MG Fantasy/Magic Review: Sorcery for Beginners by Matt Harry

Sorcery for Beginners by Matt Harry

Format:  Paperback

Publisher: Inkshares

Number of Pages: 400

Published:  October 10th, 2017

Source:  Review copy provided by Inkshares in exchange for an honest review.
Find it:  Amazon, B&N, Inkshares, Goodreads

   

Opening Line:  "Snow fell on St. Petersburg as the young sorceress ran for her life."  

13-year-old Owen Macready considers himself an average kid who gets average grades, has average looks and doesn't want to put forth the effort for sports.  He's not brave or strong, but that's also perfectly fine with him because being average leaves him with plenty of time to play games on his computer.  Recently, Owen's mom decided she wanted a challenge in her career as a veterinarian, so she moved to Sumatra to care for orangutans, and Owen and his dad moved to Las Vegas.   Shortly after starting his new school, Owen tries to intervene when he sees a boy who's being bullied only to have the bully turn on him.  Trying to find a place to hide, he runs into the nearest store, the Codex Arcanum.  It's within this magic bookstore that he meets Euphemia Whitmore and purchases Sorcery for Beginners, a book designed to teach you how to perform magic.  While skimming through the pages of his new book, Owen gets a glimpse of a spell that can rewrite history and believes that if he can learn how to cast this spell he can fix his family and bring his life back to the way it was before his mom left.   Ms. Whitmore cautions him that the book comes with a few rules, he must follow the books directions to learn the spells in order, keep the book's existence a secret and defend it against their worst enemies, the Eculidean's, a secret society of mercenaries who for 500 years have been trying to get their hands on the book. If he's successful, Owen will be eligible to take a final exam and receive his Sorcery Learners Permit and be inducted into their society.   Just as Owen starts getting closer to performing real magic, he not only attracts the attention of the Euclidean's, he also has a run in with the father of the bully he encountered before, a ruthless millionaire who wants to steal magic for himself.  Owen is stuck battling the two sides while trying desperately to keep the Sorcery for Beginners from falling into the wrong hands.  

Sorcery for Beginners is the combination of the fictional story of Owen Macready with a textbook/how to manual for performing magic.   I really enjoyed the illustrations by Juliane Crump and especially the full page spread for each spell.   Each intricate drawing included the hand or body movements needing to be performed, detailed step by step instructions, the materials or components required and the activation words to be spoken to cast the spell.   The activation words included Latin, Greek, Latvian, Arabic or Icelandic words and came with the pronunciation for each word.  Every few pages there were also sidebars providing tidbits of information, or defining the terms being used.  Some I felt weren't overly necessary, like defining the word parchment or what knack meant.  But others like explaining what the Key of Solomon or what a grimoire is,  elaborated on details in the storyline or added some magical historical context to the story.   In this way, it felt like you were learning right along with Owen. 

In addition to the illustrations, I really liked the overall look of the book, everything from the visually appealing cover to the thick pieces of paper with their untrimmed or uncut edges making up the pages of the book (I've come to learn this is referred to as deckled edges).  My favorite thing about the story is the way in which the book speaks to Owen, how it seems to read his thoughts and writes out what Owen needs to do in order to be successful.  Owen can't just rush ahead to perform the spell he wants to perform, that he has to go through each of the steps to get to where he wants to be, while also learning that to undo an event may not be in his best interest after all.  They make for a fun team.  Overall the story is not only informative, full of fun facts and delightful illustrations, but it's also the kind of book I can easily see appealing to aspiring sorcerers or fans of magic.  The story concludes with an Epilogue setting up the story for book two about Cryptozoology, but Sorcery for Beginners can easily be read as a stand-alone.  I'm certainly looking forward to seeing what Matt Harry comes up with next.      

Books that I'm anticipating reading in 2019

Now that my Cybils Awards reading has all wrapped up its time to start looking at the books on my TBR list for 2019.  Books that I'm anticipating reading, have purchased, or are very curious about.  

