Icon: AR Test

Scarlett Hart Monster Hunter

Scarlett Hart isn’t afraid of monsters. As the orphaned daughter of two legendary monster hunters, she is prepared to rid the entire city of monsters! The only problem is that the Royal Academy for the Pursuit and Eradication of Zoological Eccentricities says she’s too young to fight perilous horrors. But that doesn’t stop Scarlett and her trusty butler. They fight mummies, a horrid hound, and save the city from a monster attack.

Scarlett is a plucky heroine who isn’t afraid to fight. With the help of her butler, Napoleon, Scarlett is able to keep her monster hunting a secret. However, her parents’ rival, Count Stankovic, wants all of the monster hunting glory for himself. The Count will try anything to get Scarlett out of the way. Every time Scarlett turns around, the Count is hiding in the shadows, waiting for his chance to get proof that Scarlett is breaking the law. When a group of monsters starts mysteriously manifesting, Scarlett knows she has to risk breaking the rules and being put in jail. She will do whatever it takes to save the city.

Scarlett goes around the city fighting sea monsters, fire-breathing monsters, and gargoyles. Even though the monsters always meet their demise—sometimes in creative ways—the illustrations keep out the bloody gore. Most of the story revolves around battling monsters and the Count. However, Sedgwick includes enough detail and family background to give the story a little depth.

Scarlett Hart Monster Hunter is an entertaining story with elements of steampunk. Even though the action revolves around monsters, no one is seriously injured. The story has many elements that will entertain middle school readers, like the string of funny, creative insults Scarlett uses when referring to the Count. The illustrations use many onomatopoeias, such as, “creak, fazaza, tweak, phut, phut, sputter.” The cartoon-like illustrations use shades of brown to mimic the darker tone of the story.

Readers who love monster fighting fun and have read The Last Kids on Earth series will miss the humor and friendship that is lacking in Scarlett Hart Monster Hunter. Despite this, Scarlett Hart Monster Hunter is a fast-paced story that is worth spending an afternoon reading. However, readers may want to make sure they aren’t alone in the house when they decide to jump into Scarlett’s spooky world. Monster-loving graphic novel fans should also add Ghostopolis by Doug TenNapel to their reading list.

Sexual Content

  • When the Count is running after Scarlett, his pants slip down and show his buttcrack.

Violence

  • While walking, a monster jumps out and a man falls into the water and sinks.
  • The Count uses a rocket launcher to fire a weapon that blows up a monster. The scene is illustrated over two pages.
  • Scarlett reads a newspaper article that says, “The Black Dog of Suffolk County. Also known as Black Shuck. Ghost-dog with glowing red eyes. Has caused four deaths this past month alone. Last sighted in Devil’s Hollow.”
  • Scarlett goes to capture the Black Dog. When she shoots at it, the Black Dog attacks her car. When the Black Dog runs off, Scarlett chases it and hits it with her car. They load the dead dog into a sack and put it on top of the car. The scene is illustrated over five pages.
  • When a mummy sees Scarlett and Napoleon, it says, “Urrr. Brains. Fresh brains. . .” The mummy chases Scarlett and Napoleon. A group of mummies appears, trapping the two monster fighters. Scarlett uses her sword and a stage curtain to capture the mummies. The scene is illustrated over five pages.
  • While hunting a ghost, a ghostly bishop jumps out of a closet and chases Scarlett and Napoleon. The Count shoots the ghost who shrivels. “Fzzzzz. Pop.” The ghost disappears. The scene is illustrated over four pages.
  • When the Count takes a picture of Scarlett ghost hunting, she holds a gun up to threaten him. The Count gives Scarlett the camera and leaves.
  • Scarlett follows the Count. When he hears her, he shoots at her. Scarlett shoots back. Then, she throws a container of black spiders at the Count, who freaks out and drops the gun. The scene is illustrated over three pages.
  • Scarlett and Napoleon go to a cathedral and see swarms of living gargoyles attacking people. The Count drives up and begins shooting the gargoyles. When a gargoyle grabs the Count, Napoleon drives into the creature, saving the Count. A gargoyle grabs a boy and Scarlett shoots the gargoyle. The boy falls safely to the ground. The scene is illustrated over 10 pages.
  • Napoleon tells Scarlett about a dance her parents attended. Scarlett’s father and the Count argued over a girl. The Count “went to punch your father. . . Stankovic (the Count) fell over a balcony into a fountain. He was humiliated. Everyone laughed at him. He left in a huff, and no one saw him for months.”
  • When Scarlett and Napoleon are put in jail, someone slams a car into the building to free them.
  • When a group of monsters attacks, several people (including Scarlett and Napoleon) try to stop them. People use a variety of weapons, including a gun, a shovel, and a sword. A giant octopus-like monster with many eyes goes after Scarlett. She jumps in a car with Napoleon and drives away. The battle takes place over 14 pages.
  • Scarlett jumps in an airplane and looks for an octopus-like monster. When she finds the monster, she shoots it. The monster throws parts of a building at the plane. Scarlett drops a bomb into the monster’s mouth and it blows up. The fight is illustrated over 16 pages.
  • When Scarlett is flying home, she sees the Count hit Napoleon with a car. The Count points his gun at Napoleon. Scarlett flies close and the Count shoots at the plane. When Scarlett turns the plane around, she flies close to the Count, who falls off a cliff. He falls into a shark’s mouth. Later, the Count is seen hanging onto the shark’s fin; it is not clear if the Count is a zombie or still living. The scene is illustrated over eight pages.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Scarlett goes into a pub and orders “a triple whisky and easy on the ice.” The bartender glares at her. Then she says, “Just kidding. Ginger beer, please.”
  • After battling monsters, Napoleon tells Scarlett, “Since you will arrive first, perhaps you could ask Mrs. White to pour me a glass of beer? A large one.”

Language

  • Scarlett exclaims, “leaping lizards, piston heads, and gaskets and cylinder rings.”
  • Scarlett says, “I’m just a great idiot.”
  • Scarlett calls the Count a series of names, including: “pea-brained tire muncher,” “scabby nosed cat eater,” “animal-faced sewer dweller,” “dog-bottomed ferret face,” and “weasel-headed monkey brain.”
  • Scarlett says, “that toad faced Count stole our kill the other day.”
  • Someone calls Napoleon “an old fusspot.”
  • Someone calls the Count a “swine.”

Supernatural

  • Scarlett has a pair of ghost goggles that let her see ghosts. Without the goggles, ghosts “only materialize when they want to scare you.”
  • The Count learns how to bring monsters to life.

Spiritual Content

  • While hunting ghosts, Napoleon takes holy water and Scarlett takes the Bible.

Love

Love is the melody that follows us through each and every day of our lives. Whether it’s the sound of our parent’s voices lulling us to sleep, the joyful laughter of an uncle’s latest tall tale, or the warm embrace of a loved one telling us everything will be okay, it’s a feeling that takes countless forms and ultimately connects us all.

Love is a lyrical poem that illustrates the different ways love manifests itself. Sometimes love “is the smell of crashing waves, and a train whistling blindly in the distance, and each night the sky above your trailer turns the color of love.” The poem gives both positive experiences and negative experiences where people express love. “But it’s not only stars that flame out, you discover. It’s summers, too. And friendships. And people.”

Each page is beautifully illustrated in bright colors. The illustrations show people of different ethnicities and ages, a child in a wheelchair, and a Muslim girl. Each illustration portrays people showing their love to others, including a parent’s love for a child or “a quiet old lady” who helps when a fire breaks out.

Even though Love 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. The poem uses easy vocabulary and each page has 2-8 lines of text. Even though younger readers will not make all the connections between the illustrations and the words, they will recognize the importance of love and how love comforts each of us. Readers who enjoyed Love, should also try I Am Enough by Grace Byers which also shows the importance of supporting each other.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Lana Swims North

Princess Lana is excited to be learning at the Royal Mermaid Rescue Crew School, but she finds it hard to speak up in class, even when she knows the answers. She doesn’t have this problem with her friends. When she’s with them, the words come easily. But when her teacher asks her a question, she’s too frightened to speak.

Then Lana meets a horned creature named Spike, who has never seen a creature like himself. With Lana’s help, Spike discovers he’s a narwhal. Lana promises to help Spike find other narwhals. When they swim to the north, Spike finds his long-lost family and Lana finally finds the courage to speak up.

Lana’s story takes the reader inside of Lana’s home, to the surface where she meets humans who attend the Enchanted Pony Academy, and to the colder waters in the north. Lana’s family and friends encourage her to help Spike. In return, Lana convinces Spike that his dolphin friends and family should know where he is—even if they aren’t alike, they still care about each other. The characters display positive communication skills.

Lana helps Spike solve his problem. This allows Lana to understand that she can be a leader. She realizes, “I like spending time thinking, solving problems. It’s what I’m good at.” Lana recognizes that her skills would make her better at “solving problems that aren’t emergencies.” Even though Lana doesn’t think quickly on her feet, she can still be a helpful member of the Rescue Crew.

Lana Swims North will entertain those who have already transitioned to chapter books. Cute black-and-white illustrations help break up the text and appear every 3-5 pages. Although the vocabulary isn’t difficult, the text-heavy pages and long sentences may be overwhelming for beginning readers. Even though the mermaids look different on the cover, in the illustrations inside the book the mermaids look very similar. Lana and her family are the only characters that have dark skin and dark hair.

Any reader who has a difficult time speaking up in class will relate to Lana. As Lana travels to the north, readers get a glimpse of various sea creatures, including turtles, walruses, dolphins, and even a polar bear. Lana Swims North takes readers on a fun underwater adventure that teaches the importance of teamwork.

 The Mermaids to The Rescue series does not need to be read in order because each book focuses on a different mermaid princess. However, readers may want to read Scott’s Enchanted Pony Academy Series first because Lana visits the school during her travels.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A polar bear shakes the ice. “Lana looked up and saw four huge black paws stalking across the ice above. It looked like they’d come crashing down on their heads at any moment. . . The bombing outside continued. Lana wondered what kind of enormous creature was stalking overhead, sending panic throughout the kingdom.” The merfolk hide.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Darn is used once.

Supernatural

  • Each seapony has a different Sea Savvy, such as blowing a big protection bubble, blowing stun bubbles, or conjuring whirlpools. One seapony can change “color until she blended in with the background.” Another seapony can swim amazingly fast.
  • When Lana wraps her arms around her seapony, “they both faded into the colors of the coral behind them, disappearing from view.”
  • Lana and some of her friends go to the surface to talk to the humans from the Enchanted Pony Academy. A magical pony casts a spell. She says, “Open the book so we can look!” The book “floated out of her saddlebag and opened in front of her.”
  • When the mermaid can’t read the book, a magical pony “used her magic to float the book closer to the river.”
  • While looking for a shell, a mermaid says, “This is a spell to find the lost shell.” The spell doesn’t work.

Spiritual Content

  • None

Gotta Warn the Unicorns

Princess Pulverizer is so close to completing the Quest of Kindness that will allow her to go to Knight School. Before she can do her next good deed, she needs to help Fortune—a unicorn she recently rescued—find his family.

When a cowardly king orders his knight to capture all the unicorns they can, it’s up to the princess and her pals to warn the unicorns before it’s too late. But first they have to find them. Can Princess Pulverizer, her friend Lucas, and Dribble the dragon save the unicorns?

With her same feisty attitude, Princess Pulverizer faces King Harvey the Lion-Hearted. The cowardly king is convinced someone is trying to poison him and the only solution is to find a unicorn horn. When his knights present the king with a false unicorn horn, Princess Pulverizer shows off her unicorn knowledge and explains why the horn is not truly from a unicorn. She didn’t mean to endanger the unicorns, but her prideful nature has made King Harvey send his knights out on a unicorn hunt.

Princess Pulverizer is determined to fix her mistake and save the unicorns. Readers will giggle as Princess Pulverizer and her friends trick the king’s knights. King Harvey’s ridiculous behavior also adds humor. However, some of the story’s humor comes from the gassy king who likes to eat beans. The story’s comedy doesn’t interfere with the important message of not showing off.

Gotta Warn the Unicorns has a spunky, selfish princess who is trying to learn to be more like a knight. In the end, she praises her friend Lucas and asks King Harvey to give Lucas the magic lion charm. The story’s conclusion will leave readers curious about where Lucas’s newfound courage will lead them. Readers will be eager to grab the next book in the series, Yo-Ho, Yo . . . NO!

Gotta Warn the Unicorns is perfect for readers who are ready for chapter books. The story contains easy vocabulary and short paragraphs. Black-and-white illustrations appear frequently and add humor to the story. Gotta Warn the Unicorns will engage readers and encourage them to be kind to others.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Princess Pulverizer has a magic mirror that shows the future.
  • Princess Pulverizer has a magic ring that allows her to enter a room in complete silence.
  • Princess Pulverizer has a magic arrow. “If ever the holder of the arrow finds themselves lost, it will always point them toward home.”
  • Princess Pulverizer has a magic mace that has “the power to heal the wounds of anyone on the side of all that is good and right.”
  • Princess Pulverizer has a truth-telling sword. “If someone is lying, it will wiggle. But if he’s telling the truth, it will lie still.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Six of Crows

When it comes to the magic-wielding Grisha, nothing is ever easy. Especially not when Grisha are subjected to jurda parem, a dangerous new drug that not only enhances their latent abilities but also throws those same Grisha into a never-ending cycle of addiction and suffering.

