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The Deadlands: Trapped by Skye Melki-Wegner cover shows a profile of a carnivorous dinosaur made from a landscape showing a triceratops, two small flying dinosaurs and a small walking dinosaur at the top of a mountain.

Review: The Deadlands: Trapped by Skye Melki-Wegner

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The Deadlands: Trapped by Skye Melki-Wegner cover shows a profile of a carnotaurus made from a landscape showing a triceratops, two small flying dinosaurs and a small walking dinosaur at the top of a mountain.

The Deadlands: Trapped (The Deadlands #2)
Sky Melki-Wegner
Henry Holt & Co.
Published October 3, 2023

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About The Deadlands: Trapped

Wings of Fire meets Jurassic Park in The Deadlands: Trapped, the second book of this action-adventure series by Skye Melki-Wegner about five outcasts ― and former enemies ― who are the only hope to save their warring kingdoms from impending doom.

As bloody battle rages on between the two surviving dinosaur kingdoms, Eleri and his fellow outcasts, newly exiled from their herds, are searching for evidence to prove a mass conspiracy―a conniving cabal of carnivores have manipulated the herbivore kingdoms into war, so they can feast on the slain. But after their temporary home is discovered by a vengeful pack of raptors, the exiles must flee and soon find themselves trapped inside the Fire Peak: the volcanic heart of the dreaded Carrion Kingdom.

Before they have a chance to escape, they discover a cavern of imprisoned herbivores, who are being picked apart―literally―one by one. Can the outcasts stage an elaborate heist to free the prisoners and gather proof of the Carrion Kingdom’s vicious plans in one fell swoop?

My Review

I feel like I’ve been seeing this series everywhere, and I’m not at all surprised. I had so much fun reading it. The story follows both Zyre (a small flying dinosaur) and Eleri (a small digging dinosaur) as they lead their herd toward a rumored sanctuary and an opportunity to sabotage the carnivorous dinosaurs’ plans.

Because Zyre was once hired to betray a member of the group, she feels she needs to earn the herd’s trust, and she goes to great lengths to do so. She’s tender and kind, but also very quick on her feet, and brave in the face of danger to her friends.

Eleri wrestles with unresolved issues between him and his brother. He doubts his ability to lead and to be brave and rushes into dangerous situations, trying to prove his worth to himself.

I’m not sure if you could read this one without having read the first book. There are places in the story that kind of bring readers up to speed, but there are also a lot of terms and references that aren’t fully explained in this book that would make sense if you’d read the first one.

I think readers who enjoy books about animals, such as the Warriors books, will love these dinosaur stories.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Major characters are herbivore dinosaurs.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
One dinosaur tries to convince others that to let carnivores eat them means they’ll “ascend” to a golden plane.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Mentions of warfare. In one scene, raptors tear another carnivore dinosaur apart.

Drug Content
Eleri collects thorns that can tranquilize dinosaurs.

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

Review: Champion of Fate by Kendare Blake

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Champion of Fate (Heromaker #1)
Kendare Blake
Quill Tree Books
Published September 19, 2023

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Champion of Fate

Behind every great hero is an Aristene.

Aristene are mythical female warriors, part of a legendary order. Though heroes might be immortalized in stories, it’s the Aristene who guide them to victory. They are the Heromakers.

Ever since she was an orphan taken in by the order, Reed has wanted to be an Aristene. Now, as an initiate, just one challenge stands in her way: she must shepherd her first hero to glory on the battlefield. Succeed, and Reed will take her place beside her sisters. Fail, and she’ll be cast from the only home she’s ever known.

Nothing is going to stop Reed–until she meets her hero. Hestion is fiery and infuriating, but what begins as an alliance becomes more, and as secrets of the order come to light Reed begins to understand what becoming an Aristene may truly cost. Battle looming, she must choose: the order and the life she had planned, or Hestion, and the one she never expected.

My Review

I haven’t read anything by Kendare Blake in a really long time, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. I loved the concept. It hints at star-crossed lovers and magic and secrets, all things I love in a book.

