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The Witch Who Was Afraid of Witches

Wendy’s sisters can fly fast, cackle loudly, and cast spells. Wendy can’t do all of those things and when Wendy loses her broomstick, she can’t even fly.

On Halloween, Wendy’s sisters fly into the night, planning on scaring people. They leave Wendy home in a dark house. When a lone tricker treater shows up dressed as a ghost, he asks Wendy to join him. Wendy and her new friend Roger go to his house to get Wendy a new broomstick. With the encouragement of Roger, Wendy is able to fly and cast spells. With Wendy’s newfound confidence, Wendy and Roger fly into the night.

After a fun Halloween, Wendy decides to teach her mean older sisters a lesson. She casts a spell so her two sisters can’t fly, and the sisters have to walk home. Wendy and her sisters learn that Wendy is a very good witch, even if she isn’t exactly like her sisters.

The Witch Who Was Afraid of Witches is a fun Halloween story that readers will enjoy. Wendy is a friendly, relatable character who lacks self-confidence. With the help of Roger, Wendy learns that she doesn’t have to be like her sisters in order to be a good witch. Wendy changes Roger’s Halloween costume so he looks like a witch and the two friends have a fun Halloween. Wendy’s spells are silly and fun to read aloud.

The book’s illustrations use fall colors with pops of orange and purple. Even though Wendy and her sisters are witches with green skin, they are not frightening to look at. Readers will giggle as both Roger and his mother try to ride Wendy’s broomstick.  Most pages have a large illustration and oversized text. The Witch Who Was Afraid of Witches has five short chapters with short paragraphs, which make the story the perfect bridge to chapter books.

The high-interest topic, fun illustrations, and easy-to-read format make The Witch Who Was Afraid of Witches a wonderful Halloween story. Many readers will relate to Wendy, who just wants her sisters to be nicer to her. In the end, Wendy learns that she does not need to have a frightening voice or a broom made of sassafras in order to be a good witch. More importantly, Wendy learns to accept her differences and becomes self-confident.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Dang is said once.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Wendy says a spell, “Frogs and lizards / Toads and newts / Buttons, raincoats / Hiking boots. Turn this ghost / Into a witch. / Presto, change-o / Make a switch.” The spell changes her friend’s robe from white to black.
  • To make a pointy hat for her friend, Wendy says, “Stew and brew / And cat and bat. / Give this witch / a pointed hat.”
  • To reverse both spells, Wendy says, “Broiled figs / And toasted toast. / Turn this witch / Back to a ghost.”
  • Wendy’s sisters stay out too late, and Wendy wants them to learn a lesson so she makes a spell. “Snakes and cakes / And pumpkin pie. / Oldest sister / You can’t fly. / Salt and pepper, / Bouncing ball. / Middle sister / You will fall.” Later, her sisters come home limping because they had to walk home.
  • Wendy reverses the spell so her sisters can fly again. “Oldest sister / You can fly. / All you have to do / is try. / Middle sister / Flying’s fun. / The spell I made / is now undone.”

 

 

The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes

Nine-year-old Beatrice Bottomwell has NEVER (not once!) made a mistake. She never forgets her math homework, she never wears mismatched socks, and she ALWAYS wins the yearly talent show at school. In fact, the entire town calls her “The Girl Who Never Makes Mistakes!” One day, the inevitable happens: Beatrice makes a huge mistake in front of everyone. But in the end, readers (and perfectionists) will realize that life is more fun when you enjoy everything—even the mistakes.

Most readers will relate to Beatrice, who wants to do everything perfectly and is afraid of making mistakes. When Beatrice almost makes a mistake, she begins worrying that she will mess up, and her worry makes her terribly unhappy. The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes illustrates that everyone makes mistakes, and sometimes mistakes can lead to fun. However, when Beatrice finally makes a mistake, she laughs at herself, which causes others to laugh with her. Parents may want to take the opportunity to discuss when it is and isn’t appropriate to laugh when others make mistakes.

Even though The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes is a picture book, the story is intended to be read aloud to a child, rather than for a child to read it for the first time independently. Most pages contain 1-6 sentences and some of the sentences are complex. The full-page illustrations add humor to the story. Some of the pages have paneled pictures that resemble comics. Throughout the story, the illustrations show Beatrice’s facial expressions, which allows readers to see her varying emotions.

In a world where children are often pressured to do well, The Girl Who Never Made Mistakes reminds readers that mistakes are a part of life. Beatrice’s “mistakes” are wearing mismatched socks, making a messy peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and falling when ice skating. Beatrice’s mistakes are simple and do not lead to any major problems; nevertheless, the story makes a good starting point for parents and children to have a conversation about how it feels to make a mistake.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

A Court of Wings and Ruin

In this thrilling third installment of the A Court of Thorns and Roses series, Feyre has infiltrated the spring court and must play a deadly game to gather information on Tamlin’s movements and learn how to defeat the King of Hyburn. After a failed attack on Hyburn, Feyre was forced to return to the spring court with Tamlin. What Tamlin did not know was that he was bringing back the Queen of the night court. Now Feyre is on a mission to take down Tamlin and his court from the inside. She is determined to save her mate, her sisters, and her court.

As Feyre spies on Tamlin, she is also scheming to turn the court against him. When Feyre learns of the King’s true plans for the war, she knows she must get back to the night court to warn her family before it is too late. As war approaches, Feyre must navigate the politics of the high lords and learn who can be trusted. Will Feyre be able to stop the King’s plans before it’s too late? Can she maneuver the high lords and win this war against Hyburn? The harrowing saga continues as Feyre gets closer to the truth, figures out how to use her own powers to stop the King of Hyburn, and saves both the human and faerie worlds.

Feyre has mastered her powers and proves to be a strong leading lady throughout the novel. The story focuses more on Feyre and her sisters and how their relationship heals and evolves. The motif of sister relationships is important, as it portrays the family working through their problems to become even closer and stronger. A Court of Wings and Ruin shows the evolving friendships and details how the characters learn to work with different courts to defeat the King together. The characters are funny, witty, and are what keep readers coming back for more.

Prythian is set in a magical world, but this fantasy brings the reader into a different world filled with imagination and excitement. This novel has a great representation of strong female characters and healthy friendships and relationships. This series is at times funny, romantic, sad, and exciting, so it has something for every reader.

A Court of Wings and Ruin will leave fans satisfied because it does not leave any loose ends. It brings the suspense to a peak as the war that has been brewing begins. The war shows both the politics behind it and the battles themselves, but these repetitive scenes can become tiresome. Despite this, every scene adds meaning to the story. The complicated plot brings in new characters and shows brutal fighting. In this third installment of Sarah J. Maas’s series, the characters delve into war, heartbreak, love, and friendship to save the world together.

Sexual Content

  • Feyre and Rhys are reunited after months of being apart and have an intimate moment that lasts for about three pages. Feyre’s “hands shot into his [Rhys’s] hair, pulling him closer as I answered each of his searching kisses with my own, unable to get enough, unable to touch and feel enough of him. Skin to skin, Rhys nudged me towards the bed, his hands kneading my rear as I ran my own over the velvet softness of him, over every hard plane and ripple.”
  • Feyre and Rhys have a flirty moment together. “His hand began a lethal, taunting exploration up my thigh, his fingers grazing along the sensitive inside. Rhys leaned in again, kissing my neck – that place right under my ear – and then he was gone.”

 Violence

  • Rhys has a flashback to the first war when he had to check the corpses to make sure they were not his friends. “A half-shredded Illyrian wing jutted out from a cluster of High Fae corpses, as if it had taken all six of them to bring the warrior down. My aching, bloodied fingers dug into dented armor and clammy, stiff flesh as I heaved away the last of the High Fae corpses piled atop the fallen Illyrian soldier.”
  • While in the forest, Feyre finds “what was left of three bodies, their shredded pale robes like fallen ashes through the small clearing.” They were killed by two of Highburn’s soldiers. Their murder was not described.
  • Feyre and Tamlin get into a fight and his power “explodes” with his anger. “Furniture splintered and went flying, windows cracked and shattered. The worktable slammed into me [Feyre] throwing me against the bookshelf, and every place where flesh and bone met wood ached.”
  • Tamlin whips one of his soldiers for “losing the keys” to the gatehouse. “As he [Tamlin] drew back the whip, the thunderous crack as it cleaved the air snapped through the barracks, the estate.”
  • Feyre finds Ianthe, the high priestess, harassing Lucien and uses her mind control powers to make Ianthe smash her own hand with a rock. “Ianthe brought the stone up. The first impact was a muffled, wet thud. The second was an actual crack. The third drew blood.”
  • In order to escape, Feyre and Lucien fight off two soldiers, Dragdan and Brannagh. Lucien kills Brannagh as “a tremor shuddered through the clearing—like some thread between the twins had been snipped as Brannagh’s dark head thudded onto the grass.” Feyre ends up killing Dragdan with a knife that she “punched into his eye, right into the skull behind it.” This fight lasts for two pages.
  • Feyre and Lucien flee to the autumn court where they are attacked by three of Lucien’s brothers. One of his brothers, Eris, backhands Feyre “so hard her teeth went through her lip.” “He struck again before I could even fall, a punch to my gut that ripped the air from my lungs. Beyond me, Lucien had unleashed himself upon his two brothers.” The fight continues for three pages.
  • Rhys tells the story of one of his priestesses, Clotho, who was attacked by a group of males. “They cut out Clotho’s tongue so she couldn’t tell anyone who had hurt her. And smashed her hands so she couldn’t write it.”
  • Feyre and a friend fight off some Hyburn soldiers by “tearing through them with a sizzling wall of fire” and “beheading them as they come near.” This fight scene is described over a chapter.
  • There is a battle scene that Feyre describes as a “blood drenched mud pit” where soldiers were being “taken down with steel.” This battle lasts for one chapter.
  • The King of Hyburn tortures Cassian in front of Feyre and her sisters. “The King brought his foot down on one of Cassian’s wings and he screamed.” The King was stopped by Feyre’s sister, who kills the King by “ramming her sword to the hilt through the back of the King’s neck.”

 Drugs and Alcohol   

  • At a dinner meeting, someone says, “I think we’re going to need a lot more wine.”

 Language

  • Profanity is used occasionally. Profanity includes: damn, bitch, and hell.
  • While fighting, someone calls Feyre a “little bitch.”

 Supernatural

  • Feyre’s food is drugged with faebane that was “grown and tended in the King’s personal garden.” Faebane makes Feyre’s powers useless.
  • Feyre fights off Lucien’s brother, Eris, with “a wall of fire.”
  • Feyre removes her glamour to reveal “smooth skin that had been adorned with swirls and whorls of ink. The markings of a new title—and my mating bond. I [Feyre] was High Lady of the night court.”
  • Feyre visits the Bone Carver, a powerful magical creature, to see if he will help them in the war. He asks her to bring him the Ouroboros, a magical mirror. The Bone Carver says, “that is my price and I’m yours to wield.”
  • Feyre goes into Lucien’s mind to hear his thoughts. Feyre thinks, “Perhaps it made me the lowest sort of wretch, but I cast my mind toward them, toward him [Lucien]. And then I was in his body, in his head.”
  • Amren tells the story of what alien creature she used to be and how she confined herself to her human body. Amren says, “I was a soldier-assassin for a wrathful god who ruled a young world. I did not feel how you do. How I do now. Some things—loyalty and wrath and curiosity—but not the full spectrum. I had to give something up. I had to give me up. To walk out, I had to become something else entirely, so I bound myself into this body.”
  • Feyre asks for help from a supernatural creature. She never sees the creature but describes it as having “a voice both young and old, hideous and beautiful. I could feel no body heat, detect no physical presence but I felt it behind me.”
  • One of the characters is a seer who begins getting visions of the future. However, she doesn’t understand the visions.
  • A character has “an unearthly power” that allows her to “blast the trees into cinders.”
  • There is a cauldron that creates Fae life that Feyre must destroy to end the war. When she touches the cauldron, it becomes a “living bond” between them and attempts to take her life. Feyre “could not move [her] hand. I could not peel my fingers away. I was being shredded apart slowly.”
  • Amren uses Feyre to do an “unbinding spell on her to unleash the alien creature she used to be and end the battle.”

Spiritual Content

  • Ianthe, a high priestess, leads a solstice ceremony where the sunrise is supposed to “bless her and the land.” “During the ceremony, Ianthe’s back arched, her body a mere vessel for the solstice’s light to fill, and what I could see of her face was already lined in pious ecstasy. The crowd began to murmur, not at Ianthe, but at me [Feyre]… resplendent and pure in white, beginning to glow with the light of day as the sun’s path flowed directly over me instead.”

by Adeline Garren

The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had

Dit is looking forward to the new postmaster’s arrival. Dit was told that the new postmaster would have a son his age. But when the postmaster and his family arrive, everyone is surprised that he’s black. Dit is also upset that the postmaster has a daughter, not a son. Dit has no desire to be friends with Emma, a well-educated girl.

Dit’s mother has a rule. “We didn’t have to like anyone, but we had to be nice to everyone.” Dit’s mother orders him to show Emma around. At first, Dit doesn’t like Emma. She doesn’t play baseball, fish, or climb. She’s smart and talks properly. But Emma is also the first person to ever listen to Dit, and in a house with ten children, that’s important.

Emma forces Dit to think about the difference between the colored kids and the white kids. Then when the town barber, Doc Hadley, is accused of murder and sentenced to be hanged, Dit is faced with an ugly truth. A white man’s word will always be believed, even if it is not true. Dit and Emma know Doc Hadley doesn’t deserve to be punished, so they come up with a daring plan to save Doc from the unthinkable. But if they are caught, the consequences could be disastrous.

Set in 1917 in Moundville, Alabama, and inspired by the author’s family history, The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had takes a look at race relations. The story is told through Dit’s perspective, which allows the reader to see Dit’s personal growth as he comes to understand the inequalities between blacks and whites. Because of Dit’s growing friendship with Emma, he is targeted by bullying. Soon, Dit is faced with a terrible decision—doing what is right or closing his eyes to injustice.

While the story is full of interesting characters, Dit is the only character who is well-developed. Even though the friendship between Dit and Emma is wonderful, a hint of romance at the end is far-fetched. Much like To Kill A Mockingbird, a man is unjustly sentenced to hang. However, this subplot was not fully explored, limiting the emotional impact of the story. Even though Dit is a compelling narrator, the story has several scenes that do nothing to advance the plot but instead make the story drag.

The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had explores the time period between the end of slavery and the beginning of the civil rights movement. The main lesson that readers will take away is, “Some things are worth fighting for. . . You want to do something for this town? Next time you see an injustice, take a stand. It’s worth the risk.”

This coming-of-age journey allows readers to learn positive lessons about social justice, making mistakes, and friendship. While many of the events in the story are predictable, teens will enjoy the surprising conclusion. Unlike Levine’s book The Lions of Little Rock, The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had doesn’t have much of an emotional impact. The Best Bad Luck I Ever Had imparts important life lessons, but the slow pacing will make it hard for some readers to stay engaged. Readers who want to explore racial relations during the 1900s should read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. I’m Not Dying with You Tonight by Kimberly Jones & Gilly Segal also explores racial inequality, and how it still exists today.

Sexual Content

  • Several times, Dit’s friends tease him about kissing Emma. For example, when they see him talking to her, “Chip snickered and made kissing sounds.”
  • Dit tells his friends that he hasn’t seen Emma. Chip replies, “Course you ain’t. ‘Cause you got your eyes closed when you’re kissing her.”
  • A black boy’s grandfather was white. The boy explains, “My grandpa was a white man, a big plantation owner. Took my grandma out in the woods and nine months later she had my pa.”
  • Dit and Emma hear noises in the barn. “It sounded like two people, whispering and laughing. . . there, sitting on a bale of hay, was my oldest sister, Della. And she was kissing Mr. Fulton’s oldest boy.”
  • Emma tells Dit, “You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.” Then she kisses him on the cheek. Later, Dit kisses her on the cheek. They kiss on the cheek three times in total.
  • Emma and her parents are moving. As Emma and Dit say goodbye, he asks her, “Can I kiss you goodbye?” After getting permission, Dit kissed her “right on the lips and everything. I probably should say it was gross or something. But it was actually kind of nice.”
  • The town has a different cemetery for “fallen women.”
  • Dit asks his dad, “Are you ever gonna give me the talk?” His father replies, “The part about girls, it’s just too embarrassing. Ask Raymond.”