Middle-Grade Books:  

Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee (releasing January 15th)
This book is from Rick Riordan Presents, with each book inspired by mythology and written by authors from those cultures.  This one has fox spirits and sounds like a fun adventure.  



The Girl with the Whispering Shadow (Book 2 of The Crowns of Croswald) by D.E. Night  (releasing January 23rd)  I read the first book in March of last year and instantly fell in love with it.  It had all the elements I so enjoy, an enchanting magical world reminiscent of Harry Potter, Cinderella and a smidge of Alice and Wonderland.  Can't wait to read this next book.  


 A Sprinkle of Spirits by Anna Meriano
 (releasing February 5th)
This is a sequel to A Dash of Trouble which I read and really enjoyed.  It has baking, Bruja magic, and lovely sister relationships. 


The Bridge Home by Padma Venkatraman (releasing February 5th)  I'll admit the cover and that the story is set in India really drew me to this book.  I love to read stories set in different places than my own and again this is written by an own voices author.  


 The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu  (releasing February 12th)
This one involves twin girls who are separated for the first time into different classrooms for fifth grade.  

Over the Moon by Natalie Lloyd (releasing March 26th)  Natalie Lloyd's books are a must read for me.  I so loved A Snicker of Magic, The Key to Extraordinary and The Problim Children.  Can't wait to read this next one about a mining town called Coal Top and the young girl who is going to train flying horses. 


The next four books aren't out until later in the year, so I'll highlight more about them at a later date.  

  

And not to be forgotten are the three YA books on my TBR for 2019:

                     

What's on your list for 2019??  Feel free to comment or suggest a book that I shouldn't miss out on.  

MG Fantasy/Adventure Review: The Voting Tree by Gareth Griffith

The Voting Tree by Gareth Griffith 

Format:  Ebook 

Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC

Number of Pages: 263

Published:  November 5th, 2018

Source:  Review copy provided by the author via Lodestar Author Services in exchange for an honest review.

    

Opening Line: "In the Land of Pelas there was winter and there was war."

 The Voting Tree is a fantasy adventure involving a fig tree and an ancient prophecy.  A prophecy foretelling that the true heir to the throne of the Land of Pelas will be restored and will bring an end to the constant winters plaguing the land.  The story opens in the City of Golden Towers where a war has been raging between two bitter rivals, Lord Boreas and his brother the king.  Desperate to acquire control of the kingdom, Lord Boreas attacks the city planning to kill the king.   The story then jumps ahead to the year 2000 in Sydney, Australia where Sam Archer is starting his first day in a new school.  Sam quickly meets Hamish, Sylvia, Athena, and Oscar who invite him to explore the fig tree near their school.  It is Sylvia who encourages Sam to place his hands in a hole leading to the roots of the tree which then portals them to Pelas.  It is here that they meet the young heir, Pelagius.   From there the story alternates between the children's lives in Australia, and their portal adventures trekking through the icy landscape as they make their way toward the city and a confrontation with Lord Boreas.  

I quite enjoyed the distinct differences between the two worlds.  In Pelas, the five friends have to deal with all of the hardships of a place that is endlessly cold, they also have to defend themselves from Lord Boreas' men who are searching for Pelagius.  There's the dynamics of war and how to gather support from the villagers to be successful once they try to take back the throne.   Within Pelas, the children had special roles and magical abilities.  Sylvia and Athena had the ability to speak with animals, and Oscar was found to be the Prince of Talos, aware of battle strategy and adept with a sword.  Sam and Hamish provided friendship and protection to Pelagius.  Each of them "awakened their true self" while they were in Pelas. 