Now, the only man who knows the formula to jurda parem, Bo Yul-Bayer, is locked up in the Ice Court, one of the most secure prisons in the world. There are many people looking to free Bo Yul- Bayer in order to use his knowledge, but Kaz Brekker is hired for the exact opposite.

Kaz and his crew, Inej, Jesper, Nina, Wylan, and Matthias, are about to breach the toughest prison in the world to free Bo Yul-Bayer and make sure he doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. They could very well die or be imprisoned, but the promise of four million kruge (the main currency of their home city of Ketterdam) is all too compelling. Plus, the six want the chance to fix all the mistakes they have made over the course of their lives. Kaz and his crew are the best at being thieves, yet not every plan can go perfectly. Jurda parem could flip the world on its head, and if the six fail, the world could plunge into a world war.

Bardugo’s Six of Crows is an adventurous story from the very beginning. The story follows the distinct personalities of gang leader Kaz, the silent assassin Inej, the sharpshooter Jesper, the Grisha Nina, the aristocrat Wylan, and the Fjerdan witch-hunter Matthias. The story ebbs and flows between the six main characters and their grand plan to sneak into the Ice Court to free the maker of a powerful drug.

There’s suspense, great action, and wonderfully compelling characters. Most of all, there’s a great sense of progression, both in the overarching plot development and in the main six characters.

Bardugo incorporates the members of Kaz’s crew into the flow of the story, and each character is vital in the plan to infiltrate the Ice Court. For instance, Matthias was once a guard was stationed at the Ice Court, allowing him to be the one to create a map of the prison. Each character’s backstory also comes into play quite frequently, bringing forth the idea that each member is struggling with something that has been haunting them for years. This is a strength of Bardugo’s writing, as her themes of overcoming one’s past and staying true to one’s feelings play out brilliantly. The biggest example of this is found in Matthias and Nina’s relationship. The two are obviously in love, but because one is a Grisha and the other is a Grisha hunter, the two often get very close to killing each other, quite literally. In the end, they manage to overcome their past prejudices and open up to each other.

Overall, Six of Crows is a wonderful read for any young adult reader. Its main characters are incredibly likable and the story flows well. The plot isn’t overly complicated, though there are a lot of characters to keep track of. Six of Crows is a page-turner that will have readers wanting more. For readers who want a blend of romance and a group of skilled characters pulling off a heist, Six of Crows is definitely the right choice. This novel also would be best suited for mature young adults.

Sexual Content

  • When a guard is mulling over how to tell if a girl likes her, his companion says, “Just tell her she’s got skin like moonlight. Girls love that.” That same guard later thinks, “He and Anya only ever exchanged a few words on his rounds, but she was always the best part of his night.”
  • In the pleasure district of Ketterdam, known as the Barrel, there are many brothels. Inej, one of the main characters, was in a brothel known as the Menagerie before she came to the dregs. “She’d lost most of her modesty during her time with the Menagerie, but really, there were limits.” In the Barrel, “peepholes were a feature of all the brothels.” Inej thinks about the Menagerie, “If you had a taste for a Shu girl or a Fjerdan giant, a redhead from the Wandering Isle, a dark-skinned Zemeni, the Menagerie was your destination.”
  • Kaz and Inej have a budding romance throughout the novel. For instance, Inej thinks, “What would Kaz say if she suddenly stripped down and started washing herself in front of him?” Again, Inej thinks, “One minute he made her blush and the next he made her want to commit murder.” Later, Inej thinks, “Feeling anything for Kaz Brekker was the worst kind of foolishness.”
  • When talking to Nina Zenik, Kaz says, “A man doesn’t need a bed to get ideas, Nina.” During their conversation, Nina “shucked off the red kefta, revealing a slip of satin so thin it barely counted as cloth.”
  • Kaz also points out to Nina, “You have crumbs on your cleavage.”
  • Nina and Matthias have a dangerous relationship. Nina thinks about Matthias: “In another life, she might have believed he was coming to rescue her, a shining savior with golden hair and eyes the pale blue of northern glaciers.” After rescuing Matthias from prison, Nina “pressed a kiss to his temple.”
  • Matthias thinks at the same time that “In the bad dreams, he kissed her.” Again he thinks, “He kissed her, buried his face in the sweet hollow of her neck.”
  • After first meeting and surviving an explosion on a boat, Nina and Matthias huddled naked together for warmth. “He gave the fire a stern jab, but she ignored him and stripped off the rest of her clothes.”
  • When thinking about her parents, Inej remembers her father “leaving little bouquets of wild geraniums for her mother to find everywhere, in the cupboards, the camp cook pots, the sleeves of her costumes.” When thinking about her own love life, Inej thinks, “There had been no boys to bring her flowers, only men with stacks of kruge and purses full of coin.”
  • Jesper and Wylan, two main characters, flirt sometimes. When Wylan tells Jesper to close his eyes while they’re under attack, Jesper says, “You can’t kiss me from down there, Wylan!”
  • When she was captured by Fjerdan witch-hunters, Nina heard one say about her, “I like this one, still nice and round. Maybe we should open that cage door and hose her down.” Immediately after this, Matthias asks his comrades, “Would you fornicate with a dog?”
  • When Kaz and Inej finally reveal their true feelings to one another at the end of the book, Inej says, “I will have you without armor, Kaz Brekker. Or I will not have you at all.”

Violence

  • A merchant has his guard cut open a boy’s arm for an experiment with jurda parem, a powerful drug. “The guard gave the boy a pat then slashed a bright red cut across his forearm. The boy started crying immediately.” In that same experiment, the merchant tells the guard to “Cut off the boy’s thumb.” This is commanded to be done because the merchant wants to see if a Grisha, a magic user, can use their power with the extra boost of jurda parem to heal a body part that was cut off.
  • When thinking about Kaz, Inej thinks, “The boy they called Dirtyhands didn’t need a reason any more than he needed permission—to break a leg, sever an alliance, or change a man’s fortune with the turn of a card.”
  • When Inej climbs into a tank, she’s desperate to get it working. “Finally one of the guns rolled upward. She pulled on the trigger, and her whole body shook as bullets rattled against the enclosure glass like hail, pinging off in all directions.” Inej fires the tank at Fjerdan soldiers, who are desperate to either capture or kill her and her comrades.
  • Nina attacks Jarl Brum, who was once Matthias’s drüskelle captain. “Then her hand shot out once more, and Brum shrieked. He clapped his hands to his head, blood trickling between his fingers.”
  • When Kaz and the others free Matthias from Hellgate prison, Matthias attacks Nina. “He launched himself forward, flipping her to the ground, hands fostered tight around her throat, straddling her so that his knees pinned her arms to the ground.” Nina isn’t injured in this interaction.
  • Big Bolliger, a member of Kaz’s gang, betrays Kaz and Jesper, so Kaz retaliates. “It was certainly why he’d let Holst put a bullet in Bolliger’s gut.”
  • As Jesper and Wylan are about to be killed by a Shu Tidemaker, a member of a foreign team, Jesper uses his Grisha powers to save himself and Wylan. “The female Tidemaker screamed as the metal burrowed into her flesh, and she tried to turn to mist.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Gambling is a backdrop for the Dregs (the gang Kaz and the others work for). Kaz has “been the floor boss at the Crow Club for more than two years.” The Crow Club is where the Dregs make the most money through gambling. Drinking is sometimes mentioned at the Crow Club, as explained below.
  • The drug, jurda parem, is a main focus of the story. Jurda parem is a drug that enhances a Grisha’s magical abilities, but also one that is incredibly addictive and dangerous. It comes in a “powder” substance. For instance, “Jurda was nothing to fear, a stimulant everyone in the stadwatch chewed to stay awake on late watches.” Van Eck, the man who hires Kaz’s crew to hunt down the creator of jurda parem, says, “Jurda parem is something completely different, and it is most definitely not harmless.” He also says, “It’s lethal. An ordinary mind cannot tolerate parem in even the lowest doses.”
  • When Kaz’s crew is surrounded by the Fjerdan military, Nina takes jurda parem to alter her Grisha abilities in order to save them all. “Her blood began to thrum, and her heart was suddenly pounding.” After Nina takes jurda parem to save the entire group from the Fjerdan military, she thinks, “Everything felt wrong. All she could think of was the sweet, burnt taste of the parem.”
  • Kaz and Geels, a fellow gang leader, make small talk about “the suspicion that the Kooperom was serving watered-down drinks now that the rent had been raised.”
  • Per Haskell, the leader of the Dregs, “preferred to sit in the warmth of his room, drinking lukewarm lager.”
  • When talking about the success of the plan to steal Bo Yul-Bayer, the creator of jurda parem, Kaz says, “We’ll have waffles. And whiskey. If this job doesn’t come off, no one’s going to want to be around me sober.”
  • When Kaz is attacked by two Grisha in an alley, before passing out he thinks, “‘Drugged,’ Kaz thought, trying not to panic. ‘I’ve been drugged.’” Immediately after, he thinks, “A ghost with a syringe?” Later on, it says about Kaz that “Whatever they’d injected him with had left him groggy.”

Language

  • The word crap is used a few times. For instance, Kaz, the pseudo leader of the Dregs, is called a “cocky little piece of crap” by a fellow gang leader. When that same gang leader threatens to shoot him, Kaz replies with, “Find your balls and give the order.”
  • The word ass and bastard are used sometimes. For instance, Kaz calls the Black Tips, another gang, “a spectacular bunch of asses.”
  • The word hell and damn are used frequently. For example, when Kaz wakes up after being kidnapped, he says, “so what the hell was going on?”
  • The word whore is used sometimes. When Kaz is debating with a high-class merchant, Van Eck tells the merchant, “I don’t run whores, and I kill for a cause.”
  • When bantering with Jesper, Kaz “replied with a time-saving gesture that relied heavily on his middle finger and disappeared below deck.”
  • The word fuck is used once in the novel. When Kaz once demanded to see the man who ruined his life, he says, “Jakob fucking Hertzoon. I want to talk to him.”
  • When someone’s watch is stolen, the person says, “Son of a bitch.”

Supernatural

  • Magic is a backdrop, with most magic users known as Grisha.
  • Matthias is a drüskelle, “one of the Fjerdan witch-hunters tasked with hunting down Grisha to face trial and execution.”
  • Grisha are typically placed into different groups based on their power. The groups include the Corporalki, the Etherealki, and the Materialki. Corporalki “specialized in the human body. They could stop your heart, slow your breathing, snap your bones. They couldn’t get inside your head.” An Etherealki, the Tidemaker, “can control currents, summon water or moisture from the air or a nearby source.” Materialki, as the name suggests, allows Grisha to create a variety of materials: “Because it’s made with Materialki corecloth. It can withstand rifle fire.”
  • A Grisha “raised an arm and a gust of air slammed Joost backward.”
  • Kaz’s ship is attacked while the group is on an island. “Before anyone could draw breath to protest, two huge walls of water rose and shot toward the Ferolind. They crushed the ship between them with a resonant boom, sending debris flying.” Inej is kidnapped after the ship is destroyed by another Grisha: “The Squaller barreled into Inej and sped upward with her into the sky.”
  • When Grisha are given jurda parem, their powers become amplified. For instance, when a Grisha named Anya uses her power on a boy, “She waved her hand through the air, the gesture almost dismissive, and the cut on the boy’s arm sealed instantly.”
  • Another Grisha used his powers to kidnap Kaz. “And then a figure stepped through the wall.” The Grisha steps through the wall behind Kaz and then restrains him.
  • Under the influence of jurda parem, Nina stops an entire army. “‘Sleep,’ she commanded. Nina swept her hands in an arc, and the soldiers toppled without protest, row after row, stalks of wheat felled by an invisible scythe.”
  • Nina alters a person’s appearance. “Nina had been a passable Tailor at best—under the influence of jurda parem, well, as Van Eck had once said, ‘Things become possible that simply shouldn’t be.’”
  • Some Grisha use other means to amplify their powers such as “animal bones, teeth, scales.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Search for the Mermicorn

Coral, Angel, and Shelly can’t wait to work on their school project about creatures in the ocean. There are so many animals to choose from! How do you pick just one? Then Angel remembers something she read about in a book–a mermicorn! It’s perfect…but are mermicorns real? Angel thinks so! And a student at the Science Center just might help her prove it!

The three purrmaid friends clearly love school and the library. As part of a class project, the purrmaids research sea animals and go to a science center to learn more. The purrmaids learn important sea creature facts that come into play later. The story reinforces the importance of learning about the natural world and respecting sea creatures.

As the friends research sea animals, they find a pod of narwhals and a lost mermicorn. The mermicorn tells the purrmaids, “Mermicorns like to stay out of sight. Our horns are just here to be pretty. We can’t use them to defend ourselves. So staying hidden is how we keep ourselves safe.” Even though the friends are excited to tell everyone that they met a mermicorn, they decide to keep the information secret so they do not endanger their new friend.

