Cybils Finalists: Middle-Grade Fantasy & Science Fiction

I'm probably the last person to post these, but in case you missed them, here's the fabulous list of Middle-Grade finalists in the Fantasy & Science Fiction category:

11 Birthdays
by Wendy Mass
Scholastic
Nominated by: Maggi Idzikowski

Amanda's 11th birthday is the worst ever, and when she wakes up the next morning, she discovers that she and her ex-friend Leo are doomed to repeat the same day over and over--and over!  Amanda and Leo's attempts to live the day the "right" way to break the spell are funny, entertaining, and absolutely believable, whether they are ditching school or auditioning for a rock band.  This is a deliciously fresh look at how making small changes in your life--or even in one day--can have big consequences, both ordinary and magical.
--Eva Mitnick

Dreamdark: Silksinger (Faeries of Dreamdark)
by Laini Taylor
Putnam Juvenile
Nominated by: Melissa

The Dreamdark series, by National Book Award nominee Laini Taylor, opens a window on a world of fierce winged faeries determined to restore their race to its former glory.  In Silksinger, Maggie Windwitch, Whisper Silksinger and their motley allies are driven to reach beyond their abilities to guard the sleeping Djinn Azazel from a host of conniving characters and gruesome devils.  On panoramic display in Silksinger are Taylor’s gifts for rich language and imagery, suspenseful plotting, and intricate world-building.  Even as readers thrill with vertigo while flying alongside Maggie and her crow brothers, they will feel secure in this master storyteller’s hands.
--Brian Jung

Farwalker's Quest, The
by Joni Sensel
Bloomsbury USA
Nominated by: Joan Stradling

Ariel finds a telling dart, an artifact that hasn't been in use for hundreds of years and carries a message that only a specific recipient can read.  That sends her on an adventure to see who could have sent such a message and why this messaging system has started back up.  Farwalker's Quest takes readers on a journey that is filled with many thoroughly developed characters.  Joni Sensel weaves an enchanting story that is easily remembered by readers long after the story is done.
--Cindy Hannikman

Odd and the Frost Giants
by Neil Gaiman
HarperCollins
Nominated by: Susan the Librarian Pirate

In a village in ancient Norway, winter isn’t ending, and when Odd--a fatherless boy with an injured leg and an infuriating smile--encounters a fox, a bear, and an eagle in the forest, he finds out why.  The animals are gods exiled from the city of Asgard by a Frost Giant, and Odd takes on the task of defeating him.  How he does so is surprising and satisfying, one of many lasting pleasures in this short novel by Neil Gaiman.  We loved the inventive use of Norse mythology, the humorous bickering of the gods trapped in their animal forms, and, of course, cheerful and clever Odd himself.  It’s a story beautifully told (and illustrated, by Brett Helquist), perfect for reading alone or reading aloud: quite simply, it shines.
--Anamaria Anderson

Prince of Fenway Park, The
by Julianna Baggott
HarperCollins
Nominated by: Doret

When 12-year-old Oscar Egg discovers his dad's secret life as a half-human, half-fairy living a magical existence under Fenway Park, he decides it's his duty to break the spell that has cursed the baseball stadium.  He gets a little help from Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson, among others.  The secret and seedy underbelly of Fenway Park, with all its magical creatures wearing Red Sox caps, has a compelling atmosphere that pulls readers right into the story and has them rooting for Oscar and the Red Sox.  Not just for baseball fans, this fantasy combines Pookas, hot dogs, Banshees, and home-runs into an exciting and unusual adventure for all readers.
--Eva Mitnick

Serial Garden, The: The Complete Armitage Family Stories (Junior Library Guild Selection)
by Joan Aiken
Big Mouth House
Nominated by: Charlotte

The Serial Garden is a collection of twenty-four stories about the magical adventures of two very likable English children, Mark and Harriet Armitage. The stories are a brilliant mix of the ordinary and the fantastical--in the world of the Armitage family, the mundane concerns of English village life are mixed seamlessly with witches, druids, unicorns, enchanted gardens, and much, much more.  At times hilariously funny, at times surprisingly poignant, this book is perfect for any child or grown-up looking for delightfully extraordinary fantasy.  Aiken was a tremendously creative writer, and these stories are some of her most imaginative and skillful writing.
--Charlotte Taylor

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
by Grace Lin
Little, Brown
Nominated by: EM