And, boy, did it deliver those things. I loved the pacing of the romance between Reed and Hestion. I constantly wanted more for them, but loved every minute of their scenes together. The minor characters are amazing, from Reed’s often-absent mentor to her mentor’s lover and former Aristene to Reed’s fellow initiate. I liked that the order was made up of so many different kinds of women and that made for lots of different kinds of relationships between them. That was pretty cool.

The stakes heightened pretty quickly in the second half of the book especially. I felt like I flew through that last quarter with my breath held, wondering how things were going to turn out.

At the end of it all, I find the only thing I’m disappointed about is having to wait until the next book is released to know what happens next!

I think readers who enjoy epic hero stories– maybe things in the vein of Greek myth retellings or stories about paladins or spiritual warriors– will really enjoy this one.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
Reed has tanned skin. Other characters are described as having darker skin. Two women are in a romantic relationship.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Kissing between two girls. References to sex.

Spiritual Content
Reed and the other members of the Aristenes serve the goddess of glory. Other nations serve other gods. A prophet of all gods was recently murdered. One scene shows a man praying at the temple of the prophet. Reed participates in several rituals as part of her initiation into the Aristenes. One involves drinking blood to receive magic. Another involves drinking water from a well that reveals her path.

Violent Content
Lots of battle scenes and descriptions of battle. A man holds onto the decomposing head of a corpse, using it as a weapon.

Drug Content
Several scenes show celebratory drinking. A few characters get drunk and say or do things they regret later.

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

Review: Ghostcloud by Michael Mann

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Ghostcloud
Michael Mann
Peachtree
Published October 7, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Ghostcloud

Twelve-year-old Luke Smith-Sharma shovels coal under a half-bombed, blackened power station. With his best friend Ravi he keeps his head down, hoping to one day earn his freedom and return to his family, while avoiding the wrath of the evil Tabatha Margate. When he tries to help new girl Jess, Luke is punished and sent to clean the sewers of the haunted East Wing, a place from which few return.

Whilst serving his punishment, Luke realises he can see things others can’t in the power station: ghostly things. He befriends a ghost-girl called Alma, who can ride clouds through the night sky and bend their shape to her will.

But when Luke discovers the terrible truth of why Tabatha Margate is kidnapping children and forcing them to work in the power station, Alma agrees to help him and his friends escape. Will Alma convince the ghost council to help their cause? And can Luke find his voice, while trying to find a way home?

My Review

I liked the story world a lot. GHOSTCLOUD is set in London, but an alternative London, one ravaged by war and pollution. One in which children disappear. I liked Luke right away. He’s the guy who knows he should keep his head down so he can win a ticket home to his family. Instead, he risks everything to help a girl who clearly has no idea what she’s doing.

So much happens in this book. Adventures in the air with ghosts. Adventures exploring ventilation systems with Jess and a precocious cat they call Stealth. Luke is determined to win not only his own freedom, but to help Jess and Ravi and the others, too. He can’t help but care about everyone he meets, and I love that about him.

Something about the writing and the mysterious/magical story world reminded me of THE SONG FROM SOMEWHERE ELSE by A. F. Harrold. Both stories have that fantastical feel to them and kids with big hearts at their centers. I think readers who love magical realism or are looking for a story about courage will find a lot to love in GHOSTCLOUD.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.

Representation
Luke is half white and half Indian.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A girl kisses Luke on the cheek.

Spiritual Content
Luke meets a ghost named Alma who introduces him to other ghosts. Because he was dead for a moment at birth, he can see and interact with ghosts himself. Alma tells him this makes him “half-ghost”.

Violent Content
Luke and other children are forced to labor in a factory for a woman named Tabatha and her guards. She punishes them severely if they make mistakes or do something she doesn’t like. Brief references to torture and abuse.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Ravenfall by Kalyn Josephson

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Ravenfall
Kalyn Josephson
Delacorte Press
Published September 6, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Ravenfall

One magical inn, two kids with supernatural powers, and an ancient Celtic creature trying to destroy their world by Halloween night…

Halloweentown meets Supernatural in this spooky middle-grade series from the acclaimed author of the Storm Crow duology!