Violence

  • Dit uses a flip-it to kill a bird. “The bird was stretching out its neck for another ant. When the rock hit it, the yellowhammer fell to the ground.” Dit feeds the bird to a caged eagle.
  • Dit shoots a buzzard out of the sky. “The bird jumped up and let out a terrible scream.”
  • When someone calls Dit a “nigger lover,” Dit “slugged him. Hit him right in the nose. He staggered but didn’t fall over, so I punched him in the stomach.” Several kids break up the fight.
  • In the past, the sheriff killed a man “in a bar fight. Claimed it was an accident, but everyone knew it wasn’t.”
  • A woman paid Dit to throw a bag of kittens into the river. Dit “closed my eyes and with a deep breath hurled the sack up over my head and into the water. Took off running before I even heard the splash.” Later, Dit and Emma go to the river and find the sack with the kittens still alive.
  • Someone tells Dit about a man who died and that “He lay perfectly still with his eyes wide open.”
  • Emma’s mother tells her, “Your great-grandmother used to get up before sunrise and work in the fields all day without a rest. If she didn’t work fast enough, she was whipped until the blood ran down her back.”
  • Two of Dit’s friends lock him in a prison cell. They want him to “admit you love that nigger girl.” When they let Dit out of the cell, his “fist hit Chip square in the jaw. He fell to the ground.”
  • Someone makes a reference to “the poor Negro who was lynched in Jefferson County last month.”
  • When Emma was practicing for the school play, Big Foot comes into the schoolhouse to kick her out. He tells her to leave. When she doesn’t he “picked up Emma and threw her over his shoulder like I’d seen my pa do with a sack of potatoes. . .” A black man named Doc tells Big Foot to put Emma down. “Big Foot dropped her then. Just let go of Emma’s feet and she slid right down his back. Her head made a loud thwack as it hit the floor. . . Blood was pouring out of a gash on her forehead.” Emma’s wound needs stitches.
  • When Doc stands up to Big Foot, “Big Foot punched him in the jaw. Doc staggered but remained upright. Big Foot slugged him again. Doc fell to the ground this time. Blood flowed from his lip to his chin. . . Big Foot charged Doc Hadley then, ran at him like a crazed bull. . . We could hear punches being thrown and then there was a crack of something like a broken bone.” Doc Hadley is knocked unconscious and has several wounds. The scene is described over three pages.
  • Later, Doc Hadley’s wounds are described. “Doc Hadley was hurt bad. His left arm was broken; he had two black eyes, a split lip, a twisted ankle, a couple of bruised ribs and a lump on his head the size of an old twine baseball.”
  • Big Foot goes into Doc Hadley’s barbershop.” Big Foot “punched him in the stomach. Doc doubled over in pain and Big Foot hit him again, knocking him to the ground.” Both men pull a gun. Big Foot yells, “Get up off the floor so I can shoot you like a man!”
  • Big Foot shoots his gun. “Big Foot approached the barber chair, his boots crunching on broken glass. He was too close to miss now, and his finger was on the trigger. Doc aimed for Big Foot’s leg, but the sheriff spun the chair around, hitting Doc’s arm. Both pistols went off at once. The sheriff gasped and fell to the ground, twitching wildly.” Big Foot dies. The scene is described over three pages.
  • Big Foot’s mother talks about the past. “But he was always a violent boy. Got in fights at school, tortured stray dogs around town. . . He only got worse as he got older, drinking and brawling in bars. Then there was that man in Selma. I knew it wasn’t no accident.”
  • Dit and Emma come up with a plan to free Doc Hadley from jail. In order to get blood for their plan, Dit catches a rabbit. “It quivered in fear, its dark eyes huge in the candlelight. . . .With a snap, I broke the rabbit’s neck. It twitched for a moment, then hung limp as an old hat, warm in my hands.” Dit feels guilty about killing the rabbit.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • After Big Foot beats up Doc Hadley, “Big Foot didn’t leave his front porch for that whole week, just sat there and drank beer.”
  • An old man walks around town. He thinks he is sleepwalking. He tells Dit, “My daughter warned me about drinking a whole bottle of whiskey in one sitting.”

Language

  • When a new postmaster and his family move to town, they are referred to as “niggers” ten times. For example, someone says, “Only one school around here for a nigger. And if you ask me, that’s one too many.”
  • Someone tells Dit, “I think it’s terrible that a nice boy like you runs around with a nigger.”
  • Several times, someone calls Dit a “nigger lover.”
  • When a plane lands in a field, someone exclaims, “Jesus, Joseph and General Lee.”
  • When assigning parts for the school play, the teacher asks a boy to be the ringmaster. The boy refuses because “I don’t want to be no Chinaman with slitty eyes!”
  • A boy calls Emma an egghead.
  • Attempting to stop a fight, Emma throws hot grease on Big Foot. He yells, “Goddamn it!”
  • When the mayor discovers that someone killed himself, he says, “Oh my God!”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Dit and Emma find an old pottery bowl with a drawing on it. Someone tells them, “This bowl was used by the Indians. When someone died, they filled it with water and placed it in the fire so their loved ones would not go thirsty on their journey to the underworld. The hand and the eye stand for the God who made everything and the God who sees everything.”
  • When a man tells Dit about his dead wife, Dit’s “lips moved briefly in a silent prayer.” Later the man tells Dit that he was, “angry at God for taking her away.”
  • After Dit throws a sack of kittens into a river, he feels guilty and goes to church. Dit “folded my hands in prayer and tried not to think about the kittens.” During the service, the reverend says, “Our sermon today is entitled ‘How Long Will Hell Last.’ Those who have been unjust and have inflicted suffering on those smaller and weaker than themselves will burn in hell. . . Those who harm innocent creatures will suffer in hell as surely as those who’ve broken all Ten Commandments.”
  • When Dit and Emma find the kittens alive, Dit thinks, “God had worked a miracle in exchange for my dime.”
  • Dit goes to church on Christmas Eve. He listens to a sermon about “the Star of Bethlehem and how amazed the shepherds had been when they had seen it.” Dit tries to pay attention because he “didn’t want to accidentally end up going to hell.”
  • While driving, a car spins out of control. Dit, “started praying, but the only prayer that came to mind was Jesus, Joseph and General Lee.”
  • Doc Hadley’s son wants to see his father’s body. Someone tells him, “Your daddy’s moved on to a better place.” Someone else asks, “He was a suicide. Don’t they go to hell?”

I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001

The only thing Lucas loves more than football is his dad’s friend Benny, a firefighter and former football star. He taught Lucas the game and helped him practice. So, when Lucas’s parents decide football is too dangerous and he needs to quit, Lucas has to talk to his biggest fan.

On a whim, Lucas takes the train to the city instead of the bus to school. It’s a bright, beautiful day in New York. Just as Lucas arrives at the fire house, everything changes…and nothing will ever be the same again.

Lucas’s story will capture readers’ attention because it begins by focusing on Lucas’s love of football. At first, Lucas is devastated that his parents want him to quit football, as he has had three concussions in two years. Like many preteens, Lucas is impulsive and doesn’t think through his plan to skip school and go into New York to talk to Benny. However, as Lucas witnesses the attacks of September 11, he realizes that football is not the most important thing in life. At first, Lucas was worried that he would lose the friendship of his football friends. However, he realizes that his football friends still have his back, even if he isn’t on the field.

The blending of football and the attacks on the Twin Towers is a little awkward at first. However, the mix of the two topics allows Tarshis to highlight the importance of family, friends, and supporting each other through many situations. Even though the story gives details about the attacks of September 11, the events are described in a kid-friendly manner. The story does not go into vivid details, but it allows younger readers to get a glimpse into the tragedy of September 11. The end of the book has a timeline of the events of September 11 as well as questions and answers about the tragic day.

I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001 answers the broad questions about the day’s events without giving readers a graphic image of the death and destruction. Readers who are curious about the attacks will see the events through Lucas’s eyes and understand his fear and worry. Not only will readers learn facts about the attack, but they will also learn the dangers of concussions and the importance of friendships.

The story is accessible to all readers because Tarshis uses short paragraphs and simple sentences. Realistic black and white illustrations are scattered throughout the story and help bring the story alive. I Survived the Attacks of September 11, 2001 uses suspense and a simple plot that will answer readers’ questions about the attacks on the Twin Towers. Although the story doesn’t go into detail, the story is a good starting point for curious readers.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Lucas is near the Twin Towers when the first plane hits the Twin Towers. “There was a thundering explosion. People all around Lucas screamed. And then the bright blue sky filled with black smoke and fire.”
  • When the plane hit the tower, “black, fiery smoke gushed out of a huge gash in the building’s side, billowing into the sky. Lucas turned away. He couldn’t look anymore.”
  • A news reporter says, “We have just witnessed the horrific sight of a second plane hitting the other tower—the South Tower… There was a massive explosion.”
  • Lucas and his father were fleeing to safety when one of the towers collapsed. “There was the sound of shattering glass and a powerful blast of hot wind. Minutes passed. Lucas squeezed his eyes shut and covered his ears. His mouth and nose filled with gritty dust. It was hard to breathe.”

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Lucas watches the news on TV. The man on TV says, “Oh, my God! What was that? Another explosion!”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • When the firefighters began returning to the station, Lucas kept praying that Uncle Benny would be alright.

A Long Way from Home

It’s bedtime in the burrow, and as usual, Noah is squished and squashed by sleepy rabbits. So out into the night he goes. Outside Noah meets his friend Albatross, who flies him to the land of the North Star, where sky and snow go on forever. When Noah falls from Albatross’s back, he’s not worried.

At first Noah loves being the only rabbit as he explores the snowy world. There’s no one to squish or squash him. But when Noah snuggles up in an icy nest, he missing the cozy nest full of snuggly siblings. Noah wants to go home, but without wings how will he make it home? Will ever find Albatross?

The beautiful illustrations begin by showing Noah’s cramped bunny den. Noah is being squeezed by his favorite sister, Ella. But Noah doesn’t want to be held like a teddy bear. As the story progresses, the animals’ expressions convey emotions. Noah visits a beautiful winter wonderland filled with blues and whites. The fanciful illustrations are lovely and young readers will want to look at them again and again.

Even though A Long Way Home is a picture book, the story intended to be read aloud to a child, rather than for the child to read it for the first time independently. Each page has 2-6 lines of text and some of the sentences are complex. However, the easy-to-read story’s topic makes A Long Way Home a good bedtime story.

Children will relate to Noah’s story. Even though adults will find A Long Way Home predictable, younger readers will love Noah’s adventure in the snow and understand the theme. Noah learns to appreciate his family despite being squished and squashed. Parents can use Noah’s story to discuss different habitats, Noah’s personal growth, as well as the importance of appreciating what you have. A Long Way Home uses a winter landscape to create a warm story that highlights the joy of family.

 Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Case of the Phantom Cat

In book three of Holly Webb’s The Mysteries of Maisie Hitchins, twelve-year-old Maisie and her dog, Eddie, are invited to join Maisie’s friend, Alice, on a trip to the country. But there’s something strange about the manor where they’re staying. Odd noises, horrid smells, and spectral sightings abound. Alice is terrified, but Maisie is skeptical. She doesn’t really believe in ghosts. Does she? There must be another explanation for the odd happenings, and Maisie plans to use her detecting skills to find out just what it is!

Maisie and Alice are friends despite being from different social classes. While Alice goes to French lessons, Maisie is dusting, cleaning, and running errands. The story hints that Maisie isn’t a proper friend for Alice because of their social class. Readers may wonder why the governess, Mrs. Sidebothan is rude to Maisie and expects her to help the servants clean. Mrs. Sidebothan is snooty and lazy which allows the girls to make fun of her. For example, Maisie “comforted herself that at least she didn’t have a name that sounded exactly like Side Bottom. And the bottom to match.”

The mystery revolves around strange noises, a bad smell, and a ghost-like cat. The story is spooky without being scary and the girls show bravery when they investigate the strange happenings. In the end, Maisie is able to discover a plausible reason for each thing that was attributed to ghosts. Readers will enjoy seeing Maisie and Alice band together to solve the mystery.

Even though the mystery is solved in a satisfactory way, The Case of the Phantom Cat has an abrupt ending that leaves the readers with plenty of questions. Despite this, readers will enjoy exploring a strange house with secret passages and how Maisie’s dog, Eddie, helps solve the mystery. While the content is appropriate for younger readers, they may need help with the difficult vocabulary. The characters use words and phrases that fit with the old-fashioned time period, such as guts for garters, insolent, hogwash, and stickler.

The story ends with reading comprehension questions as well as information about the time period, such as explaining how Calves’-foot jelly is made. Even though The Case of the Phantom Cat is the third book in the series, the books do not need to be read in order. Readers who want a little ghostly fun will enjoy The Case of the Phantom Cat. With eight short chapters and cute black and white illustrations, The Case of the Phantom Cat gives readers a chance to see if they can piece together the mystery’s clues themselves.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Alice says “oh drat” once.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Heart of Iron

Twenty years ago, when a deadly plague was sweeping its way through the Iron Kingdom, salvation came in the form of androids, known as Metals, created by Lord Rasovant to care for the sick without risk of infection. Seven years ago, the once benevolent Metals turned against the kingdom, attacking the royal family as they slept in the North Tower of the palace. Ever since, Metals have been something to be feared and controlled.

But seventeen-year-old Ana isn’t afraid of most things. As the adopted daughter of notorious outlaw, Captain Siege, she’s been raised to be a fighter. In fact, her best friend, D09 or Di for short, is one of the few remaining Metals in the Iron Kingdom. But Di’s memory core is glitching, and Ana believes the key to saving him lies on the Tsarina, a legendary spaceship lost to time that once belonged to the creator of the Metals. Ana would do nearly anything to save Di, including kidnap a member of the Ironblood nobility.

Robb Valerio has never believed that his father burned in the North Tower alongside the royal family. He believes that his father escaped on board the Tsarina, and he’s finally managed to secure coordinates that seem to point towards the lost ship. When Ana, Di, and their annoyingly handsome Solani friend Jax, kidnap him, Robb finds himself having to cooperate with criminals to get the information he’s desperately seeking. But the Tsarina holds more secrets than any of them anticipated, and as the past comes back to haunt them, it appears that Di and Ana might be the key to discovering what really happened in the North Tower all those years ago.

Ashley Poston’s Heart of Iron is an exciting Space Opera-esque story, loosely inspired by Fox Animation Studios’ Anastasia. It’s sci-fi geared more toward fairy tale fans than the truly scientifically minded. Poston takes classic fairy tale tropes—a lost princess, star-crossed lovers, an ancient evil threatening the kingdom—and mixes them with thrilling sci-fi elements like spaceships and androids. The resulting world-building isn’t the most unique, but it works as a backdrop for several plot twists and turns. The story relies heavily on the characters and their relationships, adding a layer of complexity to an otherwise standard plot.

Heart of Iron doesn’t focus on just one point of view. Instead, all four characters tell their own version of the story, which makes each of them compelling and intriguing in their own way. Stubborn fighter, Ana, will go to any lengths to save the people she loves but finds herself questioning everything when she learns the truth about her past. Charming Robb, who grew up fighting for his own interests among ruthless royalty, finds unexpected friendship among outlaws. Jax, a Solani with the ability to see into the future, struggles to come to terms with the idea of destiny. And then there’s Di, an Android grappling with what it means to love and be human. As their world is changing quickly around them, they must work together to survive.

Readers who are familiar with Poston’s previous work might expect Heart of Iron to have more in common with Starfield, the fictional space-opera TV show from the Once Upon a Con series, than the geek-tinged contemporary stories she’s primarily known for. Heart of Iron may be set in a sci-fi world filled with space-ship battles and evil androids, but the characters have all of the heart and humor one may come to expect from an Ashley Poston book. The ever-changing complexity of the relationships is what makes the book really shine.  At its heart, it’s a story about learning how to love and be loved.

Sexual Content

  • Ann is leaving to infiltrate an Ironblood party. Before she leaves, Ana kisses Di. “She pressed her lips, briefly, against his metal mouth.”
  • When Jax and Robb are reunited on the wreck of the Tsarina, they share a kiss. “Robb’s mouth was hungry and desperate, tasting like honey and salt and surprise. Jax’s skin buzzed at their nearness, and he wanted to sink into the kiss and rebel, to be closer and a thousand light years away.”
  • Ana jokingly asks Robb if there will be “drunken orgies” at the upcoming ball.
  • When Ana and Di are reunited, she kisses him. “Ana pressed her lips against his. They were warm and soft. It was like the kiss from Astoria, a second, a moment, a breath—”
  • Ana tries to apologize for kissing Di without asking first, but he pulls her in for a second kiss. Di “wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her into another kiss, and she melted into him, pressing as close as she could, and still he wanted to be closer. Her fingers threading into his hair, his around her waist, moving exploring . . . His tongue tried the contour of her lips, memorizing her taste, her motion, her method. The kiss lit a million sins in between his zeroes and ones, and made him infinite.”