Search for the Mermicorn is perfect for readers who are able to read chapter books. The story has easy vocabulary, short sentences, and cute black-and-white illustrations approximately every three pages. Young readers will enjoy the puns such as “fin-tastic,” “shell-ivision,” “fin-teresting,” and “perr-fect.”

Even though Search for the Mermicorn is part of a series, the stories do not have to be read in order. The Purrmaid series takes readers on an underwater swim that teaches fin-tastic lessons as well as entertains. Readers who love animals should also add The Critter Club Series by Callie Barkley to their reading list.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

 

Enemies

Klawde and Raj are back! As summer turns to fall, our favorite warlord cat remains in his pitiful, exiled existence. But Raj has an even scarier prospect than cosmic exile: starting at a new school. And if things didn’t seem complicated enough, both cat and human are confronted with two figures from their past they did not expect to pop up in Elba, Oregon.

While Klawde trains three kittens to become warriors, Raj is trying to make new friends and win a robotics contest. The tense story atmosphere chronicles Klawde and Raj as they both seek revenge on an enemy. When Klawde feels depressed and hides out in his bunker, Raj cheers him up with Klawde’s own words: “Revenge is a dish best served as often as possible! Revenge is the best medicine!” Klawde is truly an evil alien warlord who believes “an excellent lie is better than an inconvenient truth.” Even though Raj realizes that revenge isn’t the best medicine, the story has some bullying and gives no advice on how to conquer the problem.

Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat #2 jumps back and forth between Klawde’s and Raj’s points of view. The story focuses on the drama of middle school, using humor and fun illustrations that are washed in blue. Klawde’s violent behavior is often outrageous and humorous, and he perfectly captures cats’ disdain for others. The conclusion shows Raj learning that revenge isn’t the right course of action because it hurts others.

Readers will enjoy the fast-paced story but may have difficulty with some of the advanced vocabulary, such as perfidious, malevolence, nefarious, and exponentially. However, readers will be able to use context clues to understand the meaning of the difficult words. Short chapters, large font, and pictures that are scattered throughout the story will keep even reluctant readers interested. Even though Klawde: Evil Alien Warlord Cat #2 doesn’t have an anti-bullying message, the highly entertaining story will keep readers flipping the pages until the very end.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Klawde teaches kittens to be warriors. As they train, the calico kitten “dispatched each of her brothers so quickly that, for the final match, I paired both girls against her. The fight was even, until on one the grays caught the calico with a strike to the head that sent her sliding across the floor. She crouched in a corner, meowing pitifully… The boys went to check on the state of their sister. Once they were near, the girl sprang forward with a leap so lightning-fast, they had no time to react. She landed on their backs, slashing and biting and yowling with glee.”
  • The calico pretended to be heading towards a nap and then, “she turned, rose up behind her brothers on her hind legs, and crashed their skulls together.”
  • Klawde finds his enemy, who was “finished slurping up the innards of whatever creature he had captured, and crunched its bones between his teeth.”
  • Klawde and his sworn enemy fight. Klawde “cuffed him on his cheek as an answer to his insolence. Then I reached with my other paw to strike at his shoulder. I ducked his next swing, and at the same time used my right hind leg as a surprised cudgel, jackhammering him with a blurred series of blows.” The fight is described over two pages.
  • Klawde is upset, so he attacks a human by “grabbing at his leg. His hideous bare skin now bore four perfectly parallel scratch lines.”
  • After Klawde tampers with Raj’s robot, the robot goes crazy during an assembly, and “it shot the coffee out of Miss Natasha’s hand, and next it sprayed water at Principal Brownepoint, nailing him right in the crotch of his pants. It looked like he’d peed himself!”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Klawde gets high on catnip.

Language

  • On the human side, there is some name-calling, including jerk and dork.
  • Klawde has many funny names that he calls both humans and cats alike. For example, he calls a cat an ignorant imbecile, a dim-witted dolt, and a moron.
  • Heck is used twice.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • When Klawde challenges his enemy to a duel to the death, his enemy “looked like he’d just seen the ghost of King Si-uh-meez, whose spirit is known to appear to cats on their deathbed.”

Double Team

Eleven-year-old Amar’e Stoudemire has always had fun playing basketball with his friends. Competing in tournaments with his two best friends, Deuce and Mike, has made Amar’e realize that his true passion is basketball.

Amar’e and his two best friends usually play as a team, but when the competition gets intense, Amar’e thinks that he is the only one capable of getting the ball into the net. Amare’s getting attention from older, better players. When Amar’e gets invited to a special invitation-only tournament, he wonders if ditching his friends is the right thing to do. Will Amar’e’s friends stand by him even if he leaves them behind on the basketball court? In order to keep his friends, will Amar’e need to turn down the opportunity to play in the special tournament?

Basketball fans will enjoy the play-by-play action Amar’e and his friends compete in a tournament. When Amar’e’s friends get angry that he is “hogging the ball,” Amar’e doesn’t try to see things from his friends’ point of view. Instead, he is overconfident and focuses on how his friends aren’t being fair. In the end, Amar’e talks to his mother and brother about the conflict, which allows him to solve the problem and keep his friends. Amar’e brother tells him, “You’ve got to do your thing, but you don’t want to hurt anyone along the way.”

Although Amar’e has positive interactions with his parents, the story focuses on the tournaments. Because the play-by-play action is told from Amar’e’s point of view, he comes off as arrogant. Amar’e is confident that he is the only reason the team wins so he cuts his teammates out of the action. In the end, Amar’e realizes that friendship is more important than winning.

Basketball fans will appreciate Double Team’s easy vocabulary and the black and white illustrations that are scattered throughout the story. Amar’s has positive interactions with his family and works hard. Younger sports fans with enjoy Double Team because of the relatable character and the realistic conflict. Readers who are looking for similar books should try the Zayd Saleem Chasing the Dream Series by Hena Khan.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • “Holy Finger Roll” is used as an exclamation.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Don’t Disturb the Dinosaurs

Dr. Bunsen has undone it again when his time machine mistakenly beams the Data Set—Gabe, Laura, and Cesar—back to the prehistoric era. Before they can say, “Look out!”, Gabe, Laura, and Cesar find themselves dashing from flying pterosaurs, stegosaurus stampedes, and an Allosaurus on the hunt for an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Despite the dangers, the Data Set are determined to help a special friend while exploring ancient earth where dinosaurs roam the earth.

Don’t Disturb the Dinosaurs is an action-packed story that teaches facts about dinosaurs without overwhelming the reader with information. The Data Set works together to find a new home for Stego, who used to be a plastic toy. Readers will admire the friends’ willingness to go up against a hungry Allosaurus in order to help Stego. The diverse characters work together to fight danger. However, all of the danger is kid-friendly and won’t leave readers with nightmares.

The dinosaur danger comes to life through black and white illustrations that help create the story’s suspense. In addition, the large illustrations will help readers visualize the story’s events. With illustrations that appear on every page, large text, and easy vocabulary, Don’t Disturb the Dinosaurs is an excellent book for beginning readers.

Readers will enjoy reading about Gabe, Laura, and Cesar as they try to stay alive in Prehistoric times. Another lovable character, Dr. Bunsen, adds a little humor to the story. Even though Don’t Disturb the Dinosaurs is a part of a series, the books do not need to be read in order. The Data Set Series is a fun, imaginative series that also teaches readers. If your little reader can’t get enough of dinosaurs, they should add The Dino Files Series by Stacy McAnulty to their must-read list.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A giant Pterosaur takes the baby dinosaur, Stego. “The giant Pterosaur from earlier suddenly swooped down, snatched up Stego, and flew off!”
  • An Allosaurus tries to snack on the kids, who climb a tree to safety. The Allosaurus “chomped widely, barely missing Cesar’s sneaker. . . The Allosaurus roared and banged against the tree trunk.” Eventually the Allosaurus leaves “in search of an easier meal.”
  • When the Pterosaur sees the kids with Stego, she tries to attack them. “Suddenly, Stego moved between the friends and the angry creature.” The Pterosaur gets distracted when its egg begins to hatch.
  • An Allosaurus tries to get the kids again. Cesar “grabbed a fiery stick from the pit and waved it at the dinosaur. . .A spark jumped and struck the Allosaurus on the nose! Scorched, the dinosaur howled.” The dinosaur runs away.

 Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Dr. Bunsen’s “growth ray accidentally brought our toy animals to life. Then they started growing. And we had to sneak them into the zoo.” However, the dinosaur needs to be taken back in time to find a home.

Spiritual Content

  • None

Maybe This Time

One year. Nine events. Nine chances to . . . fall in love?

Weddings. Funerals. Barbecues. New Year’s Eve parties. Name the occasion, and Sophie Evans will be there. Well, she has to be there. Sophie works for the local florist, so she can be found at every big event in her small hometown, arranging bouquets and managing family drama.

Enter Andrew Hart. The son of the fancy new chef in town, Andrew is suddenly required to attend all the same events as Sophie. Andrew is entitled, arrogant, and preppy. Sophie just wants to get her job done and finish up her sketches so she can apply to design school. But every time she turns around, there’s Andrew, getting in her way and making her life more complicated. Until one day she wonders if maybe complicated isn’t so bad after all . . .

Told from Sofie’s point of view, the reader comes to understand why Sofie is focused on getting out of her small town. However, Sofie’s obsession with moving to New York has made her judgmental, snobbish, and self-centered. When Sofie meets Andrew, she automatically dislikes him and often says things just to irritate him. Sofie ends up falling in love with Andrew, which comes as no surprise. The change from dislike, to friendship, to love is very natural. Instead of instantly falling in love, the two slowly learn about each other, which allows their feelings to change.

Maybe This Time doesn’t just focus on the romance. The story also hits on difficulties with parents, misunderstandings with friends, and the dynamics of a small town. Even though Sofie often is snarky, her sweet side also comes out in unexpected places. Sofie’s little brother is one of the highlights of the story, and Sofie’s love for him is apparent.

Maybe This Time will give readers insight into small-town life. The story progresses at a steady pace and has many interesting characters. In the end, Sofie realizes that she actually loves her small town and even though she does plan to leave, she will always come back. The sweet romance touches on friendship, ambition, trust, and dreams without getting bogged down with a message. Readers looking for an easy-to-read romance will enjoy Maybe This Time.

Sexual Content

  • When Sofie hurts her foot, Andrew “squatted down, his hand brushing along my calf until it reached my ankle. Tingles spread up my leg all the way to my stomach. My cheeks went hot, and I leaned my head back against the mirror to try to keep that fact to myself. He wasn’t allowed to have this kind of effect on me.”
  • While walking by a car, Sofie sees a boy and a girl “in the passenger seat, and they were kissing.”
  • When Sofie and Andrew were arguing, Sofie’s “body seemed to be on autopilot. I leaned forward and pressed an angry kiss to his lips. . . Then all at once his free hand moved to the back of my neck. . . He tilted his head, deepening our kiss.” The kiss is described over ½ a page.
  • While serving at a dinner, a drunk man dropped a fork. When Sofie went to pick it up, she “felt a hand brush [her] leg. The man gave me a creepy smile and I stood. I pointed his own fork at him. ‘Please keep your hands to yourself.’”
  • Sofie doesn’t want to think about “a certain hot day by a certain shed kissing a certain boy whose mouth tasted like cherries.”
  • At a New Year’s party, Sofie’s friend says, “In fact, I’m going to find myself a boy to kiss at midnight tonight. I don’t care who.” Later Sofie’s friend says, “He was a midnight kiss. . . Don’t try to tie me down to someone I kissed at midnight.”
  • During a New Year’s party, Andrew kisses Sofie. Sofie thinks, “He tasted like heaven.”
  • Andrew and Sofie kiss several times. Once he tells Sofie, “You’re beautiful.” Then, “his lips brushed mine softly.”

Violence

  • Sofie’s brother is afraid of firecrackers because “Momma had a party in the backyard. . . Some guys started shooting their guns into the sky and my window got broke and a piece of glass hit my arm and I thought I was shot.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • While Sofie was at a wedding, she stepped on the “amber colored glass of a broken beer bottle.”
  • During a eulogy, the pastor talked about how the man “had a problem with alcohol when he was younger.”
  • While serving at a dinner, some of the people drink wine.
  • At Thanksgiving dinner, Sofie’s mom says, “Point me to the wine.”

Language

  • Holy crap is used twice.
  • Crap is used five times.

Supernatural

  • Sofie had a short conversation about her belief in an afterlife. She says, “I believe in an afterlife . . . I’m not sure exactly what it will consist of, but I believe we all have a soul, something that makes us who we are. When my gran died, I remember looking at her body and knowing something was missing, that she was no longer her.”

Because of the Rabbit

On the last night of summer, Emma tags along with her father, who is a game warden, on a routine call. They’re supposed to rescue a wild rabbit from a picket fence, but instead, they find a little bunny. Emma convinces her father to bring him home for the night.