Prompted by her father’s fantastical stories and by an encounter with a talking goldfish, Minli sets off on a quixotic search for the Never Ending Mountain where she will ask the Old Man on the Moon to change her parents’ dreary lives.  Woven into Minli’s journey are evocative folktales, each which could stand perfectly well on its own, but which beautifully resonate when brought together within Minli’s quest.  Simply told, yet intricately developed, Grace Lin’s Where the Mountain Meets the Moon is finally a story about believing in stories and how that belief can alter ones fate.
--Brian Jung

Congratulations to the authors, illustrators, and publishers of the finalists, and a huge thank you to the dedicated panelists, who worked so hard reading & discussing the nominated books, and making the difficult choices to select this group of finalists:

Anamaria Anderson, bookstogether
Cindy Hannikman, Fantasy Book Critic
Brian Jung, Critique de Mr. Chompchomp
Eva Mitnick, Eva's Book Addiction
Charlotte Taylor, Charlotte's Library

Middle grade fantasy & science fiction review roundup

I've been busy these days reading YA SFF for the Cybils, and haven't had much time to read the middle grade books. If you're looking for good fantasy or science fiction for middle grade readers, Cybils panelist Charlotte has rounded up MG SFF reviews for the week on her blog, Charlotte's Library.

Book Review: Silksinger

Silksinger
Dreamdark: Book 2
by Laini Taylor

Magpie Windwitch may have defeated the Blackbringer and convinced the Djinn King to return, but there's still plenty of work to do. Accompanied by faerie Talon Rathersting, her "brothers" the crows, and Batch the scavenger imp, 'Pie is on a quest to find the rest of the Djinn. Meanwhile, young Whisper Silksinger, the last of her clan, is traveling across the land with one of those Djinn, the Azazel, in a teapot. Pursued by devils and scorned by everyone she meets, Whisper is yet determined to get the Azazel to Nazneen and restore him to his throne. Another faerie also travels to Nazneen in disguise, determined to restore his clan's honor and become the Azazel's champion. But unknown to all of them, a darker force is also seeking the Djinn for his own purposes. If he succeeds, the world may be in peril.

Silksinger alternates between several stories and several main characters, one of whom is Magpie. I'm not a fan of books that alternate stories in this way, because for me it makes the read very disjointed; every time I get involved with one character, I find it disconcerting to have to switch perspective and adjust to a different point of view. But the story is exciting enough to keep you involved, with the action starting by page 3, and the new characters are interesting and unique.

Silksinger is a darker book than Blackbringer. That may seem unlikely, since the first book was about a hungry darkness that swallowed everything in its path, but as frightening as it was, the Blackbringer was really just immense hunger and anger, both understandable emotions. This book has cruelty, real cruelty, and that's so much more horrifying than a hungry darkness. The villain in this book is fairly cliché, but it doesn't really matter, because the real villain is the darker sides of our own nature: hatred and suspicion and cowardice and greed.

But standing against this darkness and cruelty is courage and compassion, often in the face of overwhelming odds. It's easy to accept Magpie's courage; she's such a bold and willful character and courage comes naturally to her. But some of the greatest displays of courage in this book come from some of the most unlikely characters, such as Whisper herself, who is a scamperer, a faerie who can't fly, and in many ways appears to be little more than a frightened child. Yet hidden inside this tiny, seemingly helpless faerie lies an unexpected strength and courage. And several other unlikely characters show great courage in ways I can't describe without spoiling some of the authorial surprises. This fits in with one of the themes of the book, which deals with how our preconceptions and assumptions about other people can sometimes blind us to the truth.

I was glad to see the return of Batch Hangnail, the scavenger imp. In spite of his rude, selfish, untrustworthy nature, I can't help but like him. I was a little disappointed at how some things turned out with him, but again, I can't say more without spoiling the book. I also was a little disturbed that at one point Magpie was essentially keeping him prisoner. No matter how miserable his behavior, I don't think that he deserved that, and it seemed beneath Magpie to behave in such a selfish, uncompassionate way.

The main plot of Silksinger is wrapped up by the end of the book, but some plot threads are left unresolved for future books.

As with the first book, Silksinger is greatly enhanced by the beautiful drawings created by Jim DiBartolo, Laini's husband. The illustrations bring the characters to life and add a lot to the book.

Silksinger will be published on September 17.