In the real world, Sam and Oscar were initially being tormented by a bully who was spreading lies about Oscar to try and intimidate him.   While their teacher seemed at odds with how to deal with the situation.  Trying to balance being diplomatic, but also seeing the unfairness of the situation.  Hamish was dealing with his own family troubles at home resulting in him sleeping over at Sam's house while his parents sorted out their problems.  I found it interesting that the two worlds never really overlapped with one another.  That when the children were at home, they never had extensive conversations about Pelas.  Or that when they were in Pelas, they didn't really talk about home.  Griffith described this as a veil between the two worlds, not allowing them to see the other side clearly.  Yet, their experiences in Pelas still managed to change them in positive ways.  Sam developed confidence and Oscar awakened the leadership qualities of a prince and learned how to defend himself when he most needed it.  Overall, this was a very fun story with lovely elements of friendship, adventure and finding courage.  

2018 Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction Finalists for the Cybils Award

I'm always excited to be a round one judge for the Cybils (Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards).  This year there were 117 books nominated in Elementary/ Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction, of which I was able to read 92.  Now these seven finalist's move on to the second round judges, with a winner being selected in February.  I'm also excited that Front Desk by Kelly Yang and The Orphan Band of Springdale by Anne Nesbet, which were on my armchair Cybils shortlist list will also be moving on to round two!   Here are the blurbs for the books that we selected and you can see the complete list here.  Happy New Year to you all.  Brenda

Inkling
by Kenneth Oppel
Harper Collins Canada
Nominated by: Reno

Have you ever had an inkling that something was about to happen? For the Rylance family things have been tough since Mom died. Dad has writer’s block, Ethan’s school project is overwhelming and Sarah, who has Down’s Syndrome, is fixated on getting a puppy. Then, one night, a little blot of ink jumps off Dad’s sketchbook and begins to explore the world by devouring the books it encounters. Ethan names it Inkling, and its inquisitive and caring nature helps the Rylance family work through their grief and learn about themselves. Thought-provoking dilemmas, great characterization, and a swift plot, all make this a book that kids will devour.

Vanatti, Dr. Cheryl S., Reading Rumpus

Love Sugar Magic: A Dash of Trouble
by Anna Meriano
Walden Pond Press
Nominated by: Sarah Sammis

It’s not easy being the youngest of 5 sisters, but what makes it worse for Leo is being told she is too young to help in the family bakery for the annual Dia de los Muertos festival. To top it off, the family secret is revealed by accident – they are Mexican brujas, who put magic to work in their baking! Leo knows could help, if they’d let her. When her best friend starts to fall for a boy, she decides to test her baking magic and prove her talent so she can join in the family traditions. It’s magically realistic, with a family that makes mistakes and forgives and fills the pages with baking love. Readers will warm to this story full of spells going hilariously wrong, baking, family love and friendship.

Kristen Harvey, The Book Monsters

Nevermoor: The Trials of Morrigan Crow
by Jessica Townsend
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Nominated by: Beth Mitchell

Cursed from the day she was born, Morrigan never expects anything good to happen to her. Then, on her eleventh birthday, she is whisked away to the secret, magical city of Nevermoor and invited to compete in the trials to become a member of the Wundrous society. There is plenty of suspense and action as readers follow Morrigan through the trials, hoping that she will be chosen to stay. This is a very readable fantasy adventure that will keep readers wondering what will happen next, and especially delight Harry Potter fans!

Jenni Frencham, From the Biblio Files

Snared: Escape to the Above (Wily Snare)
by Adam Jay Epstein
Imprint
Nominated by: Heidi G.

Wily Snare has never left the Carrion Tomb, where he works as a trapsmith for its cavern mage Stalag, designing elaborate traps to foil treasure seekers. Then an acrobatic elf, a moss golem, and a former knight with a floating arm named Righteous evade all of his traps, ambush Stalag and take his most valuable treasure, Wily himself. They want Wily’s quick fingers, wit, and ability to detect and disable traps to raid some of the most challenging dungeons in the realm. But by the end of their adventure, treasure isn’t important to the group–they have become a family. Snared is an action-packed and heartwarming adventure filled with twists and turns and memorable characters, that’s sure to captivate fans of dungeon crawling.