Violence

  • Di has several dents on his body from different scrapes he’s gotten. Ana “felt bad for a particular ding on his forehead, but she had apologized a thousand times for accidentally running him over with a skysailer.”
  • Ana and Di are tracking a weapons dealer who is attacked by a group of androids known as Messiers. Ana tosses a grenade as a distraction. “Giving it a good luck kiss, she lobbed the flash grenade high into the air. It arced across the domed ceiling—and exploded in a dazzling blast of solar white.” It’s implied that only the Messiers are injured in the blast.
  • Robb tries to run away with the chip, but Di and Ana stop him. They get into a skirmish. “With a cry [Robb] reached for his sword—the girl tackled him from behind and slammed both him and the Metal into the door. It gave a groan and swung outward onto a staircase and into the grimy alleyway. He grappled for the railing, trying to catch his footing, but his ankle bent. He tumbled down the steps, striking his head against the cement.”
  • Di and Ana run into some security Messiers. Di pulls the memory core out of one of them. Di “punched his hand into the weakest part of the Messier’s torso and ripped a small glowing square out of its body. Strings of optical wires came with it, stretching like sinew. With one final tug, the wires popped away. The Messier’s eyes flickered out, and it dropped onto the docks.”
  • The waitstaff at the Valerio garden party is wearing Vox collars that would send “a thousand volts of electricity straight to the neck” if they made a noise.
  • Robb implies that the last boy he was in a relationship with committed suicide by jumping out a window. “Robb had tried to talk him out of the window, laying their entire relationship bare to all the nosy, shitty people who watched from below. How words didn’t matter.”
  • The Grand Duchess explains how the royal family died at the hands of Metals. “On the eve of the nine hundred and ninety-third anniversary of the Goddess, Metals laid siege to the Iron Palace and burned the North Tower where my family slept, destroying the heart of our kingdom.” The actual deaths aren’t described in great detail.
  • At a party, Ana and Robb get into a fight. “Around them, Ironbloods applauded over the sound of their scuffle. Trumpets sounded as the Grand Duchess departed, so no one heard Ana slam her fist into his face.”
  • Robb’s brother tries to stop Ana from escaping. He grabs her and “the girl slammed the back of her head into [Robb’s] brother’s face. Erik gave a cry and she twisted her wrist out of his grip. Blood poured from his nose and onto his crimson evening coat.”
  • Messiers corner Robb and Ana as they’re escaping a party, and demand they return the chip with the coordinates. Robb defends himself and Ana with his lightsword. “Reaching back, he pulled out his lightsword and slammed the superheated blade into the middle guard, carving a line down its front like it was soft butter.” The description of the fight lasts about a page.
  • As they escape, the royal guards shoot their skysailer out of the air, and Robb is caught in the fire. “He became distinctly aware of the pain in his side. Why did it hurt to breathe? He looked down. Blood stained the side of his favorite evening coat.”
  • As they get off the planet, the royal guard shoots missiles at the ship that Ana and Di live on, the Dossier “The white-hot missile spiraled closer. [Jax] spilled the sails and drew them back into the sides of the ship, banking the ship left as hard as he could. The missile screamed past them like a streak of white and exploded.”
  • Ana describes Talle, Captain Siege’s wife, as having “hands so steady she could slit a throat clean while navigating the skyways of Nevaeh”
  • Jax catches Robb trying to escape the Dossier and they get into a brief fight. “Robb jumped away, spinning [the lightsword] behind his back to his other hand and sliced at [Jax]. The sword flashed through the air like a bolt of lightning. Jax cursed—nothing around to block the blade—and raised his arm. Jax saw Robb’s lips parting in surprise a moment before the blade slammed into Jax’s forearm. The lightsword bounced off like steel on stone.” The description of the fight lasts about two pages.
  • Di and Ana sneak onto the Tsarina and are attacked by a Metal. “Di dodged as the Metal’s fist sailed past his cheek and sank into the wall. He planted his hand on the side of the Metal’s head and spun it under his arm into a headlock. The Metal didn’t even have a chance to parley before Di gripped it by its jaw and ripped its head clean off.” The fight is described over three pages and Ana sustains minor injuries.
  • Robb watches Captain Siege kill a member of her own crew. “A bullet pierced Berger’s chest. A flower of blood bloomed on the grease-stained back of his spacesuit. He began to reach for the wound, confused, before melting to the floor.”
  • Di and Ana encounter a violent, sentient piece of malware on the wreck of the It is controlling the Metals that attacked the crew. The malware attempts to overwrite Di’s code, and tells Ana, “You should have burned.” Di sacrifices himself in order to stop it. Di “hesitated for a moment—long enough to realize there were no good-byes. Then he shoved his hand into the console, wrapped his fingers around the hard drive, and pulled. The program retaliated, digging into his mainframe, clawing him apart.” Di’s body is damaged beyond repair, but his memory core is still functional.
  • Robb’s mother sends ships to track down the Dossier. The crew is ambushed in a firefight and Captain Siege is injured. “Ana scrambled over to the captain lying on the floor a few feet away, grabbing a fistful of Siege’s coat to roll her onto her back. A nasty gash bled down her forehead, soaking into her black hair.” The firefight is described over three pages.
  • Robb’s mother shoots one of her own soldiers with Captain Siege’s gun, providing false justification for boarding the Dossier. “The woman took Siege’s pistol out of its holster and fired a bullet into one of her own guard’s knees. The guard gave a shriek, collapsing to the floor, before two others dragged him back to the other ships, leaving a smeared trail of blood.”
  • Robb’s mother tries to shoot Jax, but a crew member named Wick pushes him out of the way and takes the bullet instead. “Wick looked down at the hole in his chest and gave a gurgle—wet and gasping. Ana could only watch in horror, her hands bound behind her, as the man who’d taught her how to clean a pistol, speak Cercian, and darn her own socks, slumped onto the floor and went still.”
  • Robb takes Ana onto his mother’s ship, but Ana fights back. Ana thrashes “against him, getting her hand free of his grip, and grabbed at his side where his stitches were. He let out a painful gasp—and that only made her curl her fingers into the wound, squeezing harder, until blood soaked the shirt Jax had lent him.”
  • Ana has a nightmare about being trapped in a fire. “And it was so hot—burning, bubbling hot—she tried to scream but nothing came out. The side of her face lit with unimaginable pain. It hurt, it hurt so fiercely she could feel the fire against her cheek as she tried to claw it away. She felt her nails dig into her skin, scratching, drawing blood, but she couldn’t wake up.”
  • Di saves Captain Siege from the guards who have taken over the He knocks out one of the guards by throwing the ship’s cleaning bot at them. “He grabbed EoS out of the air and threw the bot at the female guard. With a pitiful bloop it struck her in the side of the head. It must have been with more force than he realized, because the female guard slumped to the floor, unconscious.”
  • Robb thinks that his brother Erik, who was next in line to become emperor, will want to kill him for bringing Ana back. “He’s going to hire an assassin and literally kill me. And wear my skin as shoes.”
  • Di encounters a mob of people harassing an innocent Metal and she gets into a fight with a man who threatens to burn it. “The temper inside Di turned his thoughts white-hot. The next he knew, he had the man by the hand and was twisting his arm behind his back. There was a crack. The man gave a cry, dropping the lighter. Di caught it, flicking the flame on, holding so tight to the man’s broken arm, twisting so terribly that bone protruded from the skin.” The incident is described over two pages.
  • At a party, Ana embarrasses herself in front of a group of girls. As they giggle at her she wonders, “She could gut them from stomach to spleen right there, didn’t they know?”
  • Ana is lured into the North Tower by the same malware that targeted her on the Tsarina. She is then attacked by Messiers. “The blue-eyed Messier picked up a piece of broken mirror and lunged. She dodged its first attack, snagging up a blackened metal tray from the floor, and deflected the next. The sound of the mirror shard against the tray made a loud ping, and shattered in the android’s grip.” The incident is described over five pages and Ana sustains minor injuries.
  • The malware tells Ana that it was responsible for burning the tower and killing her family, but that it was Rasovant’s idea. The malware says, “[Rasovant] lost his patience with the Emperor. He did not mean to kill him.”
  • Di saves Ana from the Messiers. “’You shall burn…,’ the red-eyed Metal said. ‘She shall not,’ the guard hissed, wrapping his arm around its neck, then prying his fingers underneath its chin and ripping its head off.”
  • Erik tries to stop Robb from saving Jax. The brothers get into a fight that ends when Jax puts a voxcollar around Erik’s neck. “Fifty thousand volts of electricity sparked through the nodes of the voxcollar, sending [Erik] convulsing to the floor.” The fight is described over two pages.
  • Under the influence of the HIVE, Di and the other Metals attack Ana’s coronation, killing multiple people. Di “swung his aim toward the Grand Duchess and pulled the trigger. It was not his aim that had made his hand shake after all. The old woman slumped back, painting a red streak across the base of the Goddess’s statue as she slid to the ground.” The fight is described over about five pages.
  • Mellifare, the humanoid Metal that houses the HIVE, tried to shoot Robb, but his mother leaps in front of the gun. “A firework of red exploded into the air, and warm droplets splattered on [Robb’s] He quickly wiped them away—blood. The world came into focus with a jolt, and his mother stood in front of him, arms outstretched. Blood stained her beautiful white dress.”
  • Lord Rasovant stabs Riggs, one of the Dossier crewmembers, in the back. Riggs “choked, his reply cut short. Blood dribbled from his mouth. Ana gave a cry as Lord Rasovant pulled the dagger out of Riggs’s back, letting him drop to the ground.”
  • Ana threatens Rasovant with a dagger, but decides to show mercy on him. Then he tries to pull a gun on her. “Goddess bright, [Ana] prayed the moment before her dagger sank into Lord Rasovant’s stomach, give me a heart of iron.”
  • After Ana kills Rasovant, Di attacks her with a lightsword. Ana tries to reason with him, but he stabs her anyway. “’I should have let you burn,’ he whispered, and sunk his blade into her.” Their fight is described over six pages.
  • After Di stabs Ana, Robb and the Dossier crew fight their way out of the palace. Di uses his ability to control technology to burst the tracking chip in Robb’s hand. Robb “screamed. Pain curled up around his shoulder, seized hold of his heart, and squeezed. It squeezed so hard he barely felt it when the chip burned away the nerves in his wrist. When it tore apart the blood vessels in his hand.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Di and Ana sneak into a party where alcohol is being served.
  • After Ana kisses Di, he notes that she’s never kissed him on the mouth before, only on the cheek, “when she’d drunk too much of Wick’s Cercian ale.”
  • Captain Siege smokes a cigar. “The captain took a cigar out from her desk drawer and lit it, the smoldering orange end matching the fiber optics in her hair.”
  • The crew of the Dossier toast to the crew members they lost on the wreck of the Tsarina. “The captain retrieved an old bottle of bourbon, opened only for rare occasions, and set out five shot glasses, filled them, and slid them to the crew.”

Language

  • The phrase “Goddess’s spark” and “Goddess blast” are used as curses throughout the book. For example, Captain Siege tells Jax to “get us off this Goddess-blasted space station before the entire Messier military arrive.”
  • Jax uses the Solani curse “Ak’va” three times.
  • The word “ass” and related phrases such as “asshole” and “smartass” are used at least nine times. For example, when Robb gets into the skysailer for the first time, Jax tells him, “Buckle up, little lord. Don’t want your pretty ass falling out.”
  • Jax implies that the crew of the Dossier might turn Robb in. Robb replies “Goddess be damned you will.”
  • Di tells Captain Siege that he’s not her enemy. She responds, “Piss you aren’t!”

Supernatural

  • Ever since a group of androids known as Metals killed the royal family, Metals have been forced to join the HIVE. “The HIVE was the Iron Kingdom’s way of dealing with misbehaving, or rogue, Metals. Instead of imprisonment, the kingdom stripped Metals of their free will and assimilated them. Then, with them obedient and unthinking, the kingdom used them as guard dogs—Messiers.”
  • Jax has some supernatural abilities. “He had a knack for flying, and when he closed his eyes he could feel the stars orbit around him no matter where he was, so he could never get lost.”
  • Ana promises “on iron and stars” that she will always come back for Di. “It was said that such promises could never be broken; the Goddess would not allow it.”
  • Before he dispersed, Rob’s father gave him a piece of iron. “It was a piece of the same iron that made the crown, and like the crown, it rusted for anyone who touched it. Except those chosen by the Goddess to lead the kingdom.”
  • Jax says his people know how to read the future in the stars. “What may be, what will be, and what will never be.” This knowledge made their empire great, “Until one day, the stars began to blink out, and the D’thverek—what your lovely people call the Great Dark—came for our sun. We had relied on the stars for so long that we didn’t know how to defend ourselves, so we took what remained of our people and fled where the stars pointed—here.”
  • Jax has the ability to read people’s futures through skin-to-skin contact. When he kisses Robb he sees parts of Robb’s future. “There was a jolt—like touching a live wire. A burn. A hiss. Then the star-stuff inside Robb swirled, brighter and brighter, sending his fate through Jax with the sharpness of a knife. A black collar. A marble palace. Ana touching iron. Moonlilies. The glint of knuckle rings. A bloodied crown—”
  • Di wakes up in the humanoid Metal, with oddly human emotions, and a new ability to control the technology around him. “A tingling spread across his fingertips, and instinctively he lowered his hand to the ports on the computer’s dash. An electric sensation coursed over his skin, and he found himself—his code, his programming—pulled toward the console like a magnet. Then he was rushing across the electrical currents of the ship, spreading across the motherboard, sinking into the programs. He was the ship, but he was also in his body. He was soaring through space and staring at the holo-screens. A hundred places at once, seeing everything.”
  • Ana discovers old files in the North Tower, including the file “METAL CREATION,” which reveals that Metals were all once human victims of the plague. “All the plague victims were burned after they died, so no one would know the difference if their bodies went missing. The disease was so contagious, if you so much as touched an infected person, you would also begin to rot. The kingdom sent out guards to take the infected away, so no one was there when they died. Or when they were put into Metals.”
  • Di asks Rasovant why he created a body that could feel emotions, and Rasovant explains that it was for his dying son to inhabit. “When I created Metals, I took away your emotions. I didn’t realize how important they were. None of my creations retained their memories. This was not a problem but a curiosity. Where did I go wrong? Memories, it turns out, are laced with emotion.”

Spiritual Content

  • People in the kingdom worship a moon goddess who, according to the Cantos of Light, drove a Great Darkness from the universe. “Far above the crown of stars, there lay a kingdom cast in shadows until a daughter born of light drove the night away. And so the Great Dark waited a thousand turns around the sun and promised on its heart of iron to once again return.”
  • Ana does not believe in the moon goddess. “Ana curved a crescent moon across her chest—in honor of the Goddess she didn’t believe in—to disguise tucking three coppers from the offering tray into her burgundy coat.”
  • Ana and Di go to a Shrine to the Moon Goddess. “An abbess passed down the almost-empty aisle. Ana could hear her humming a sad, lonely hymn from the Cantos of Light as she swung a thurible, carrying with it the heavy scent of moonlilies. At the head of the shrine stood a statue of the Moon Goddess, seven men high, her arms outstretched as she looked to some distant point in the domed ceiling, where murals of the Moon Goddess’s story, the kingdom of shadows and the girl of light, were painted.”
  • Ana doesn’t really believe in the Goddess, but she knows her origin story well. “How, in a kingdom of shadows, the queen bore a daughter of light who chased the Dark away.”
  • Ana is unsure that the Moon Goddess would protect an outlaw like her, but she still prays to her when in danger. Ana prays, “Goddess bright, bless my stars and keep me steady.”
  • The Goddess can reincarnate. “All the royal women are married into the family, because the crown had sired only boys for the past thousand years. Until a daughter was born seventeen years ago. The Goddess returned, everyone said. But then she died with the rest of her family in the Rebellion.”
  • According to The Cantos of Light, The Goddess created the Iron Kingdom from the Chaos of the Great Dark. “It was said that after a thousand years the Goddess would return to defeat the Great Dark again.”
  • When the skysailer is falling out of the sky, Robb prays to himself, “Goddess bright, please don’t let us die.”
  • When Robb and the Dossier crew are being shot at, Rob prays, “Merciful Goddess, if you exist, please hand my ass to me some other day. I don’t want to die. I haven’t kissed Jax yet.”
  • When Ana thinks she is going to be killed for treason, she prays to the Goddess. “Goddess bright, let me see Di again, she prayed for the first time in her life.”
  • Lord Rasovant, the creator of the Metals and the HIVE, considers himself to be Ana’s spiritual advisor. He tells her that Metals cannot see the Goddess’s light, and therefore must be HIVE’d. “We are a kingdom of many after all. We are of different planets and different beliefs, but we will all be stronger with an army under the Goddess.”

by Evalyn Harper

 

Flamecaster

Set in the world of Chima’s critically acclaimed Seven Realms series, Flamecaster is the beginning of an exciting new series full of suspense, magic, love, and danger. War has overtaken the realm, leaving two young, yet determined characters on their own in their fight against the cruel king of Arden.

Ash wants nothing more than to get back at the king that murdered his father. But after he’s forced into hiding, that goal only gets farther out of reach. Once he gets close to his father’s murderer, will he succeed in getting revenge? Or will he sacrifice his life for nothing?

Ash isn’t alone in his hunt for revenge. For as long as she’s known, Jenna Bandelow has had a strange magemark on the back of her neck. When the King’s Guard begins hunting for a girl with a mark like hers, Jenna must figure out why she’s being hunted. Does it simply have to do with the fact she’s been fighting against the king of Arden? Or is it something more? Danger lurks around every corner, and Ash and Jenna will need each other if they are to survive.

Flamecaster, a fantastic first book in the Shattered Realms Series, follows Ash’s and Jenna’s quest to take down the ruthless King Gerard. The engaging story is full of wizards, intrigue, revenge, and multifaceted characters. Both Ash and Jenna are interesting, complex characters who become King Gerard’s victims and lose those they love. Told from both Ash’s and Jenna’s point of view, it’s easy to understand each of their motivations as they grow and become obsessed with killing King Gerard. Both are angry and hateful after King Gerard kills people they love, which fuels their desire for revenge. While working towards their ultimate goal, each finds themselves alone, yet determined. Flamecaster weaves a compelling mystery, but doesn’t conclude with a typical resolution. Instead, some of the story arc is left with unanswered questions which will leave the reader eager to read the next book in the series, Shadowcaster.

 Chima’s expert storytelling allows the story to unfold gradually and with humor. Even though the story pairs Ash and Jenna as lovers, the focus remains on survival and intrigue. Another positive aspect of Flamecaster is the world-building, which builds on the previous series, the Seven Realms series. This is constantly in the background, as the war personally impacts both Ash and Jenna. Through the war, religious and cultural differences between the two nations emerge. This highlights how in the Fells wizards are free and help rule over the Queendom, yet in Arden wizards are enslaved and distrusted. Overall, the backdrop serves well to push the story forward.

The theme of revenge is prevalent, as both Ash and Jenna are fueled by their desire to get revenge against King Gerard. Luckily this theme isn’t overbearing, and is paired well with the theme of hope. The universal theme of hope wins out in the end, as Ash and Jenna learn to overcome their doubts and survive their time in Arden. Flamecaster is both fast paced and engaging, a story that will entertain both Chimas’s loyal fans as well as readers new to the fantasy series.

Sexual Content

  • Ash was in a relationship while attending an academy. He thinks, “Suze was a plebe at Isenwerk. She and Ash had walked out together for a few months, but had recently called it quits. At least he had.”
  • In the past, King Gerard attempted to marry the Queen of the Fells. Ash’s father says, “Your mother rejected him in a very public way.”
  • Ash comes to buy poisons from Taliesin, his mentor. She tells him, “Other young men your age come to me seeking love potions. I suppose you’re not in need of those.”
  • During a staged fortune-telling, a seer tells a young man the fortune, “says, ‘I’m not going to sleep with you anymore, you faithless bastard.’”
  • Someone says “The northerners spend their days picking wildflowers and dreaming and their nights fornicating under the stars.”
  • Ash and Jenna share a romance. After making love, Jenna tells Ash, “It’s just—in Bruinswallow, I think we’d be considered married.” The love making isn’t described, only implied. Later, Ash thinks about his feelings for Jenna, “I am in love with this girl.”