Read my review of Blackbringer, book 1 of Dreamdark

Book Review: The Dragon of Trelian

The Dragon of Trelian
by Michelle Knudsen

Calen is a wizard's apprentice, a job that's not nearly as glamorous as it sounds. When hiding from his duties to watch a procession, he meets the Princess Meglynne, the third daughter of the king. Meglynne, or Meg as she prefers to be called, is quite a bit different than Calen expected a princess to be. First she startles him, almost causing him to fall out the window, then she laughs at him, and then she kicks him! But when she climbs into the window to watch the procession with him, the two form an instant friendship.

The procession marks the entrance into Trelian of Prince Ryant of Kragnir, who has come to marry Meglynne's older sister, Maerlie. After a hundred years of war between Trelian and Kragnir, the betrothal of the two young people will bring peace.

But things are about to get a lot more complicated: a terrifying creature attacks the castle, Calen and Meg discover an evil plot, and unknown to everyone but Calen, Meg is secretly bonded to a dragon, a bond which could change her or even result in her death.

I have to confess that I totally misjudged this book from the cover and description. I thought that it would be a light, amusing children's fantasy about two children and a dragon. But when I read the book, it totally blew me away. It's so much more than I expected.

The Dragon of Trelian is definitely one of my favorite books of the year so far. It's a rich fantasy with everything you could want in a book: engaging characters, humor, exciting plot, young romance, emotional impact, and depth. At first, Meg and Calen seem to be clichéd characters: the spunky princess and the clumsy apprentice. But they turn out to be so much more, and they develop and grow as the book progresses. They really start out the story as children, and end it as young adults. In some ways it reminds me of The City of Ember, in that the adults refuse to act, leaving the two young people to take matters into their own hands. Even the villains have depth and pathos, that culminates in a heart-wrenching scene at the climax.

Although the basic story is resolved, some plot threads are left open, so a sequel may be in the works.

Book Review: The Softwire: Wormhole Pirates on Orbis 3

The Softwire: Wormhole Pirates on Orbis 3
by P. J. Haarsma

Once again, J.T. and his friends from the seed ship Renaissance are being transfered to a new guarantor. The children are knudniks, indentured servants bound to work for four years on the Rings of Orbis. The guarantor owns their work contract, and in essence, owns them. Having had two bad experiences with their previous guarantors, they fear the worst, but this time, their guarantor turns out to be Charlie, an old friend who has helped them in the past.

Things are looking up: Charlie is kind, they get plenty to eat, and they don't have to work. But Charlie makes them go to school, and while Charlie's intentions are good, as the only knudniks in a school full of citizens, the children face discrimination and bullying.

J.T. has questions that Charlie won't answer, and it becomes apparent that there's more going on than the children realize. Before long, they're drawn into the dark underworld on Orbis, pawns in a larger scheme. Risking their lives may be the only way out.

The Softwire is one of the few true science fiction series out there for kids, and it fills a gap that needed to be filled. This third book has everything that I've come to expect from the series: plenty of danger, excitement, and intrigue, interesting characters, cool aliens and technology, and enough depth to make this more than just an outer space adventure. The first part of the book seems tame by the standards of the other books, as the children face nothing worse than school bullies similar to those found in every school in the universe. As the book goes along, though, there's more than enough excitement and intrigue, as J.T. and his friends once again become involved with the larger problems of Orbis.

There is some tragedy in this book, and also something new for the series: a touch of romance, as the kids get older and some of them start to see each other as more than just friends. I think that these things skew this book slightly older than the other two, although not by much.

I would have loved this series as a teen, and I highly recommend it to anyone of middle-school age and up.

My review of The Softwire: Virus on Orbis 1

My review of The Softwire: Betrayal on Orbis 2

Play the Rings of Orbis Online RPG

Book Review: Skeleton Creek

Skeleton Creek
by Patrick Carman

Something is wrong in Skeleton Creek, and teens Ryan and Sarah are determined to figure out the mystery. They've lived in Skeleton Creek all their lives, but an innocent question from Sarah - why is the town called Skeleton Creek - leads them to uncover clues that something is not right. Everything seems to be tied into the dredge, an old, abandoned machine in the woods that was used for mining gold, but when Ryan and Sarah go to the dredge to investigate, a terrible accident happens. Laid up with an injury, Ryan continues the investigation from home, using the Internet and other resources, while Sarah takes her video camera out to try to gather more information. But it seems like everyone in Skeleton Creek is trying to hide something, and the two teens have been forbidden to communicate with each other. Will Sarah and Ryan be able to uncover the truth before something terrible happens?

