Review: The Bravest Warrior in Nefaria by Adi Alsaid

The Bravest Warrior in Nefaria by Adi Alsaid

The Bravest Warrior in Nefaria
Adi Alsaid
Aladdin Books
Published September 5, 2023

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About The Bravest Warrior in Nefaria

Phineas and Ferb meets the Despicable Me series in this hilarious and heartwarming middle grade debut from acclaimed author Adi Alsaid about a wannabe hero who lives in a goofily evil kingdom where nefarious schemes abound.

Welcome to Nefaria, where nearly every day the kingdom faces another evil scheme.

Most are harmless, though, so the citizens of Nefaria simply learn to live with the latest hijinks and go on with their lives. This includes Bobert Bougainvillea, who is much more concerned with the fact … Continue reading

Review: Deephaven by Ethan M. Aldridge

Deephaven by Ethan Aldridge cover shows a boy holding up a torch and standing in front of an opened gate. Behind and above him lurks a shadowy monster with glowing eyes and tentacle-like hair.

Deephaven
Ethan M. Aldridge
Quill Tree Books
Published September 5, 2023

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About Deephaven

From Ethan M. Aldridge, bestselling creator of ESTRANGED, comes a gothic middle grade prose novel that follows a nonbinary student who is drawn to their boarding school’s forbidden east wing, where something stalks the shadowy corridors. Perfect for fans of J. A. White and Mary Downing Hahn!

When Guinevere “Nev” Tallow receives an acceptance letter to the exclusive Deephaven Academy, … Continue reading

Review: I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast Is Me by Jamison Shea

I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me by Jamison Shea

I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me
Jamison Shea
Henry Holt & Co.
Published August 29, 2023

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About I Feed Her to the Beast and the Beast is Me

There will be blood.

ACE OF SPADES meets HOUSE OF HOLLOW in this villain origin story.

Laure Mesny is a perfectionist with an axe to grind. Despite being constantly overlooked in the elite and cutthroat world of the Parisian ballet, she will do anything to prove that a Black girl can take center stage. To level the … Continue reading

Review: The Infinity Particle by Wendy Xu

The Infinity Particle by Wendy Xu cover shows a girl in coveralls holding hands with a tall humanoid AI. Cactus and succulents are immediately behind them. Behind them in the distance is a village.

The Infinity Particle
Wendy Xu
Quill Tree Books
Published August 29, 2023

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About The Infinity Particle

In this gorgeous graphic novel by Wendy Xu, co-creator of the award-winning Mooncakes, a young inventor falls for a lifelike AI and confronts questions of freedom and autonomy.

Clementine Chang moves from Earth to Mars for a new start and is lucky enough to land her dream job with Dr. Marcella Lin, an Artificial Intelligence pioneer. On her first day of … Continue reading

Review: Guardians of the Dawn: Zhara by S. Jae-Jones

Guardians of Dawn: Zahra by S. Jae Jones cover shows a girl staring forward, her hands hovering over a ball of magic, other magic swirled around her in the colors of the sky at dawn.

Guardians of the Dawn: Zhara
S. Jae-Jones
Wednesday Books
Published August 1, 2023

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About Guardians of the Dawn: Zhara

Sailor Moon meets Cinder in Guardians of Dawn: Zhara, the start of a new, richly imagined fantasy series from S. Jae-Jones, the New York Times bestselling author of Wintersong.

Magic flickers.
Love flames.
Chaos reigns.

Magic is forbidden throughout the Morning Realms. Magicians are called abomination, and blamed for the plague of monsters that razed the land twenty years before.

Jin Zhara already had enough … Continue reading

Review: The Lightstruck by Sunya Mara

The Lightstruck by Sunya Mara cover shows a person's face in profile made of thin beams of light streaming out from where their eye would be.

The Lightstruck (The Darkening #2)
Sunya Mara
Clarion Books
Published August 29, 2023

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About The Lightstruck

In this epic sequel and conclusion to the Darkening duology, which has been called “enchanting and wildly clever” (Ayana Gray, New York Times bestselling author of Beasts of Prey), Vesper Vale, once savior to a city plagued by cursed storms, finds herself facing an even more sinister threat when an ominous light summoned by the Great King seizes control of the city.

Vesper Vale sacrificed everything to save her city from the cursed storm. … Continue reading