Violence

  • In a confrontation with King Gerard, Ash sees him die. Ash, “flattened himself against the tower wall to avoid being struck as the king screamed past him like a falling star. The screaming ended abruptly when he hit bottom.”
  • While battling priests, Ash kills some of them. Ash attacks one priest and “immolated him before he hit the floor.”
  • Ash is a trained killer. Ash thinks that he is “good with poisons, garrotes, and the small daggers known as shivs. Poisons were his weapons of choice.” Later, Ash tells someone, “Consider how many premature deaths I’m preventing. The lives I take are balanced by those I save.”
  • A young boy throws some sort of powder in Ash’s eyes. “When the trailing edge of it caught him [Ash] in the face and in the eyes, it was as if someone had taken a torch to him.”
  • Ash is forced to put down a horse. Ash, “insisted on doing it himself, by using magic to stop the blood as it rushed through the great artery in his neck. It was a painless death, as far as he could tell, but that didn’t make it any easier.”
  • In a conversation about Delphi, Clermont, a Guard Captain, says, “When things get really bad, I just kill a few Delphian rats. That never fails to raise my spirits.”
  • During a royal party, one of the king’s thanes kills some of the king’s guard. The thane “turned, a blade in each hand, and cut the throats of the blackbirds nearest to him.”
  • King Gerard has his mistress killed. Ash remembers, “But Estelle was dead—killed for the crime of hosting an assassination attempt on the king.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • At a tavern at an academy, Lila sees a fellow student drunkenly fall into a chair. She watches as, “He all but fell into it, clunking his mug down on the table. It was nearly empty.”
  • Ash thinks about Lila, his classmate. “Drunk or sober, Lila didn’t miss much.” Just after that, Lila says, “A girl can learn a lot from a drunken southerner.”
  • After a fire breaks out in the palace kitchens, Ash, “realized that Hamon was blaming himself and his drinking for the fire.”
  • Destin notices that “The more Clermont drank, the louder he talked.”

Language

  • Lila calls a fellow student, “Ardenine swine.”
  • Ass is used frequently. For example, someone tells Ash, “You have to keep moving or grow a crop of moss on your ass.”
  • King Gerard calls his queen, “You stupid slut of Tamron.”
  • Clermont, a guard captain in the city of Delphi, cusses out a waitress. He says, “You tell that insolent whey-faced tavern rat. . .”
  • Marin Karn, Destin’s father, talks about Lila. He says, “The bitch has a mouth on her that’s going to cost her if she isn’t careful.”

Supernatural

  • Wizards, also known as mages, are commonplace. They are not welcomed in every country. Ash Hanson and Destin Karn are wizards. Ash thinks, “Wizards were arrogant by nature.”
  • Wizards often see a glow around other wizards. Ash notes, “Western wizards glowed a cool bluish-white. Strangward’s aura came closest to that. He lit up the entire room with a brilliant white glow. The other delegates glowed a faint red, like dying coal.”
  • Talismans often are used as protection against magic. When Lilia is interrogated by a mage, “The Talisman at her neck sizzled against her skin. Protection against magic.”
  • Talismans are usually created by the Clans in the Fells. Lila thinks, “Crafted of rowan, ebony, and ivory, it had been given to her by her clan friend and sometime partner, Shadow Dancer.”
  • Dealing with a wounded ankle, Ash thinks, “A wizard can’t use his gift to heal himself.”
  • In Arden, Wizards are shunned and are generally considered to be demons. When King Gerard confronts Ash about being a “demon,” Ash says, “Hang on—you think I’m an actual demon?”
  • Destin often uses magic to interrogate people. Destin thinks, “That made torture unnecessary for the most part, unless he was dealing with other mages, who could resist his mind magic.”
  • When trying to interrogate a boy, Destin “released magic into him, let if flow as if to fill him up, then reached through it to find the boy’s mind. And couldn’t. He tried again, and it was like searching an empty room.”
  • Jenna has a unique ability to speak to dragons. When Flamecaster, a dragon, speaks to her, she thinks, “At first, she thought he [the dragon] was asking for help, but then she realized that it was offering help.”

Spiritual Content

  • Arden is heavily influenced by the Church of Malthus, the dominant religion. God is the main deity of the Church of Malthus.
  • The Maker is the main god of the Fells, a nation to the north. Jenna Bandelow tells her father, “The Maker helps those who help themselves, isn’t that what you said?”
  • King Gerard asks of one of his subjects, “Are you saying that you will not submit to the command of your sovereign, anointed by God?”
  • Ash saves the palace cook, Hamon, from a fire. Hamon says, “They say it was a miracle. Come here, my boy, so I can feel of you, for surely you were the instrument of Holy Malthus in this.”
  • The Church of Malthus paints mages as demonic. Someone says, “Magic, my lord? I want nothing to do with that. The Fathers say that mages are idolators and devils.”
  • Priests of the Church of Malthus are often referred to as crows. Someone says, “Those black-robed crows of Malthus can prattle on about martyrdom and Paradise all they want. I’m not signing on.”

by Jonathan Planman

Terror at Bottle Creek

Cort’s father is a local expert on hunting and swamp lore in lower Alabama and has been teaching his son everything he knows. But when a deadly Category 3 storm makes landfall and his father disappears, thirteen-year-old Cort must unexpectedly put all his skills—and bravery—to the test.

One catastrophe leads to another, leaving Cort and two neighbor girls to face the Gulf Coast hurricane the best they can. Lost in the middle of storm-thrashed wetlands, the three face dangerous, desperate wild animals, it’s up to Cort to win—or lose—the fight of their lives.

Terror at Bottle Creek sweeps readers into the Alabama swamps and shows the dangers that lurk beneath the water and on land. With the Bottle Creek Indian Mounds as a backdrop, the story creates an eerie and terrifying tone that will have readers biting their nails. Vicious hogs, deadly alligators, and other swamp creatures all head to higher ground during the storm. In order to survive, Cort and his two neighbors must face a hurricane, wild animals, hypothermia, a venomous snake bite, and their own fears.

Readers will relate to Cort, who is embarrassed to live in a houseboat and wishes his life was different. Cort also struggles to understand his changing feelings for his childhood friend, Liza. As Cort tries to save Liza and her sister, he faces difficult choices, but he tackles them with bravery and compassion. As he fights to survive in the swamp, he thinks of the lesson his father taught him. However, his memories also reveal angry feelings towards his father. Cort’s emotional struggles are interwoven with intense survival scenes, allowing the reader to empathize with Cort. By the end of the story, Cort realizes his value does not come from where he lives, but from his character.

While Terror at Battle Creek has some typical elements, the story’s suspense and unexpected events will have readers jumping with fright. Terror at Battle Creek is an excellent survival story that will leave readers with an appreciation of the beauty and dangers of the Alabama swamps. Readers who enjoyed Terror at Battle Creek will also like

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Cort thinks about hunting swamp animals. Some people use dogs to track and corner hogs. “The dogs are often gored or killed in the fight. I’ve seen them back away with their cheeks hanging open or their intestines hanging from their belly, blue and bloody and leaf-pasted.”
  • When Cort was ten, he got out of the boat to pick grapes and a hog charged at him. The hog “bowled me over, bit onto my thigh, and shook me like a doll. It happened so fast I didn’t have time to react. Dad was quick to fire a shot into the air with his rifle. That startled the sow. . . I learned that wild pigs won’t hesitate to attack. And kill you. And eat you.”
  • Cort helps get Francis and Liza into a tree. “A sharp pain sliced across my leg and something bulky and hairy knocked me against the tree. . . The hogs closed in beneath us, blocking our escape. . . I came up the opposite side from them, my leg throbbing with pain. I put the light on it and saw a three-inch tear in my thigh. Blood ran down my leg, thick and pink and watered down like cherry Kool-Aid.”
  • A wild hog named Rusty attacks the tree that Cort, Liza, and Francis are hiding in. “The other pigs were picking through the leaves, finding dead and live snakes and eating them. Rusty suddenly charged one of them and toppled it into the underbrush. What followed was a deafening blend of squeals over a blur of brown and black hair. . .” Rusty reappears with bloody tusks.
  • Rusty attacks the boat that Cort and his dad are in. Cort’s dad is able to get a rope loop around Rusty’s head, and Cort “slammed the boat into reverse as Rusty squealed and swung his head and battered the side of the boat like someone beating a metal barrel with butcher knives.” Cort’s dad is able to tie the hog to a tree.
  • Rusty and a bear get into a fight. “Bear and hog rolled in a tangled blur of snarling and squealing frenzy. Teeth and claws and tusks and hooves gleamed and slashed beside us like a whirlwind of knives. . . The hog managed to get on top again and I thought I detected the bear weakening. The wounds in his chest were deep, and his fur was wet and matted and gleaming a purplish color from all the blood. While the hog had gaping wounds about his body from the tearing claws, he didn’t seem slowed. . .The bear kept his lock on the hog, his snarls sounding more like weak sighs. Rusty gurgled and kicked occasionally, the life slowly leaving him.” The fight is described over three pages. The bear kills Rusty and the story implies that the bear will die as well from his wounds.

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • When Cort’s father takes two men on a hunting trip, the clients “both cracked a beer and toasted each other.” After the men get a gator, they “popped more beer and celebrated.”

Language

  • Hell is used three times. When an alligator almost bites Cort, his dad says, “What the hell you doing? . . . Lord, you know better than to dive in there like that.”
  • Lord is used as an exclamation twice.
  • Crap is used four times. When Cort’s dad calls for an ambulance, he is told it can’t get to them. Cort’s dad yells, “Don’t give me that crap, Curly! Make it happen.”
  • When a snake bites Liza, Cort says, “Dammit. Dammit. Hold on.”
  • Damn is used twice. When Cort’s dad sees snakes all over, he says, “Damn snakes.”
  • When Cort asks Liza about the shape of the snake’s head, she says, “I didn’t study its head, you idiot!”
  • When Cort falls into the swamp, his father says, “God almighty!”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • Cort’s dad says, “Snakes are just cold and evil. You can’t breed it out of them. It’s like reptiles got a different God.”

Dragons and Marshmallows

Zoey discovers a glowing photo in her mother’s bedroom and her mother shares an amazing secret. Zoey’s mother has been helping injured animals who come to their backyard barn for help. Since her mom is going on a trip, it’s up to Zoey to keep watch on the magical photo for any animals that appear. But when a baby dragon appears, Zoey isn’t sure how to help. With the help of Sassafras, Zoey’s cat, Zoey must figure out what is wrong with the dragon. Will they be able to help the little dragon before it’s too late?

Dragons and Marshmallows will appeal to younger readers and parents. Zoey is an adventurous, bug-loving girl who uses science to solve problems. The curious cat Sassafras stays by Zoey’s side and adds some humor. Even though much of the conflict revolves around helping a baby dragon, Zoey also worries about her mom going on a trip. Zoey “felt a little nervous about not seeing her for a whole week.”

Little Marshmallow, an adorable magical dragon, is weak and must rely on Zoey for help. Zoey jumps right in and documents her experience in her science journal. In order to help Little Marshmallow, Zoey reads books that have fun reptile facts. After learning about reptiles, Zoey comes up with a hypothesis and makes a list of necessary materials. When Zoey writes in her science journal, the font changes to a large, kid-like font and occasionally uses illustrations. One of the best aspects of the story is that Zoey does not succeed the first time; instead, she makes mistakes and must use trial and error before she succeeds in helping the dragon.

Zoey’s adventure is shown through large black and white illustrations that appear on almost every page. Sassafras appears in many of the pictures, and clearly loves bugs just as much as Zoey. At one point, Zoey tells Sassafras, “I do not trust you out here with my bugs. My new little friends are not a snack!” Readers who are not fluent will need help with some of the vocabulary. However, with short paragraphs, plenty of dialogue, and a simple plot, Dragons and Marshmallows is accessible to most readers.

Dragons and Marshmallows combines magical animals, a relatable character, and the scientific method into an entertaining story that children will love. Zoey and Sassafras will not only entertain readers but also teach important lessons along the way. Readers will learn about reptiles, the importance of eating healthy foods, and perseverance. The end of the book has a glossary that explains unfamiliar terms. Even though Zoey and Sassafras is a series, the books do not need to be read in order. Readers who want more magical animal fun will also enjoy The Last Firehawk Series by Katrina Charman.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A frog told Zoey’s mom that “he’d been out past dark looking for something he’d dropped during the day. An owl attacked him. He was terrified and hurt, but managed to escape.”

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • When Zoey’s mother was a child, she found an injured frog. When she helped it, “the frog looked me in the eye, smiled, and said, ‘Thank you!’” The frog told other magical animals that Zoey’s mom would help them if they were injured.
  • Not everyone can see the magical animals. Zoey’s mom explains that the picture of the magical frog glows “because of the magic. Any time you photograph a magical creature, some of the magic stays in the photo.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Archived #1

Contrary to the popular adage, the dead do in fact tell tales. Many of them. The dead, or Histories, are kept in a place hidden from the living world called the Archive, where only the Librarians can access them. But sometimes they wake, and they make it into the Narrows (the world between) and some are willing to kill to get back to the living world. Keepers are tasked with returning the lost Histories back to the Archive, and sometimes things get . . . messy.

When Da brought his twelve-year-old granddaughter, Mackenzie Bishop, into the Archive to have her take his place as Keeper, she quickly became a young, ruthless prodigy. After a tragedy, Mackenzie starts to see her brother in the eyes of the Histories that she has to return to the Archive. Mackenzie must confront the lines that separate the living and the dead. With the increases in disturbances in the Archive and someone erasing Histories, Mackenzie uncovers the secrets that keep the Archive in one piece.

Mackenzie and the other characters are extremely realistic, despite their fantastical stories. Headstrong and fiercely independent, Mackenzie struggles with grief over her brother’s death and the secrets about the Archive that she must keep from her family. She shows strength in her ability to own up to and correct her mistakes. Mackenzie’s struggles are wide-reaching and she is a sympathetic character. Her relationships with other characters, including the Librarian Roland and fellow Keeper Wes, help her improve as a person and bring some light to an otherwise somber story.

Despite the gothic nature of the titular place, the Archive itself is beautiful. Housing and tracking the Histories of the dead is a macabre business, and as one of the main locations in the novel, the Archive ironically has a life of its own. With a curious cast of Librarians and other personnel working within the structure, at times the Archive seems more alive than the outside world.

The Archived presents strong themes about grief, memories, and the line that separates life and death. Mackenzie, being only a teenager, tackles these topics that haunt all the characters—young, old, dead, and alive. The various ways her parents deal with death versus the ever-secretive Librarians’ ways of dealing with the dead serves to enhance the discussion about death and memories in particular. All the characters have regrets and push the line between the world of the living and the Archive, and their stories are ultimately determined by their abilities to deal with grief and the past.

Victoria Schwab paints an atmosphere that is equal parts magical and spooky in The Archived. Readers who want a darker book will be delighted by Schwab’s prose and wildly inventive world. The Archived sets up an interesting series with much to discover. In the sequel, The Unbound, more secrets are revealed through Mackenzie’s next adventures. The Archived shows that the dead never really leave us, as long as their memories live on in those that they loved.

Sexual Content

  • Mackenzie dreams of being normal, and in her dreams, she “kisses a boy.”
  • Mackenzie’s very elderly neighbor confuses Mackenzie for a kiss-a-gram. Mackenzie eventually tells him, “Sir, I’m not here to kiss you.”
  • One of the escaped Histories kisses Mackenzie. She says, “as his lips press against my skin, the silence flares in my head, blotting something out. Heat ripples through my body, pricking my senses as the quiet deadens my thoughts. He kisses my throat, my jaw. Each time his lips brush my skin, the heat and silence blossom side by side and spread, drowning a little bit of pain and anger and guilt, leaving only warmth and want and quiet in their place.” The description continues for a couple of pages, and this situation happens a couple of times.
  • Fellow Keeper Wes kisses Mackenzie. Mackenzie describes, “I’m about to speak, about to tell him that, tell him everything, when he brings his hand to the back of my neck, pulls me forward, and kisses me . . . all I can think is that he tastes like summer rain. His lips linger on mine, urgent and warm. Lasting.”