Skeleton Creek is a story told in alternating text and video, to make the book more interesting to reluctant readers in our media saturated world. It's an interesting idea, and I think it's done well: the text and video are very well integrated and go hand in hand to create a compelling story. Ryan is an obsessive writer, and the text of the book comprises his journals, as he documents everything. Sarah is equally obsessed with her video camera, and at various intervals in the text, a password is provided to view another of Sarah's videos on the web site. There is also an alternate reality game at www.skeletoncreekisreal.com, which is built around the idea of trying to uncover evidence that the story of Skeleton Creek is real.

The text is written in a fairly simple style, but I think that was done intentionally to make it easier for reluctant readers. I'm not the intended audience for the book, and I honestly didn't expect to enjoy the book for its own sake. I read it with the intent of evaluating whether it would appeal to its intended audience. And as I expected, for the first part of the book, I didn't find the story very compelling. However, after the first video, I started finding myself pulled into the story more and more. I got so wrapped up in it that I almost screamed after watching the last video, and immediately went online to try to find someone else who had read it to talk about it with me. The book ends on quite a cliffhanger.

I don't think that the text of the book would stand alone very well, however, I don't think it was intended to. The words and the videos are designed to work together, and they do that. I'm not a writer, but I think it's probably difficult to write books that are simple enough for kids who have trouble reading, yet compelling enough to hold the attention of a tween or teen reluctant reader. Skeleton Creek addresses that problem by using the videos to hook the reader, and the fairly simple text to tie it all together.

The book is typeset using a font that looks like it's printed by hand, to enhance the illusion that the book is Ryan's journal. It's not a fancy or cursive font; the letters are printed in a fairly simple block style and the words are set in all upper case. I don't know if it would be difficult for struggling readers to read or not.

I was a bit confused when I finished the book; not only does it end on a cliffhanger, but there were many threads not wrapped up. My advance reading copy didn't say it was part of a series, but I've since been told that there is a sequel coming out later this year, which cleared up my confusion.

One thing that I found frustrating was that I'm often not at the computer when I read, and I kept having to stop reading every time I got to one of the video pages, until I could get back to my computer. I don't know if this would be a problem for the intended audience or not, because I don't know how much they have their computers handy while reading. I couldn't help wondering if there would have been a way to tie this into the ubiquitous mobile phones. Could it have been set up to text the password to a certain number to get the next video delivered to your mobile phone? I don't know enough about mobile technology to know if this is possible, but if so, I think it would be a great way to do a project like this in the future.

Cover released for The Last Olympian! (Percy Jackson Book 5)

The cover has been released for The Last Olympian, the fifth and last book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series! You can see the new cover to the left. Also see the Interview with Blackjack the Pegasus on Rick Riordan's blog.

The Last Olympian will be published on May 5. You can preorder it from Amazon.com or from your local independent bookstore through IndieBound.

Book Review: Princess of the Midnight Ball

Princess of the Midnight Ball
by Jessica Day George
Returning from the war, a young soldier named Galen meets an old woman who asks for help. After Galen shares his meager food with her, she gives him gifts: a cloak that renders the wearer invisible, and two balls of wool: one white and one black. Galen has been a soldier his entire life, having grown up on the front, but now that the war is over he's headed to Bruch, the capital city of Westfalin, in hope of finding work with his mother's family.

In Bruch, Galen becomes an under-gardener in the palace. Galen soon learns that all is not well with the royal family: something is going on with the King's twelve daughters. They don't appear well, and every night their dancing slippers are worn out, in spite of being locked into their rooms. After a chance encounter with the oldest princess, Rose, Galen is determined to try to do something to help. But what can a lowly gardener possibly do against the supernatural forces threatening the princesses?

Princess of the Midnight Ball is a lovely retelling of the fairy tale of The Twelve Dancing Princesses. Jessica Day George doesn't break much new ground here - it follows the original fairy tale pretty closely - but she fills in the details nicely, making for an enjoyable read. Princess of the Midnight Ball is peopled with some interesting characters, most notably, the knitting soldier/gardener Galen. Day George explains in an afterword that far from being women's work, knitting used to be the exclusive province of men. In a fun twist, Day George also provides the knitting patterns for two of the items Galen makes in the story. I also liked that, rather than idly waiting to be rescued, the princesses did what they could to contribute to saving themselves.

