Category Archives: Fantasy

Review: The Girl in the Window by Lindsey Hobson

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Paranormal, , , , , , ,
The Girl in the Window by Lindsey Hobson

The Girl in the Window
Lindsey Hobson
Publisher
Published

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About The Girl in the Window

When Izzy breaks a window in the creepy house next door, her summer plans suddenly go from playing baseball in the backyard to doing yard work for mysterious Mr. Johnson to pay for the damage. Just when she thinks it can’t get any worse, she encounters a ghost girl with a cryptic HELP ME.

As Izzy begins to unravel the mystery surrounding the girl’s death, she discovers a whole new meaning to being friends… forever.

My Review

Though the book is a little dark and creepy, it does a great job balancing those elements with goofy kid shenanigans like playing baseball and performing chores as penance. I liked that the characters weren’t always what they seemed to be at first. Izzy has to learn more about people and relationships as she tries to unravel the mystery of what happened to the ghost girl who asks for her help.

Izzy has two siblings. Her older sister, Anna, and younger brother, Steven. Their dad has died before the story begins. I kind of wish there had been a little more to the backstory about the loss of their dad because who their dad is intersects with the story in some interesting ways. Izzy briefly flashes back to the car accident when her dad died, but she doesn’t think a whole lot about it other than in that scene and immediately afterward.

The book’s short chapters and low page count (under 200 pages) make it a pretty quick read, too. It’s very easy to just-one-more-chapter your way all the way to the end of the book.

I think readers who enjoy stories with a ghostly presence in them will like this spine-tingling tale.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are white. One minor character has lost an eye and wears a patch.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Some discussion about whether a boy has a crush on a girl.

Spiritual Content
One character is a ghost.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Izzy hears rumors that a little girl was poisoned to death. References to someone injuring someone else and causing them to lose their eye. References to the death of a child.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Vengeance of the Pirate Queen by Tricia Levenseller

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

Vengeance of the Pirate Queen (Daughter of the Pirate King #3)
Tricia Levenseller
Feiwel & Friends
Published November 7, 2023

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About Vengeance of the Pirate Queen

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN meets THE MUMMY in VENGEANCE OF THE PIRATE QUEEN, a beautifully designed standalone YA fantasy romance set in the world of Tricia Levenseller’s DAUGHTER OF THE PIRATE KING.

You can’t be afraid of the dark when you’re the monster lurking in the shadows.

As an assassin working for the pirate queen, eighteen-year-old Sorinda is surprised when Alosa’s next task for her is not to kill a new target but to captain a handpicked crew on a rescue mission. Unfortunately, her sailing master is twenty-year-old Kearan. He may be the best helmsman the pirate queen has, but Sorinda finds him a real pain in the arse. Sadly, there are few places on a ship to hide from an attentive man.

As the crew of the Vengeance faces dangerous waters and deadly sea creatures, they accidentally awaken the King of the Undersea, a being who can control the dead. Their rescue mission quickly turns into a fight to save the world, but first, Sorinda must save herself from becoming an undead queen.

My Review

I remember Sorinda from The Daughter of the Pirate King series. She was a minor character in those books but a deeply interesting one. I vaguely remembered Kearan and some other characters as well. It was fun to revisit that story world and learn more about some of the other characters.

I struggled with some elements of the story, though.

First, the portrayal of the younger characters in real time or in flashbacks. At one point, a seven-year-old character makes a speech that sounds like it would have to come from an older child. Some of the ideas were really abstract and complex, and I felt like a kid that age would have maybe had similar feelings but been more likely to say things in a simpler way.

Is this romantic?

I also struggled with the romantic arc. Sorinda is a loner, an assassin with a dark past that she hasn’t really grappled with, and I love those things about her. One of the crew members has decided that she needs a friend and nominated himself to be it.

Over and over Sorinda refuses to engage with him. He refuses to accept her wishes and continues to pursue her. At one point, he follows her belowdecks into a dark, secluded area where she’d gone to be alone. I couldn’t get my head around that as a gesture of friendship. If someone follows me, uninvited, into a dark room with only one exit, I don’t know how to read that except as a creepy move.

So that made it hard for me to invest in the romantic arc of the story. I kept wanting her to confront him about not respecting her boundaries. Instead, she decides she’s the problem and just needs to give him a chance. Eventually, her feelings change, and she realizes she enjoys the advances.