Brenda Tjaden, Log Cabin Library

Sweep: The Story of a Girl and Her Monster
by Jonathan Auxier
Harry N Abrams
Nominated by: Angiegirl

Life is hard for the kids who clean the chimneys of Victorian London, especially if the kid is a girl. Nan Sparrow was once looked after by the Sweep, who made her story soup when times were tough. But since his disappearance, Nan’s been forced to climb chimneys for a cruel master. Then the glowing coal the Sweep left her becomes a living creature of ash, her friend and protector, “Charlie.” Nan’s adventure is a heartwarming journey of the magic of love and story, full of vividly drawn characters, from the cruel sweep master Crudd to Nan’s friend the mudlark Toby Squall and the kind teacher Miss Bloom – the last two keeping their Jewish heritage a secret from almost everyone but Nan. And Charlie, the soot “monster,” is the most marvelous of all.

Katy Kramp, A Library Mama

The Stone Girl’s Story
by Sarah Beth Durst
Clarion Books
Nominated by: Kristen

For Mayka, a living girl carved from stone, and the rest of her stone family, the stories of their lives are carved directly onto their surfaces by their maker, and as the marks erode so do they. When there is no one left to refresh the carvings, Mayka ventures into the world of humans to find someone to take up the task, but she learns that not all people can be trusted and that the rules may be different for people of flesh and stone. Old fears and secrets (and a giant carved monster) must be confronted before she finds a way to save her stone family and their stories. This unique fantasy world offers both adventure and thoughtful contemplation about selfhood and story.

Beth Mitcham, Library Chicken

Thisby Thestoop and the Black Mountain
by Zac Gorman
HarperCollins
Nominated by: Robin

No one would have picked Thisby Thestoop to be the heroine of a great adventure. And yet, this foundling girl (whose only friend is a slime named Mingus), who lives in a dungeon, feeding and cleaning up after its monsters, saves a prince and princess. The perilous journey of the two very different girls, Thisby shy and grubby and Iphigenia beautiful and entitled, shows how a friendship can be made under the most challenging of circumstances, and the challenge of maintaining a friendship even when trust is broken. Witty, funny, and full of feeling, with memorable characters, both major and minor, this will appeal to gamers and fantasy fans of all stripes, especially those who are looking for real characters with whom they can sympathize and identify.

Sherry Early, Semicolon

Armchair #CybilsShortlist- Middle Grade Fiction

                                

I know it's been a while since my last post, so I decided that I would take a little pause from all my reading to participate in the Armchair #CybilsShortlist.  What is that you ask?  It's a little contest to predict the finalist's list for a single category for the Cybils Award.  So, even though I'm a round one panelist for Elementary/Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction, I can still participate by picking one of the other categories.  Then I just need to generate a list of five-seven books that I think/hope will be on the shortlist for that category, and then just tag it to Twitter.  Easy peasy.  I hope you'll consider giving it a shot.  I'd really like to see your guess, especially for my category!  So head on over to www.Cybils.com to view the rules, list of categories and links to all the books that were nominated.  

On to my guesses for Middle-Grade Fiction:

Amal Unbound by Aisha Saeed

Boy Bites Bug by Rebecca Petruck

Escape from Aleppo by N.H. Senzai  

Front Desk by Kelly Yang  *Had to pick this one cause I nominated it!*  

Lions and Liars by Kate Beasley

Louisiana's Way Home by Kate DiCamillo 

The Orphan Band of Springdale by Anne Nesbet

      

             

MG Realistic Fiction review of The Unteachables by Gordon Korman

The Unteachables by Gordon Korman

Format:  E ARC 

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Number of Pages: 288

Publishing:  January 8th, 2019 

Source:  E ARC from Edelweiss Plus

Opening Line: "It's no fun riding to school with Stepmonster-not with Chauncey screaming his lungs out in the back seat."