Violence

  • Mackenzie’s little brother Ben was killed in a hit-and-run accident. Mackenzie describes the accident. “It was a normal day, right up until the point a car ran a red light two blocks from Ben’s school just as he was stepping from the curb. And then drove away.” Later, she recalls a memory. “The cops are talking to Dad and the doctor is telling Mom that Ben died on impact, and that word—impact—makes me turn and retch into one of the hospital’s gray bins.”
  • Some Histories, or ghosts from the Archive, are called “Keeper-Killers, the Histories who manage to get out through the Narrows and into the real world.” As the name suggests, these Histories kill Keepers to escape.
  • Mackenzie had to face trials to become a Keeper. In a memory, Mackenzie narrates, “Da told me to be ready for anything, and it’s a good thing he did, because between one moment and the next, [the examiner’s] posture shifts . . . I dodge the first punch, but he’s fast, faster even than Da, and before I can strike back, a red Chuck connects with my chest.” This sequence continues for a couple of pages.
  • One of the Histories has a knife and attacks Mackenzie. She saw metal, “and jump[ed] back just in time, the knife in his hand arcing through the air, fast.” Other Histories escape and attack Mackenzie as well.
  • Da taught Mackenzie how to fight. In her memory, she recalls, “You take me out into the summer sun to show me how to fight. Your limbs are weapons, brutally fast. I spend hours figuring out how to avoid them, how to dodge, roll, anticipate, react. It’s get out of the way or get hit.”
  • With her Archive-granted ability to see into the past, Mackenzie sees the memory of a guy murdering a girl in a hotel. The guy swipes “a large shard of glass from the floor . . . He’s on top of her, and they are a tangle of glass and blood and fighting limbs, her slender bare feet kicking under him as he pins her down. And then the struggle slows. And stops . . . I can see her, the lines carved across her arms, the far deeper cut across her throat.”
  • A series of deaths occurred within months of each other, some look like suicides and some look like accidents. Mackenzie learns that the circumstances for each death are fuzzy at best. She wonders, “Did he jump or was he pushed? Did Marcus hang himself? Did Eileen trip?”
  • A History stabs Wes. Mackenzie watches as “Wes throws another fist, and Owen catches his hand, pulls him forward, and plunges the knife into his stomach.” Wes is severely injured but survives.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Da smokes “a cigarette.” He is a lifelong smoker.
  • Mackenzie can “read” objects by touching them. When she’s reading a bloodstained floor in the hotel, she sees a boy who “judging by his feverish face and the way he sways, he’s been drinking.”
  • Mackenzie’s very elderly neighbor shows up and “a thin stream of smoke drifts up from his mouth, where a narrow cigarette hangs.”

Language

  • Profanity is occasionally used. Profanity includes damn, ass, bastard, and hell.

Supernatural

  • Mackenzie is a Keeper who returns wandering Histories, or ghosts, back to the Archive, which is “a library of the dead, vast and warm, wood and stone and colored glass, and all throughout, a sense of peace.” Mackenzie travels between worlds and encounters quite a few dead people.

Spiritual Content

  • Da shows that he’s somewhat superstitious/spiritual, and Mackenzie has the same superstitions. Before entering the Narrows, Mackenzie says, “I pull Da’s key from around my neck, running a thumb over the teeth the way he used to. For luck, Da used to rub the key, cross himself, kiss his fingers and touch them to the wall—any number of things. He used to say he could use a little more luck.”
  • Wes refers to his dad’s new fiancée as “Satan in a skirt.”
  • Wes reads part of Dante’s Inferno. He says, “When you think about it, the Archive is kind of like a Hell.”

by Alli Kestler

Mooncakes

Teen witch, Nova, hears rumors of strange lights in the forest. When she goes to investigate, she sees a white wolf and discovers her childhood crush—werewolf Tam Lang. Tam is trying to outrun a cult of witches, who want to use his werewolf magic to unleash a demon. With the help of Nova’s Nanas, Tam and Nova try to stop the dark forces that want to claim Tam’s magic for evil.

Mooncakes’ illustrations use darker fall colors to beautifully show a world where magic exists. One of the best aspects of Mooncakes is its large cast of diverse characters. Both Nova and Tam are Chinese American, and Tam is non-binary and uses the pronoun “they.” Nova’s family is completely accepting of Nova and Tam’s romantic relationship. Nova’s two Nana’s are charming, accepting, and support both Nova and Tam. In addition, Nova relies on hearing aids and even uses them as part of her magic.

Mooncakes is a story of friendship, family, and romance. One of the best aspects of the story is the characters who accept and support each other. Despite this, the character development and the weak plot leave a lot to be desired. While the story shows some of Nova’s and Tam’s backstory, the plot moves too quickly for readers to really care about the two main characters. They fall in love quickly, and predictably. It is this love that allows Tam to overcome the demon.

The story revolves around magic, and the characters are seen making potions several times. However, the magic is mostly represented through bright lights, and the scenes that rely on magic are often confusing. Likewise, when Tam is introduced to Nova’s family, their celebration is too short and leaves too many questions. For example, why are Nova’s parents ghosts? Why do Nova’s parents want her to move away from her Nanas? Why does her uncle have the head of a bird?

Mooncakes will appeal to a large audience and is a good choice for reluctant readers. The pages are broken up into panels and have 2 to 7 simple sentences on each page. The illustrations show the characters’ emotions and use colors to switch from the warm feelings of Nova’s house to darker colors for the creepy, dangerous scenes. Readers interested in magic and romance will enjoy Mooncakes’ fast pace; however, the characters will quickly fade from their memory.

Sexual Content

  • Nova and Tam kiss on two separate occasions.

Violence

  • Nova goes to investigate strange lights in the forest, and sees a white wolf. A large horse attacks the wolf and a bloody fight ensures. Nova uses magic to chase the horse away. The fight is illustrated over four pages.

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • When Nova’s friend shows up unexpectedly, Nova tells her, “You’re an asshole, you know that?”
  • Nova says both damn and crap one time.
  • When Nova sees a horse attacking a wolf, she says, “Screw horses.”
  • Nova introduces her friend to Tam, saying, “this is Tatyana royal pain in my ass.”
  • “Oh my God” is used as an exclamation twice.

Supernatural

  • Most of the characters are witches who study magic and make magic potions. For example, when Nova’s friend is injured, she makes them a healing potion.
  • A book of magic tries to bite Nova.
  • A cult wants to use Tam’s magic to release a bound demon. Tam says, “There’s a bound demon buried in the forest. Legend says that only the power of a wolf can raise it.” However, Tam doesn’t understand wolf magic enough to know how the cult will use him.
  • One of the Nana’s tells Nova to be careful when trying new spells because once Nana tried a spell and “was stuck in a jar for a week.”
  • The two Nanas use magic to bind a demon and put him in a cage. Most of the spell is shown through different colored lights. The scene is illustrated over four pages. Once the demon is put in a cage, spirit animals come out.
  • When Nova’s relatives come to visit, an uncle has the head of a bird. Her dead parents also appear as ghosts.
  • Nova uses stones “that allow witches to enter each other’s minds. It’s meant to strengthen connections, get new perspectives.” Nova uses the stones on herself and Tam. Six pages show both Nova’s and Tam’s past and thoughts.
  • When a witch tries to uncage the demon, Nova steps in and uses magic to stop the witch, who is seen lying on the ground.
  • When Tam tries to banish the demon, a witch stops him. The witch tells him, “you are the creature’s vessel child. It was meant to take hold of you.” The witch captures Tam and puts him in a cage until she and others can perform the ritual.
  • Nova and the Nanas use a location spell to find Tam. “The smoke from the cauldron rises and points to the place on the map where Tam is being held captive.” With the aid of animal spirits, Nova and the Nanas try to help Tam.
  • During the battle, the demon and Tam begin to meld. However, when the demon and Tam connect, Tam realizes that “I guess we’re not so different after all. . . But see, there’s someone out there who believes in me. Loves me even. I have to go back to her.” The demon releases Tam’s body and Tam uses magic to change the demon back into spirit form.

Spiritual Content

  • None

Pumpkin Heads

Every autumn all through high school, Josiah and Deja have worked together at the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world. (Not many people know that the best pumpkin patch in the whole wide world is in Omaha, Nebraska, but it definitely is.) They say goodbye every Halloween, and they’re reunited every September first.

But this Halloween is different—Josiah and Deja are finally seniors, and this is their last season at the pumpkin patch. Their last shift together. Their last good-bye.

Josiah’s ready to spend the whole night feeling melancholy about it. Deja isn’t ready to let him. She’s got a plan: What if—instead of moping and the usual slinging lima beans down at the Succotash Hut—they went out with a bang? They could see all the sights! Taste all the snacks! And Josiah could finally talk to that cute girl he’s been mooning over for three years…

What if their last shift was an adventure?

For three years, Josiah has had a crush on Marcy, a girl he only sees when they work at the pumpkin patch. On the last night of work, Deja talks Josiah into skipping their shift so Josiah can find Marcy and finally talk to her. Reluctantly, Josiah goes along with Deja’s plan. Readers will fall in love with the two characters as they explore the pumpkin patch looking for Marcy. Josiah is shy, sweet, and afraid of rejection, while Deja is confident, outgoing, and completely determined to have Josiah meet the girl of his dreams.

Pumpkin Heads brings all the joys of fall to life—the food, the corn maze, the pumpkins, and the friends. Throughout it all, Deja and Josiah discuss the idea of fate versus free will. The two friends reminisce about their years working at the pumpkin patch and worry about what the future will bring. As the two race against time trying to find Marcy, the story includes some wonderful patches of humor. For example, when Josiah worries about leaving the succotash booth, Deja says, “For God’s sake, Josie—true love trumps lima beans!”

Pumpkin Heads will encourage readers to be bold and live without regrets. Although the plot is a bit predictable, the main characters are truly unique. In the end, Josiah realizes that people cannot be judged by their looks. The only way to truly know someone is to talk to them. The graphic novel is illustrated in the orange and brown hues of fall, and each page has 1-8 sentences of text. The story is a quick read that will leave readers with a smile.

 Sexual Content

  • Deja runs into an ex-girlfriend and an ex-boyfriend.
  • Deja and Josiah see a couple kissing in the corn maze.
  • Deja asks Josiah, “Are you about to kiss me?” Josiah freaks out. After a short conversation, they kiss.

Violence

  • A goat runs around smashing pumpkins and trying to ram people.

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • “Oh God” is used as an exclamation once.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • When Josiah and Deja show up at the succotash booth, a worker says, “Thank the Lord!”
  • Deja sees a girl crying, so she gives the girl a snack. Deja asks, “Why doesn’t God want me to have snacks?”

The Ghost Collector

Ghosts don’t scare Shelly. As an apprentice to her ghost-hunting grandma, Shelly catches ghost cats, dogs, and raccoons in her hair. She helps them move on to wherever comes after death. Shelly watches her grandma do the same with people. It’s what the Cree women in their family have always done.

When Shelly’s mom is in a terrible accident and dies, Shelly’s world is completely shattered. Now, Shelly wants to know what happens after death. Where do all of the ghosts go? Why do some spirits stay as ghosts? Shelly is in a desperate search to find her mother’s ghost. She wants to talk to her mother one last time. If Shelly’s mom loved her, wouldn’t she come back as a ghost?

Without her mom, everything has changed. Now, Grandma doesn’t take Shelly to hunt ghosts. Shelly feels lost and alone. She knows she’s breaking the biggest rule of ghost-hunting: it’s not right to force spirits to stick around. Shelly never intended to keep ghosts hidden in her bedroom, but when she’s surrounded by ghosts she doesn’t feel as lonely. If she keeps hunting ghosts, maybe she will eventually find her mother’s ghost.

The Ghost Collector uses a unique premise to show one girl’s struggle with grief. In a desperate attempt to understand her mother’s death, Shelly questions several ghosts about the afterlife. At first, Shelly is angry and confused because her mother doesn’t reappear as a ghost. However, by the end of the story, Shelly accepts her mother’s death and is able to put away the belief that if her mother loved her, she would have come back as a ghost. The Crees’ beliefs are intertwined with the story, which gives Shelly an added depth.

As Shelly’s grandmother teaches her about ghosts, she also teaches her a set of rules. For example, Grandma teaches Shelly that “we’re not supposed to charge everyone for their ghost.” However, after Shelly’s mother dies, everything begins to change and Grandma begins breaking her own rules. Grandma says, “Sometimes the rules are what you make them. Sometimes they need to be bent—broken. Sometimes the world is made of hard choices.” Shelly is angry and confused that Grandma doesn’t follow her own rules, and soon Shelly thinks she also doesn’t need to follow the rules.

Shelly encounters a variety of ghosts who have various reasons for not passing on, including confusion, fear, and unfinished business. One of the ghosts encourages Shelly to spend more time with the living. The ghost tells Shelly, “I’ve got nothing but time. You, on the other hand, still need to get through the business of living. Enjoy it. Being dead isn’t all it’s cracked up to be.” Some readers, especially ones who are experiencing grief, may be disturbed by the way ghosts are portrayed (see below for specifics). The Ghost Collector allows the reader to see Shelly’s mixed emotions and understand her grief. At times Shelly’s grief is heart-wrenching, but her personal growth is also inspiring. The Ghost Collector is an engaging story that will allow readers to explore the topic of death. Parents may want to use the story to begin a discussion of the difficult topic of death.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Shelly thinks back to when she was younger and a classmate “cut off the end of her braid and when she hit him the principal said they were both wrong and called their parents. . . Shelly’s mom said she didn’t see how her daughter hitting a kid after he cut her hair was an unreasonable response.” Later Shelly’s mother told her, “Hitting people shouldn’t be your first response, but fighting back when someone tries to bully you isn’t a bad thing.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • The women in Shelly’s family can see ghosts. “Shelly’s grandma teaches her about ghosts, how to carry them in her hair. If you carry your ghost in your hair, you can cut them off when you don’t need them anymore. Otherwise, ghosts cling to your skin, dig their fingers in under your ribs, and stay with you long, long after you want them to.”
  • Shelly’s grandmother helps people get rid of ghosts, and Shelly often goes with her. One woman asked for Shelly’s grandmother’s help. When Shelly and her grandmother go to the woman’s house, “Shelly can see the ghost that haunts the lady’s apartment dancing around her feet. It’s a little dog with a constantly wagging tail, trotting around on tiny paws with nails that click against the hardwood floors. . . Shelly catches the dog in the ends of her hair then scoops it into her arms . . . when the puppy licks her face it feels like someone is rubbing an icicle against her cheek.”
  • Several times in the book, Shelly’s grandmother helps animal ghosts move on. “Animal ghosts tend to be simple—the spirits of creatures that haven’t realized they’re dead yet. Being outside helps them fade away because a ghost removed from an anchor—whether that’s its home where it died, a favorite place, or a grave—will start to fade unless someone tries to keep it around. . . Shelly and her grandma use their hair like a net, like a fishing lure. They let ghosts cling to them and act as a hook to carry the dead to new places, places where they won’t be tied to anything and will be able to fade.”
  • One of the characters is the ghost of a teen, who sits on his gravestone. When he talks, “his mouth moves, but his voice comes from the headphones around his neck. . . Ghosts don’t usually come with accessories—Joseph having the player and headphones means he was buried with them.” Joseph tells Shelly, “I don’t know why some people stay and some people go. I don’t know why I stayed, except I was less scared of being a ghost forever and being stuck here, alone, than of whatever comes next.’
  • Estella stays at the graveyard where she was buried. She wants to wait and see her headstone.
  • Shelly and her grandmother help a raccoon move on. When Shelly first sees it, she thinks, “It’s an easy ghost. A raccoon that got stuck in the chimney. He looks furious about being stuck. When Shelly lets down her hair, he grabs hold of it eagerly, pulling himself free from the shaft and climbing straight into her arms.”
  • Shelly and her grandmother go to a friend’s house to get rid of a ghost. Shelly “feels the ghost as soon as she steps into the house. . .There’s nothing nice feeling about this ghost at all. It’s like static electricity all along her skin—a prickling sensation that makes the hair on her arms stand up and has her shivering.” When the ghost appears, “It looks like static, too, all flickering black and white and gray. . . it doesn’t walk, just flashes on and off, on and off. . .” The scene is described over two and a half pages.
  • While learning about ghosts, Shelly learns that “sometimes the dead are just confused about what happened, so they don’t move on. Sometimes they’re angry or upset. Sometimes, like Estelle, they do want to stay so they can do one last thing. But ghosts can get stuck, and that’s when hauntings happen.” Sometimes when “people throw out old things, ghosts go with them on their way to find a new home—confused spirits Shelly and Grandma used to snip off objects and bundle up to set free later.”
  • Shelly and her grandmother go to a house because a ghost was knocking pictures off the wall. When they arrive to set the ghost free, they see a “bird is sitting on top of a bookshelf. Its feathers are ruffled up and it looks about as disgruntled as a bird can look. . . Grandma bundles her hair up around the bird and holds it there until she’s sure it’s caught.”
  • Shelly meets the ghost of a little boy, who is confused and angry. He wants to know where his mother is.
  • When Shelly gets mad at Joseph, she “lashes out and kicks her foot through Joseph’s immaterial body and he topples over from the force of it, coming uprooted from his spot on the ground by his grave. . . He flickers, like the man who Grandma once dredged up from the river.” Joseph is scared and confused “as he twists in place and tries to claw his way back toward his grave, his spot.”
  • Shelly learns that “Death is going to happen to everyone, but knowing when it’s going to happen, choosing when you make the transition from life to death, choosing whether or not you’ll be a ghost and stick around a little longer, isn’t something most people get the chance to do.” She also learns that “Ghost are echoes of the person they once were. They fade away slowly, personalities and memories eroding over time.”

Spiritual Content

  • Shelly’s mom asks her if she wants to eat or go to the thrift store. Shelly says she wants to eat. Her mother replies, “Thank God, I’m starving.”

The Four Guardians

When Prince Leo’s devious cousin seizes control of Singara, Leo is forced to escape into enemy territory until he can return and claim the throne. Trapped among his enemies, Leo discovers they know a lot more about him than he knows about himself. With some guidance from unlikely allies, Leo is poised to fulfill a destiny greater than he ever imagined.

Can Leo harness his power, stop a war, and prevent a monstrous demon from escaping and destroying the world? In the second book of the Pride Wars series, Leo’s identity as a Spinner—once thought to be his greatest curse—may just become his greatest weapon.

When Leo flees Singara, he goes into enemy territory and learns about the neighboring Maguar tribe. The Four Guardians mixes fierce battles with scenes where Leo learns more about being a Spinner. With the help of a Maguar ally, Leo learns that he is a Shakyahs—a Spinner who is able to bring Jins to this world. While Leo hopes that the Maguar’s Shakyah, the Twelver, will help him stop the war, it soon becomes apparent that the Twelver’s one true desire is revenge.