Which, you know, really isn’t how consent works? Someone who keeps asking to be your friend when you’ve continued to refuse that offer isn’t being kind. They’re not respecting your boundaries. He isn’t wrong that she’s isolated and hurting. But he is wrong that he has the authority to decide who she should be friends with.

Pirates of the Caribbean Vibes

Anyway, that relationship didn’t resonate with me at all, so I ended up really reading this for the pirate adventure and PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN vibes.

I did enjoy that, and I liked the scenes in which Sorinda really got to shine. I also really enjoyed the young character whose speech didn’t ring true. She is a little fireball, and I loved her tenacity.

Conclusion

Readers who loved The Daughter of the Pirate King series will enjoy revisiting Alosa’s world and reading a story focused on some of the series’ most memorable side characters.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Sorinda is described as having dark brown skin. Other members of her crew have darker skin tones. One crew member is an alcoholic in recovery.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. A man pursues a woman despite her stating she is uninterested.

Spiritual Content
After a crew member dies at sea, pirates light lanterns on deck to help the dead find their way to the light and the afterlife.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Battle violence and brief gore. Battles against the undead.

Drug Content
One crew member asks if the captain will lock up the rum rations after a particularly traumatic day.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: The Cats of Silver Crescent by Kaela Noel

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , ,

The Cats of Silver Crescent
Kaela Noel
Greenwillow Books
Published April 30, 2024

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About The Cats of Silver Crescent

In this stand-alone novel with themes of friendship and family, eleven-year-old Elsby discovers a family of talking cats living in the house next door and must help them harness the magic that made them that way. From the author of the acclaimed Coo, The Cats of Silver Crescent is for fans of Kathi Appelt and Katherine Applegate. With her mother busy traveling for work, Elsby isn’t thrilled to be spending a few weeks with her great-aunt Verity. Luckily, she has her notebook and a lush garden to sketch to help pass the time.

But a visitor takes Elsby by a cat standing on its two hind legs and dressed like a sailor dashes across the garden and into the neighboring woods! Elsby can’t believe her eyes, and Aunt Verity doesn’t seem to believe Elsby, either. But that night, the cat and three of his cat companions approach Elsby. They need Elsby’s help. While the cats can talk, think, and behave like humans, the magical spell that made them that way will revert if it’s not renewed soon. Elsby might be the only one who can save them—but every enchantment comes at a price.

A contemporary fantasy about family, friends, trust, and the magic that’s inside everyone, The Cats of Silver Crescent will captivate animal lovers and fans of Jenn Reese’s A Game of Fox & Squirrels.

My Review

First of all, I love Elsby’s name. I’ve never heard that as a nickname for Elisabeth before, but I love it. (In the book, it’s something Elsby has made up, which is even better!)

I also enjoyed the fact that Elsby is a young writer. She has a problem, though, where she only writes the first chapter of a story before getting stuck. I love the way the story resolves this.

I also like the cat characters. They’re a bit whimsical with their Victorian clothes and Marzipan’s love for poetry. They were very cute.

Elsby has a hard time connecting to others. She keeps to herself a lot and doesn’t seem to trust her feelings. I really identified with that and the obstacles it presented in relationships. That said, I thought it was really cool the way her aunt builds a relationship with her, and even the way Elsby connects with Penelope.

The playful storytelling and magical elements of the story reminded me a little bit of The Hunt for the Hollower by Callie C. Miller. I think readers who enjoy that kind of magical adventure with some nonhuman characters will enjoy The Cats of Silver Crescent.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Elsby is white.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Some characters can perform magic. In the book, there’s a difference between a magician, a sorcerer, and a witch. The cats have some magic on them that needs to be periodically renewed, or they’ll lose the ability to speak.

Violent Content
Situations of peril.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Death’s Country by R. M. Romero

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Poetry, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Death’s Country
R. M. Romero
PeachTree Teen
Published May 7, 2024

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About Death’s Country

Hadestown meets “Orpheus and Eurydice” when two Miami teens travel to the underworld to retrieve their girlfriend’s soul.

Andres Santos of São Paulo was all swinging fists and firecracker fury, a foot soldier in the war between his parents. Until he drowned in the Tietê River… and made a bargain with Death for a new life. A year later, his parents have relocated the family to Miami, but their promises of a fresh start quickly dissolve in the summer heat. 

