when she hurts others, but she is somehow willing to overlook Warner’s killing nature. Instead of feeling sorry for Warner, the reader will be left confused. How can Juliette have intense romantic feelings for a power-hungry man who is willing to kill to get what he wants?

Unfortunately, Unravel Me spends so much time delving into Juliette’s emotional pain and indecision that other characters never have the opportunity to make more than a quick appearance. Instead, readers will have a difficult time caring about what happens. Although the story is unique, there are just too many plot twists that don’t make sense. Readers may want to consider leaving Unravel Me on the shelf. If you’re looking for a fast-paced story with a sprinkle of romance, try A Little in Love by Susan E. Fletcher or the Matched trilogy by Ally Condie.

Sexual Content

  • Adam kisses Juliette. “His left hand is cupping the back of my head, his right tightening around my waist, pressing me hard against him and destroying every rational thought I’ve ever had . . . Somehow I end up on top of him. He reaches up only to pull me down and he’s kissing me, my throat, my cheeks, and my hands are searching his body, exploring the lines, the planes, the muscle . . . This moment. These lips. This strong body pressed against me and these firm hands finding a way to bring me closer and I know I want so much of him. I want all of him. . .” The two only stop kissing when Juliette’s power begins to hurt Adam. The scene is described over five pages.
  • Juliette asks a man if he spied on her when she was changing. He replies, “. . .you are definitely not my type. And more importantly, I’m not some perverted asshole.”
  • Warner shows Juliette a tattoo on his lower back. She thinks, “I want to study the secrets tucked between his elbows and the whispers caught behind his knees. I want to follow the lines of his silhouette with my eyes and the tips of my fingers. I want to trace rivers and valleys along the curved muscles on his body.”
  • Warner asks Juliette to run away with him. Then he grabs her, and she feels “his skin against my skin and I’m holding my breath. . . I don’t say a word as his hands drop to my waist, to the thin material making a poor attempt to cover my body. His fingers graze the soft skin of my lower back, right underneath the hem of my shirt and I’m losing count of the number of times my heart skips a beat.” Then he kisses her and “he traces the shape of my mouth, the curves the seam the dip and my lips part even though I asked them not to. . .” When he kisses her, she thinks, “His lips are softer than anything I’ve ever known, soft like a first snowfall, like biting into cotton candy, like melting and floating and being weightless in water. . . He kisses me again, this time stronger, desperate . . . His lips touch my bare stomach. . . He’s leaving a trail of fire along my torso, one kiss after another, and I don’t think I can take much more of this. . .” Juliette freaks out and Warner leaves. The scene is described over ten pages.

Violence

  • When Juliette sees Adam being experimented on, she freaks out. She punches “my fist right through the floor. The earth fissures under my fingers and the reverberations surge through my being, ricocheting through my bones until my skull is spinning and my heart is a pendulum slamming into my rib cage.” After her anger is spent, Juliette sees that her “skin is torn and blood is everywhere and I can’t move my fingers. I realize I’m in agony.”
  • After taking hostages, the supreme commander demands to see Juliette. When she arrives, “He’s pinned me against the wall by the throat, his hands carefully sheathed in a pair of leather gloves, already prepared to touch my skin to cut off my oxygen, choke me to death and I’m sure I’m dying, I’m so sure that this is what it feels like to die, to be utterly immobilized, limp from the neck down. . . He lets go of me.”
  • Later, the supreme commander tells his son, Warner, to kill Juliette. When Warner points the gun at his father, his father says, “Shoot me. . . So much talk and never enough follow-through. You embarrass me.” Warner’s father “backhands Warner in the face so hard Warner actually sways for a moment. . .”  Then Juliette grabs Warner’s father’s neck and thinks, “I’ve pinned him to the wall, so overcome by a blind, burning, all-consuming rage that I think my brain has already been caught on fire and dissolved into ash.” Juliette shoots the man in both legs and she is “entertained by the horror in his eyes. The blood ruining the expensive fabric of his clothes. I want to tell him he doesn’t look very attractive with his mouth open like that but then I think he probably wouldn’t care about my opinion anyway.” One of Juliette’s friends pulls her away before she can kill Warner’s father. The scene is described over four pages.
  • In Juliette’s diary, she talks about the day she was taken to the prison. The guards “handcuffed my hands behind my back, the one who strapped me to my seat. They stuck Tasers to my skin over and over for no other reason than to hear me scream but I wouldn’t. . . They slapped me awake even though my eyes were opened when we arrived. Someone unstrapped me without removing my handcuffs and kicked me in both kneecaps before ordering me to rise. . . I really can’t remember the part when they dragged me inside.”
  • In a skirmish between the resistance and the Reestablishment, the Reestablishment’s soldiers “are unloading round after round, shooting at anything that could be a target. . . One man has his hands to the ground, freezing the earth beneath the soldier’s feet, causing them to lose balance. . .” One of the men collects a whirlwind of particles and forms a cyclone. When he lets go, “the soldiers are shouting, screaming, running back and ducking for cover but most are too slow to escape the reach of so much destruction and they’re down, impaled by shards of glass and stone and wood and broken metal but I know this defense won’t last for long.” Juliette uses her powers to cause an earthquake, which allows the resistance fighter to escape. The scene is described over six pages.
  • The Reestablishment gathers a group of citizens together to kill them. In order to try to help the citizens, Juliette and her friends discuss their options. While they talk, they see “27 people lined up, standing side by side in the middle of a big, barren field. Men and women and children of all different ages. . . One of the soldiers fires a shot. The first man crumples to the ground. . .” During the scene, Juliette’s “eyes are locked on a little girl who can’t be much older than James, her eyes so wide, so terrified, the front of her pants already wet from fear and it rips me to pieces. . .” Juliette and her friends shoot at the soldiers and they “see one [bullet] find its mark in a soldier’s neck. . . We’re dodging the bullets aimed in our direction and I see Adam dropping to the ground, I see him shooting with perfect precision and still failing to find a target. . . 3 soldiers go down almost instantly.”
  • During the fight, Juliette sees “dead dead dead is everywhere. So many bodies mixed and meshed into the earth that I have no idea if they’re ours or theirs. . . I’m tackled from behind. Someone pins me down and my face is buried in the ground and I’m kicking, trying to scream but I feel the gun wrenched out of my grip. I feel an elbow in my spine. . .” A soldier points a gun at Juliette, and “I’m only clawing at his covered arm, at the muscle he’s bound around my neck and he shakes me, shouts at me to stop squirming and pulls me tighter to cut off my air supply and my fingers are clenched around his forearm, trying to fight the viselike grip he has around me and I can’t breathe and I’m panicked. . . I’ve crushed all the bones in his arm. . .” Someone hits Juliette on the head, making her “almost entirely unconscious.” The scene is described over 10 pages.
  • Warner’s father shoots Juliette in the chest. She thinks, “My heart has exploded. I’m thrown backward, tripping over my own feet until I hit the floor, my head slamming into the carpeted ground, my arms doing little to break my fall. It’s pain never thought I could feel, never would have even imagined.” Juliette doesn’t die from the wound.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Adam talks about his father, who would only come around “to get drunk and beat the crap out of someone.” After Adam’s mother died, his father would “come by just to get piss-drunk. He used to force me to stand in front of him so he could throw his empty bottles at me.”

Language

  • Profanity is used often. Towards the end of the book, the profanity ramps up and appears on almost every page. Profanity includes ass, asshole, bullshit, bastards, crap, damn, dumbass, goddamn, hell, holy shit, jackass, and shit.
  • “Oh God,” “God,” and “Jesus” are used as exclamations often.
  • Juliette remembers the world before the Reestablishment took over. She “remembers the pissed-off skies and the sequence of sunsets collapsing beneath the moon.”
  • When Adam tries to tell Juliette how he feels, he ends up saying, “Jesus. What the hell am I saying. Shit. Shit. I’m sorry—forget that – forget I said anything. . .”
  • One of Juliette’s friends yells at her. “And I should kick my own ass for it, but I feel sorry for you. So I tell him I’ll help. I rearrange my entire goddamn schedule just to help you deal with your issues.”
  • One of Juliette’s friends says, “Jesus. How early is it? I would kick a soldier in the crotch for a cup of coffee right now.”
  • When someone calls a man a “fetus,” the man gets angry and says, “I am mad. I’m pissed off. And I’m cranky as hell because I’m tired. And hungry. And I need more coffee.”
  • Someone says Adam’s father was being a “dick.”