Leo’s quadron joins him on his quest and are dedicated to keeping Leo safe, even if that means death. Once they make it to enemy territory, two spiritual guides help Leo understand what it means to be a Spinner. Unlike The Spinner Prince, the second book digs deeper into understanding the Maguar god, Alayah. The story highlights the importance of faith, and readers will recognize areas that are similar to the Bible. As one character says, “Yet faith is the most basic thing there is. Faith is the crying of a cub for its mother. Faith is one candle in overwhelming darkness. Faith is the light of Alayah in every living thing. Every breath, and every step we take, is an act of faith.”

The Four Guardians battles are fierce and may frighten some readers. The Maguar Shakyah, the Twelver, only has one true desire, which is to kill the demon Hasatamara. However, this desire has made the Twelver a truly evil enemy who is willing to bring death to anyone who opposes her. Unlike the Twelver, Leo’s journey is based on the desire to save lives and bring both tribes together. That is why Alayah praises Leo for showing “humility, bravery, and compassion, even toward your enemies.”

The action-packed sequel, The Four Guardians, allows the reader to step into an imaginative world that has clear villains. While the story has some surprises, the long explanations of Spinners and Alayah slow down the plot. In the fight against good and evil, Leo is an imperfect character who relies on his friends to guide him. Readers will enjoy the relationship between Leo and his friends and celebrate their wins. The complicated plot, large cast of characters, and spiritual content make The Four Guardians better suited for strong readers. The Four Guardians doesn’t resolve any conflicts, but leaves room for another sequel.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Leo and a group of his friends travel into enemy territory. When they arrive, “The Maguar rushes Anjali with astonishing speed. He guides his spear to the edge of Anjali’s throat. The tip is made of sharpened flint… The Maguar spits at her feet.” The Maguar takes them captive.
  • Anjali makes a deal with the Maguar leader, who wants to kill all of them. She says, “I have a deal for you. If one of you can defeat me in combat—no weapons, no claws—you can feed three of us to your slaycons, except him [Leo]. You will take him to your high command.”
  • Anjali fights a Maguar. They get into combat position and “with blinding swiftness, she [Anjali] fires a double strike: a blow beneath his ribs with her fist and a simultaneous uppercut to his chin with her left. Then she sweeps one of his legs, sending the stunned Maguar sprawling to the ground… In less than three seconds, the Maguar is a heap of striped fur on the ground.” The two continue the fight for two pages. The Maguar wins the fight when “the Maguar catches her on the shoulder with a double kick, knocking her off balance… She crashes to the ground with a yowl. Knowing the danger she’s in, Anjali rolls away, but not before the enemy drives a devastating kick to the side of her head. Anjali flops to the ground and doesn’t move.”
  • After the fight, Anjali jumps up and “tackles the leader [Kaw]… Anjali thrust a fist at his head, pounding his muzzle into the earth. She follows up relentlessly, thumping Kaw again and again and again until he goes limp.”
  • When Leo and his friends are taken to a village, an archer fires. “The arrow punctures Zoya’s ear, pinning it to the tree. She winces but makes no complaint.”
  • When a Singa looks Mandar in the eye, “the elder strikes Mandar in the face, raking his muzzle with extended claws. Mandar yowls and crumples to the ground.”
  • Leo and his friends are offered a squirrel for a meal. “Zoya bites the head and half the body from the squirrel…” Singas don’t usually eat rodents.
  • The village leader wants Leo to trust a Maguar named Wajid. The leader “removes the bone dagger strapped to his chest. Before I know what has happened, Abba swipes my hand and then Wajid’s hand… pressing my stinging palm into Wajid’s.” Mixing blood will bond the two.
  • As Leo and his group are traveling, they are attacked by slaycons. Anjali’s “first and second arrows find two slaycons behind their foreleg, penetrating their hearts and killing them instantly… One beast, punctured with three arrows, floats away in water tinted with its own blood.” During the fight, “Stick’s face is sprayed with slaycon blood. His cry of complaint is drowned out by the wail of the wounded beast. It spins for a bite at Wajid as we roll by, but Wajid swings his weapon and chops off the slaycon’s lower jaw.” Stick is bitten in the leg, but the others are uninjured. The slaycon attack is described over seven pages.
  • When Mandar reports to Tamir, Tamir wants to keep Mandar’s secret from being told. Tamir’s daughter “draws a blade and strikes the unarmed Mandar… Dead. Tamir steps over Mandar’s fallen body. Amara sheaths her blade and follows.”
  • When Abdu finds Leo and his group in a temple, he goes to hit Wajid, but a Jin stops him. The Jin’s “moves are unnaturally quick, flashes of silver and white in the dim firelight. She grabs Abdu’s attacking arm and redirects his motion until he is off balance. In a blink, she steps behind the big Paladin and sweeps his legs, sending him crashing to the floor.” The Jin changed from the form of a squirrel to a lion until all of the attackers are defeated. The fight is described over two pages.
  • When Tula, who is a Jin, begins to shift, he “must be destroyed before the transformation is complete.” Two other Jins attack and “pounce on their fellow Jin. The battle is brutal and swift… Kaitan finishes Tula off by stomping on his skull with a sickening crunch of bone.”
  • When the Paladins try to bind Leo and his group, a Jin “rises up in Leo form and throws a surprised Paladin away. She does the same to one after another, throwing, flipping, knocking them to the ground… In seconds, eight Paladins are sprawled out on the grass, gasping and confused.”
  • Wajid and the other Paladin lift Leo, and “they dangle me over the edge of the tower… The two Paladins pitch me over the edge of the tower.” One of the Jin transforms and saves Leo.
  • The Paladins “waste no time marching my friends to the edge of the tower and hurling them both into the air. Stick wails like a wounded cub…” A Jin of a spider saves them.
  • When birds attack Leo and his friends, the spider “pulls them close and spools the beasts in layer after layer of webbing. He mercifully lowers his prisoners to the sea face-up, so they can breathe.”
  • More birds attack and “the minokaw latches on to Zoya’s arm with its foot, digging sharp claws into her flesh. She yowls. Stick sinks his teeth into the minokaw’s foot while Wajid sends three rapid punches into the minokaw’s stomach until it releases Zoya. . . Magmar drives his two feet into the minokaws’ chest, killing them instantly.”
  • Leo is told how the demon Hasatamara came to be. Before he was a demon, he killed his brother.
  • Leo and his friends hide in a cave, but soldiers find them. “Magmar drops from the ceiling and quickly pins one intruder to the floor, while Wajid tackles the other… Wajid’s challenger wriggles free and knocks Wajid to the ground, then swings a blade at Magmar. The giant spider dodges the attack and seizes the soldier by the throat.” No one is injured.
  • Leo’s mother is thrown over a cliff. “Mira plunges below the edge of the cliff and out of sight. Magmar bounds after her, but he’s too late.” The Red Firewing saves Mira.
  • Leo and his friends battle the Maguar leader and her friends over several chapters. During the fight, soldiers “roll Magmar to the lip of the cliff, brutally stabbing and tearing his body as they go. Screeching with pain and fury and gushing blood… a badly wounded Magmar tumbles over the edge to the sea, where he will surely meet his death on sharp rocks.” Several people are killed.
  • When Leo is about to lose the battle, he calls for a legion, and “the whole battlefield trembles and shifts like ripples of wind on water. All at once, millions of mice rise up from the dirt, announcing themselves with terrible squealing.” The mice swarm the soldiers, “pulling warriors down, filling their mouths and ears, smothering and suffocating.” Leo calls off the mice before the men are killed.
  • During the battle, a group of Maguar helps Leo. “…Not only Abba but several members of his family are among the dead.”

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Zoya calls her brother “brick brain” once.
  • The Maguar calls Leo’s race “demonics.” In one scene, a Maguar calls them “stinking, sneaking, demonics.”

Supernatural

  • The Maguar leader wants to find the Axis of the Ancients. “Somehow the Axis makes it possible for the Four Guardians to be on earth at the same time without killing the Shakyah or causing devastation to the world around them.” The Maguar leader is hoping the Four Guardians will go into battle with her.
  • Leo is a Spinner who is compelled to tell stories. When they are telling a story, a vision appears, which only the Spinner can see. When the story ends, “a character or creature is always left behind when the disease hits me. These beings are faded, ghostly, and freakish.” Leo tries to hide the fact that he is a Spinner, but he often has these visions. When a character from the vision appears, Leo can talk to them.
  • Leo learns that Spinners “are gateways to and from another world. The fictions are gifts from Alayah, sent through Spinners, gifts of wisdom and truth. For a few powerful Spinners, beings from the stories are pulled into our world to protect and serve the one who brought them here.”
  • When a Spinner is a Shakyah, they have special power. When they say, “the name of a Jin, it is flesh and blood like all creatures in this world. When its earthly body is destroyed, or when the Shakyah who brought it dies, the Jin returns to the haven.”
  • Leo has dreams that “let me see things that have happened, or things that will happen.”
  • Hasatamara is a demon locked inside a mountain. “Hasatamara is the fabled sea demon who was drawn onto land by the salty scent of blood spilled in a prehistoric war… He rose up with a mighty wave and flooded much of the earth.”
  • When Leo spins a story, a ghostlike, transparent tortoise appears. When an archer shoots at his friend, Leo says the tortoise’s name. “The Black Tortoise’s name is accompanied by a thundering boom, like having your head dunked underwater. The air ripples outward from Lamasura [the tortoise]. Everything becomes deadly still, frozen in time.” Leo is able to grab the arrow and save his friend. Then, “the boom sounds again, and things return to normal.”
  • When a being comes from “the Haven, a world beyond ours,” they are called Jin. The being wants to return to their world. In order to send them back, Leo only has to say “I am willing.”  When he says the words, “Instantly a fluttering sensation fills my chest. A cavity of light blasts out of my ribs. The brightness swirls and expands until my upper body is replaced by a vision of the Haven, where countless beings orbit an unearthly light.” The tortoise steps into the light and disappears.
  • Leo discovers that “if Jin are kept in this world too long, they become sick. Eventually they shift and become servants of the demon.”
  • Lamasura, one of the Four Guardians, can bend time.

Spiritual Content

  • Singas believe that the Maguar’s god, Alayah, is a “make-believe god.”
  • Leo questions, “If Alayah is so powerful and so good, couldn’t Alayah free the Jin?” Leo and a Jin discuss Alayah’s nature and how Alayah wants people to decide to do what’s right.
  • The Jin of a spider appears. The Jin, Magmar, is known for being deceptive. Leo wonders, “If Alayah is tricking him again by sending him here. Maybe what the spider means for bad, Alayah will use for good.”
  • Daviyah was a Maguar who died and “Daviyah’s spirit dwells in the Red Firewing, like all he Shakyahs before him.”
  • One of the Jin says, “The Ancients say if we trust Alayah with every step, Alayah makes the path clear.”
  • A Jin says, “Trust in Alayah with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.”

Dragon’s Halloween

Dragon waits too long to go to the pumpkin patch. When he gets there, he finds six small pumpkins. When Alligator and Fox see Dragon carving his pumpkins, they laugh. Fox says, “Those pumpkins are too small to be scary.” Even though the pumpkins are small, Dragon is able to make a scary jack-o-lantern.

After carving pumpkins, Dragon has a hard time deciding what costume to wear to a costume party. He finally dresses as a mummy, but on the way to the party, rain ruins Dragon’s costume. His friends laugh at his silly costume. But then a pumpkin falls on Dragon’s head and all of his friends are so scared they jump into Hippo’s arms. When Dragon removes the pumpkin, everyone feels better. Everyone except the one animal that Hippo sat on.

In the final story, Dragon is frightened by strange sounds in the night. When Dragons yells, an angry squirrel tells him, “That’s no monster. That’s your stomach! Now go home and get something to eat before you wake up the whole forest!” So Dragon goes home and bakes a feast of pumpkin-flavored foods. And then he “ate and ate and ate.”

Readers won’t be able to get enough of Dragon, the loveable blue dragon. Dragon’s Halloween has three silly, short stories that will entertain readers. Each page has 1-4 easy-to-read sentences and large illustrations. Each Halloween story has a simple plot. The book is intended for children who are learning to read. With simple text, humor, and full-color illustration on every page, Dragon’s Halloween will help readers build confidence and fluency. As Dragon gets into the Halloween spirit, readers will laugh as he discovers both the fun and the scary parts of Halloween.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Forgotten Girl

On a cold winter night, Iris and her best friend Daniel sneak into the woods to play in the freshly fallen snow. There, Iris makes a perfect snow angel—only to find the crumbling gravestone of a young girl named Avery Moorse right beneath her.

Soon strange things start to happen to Iris. She begins having vivid nightmares. She thinks she sees the shadow of a girl lurking in the night, and she feels the pull of the abandoned grave calling her back to the woods…

Obsessed with figuring out what’s going on, Iris and Daniel start to research their town. They discover that Avery’s grave is actually part of an abandoned black cemetery, dating back to a time when white and black people were kept separate in life—and in death. They become determined to restore Avery’s grave and have proper respect finally paid to Avery and the others buried there.

Unfortunately, they have summoned a jealous and demanding ghost, one who’s not satisfied with their plans. She is tired of being overlooked and wants Iris to be her best friend forever—no matter the cost.

The Forgotten Girl is a heart-stopping ghost story intertwined with the historical significance of racism. As Iris and Daniel research their town’s history, they learn about when their junior high was desegregated and the history of segregated cemeteries. The story delves into history, but the examples of racism are completely integrated into the story and never feel like a lecture. Through the characters’ eyes, readers will be able to understand how racism isn’t always overt, but it is always painful.

The story also shines a light on how grief can change people’s lives. When Daniel’s father dies, Daniel becomes fearful and cautious. He spends more time at home and no longer spends time with his friends. However, Daniel is not the only person affected by a death. When Daniel’s grandmother, Suga, was a teenager, her best friend died during a snowstorm. The loss of her friend caused Suga to become fearful and superstitious. Through their experiences, the reader learns the importance of not allowing fear to control your life.

Iris and Daniel’s friendship will draw the reader into the story, but readers will keep reading because of the creepy events that happen. The Forgotten Girl uses an engaging story to present historical information that is both interesting and relevant. At the end of the book, the author’s note gives historical information about abandoned graveyards and her inspiration for the story. However, sensitive readers should be wary of reading The Forgotten Girl because the ghostly events are frightening; readers will be able to imagine the events happening to them. Despite this, The Forgotten Girl should be on everyone’s reading list because of the historical information and positive lessons.

 Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • While doing research, Iris and Daniel learn about when Nelson’s Pond Middle School was desegregated. “There were protests…Avery and the others were spit on, their hair was pulled, and things were thrown at them, when all they wanted to do is go to school. To learn.”
  • A ghost tries to drown Iris so they can be “forever friends.” Daniel sees Iris. “Iris’s head broke the surface of the pond, her mouth open to take a loud gasp of breath, before she was pulled back underwater…she’s pushed Iris into the pond and held her under. Iris tries to fight her, but couldn’t, her arms going right through her instead.” Iris survives the attack. The scene is described over six pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Suga has many superstitions. Suga believes that “Babies can talk to angels, you know.”
  • Suga believes that the snow spirits snatch children. She tells Iris the tale. “When you hear the winter wind, that’s the sound of their screaming. That’s when you’ll know spirits of the snow are ready for their feeding. Wandering children are their prey, lonely in the night. They take the children in the snow, feeding on their fright.”
  • When someone drops their fork, that means they will get an unexpected visitor soon.
  • Suga tells Iris, “If you looked over your left shoulder and saw a ghost, it was probably the devil. If you looked over your right, it was likely an angel.”
  • Suga tells Daniel, “Well, if a ghost is attached to a person, they’ve lost their way to where they were trying to go in the first place… They need to be led to where they need to go, so they can rest. A ghost obsessed with a person is a lost spirit.”
  • When Iris and Daniel are lost in the woods, Daniel “silently prayed, thought about his father… Daniel saw a light. He let himself become relieved. He was starting to see houses!” Iris is afraid that the light is a trap, but Daniel “didn’t think so. He didn’t feel afraid. The light felt like basketball and comic books and trying ties and haircuts…” When Daniel touches the ball of light, “a familiar, warm comfort washed over him. He felt the excitement he used to feel from holding a basketball. He felt his dad telling him that it would be all right, that he was proud of him. That he was at peace.”

Spiritual Content

  • While sneaking out of the house, Iris “tiptoed down the stairs praying that they wouldn’t creak.”
  • When Iris hears a tap-tap-tap, she “prayed that the spirits of the snow wouldn’t come for her tonight in her dreams.”
  • Iris falls asleep. When a noise wakes her up, “she stared straight at the ceiling, realizing she’d fallen asleep praying.”
  • Iris and her family go to church. “The pastor talked about the importance of helping those in need, talking about some of the community service drives they were holding…” During the church service, “they prayed their benediction.”
  • When Daniel’s family go to visit his father’s grave, “Suga closed her eyes in prayer.”
  • Before the meal, Iris’s sister “said a singsongy prayer.”
  • When Iris sneaks out of the house, the neighbor turned on the porch light and yelled to see if anyone was near. Iris “ran past the neighbors’ house, praying that they were already back in bed, not looking for anyone anymore.”

Digging Deep

Asiyah Najjar isn’t sure she wants to play on a travel team. But her best friend Lucy talks her into going to volleyball tryouts. When both Asiyah and Lucy are chosen to be part of the team, Asiyah is excited. But the practices are longer, harder, and more frequent than her old squad’s. Soon, Asiyah isn’t sure that she made the right decision in joining the travel team.