The next day, Emma starts public school for the very first time after years of being home-schooled. More than anything, Emma wants to make a best friend in school. But things don’t go as planned. On the first day of school, she’s paired with a boy named Jack for a project. He can’t stay on topic, he speaks out of turn, and he’s obsessed with animals. Jack doesn’t fit in, and Emma’s worried he’ll make her stand out. Emma and Jack bond over her rescue rabbit, but will their new friendship keep Emma from finding the new best friend she’s meant to have?

Because of the Rabbit combines several subplots into one story. Not only is Emma struggling with attending public school for the first time, but she also is upset that her brother, Owen, has less time for her. Emma’s family demonstrates healthy relationships and positive communication skills. Emma revisits tales that her grandfather shared with her. She also names her pet rabbit Monsieur Lapin after a character from her grandfather’s stories.

Attending public school isn’t an easy transition for Emma. The author does an excellent job describing Emma’s complex feelings in kid-friendly language. Like many students, Emma hopes to find a best friend and worries that telling the whole truth will make others dislike her. One of her classmates, who appears to have autism, is kind to Emma. Even though Emma likes spending time with the boy, she worries that others will judge her if she spends time with him. In the end, Emma learns that it is important to look at things from another person’s perspective. Emma realizes that “I’ve wanted them all to be the kind of friend I needed, but I hadn’t tried as hard to be the one they needed.”

Anyone who has ever been left out of a group or is facing a new school will relate to Emma. Because of the Rabbit is beautifully written and has many positive life lessons. However, the story focuses on Emma’s personal conflicts. Readers who enjoy fast-paced, adventure stories will have a difficult time staying engaged. Because of the short chapters and easy vocabulary, Because of the Rabbit would be an excellent story for a parent to read aloud to their child.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

We Set the Dark on Fire

We Set the Dark on Fire takes place on the fictional island of Medio, where a wall separates the poverty-stricken coast and the wealthy inland. Medio has rich mythology about a complicated love triangle between the Sun God, the Moon Goddess, and a human woman. The myth ends with the three entities marrying each other in a holy trifecta. Because of this myth, wealthy inland families customarily marry their sons off to two wives: a “Primera” and a “Segunda.” The Primera functions as a “political” wife who manages her husband’s social appearances and accompanies him at public functions. The Segunda is the mistress who is responsible for bearing and raising the husband’s children.

The story centers around Dani, a seventeen-year-old girl who is graduating from finishing school and is about to start her life as a wife. Despite graduating at the top of her class, Dani is worried about taking her place in the household. Political riots have made the police paranoid, and she is worried that the increased security will reveal that her identification papers are forged. Her parents are from the coast and have risked everything to put her in finishing school.

Dani is soon married off to a powerful political figure in one of the richest families in the Capital. She is the Primera and her school rival, Carmen, is the Segunda. She has little time to settle into household life before being approached by a rebel spy group, La Voz. The spies give her fresh papers so that she can pass a checkpoint, but in return, Dani is dragged into a world of political tensions and intrigue. Soon, she finds herself steeped too deep in her husband’s family’s corruption and is forced to confront ugly truths about the family she has married into. While dealing with espionage and lies, Dani must use all her wits to conceal her own secrets, which include her forged identity, her alliance with La Voz, and a budding romance with Carmen.

We Set the Dark on Fire is an original, well-written story. Mejia navigates a complicated political plot deftly. The story’s twists and turns may become confusing at times, but the narration avoids losing its thread. The prose is poetic and brings Dani’s character to life. The reader will soon be invested in the world of Medio’s aristocratic gender politics where Primeras are expected to show no emotion. Dani, who has been training for years to assume the role of Primera, is well-accustomed to showing no emotion. The layers of composure beneath that she hides add texture and detail to the narrative. She is excellently characterized.

The emotional core of the novel is formed from two main elements. The first is Dani’s relationship—and eventual romance—with Carmen. The tension and forbidden love between the two wives is excellently written, and readers will root for the couple as the stakes get higher and the lies get thicker. The second element is Dani’s love for her hometown. Although she was sent away to school at age twelve and never returned, Dani has a strong love for Polvo, the simple town where she spent her childhood. Upon entering the aristocracy, Dani discovers that she is disgusted by the excess and wealth that her new family can afford. Although she looks back fondly on her time in Polvo and wishes she could live there, she knows that Polvo is racked with poverty and that the police terrorize its citizens.

American readers may notice that the world of Medio draws certain parallels to events on the news. The island is divided by a wall meant to keep certain people out; the police are brutal towards the poor; the culture features Spanish words and foods. The narrative never makes the allegory overly obvious, but the book is deeply political. In one scene, Dani feels regret that she can have fun at all when so many people are suffering. Her guilt and class consciousness will strike a chord with many readers. While the book puts strong moral themes into conflict, the reader likely will not feel patronized or preached to; rather, they will simply want to know what happens next.

Sexual Content

  • Dani and Carmen’s new husband frequently looks at Carmen in suggestive ways, “raking his eyes over her body in a greedy way.”
  • Carmen wears revealing clothing. “Carmen was never underdressed—unless you counted too much bare skin. Today’s dress was plunging.”
  • A seamstress measures Dani and Carmen for new clothes, and Dani is nervous about undressing in front of another person. There are moments of uncomfortable sexual tension. “Carmen in clothes was ridiculous, but in nothing but her underwear she was, objectively, a work of art. She was all circles and curves, all dark amber and soft edges.”
  • In a lie to cover up her communication with La Voz, Dani tells Carmen that she fired a gardener. Dani says, “I heard him talking about you. About your figure in your dress and how he’d like to . . .  well, you get the point . . . I let him go for saying inappropriate things.”
  • In the shower, Dani fantasizes about Carmen. “There was a heat building deep within her. Deeper than her muscles or her bones or her pounding pulse. It was a primal, secret ache that she’d never allowed herself to feel before this moment. Her fingers knew where to find the source of that feeling, and when they went wandering, Dani didn’t stop them. . . In only a few moments, she was lost to the sensations.”
  • After being attracted to each other for a long time, Dani and Carmen finally kiss. “Their lips met like swords sometimes do, clashing and impatient and bent on destruction, and Dani thought her heart might burst if she didn’t stop, but it would surely burst if she did.”
  • Dani and Carmen’s husband are accused by his parents of having an affair. “If you’re going to have an affair, at least be discreet, for Sun’s sake. The years between marriage and moving your Segunda into your room are long, but . . .”
  • Dani and Carmen’s husband kisses Carmen “longer than he should have been allowed, especially when they weren’t alone.” Dani imagines “the places a kiss like this could lead. The places they would necessarily lead, if Dani was still here when it was time for them to produce a child. But would Mateo really wait that long?”
  • Dani and Carmen spend an intimate night together, and Dani is nervous about what Carmen expects. “She was a Segunda, of course; maybe kissing wasn’t enough. Dani tried not to balk at the thought of clothing coming off, of touching someone else the way she’d barely touched herself . . . she wasn’t ready. Not yet.” Carmen reassures her that she doesn’t expect anything sexual. “Don’t worry about that, okay? If we want to . . . when we’re ready . . . we’ll talk about it. But for now, I just want to do this until I get dizzy.” The narration skips over the rest of the night but implies that they continue making out until morning.
  • After their night together, Dani observes herself in the mirror. “She didn’t look like a Primera anymore. She looked like a girl who knew the taste of lips and tongues. A girl who had wondered what was next.”
  • Dani spies on two minor characters, José and Mama Garcia. “Whatever José had been about to say, it was swallowed by Mama Garcia as she claimed his mouth in a passionate kiss. One that clearly wasn’t a first between the two.”

Violence

  • The police use firearms and deadly force. During one chapter, Dani and Carmen have to navigate through a market where a confrontation is taking place between the police and La Voz. The police fire several times and create havoc, but the “long, shallow scratches on her neck were the least of Dani’s worries. There had been blood on the pavement as they’d left the marketplace…” Later, she learns that her main contact within La Voz was shot. “‘Just a scratch,’ he said, but a complicated web of bandages spread across his chest and down his left arm, telling a more sinister story.”
  • Members of La Voz gather in the market with torches to burn it down. Dani barely escapes in time and suffers severe burns. “The figure watched, mask expressionless, as she rolled on the stone stage, trying desperately to put out the fire that had taken over her every thought and feeling. When the flames finally died, the fabric of her expensive dress had become one with her skin, and when she tugged at it her vision went black in spots, coming back slowly to reveal an inferno where she had just been standing.”
  • A member of La Voz holds a knife to Dani’s throat and threatens her life. “The knife pressed harder against her throat, kissing her skin until it broke.”
  • Dani is pulled away from a car that explodes with people inside of it. “Carmen slammed into her from behind, knocking the wind out of her. She didn’t say a word as she scooped Dani up into her arms and flat-out ran back to the car. The whining was deafening now. Above them, the air seemed to grow thinner, the stars too bright. Carmen threw her painfully to the ground behind the hired car, barely covering Dani’s ears with her hands before the darkness exploded all around them.”
  • A member of La Voz holds a gun to Dani’s head, but then empties her clip into a burning car instead of shooting her.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • Playing cards only come out “when the men at a party got too deep in their expensive liquor and one of them had something to prove.”
  • Dani recalls her school roommate “dizzy with drink from the Segundas’ legendary last-night party. She’d been loose and smiling, drunk on her own triumph as much as the rose wine.”
  • The women of the aristocracy frequently drink sangria together, though never to the point of impropriety.
  • When Dani’s husband catches her in his private study, he has her sit down and drink “a clear liquid that smelled like an open flame.” He is already drunk and slurring his words. Dani gets a “pleasant buzz” and stumbles a little while leaving.

Language

  • Occasionally, characters will swear on the Sun and Moon gods and say, “For Sun’s Sake.”

Supernatural

  • Dani recalls her mother’s proficiency in telling fortunes with a deck of cards. “Her mama told the women of the town of small illnesses that were coming: a jealous eye on a child; a husband growing too fond of the fermented pineapple rind most families brewed in the dirt patches beside their houses.”

Spiritual Content

  • Dani views the world through her own religion, which differs from the religion of the inner island. While the inner island focuses on “large gods,” such as the Sun God and Moon Goddess, Dani sees small gods everywhere.
  • For example, during a tense moment, “Dani closed her eyes and muttered a half-forgotten prayer to the god in the air, to the goddess in the flames. Keep calm, she beseeched them. No one around her would understand. Her parents’ gods weren’t in fashion—only the bearded visage of the Sun God, who ruled masculine ambitions and financial prosperity.”
  • These invocations of small, unnamed gods appear throughout the narration and often serve to illustrate what Dani is thinking or feeling.

by Caroline Galdi

 

 

A Wrinkle in Time

Meg’s father is a physicist. Or at least he was, before he disappeared. While her mother insists that he will come back, Meg and the rest of the town doubt he’ll ever return. It doesn’t help that Meg is having trouble at school and thinks that her curls, glasses, and braces make her a “moron.” In fact, Meg is convinced that her life will be terrible forever–until Mrs. Whatsit blows into her kitchen one stormy evening.

Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which definitely aren’t from Earth, and Meg doesn’t trust them. But her little brother Charles says they’re alright, and Charles has always been able to see below the surface of people. When Mrs. Whatsit says they can help the children find their father, Meg doesn’t care what they are, as long as they can help. Suddenly Meg finds herself traveling to other planets with Charles and their friend Calvin. Together will the three of them be able to rescue Meg and Charles’ father? Or will they too become lost?

A Wrinkle in Time has memorable characters that will quickly find their way into readers’ hearts. Meg is very relatable to young readers, as she deals with her fears, her braces, and with not fitting in at school. Watching Meg struggle, grow, and find her inner strength will leave readers cheering for her. The beautiful, imaginative planets that Meg journeys to will awe and delight.

Throughout A Wrinkle in Time, Meg will glimpse a cosmic battle between good and evil, light and darkness, and knowledge and ignorance. While rescuing her father is just a tiny piece of this battle, Meg’s journey is filled with gravitas. Numerous lessons are learned along the way: Meg learns how to be brave, how to take responsibility rather than blaming others, and she discovers the one thing that the Shadow doesn’t have: love.

Sexual Content

  • The rumor is that Meg’s father “left your mother and [went] off with some dame.”
  • When Meg has to go into mortal danger to save her brother, she says goodbye to Calvin. “Calvin came to her and took her hand, then drew her roughly to him and kissed her. He didn’t say anything, and he turned away before he had a chance to see the surprised happiness that brightened Meg’s eyes.”

Violence

  • Charles thinks a man is a robot, so he “darted forward and hit the man as hard as he could.” When he realizes the man is not a robot, he says, “I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
  • The mind in charge of a planet that has been lost to the Dark Thing tells Meg, “We let no one suffer. If it is so much kinder simply to annihilate anyone who is ill . . . Rather than endure such discomfort they are simply put to sleep.”
  • When Charles is hypnotized, Meg tries to knock him back to his senses. “She hurled herself at him. But before she could reach him his fist shot out and punched her hard in the stomach. She gasped for breath.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Charles says, “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.”
  • Moron is used often. The town thinks Charles is a moron because he never talks, and Meg calls herself a moron several times. When Charles speaks to Calvin, Calvin is surprised. “Aren’t you the one who’s supposed to be the moron?”
  • Calvin calls Charles and Meg “dope” several times as an affectionate nickname. “Look, dope. I just want to get things straight.”
  • Ass is used once. Mrs. Who says, “And old ass knows more than a young colt.”