Supernatural

  • Many characters have special powers. Juliette is trying to learn how to harness her energy. “Our gifts are different forms of Energy. Matter is never created or destroyed. . . as our world changed, so did the Energy within it. Our abilities are taken from the universe, from other matter, from other Energies.”
  • When Juliette touches someone, she drains the life out of them.
  • The first book in the series explains how Juliette goes to a compound where she meets a man who can move things with his mind. There is also a man who tells her, “Sometimes I electrocute people by accident” and another who is really flexible. He “loops one arm around his waist. Twice.”
  • At the compound, two women are healers—one heals the physical body and the other heals emotional wounds. The healers “can set broken bones and repair bullet wounds and revive collapsed lungs and mend even the worst kinds of cuts.”
  • Another person can “blend into the background of any space. Shift myself to match my surroundings.”
  • Adam discovers that he can project his ability and can disable others’ abilities.
  • Adam’s brother can heal quickly.
  • Warner can sense other people’s emotions, which allows him to know when someone is lying. He can also be a conduit to transfer other people’s energy.

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade

Surviving their first winter after the Monster Apocalypse was no easy feat, yet Jack and his buddies waste no time springing to action against some of the nastiest, most evil monsters around. When Jack discovers his Louisville Slicer has new otherworldly powers, he’s thrown into epic training to find out what kind of destruction the blade can wield. But between fighting off zombies, fleeing from strange, glowy Vine-Thingies erupting from the ground, and squeezing in a video game session or two, there’s barely time left to figure out what’s wrong with their buddy, Dirk. Dirk has been acting weird any time he’s around the undead. When an unexpected villain appears, can Jack and his friends save themselves—and the rest of the world—from cosmic domination?

The fifth installment of The Last Kids on Earth brings back some old friends and enemies. The action-packed sequences begin with Jack and his friends trying to help Dirk get over his depressed state. Younger readers will enjoy the entertaining activities that Jack plans to help Dirk. However, the fight scenes with the Vine-Thingies may be slightly confusing. In the end, Jack learns that “being different and not fitting in—that’s good sometimes.”

Like the previous books, the story will keep readers entertained with its fast pace, funny scenes, and epic battles. The easy-to-read text contains dialogue bubbles, alliteration, and onomatopoeias that make reading the story a joy. The black and white illustrations that appear on almost every page bring the kids’ world to life as well as adds humor.

At first, The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade may look like just another graphic novel. However, the characters are surprisingly well-developed and readers will come away with a valuable lesson about working together. Both the human kids and the monsters work together to defeat evil. Throughout the story, Jack realizes he has to do what’s best for his friends, even when it may be painful for him.

This story can be understood without reading the previous books in the series, but for maximum enjoyment readers should read the books in order. Readers will like The Last Kids on Earth and the Midnight Blade because the story keeps the same humorous, non-frightening format as the previous books. The story ends with a conclusion that makes it clear that Thrull will return, and it gives the possibility that Jack’s friends just might find their parents.

Sexual Content

  • Jack and Bardle need a place to keep a group of zombies. They ask a monster if the zombies can stay on her property. Warg gives her permission, but says, “there is one condition.” Jack replies, “I don’t have to watch you guys make out, do I?”

Violence

  • Jack and his friends sneak into Ghazt’s lair and are discovered. Biggun tries to help Jack and his friends by “hurling zombies right and left. June and Quint are back-to-back, battling the Cabal of the Cosmic. Crack! Ghazt’s tail smacks me, and I’m hurled across the room. I land against a half-inflated pile of bowling lane bumpers.” During the fight, “Skaelka’s razor-sharp blade slices through Ghazt’s tail! The creature SHRIEKS. His eyes go wide and his face contorts into an ‘oh no now my tail is just a nub’ face.” Ghazt eventually falls through the floor and disappears. The fight scene is described over seven pages.
  • A huge eyeball is attacked by vines. Jack and his friends try to help the eyeball by attacking the vnes. Dirk screams “MALLET MELEE!!!” and the fight begins. “Each goo-slime-covered swing melts, slices, and tears through the vines! Soon, only one titanically thick Vine-Thingy still chokes it.” The group try to help but, “Vine-Thingies burst through the pavement, like hundreds of spindly branches. They clutch Hairy Eyeball monster. The monster shrieks and struggles, but it’s no use. An instant later, the eyeball is gone—pulled, howling, into the crumbling pavement.” The battle is described over ten pages.
  • The vines try to capture Jack and his friends. Someone “uses the Gift’s Wolverine-style blade to slice through vines. Green goo splatters the ground.” The kids run for their lives.
  • In an effort to take control of the zombies, Thrull appears. When Bardle raises his sword, “Thrull lifts the war hammer and it seems to hang in the air, defying gravity, then he swings. A crashing boom. A flash of energy. And then metal crunching—Bardle slamming into a nearby car. Thrull’s blow catapulting him out of the wreckage and across the street.” After a ten page battle, Bardle dies.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Freaking is used occasionally.
  • Crud is used seven times. When June makes a joke, Jack thinks, “the teasing—it makes it all feel normal again. And I appreciate the crud out of June for it.”
  • When Bardle is hurt, Jack says, “Holy crud, that scared me!”
  • Jack calls Thrull a “DOOF! WAD!”

Supernatural

  • When Jack swings the Slicer at a zombie, Jack feels “the Slicer catch—like the blade and the zombie are connected by some strange magnetism.” Everything freezes, then “the hovering zombie is thrust down, too. Its knees buckled and it crumples to the floor in a drooling, groaning heap.”
  • A Scrapken, which is an octopus-like creature, grabs Jack’s hand, causing him pain. Jack uses the Slicer to cut off the Scrapken’s tentacle. “The Scrapken howling. Dirk stammering. Me clutching my arm and shouting up at the monster.” Jack apologizes and “the severed tentacle waves in front of me, leaking thick blue-green ooze.” The tentacle acts like a glove and allows Jack to hold the burning hot Slicer.
  • Thrull and the kids fight to get Ghazt’s tail because of its ability to control zombies. When Jack touches the tail a “big mass” of “dark other-dimension energy” courses through his glove. The “rat tail’s skin begins to bubble. It’s being pulled into the glove. . . I smell burning and I see the last bit of energy extracted from the tail. After the process is complete, Thrull’s left with a long, winding, skeletal appendage.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Spin the Dawn

Maia loves to sew. She dreams not only of becoming a master tailor but becoming the imperial tailor. However, it’s a far-fetched dream as only boys are allowed to become tailors in A’landi. As her father’s only daughter and youngest child, Maia is expected to be quiet, obedient, and eventually raise a family. After her older brothers die in war and her father becomes too sick to sew, the burden of caring for her family becomes even greater, and her dream of becoming a tailor fades.

Maia cannot think of anything more abhorrent than abandoning her sewing, but she sees no alternative until her father is called upon by the emperor. The emperor is getting married and needs a new imperial tailor to create his betrothed’s wedding gowns. There is to be a competition of the best tailors in the land, and her father is invited to join. Maia’s father is too sick to travel to the capital, so Maia disguises herself as her father’s son and goes in her father’s place. Soon she finds herself competing with tailors who are decades more experienced than herself, who are willing to cheat, and who would possibly even be willing to commit murder in order to become the next imperial tailor.

Spin the Dawn has a lovable, interesting cast of characters that will hook readers. The land of A’landi is foreign, beautiful, and magical. The rich characters, court intrigues, and mysterious Lord Enchanter keep the tailoring competition from becoming cliché. Readers will be delighted when magic becomes a part of Maia’s life and will understand her moral struggle in deciding whether or not to use it.

While Part I of Spin the Dawn is a delightful read focused on the tailoring competition, Part II takes an entirely different track with Maia going on a journey to create three magical dresses for the emperor’s betrothed. The lore behind the dresses is fascinating, but the journey feels rushed and some conflicts are resolved too easily to be believable. Still, the Lord Enchanter accompanies Maia on her quest and their relationship is enchanting to watch. While Part II is weaker than Part I, the delicious dynamic between Maia and the Lord Enchanter will be enough to keep readers reading until the end.