Asiyah is well-known for goofing around and making her friends laugh. While at practice, she keeps up her silly antics but instead of laughing, Asiyah’s new teammates are upset that she’s distracting them. Instead of having fun, Asiyah keeps making mistakes. Instead of upper her game, Asiyah is having difficulty concentration. When she overhears Lucy and her other teammates talking poorly about her, Asiyah wants to quite the team. Will travel volleyball come between Asiyah’s and Lucy’s friendship? Can Asiyah dig deep and jump to the next level of play?

Before quitting, Asiyah asks her brother for advice and with his encouragement, Asiyah begins to ask herself, “Is now the right time for fun?” As Asiyah gets more serious and focused on the game, she realizes that working hard improves her skills. Soon, both her coach and teammates notice Asiyah’s efforts. When Asiyah makes a key play that leads to winning a game, Asiyah knows her hard work has paid off. Asiyah realizes that she doesn’t need to change, she just needed to figure out when to be serious and when to be silly.

Readers will relate to Asiyah, who loves to make people laugh. Her silly faces, dance moves, and jokes are fun, but they also lead to trouble. Like many, Asiyah’s feelings are hurt when her best friend doesn’t stand up for her. Asiyah begins avoiding Lucy, which just makes the problem worse. When Asiyah talks to her brother, he gives her advice—about both volleyball and friendship. Her brother tells her, “Well, you need to decide if you want to put in the effort to get better…If you don’t, then maybe the travel team isn’t right for you. And that’s okay.”

Asiyah is Muslim and wears a hijab. When she tries out for the travel team, she is nervous about having to explain why she wears a hijab. This brief scene is the only time Asiyah’s religion is mentioned. While the story has diverse characters, the characters are one-dimensional and generic.

While the story has some play-by-play sports action, readers of all types will relate to Asiyah’s insecurities, realistic conflicts, and silly antics. Told from Asiyah’s point of view, Digging Deep allows the reader to understand Asiyah’s conflict. Digging Deep has ten short chapters, easy vocabulary, and a simple plot. The cute black and white illustrations that appear every 4 to 7 pages help keep readers engaged. For those who would like to use Digging Deep as a learning opportunity, the end of the book has a word glossary, discussion questions, writing prompts, and a glossary of volleyball terms. Digging Deep will entertain readers and teach them the value of hard work.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Children of Virtue and Vengeance

Since the ritual that brought magic back to Orïsha, rebel maji have been concentrating their forces in preparation to take down the corrupt monarchy that has oppressed them for so long. Not only have the white-haired maji regained their magic, but nobles inside the monarchy have also begun to gain magical powers, heightening the stakes of the upcoming war.

Children of Virtue and Vengeance picks up shortly after the conclusion of Children of Blood and Bone.  The second installment in the Legacy of Orïsha series showcases the political struggles of the Orïsha’s rebel army. The story is told from the rotating perspectives of Inan, Zélie, and Amari. Inan, the crown prince of Orïsha, returns to his mother’s inner circle and struggles to understand which side he should take in the war. Amari, once the princess of Orïsha, has joined the rebellion and is hoping to lead the people to victory and take her place as their new queen. Zélie has become one of the most powerful maji in the rebellion. While she hones her new powers, she also must grapple with processing the traumas she underwent in the first part of her adventure, which was detailed in Children of Blood and Bone.

Amidst endless political turmoil and battles, the reader will likely find the most compelling part of the story to be the relationships between the characters. Amari and Zélie had a strong friendship in the first installment, but political stressors test their bond. Meanwhile, Zélie’s feelings for Inan, which were romantic in the first book, solidify into hatred. Consequently, Zélie begins a new romance with pirate mercenary Roen, while her brother Tzain continues seeing Amari.

Audiences may find the plot unsatisfying, as its pacing does little to hold the reader’s attention. The prolonged battles are difficult to follow and visualize. Characters talk abstractly about the deaths of soldiers and rebels while discussing war strategy, but this limits the battle’s emotional effect. The most compelling parts of this book are the emotional struggles that the characters experience. Zélie, Inan, and Amari all struggle with anxiety, grief, and the long-lasting effects of trauma. They make messy decisions, and their relationships break apart due to stress. Readers who rooted for the friendships forged in the first book may find themselves disappointed when these friendships fall apart.

The politics are hard to follow, and the constant switch of perspectives makes the battle scenes difficult to understand. Despite this, fans of the first book will be happy to have a continuation of the story. However, they won’t find the same adventure and excitement that made the first book so memorable.

Sexual Content

  • Tzain and Amari share an intimate moment. Amari burrows “back into Tzain’s neck, running my fingers across the new stubble along his chin… He runs his thumb along my jaw, igniting a surge almost as powerful as my magic.”
  • When Roen takes his shirt off, Zélie’s “face warms at the sight of his sculpted muscles.”
  • Zélie sees Inan and remembers his “lips that promised me the world. Hands that caressed my skin.”
  • Inan’s cousin jokingly tells him, “I’ve heard the legends of what greatness lies beneath your robes, but I fear I’m far too pure to see it for myself.”
  • Roen touches Zélie’s face, and she thinks, “Though I don’t want to feel anything, his touch makes an ember flicker in my stomach.”
  • During a romantic moment with Tzain, Amari notices “his sandalwood scent, I realize how much I want him. How much I want more… I imagine what a few hours with him might entail. How his kiss might feel.” When they kiss, their “lips meet, and the rush is so strong it spreads through my entire body. A flutter erupts between my legs as I shift, pressing into him.” They are interrupted and don’t go any further.
  • At a celebration, Amari slow dances with Tzain. “Tzain dips his chin and kisses the top of my head. He places his hands along my waist, making my skin tingle when his thumbs brush a sliver of bare skin.” Later, they leave the party and kiss more. Amari’s “fingers curl the moment his lips meet mine. I sink into him, tasting the sweet remnants of palm wine… I think of how many times I’ve imagined this moment. Imagined being here with him. My pulse races as I slip my fingers under the hem of his tunic.”
  • As they’re about to move further, Tzain makes her stop because he’s afraid she’s only consenting to intimacy because she’s afraid she’ll die soon. Amari says, “I don’t want to be with you because I’m afraid of dying. I want to be with you because I love you.” They take off their clothes and lay on a bed together, but the narrative skips over the actual act.
  • During an outing with Roen, Zélie asks him, “Is this a ploy to get me naked?” Roen says, “You know I don’t need ploys for that.”
  • Zélie sees something and says, “That’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen!” Roen tells her, “That’s usually what my lovers say about me.”
  • Zélie and Roen have an intimate moment. Zélie surrenders “to his touch. To the feel of his lips against my ear. He makes me lose myself in his arms, stealing the air from my lungs with every caress. ‘Is this okay?’ he whispers. My breath hitches as he squeezes my waist, hands lingering at the hem of my tunic.” They stop soon afterwards.

Violence

  • A lot of the battle scenes are magic-centered. For example, when Amari launches an attack on the enemy in battle, she magically “strikes them in an endless blue wave.”
  • Later in the battle, someone uses magic to turn the army’s mounts rabid. “Soldiers scream as they’re flung form their panthenaires’ backs. The riders foam at the mouth… A rabid panthenaire sinks its fangs into its soldier’s throat.”
  • While discussing military strategy, someone floats the possibility of the queen using innocent villagers “as shields.”
  • Zélie recalls how the mercenary Roen “once told me that his torturers carved a new line [in his arms] every time they killed a member of his crew before his eyes; twenty-three tally marks for twenty-three lives.”
  • As Amari begins to practice magic, she finds it painful. “Midnight-blue tendrils shoot from my fingertips like sparks from a flint. My palms sting as my skin splits. My scars rip open at the seams… I stumble into the mirror. Crimson smears across my reflection. Blood trickles down my chest as I fall to my knees.”
  • During a battle, the royal army releases majacite gas into the air, which is toxic to maji. Maji “scream like their nails are being ripped off.” A maji’s skin “sizzles and burns. He struggles to scream as he chokes on the black smoke.”
  • Zélie is hit by the toxic gas and describes how “smoke burns my skin like a branding iron… The poison sears the skin of my calf. Another cloud hits the scars on my back.”
  • The rebellion uses a large stone dome as their base of operations. Amari watches the queen use magic to collapse it. The queen “punches her fists into the ground. The earth splits open at her touch… Screams fill the dome as Nehanda’s fracture cuts across the sand… Then I hear the crack. The crack cuts through the dome’s wall… The dome crumbles.”
  • While recklessly riding her lionaire, Zélie crashes and nearly falls off a cliff. “I claw at the sky as I fly toward the forest. My body smashes through wiry branches before slamming into a tree. I wheeze as my chest collides with hard bark. My ribs fracture with a loud crack. Blood flies from my lips as my vision blacks out and I tumble to the ground.”
  • In their dreamscape, Zélie sees Inan “hold the scarred flesh of his abdomen as if it still leaks blood. I can almost see his memories coming back to him. The pain of his father’s sword driving into his gut.” He is physically unharmed. The wound he is remembering was detailed in the first book.
  • During a magical dreamscape, Zélie gets mad at Inan and makes “black vines tighten around his throat, cutting off his words as he chokes. Blood drips down his back, oozing as the jagged bark scrapes into his skin.”
  • While escaping the palace, Inan punches guards in the throat. The guards “wheeze… their grips loosen and I break free, ignoring the way they scream.”
  • Inan watches from a distance as Lagos comes under attack. “Countless balls of fire arc through the air. They explode when they hit the ground… Screams ring through the night as the firebombs ravage Lagos all at once.”
  • When Inan uses magic, he raises his hand “and my magic explodes with such force I hear the bones shatter in my arm.”
  • Inan sees someone from the royal military kill a maji by injecting them with majacite. The torturer says, “Do you know what it feels like to have majacite in your veins? First it blocks the illness you call a gift. Then it burns you from within.” Inan watches as the torturer “yanks the girl’s head to the side, exposing her neck… The girl cries out when the needle pierces her skin. She tumbles like a brick, body seizing in the dirt as the majacite kills her from within.”
  • During a fight, a fellow rebel maji attacks Amari with magic. “A cobalt cloud roars from [the maji’s] hand, searing into me. The cloud engulfs my mind like a match ignited in my skull… Her magic feels like thousands of nails drilling through my bones.” The fight is described over three pages.
  • The maji tells Amari during the fight, “Kill your vile family. Kill yourself.”
  • Amari fights the maji, and she screams “as I dig my hand into [her] hair and pull, driving my elbow into her temple… I straddle her body as a cobalt blaze ignites in my hands.”
  • When Zélie encounters Inan, she attacks him. Zélie shifts her “weight, twisting Inan’s sword from his hands. Before he can react, I extend my blades. My spear slices through his side… I drive my knee into his gut.”
  • Inan gets into a fight with a trusted friend. Inan pulls “a dagger from my belt, throwing it at his thigh.” The friend stops the dagger with magic, avoiding injury.
  • Zélie is caught in a massive chain of explosions and falls into water. “My ears ring from the string of explosions. I can’t see anything. Falling rocks slice through my skin… The collision knocks precious seconds of air from my lungs.”
  • A character loses a limb in the explosions, and “his severed arm lies underneath the boulder.”
  • A character dies when a column of earth is magically thrusted through his stomach. His “eyes bulge as it punctures his stomach… he slumps forward as blood leaks from his gut, pooling onto the silver floor.”
  • A maji summons a magical gas during battle. “The gas unleashes its attack, launching the wall of death… The cloud moves like a wave, crashing over everything in its path. Birds squawk as they try to escape… One’s wings fold as it’s flung into the cloud. The second it’s hit by the gas, its body shrivels. It plummets to the ground.”
  • Zélie watches the gas hit a young mother. “Blood shoots from her mouth on impact. Her skin shrivels as it turns black. I see the moment she realizes that she won’t make it. The baby falls from her hands.” The mother dies, but the baby is safe.
  • A maji attacks Amari. The maji “opens her hands and dark shadows of death shoot forth. Pain rips through me as they wrap around my body and my throat.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Roen has “a cigarette tucked between his teeth.”
  • The rebel maji drink palm wine during a celebration. Amari takes a cup and joins in a toast.
  • During the celebration, “music and laughter bounce against the sanctuary walls. Palm wine runs free.”
  • A couple makes a scene during the celebration. As a man tells a woman, “I love you!” the woman says, “You’re drunk!”
  • Amari doesn’t drink palm wine because “Father wouldn’t drink before battle. Neither can I.”
  • Inan drugs the queen by putting her own sedatives in a flute of wine.

Language

  • A piece of fabric is “not fit to wipe a leopanaire’s ass.”
  • “Gods” and “my gods” are used as invectives infrequently.
  • “Skies” is used frequently as an invective. For example, “What in the skies?”
  • Maggots is a slur that refers to the white-haired maji. People in the royal family often use the slur as a hateful pejorative.
  • Twice, specific gods are invoked by name: “For Yemoja’s sake” and “By the grace of Oya.”
  • Dammit is used four times.

Supernatural

  • Several chapters concern the effects of a ritual wherein Zélie binds her lifeforce to that of another maji. Zélie “used the moonstone to connect our lifeforces. But without a blood sacrifice to bind our connection, neither of us can survive.” While they are connected, if one sustains an injury, both of them will suffer.
  • An elder volunteers herself in a blood sacrifice. “Blood magic spreads inside her, glowing through every vein… With the final chant, the shine around her becomes too bright. She lights up the night like a comet flying through the sky.” Instead of physically dying, the elder magically disappears. This ritual marks a turning point in a battle and gives the rebel maji enormous advantage over their enemy.
  • Zélie and Inan meet in a dreamscape, a magical landscape that exists only in their dreams.

Spiritual Content

  • Much of the spiritual content concerns the magic system, and there is little separation between the spiritual and the supernatural. Maji get their powers from the same gods that they pray to.
  • In a moment of hopelessness, Zélie thinks that her dead mother “was wrong to keep me on the earth.” The spiritual beliefs are as real as the magic system, and Zélie previously met her dead mother during a magical ritual. The existence of an afterlife is treated not as speculation, but as fact.
  • Zélie says, “From the gods comes the gift of life… to the gods, that gift must be returned.”
  • Zélie says, “This is destiny. The gods don’t make mistakes.” She’s referring to her new role as a maji with the rebellion.

by Caroline Galdi

Forged by Fire

Gerald’s mother, Monique, has always been unstable. When his mom goes to jail, Gerald goes to live with his Aunt Queen, who gives him a stable, loving home. After six years, Gerald’s mom returns. Gerald has no desire to spend time with Monique. When Aunt Queen dies, Gerald’s life dramatically changes.

Monique and her husband, Jordan, bring Gerald into a home filled with anger and abuse. Jordan, a brutal man, doesn’t hesitate to use his fists. The only bright spot in Gerald’s new home is his stepsister, Angel. Living in a home of misery and despair, Gerald tries his best to protect Angel. When Gerald learns that Jordan is sexually abusing Angel, he finally reaches out for help.

When Jordan is behind bars, Gerald hopes their lives will get better, but his substance-addicted mother rarely pays attention to her two kids. Drug, violence, and uncertainty surround Gerald and Angel. When Jordan gets out of jail, he says he has changed and Monique welcomes him back home. Gerald doesn’t trust Jordan, but is he strong enough to face Jordan’s anger and protect Angel?

Forged by Fire vividly paints a picture of the devastation caused by addiction and abuse. As a three-year-old, Gerald was already consumed with the fear and pain of living with a neglectful, abusive mother. After a fire that almost killed Gerald, his mother spends six years in jail. When Gerald is thrust back into an abusive home, his apathetic mother refuses to acknowledge the physical, sexual, and mental abuse that is a daily part of Gerald’s and Angel’s lives.

Gerald is an admirable character, who tries to keep his stepsister safe. Despite his best efforts, Gerald cannot always shield his sister from abuse. To make matters worse, both Gerald’s friends and the adults in his life fail him because they casually accept the abuse and provide little support. Instead, they act as if the abuse is just something that Gerald needs to deal with.

Forged by Fire vividly describes Gerald’s abuse, which allows the reader to feel Gerald’s despair. In a world surrounded by violence, the brutal details of Gerald’s life come into focus. Since the story accurately portrays an abusive home, some readers may be disturbed by the images of abuse. Even though the story is engaging, the conclusion hints that Gerald’s life will always be full of turmoil.

Gerald’s story will stay with readers for a long time. Even though readers will admire Gerald’s perseverance, the story ends with a hopeless tone. Readers are left wondering if any adult will step in and help Gerald and his sister. Without assistance, Gerald’s future will be grim.

Forged by Fire is the second installment in the Hazelwood High Trilogy; however, the story can be read as a stand-alone. The events from Tears of a Tiger are mentioned, but they do not have the same emotional impact as they did in the first book of the series. While the story will spark conversations, both Tears of a Tiger and Forged by Fire don’t offer solutions. While both stories are engaging, they describe situations in detail that will make readers uncomfortable. In the end, the Hazelwood High Trilogy is an engaging, easy-to-read series that tackles difficult topics that are relevant to teenagers.

Sexual Content

  • Gerald’s mother was abusive, and “Mama got really mad when you woke her up, especially if she had somebody in bed with her.”
  • Angel’s father sexually abused her. “Terrified, she could only weep silently as he touched her, rubbing his hands over her arms, her back, her legs. He had done this many times before, ever since she was a baby… Jordan whispered in her ear, his breath hot and foul, ‘You remember our secret game, Angel… Touching is good. Telling is bad. If you tell, your mama will put you out in the snow all alone, and you will die. Now, let’s play.’”
  • When Angel gets chickenpox, Jordan stays home. “Angel tearfully removed her T-shirt while Jordan watched… He touched her back and she tensed at the roughness of his fingers. Angel wept silently while he explored her body for chickenpox spots. He took his time. He found all of them.” In order to keep Angel quiet, Jordan says, “Oh, by the way, if you’re lookin’ for the stinkin’ cat, it’s in the oven. Don’t worry, I didn’t turn it on. But if you say one word to anyone—I swear I’ll kill that cat and cook it!”
  • One of the boys on the basketball team jokes that college scouts are “knockin’ on my door, beggin’ me to drive six new Cadillacs to their school, to instruct the women in the dorms on the finer points of, shall we say, scorin’…”
  • When a girl calls Gerald looking for her boyfriend, Gerald says, “I bet he’s in the backseat of his car, kissin’ all over some real sexy woman!”
  • Jordan comes home drunk and finds Angel home alone. When Jordan grabs her, “Angel, eyes wide with fear, yanked free of his grip and ran screaming toward the door… He grabbed her again, both arms this time, and dragged her, kicking and screaming, toward her bedroom door.” The story implies that Jordan rapes Angel.