With twelve princesses, creating distinct characters for each one is a difficult task, and I had trouble keeping them all straight. A few of the princesses stood out in my mind, but many of them blended together. Day George did an admirable job of giving them each individual personalities given the number of princesses and the short length of the book; I think the only way to really solve this problem would be to reduce the number of princesses, as Juliet Marillier did with Wildwood Dancing.

Overall, Princess of the Midnight Ball is a fun read that will be enjoyed by fans of fairy tale retellings.

Princess of the Midnight Ball will be released January 20, 2009.

Cybils 2008 Nominee Widget

There's a fresh new widget available from Jacketflap that rotates through the Cybils 2008 nominees and displays a different one with each page view:

You can customize the widget to select the colors and which category or categories you want to display. Mine displays only the fantasy and science fiction nominees (both age groups) but you can display all nominees for all categories, if you want. I've added one to the sidebar - see it over there on the right (you might have to scroll down a bit). To get your own, click on the "get this widget" link in the widget itself, or click here to go to Jacketflap and get one

Book Review: The Mystery of the Fool & the Vanisher

The Mystery of the Fool & the Vanisher
by David and Ruth Ellwand

The Mystery of the Fool & the Vanisher is a fascinating and slightly creepy little story, told in the format of a journal-within-a-journal and illustrated with exquisite photographs. In the first journal, photographer David Ellwand follows a strange light through the woods to an old, dilapidated house, where he finds a locked chest. When he is able to get the chest open, he discovers that the chest contains some mysterious items, as well as what turns out to be wax phonograph recordings. The recordings tell the story of another photographer named Isaac Wilde, who in 1889 is commissioned as the official photographer on an archaelogical dig into an old hill fort believed to be inhabited by the faerie folk. What Isaac Wilde discovers at the site, and his attempts to photograph it, put him in conflict with the leader of the dig, and lead him, and Ellwand after him, into trouble.

I enjoyed The Mystery of the Fool & the Vanisher and found it an interesting, although quick, read. The photographs are beautiful, and worth going back and spending some time with after the first read. Some of them are pictures of natural settings, others are still life pictures of the "found items" and meticulously constructed out of natural objects. I studied photography as a teen, and had thoughts of being a professional photographer, so the photographs were definitely the highlight of this book for me. My favorite was a dramatic, sepia-toned photograph of the dilapidated house with clouds behind it.

Although I enjoyed the book, I'm not quite sure whether kids and teens would enjoy it or not, and who the audience may be. It may be too simplistic a story for the fiction readers, but too fictional for the non-fiction readers. I think it's most likely to find a home among kids who enjoy the "ology" books, because it has the same kind of "fiction as non-fiction" approach, although it lacks those books' interactivity. It also may appeal to visually-oriented young people and those with an artistic nature. This may be a book to put out in a library display and let kids be drawn in by the eerie cover and the beautiful photographs.

Cybils 2008 Nominees: Fantasy and Science Fiction - middle/elementary

Although I'm not a part of the Cybils Fantasy/Science Fiction team this year, I'm still following it closely, and not just because a book I published (Ratha's Courage) is a nominee. As anyone who reads this blog knows, I love YA fantasy and science fiction, and I love the Cybils, so I'm watching this with more excitement and anticipation than Christmas Eve. I've read so many of these books, and there are others that I'd love to read. The nominating panelists have a really tough job ahead of them!

Here are the 2008 nominees for Fantasy and Science Fiction in the middle/elementary age group:

39 Clues
written by Rick Riordan
Scholastic

Reviewed by: AmandaBlau |

Airman
written by Eoin Colfer
Hyperion

Best Friend for Claudia
written by Beatrice Weinberg Katz
PublishAmerica

Boots and Pieces
written by Emily Ecton
Simon & Schuster

Boy of All Time
written by Che Dee
Calderwood Books

Cabinet of Wonders
written by Marie Rutkoski
Macmillan

Reviewed by: Nettle |

Dark Legacy
written by K. G. McAbee
Calderwood Books

Dark Whispers
written by Bruce Coville
Scholastic

Diamond of Darkhold
written by Jeanne DuPrau
Random House Children's Books

Dinosaur Blackout
written by Judith Silverthorne
Coteau

Dragon Flight
written by Jessica Day George
Bloomsbury USA

Escape the Mask
written by David Ward
Amulet

Ever
written by Gail Carson Levine
HarperCollins

Reviewed by: tcr |

Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague
written by Brandon Mull
Shadow Mountain