Sexual Content

  • When speaking of the emperor, Maia’s brother says, “So you’ve heard how handsome he is from the village girls? Every one of them aspires to become one of the emperor’s concubines.” Maia says, “I have no interest in becoming a concubine.”
  • A village boy wants to marry Maia. “I thought with dread of Calu touching me, of bearing his children, of my embroidery frames collecting dust . . . I stifled a shudder.”
  • There are rumors that the emperor’s betrothed has a “lover. But it’s all court gossip. No one knows for certain.”
  • While pretending to be a boy, Maia had “been wearing at least three layers to help obscure my chest.”
  • When Norbu finds out that Maia is a girl disguised as a boy, he “touched my cheek and pressed his thigh against my leg. ‘I always thought you were a pretty boy. Perhaps a little kiss?’ “
  • Maia and the Lord Enchanter almost kiss. “He pressed a gentle kiss on the side of my lips, just missing my mouth. His lips were soft, despite the desert’s unrelenting dryness. A shiver flew up and down my spine, even though his breath was warm, and his arm around me even warmer.”
  • Maia and the Lord Enchanter kiss several times. “His lips pressed against mine. Gently at first, then with increasing urgency as I started to respond with my own need. His hand was tight on my waist, holding my wobbly knees steady.” Another time, “he tilted my chin and kissed me. Heat flooded me from my lips to my toes, and my heart hammered, its beat rushing and skipping to my head.”
  • Maia and the Lord Enchanter sleep together. “He kissed me, exploring my mouth with his tongue, then tantalizing my ears and my neck until I was dizzy and feverish. Finally, when my knees weakened and I couldn’t bear to stand any longer, Edan eased me onto his cloak against the soft, damp earth. Our legs entwined; then we became flesh upon flesh. All of me burned, my blood singing wildly in my ears.”
  • When Maia is captured by bandits, one of them says, “Do you know how long it’s been since I’ve felt a woman?” Maia is then rescued.
  • Maia and the Lord Enchanter kiss goodbye. “I crushed my mouth against his, wrapping my arms around his neck and my legs around his hips. His kisses moved to my cheeks, my neck, my breasts, back to my lips. Passionate, then tender. Then passionate again, as if we couldn’t make up our minds.”

Violence

  • A man breaks Maia’s hand. “Norbu stepped on my wrist, pinning my hand to the ground . . . He was carrying one of the heavy metal pans we used for smoothing our fabrics. I tried to yank my wrist away, but he was too strong. Too quick. He raised the pan high, then brought it crashing down onto my hand. Pain shot up from the tips of my fingers and flooded my brain. I screamed.”
  • When it’s discovered that Maia is a girl, she is thrown into a dungeon. The guards “struck me in the ribs and kicked me to my knees so that I landed in a rotten pile of hay, coughing and whimpering.”
  • Maia is whipped for lying to the emperor. “The guards tore my tunic and ripped off my chest strips—so fast I’d barely crossed my arms to cover myself when the whip burned into my skin, a stinging line of fire. Blood splattered onto the cold stone floor. . . Each lash bit into me, gashing my back, and I chewed on my lip so hard my mouth grew hot with blood.”
  • Maia is chased by wolves, which then turn on each other. “Soon I was forgotten as the wolves fought one another. The sight was gruesome, blood on fur on sand. I buried my face in my hands until the snarls became whimpers, then nothing.”
  • Maia stumbles upon an old battlefield. “Broken drums, slashed war banners, mounds of bones—human bones. And bodies . . . Some of the men had frozen to death. I could tell from their ashen faces, tightly drawn blue lips, and curved-in shoulders.”
  • Maia and the Lord Enchanters are attacked several times by bandits. Once, the Lord Enchanter “fired three arrows in quick succession. Vachir eluded each shot, but the men behind him weren’t as lucky. Two fell.”
  • Maia fights a demon. “I lunged forward and slammed my dagger into his shoulder. He cried out, an anguished scream that made my blood curdle.”
  • Maia is attacked by bandits. “I slashed at the one who’d spoken, but I missed his throat and scored his cheek instead. I made a long, jagged gash.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • A fellow tailor “reached into his robes for a flask. He offered it to me, and after I declined, he took a long drink.”
  • Maia turns in early one night. In the morning, she discovered “It was a good thing I’d refused to go out with Norbu and the others. After their bath, they’d gone to the local drinking house, where Master Taraha and Master Garad drank themselves into a stupor. Now they were spending the day retching. Even from my table, I could smell it.”
  • While traveling, Maia and the Lord Enchanter stay the night with a group of travelers. The travelers pass around a wine gourd after dinner, and Maia accidentally gets drunk. “I was so mortified I simply took another drink. And another. The more I drank, the less it burned my throat . . . Normally I wouldn’t have stared at him so obviously, but the wine had washed away my caution.”

Language

  • Variations of the phrase “demon’s breath” are used a few times as profane exclamations.
  • A man says a country’s wine “tastes like horse piss.”
  • Damn is used a few times. The Lord Enchanter says, “I want to get out of this damned place.”

Supernatural

  • Maia “repaired amulets for travelers who asked it of me, though I didn’t believe in magic. Not then.”
  • A man says to Maia, “The A’landans are superstitious people. Constantly praying to their dead ancestors. If you believe in spirits and ghosts, I don’t see why you wouldn’t believe in magic.”
  • Maia meets the emperor’s Lord Enchanter. Maia “knew little of enchanters, lord or not, other than that they were rare and drifted from land to land.” Longhai tells Maia, “The Lord Enchanter advises Emperor Khanujin on many matters. He served the emperor’s father for years, yet he hasn’t aged a day!” Maia later finds out that the Lord Enchanter can transform into a hawk, which is his spirit form. “Feathers sprouted over his skin and spine. A pair of wings erupted from his shoulders and fanned down across his arms.”
  • Maia discovers that the scissors passed down from her grandmother are magical. “The scissors glided over the shawl, possessed in a way that my hands could only follow. Invisible threads repaired the cloth’s damage, giving it life anew, and colors from my paint pots soaked into the silk . . . Impossible as it appeared, the scissors not only cut but embroidered . . . My hand wouldn’t let go of the scissors, no matter how much I tried to pry them away, no matter how much I wanted to put them down. I was under a spell, drunk with their power.”
  • In Part II of Spin the Dawn, Maia is forced to go on a journey with the Lord Enchanter. On this journey, magic becomes a part of daily life. From enchanted carpets that fly, using magic to heal, and a magical tablecloth that creates an entire meal from nothing, Maia’s journey is filled with magic.
  • Maia is given an impossible task by the emperor’s betrothed. She is told to make a dress out of the laughter of the sun, the tears of the moon, and the blood of the stars. These three dresses are called Amana’s dresses, and it is said that whoever possesses them will receive a wish from the goddess Amana herself.
  • Maia goes to an island filled with ghosts. While there she meets a demon—a creature who used to be a sorcerer but was cursed when he killed his master. The demon steals a piece of Maia’s soul, which means he can follow her anywhere.
  • When Maia finishes the dresses, the goddess Amana speaks to her. Amana’s statue in the temple glows and a “low and powerful, yet kind” voice says, “Ask me your heart’s greatest desire, Maia. And I shall grant it.”

Spiritual Content

  • It is mentioned in passing that “Toward the end of every month, [Maia] helped the women who were preparing their gifts for the dead—usually paper clothing, which was tricky to sew—to burn before the prayer shrines in honor of their ancestors.”
  • Maia lives in a land with many gods. The gods are often mentioned in passing. A tailor says, “The gods are listening to us, masters. Do you want to invoke their wrath?” The emperor’s betrothed says, “The imperial tailor is a master chosen by the gods. I expect him to be able to work with any material, whether it be glass or silk.” Another time, a man says, “The gods watch over me, I am very grateful.”
  • Two gods are more developed and become part of the plot. The first is the goddess Amana, whose magical dresses Maia is tasked with sewing. People often say, “Amana be with you.” The other is the sun god, who Maia indirectly encounters during her search for the laughter of the sun. While in the desert, the Lord Enchanter says, “The sun is worshipped in many lands. He’s a brilliant, brutal deity. And now we are in the heart of his kingdom.”
  • The Lord Enchanter says, “Pigs are smarter than people give them credit for! Where I grew up, we almost worshipped them.” Maia “couldn’t tell if he was joking.”
  • Maia confesses that she doesn’t “even trust the gods. Not to listen, anyway. My father prays to Amana every morning, every night. . . But Finlei and Sendo died.”
  • The Lord Enchanter grew up in a monastery. “The monks I grew up with were different from the ones here. Not generous and kind. And the gods we worshiped were harsh and unforgiving.”
  • Maia asks a monk, “What if there are no gods? What if there is only magic, only enchanters and demons and ghosts?” The monk replies, “You must keep your faith . . . The gods watch over us, but unlike the spirits of this realm, they do not interfere in our lives. Not unless we anger them greatly, or impress them.”

by Morgan Lynn

 

The New Kid at School

Wiglaf, the smallest boy in the family, gets pushed around by his brothers. Then a traveling minstrel tells Wiglaf he was born to be a hero. Wiglaf doesn’t think he will ever do anything heroic. When he reads the Dragon Slayer’s Academy ad posted on the village message tree, Wiglaf and his pet pig head to the academy. Even though Wiglaf can’t stand seeing any creature suffer—not even a fly—he’s convinced he can learn to slay a dragon. His first day at Dragon Slayer’s Academy will be a day he never forgets.

Twelve older brothers love to boss Wiglaf around. Much like Cinderella, Wiglaf must wash the dishes and do a never-ending list of chores. Wiglaf befriends the minstrel, who then teaches him how to read. Despite his small size, Wiglaf is convinced that he can be a hero. The kind, likable Wiglaf isn’t ashamed to be small, poor, or different than others. Instead, he uses his knowledge to defeat the dragon without using his sword, Surekill.