Thirteen-year-old Annabella Ballinkay has never been normal, even by her psychic family’s standards. Every generation uses their abilities to help run the Ravenfall Inn, a sprawling, magical B&B at the crossroads of the human world and the Otherworld. But it’s hard to contribute when your only power is foreseeing death.

So when fourteen-year-old Colin Pierce arrives at Ravenfall searching for his missing older brother and the supernatural creature who killed their parents, Anna jumps at the chance to help. But the mysteries tied to Colin go much deeper than either of them expects. . . .

As the two team up to find answers, they unearth Colin’s family’s secret past and discover that Colin has powers beyond his imagination. And now the supernatural creature, one with eerie origins in Celtic mythology, is coming after him. If Anna and Colin can’t stop the creature by Halloween night, the veil to the Otherworld could be ripped open—which would spell destruction for their world as they know it.

My Review

I loved this book! A while back I read another book about a magical inn on the edge of other magical worlds, and, I mean, it was okay? I liked it fine, I guess. I wanted something more from the book, though, and I don’t think I even realized what I’d been looking for until I read RAVENFALL.

Right from the beginning, I loved the quirky house and the cat-who-isn’t-a-cat. I loved the way Anna and her sisters each have a specific kind of magic and the way their gifts fit together. Colin’s mysterious past hooked me right away. His parents’ deaths. His missing brother. He had so much going on, and I felt like that well kept getting deeper and deeper in all the best ways!

I read this whole book within 24 hours, and I already feel like I want to read it again. I’m still thinking about the characters and some of the big moments in the story.

I went ahead and ordered copies of Kalyn Josephson’s YA duology, because after this one, I feel like I’m going to need more of her storytelling. I’m excited to read them.

So technically this is a middle grade book, as Anna and Colin, the point-of-view characters, are thirteen and fourteen. I think the writing was a bit more of a YA style, but the story fit the middle grade age group. I would put solidly in the in-between, for sixth to ninth grade readers.

Readers who love stories about reimagined fairytales will definitely love this one. Readers who enjoyed CINDER by Marissa Meyer or VASILISA by Julie Mathison should check this one out for sure.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 10 to 14.

Representation
Major characters are white. There are two LGBTQIA side characters.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
Lots of characters have the ability to perform magic of a specific kind. Samhain is approaching, so Anna and her family expect to encounter more ghosts and spirits.

Violent Content
Situations of peril. Brief descriptions of murder. Battle scenes.

Drug Content
None.

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

Review: Gone Dark by Amanda Panitch

Book Review and Content, Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , , ,

Gone Dark
Amanda Panitch
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Published April 12, 2022

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About Gone Dark

When seventeen-year-old Zara escaped her father’s backwoods survivalist compound five years ago, she traded crossbows and skinning hides for electricity and video games…and tried to forget the tragedy that drove her away.

Until a malware attack on the United States electrical grids cuts off the entire country’s power.

In the wake of the disaster and the chaos that ensues, Zara is forced to call upon skills she thought she’d never use again—and her best bet to survive is to go back to the home she left behind. Drawing upon a resilience she didn’t know she had, Zara leads a growing group of friends on an epic journey across a crumbling country back to her father’s compound, where their only hope for salvation lies.

But with every step she takes, Zara wonders if she truly has what it takes to face her father and the secrets of her past, or if she’d be better off hiding in the dark.

DRY meets HATCHET in this thrilling tale of survival following a teen girl who must lead her friends across country to the safety of her estranged father’s survivalist compound after a mass power failure leaves the country in chaos.

My Review

One of the fascinating things about this book is Zara’s conflicted feelings about her dad. She and her mom escaped from his compound, and there’s obviously lots of trauma back there she’s not ready to unpack at the beginning of the book. Yet when the power grids go down, she decides his property is the safest place for her and her friends. I found that idea to be kind of hard to digest sometimes.