Instead of fists, Andres now uses music to escape his parents’ battles. While wandering Miami Beach, he meets two photographer Renee, a blaze of fire, and dancer Liora, a ray of sunshine. The three become a polyamorous triad, happy, despite how no one understands their relationship. But when a car accident leaves Liora in a coma, Andres and Renee are shattered. 

Then Renee proposes a radical She and Andres must go into the underworld to retrieve their girlfriend’s spirit and reunite it with her body—before it’s too late. Their search takes them to the City of the dead, where painters bleed color, songs grow flowers, and regretful souls will do anything to forget their lives on earth. But finding Liora’s spirit is only the first step in returning to the living world. Because when Andres drowned, he left a part of himself in the underworld—a part he’s in no hurry to meet again. But it is eager to be reunited with him… 

In verse as vibrant as the Miami skyline, critically acclaimed author R.M. Romero has crafted a masterpiece of magical realism and an openhearted ode to the nature of healing.

My Review

I’ve read two other novels in verse by R. M. Romero before, and I love the way she brings scenes to life with such spare, haunting words. The same powerful storytelling fills the pages of Death’s Country as well.

I felt like the story was a little slow to begin, maybe because so much of the beginning feels like a setup for the real conflict in the book. The story drew me in for sure, especially the descriptions of the City filled with the souls of the dead. I love the boy who calls himself Virgil whom Andres and Renee meet there.

The story centers around three people who are in a polyamorous romantic relationship. Andres joins the relationship that already exists between Liora and Renee, and the three discuss what it means to be in a relationship, explaining that love can’t be limited and offering each other the chance to try loving one another this way.

The story reminded me a lot of Never Look Back by Lilliam Rivera, which I really enjoyed. If you’re looking for another “Orpheus and Eurydice” story reimagined, I recommend that one as well.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Andres is Brazilian and Cuban. Renee and Liora are in a romantic relationship with each other and then with Andres.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between two girls. Kissing between a boy and girl. Representation of a polyamorous relationship.

Spiritual Content
Andres meets Death after drowning. She gives him his life back, removes his debilitating anger, and warns him that in fairness, because she took something he hates, she’ll return to take something he loves.

Renee and Andres journey to the Underworld hoping to find Liora and return her to the land of the living. They meet other departed souls.

Violent Content
Andres fights another boy, breaking his jaw.

Brief reference to a possible eating disorder.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Review: Plain Jane and the Mermaid by Vera Brosgol

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Graphic Novel or Adaptation, Middle Grade 8-12, , , , , ,

Plain Jane and the Mermaid
Vera Brosgol
First Second
Published May 7, 2024

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About Plain Jane and the Mermaid

From Eisner Award winner Vera Brosgol comes an instant classic about courage, confidence, and inner beauty.
Jane is incredibly plain. Everyone says so: her parents, the villagers, and her horrible cousin who kicks her out of her own house. Determined to get some semblance of independence, Jane prepares to propose to the princely Peter, who might just say yes to get away from his father. It’s a good plan!

Or it would’ve been, if he wasn’t kidnapped by a mermaid.

With her last shot at happiness lost in the deep blue sea, Jane must venture to the underwater world to rescue her maybe-fiancé. But the depths of the ocean hold beautiful mysteries and dangerous creatures. What good can a plain Jane do?

From Vera Brosgol, the author of Anya’s Ghost and Be Prepared, comes an instant classic that flips every fairy tale you know, and shows one girl’s crusade for the only thing that matters—her own independence.

My Review

Oh my gosh, this book is absolutely brilliant! It takes some familiar fairytale tropes and flips them on their heads in a way that makes them both funny and thoughtful. The illustrations show such a broad range of expressions. I loved the seal’s faces! He’s got these dark eyebrows and grumpy expressions that hint at so much underneath.

I love that Jane is not the pretty girl. More stories where the heroine isn’t a bombshell babe, please. Jane knows she’s not classically beautiful, but she wants so much to believe that she has more value than how she looks, even when she keeps getting the opposite message from even the well-meaning people in her life. This is one of those stories that doesn’t feel immediately female-centered, but it really is. I liked the way that the story developed or used its female relationships to show how toxic relationships harm one another, but loving (nonromantic, in this case) relationships strengthen and empower us.

It also models loving relationships that protect one another without infringing on one another’s autonomy. I liked that the story didn’t depend on tropes about the handsome prince but left room for there to be more to that character, as well.