The New Kid at School mixes a little bit of silly magic, a talking pig, and a kind classmate to create a delightful story that makes readers giggle. Wiglaf’s adventure is told with humor while also highlighting the importance of work. This is shown when Wiglaf did not have any money to pay the academy’s tuition, so he offers to wash dishes. Another character empties eel traps in order to stay at the school. The conclusion has several surprises that will have readers eager to pick up the next book in the series, Revenge of the Dragon Lady.

The story uses simple vocabulary and short paragraphs to tell a fast-paced story. Readers may need help with some of the more complex sentences and the medieval language. For example, the dragon slayers are hoping to take the dragon’s “hoards” and Wiglaf is told to go “thitherwald.” Full-page black and white illustrations are scattered throughout the story. The detailed illustrations bring the characters to life with exaggerated facial expressions. A map of the academy and a DSA yearbook appear at the end of the book. Each yearbook page has a picture of a character as well as important information about him/her. Adventure-seeking readers will enjoy The New Kid at School and cheer for Wiglaf as he proves that you don’t need to be mighty in order to be a hero.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A minstrel tells a story about Sir Gilford, who teased a dragon named Old Snart. “Well, Old Snart hated to be teased. He began whimpering and crying until he collapsed in a pool of tears. He hardly noticed when Sir Gilford sliced off his head.”
  • Wiglaf’s mother wants to hurry into town because she “doesn’t want to miss the hanging.”
  • Gorzil, a dragon, takes all of the town’s gold. Then, “he swears to burn Toenail to the ground unless a son and daughter of the village are outside his cave tomorrow. Tomorrow at dawn, in time for breakfast.” After a lottery, two children are sent to become Gorzil’s dinner.
  • Eric and Wiglaf go to Gorzil’s cave. Eric yells, “I am your worst nightmare!” Gorzil becomes angry and “sparks shot from his nose. They scorched the hem of Eric’s dress. Then Gorzil raised the tip of his tail over his head and whacked Eric’s sword out of his hand.”
  • After Wiglaf tells the dragon a series of really bad knock-knock jokes, “Gorzil’s chest heaved. His tail lashed one final time and was still. His tongue flopped out the side of his mouth and lay in a puddle of yellow drool. Then, with a thunderous poof, Gorzil’s body exploded into a cloud of dragon dust.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • The headmaster calls a boy a “ninny.” Later, someone calls Wiglaf a “ninny.”
  • Wiglaf’s brother tells a minstrel to “be gone, varlet!”
  • “Blazing King Ken’s britches!” is used as an exclamation.

Supernatural

  • A wizard cast a spell saying, “Oink-a-la, doink-a-la, fee fi fig! This pig shall be a talking pig!” Then the pig speaks in Pig Latin.
  • A wizard gives Wiglaf an enchanted sword called Surekill. When Wiglaf cries for help, the “sword leaped out of Wiglaf’s hand. It glowed red hot as it soared up, up into the air. . . They waited for it to reappear. But the sword had vanished.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

The Boy Who Crashed to Earth

BOOM! CLANG! CRASH! D.J. and Gina are totally ordinary kids. But Hilo isn’t! Hilo just fell out of the sky and doesn’t know where he came from, what he’s doing on Earth, or why going to school in only your underwear is a BAD idea! But Hilo is excited to have a friend, D.J. Even when Hilo tries to blend in with the rest of the kids at D.J.’s school, he just doesn’t understand earth’s customs.

Soon the three discover that Hilo wasn’t the only thing to fall to earth. Can the trio unlock the secrets of Hilo’s past? Can Hilo SURVIVE a day at school? Find out in Hilo – a laugh-out-loud, epic story of friendship, adventure, and occasionally a mutant space robot.

Readers of all ages will fall in love with the main characters D.J. and Hilo. Readers will relate to D.J. who worries that he is boring and eagerly helps Hilo. The relationship between the two is fun and endearing. Hilo says he is lucky to have D.J. because when “a boy fell from the sky, and all you wanted to do is protect him. You saved him by throwing a robot off a cliff, leaping down a pitch-black hole, fighting a giant metal bug with a stick. And a whole lot more!” In order to help Hilo, D.J. helps Hilo battle robots.  In the battle scenes, the characters spend more time running away than fighting and none of the characters are seriously injured.

Without sounding like a school lesson, The Boy Who Crashed to Earth introduces new vocabulary through Hilo’s speech. For example, Hilo says, “Crazy. AD.J.ective. Informal. ‘He was acting like a crazy person.’ Mad, insane, out of one’s mind. Deranged.” One negative aspect of the story is the juvenile humor. For example, Hilo likes to talk about his silver underwear and he loves to burp. Despite the juvenile humor, Hilo portrays D.J.’s family in a positive light and shows the importance of helping others.

 Brightly colored illustrations will capture readers’ attention, but readers will want to keep turning the pages because of the engaging story and the likable characters. The detailed illustrations show exaggerated facial expressions which will help readers understand the characters’ changing emotions.

 The Boy Who Crashed to Earth introduces complex characters that readers will love. The reader only sees snippets of Hilo’s past, which creates both suspense and mystery. The action-packed story will keep readers flipping the pages until the very end. Readers will be eager to read the next book in the series, Saving the Whole Wide World.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A giant robot chases Hilo and D.J. When D.J. falls, Hilo shoots the robot with lasers. The scene is illustrated over six pages.
  • In order to distract the school secretary, Hilo sets a wild raccoon loose in the school office.
  • “A cybernetic formicidae! A robot ant!” chases D.J. and Hilo. All three of them fall over a cliff, and when D.J. is in danger of being hurt, Hilo shoots the robot with lasers. The robot is disabled but eventually comes back. The robot and Hilo fall over another cliff. The robot is destroyed and Hilo falls apart. The action is illustrated over twelve pages.
  • A giant robot centipede grabs Hilo and takes him underground. D.J and Gina go in after Hilo. When the centipede opens its mouth, Hilo shoots a laser inside of the creature. The creature is disabled. The scene is illustrated over three pages.
  • Giant robot insects are building a robot, and Hilo tries to stop the creatures by zapping them with lasers. The robot comes to life and begins shooting lasers while the robot bugs chase the kids. During the battle, the robot is able to capture Hilo. In the end, Hilo opens a portal and sends the robot through. The epic battle is illustrated over 28 pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • “Holy Mackerel” is used as an expression occasionally.
  • A classmate tells D.J., “Dude. Your pal is a real freak.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Fast-Forward to the Future

Chase and Ava have already traveled to the past twice. When they touch a glowing cube in their magic suitcase, they don’t go to the past. They end up in the future! Even though they recognize where they are, almost everything is different. In the future, they find awesome flying cars and tons of robots. But it doesn’t take long for the villain Randall to find them. Chase and Ava are on the run. They know they need to put the cube back quickly, but can they complete their mission in time? Will Randall steal the cube?

Chase and Ava travel to the future and see a wonderful world where robots have taken the place of human laborers. As Chase and Ava explore, they pass a sign that can recognize people and records their good deeds. The robots record people’s likes and dislikes and help fulfill their desire. When Chase and Ava discover that they can spend someone else’s money, Chase says, “There must have been a mistake back there. We can’t just spend other people’s money.” The two decide that it is okay to spend the money because it actually belongs to the future Chase. The black and white pictures that appear on every page will help readers visualize the imaginative world.

Fast-Forward to the Future portrays an interesting world. The addition of a prototype robot that can talk adds interest. Although Randal makes a brief appearance, most of the plot revolves around exploring the future as well as wondering what will happen if Chase meets his future self. When Chase meets his future self, the younger Chase doesn’t get any answers to the mysteries of the suitcase or Randall.

Fast-Forward to the Future shows an imaginative future where robots and humans are friends. Readers will enjoy seeing a world where ice cream appears on demand, clothes grow to the perfect size, and the restaurant robots remember Chase’s favorite meal. Fast-Forward to the Future is part of the Scholastic’s Branches early chapter books, which have easy-to-read text and illustrations on every page. The story uses short descriptions and dialogue to keep the story moving at a fast pace. The black and white illustrations appear on every page and help break up the text into manageable sections. Fast-Forward to the Future has several characters that appear in book one, which requires the Time Jumpers series to be read in order.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When Randall appears and tries to take a robot prototype, “Ava stomps on Randall’s foot! Randall howls and clutches his foot.” Chase and Ava are able to run away from him.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • When Chase and Ava touch an object out of an old suitcase, they begin to spin. This time, the siblings notice, “There’s something different about it this time. The images swirling around them are of strange places and objects.” This time, the two travel to the future.