Facttracker
written by Jason Carter Eaton
HarperCollins

Family Matters
written by Kristin Sheley
iUniverse

Farworld: Water Keep
written by J. Scott Savage
Shadow Mountain

Fish and Sphinx
written by Rae Bridgman
Great Plains Publications

Flora's Dare
written by Ysabeau S. Wilce
Harcourt

Girl Who Could Fly
written by Victoria Forester
Feiwel & Friends

Reviewed by: AmandaBlau | Charlotte |

Gods of Manhattan
written by Scott Mebus
Dutton Juvenile

Graveyard Book
written by Neil Gaiman
HarperCollins

Reviewed by: EmsBookshelf |

Grim Hill: The Secret Deepens
written by Linda DeMeulemeester
Lobster Press

Gypsy Crown
written by Kate Forsyth
Hyperion

Heck: Where the Bad Kids Go
written by Dale E. Basye
Random House Children's Books

House of Many Ways
written by Diana Wynne Jones
Greenwillow Books

Inkdeath
written by Cornelia Funke
Scholastic

Kaimira: The Sky Village
written by Monk Ashland
and Nigel Ashland
Candlewick Press

Lamplighter
written by D. M. Cornish
Penguin USA

Land Beyond the Clouds
written by Valerie Bishop
Light Publishing

Magic and Other Misdemeanors (The Sisters Grimm, Book 5)
written by Michael Buckley
Amulet

Magic Thief
written by Sarah Prineas
HarperCollins

Reviewed by: Charlotte | Nettle |

Mary Lamb Enters the World of Maze
written by F. T. Botham
PublishAmerica

Masterpiece
written by Elise Broach
Henry Holt

Reviewed by: EmsBookshelf |

Misty Forest Fables
written by Acrid Hermit
Fauna Trek

Monks in Space
written by David Jones
Annick Press

Once Upon a Time in the North
written by Philip Pullman
Knopf Books for Young Readers

Order of Odd-Fish
written by James Kennedy
Delacorte Press Books for Young Readers

Other Side of the Island
written by Allegra Goodman
Penguin USA

Ottoline and the Yellow Cat
written by Chris Riddell
HarperCollins

Out of the Wild
written by Sarah Beth Durst
Penguin USA

Reviewed by: Nettle |

Palace of Mirrors
written by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Simon & Schuster

Philippa Fisher's Fairy Godsister
written by Liz Kessler
Candlewick Press

Portal
written by Jaqlyn Von Eger
Trafford

Queste
written by Angie Sage
HarperCollins

Remarkable and Very True Story of Lucy and Snowcap
written by H. M. Bouwman
Marshall Cavendish Children's Books

Ring Dragonz
written by Mister Rengerz
Helm Publishing

Robe of Skulls
written by Vivian French
Candlewick Press

Reviewed by: Charlotte | Nettle |

Runemarks
written by Joanne Harris
Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Savvy
written by Ingrid Law
Penguin USA

Reviewed by: AmandaBlau |

Seer of Shadows
written by Avi
HarperCollins

Reviewed by: AmandaBlau |

Shadow Diamond
written by S Brooke
PublishAmerica

Sisters of the Sword
written by Maya Snow
HarperCollins

Reviewed by: AmandaBlau |

Skulduggery Pleasant: Playing with Fire
written by Derek Landy
HarperCollins

Softwire: Betrayal on Orbis 2
written by PJ Haarsma
Candlewick Press

The Curse of Cuddles McGee
Aladdin

Things That Are
written by Andrew Clements
Philomel

Thornspell
written by Helen Lowe
Knopf Books for Young Readers

Reviewed by: Nettle |

Travelers Market
written by Maureen Doyle McQuerry
Idylls Press

Tygrine Cat
written by Inbali Iserles
Candlewick Press

Unnameables
written by Ellen Booraem
Harcourt

Warriors Power of Three: Eclipse
written by Erin Hunter
HarperCollins

Well Witched
written by Frances Hardinge
HarperCollins

Wild Magic
written by Cat Weatherill
Walker Books for Young Readers

Winter Wood
written by Steve Augarde
Random House Children's Books