Supernatural

  • Mrs. Whatsit, Mrs. Who, and Mrs. Which are not from earth, though they can appear in human form. It’s never directly stated what they are, but it’s mentioned that Mrs. Who is a “paltry few billion years” older than Mrs. Whatsit, and that Mrs. Which is even older.
  • At one point, Mrs. Whatsit morphs into a new form. “Outwardly Mrs. Whatsit was surely no longer a Mrs. Whatsit. She was a marble white body with powerful flanks, something like a horse but at the same time completely unlike a horse, for the magnificently modeled back sprang a nobly formed torso, arms, and a heard resembling a man’s but a man with a perfection of dignity and virtue.”
  • The children tesser across space (a form of faster than light travel) several times with Mrs. Which. “All light was gone. Darkness was complete . . . Just as light and sound had vanished, she was gone, too. The corporeal Meg simply was not . . . She was lost in a horrifying void.” They visit several different planets and meet the occupants of those planets.
  • The children visit the “Happy Medium,” a very happy woman who can see the entire universe through a crystal ball.
  • The children visit a planet that has been lost to the Shadow. There, they find a man who is possessed by IT, the mind in charge. “His eyes were bright and had a reddish glow. Above his head was a light, and it glowed in the same manner as the eyes, pulsing, throbbing, in steady rhythm. Charles Wallace shut his eyes tightly. ‘Close your eyes . . . He’ll hypnotize you.’ ”
  • The children finally meet IT and realize, “It was a brain. A disembodied brain. An oversized brain, just enough larger than normal to be completely revolting and terrifying. A living brain. A brain that pulsed and quivered, that seized and commanded.”

Spiritual Content

  • On one of the planets they visit, centaur-esque creatures are singing a song of pure joy. Mrs. Whatsit tries to translate the song into words: “Sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, ye that go down to the sea, and all that is therein; the isles; and the inhabitants thereof. Let the wilderness and the cities thereof lift their voice; let the inhabitants of the rock sing, let them shout from the top of the mountains. Let them give glory onto the Lord!” When Meg hears the song, she “felt a pulse of joy such as she had never known before.”
  • The children learn their father was taken prisoner while fighting the Dark Thing. Meg sees the Dark Thing, a huge shadow stretched across space. “What could there be about a shadow that was so terrible that she knew that there had never been before or ever would be again, anything that would chill her with a fear that was beyond shuddering, beyond crying or screaming, beyond the possibility of comfort?” When they ask what it is, Mrs. Which says, “Itt iss Eevill. Itt iss thee Ppowers of Ddarrkknesss!”
  • The children realize that many people have fought the darkness on Earth for years. Mrs. Whatsit says, “They’ve been lights for us to see by.” They include Jesus, Gandhi, Buddha, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Shakespeare, Bach, Pasteur, Madame Curie, Einstein and more.
  • Meg’s father said, “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
  • When struggling to describe Mrs. Whatsit to aliens, Calvin says they are “Angels! Guardian angels! Messengers! Messengers of God!”
  • Before Meg goes to confront It, Mrs. Who tells her, “The foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble men are called, but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty. And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught things that are.”

by Morgan Lynn

 

 

Waking the Monsters

Mega robot monsters are popping up from the ground, and they’re too big for Hilo to battle on his own. Luckily, Gina can use her magic to help fight the battle. But the closer Hilo and Gina get to the secret behind the monsters, the closer they get to the secret of Hilo’s past. Do they really want to know what happened in the past?

Gina needs to help Hilo, but that means missing cheerleading practice and keeping her activities hidden from her mother. D.J. and Izzy are determined to keep their two friends safe, but every time a monster is powered down another one appears. With all of the unusual events, Hilo is now on the military’s radar. Can Hilo avoid being captured by the army? Is there any way that Hilo and his friend can stop the monster invasion?

The fourth installment of the Hilo Series has the same characters, but a host of new mechanical monsters that need to be defeated. Unlike the previous books, Waking the Monsters focuses on battle scenes. It takes Hilo and all of his friends working together to stop the creatures. Gina is allowed to shine by using her magical ability to help Hilo. Gina’s excitement at being Hilo’s “sidekick” brings humor to the fighting. During the battles, no one is seriously injured and the mechanical monsters are powered down instead of destroyed.

Hilo’s lost memory, the long battles, and the military joining the battle give Waking the Monsters a slightly darker tone than the previous books. However, Hilo’s desire to help others in creative ways will leave readers with a smile. The story has some humor based on farting and butts. For example, Izzy makes an owl that “farts roses” and she shows her friends how it works. Izzy also makes a chicken that speaks Portuguese and “when she gets mad, her butt falls off.”

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

Readers will be endlessly curious about Hilo’s forgotten memory. The action-packed scenes, the friendships, and the mystery will keep readers turning the pages to the very end. If you’re looking for a story full of action and humor, the Hilo Series is a perfect choice.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Giant mechanical animals begin appearing from out of the ground. The first one, a giant turtle that breathes fire, is going to “smash a town.” Hilo and the turtle fight; Hilo blasts the turtle with an ice blast, and then the turtle hits Hilo who falls to the ground. The turtle then stomps on Hilo. Izzy does a “diagnostic scan” and figures out how to power down the turtle. The fight takes place over eight pages.
  • Over the next several days, other mechanical monsters pop up from the ground and Hilo fights them. One creature looks like an alligator. The fights take place over two pages.
  • A giant mechanical ape appears. The ape is able to detach his hand and grab Hilo. People run screaming as the ape gets closer to the town. Hilo’s suit is damaged and “his audio link in his helmet got bonked. He can’t hear [his friends].” A mechanical monkey and the army show up. Izzy makes a suit for Gina, who joins in the battle and she’s “fighting a giant robot monkey with magical wands.” The monkey learns how to “calibrate your blast and build up a resistance.” Gina uses magic to grow twine that wraps up the monkey. During the battle Hilo gets confused. Izzy is afraid that Hilo is “not in control and he might destroy the other robot.” Gina is able to create vines that go through the ape’s body; the vine takes down the ape by popping its arms off. The battle takes place over 21 pages.
  • While in a military institution, the scientist fixes the mechanical animal that then attacks. The scientist made the creature nine times stronger. Hilo shoots lasers at the creature’s head. Two army men shoot at the creature, but it deflects the shot and blows up the army men’s vehicle. Hilo saves the men and eventually takes the creature down with an ice blast. Hilo goes to sleep and falls to the ground. The scene takes place over eight pages.
  • While Hilo is injured a mechanical creature knocks over the military doctors and tries to communicate with Hilo. When the creature touches Hilo’s hand, it causes Hilo to remember the past. The creature shows Hilo’s home planet being destroyed and the creature says, “They made me into a weapon. They made me destroy my own kind. I asked them to let me stop. But they kept sending me back to destroy more. And more. And more. Just robots like you and me. Robots who were only doing what humans made them do.” Gina appears and uses magic against the creature. The scene takes place over two chapters.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • “Holy Mackerel” is used as an expression occasionally.

Supernatural

  • Polly is a magical warrior cat and an “apprentice sorceress third class.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

The Ugly Truth

School’s back in session for Greg Heffley, but this time without his best friend Rowley. After Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days where Greg and Rowley end their friendship, Greg is all alone to face the trials and tribulations of middle school. Everything around Greg changes when puberty starts to strike the middle school population and Greg’s Mom returns to her schooling. He finds himself dealing with the pressures of boy-girl parties, increasing responsibilities, and the meaning of getting older all without his best friend. Will Greg survive until winter break or will he have to face the “ugly truth”?

The Ugly Truth’s plot revolves around everything that happens in Greg’s life and is written from his 12-year-old perspective. The story contains a lot of bathroom and childish humor. At one point in the story, Greg puts a whoopie cushion on his Grandma’s chair. When she sits down on it, he can’t stop laughing. After Greg hid rotten eggs in one of his uncle’s pants, his uncle has to move out of the house. The humor is awfully crude and disrespectful at times, and throughout the story Greg is obsessed with trying to get a girlfriend.

Despite the book’s bathroom humor, The Ugly Truth has some positive aspects. Jeff Kinney has a natural talent for using humor to entertain while teaching important life lessons. The Ugly Truth addresses the issue of puberty and the challenges puberty brings in a fun manner. Kinney makes it easy for readers to see that everyone goes through puberty, and it is not something to be ashamed of. Many of the characters even show off some of their changes, like Rowley’s first zit.

The consistent funny black-and-white illustrations help bring Greg’s struggles to life. However, parents should be aware of the book’s drawings and jokes as Kinney often uses bathroom jokes such as Greg’s friends going behind the curtain to make fart sounds at the lock-in. Many of the jokes are inappropriate for really young readers. The topic of sexual health and puberty’s changes comes up often. In addition, parents will not want their children to emulate Greg’s behavior because he demonstrates qualities such as laziness, selfishness, and narcissism. But at the end of the story, Greg shows a sign of maturity and decides to be a better friend to Rowley. He makes the first move in patching things up between them instead of waiting for Rowley to come crawling back to him.

Readers should read the books in sequential order in order to get the full effect of Greg’s character and humor. Many of the events and jokes overlap from book to book. Despite the story’s flaws, readers will relate to Greg as he goes through puberty. The Ugly Truth is a funny, enjoyable story that will entertain and teach practical lessons.

Sexual Content

  • Greg has a major crush on his dental hygienist, Rachel. Greg says, “Rachel always lectures me about brushing and flossing and all that, but she’s so cute that it’s hard to take her seriously.”
  • Greg gets invited to Jordan Jury’s big party along with Rowley and agrees, saying, “I can definitely pretend I’m friends with Rowley for one night if it means I get to play ‘Spin the Bottle’ with a bunch of girls who are a whole grade ahead of me.”
  • Greg thinks about the pros and cons of going to Uncle Gary’s wedding. He thinks about the bachelor party he might be invited to and says, “And as a bonus, at the wedding, I’ll be paired with one of the bridesmaids. I’m just crossing my fingers that Sonja has some cute friends.”
  • Greg’s uncle is getting married for the third time.

Violence

  • After Greg’s big brother, Rodrick, accidentally spits in his father’s face, his father chases after him in the parking lot. Dad trips over the curb, twisting his ankle and having to go to the hospital.
  • Greg accidentally bites his new dentist.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Bathroom and immature humor are used frequently to entertain. Words like pee, bra, butt, and fart are used frequently.
  • This book is full of bathroom jokes. In one instance, Mom called a household meeting and says, “she was tired of having to clean the floor around the toilet because of our ‘lousy aim.’” Greg continues to tell the story of how he got stuck to the bathroom floor after Manny used the bathroom.
  • Greg fakes his mother’s instructions to his Grandpa when he is babysitting the three Heffley boys. The note tells Grandpa to spank Rodrick and has a picture of a naked butt.
  • Greg goes into a locked-in night at his school. Greg remembers, “Every once in a while, somebody would cut the cheese, and that made Mr. Palmero really mad because he couldn’t figure out who was doing it.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

by Matthew Perkey

The Bad Guys in Do-You-Think-He-Saurus?!

The Bad Guys have flown through outer space, made it back to Earth, and managed to land in exactly the right place… but at exactly the wrong TIME. Who knew alien escape pods were capable of time travel?!? And now that they’re 65 million years in the past, they must avoid being eaten by dinosaurs and fix their broken time machine if they ever want to get back home before an evil alien destroys the whole world!

The seventh installment of the Bad Guys Series has the group hopping back in time. Hilarity ensues as Wolf, Snake, and Shark try to hide from the dinosaurs. Unfortunately, the story lacks plot—the group run around avoiding the dinosaurs and eventually make their way home. Although the black-and-white illustrations are comical, even younger readers will wish that the Bad Guys stayed in the past longer and learned about the dinosaurs.

One interesting development is that Snake acts like a leader. Even though Snake acts bravely, he tells Wolf, “I don’t want your job, you hair-brained lunatic. Who needs THAT kind of responsibility? I’m just your wingman. Your vastly superior wingman.” The Bad Guys’ time-traveling ends with each character having a new superhero power. After the story ends, “Broadcast was picked up by satellite, while being beamed from Earth into dark space.” The story transitions to a weird and random, “pilot episode [of] The Glamorous Life of Dr. Rupert Marmalade,” a “Bad Guys Tryout” quiz, and “Hiss-terically Funny” jokes.

Despite the story’s lack of development, Bad Guys fans will enjoy the familiar characters, the non-stop action, and the surprising conclusion. The Bad Guys in Do-You-Think-He-Saurus?! uses the same format as the previous books. The story pulls readers into the text in various ways. The large text has nine or fewer sentences per page, and many of the words are huge and bold. In addition to the large text, black-and-white illustrations appear on every page. Some of the illustrations are full-page, while others appear in panels. The illustrations show the story’s action as well as the characters’ facial expressions.