Spiritual Content

  • None

Freya and the Magic Jewel

When eleven-year-old Freya hears a Doomsday prophecy from her magical jewel, she isn’t sure what to make of it. Mere seconds after the prediction, she receives a mysterious invitation to Asgard Academy from the powerful Odin, who commands her to “bring her magic” to Asgard.

With encouragement from her twin, Frey, Freya reluctantly heads out on the new adventure. Freya’s first challenge begins before she even steps foot in Asgard. While trying to navigate the treacherous Bifrost Bridge, she drops her magical jewel off the bridge, and a sneaky pair of dwarves take her jewel down to the world of Midgard!

Without that jewel, Freya thinks she is powerless. But with the help of her pod-mates at Asgard, Freya discovers a world that is bigger and more mysterious than she ever imagined! There, she learns the true terror of Ragnarok, the doomsday that her jewel warned her about, and what it could mean for Asgard Academy if she and her new friends, the Thunder Girls, don’t stop it!

Fans of Goddess Girls will enjoy this new series, which focuses on Norse Mythology. At first, Freya comes across as shallow because of her intense love of fashion and her assumption that everyone male will find her crush-worthy; she is the goddess of love and beauty after all! On the positive side, Freya has a positive attitude even when times are difficult. In the end, Freya learns that her best ability is fostering friendship. Readers will relate to Freya, who wonders if she is “in-like” with someone, and worries about hurting someone’s feelings if she does not like them in the same way.

Freya soon learns that Mason has a crush on her. In order to win her heart, he promises to “rebuild Asgard’s wall to protect her, if only she will give me her heart in return, plus the sun and the moon.” Freya doesn’t want to make the promise, but she knows the Asguard’s wall must be rebuilt. She reluctantly agrees because she doesn’t think Mason can succeed at building the wall. Although this is one of the main plot points, Mason is delegated to the background, so the ending falls flat.

Readers who are unfamiliar with Norse mythology will want to read the glossary first. The story introduces Norse mythology in a kid-friendly way, while still staying true to the original stories. Readers will enjoy the Norse world, Loki’s mischievous pranks, and the fast pace of the story. Although the story lacks depth, the characters are stereotypical, and Freya is not well developed, younger readers will enjoy getting to know Freya and the other Norse god and goddesses.

Sexual Content

  • Mason thinks he has won Freya’s heart. “Then he closed his eyes and leaned forward, puckering up.” Freya gives him something other than a kiss.

Violence

  • The large painted friezes that covered a wall come to life. “At first it was only the blinking of eyes or the twitch of a hand, as if those carved, painted heroes were waking up from a long sleep. . . And because they were all warriors, they immediately went into battle mode. Painted hands grabbed turnips, carrots, and crab apples from painted fields and trees or from platters on carved feast tables, depending on the scene. Arms drew back. Fists punched forth from the friezes. . . The moment food was lobbed out of a frieze, it temporarily turned real.” The kids had to evacuate.
  • Dwarves make a boar that comes alive. “Waving their arms, the four dwarfs chased the boar, trying to shoo it out of their workshop without getting stuck by its sharp tusks. . . Alfrigg wasn’t fast enough, though. Oomph! The board head-butted him in the rear.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Freya has a marble that contains cats and a cart. When Freya says “catnap” the cats and cart grow. The first time Freya uses the marble, she thinks “if anyone had been watching at that moment, the cats and cart would’ve seemed to instantly disappear. However, in reality, they had only shrunk down to a single cat’s-eye marble.”
  • Fraya has a magical jewel that can tell the future. The jewel “had the power to show Freya the future, sometimes it only revealed bits of information. It didn’t always answer her questions, either, so she could never be sure what it did or didn’t know.”
  • A message acorn had “cute faces and hats, and sweet voices.” One acorn “hopped right up into her (Freya’s) palm.”
  • Sometimes characters use vine slides to travel. Freya gives her brother a vine slide, which “could enlarge back into the huge spiral slide for Frey anytime he wished to travel through it. And then shrink anytime he wasn’t using it.”
  • Ice giants appeared normal-sized, but “magically shot up to five times their normal height” and made it snow.
  • While trying to enter Asgard, the Bifrost became hot for the frost giants. “When the frost giants were huge, the bridge probably sensed they were troublemakers and was trying to make them turn back from Asgard by giving them, and only them, a case of hot foot.”
  • When Freya drops her jewel, “gnarled hands reached up and snatched at Brising (the jewel) like snapping turtles. Fingers captured it before it could even hit the ground.”
  • Doors appear in thin air and allow people to travel to different locations.
  • Freya drinks juice that won’t make her immortal, but will make her “stay the same age.”
  • Several characters are shapeshifters. Others can grow bigger.
  • One character has a box that “expanded into a box large enough to hold many apples.”
  • Freya puts her toes and nose against a tree. “Whoosh! Instantly she found herself standing inside a hollowed-out space in the very middle of the tree trunk. . .”
  • One of the characters only has a head.

Spiritual Content

  • The story focuses on Norse mythology and includes Norse gods and goddesses as characters.
  • The main character, Fraya, is the goddess of love and beauty. She is also a seer. Another character, Odin, was “the leader of the Asgard gods and the supreme rule of all the worlds.” (This is not a complete list of the Norse gods that appear in the book.)

The Revenge of Magic #1

Thirteen years ago, books of magic were discovered in various sites around the world alongside the bones of dragons. Children born after this so-called “Discovery Day” have the power to use magic.

Fort Fitzgerald has no idea books of magic exist. Then, while on vacation with his father, a giant creature bursts through the earth, attacking Washington DC. The creature grabs Fort’s father, taking him underground. Fort is devastated and dreams of getting revenge. Six months later, a man named Dr. Opps invites Fort to a government-run school to learn magic.

Life at the school is difficult and Fort has no idea who to trust. Everyone is keeping secrets. What does Jia, Fort’s tutor, know about the attacks? Why does Rachel, master of destructive magic, think Fort is out to destroy the school? And why is Fort reliving memories of an expelled girl every time he goes to sleep? Fort must find the answers or more attacks will come–and this time nothing will stop the creatures.

The Revenge of Magic starts with action and adventure that continues to the very end. Many of the supporting characters are stereotypical, including trope roles such as: the bullies, the tough girl, and the closed-mouthed military commander. However, Fort and Cyrus, a clairvoyant, are well-developed and Cyrus’s matter-of-fact tone adds some much-needed humor to the story. Although Fort’s reason for hating the creatures that took his father is understandable, Fort’s focus on revenge may make it difficult for readers to connect with him.

Fort learns more about the attack on Washington DC through a series of memories that are shared with him. Even though the memories appear in a different font, some readers may have a difficult time keeping the past and the present separated. Several times the creatures are able to control humans, and one creature takes over a student’s body, transforming the human body into the alien’s form. In the end, the creatures reveal their desire to return to earth and enslave humans. The large cast of characters, the complicated plot, and several scary scenes make The Revenge of Magic best suited for stronger readers.

