Category Archives: Magical Realism

Review: The Legendary Frybread Drive-In edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith

By | | , , , ,
Leave a comment

Legendary Frybread Drive-In by Cynthia Leitich Smith

The Legendary Frybread Drive-In
Edited by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Heartdrum
Published August 26, 2025

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Legendary Frybread Drive-In

Featuring the voices of both new and acclaimed Indigenous writers and edited by bestselling Muscogee author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of interconnected stories serves up laughter, love, Native pride, and the world’s best frybread.

The road to Sandy June’s Legendary Frybread Drive-In slips through every rez and alongside every urban Native hangout. The menu offers a rotating feast, including traditional eats and tasty snacks. But Sandy June’s serves up more than it hosts live music, … Continue reading →

Review: Flyboy by Kasey LeBlanc

By | | , , , , ,
Comments Off on Review: Flyboy by Kasey LeBlanc

Flyboy by Kasey LeBlanc

Flyboy
Kasey LeBlanc
Balzer + Bray
Published May 14, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Flyboy

Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda meets the speculative twists of The Night Circus in this standout debut YA novel, about a boy who visits the magic-filled circus of his dreams each night in order to escape his daily reality where his trans identity remains a secret.

After an incident at his school leaves closeted trans teenager Asher Sullivan needing stitches, his mother betrays him in the worst possible way—she sends him to Catholic school for his senior year. Now he has to contend with hideous plaid skirts, cranky nuns, … Continue reading →

Review: Bad Graces by Kyrie McCauley

By | | , , , , , ,
Comments Off on Review: Bad Graces by Kyrie McCauley

Bad Graces by Kyrie McCauley

Bad Graces
Kyrie McCauley
Publisher
Published

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Bad Graces

Yellowjackets meets House of Hollow in award-winning author Kyrie McCauley’s gripping and magical YA thriller following a group of young women as they face the stress of harsh elements, a mysterious monster, and an unraveling of secrets after their yacht is wrecked off the coast of North America.

Liv Whitlock knows she doesn’t belong there. But after years of stumbling between foster homes, often due to her own self-destructive tendencies, Liv desperately needs to change the trajectory of her life … so she steals her perfect sister’s identity.

Liv starts to rewrite her story, winning … Continue reading →

Review: Sylvia Doe and the 100-Year Flood by Robert Beatty

By | | , , ,
Comments Off on Review: Sylvia Doe and the 100-Year Flood by Robert Beatty

Sylvia Doe and the 100-year Flood by Robert Beatty

Sylvia Doe and the 100-Year Flood
Robert Beatty
Disney Hyperion
Published October 8, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Sylvia Doe and the 100-Year Flood

Sylvia Doe doesn’t know where she was born or the people she came from. She doesn’t even know her real last name. Sylvia has lived at the Highground Home for Children in the mountains of North Carolina for as long as she can remember. Whenever the administrators place her with a foster family in the city, she runs away, back to her horse Kitty Hawk—her best friend—and the other horses in the herd, the only place … Continue reading →

Review: Greta by J. S. Lemon

By | | , , , ,
6 Comments

Greta by J. S. Lemon

Greta
J. S. Lemon
Farrar, Straus, & Giroux
Published September 10, 2024

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Greta

J. S. Lemon’s middle grade debut is an utterly transformative, fiercely original, and surprisingly funny story about consent, friendship, healing, and a beauty that transcends all else. 

Greta Goodwin’s life is changing. On top of moving to a new neighborhood far away from her best friend, Lotti, she’s also starting middle school. Greta isn’t totally ready for boys, bras, and bad cafeteria food. She still feels like a little kid compared to those female classmates who have suddenly matured over the summer. Girls … Continue reading →

Review: Secrets We Tell the Sea by Martha Riva Palacio Obón, translated by Lourdes Heuer

By | | , , ,
Comments Off on Review: Secrets We Tell the Sea by Martha Riva Palacio Obón, translated by Lourdes Heuer

Secrets We Tell the Sea by Martha Riva Palacio Obón, translated by Lourdes Heuer

Secrets We Tell the Sea
Martha Riva Palacio Obón
Translated by Lourdes Heuer
Bloomsbury USA Children’s
Published October 24, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Secrets We Tell the Sea

The only good thing about Sofia’s mom sending her to live with her abuela is that finally Sofia and the sea will meet face-to-face.

The sea has always called to Sofia, even when she and her mom lived in a big city nowhere near its shore. That’s how Sofia always knew she was a mermaid–that, and the fact that the sea and its creatures are much easier to understand than … Continue reading →