PLAIN JANE AND THE MERMAID takes all those great elements and puts them together in this magical way that allows it to become more than the sum of its parts. I loved the way it integrates modern and classic fairytale elements to create something utterly engrossing and not preachy about its message.

I’m trying to limit my graphic novel purchases this year because of space constraints, but this is one I really need to have on my shelf.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Jane is a plus-sized girl. She visits a village of brown-skinned people.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A mermaid and her sisters prepare for a wedding.

Spiritual Content
The story contains mythical creatures such as mermaids and a water demon.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Jane endures and remembers fatphobic comments and cruel words about her appearance. One scene hints at someone getting killed by lobsters. In another scene, a giant, sharp-toothed eel-like creature chases Jane and her allies. Someone learns that their captors plan to eat them.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use but help support this blog. I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday

I’m sharing this post as a part of a weekly round-up of middle-grade posts called Marvelous Middle-Grade Monday. Check out other blogs posting about middle-grade books today on Marvelous Middle-Grade Mondays at Always in the Middle with Greg Pattridge.

Review: This Woven Kingdom by Tahereh Mafi

Book Review and Content, Fantasy, Romance, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , ,

This Woven Kingdom (This Woven Kingdom #1)
Tahereh Mafi
HarperCollins
Published February 1, 2022

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About This Woven Kingdom

New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly bestseller! Clashing empires, forbidden romance, and a long-forgotten queen destined to save her people—Tahereh Mafi’s first in an epic, romantic trilogy inspired by Persian mythology.

To all the world, Alizeh is a disposable servant, not the long-lost heir to an ancient Jinn kingdom forced to hide in plain sight.

The crown prince, Kamran, has heard the prophecies foretelling the death of his king. But he could never have imagined that the servant girl with the strange eyes, the girl he can’t put out of his mind, would one day soon uproot his kingdom—and the world.

Perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Tomi Adeyemi, and Sabaa Tahir, this is the explosive first book in a new fantasy trilogy from the New York Times bestselling and National Book Award-nominated author Tahereh Mafi.

“In a tale as exquisitely crafted as one of Alizeh’s own garments, Mafi weaves a spell of destiny and danger, forbidden love and courtly intrigue, magic and revolution.”—Cassandra Clare, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Last Hours

“This Woven Kingdom is an exquisite fantasy. Rich with clever prose, delicious twists, and breathtaking world building. Prepare to be destroyed—this one will wrench at your heart and make it pound, and in the end it will leave you entirely speechless.”—Stephanie Garber, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Caraval series

My Review

I started reading this book because a friend recommended it, and I’m really glad I did. I read the first book in the Shatter Me series by Mafi before but didn’t continue with the series. It’s been so long since that happened that I honestly couldn’t remember anything about her writing style or storytelling, so I pretty much went into this book without real expectations.

From the first page, the writing impressed me. It has this very rich, deep fantasy feel to it, the kind that won’t let you forget you’re reading about another world. I loved that. I also loved the characters. The narrative alternates between Alizeh and Kamron’s perspectives. The first few chapters follow Alizeh only, so I was a little surprised at Kamron’s first chapter, but very quickly, it becomes obvious how the two stories connect, and by then, I was completely hooked on the story.

I couldn’t read this book fast enough, honestly. The tension between Alizeh and Kamron was so intense. His relationship with his grandfather and her relationships with the apothecary and the young woman she sews dresses for all had me desperately wanting to know more.

As soon as I finished this book, I immediately started reading the second one. I have a feeling this is a series I’ll follow all the way to its end.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Based on Persian folklore.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl.

Spiritual Content
There are two types of people in the world: humans, or those made of clay, and Jinn, or those with magic ability. There’s some lore about the devil being cast down to earth by the other gods and him producing the Jinn, though they’ve distanced themselves from him since then. The devil, called Iblees, appears to Alizeh periodically, and she ignores his riddles and messages.

Violent Content
A boy attacks a girl on the street with a knife. She fights back, injuring him enough to escape. References to war. A boy describes seeing his father’s partial remains and being told he must not show any pain at the sight.

A supervisor strikes a servant girl. Assassins attack an unarmed person who fights back. A man threatens to kill a young woman after she learns too much about his plans. A young man remembers a time he jumped from a bridge, trying to end his life. A man stabs another with a sword. Two young men fight with swords, one also using magic. A young woman strikes a man in the face hard enough to make him stumble back.

Drug Content
None.

Note: This post contains affiliate links, which do not cost you anything to use, but which help support this blog.