The Revenge of Magic is a strong start to a new series. Even though several mysteries are revealed, the ending leaves unanswered questions that will have readers looking for book two, The Last Dragon. Readers who enjoy high-action adventure stories should also try the Simon Thorn Series by Aimée Carter and the Snared Series by Adam Jay Epstein.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Giant hands erupt from the earth and attack. “Enormous black-scaled fingers pushed up through the ground, sending grass, rock, and dirt flying in every direction. A muffled roar sounded from somewhere beneath them, and Fort felt it even through the ground shaking.” As people flee, more hands erupt from the ground. “A noise like torrents of rushing water thundered behind him, and turned to find a nightmare rising from the middle of the Reflecting Pool, a giant black-scaled head covered in some sort of crown. . .More helicopters flew in, this time painted black, and these actually made it close to the creature. A missile rocketed out of one, slamming into its head, but the monster didn’t even seem to notice.”
  • As the hands attack, Fort tries to stay with his father, but “the creature’s hand curled around him, rupturing the remains of the memorial as it descended back into the ground. . . the creature’s massive hand disappeared within the earth, and his father went silent.” The battle takes place over eight pages.
  • Dr. Opps goes to Fort’s house to tell him about the school. When Dr. Opps touches Fort’s aunt, she collapses on the floor. Fort tries to attack Dr. Opps, but “before he could strike, though, something burning hot slammed into his side, sending him crashing across the room into the opposite wall. . . Fort groaned, rubbing his head, then quickly moved his hands around to feel where he’d been hit, finding his shirt blackened and charred by whatever it was that had struck him.”
  • While in the cafeteria, a student put his hand on the metal table. “His hand began to glow. . . Fort didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late. His tray began to sizzle, turning white-hot with heat, and he yelped as it burned his hands.”
  • When Rachel sees three boys bullying Fort, she “flicked a finger, and a tiny magic missile slammed into the boy’s stomach, sending him crashing across the table, taking Fort’s burning-hot tray with him. He tumbled into the back wall as the soldiers nearby all leaped out of the way, their weapons now aimed at Rachel.”
  • A creature comes out of the ground and into the officer’s mess hall. The creature was “floating in midair. . . Whatever it was shimmered transparently, like a ghost or even a holographic projection. It wore some kind of opaque crystal armor, but beneath the armor, where a human being’s feet would have been, a multitude of tentacles squealed as they dragged across the floor.” A soldier tries to take Fort out of the room, but the creature turned to follow Fort. Then Dr. Opps “stepped between them, holding the same medallion he’d used on Fort’s aunt in her apartment. . . Dr. Opps shouted, and light shot out from the medallion, some sort of magical burst.” The medallion burst and the creature left. The scene is described over six pages.
  • Three bullies attack Fort in the dormitory. “Fort plowed into the boy, crashing them both to the ground. Blane landed hard, still surprised by the attack, and Fort punched him in the stomach, once, twice, a third time, rage overwhelming his mind. . . Someone yanked him backward, and he lashed out wildly but missed as Blaine rose unsteadily to his feet, one of his hands burning with a deep red flame.” One of the boys sets Fort’s shirt on fire. As the boys continue to threaten Fort, another boy “lunged forward, grabbing Blaine’s hand. The fire was extinguished, and the boy started to yell in pain as some sort of pustules begin to grow on his hand.” Chickenpox began popping up all over the boy’s body, ending the fight. The scene is described over four and a half pages.
  • The three bullies corner Fort. “Bryce’s hands pulsed with red energy, and Fort’s feet froze in place, ice forming on the ground around his boots.” Fort “swung his fist out wildly but only succeeded in almost falling over his stuck boots.” One of the boys sends a “magic missile slamming into Fort’s shoulder even as Fort tried to slap out the fire.” Eventually, a soldier stops the bullies.
  • Fort sees a memory of when Damian created a portal for the creatures to come through. Several students tried to stop the boy. A girl “slid toward Damian on the ground and threw a hand out to grab his ankle. Blue light began to glow from her hand, and the creature in the portal pulled back abruptly from Damian.” During the memory, Fort learned how the attack in Washington DC began. The memory is described over five pages.
  • Later Fort again sees the memory. “Damian stood in the middle of the room, his eyes wide, his mouth hanging open, as a creature out of a horror book floated in the air above him, its transparent and vaguely humanoid body covered in crystal armor, its tentacle fingers locked on Damien’s head. . .” The creature uses Damian to communicate with the humans.
  • When Fort sneaks into the room where the books are kept, a student sees him. The student “leaned forward and grabbed Fort by the shirt, dragging him inside, then threw him down the stairs toward the podium with the books.” The girl throws a fireball at Fort and “he leaped into its path and took the spell right in his chest. Fire exploded all over his torso and face, and he quickly dropped to the ground, rolling around to put it out, trying his best not to shriek in pain in spite of the agony he felt.” Fort uses a spell to lessen the pain.
  • Fort is found in a girl’s hospital room. When he tries to escape, “the colonel grabbed Fort’s arm as he passed, then yanked it behind Fort’s back painfully. Fort immediately stopped short, groaning in pain, as two guards ran into the room.” Two guards take Fort to the disciplinary barracks.
  • Back in the memory, Fort sees “Damian raised a hand and sent a magic missile flying into the doctor’s chest. Dr. Opps went flying, slamming into the nearest wall, groaning as he landed on the floor. Sierra immediately cast Mind Blast, sending it at the creature’s mind, but Damian waved his hand as if batting aside an annoying insect, and the spell seemed to have no effect.” A student, Michael, tried to get Damian to close the portal and threw a fireball. “With no way to protect himself against his own spell, Michael took the fireball right in the chest, letting out a piercing scream. His clothes on fire, he dropped to the floor, rolling to quench the flames, but the magical blaze refused to go out, and the boy continued to cry out in pain.” Michael dies.
  • In an epic end battle, the Old One tries to come to Earth through a portal. One of the creatures takes over Michael’s body. “The shadowy, half-transparent Old One from the officers’ mess pushed its way into Damian’s body, overlapping him completely. . . The boy’s hands and feet stretched out and split into a mass of tentacles, as did his teeth, now protruding from a skull-like helmet. And within seconds, where there had once been a human boy, now there was only an Old One, Damian’s body transformed by the creature into its own form. . . Tentacles exploded out from the Old One’s hand, piercing the two soldier’s minds. They screamed, their bodies shaking violently, only to abruptly go silent and stand up straight. And then they turned their weapons on Fort.”
  • During the battle, “a giant black claw exploded through the floor beneath him, throwing the bed against the nearby wall as a second and third finger rose up around him [Fort].” Fort uses a healing spell to hurt the creature. Fort “wanted the creature to feel pain, as much as or more than what it had put him through when it had taken his father. . . The giant monster roared in anguish as the finger Fort held began to wither away, the muscle dying and the bones crumbling beneath his hand. . . Wrapping one arm around a finger, Fort watched triumphantly as the creature wailed in agony, its head slamming back and forth against the cavern wall.” When the finger goes back through the portal, another creature attacks Fort. “The creature’s tentacles reached out to surround Fort’s head, but this time, they pushed into his ears, nose, and mouth. He tried to scream but couldn’t get any air. . .”
  • The creature is able to create a portal in the sky. The students work together to try to stop the Old One. “. . . Rachel, meanwhile, went to fire another magic missile, but before she could, the Old One thrust its tentacles down towards her. . . One slicked into Rachel’s leg, dropping her to the ground. . .” The students are able to close the portal and the creatures leave. The action takes place over 42 pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • A student calls Cyrus a “future turd.”
  • A student says most of the Destruction kids are “jerks.”
  • A student calls Fort an idiot and a jerk.

Supernatural

  • During the attack on Washington DC, someone tried to take control of Fort’s body. “Fort watched his actions helplessly, almost from a distance, like he was staring down at himself from the wrong end of a telescope.”
  • Dr. Opps has a silver medallion that allows him to speak to others “mind-to-mind.” This medallion allows Dr. Opps to show his memories to Fort.
  • In the past, books were found that “contained formulas. The formulas, when read out loud, unlock previously inaccessible powers within the human body.” The use of the books allows some characters to gain the power of destruction, the power of healing, or clairvoyance.
  • In order to find out which power Fort can access, he must read a spell from one of the books. When Fort says a destructive spell, “immediately, power flowed through his body and out of his hands, setting them aglow.” He only makes a small flash. When Fort reads a spell from the healing book, “Fort’s hands seemed to lower in temperature, and he felt some weirdly cold energy leave his fingers and pass into the man’s arm. . . the cut had disappeared.”
  • Kids who were born on the day that the books were found can read them. Those before that day cannot read the books.
  • A student explains healing magic to Fort. “Healing is restorative, meaning it restores something to an earlier state. If you think about it that way, reattaching a leg is just putting something back where it belongs. The magic. . . encourages the leg to become what it used to be, one complete bone.”
  • Fort uses an “Ethereal Spirit” spell on himself and other students. The spell turns their bodies “ghostlike” and allows them to walk through walls. When he uses the spell, “at first, the magic made each of them glow a bit, which wasn’t exactly the best for sneaking round. But gradually each of them grew more transparent until he could see right through the others, and the glow disappeared.”
  • Sometimes Fort can hear others’ thoughts.
  • Healers can heal disease as well as give some a disease. Someone gave Fort the flu, and another student healed him. The student ran her hands “over his head and chest, and the energy passed into his body, immediately curing him of the flu.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Escape from Egypt

Chase and Ava find a scarab beetle that used to belong to King Tut. They know they must take the beetle back to where it belongs. When they jump back in time, they end up in Egypt! They are excited to see the pyramids and hope to meet the famous King Tut. The villain Randall is in Egypt too, and he wants the jeweled beetle for himself. How can Chase and Ava stay ahead of Randal? The two siblings must find a way to put the beetle back where it belongs.

The second installment on the Time Jumpers series is even better than the first, Stealing the Stone. As Chase and Ava try to unwrap the mystery behind the suitcase, go to visit the person who sold it to them. However, she leaves the two with more questions than answers. As Chase and Ava plan their next visit to the past, Chase uses an Egyptian History book to research the scarab beetle. With the book, Chase is able to figure out what he and Ava must do to return the object where it belongs.

When Chase and Ava go back to the 1920’s Egypt, they are able to see the pyramids and learn some historical facts about King Tut, and the famous archaeological dig that discovered King Tut’s tomb. Younger readers will enjoy learning historical facts as Chase and Ava travel to Egypt. The reappearance of villain Randall, who has two colored eyes, keeps the suspense high. Like the previous book in the series, Escape from Egypt highlights the importance of teamwork.