It made sense that she had conflicted feelings– he’s still her dad, and she was a child when she lived with him, so a lot of her memories about him are a little mixed up. Maybe what was hard to digest was the idea that Zara would be safe at her dad’s. So while she’s locked in on returning to him as a goal, I felt like that was definitely not going to go the way she hoped.

I don’t want to give anything away. I guess I can say that for the most part, I was satisfied about the way things went down. Not everything went the way I expected, which was okay. But it made sense, and felt like the story resolved for the most part.

I liked Zara’s character and her relationship with Gabe and the rest of her team. I loved the way each teammate brought something different to the group, and the way they learned to depend on one another. Another thing that I liked a lot was the mix of people they met along the way. Certainly there were people for whom the catastrophe brought out the worst in them. But there were a lot of people who were trying to be good people and trying to do good things in spite of a horrific situation.

All in all, I enjoyed GONE DARK. I loved that it’s from a girl’s perspective. It reminded me a little bit of ALONE by Megan E. Freeman.

Content Notes

Recommended for Ages 12 up.

Representation
Zara’s best friend and her brother are Latinx. One minor character is gay.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. Description of a kiss between two boys.

Spiritual Content
Zara and Gabe stay on an LDS compound for a while.

Violent Content
Several scenes include brief graphic violence showing someone murdering someone else. At one point, a man drugs several others, intending to have them killed later.

Drug Content
Zara and her friends find a bottle of vodka and drink it together.

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

Review: The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline

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The Marrow Thieves
Cherie Dimaline
Dancing Cat Books
Published May 22, 2017

Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads

About The Marrow Thieves

In a futuristic world ravaged by global warming, people have lost the ability to dream, and the dreamlessness has led to widespread madness. The only people still able to dream are North America’s Indigenous people, and it is their marrow that holds the cure for the rest of the world.

But getting the marrow, and dreams, means death for the unwilling donors. Driven to flight, a fifteen-year-old and his companions struggle for survival, attempt to reunite with loved ones and take refuge from the “recruiters” who seek them out to bring them to the marrow-stealing “factories.”

My Review of The Marrow Thieves

I picked up this book without reading the back cover copy, so I was not prepared for the story at all. In a way, I think that was really good because it allowed me to feel the full force of my shock as I took in what was happening in those opening scenes. THE MARROW THIEVES isn’t an easy read, and it’s not supposed to be.

The writing is really beautiful though, if that makes sense. It’s not overly poetic or lyrical necessarily, though it does drift that direction especially in its descriptions of nature and the natural world. It’s raw and gripping and there’s a desperateness about it that made me feel like I needed to keep reading.

The characters are really well-crafted. I felt like I knew them and could picture them, and sometimes even predict what they were going to do. I loved Miig so much. And Rose, Wab, and Minerva! Such great characters.

I think the only thing that felt weird to me was how little French thinks about his brother, who’d been captured. At first he thinks of him a lot, but then not so much for the rest of the story. I didn’t expect that, especially with how much the story focused on family and those left behind.

Besides that, though, this book totally gripped me. It’s dark and a bit grim, but also threaded with hope and strength and courage. I think readers who liked THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy or maybe THE FEVER KING by Victoria Lee would definitely enjoy this one.

Content Notes for The Marrow Thieves

Recommended for Ages 14 up.

Representation
All central characters are Indigenous.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing between boy and girl. One scene shows some intimate touching. References to sex. Kissing between two men. Two men in the story are married.

Spiritual Content
Shows some beliefs and traditions of Indigenous people.

Violent Content – Trigger warning for gun violence and violence against women and children.
Situations of peril. Multiple scenes showing violent capture or fighting. More than one woman shares her story which involves brutality against her. A child is murdered. Those who’ve escaped the schools or recruiters often have horrible scars.

Drug Content
A couple characters smoke tobacco. One character gets high on some kind of pills.

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