As always, the Bad Guys will continue to entertain readers with a unique cast of characters, an action-packed plot, and fun friendships.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • A giant robot appears on earth. The robot tells Fox, “You have been identified as an enemy. Prepare to be terminated.” There is a “Zap!” and Fox disappears.
  • A velociraptor grabs Wolf’s tie and begins flinging him around.
  • A T-rex chases Piranha. At first, Piranha is totally frightened, but then he thinks, “MY Bolivian brothers would be ashamed to see me running away like. . . a jellyfish with tiny little baby hands.” Piranha tries to attack the T-rex, but gets stuck in the dinosaur’s nostril.
  • Two T-rexes chase Wolf and Snake. The three friends run into Shark, and the group forms a tumbling ball that “DONKs” onto a dinosaur’s head, causing Piranha to shoot out the dinosaur’s nose.
  • The Bad Guys travel through time. When they shoot out of the time “circle,” they “smack” into a robot, causing him to fall into a river.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • The story has some name-calling, including coward and nutjobs.
  • The are several references to butts. For example, Piranha tells Wolf, “Well, amigos. . . In Bolivia we have an old saying—It’s better to be eaten by dinosaurs than it is to be eaten by aliens with butts for hands.”
  • “OMG” is used as an exclamation once.

Supernatural

  • The Bad Guys accidentally travel back in time. As Spider tries to figure out how to return to their time period, Piranha shoots out of a dinosaur’s nose and accidentally hits the “Do Not Press” button, which causes a “swirly circle” to appear in the sky. The Bad Guys and a velociraptor jump into the circle and return to present-day earth.
  • After time traveling, the Bad Guys have new “superpowers.” Mr. Shark can shape-shift; he turns into a tree, a skateboard, and a donut. Snake can now move things with his mind. “Guys, I think Mr. Snake is lifting a car. . . with his MIND.”

Spiritual Content

  • None

Worthy

Everyone at Linden’s high school is obsessed with a new app called Worthy. The app posts pictures of couples and asks, “Is the girl worthy of the guy?” Some use the anonymous platform to post cruel comments. As the voting goes viral, not every couple can handle the comments that begin to collect. The comments aren’t only online: the app and the couples it features are the topic of every conversation at school.

At first, Linden is focused on other things like cute Alex Rivera, the Prom Committee, and her writing. But soon, Linden is just as obsessed with Worthy as everyone else. Soon, the app is causing problems between Linden and her best friend, Nikki. What will happen when the spotlight turns on Linden?

Readers will relate to Linden as she struggles with online bullying. Even though Linden knows that posting mean comments online is wrong, she doesn’t have a problem voting. As the story progresses, four different couples are featured on Worthy. Linden overhears many conversations about the couples that allow the reader to understand how superficial the voters are. As more and more teens get caught up in the voting craze, Linden is forced to evaluate her own motives for voting. When Linden and Alex are featured on the app, Linden finally realizes how devastating people’s comments can be.

In a world where so many teens are connected on social media, the story has a realistic conflict; however, there are so many minor characters that it is often difficult to keep track of them all. Because the minor characters seldom appear, readers may find it difficult to care about how the app affects them. It isn’t until the app focuses on Linden that the conflict becomes more suspenseful. The story is told from Linden’s point of view, which allows the reader to understand her insecurities and her fears as well as see her personal growth.

Worthy is a cute romance that has several positive aspects. Nikki, Alex, and Linden’s parents all make a short appearance in the story. Despite that each family is different, they are all portrayed in a positive light. The story shies away from profanity and sex. Even though the story drags at points, the positive messages in the book make it worth the read. Connor makes it clear that teens need to look past people’s appearances. The story also shows the damage that online bullying can cause in relationships. Worthy isn’t afraid to explore difficult topics and would be an excellent book to use as a conversation starter.

Sexual Content

  • While in the school hallway, Linden sees her best friend Nikki kissing her boyfriend.
  • Linden thinks about her neighbor, Max. “When we were twelve, we shared our first kiss in the treehouse his dad built.”
  • While sitting outside of Linden’s house, Alex “raises his hand, still caught in mine, and traces his thumb gently against my lips. My face explodes with heat, and when his hand slips away, I lean in toward him. The first kiss is soft. Just a touch. . .He leans back on the grass, pulling me against his chest, and we are kissing. And kissing. And kissing.”
  • While in the school hallway, Alex tries to kiss Linden, and she jerks “backward because I’m not expecting it and it ends up a totally awkward kind of face bump.” Linden is embarrassed and thinks, “I’m not so sure public displays of affection are my thing. . . It’s funny we weren’t awkward at all when we were kissing Saturday night. I blush and smile at the memory.”
  • At school, Linden notices two kids kissing and notices that the girl “gives him a kiss right on the mouth, completely oblivious to the rest of the group.”
  • While at Alex’s house, Linden thinks “about kissing him in my front yard.”
  • At a school assembly, Alex sits next to Linden and gives her a “quick kiss. This time our lips touch confidently, like we greet each other like this all the time.”
  • Linden imagines asking Alex to prom and “then we’ll kiss.”
  • While sitting in Alex’s car, he “cups [Linden’s] cheek in his hand . . . He runs a thumb along my bottom lip. Slowly. Then he leans in to kiss me—very softly—following along the line his thumb travels with his lips.”
  • Linden thinks about her best friend and remembers “when Nikki told me Martin Wells had kissed her behind the trees outside the playground.”
  • While at a quinceañera, Linden brushes “[Alex’s] thick black hair back off his forehead, my fingers lingering as they slide down his face. . . Then he turns his head and his lips are on my palm. The heat explodes into my cheeks.”

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • Oh my God and OMG are used eleven times in total.
  • Crap is used once. When Linden accidentally throws the bowling ball the wrong way, she thinks, “crap.”
  • Freaking is used once.

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • While bowling, Linden doesn’t want her feet touching the shoes. She thinks, “Thank God for the thick boot socks I put on under my cowboy boots.”

Stellaluna

Separated from her mother before she is old enough to fly, Stellaluna finds out that not all winged creatures eat fruit. But swallowing food that crawls is just one of the amazing things the little fruit bat must learn to do. Not all are lessons in survival, however. As Stellaluna adapts to the habits of her new family, she learns the essence of friendship.

Stellaluna is a beautiful story that illustrates how everyone is not the same. When Stellaluna falls into a bird’s nest, she must learn to adapt because the mama bird told her, “You are teaching my children to do bad things. I will not let you back into this nest unless you promise to obey all the rules of the house.” As her bird friends learn to fly, Stellaluna tries to do the same things they do, but when she acts like a bird she is clumsy. It isn’t until Stellaluna meets another bat that she realizes her actions were “wrong for a bird, maybe, but not for a bat.”

The illustrations are simply amazing because they convey Steallaluna’s emotions. The beautiful pictures will help younger readers visualize the story’s action. Some pictures are heartwarming and others are humorous, but the one thing that remains constant throughout the story is the friendship between the three young birds and Stellaluna.

Each two-page spread contains a page of large text and a full-page illustration. Even though Stellanluna is a picture book, it is intended to be read aloud to a child, rather than for the child to read it for the first time independently. Each page has eight or fewer sentences and the story ends with information about different types of bats.

Stellaluna’s story is one that younger readers will want to read again and again, not only because of the beautiful illustrations but because of the happy ending. In the end, Stellaluna is reunited with her mother, but it is clear that Stellaluna’s friendship with the birds will never end.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • Stellaluna’s mother is attacked by an owl. “Dodging and shrieking, Mother Bat tried to escape, but the owl struck again and again, knocking Stellaluna into the air. Her baby wings were as limp and useless as wet paper.” Stellaluna drops into a bird’s nest.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

A Match Made in Mehendi

Fifteen-year-old Simran “Simi” Sangha comes from a long line of Indian vichole – matchmakers — with a rich history of helping parents find good matches for their grown children. When Simi accidentally sets up her cousin and a soon-to-be lawyer, her family is thrilled that she has the “gift.”

But Simi is an artist, and she doesn’t want anything to do with relationships, helicopter parents, and family drama. That is until she realizes this might be just the thing to improve her and her best friend Noah’s social status. Armed with her family’s ancient guide to finding love, Simi starts a matchmaking service via an app.

But when she helps connect a wallflower of a girl with the star of the boys’ soccer team, she turns the high school hierarchy topsy-turvy, making herself public enemy number one.

Simi starts her sophomore year with the intent of standing out and being her true self. As she tells her own story, the reader gets an inside scoop on her thought process. Simi’s story bounces between her home life, her love life, and her school life. Simi is surrounded by a large and loving family. She also relies on her best friend, Noah, to help her through the day-to-day struggle of school.

The story’s large cast of characters doesn’t allow the author to give each person a unique personality, and many of the characters are not well-developed. Simi’s best friend Noah is struggling with his sexual identity, but his thoughts and feelings are never expressed, which makes it hard for the reader to connect with him. Readers may also have a difficult time because Simi’s family is from India, and they often use their native language; however, there are few context clues to help the reader understand the word’s meaning.

A Match Made in Mehendi gives the reader a look into Indian culture as well as the matchmaking process. The action slows down when Noah, Simi, and her brother work on the app. The matchmaking app is an interesting twist, but Simi seems more concerned with the app’s functionality than the couples the app matches.

Like many teens, Simi is trying to find her voice and stand up for herself. Simi’s story is unique and follows several couples as they try to navigate romance. However, the character-driven story does not contain a lot of action or conflict. Although the story has several interesting facets, A Match Made in Mehendi will easily be forgotten.

Sexual Content

  • While working on an art project at a boy’s house, the two take a break. “He leans close, picking a blade of grass from my hair, and for a second, I think he might kiss me.” But then the dog jumps between the two and the moment is over.
  • After a date, Simi’s “heart rate kicks up as he ducks his head and moves closer.” She thought he was going to kiss her and thinks, “I want him to. I have for so long.” But then, the boy “veers towards my cheek, laying the softest kiss there. It’s innocent and sweet, but all the same, shivers fan out over my arms.”
  • Simi’s friend Noah has a crush on a boy, but he isn’t sure how to handle it.
  • While at a gathering, Simi is talking to a boy. The boy “gently pulls me in toward him for a kiss. Except I’m so surprised, I knock over my cup of ginger ale before our lips can connect.” Simi tells him to try again, which he does. Simi thinks the kiss is “slow. Delicious. Sweet like ate-ki-pinni.”

Violence

  • A mean girl tricks Simi, then “as I crash onto my hands and knees, my phone careens through the air and smashes face down on the concrete.” The girl stomped on the phone, then “she laughs, does a haughty pageant wave, and keeps moving.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • During a dinner at Simi’s house, her dad “keeps everyone happy with drinks ranging from lassi and lemonade to Patiala pegs of his favorite single malt whiskey.”

Language

  • Profanity is used sparingly. Crap is used three times; holy crap and shit are both used once.
  • When Simi draws a picture of two people with hearts over their head, her sister says, “Good God.”
  • God, OMG, and dear God are all used as an exclamation once or twice.
  • Freaking is used five times.
  • Badass and kickass are both used once.
  • When someone takes credit for Simi’s artwork, she says, “They call it bullshit. Are you gonna tell her [the teacher] or am I?” Later she thinks the person is an “ass.”

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • When Simi’s grandparents got married, they were from different religions, but it wasn’t “a big deal.” Her grandparents “lit a lamp for both Wahe Guru and Mata Rani in our home after we got married and called ourselves doubly blessed.”

Guest: A Changeling Tale

Mollie knows that it’s dangerous to praise a baby. The Kinde Folke, who are anything but kind, may overhear and snatch the beautiful child away. Mollie loves her baby brother Thomas and somehow flattering words escape. She knows her baby brother could be snatched, but she isn’t expecting a hideous changeling to take his place. When her brother disappears, her father leaves town and her mother tries to keep the changeling alive. Mollie’s mother hopes that the Kinde Folke will take the changeling home and return Thomas.

Mollie watches the joy and strength leave her mother. In the hopes of saving her family, Mollie decides to sneak away and return Guest (the changeling) to the Kinde Folke. But the Kinde Folke do not want Guest back, and they will do everything in their power to keep Mollie from finding them. Determined, Mollie journeys over mountains and through forests filled with otherworldly foes. Can Mollie find the treacherous Kinde Folke and convince them to let go of her brother?

Mary Downing Hahn weaves a tale of frightening fairies who use trickery and violence to keep Mollie from finding her brother. Although the Irish folklore is interesting, none of the characters in the story are likable. Mollie is spoiled, mean, and says hateful words. The story hints that Guest’s father cares about him, but the man only steps in to help when Mollie and Guest are in danger. Even though Guest is described as a disgustingly ugly changeling, he grows as a person and realizes that his previous actions were wrong. Readers may be put off by the host of unlikeable characters.

As Mollie searches for her brother, she continues to make the same mistakes over and over again. If it wasn’t for the help of the traveler and sympathetic Kinde Folke, Mollie would have surely met her demise. In the end, Mollie is reunited with her brother; however, he is so mean and ill-tempered that the reader will wish that the fairy queen had sacrificed him as she had planned.