Violence

  • When Gerald was three, his mother caught him playing with a lighter. Mama “made the fire come out and she held his hand over the flame…” The flame “made his hand scream and made him dizzy with pain, and he could smell something like the meat Mama cooked, but it was his hand.”
  • Gerald’s mother “yells and gets her belt or her shoe and hits, and hits, and hits…” During his mother’s bad days, “she would slap him and he’d cry and he’d cuss at her and then she would slap him until his head hurt.”
  • Monique’s husband was “mean, and Monique was truly afraid of him. He would hit her whenever she made him angry, which was often… When he was drunk, it was worse.”
  • Angel tries to avoid Jordan. Angel “took a deep breath, lowered her head, and curried past him. But she wasn’t quick enough. His fist, like a hammer, connected with her back as she ran. She groaned in pain, but dared not stop.” Gerald tries to help. He “leaped into the room, jumped between Angel and Jordan, and the blow came down on him instead. Gerald was tough and strong, but the force of that punch almost made him lose his breath.”
  • When Gerald accidently walks in on Jordan molesting Angel, Jordan “slapped Gerald full in the face.” Gerald is too afraid to do anything.
  • Gerald tries to avoid Jordan, but “Jordan was mean—he smacked Gerald on the back of his head if he got a C on his report card, he punched him on his arm if he spilled milk, and he whacked his legs for not bringing him a beer fast enough.”
  • Gerald’s mother is hit by a taxi. The driver says, “She ran right in front of me! I didn’t see her!” Monique is injured.
  • Jordan gets angry at Monique, and “he raised his arm above his head and slapped Monique with the back of his hand so hard that she fell onto the bed. Pain and confusion filled her face… Gerald was coming back from his job. His fist hit Gerald full in the face. Blood spurted from Gerald’s nose and lip as he staggered to the floor.”
  • Gerald comes home to find the house on fire. “Angel lay on her bed, barely conscious. Jordan was walking slowly toward the foot of her bed…” Jordan and Gerald get in a fight. “With the steel toe of his cowboy boots, Jordan kicked Gerald squarely on the shin. Gerald screamed in pain. He heard the bone crack. He fell once again.” Jordan leaves the two kids to die in the fire.

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • Gerald learned to avoid his mother when “she sniffed the white stuff.”
  • Gerald’s step-dad Jordan gets drunk often.
  • When Jordan goes to jail, Monique “had not returned to the drugs, but she had developed a taste for whiskey and was finding more and more excuses to go out and drink with her friends.”
  • After Monique’s accident, the doctor prescribes pain pills. “She keeps insisting that her head hurt…but that’s only when she runs out of her pain pills. Jordan kept her supplied with refills of her prescription, and when the doctor wouldn’t give her anymore, he bought these weird-lookin’ shiny red pills…”
  • After a while, Monique “used beer now, instead of water, to wash down the pills that Jordan bought her.”
  • Several of Gerald’s friends go out drinking after a game. They are in a fiery car crash, and one of the boys dies.

Language

  • When Angel tells her mother about Jordan’s abuse, Monique calls her a “filthy liar.”
  • Jordan calls Monique a “witless idiot!”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • When Gerald almost died in a fire, his aunt says, “Well, Praise the Lord, he didn’t.”
  • When Gerald’s aunt tucked him into bed, she “prayed for strength.”
  • Before breakfast, Gerald’s aunt prays, “Dear Lord, be with this family. We’re gonna need you. Bless this food, and please be with Gerald on this special day. Amen.”

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess Vol 3

Link continues on his quest to save the children from his village and dispel the dark clouds that are threatening to take over the land. Link returns to the Twilight Realm in the form of a wolf and quickly discovers that the children are stuck in the Twilight Realm as lost souls! With the help of an unlikely wolf ally, Link must learn to become a much stronger warrior if he wants a chance to save those he loves.

Much like the previous two installments, this graphic novel closely follows the plot of the video game with a few diversions and added elements. For intense Zelda fans, another taste of Twilight Princess will make this graphic novel enjoyable. However, casual gamers will likely be bored due to the repetitive plot, and those who are not familiar with the Twilight Princess game may be confused in a few places. All in all, this graphic novel is best for readers who are already a part of the Link fandom.

Link is a lovable character that will capture readers’ interests. While one of the children becomes slightly more developed in this installment, Link is mostly surrounded by two-dimensional characters. There is more action in this book than in the first book, but aside from the last battle, most of the battle images are not graphic. In Twilight Princess Vol 3, Link continues to explore what true strength really is, and he finally realizes that strength lies in protecting the innocent.

Twilight Princess Vol 3 has intense fighting and a dark tone. Even though the manga artwork is incredible, the fight scenes are a bit confusing because there is so much going on. Unlike the previous books, this volume shows different characters’ points of view, which helps develop the characters and gives the story an interesting twist. Twilight Princess Vol 3 continues to develop Link and his world. Although Twilight Princess Vol 3 contains action and adventure, the slow pace of world-building may make it difficult for some readers to get through the story.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • While in his wolf form, Link kills two monsters by ripping them apart with his teeth.
  • Link fights a skeleton warrior as part of a training session. At the end of their fight, Link cuts off the skeleton warrior’s head. The skeleton warrior then stands up, picks up his head, and congratulates Link.
  • A captured village girl considers committing suicide. The girl wonders, “Rather than living alone with monsters…” and almost cuts her wrist with the pottery shard, but is interrupted by a kitten that needs her help.
  • Link battles a monster and his minions during a 32-page battle. In the end, Link slashes the monster across the chest with his sword, and the reader sees the monster bleeding profusely before he falls into a gorge.
  • A monster clubs a village boy in the head, and then is attacked by a mob of village children.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Link lives in a world with magic, shadow beasts, and demons. When people from the land of light are engulfed by the Twilight Realm, they turn into lost souls. This is what happens to the children from Link’s village. When he finds them, he cannot interact with them, as they are merely lost souls.
  • When Link travels to the Twilight Realm, he is transformed into a giant wolf. While in his wolf form, Link can communicate with animals.
  • Link learns that “humans aren’t the only race living in Hyrule” when he meets a Goron. Gorons are giant rock-like creatures that “live in Death Mountain and eat rocks.”
  • Link meets a magical wolf that transports Link to his realm in the clouds. Once there, the wolf shows himself as a skeleton warrior and trains Link to be a better swordsman.

Spiritual Content

  • There is a legend that when evil people tried to use magic to take over the land, “the goddesses grew angry at this affront and sent four spirits of light to seal the upstarts’ magical power away in the shadow crystal. Furthermore, the mirror of shadow prevented these wizards from entering the world of light. They were exiled to the twilight realm.”
  • Renado, a shaman and physician, takes the children to his village to protect them.
  • The children hide from the monsters in a house. There is a statue of a spirit in the house. The shaman says, “perhaps the power of the spirit Eldin does not allow the monsters to enter.” Link later meets the Eldin, “one of the spirits of light who gather in Hyrule and protect this land.”
  • Renado says, “thank the gods,” when his daughter is saved by monsters.

by Morgan Lynn

Race to the Sun

Lately, seventh-grader Nizhoni Begay has been able to detect monsters, like the man in the fancy suit who was in the bleachers at her basketball game. Turns out he’s Mr. Charles, her dad’s new boss at the oil and gas company. He’s alarmingly interested in Nizhoni and her brother, Mac, their Navajo heritage, and the legend of the Hero Twins. Nizhoni knows he’s a threat, but her father won’t believe her.

When Nizhoni’s dad disappears the next day, he left behind a message that said “Run!” The siblings and Nizhoni’s best friend, Davery, are then thrust into a rescue mission that can only be accomplished with the help of Diné Holy People, who are all disguised as quirky characters. However, their aid will come at a price. The kids must pass a series of trials that seem as if nature itself is out to kill them. If Nizhoni, Mac, and Davery can reach the house of the Sun, they will be outfitted with what they need to defeat the ancient monsters Mr. Charles has unleashed. It will take more than weapons “for Nizhoni to become the hero she was destined to be.”

Middle-grade readers will relate to Nizhoni, who wants to be good at something but just isn’t. When her emotionally distant father is kidnapped, Nizhoni embarks on a quest to save her father. However, she isn’t alone; Nizhoni’s book-loving best friend and annoying brother join her adventure through the Southwest. On the quest, Nizhoni and her friends meet the “Holy People” as well as some scary monsters.

The fast-paced story combines Navajo mythology with moments of humor, unexpected twists, and timeless lessons about friendship, family, and failure. The importance of hard work and helping others is weaved into the story. Spider Woman says, “All good things come through hard work. If something is too easy to get, it isn’t worth much, is it?”

At first, Nizhoni doesn’t feel like she has the qualities to become a hero. However, Nizhoni learns that she doesn’t need to change. One of the story’s recurring themes is: “Don’t worry about what you’re supposed to be. Just be who you are.” While Nizhoni shows bravery, she is able to defeat the monsters only with the help of others.

Race to the Sun will take readers on an action-packed quest and introduce them to Navajo mythology. Nizhoni is an interesting but imperfect narrator. Readers will relate to Nizhoni’s insecurities and her moments of courage. The conclusion is rushed, and there are several holes in the plot, but this doesn’t take away from the book’s enjoyment. For readers looking for more marvelous mythology books, the following books will delight you: the Storm Runner series by J.C. Cervantes and the Pandava series by Roshani Chokshi.

Sexual Content

  • When Nizhoni’s parents are reunited, they kiss.

Violence

  • Charles tells Nizhoni that he wants her dead. Without thinking, Nizhoni runs “full tilt at Mr. Charles. His startled eyes are the last thing I see before I kick that knife right out of his hand… I’m not done. I head-butt Mr. Charles in the stomach… And for good measure, I execute a perfect elbow strike to the cheek, just like I learned in self-defense class Coach taught in PE last year.” Nizhoni’s dad comes in and stops her.
  • In the past, Nizhoni had to attend anger management classes for “punching Elora Huffstatter in the nose.”
  • Adrien, a bully, and his friends corner Mac. “Mac screams, an animal-like bloodcurdling cry of rage. He slams his hands onto the ground, palms flat… A low rumble rolls across the baseball field, like an army of badgers tunneling through the earth, and then, suddenly, all the sprinklers turn on…” Mac makes the sprinklers shoot at the bullies. “The jets are all pointed at them, zipping back and forth in sharp slashing cuts, or pulsing bursts aimed at their eyes.” The bullies eventually run away.
  • To save Black Jet Girl, Nizhoni needs to get by two buzzards. She throws a feather into a fire and “it explodes into a million tiny salt crystals that pop and sizzle. Hot granules fly everywhere… The salt strikes their protruding eyes and they stumble around, screeching in pain.”
  • Some people believe that Spider Woman eats children. However, Spider Woman helps Nizhoni and her friends.
  • Nizhoni and her friends are following the Rainbow Road. They enter a corridor surrounded by rocks. When Mac disappears, Nizhoni runs after him. When she finds him, “he’s staring right at me. With big red eyes… He bares his sharp teeth and hisses… Monster Mac takes a swipe at me, and I see that besides having long, pointy teeth, he has long, pointy claws, too.”
  • When Nizhoni sees monster Mac, she turns to “launch a swinging kick right at the monster’s stomach. It lands with an Oomph! I elbow him in the chest and he doubles over. One more kick—this time to his ribs—and he’s down. He’s on all fours, panting.” Monster Mac “becomes a cockroach. It scuttles off…” The fight is described over one page.
  • In a multi-chapter battle, Nizhoni and her friends fight to keep the monsters from returning to earth. “Nizhoni lifts her bow and…release. The arrow flies true, a streak of white lightning that hits the banáá yee aghání in its veiny red eyeball. The monster screeches and veers away…”
  • A banáá yee aghání goes after Nizhoni’s mother. “Mom waits until the buzzard is practically on top of her, and then she swings the sword. Lightning crackles from its tip, slashing the monster’s face. Ligai drops, almost too quickly, streaking under the buzzard and dragging its beak across the monster’s underside, tearing it open.”
  • During the fight, Mac falls off a flying bird. “A shimmery substance unfurls in the air underneath him like a silver net. He falls into the glimmering stuff, and it completely envelops his body, rolling him into what looks like a giant burrito.” Later, Mac finds out that Spider Woman put him in a spider web to keep him safe.
  • When Mr. Rock points a gun, Nizhoni’s mom “launches herself into the air, her sword slashing downward, and Mr. Rock’s gun goes flying—while still attached to his hand.”
  • Mr. Charles shoots an arrow at Nizhoni. “It’s a direct hit right over my heart. I scream as fire radiates through my body… I struggle to breathe, my pulse beating too loud in my ears… I fall to the canyon below.” Nizhoni discovers that she cannot be killed by her own arrow.
  • Nizhoni uses lightning “that’s been building up in my blood. And I blow Mr. Charles to smithereens… And then a sound like a bubble popping. And then more pops as all the banáá yee aghání in the sky above me burst into a blaze of white lightning and turn into ash that rains down on me.”

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • A girl tells Nizhoni that her mom “left us because I was a dirty Indian. Then she made war-whopping noises like something out of a bad Western.”
  • Adrien, a bully, and his friends bother Mac. The bully says, “Marcus Be-gay! Oh, please be gay!” The rest of the boys chant, “Gay! Gay! Gay!”
  • Adrien calls Nizhoni a loser.
  • “Oh my God” is used as an exclamation one time.
  • Heck is used three times. For example, when Mr. Charles meets Nizhoni and her brother, who are a mess, Mr. Charles asks, “But holy heck, what happened to you all?”
  • Nizhoni calls her brother a dork.
  • A buzzard tells his brother, “Don’t be an idiot.”
  • Nizhoni says her mom is “badass.”

Supernatural

  • Nizhoni can tell if a person is a monster in disguise. When she sees Adrien, a bully, “his eyes meet mine and that horrible sensation—my monster detecting—springs to life. The hair on the back of my neck rises, and a chill like the trail of an ice cube scuttles down my spine.”
  • Nizhoni knows the “language of animals” and can see in the dark.
  • Marcus can control water. He tells Nizhoni, “I’ve made water move before. Like in the bathtub.”
  • Nizhoni’s stuffed horned animal comes to life. Nizhoni had “been raised to take seemingly supernatural things in stride. Up to now, talking animals hadn’t been a part of my everyday life, but my shimásání taught me there’s more to the world than we humans can see…”
  • Mr. Charles is a shape-shifter who can look human. He is related “to a nasty kind of monster called a banáá yee aghání. These are vicious bird creatures.”
  • Nizhoni meets a crystal boy, who is made of white crystal rock, and a girl, who is made out of black rock.
  • Nizhoni and her best friend Davery go into a school that is having a prom. They are tempted to stay, but when they leave, “in an instant, the whole gym shimmers and disappears.”
  • Nizhoni looks into a mirror. She “leans forward to press my hands against the mirror, and suddenly the surface is not there anymore… I go plummeting into the glass.” Nizhoni is transported to a glade, “where she can see people, but they can’t see her.”
  • Nizhoni meets the sun, who is “wearing blinding bright armor and carrying a golden shield. And step-by-step on an invisible set of stairs, he appears to be climbing into the sky.”
  • Nizhoni finds her mom, her friends, and others encased in amber. When the amber cases shatter, Nizhoni looks up, and “Mac is standing on a platform, yawning and stretching his arms over his head.” All the people in the amber come back to life.
  • Nizhoni and her friends must fight a group of buzzards, but “only a monster slayer can look into their eyes.”

Spiritual Content

  • Along the journey, Nizhoni meets the Holy People. Someone tells her, “The tricky part is that the Holy People don’t always answer, or at least not in ways that you might recognize. But they are always there.”
  • After Nizhoni’s father is kidnapped, she prays “with all my might that he’s out of that trunk and getting food and water.”

A Perfect Day

Warm sun. Cool water. A full bird feeder. What could possibly spoil a perfect afternoon in Bert’s backyard?

Lane Smith’s tale imagines how one creature’s idea of a perfect afternoon might be quite different than another’s. For a cat, the perfect day is spending time in a “flower bed where the daffodils grew.” But for a squirrel, who cannot reach the bird feeder, a perfect day is hanging out chomping on a cob of corn. The story shows how everyone’s idea of a perfect day is different, and how one bear ruins the others’ perfect day.

The beautiful, textured illustrations use muted, soft colors to draw in readers. Pictures show how Bert takes care of the wild animals without turning them into pets. Bert puts seeds in a bird feeder and gives the squirrel a cob of corn. The pictures also have a hint of humor. For example, when a bear steals a squirrel’s corn, the bear smiles wide showing his corn teeth.

The easy-to-read story uses short, repetitive sentences, which make A Perfect Day a great bedtime story. On the back cover, a picture of a bear raiding a bird feeder shows how the story was inspired by Smith’s personal experience. Depending on the reader’s location, A Perfect Day could be used to discuss why people should not feed wild animals. A Perfect Day is a perfect book to show how anyone—animal or human—can enjoy the simple things in life.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None
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