Escape from Egypt is a fast-paced story that gives readers a glimpse of an archaeological dig and shows the importance of the jeweled scarab beetle. Escape from Egypt is part of the Scholastic’s Branches early chapter books, which have easy-to-read text and illustrations on every page. The story uses short descriptions and dialogue to keep the story moving at a fast pace. The black and white illustrations appear on every page and help break up the text into manageable sections. Escape from Egypt has several characters that appear in book one, which requires the Time Jumpers series to be read in order.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When the villain tries to steal a scarab beetle Chase and Ava must stop him. When the villain, “lunges for them but trips over Ava’s shovel and gets a face full of sand! He tries to get up, but Chase lobs his clipboard at him. . . Randall slides right back down onto the sand.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • When Chase and Ava touch an object from the suitcase, they begin to spin and go back in time.

Spiritual Content

  • None

Dragonbreath

Danny Dragonbreath is the only dragon in his school, and he isn’t the best student. He waited until he was on the bus to complete his writing assignment. Because his best friend Wendell, who is a great student, couldn’t help Danny with his assignment, Danny decided to make up some facts. Danny is filled with “righteous indignation” when his teacher gives him an F and tells him he must redo his writing assignment. Danny decides to go see his uncle, who is a sea serpent, for help. And of course, Danny takes Wendell along for the swim.

Even though Danny learns some cool facts about the ocean creatures, the facts are interwoven with fantasy, which may make it hard for readers to determine what is real information and what is fiction. For example, octopi can change their color to blend in with their surroundings, but the octopus Danny meets becomes stripped and then plaid.

Danny’s predicament leads to some hilarious and surprising events. Danny’s story is told in a unique style that blends a graphic novel and fiction. The text is broken up with illustrations and also has several graphic novel scenes with speech balloons. The blend of text and pictures will help keep reluctant readers engaged in the story. The comic-style illustrations are mostly black and white, but also have a pop of green.

Readers will relate to Danny, who fearlessly takes Wendell on a crazy adventure. The story is written in a conversational, humorous tone that is funny and engaging. Although the vocabulary is easy to read, the author uses some complex sentences as well as amazing descriptive language. Dragonbreath deals with bullying, friendship, and the importance of completing schoolwork correctly. Dragonbreath is an imaginative story that will make readers laugh. Those who enjoyed ridiculous, humorous, adventurous stories like Dragonbreath should also try The Yeti Files by Kevin Sherry.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • When a school bully takes Danny’s potato salad, the potato salad attacks him. “After a few minutes, there was a scream from across the lunchroom. It was the exact sound that a young Komodo dragon might make when he had just been stabbed in the hand with a plastic fork by a plate of recalcitrant potato salad.”
  • Danny’s uncle will not let him go near Atlantis because the mermen “want to make sure we don’t get any closer. As soon as somebody shows up and puts them in danger of being the found city of Atlantis, they throw him in the dungeon and feed him to the lobsters.”
  • A giant octopus grabs Wendell. Danny bites the octopus, who then lets go of Wendell.
  • A huge squid captures Danny and Wendell. “Danny felt terrible. Mostly because the giant tentacle wrapped around him was making his rips creak with strain, but there was definitely some guilt in there too. He’d dragged his best friend off on a wild adventure, and now they were going to get hideously smooshed and eaten, possibly in that order. . . Wendell saw the beak moving toward him, and his scream promptly climbed up the register until bats could probably hear [it].” In order to free the two, Danny tries to breathe fire, and “a massive bubble of steam boiled out of Danny’s mouth and smacked the squid directly in the eye.” The squid lets go of the two boys, and then a whale rams into the squid, causing the squid to swim away.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • A bully calls Danny a “dorkbreath” and Wendell a “nerd.”
  • Wendell calls the bully a “festering pustule.”
  • Wendell calls Danny an “idiot.”

Supernatural

  • Danny’s potato salad has human qualities, and when Danny tries to eat it, “the potato salad transferred its attention to what is perceived as a new threat, and shook the form menacingly.” Later the potato salad “flattened itself stealthily against the plate, fork at the ready.”
  • Danny and Wendell eat a mint that allows them to breathe underwater. The mint “tasted fizzy. He (Danny) felt as if spiders were dancing inside his lungs, wearing mint-flavored tap shoes.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

 

Phoebe and Her Unicorn in Unicorn Theater

Summer is here, and Phoebe and Marigold are heading to drama camp. Phoebe’s expecting some quality time with her best friend, but in a surprise twist, Marigold has invited her sister, Florence Unfortunate Nostrils! While the unicorn sisters head to camp in a magical rainbow pod, Phoebe is stuck riding with her parents in their boring car, wondering where it all went wrong. But at Camp Thespis, there are more daunting tasks at hand: writing, producing, and acting in an entirely original play! The second Phoebe and Her Unicorn graphic novel is a sparkling tale of sisterhood and summer fun, as well as a reminder that sometimes it takes a bit of drama to recognize true friendship.

Much of the humor revolves around Marigold, who is completely self-centered and obsessed with her own beauty. However, it is clear that Marigold cares about Phoebe. Based on the two friends’ relationships, readers will learn important lessons about friendship. In the end, Phoebe and some of her drama camp friends put on a play that highlights the importance of not being self-involved and not letting a fight go unresolved.

The easy-to-follow panels have simple artwork with bright colors. The character’s facial expressions will help younger readers understand the character’s emotions. Each page has six or fewer sentences and some panels contain no words at all, which makes the story accessible to reluctant readers. Both the vocabulary and the plot structure are easy to understand.

Unlike some of the previous books in the series, Phoebe and Her Unicorn in Unicorn Theater tells one story throughout the book. Even though the story is the second graphic novel, for maximum enjoyment readers should read the previous books because the story refers to characters and events that happened in previous books. Phoebe and Her Unicorn in Unicorn Theater shows how the characters have matured and changed over the course of the strip.

Anyone who has ever had a fight with a friend or who has felt socially awkward will relate to Phoebe. Phoebe and Her Unicorn in Unicorn Theater will be a hit with readers who want a humorous, fun story about friendships and unicorns.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

The 13-Story Treehouse: Monkey Mayhem!

Andy and Terry write books together while they live in every young boy’s dream—a 13-story treehouse! The treehouse is the most amazing treehouse in the world—complete with a bowling alley, a see-through swimming pool, a marshmallow machine that follows you around and shoots marshmallows in your mouth, a secret underground laboratory, swinging vines, a tank of man-eating sharks, and an endless lemonade fountain. It seems like the fun never ends for Andy and Terry.

But when faced with a range of slapstick scenarios, they soon realize they still have not finished their next bestselling book. With the threat of going back to their atrocious old jobs, they must bond together as they fight off a pack of wild monkeys, a giant gorilla, and a sea monster while writing their next book before their deadline. Will Andy and Terry succeed or will they be forced to go back to their old jobs – at the monkey house?

Griffiths and Denton created a silly, funny, and ridiculous story that readers will laugh at from beginning to end. The book also teaches readers about the importance of friendship. Andy and Terry demonstrate the importance of friends working together in order to solve problems. Without each other, they would not be able to survive a giant gorilla, a sea monster attack, or even write a book. Also, the funny black and white illustrations contribute to a positive reading experience and will help engage even the most reluctant readers.

Even though the story is funny, much of the humor comes from bathroom jokes and immature humor. Many of the jokes are inappropriate for young readers, and sometimes the jokes can be cruel and inconsiderate, such as when Terry painted Jill’s cat bright yellow without telling her. These jokes can leave a bad impression on a young audience. Readers will either love or hate The 13-Story Treehouse. Some will find the story laugh-out-loud funny while others will find the repetitious nature of the story and Terry and Andy’s jokes crude and annoying. But in the end, readers who want a story that’s ridiculously outrageous should pick up The 13-story Treehouse.

Sexual Content

  • Terry and a mermaid kiss so he can become a merman.

Violence

  • After fighting about Terry’s new invention and their new giant banana, Terry whacks Andy over the head with the banana causing Andy to go unconscious. Terry thought, “I’d killed you!” when Andy wakes up.
  • Andy eavesdrops on the sea monster’s plan to eat Terry. The sea monster thinks, “I’ll lure him down beneath the water, and then his body I will slaughter. Oh how I’ll enjoy devouring him – I’ll tear him apart, limb from limb. I’ll eat his eyes and ears and nose and suck the marrow from his toes.”
  • Terry wards off a wild pack of monkeys with a giant banana. When the monkeys attack, “Terry picked up the giant banana and, holding it like a baseball bat, began whacking back the marshmallows, pens, pencils, erasers, paintbrushes, paints, and monkey poop being hurled in our direction. And then he began knocking the monkeys right out of the tree!”
  • A giant gorilla intentionally squishes Barky the dog. Andy describes, “ the giant gorilla lifted up one of its gigantic feet and stomped on him.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • When the marshmallow machine automatically shoots marshmallows into Terry and Andy’s mouth, Andy asks, “How do you shut this stupid thing off?”
  • Andy thinks Terry’s favorite TV show has the “world’s dumbest dog on the world’s dumbest TV show.”
  • Andy says Terry is out of his “tiny, pea-brained, numbskull-sized mind!”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

by Matthew Perkey

 

 

 

 

Lair of the Beast

Wily Snare spent most of his life below ground creating clever tricks to ensnare treasure-seekers. Once he escaped from the dungeon, he was able to befriend a group of adventurers. Stalag, the mage who once kept Wily locked away, wants revenge. He plans to build an army of stone soldiers and take over Wily’s kingdom.