Mollie travels through the forest and has to overcome many difficulties. The changing relationship between Mollie and Guest will give readers hope. Throughout the story, several people ask Mollie, “Why must you speak your mind without giving a thought to what you say?” By reading Mollie’s story, readers will understand the need to think before they talk. Readers who are interested in folklore and the darker side of fairies will enjoy Guest: A Changeling Tale. Readers interested in folklore with mischievous and often dangerous characters should try better alternatives, such as 13 Treasures by Michelle Harrison or The Spiderwick Chronicles by Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black.

 Sexual Content

  • Mollie finds out that Guest’s father is Madog. Guest’s half-brother says that Guest’s mother “should not have lain with Madog.”

Violence

  • Mollie’s mother thinks about taking the changeling baby to the crossroads. “Those who’d killed themselves were buried in this place. Murderers, too, and thieves, all those who weren’t allowed to lie in the churchyard. Changelings and unwanted babies had both been left here to die.”
  • A Stallion horse takes Mollie into the sky. When she asks to be returned, “I understood that the horse meant to dive into the lake and drown me. I lunged to one side, but the black threads of his mane wrapped themselves around me and held me fast. Into the water we plunged, going so deep, I thought I’d never see the sky again. . . I used all of my strength to push the silver heart against the horse’s neck. With a shudder, the stallion threw me from his back.” Mollie is able to swim to the surface, but the Stallion races after her. “And then, though I scarce believed what I saw, the horse changed to a man as beautiful and wild as the horse.” With the help of the traveler, Mollie is saved.
  • Guest tells Mollie that his birth mother does “not like me. Scream, hit, hurt me.”
  • Creatures “wearing tattered leaves and cobwebs” try to get Mollie to follow them. When she doesn’t, “they surrounded us, hundreds of them, no bigger than wasps. . . No longer pretending to be friendly, they pinched us, they bit. They pulled our hair as if they meant to yank it out. They tore our clothes as if they wished to strip us to our bare skin.” Mollie thrust the locket at the Tinies and “at its touch, the creatures shrieked in pain and spiraled upward.”
  • The Kinde Folke tricked Mollie into believing a wolf was her brother Thomas. The wolf “struggled to escape, and when I tightened my hold on him, he snarled and sunk his teeth into my arm. Shocked, I let him go. His lips drew back and exposed long, sharp teeth. Fur covered his body. . . As he leaned over me, poised to attack, I pulled out the locket and pressed it as hard as I could against one of his eyes. With a savage howl, he leapt backwards, one eye gone, nothing left of it but a smoking hole and the stench of burned flesh.”
  • One of the Kinde Folke appears to Mollie and her companions. When they go into a circle, “Green flames raced across the ground toward us. My skin tingled and my hair crackled. Guest and Aidan glowed as if they were burning from within. The flames vanished as quickly as they’d come, and a terrible silence fell.” When Aidan approached the woman, “the lady struck his face with her open hand. Aidan’s head snapped back and he raised an arm to protect himself from the second blow.” When the woman asks Mollie a question, Mollie stays quiet. “The air stirred before I felt the blow. Stumbling backwards, I almost knocked Guest down. He whimpered and held my skirt tightly.”
  • When Madog tries to keep Mollie from following the Kinde Folke, she “yanked the locket from around my neck and thrust it into Madog’s face. With a cry of pain, he sprang back.” When the Kinde Folke try to convince Mollie to go with them, she lifted “the locket high, I thrust it against their shoulders, their faces, their arms, their hands. The dancers screamed in pain.” The Kinde Folke flee.
  • The Kinde Folke plan on sacrificing Mollie’s brother. One of the Kinde Folke tells her, “Every seven years, we are sworn to give the Dark Lord of these lands a tithe. That’s the price we pay to roam the world as free as the wind.”
  • When a girl spills wine, the Kinde Folke’s queen called her a “stupid, clumsy girl.” The queen then “slapped Aislinn’s face so hard, the girl nearly fell from her chair.”
  • When Mollie steals her sleeping brother from the Kinde Folke, the Kinde Folke try to get him back. “The hounds were upon us, dark, long and lean, red-eyed and sharp-toothed, more like shadows than actual dogs. They ripped at the horses’ legs, leapt at their throats, and tried to pull us to the ground.” In order to escape, someone gives Mollie a pouch. Mollie “fumbled with the cord and then hurled the sack at the Kinde Folke. Its contents exploded in a flash of lighting. Small iron balls shot into the Kinde Folke crowded around us. They screamed in pain and tried to shield themselves.” Mollie and her companions are able to flee.
  • While Mollie and her companions are fleeing, “a strange darkness fell upon us. . . Thunder crashed so loudly the earth seemed to shake. Lightning exploded across the sky with a force that split the clouds.” The Dark Lord speaks, then he “destroyed the Kinde Folke just as he said he would.”
  • When Mollie brings her brother home, their father is afraid the Kinde Folke will seek vengeance. He says, “Remember what they did to the Millers’ barn and house—burned them both to the ground just because Mistress Miller refused to call them kind.”

Drugs and Alcohol

  • A shapeshifter gives Mollie a “pretty little blue bottle.” The shapeshifter said the bottle contained “my elixir of health.” But Guest hit the bottle, which poured onto the ground. When a butterfly drank the elixir, “in a moment, it lay still and the ferns around it withered.”
  • During a ceremony, the Kinde Folke drinks wine. When a girl drops a glass of wine, someone says, “Bring more wine. But give none to this one. She’s had more than enough already.”
  • Mollie’s brother is given a potion that puts him to sleep.

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Mollie has an iron necklace that is covered in silver. When the necklace touches a Kinde Folke, the necklace hurts them.
  • The story centers around the Kinde Folke, who have magical powers. “Worst of all, if the Kinde Folke learned of a beautiful baby boy’s birth, they’d steal him away and leave one of their own sickly creatures in his place.”
  • Pookas, which are ghosts, “live in dark lakes and take lasses.” A Pooka turns into a stallion and tries to keep Mollie from entering the Kinde Folke’s Dark Lands.
  • Tinies lead people into the swamp and drown them.
  • The Kinde Folke try to trick Mollie. Two of them “glamorized to look like” her parents.
  • Mollie is given a cloak that had invisibility woven into every thread.
  • Some of the characters can shapeshift.

 

Spiritual Content

  • None

Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride

Mr. Watson and Mrs. Watson adore their porcine wonder named Mercy. Every Saturday, Mercy and Mr. Watson go for a ride in Mr. Watson’s convertible. Every Saturday, Mr. Watson has to push Mercy out of the driver’s seat. Everyone knows that a pig can’t drive a convertible. But one Saturday, Mr. Watson and Mercy find a stowaway hiding in the car. While Mr. Watson is distracted, Mercy takes the opportunity to get behind the wheel.

Even though Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride has the same unique, loveable characters as the first book in the series, each book can be read as a standalone. Eugenia Lincoln still finds fault in taking a pig for a ride in an automobile, but Eugenia’s sister Baby surprises everyone by taking a chance to add a little “folly” to her day. Readers familiar with Mercy Watson and new readers will enjoy the hilarious adventure. The conclusion shows how a pig and buttered toast can bring people together.

The wholesome, silly story will have readers clamoring to read and reread Mercy’s adventures. The illustrations bring the human’s emotions to the forefront with comical, exaggerated facial expressions.

Readers who are transitioning to chapter books will appreciate the large font, easy vocabulary, and illustrations that appear on almost every page. With lots of dialogue and onomatopoeias, Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride would also make an excellent book to read aloud. Anyone who has ever watched Charlotte’s Web and wished to have their very own pig will enjoy the Mercy Watson Series.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Wings That Shine

Skydancer is entrusted with the school’s special medal. When she gets distracted, she drops the medal, and is afraid to tell anyone. While she is looking for the medal, she finds a sick dragon. Skydancer returns to the school and finds another dragon. The dragon doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but everyone is afraid of her.

When she stumbles upon a dragon at the edge of the Enchanted Pony Academy grounds, Skydancer is terrified. Skydancer is the only one who can talk to any animal with wings—a very useful Glitter Gift, and one she has always enjoyed. Can she be brave enough to use her Gift and convince the dragon to go away. . . before everything goes up in flames?

The story’s plot focus on both the lost medal and the dragon’s need for help. Despite the danger, Skydancer helps the dragon. Even though there is little suspense, younger readers will enjoy Skydancer’s adventure into the dragon’s home. Even though most of the pegaponies hide from the dragons, Skydancer is determined to help them. Both the dragons and Skydancer learn that their conflict could have been solved if everyone was able to communicate. Skydancer’s experiences highlights the importance of communication and honesty.

Wings That Shine has relatable conflicts. Readers will empathize with Skydancer, who is afraid to tell the headmistress that she has lost the medal. Even though Skydancer is afraid, she still tells the headmistress about the lost medal. However, instead of having any negative consequences, with magic the medal is returned to its proper place.

Wings That Shine will entertain those who have already transitioned to chapter books. Cute black and white illustrations help break up the text and appear every three to five pages. Although the vocabulary isn’t difficult, the text-heavy pages and long sentences may be overwhelming for beginning readers. With rhyming spells, magic Glitter Gifts, and pegaponies, Wings That Shine is sure to capture reader’s attention. Readers who enjoy animals and magic may also want to try The Baby Animal Rescue Fairies Series by Daisy Meadows or the Unicorn Princesses Series by Emily Bliss.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • Each pegapony has a different Glitter Gift. The Glitter Gifts include being able to become invisible, being able to talk to winged animals, teleportation, and making flowers bloom. One pegapony can even shoot sparks out of his horn.
  • The pegaponies can cast magic spells. Spells work best if they rhyme. Stone tries to cast a spell to make fireworks come out of his horn. He says, “Turn my sparks into fireworks.” Only a few “pops fizzled from his horn.”
  • Magical Creatures fled when “careless spell casting had weakened the magic in the land.”
  • When the headmistress needs to give the whole school a message, “a shiny orb sailed into the air from his horn, and then it popped, releasing his message in a voice so loud, every pony across the campus could hear it.”
  • Skydancer finds a thirsty dragon. In order to give the dragon water, she cast a spell. Skydancer says, “Fill these buckets to the brink, so we can offer the dragon a drink.” The buckets fill with water and Skydancer takes the buckets to the dragon.
  • In order to help the dragons, the pegaponies use their magic to enchant seeds. Someone says a the spell, “May water from the sky start to fall, so these crops grow for one and all.”
  • In order to fill the dragon’s lake, Skydancer cast a spell. “With fresh, clean water fill this lake, so there’s always plenty for all to take.”
  • The school’s special medal is “enchanted to return to its home if it’s gone from this perch for more than 12 hours.” Later, Skydancer is given a medal that is also enchanted. If the medal is lost, it will find Skydancer.

Spiritual Content

  • None

Sofia Valdez, Future Prez

Every morning, Abuelo walks Sofia to school . . . until one day Abuelo hurts his ankle at a local landfill and he can no longer do so. Sofia misses her Abuelo and wonders what she can do about the dangerous Mount Trashmore. Then she gets an idea—the town can turn the slimy mess into a park! She brainstorms and plans and finally works up the courage to go to City Hall—only to be told by a clerk that she can’t build a park because she’s just a kid. Sofia is down but not out, and she sets out to prove what one kid can do.

The story focuses on Sofia’s desire to rid the town of a huge trash heap. However, it is unclear where all the garbage came from and in the end, the story doesn’t explain where all the trash went. The huge pile of trash consists of everyday items, egg cartons, spoiled food, disposable cups. Although the everyday items show how everyone contributes to the pile, most younger readers will miss this lesson.

At first, Sophia is overwhelmed and “her heart skipped a beat as she realized each one of her neighbors had said: “Let me know when it’s done!’ They all thought Sofia could build it alone.” However, Sofia doesn’t give up. Instead, she goes to city hall, where she is sent to six different offices, each with a ridiculous silly name like “The Department of Cheese” and the “Office of Monkeys”. Younger readers won’t understand the humor of dealing with a city’s bureaucracy, but they will enjoy seeing a duck, a monkey, and a man dressed as cheese in the offices. Even though Sophia eventually gets the help of her classmates and adults, most of the story focuses on the process of making a park.

Sophia’s determination allows her to go through the process of getting the park built, starting with a petition drive. Sophia leads a group of diverse people who hold signs asking people to sign the petition. The illustration shows Iggy Peck, Rosie Revere, and Ada Twist from Beaty’s previous books. Although their appearance is quick, readers will enjoy seeing the familiar characters. The petition illustration shows a child in a wheelchair as well as children of different races. Sophia is Latinx, drawn with medium brown skin, and her abuelo speaks one line in Spanish.

Written in rhyme, Sofia Valdez, Future Prez will entertain readers with funny events and detailed illustrations. However, the story lacks Sophia’s though process and the theme is not well developed. Nevertheless, the story would be a great conversation starter because readers will be inspired with Sophia’s can-do attitude, her leadership skills, and her desire to help others.

Even though Sofia Valdez, Future Prez is a picture book, it is intended to be read aloud to a child, rather than for the child to read it for the first time independently. The rhyming makes the story fun to read aloud. However, some pages are text-heavy and have up to 11 lines on a single page. Sofia Valdez, Future Prez’s will entertain readers as it teaches that one person can make a difference.

Sexual Content

  • None

Violence

  • None

Drugs and Alcohol

  • None

Language

  • None

Supernatural

  • None

Spiritual Content

  • None

Across the Dark Water

Twelve-year-old Rahkki is a stable groom for the Riders in the Sandwen army, who must battle deadly spit dragons and hordes of warring giants. The Sandwens believe they have tamed all the wild pegasi in the lush jungles of the Realm and turned them into flying warhorses. But when a herd of wild steeds flies over their village, Rahkki and his clan mates are stunned.

Meanwhile, a small herd of pegasi has journeyed across a treacherous ocean to settle in a new and free land. Led by Echofrost and Hazelwind, the Storm Herd steeds are unaware of the Sandwen clan. But when the unthinkable happens, Echofrost and the rest of Storm Herd will have to come to trust the Sandwens, or both may not survive.

Pegasi, giants, fire-breathing lizards, and landwalkers come together in an exciting story full of suspense. Echofrost desires to be free and she has vowed that no pegasi will be held captive. When her friend Shysong is captured, Echofrost sacrifices her freedom in the hope that she will be able to help Shysong escape. But escaping the Landwalkers is more difficult than Echofrost could have imagined. She fights every Landwalker who comes near her. When a young boy tries to help Echofrost, Echofrost begins to understand that some Landwalkers can be trusted.

Across the Dark Waters uses Echofrost’s voice to highlight the pegasi’s plight and their desire for freedom, while Rahkki’s voice brings the landwalker’s complicated political system to life. The beginning of the story may confuse readers because of the many names and the detailed descriptions that are necessary to build the realm’s world. However, it does not take long until both Echofrost and Shysong are captured and the non-stop action begins. Readers will empathize with Echofrost as she tries to escape captivity, and they will also root for Rahkki as he fights to help the wild pegasi.

Although the publisher recommends Across the Dark Waters for readers as young as eight, younger readers may have a difficult time with the complex story that contains many references to the past in both the pegasi and the landwalker’s lands. The advanced vocabulary and sentence structure may also be difficult for younger readers. In her fight for freedom, Echofrost is treated brutally and, although the descriptions are not gory, there is blood and violence that may upset sensitive readers.

As the first installment of the Riders of the Realm series, Across the Dark Waters will be impossible for readers to put down. With battles, political intrigue, plot twist, and an unlikely friendship, Across the Dark Waters is a beautifully written, complex story that is engaging and exciting. The surprising conclusion will leave readers reaching for the next book in the series, Through the Untamed Sky. Readers who love horse stories will also want to read The Rose Legacy by Jessica Day George.

Sexual Content

  • When looking at the princess, someone asks Rahkki, “You like what you see?” Rahkki is told to “Keep away from the princess, yeah?”
  • When Rahkki’s brother Brauk is injured, Rahkki kisses his hand. His brother says, “If you’re going to practice kissing, could you use your own hand?”

Violence

  • Only women can inherit the throne. Queen Reyella only had sons. “Eight years ago, a bloodborn princess from the Second Clan named Lilliam Whitehall had pounced on Reyella’s weakness. She assassinated the boys’ mother and took her throne, becoming the Fifth’s new monarch.”
  • Rahkki thinks back to when the queen killed his mother. Rahkki “winced at a flash of memory—Queen Lilliam’s cold hand around his throat. He’d been four years old when she’s snuck into Fort Prowl, killed his mother, and then gone after him. . . But then another memory struck him: his mother’s round belly. She’d been pregnant too when Lilliam had assassinated her.”
  • The Storm Herd pegasi leave their land because of a battle between “two immortal pegasus stallions: Star the Healer and Nightwing the Destroyer.” Star and Nightwing use their supernatural power to try to destroy each other. “The earth shook and the land below her hooves fractured, creating fissures in the soil that spread like cracked ice.”
  • Later Echofrost thinks about “Nightwing’s treacheries: burning Morningleaf’s feathers with his silver starfire, turning hundreds of pegasi to ashes, stealing newborns from their dams, and murdering the five over-stallions of Anok.”
  • While flying over a human establishment, the Landwalkers try to shoot down the pegasi. “One adult retreated into his den and then returned carrying a bowed contraption. Soon he was shooting barbed sticks at the pegasi. One struck Shysong in the wing. . .and blood dripped from the wound.”
  • The Landwalkers capture Shysong. “Several lashings were looped around Shysong’s neck and legs. The mare bucked and kicked, but the Landwalkers steered their mounts out of her reach, keeping an equidistant circle around her body.” Echofrost tries to help her friend. “She rammed the closest enemy pegasus. . . The golden steed faltered, and her rider lost her balance, almost falling off.” The mare “kicked Echofrost in the flank and sent her spiraling toward land.” The scene is described over three pages.
  • After Shysong is captured, Echofrost allows the Landwalkers to catch her. The Landwalkers throw ropes at the Storm Herd. “One fell around Echofrost’s neck and then tightened around her throat. She reared back, and it clamped tighter, like the constricting grip of a snake. She opened her mouth to scream, but the noise came out a strangled gasp.” When the Landwalkers catch Echofrost, they cut her wings so she cannot escape.
  • Echofrost thinks back to the past. Another herd had captured her and “she’d been tortured and kicked. Yearlings had made a sport of yanking out her mane and tail hairs by the roots. She’d eventually been released.”
  • The Landwalkers take Echofrost captive. The Landwalkers “tossed ropes that tangled around her neck and hooves. They each held tight, and she couldn’t stop herself from struggling. The Landwalkers shouted to one another in excited voices and then gave a mighty tug, yanking her off her hooves. She hit the ground. . .They bound her wings and legs.”
  • While walking, someone threw a coconut at Rahkki. He was hit “in the back of the head and he flew forward, striking the ground so hard it knocked the breath out of him.”
  • In order to keep Echofrost captive, the Landwalkers need to cut her wings. Brauk “produced a stick similar to Harak’s and followed her, brandishing it at her throat. She lunged, jaws wide, and Harak leaped to help Brauk. They struck her chest, driving her deeper into the corner until her flanks brushed up against wood.” In order to put a halter on Echofrost, Brauk “clubbed her over the head so hard that her vision flickered. . . With a sharp tug, they yanked her off her hooves and she slammed onto the hard floor. Her chest [was] heaving as she absorbed the pain.” The scene is described over three pages.
  • Angry at Brauk, Echofrost tried to strike him, but Brauk “slammed his club down on her forehead, making her stagger into the barn wall. Her vision blackened, and she gasped for breath.”
  • While trying to tame Echofrost, Brauk “wacked her left shoulder, stinging the muscles there. . . . Echofrost dripped her head and limped along behind him, her shoulders stinging where he’d hit her.”
  • When Echofrost’s friends try to free her, the Landwalkers shoot arrows at the wild pagasi. One pegasus is slightly injured.
  • A giant grabs Echofrost. The giant “tightened his grip around her neck. Her vision darkened and her body went limp. . . The Gorlander held Sula [Echofrost] by her throat with both hands, trying to suffocate her so he could drag her away. Her tongue lolled form her mouth, and her eyes popped wide.” Rahkki grabs a dagger and “drove it toward the giant’s brain.” The giant “snatched Rahkki’s arm, and tossed him into the creek before the blade could find its mark.”
  • Echofrost tries to free herself from the giant’s grasp by twisting and kicking. “Her hooves sliced through the Gorlander’s goat-hide vest, raking red streaks across his moon-pale skin.” Brauk tries to help his brother and Echofrost. “Brauk parried in and out, slicking at the giant in sections from head to foot until the beast was streaked in blood.” When Echofrost gets free, she uses “her flightless wings to propel and balance herself, she reared and clubbed the giant with her front hooves. Meanwhile Brauk hacked at the Gorlander like he was chopping down a tree.” The scene is described over seven pages.
  • The giants attack the Landwalkers. “The giants lifted heavy shields and mowed down the front line of Sandwen soldiers, crushing them with their spears. The horde roared in unison and advanced over the bones of the dead. . . One [elephant] had a Sandwen warrior hanging off his tusk. The elephant tossed him off, and a giant speared the man straight through.” Rahkki takes the wild pegasi to his uncle’s farm.
  • While at the farm, a giant attempts to grab Rahkki. “The giant followed him, but as Rahkki predicted, he was too large to change course. His eyes widened, and then he slammed into the trunk. The tree cracked and splintered.” Rahkki’s uncle helps fight the giants. Rahkki stabs one “through her naked foot. She threw back her head and howled.” The giant grabs Rahkki and “shook him so hard his teeth rattled. . . The female giant tugged Rahkki’s arms hard enough to make him scream.” The giant ties Rahkki up and throws him into her sack.
  • Echofrost tries to help free Rahkki. A giant swings a weapon and “knocked her into the side of the barn. . . He swung at her again and knocked her into the side of the barn. With her head ringing, the giant stomped toward her—his bludgeon lifted.” The Storm Herd appear and help defeat the giant. The fight takes place over eight pages.
  • After Rahkki tries to free the wild pegasi, two guards beat him. “A guard lifted his club, his blue eyes flashing, and Rahkki threw his arms up to protect his face and head. He didn’t see the blow, but he felt it. Once. Twice. An earsplitting scream. That was him. . . Then one more blow. And darkness.
  • Someone teases Rahkki. One of his friends “coiled back her fist and punched him square across the jaw, knocking him off the bench.”
  • While Echofrost was being auctioned off, Harak uses his whip to bully Echofrost. Angry, Echofrost strikes out. “Echofrost whirled around and kicked out with both hind legs. She heard a sharp crack when her hooves connected with flesh. A body flew across the sand and struck the fence.” Echofrost accidently injures Brauk instead of Harak. Brauk is seriously injured.
  • After hurting Brauk, Echofrost thinks back to her brother’s death. “The dire wolves had attacked them. Their leader, a white she-wolf, had snatched Bumblewind and thrown him into a tree, cracking his head against it.”
  • During a contest, young men try to ride Echofrost. Every time someone gets on his back, Echofrost bucks them off. No one is injured. The scene is described over six pages.
  • While trying to find their herd, giants try to capture Echofrost and Shysong. Fire lizards, called burners, try to force the pegasi to the ground. “The burners caught up to Echofrost and attacked, shooting flaming tendrils at her and Shysong. There were hundreds of them moving as one creature, like a flock of sparrows. She twisted away when a few of her feathers caught fire. . . Shysong flew in to help. They kicked at the lizards, knocking some out of the sky.” The pegasi are able to escape.

Drugs and Alcohol

  • In order to treat Shysong’s injury, the clan’s animal doctor gave her a dose of “strong medicine.”
  • The queen’s table is laden with food and also has rice wine on it.
  • While at a pegasi auction, Rahkki notices that one of the pegasi has been drugged.

Language

  • The characters occasionally use “bloody rain” as an exclamation. For example, when Rahkki asked a guard to leave, the guard askes him, “Bloody rain, what yuh doin’ ‘ere so early?”
  • When someone shoots a pegasus, the queen calls them responsible idiots.
  • “By Granak” is used as an exclamation several times. For example, after the fight with the giant, Rahkki’s brother says, “By Granak, Brother. If you cry, I’ll break your nose.”

Supernatural

  • Queen Lilliam believes in omens. Before she will send her warriors out to battle the giants, the queen would consult with “their guardian mascot—Granak, the Father of Dragons. The queen would offer the gigantic lizard a fattened sow. If he ate it, they’d fight. If he didn’t, Lilliam would consider that a terrible omen. She’d keep the warriors home.”
  • Queen Lilliam won’t attack the giants because “her Borla had a bad dream, a vision. He said he saw the giant hordes on the move with over a hundred captured Kihlari steeds. . .So even though Granak ate the sow, the bad dream foretells defeat. She won’t attack until there’s a better omen.”
  • Nightwing “had woken from a four-hundred-year hibernation. . . He’d come to kill his rival, a young black stallion named Star.”
  • When Echofrost hurts a rider, a rumor begins. People think Echofrost killed the rider. “A Kihlara steed that killed a Rider was a bad omen—bad luck.”

Spiritual Content

  • After a pegasus dies, they go to “the golden meadow.”
  • In the morning the tame pegasi “greet the sun. . . All the pegasi faced east” and nickered toward the sun.
  • When Echofrost is upset, she thinks, “Ancestors, help me.” Later when Echofrost is trying to kick her way out of the stall, she says, “By the Ancestors. That door is as hard as stone.”
  • Echofrost and Shysong are being put up for sale. To encourage Shysong, Echofrost says, “the Ancestors are with us.”
  • The Landwalkers believe that “Sunchaser was the moon spirit, and he was always brooding because he lived in the dark.”
  • When the Landwalkers see the wild pegasi, someone says, “Maybe they’re a gift from the wind spirits, or maybe they rose out of the foam in the sea, or maybe they’re fallen stars.”
  • Echofrost takes flight with Rahkki on her back. Intending to escape, Echofrost flies quickly away from the settlement. Rahkki “threw up a silent prayer to the Seven Sisters.”
  1. Pages:
  3. 1
  4. ...
  5. 55
  6. 56
  7. 57
  8. 58
  9. 59
  10. 60
  11. 61
  12. ...
  13. 82

Latest Reviews