Even though Wily has sworn to keep his kingdom safe, he isn’t prepared for the pressures that come with being a prince. In order to stop Stalag, Wily will need the help of all of his friends. They must travel to find an oracle, find passage into the Below, and fight frightening beasts. The only way that Wily and his friends will succeed is if they work together to quell a creature that is as big as a castle and more dangerous than the deadliest dungeon.

Wily Snare is an imperfect protagonist that genuinely cares about the people of his kingdom. Even though Wily knows how to be a great trapsmith, he has no idea how to be a good king. Wily is afraid of failure, but others remind him that “You don’t need to be perfect. You can’t get everything right. In fact, most things you will get wrong. And that’s okay. That’s part of life.” Despite his fears, Willy uses his brains to get out of difficult situations. Readers will be able to cheer for Wily as he fights beasts, guides his companions, and fights for his kingdom.

Snared: Lair of the Beast is the second book in a fantasy adventure series. Reading the first book in the series, Snared: Escape to the Above, is essential because most of the characters appear in the first book and the second installment does not explain important events that took place in book 1. Wily and his misfit treasure-seeking friends are interesting and are willing to face danger to help others. Even though Wily and his friends face many different types of magical creatures, the battle scenes are not scary. Readers will enjoy seeing how the oracle’s prophecy comes true, as well as how Wily uses his mind to defeat evil.

Advanced elementary and junior high readers will enjoy the quirky characters and the interesting monsters that Wily encounters. The story continually reinforces the idea that everyone makes mistakes. In the end, Wily doesn’t need to prove that he is perfect, he just needs to do the best that he can. Snared: Lair of the Beast is an entertaining fantasy that teaches a positive message about friendship, forgiveness, and perseverance.

Sexual Content

  • Someone sings the following song: “My sister kissed a troll down by the river. She thought that a kiss would break a cursed spell. But the troll was just a troll down by the river. Still, she married him and now they’re doing well.”

Violence

  • Wily and his companions enter an underground chamber. They meet a monster who shows them a map. “As he put his tiny eyes up to the etched map, Odette smashed him in the face with the back of the shield. The boarcus collapsed to the floor.”
  • When Wiley is stealing treasure, he “looked up to see faceless humanoids emerging from the slime around the small island on which he was standing. The bodies and outstretched arms dripped with viscous green ooze. One of the strange creatures lunged at Wily.” Wily and his companions run from the humanoids, because “legend says they can melt metal with a single touch.” As they run, they meet a quill grizzler, who “shot a series of sharp needles at the fleeing adventurers. . . the quill grizzler grabs Wily, who “felt the quill grizzler’s claws snap closed around him. The fanged bear lifted him off his feet and began to squeeze. The pressure was intense . . .” Wily and his companions are able to escape uninjured. The chase scene is described over seven pages.
  • Two golem’s try to capture Wily and his companions. When Moshul, a moss golem, charges, “the bearded stone golem swung his arm. The back of his hand struck Moshul in the chest. Wily watched as the moss golem was knocked to the ground as easily as a straw man. . . The bearded golem reached out and grabbed Moshul by the shoulder. He lifted him into the air and threw him—off the side of the mountain.” Moshul is not injured.
  • After Moshul is thrown off a mountain, “Pryvyd and Odette, both rage-filled, charged them. The quartz-fingered golem punched Pryvyd’s shield so hard that every metal spike that had been sticking out from it was snapped clean off. Pryvyd tumbled backward, his brass armor clattering and clanging.” Wily and his companions flee.
  • Slither trolls invade a town. “The slither troll was about to swing the rake at the terrified woman when Righteous flew across and blocked the blow with a sword.” In order to defeat the trolls, Wily creates a slingshot and his companions throw tomatoes. “The soft projectiles soared through the air and struck the trolls on their legs and bellies. The trolls both let out pained yelps. ‘Oh that burns!’ one screamed. ‘Ouch. Ouch. Ouchie.’” The trolls run away. The scene takes place over four pages.
  • A monsoonondom is a “giant furry beast with long tusks that spark like lightning bolts. Their footsteps churn the wind into a fury. A shake of their fur causes torrential downpours.” Wily and his companions flee from a monsoonondom, but before they get away “the powerful gusts blowing off the beast knocked her [Wily’s mother] off her feet and into a tree.” A group of animals and people made a barricade, but the monsoonondom “hit the moss golem straight in the back. Moshul was knocked off his feet and Roveeka went flying off his shoulders. But Moshul caught her in his mud hands before she struck the ground.” Wily’s mother is injured. The scene takes place over six pages.
  • Wily tries to quell a manticorn, which is a two-headed beast with six clawed legs. “it had the body and tail of a giant panther. . . One head resembled an eagle with a giant horn sticking out from between its eyes. The other looked as if it had been taken from a goat, except that it had dagger-sharp fangs where its teeth should be.” Wiley jumps on the manticorn’s back, and “the manticorn shook its back with such force that Wily went flying into a bolder on the edge of the Web’s jagged cliff. All the air went out of him, and when he was finally able to breathe again and looked up, the manticorn was practically on top of him.” Someone helps Wily, who is uninjured.
  • A group of people throws arrows at Moshul, the moss golem. “Pryvyd blocked one with his shield while Righteous plucked another from the air. Moshul was struck with four in his chest and a fifth in his arm. The moss golem stumbled backward. . .” When the group finds out that Moshul was not a stone golem, they stop shooting arrows.
  • While in an underground chamber, Wily and his companions see a mold-ogre. Wily “walked straight up to the mold-ogre and kicked one of its big hairy toes.” Wily discovers that the mold-ogre is not real.
  • When an elf tries to keep Wily and his friend Valor prisoners, “Valor seized the opportunity to give the haggard elf a kick to the stomach, sending her tumbling backward.” The two are able to escape.
  • While in the underground tunnels, Wily and his friend are attacked by “ants the size of wolves. . . They snapped their pincers as their antennae waved wildly in the air.” When Wily tries to escape, “the first group of ants skittered toward Wily, attempting to bite his legs and waist. Balor came to his defense, slicking the air with her wooden hand claws. Her right-hand blade slicked off the antennae of three of the ambush ants. With her other hand, she punched the head of a snapping ant.” When Valor smacks another ant, the “ants bit down on Valor’s ankle, breaking the skin. Wily grabbed a hammer from his tool belt and smashed the ant attacking Valor on the side of the head. The ant crumpled as another took its place.” Wily’s others companions find them and help defeat the ants. The ant battle is described over four pages.
  • In a battle against good and evil, two golems attack. Before they could hit anyone, “the lair beast swung its spiked tail in a wide arc. The ball at the end hit the quartz-gingered golem in the chest, sending chips of stone flying as he was knocked off his feet.” During the battle, a giant Infernal Golem appears. The lair beast “flapped toward the sun before diving, heading straight for the Infernal Golem. . . The Infernal Golem grabbed the lair beast by the tail, plucking it out of the air. Then, with what seemed like no little effort at all, he tossed the mighty lair beast back into the sky. . .” The golems are defeated when they sink in the mud, but no one else is injured. The battle is described over ten pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Someone calls a person an idiot.
  • Darn is used once.

Supernatural

  • A knight has an enchanted floating arm that helps him in battle.
  • People can create golems out of stone or earth and bring them alive by magic.
  • The group passes the Archway of Many Eyes; the archway has eyes that send an alert when it sees someone.
  • Someone cast a spell to make oglodyte minions look like children.
  • A levitating skull tells jokes.
  • Wily and his companions go to see the Oracle of Oak, who uses acorns to predict the future. When Wily asks her questions, she “swept her hand around a bowl of acorns, stirring them as if cooling a bowl of soup. She stared at the patterns that were forming.” The oracle makes predictions based on the patterns.
  • When inside a mountain, Wily sees a cavern mage who “lifted her frail hands and pointed at the mouth of the tunnel. Suddenly, a pair of giant spectral hands formed. They grabbed the rock walls and pulled them wider as easily as if the walls were made out of clay, adding several feet on either side.”
  • Someone cast a spell that makes a cave cricket grow until it was so big a man could ride it.

Spiritual Content

  • None
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