Mr. Kermit (AKA Ribbet)  has been burned out from teaching, ever since the cheating scandal incident some 30 years ago.  What made the whole episode worse is that it was one of his students who was accused of cheating, and Mr. Kermit knew nothing about it, yet still ended up being blamed for the whole thing.   Ever since that day, Mr. Kermit has lost his spark for teaching.  Now he just seems to go through his day doing crossword puzzles, drinking monster amounts of coffee and biding his time until he can take his early retirement.  But this year the superintendent has plans for Mr. Kermit, plans that might just derail Mr. Kermit being able to get his pension.  Mr. Kermit is being assigned to teach the kids in room 117, kids with such horrible behavioral or educational issues that they're called the "Unteachables."   

The Unteachable reminded a lot of the movie The Breakfast Club.  A group of kids from varied backgrounds holed up in a classroom each day.   There's Barnstorm who symbolizes the jock with the busted up knee; Rahim or the artist if only he could stay awake long enough; Mateo the brainiac or the encyclopedia especially when it comes to the Klingon language;  Parker, the struggling student, and the wheels, having received a provisional drivers  license so he can drive his elderly grandma to the senior center and run errands for his parent's farm;  Elaine (rhymes with pain) who's the muscle and has been known to throw a kid around just for looking at her funny; there's Aldo who has the temper of "the hulk;" and last but not least there's Kiana, who is like the invisible women, and is only supposed to be a "short-timer."  Or at least that's what she keeps telling herself.  She's only here until she can move back in with her mom.  She's not even registered for school yet and only ended up in room 117 by accident,  but still, she keeps coming back each day.  

Or maybe The Unteachables is more like the book Ms. Bixby's Last Day.  Ms. Bixby is what you would call one of the good teachers, the kind that is thoughtful, compassionate and cares deeply about her students.  Well, Mr. Kermit, he's the exact opposite, he lost his will for teaching a long time ago.  When the school bell rings, he goes into autopilot handing out worksheets and inching his way toward his early retirement.  That is until the moment that he shows an inkling of interest in one of his students being included in the school pep rally.  Does his demanding that his students be treated fairly show that he actually cares? 

Like Ms. Bixby's Last Day, the story is told in the alternating perspectives of the students from room 117 and Mr. Kermit.  Minus chapters from Elaine or Rahim.  I really liked this style,  Korman gives each character a distinctive personality and well thought out backstory.  Each chapter provides more information about how the kids relate to one another and with their teacher.  There's even a chapter from the perspective of the school principal and Jake Terranova (Mr. Kermit's former student involved in the cheating scandal).  It's humorous, heartwarming and makes me nostalgic for 80's movies.  A truly entertaining story that I can't wait to purchase when it's released in January.  

MG Review of The Secrets of Winterhouse (Winterhouse #2) by Ben Guterson

The Secrets of Winterhouse by Ben Guterson 
Format: E ARC
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co.
Number of Pages:  384
Publishing:  December 2018
Source:  Edelweiss Plus

Opening Line:   "Elizabeth Somers hopped from the bus's stairs into ankle-high snow and was halfway to the door of the tiny, brick station when a shock of certainty made her stop:  Someone is looking for me."

The Secrets of Winterhouse begins with  Elizabeth returning to Winterhouse hotel for winter break where she is reunited with her best friend Freddy.  Together the two uncover a new puzzle that involves secret passageways, hidden doors, and an enormous seal with a riddle to solve.  Elizabeth and Freddy are joined by newcomer, Elana, who is visiting the hotel with her overly bearing grandmother and a boy named Rodney that Elizabeth had a run-in with on the bus to Winterhouse.  Also, hidden somewhere in one of the many passageways of the hotel is a magical item that has sent the guests of the hotel on a hunt.   Will Elizabeth and Freddy be able to figure out the clues to their new mystery and save the Winterhouse hotel once again?   

I really enjoy reading Guterson's books, they're always filled with puzzles, and riddles to solve.  The setting of Winterhouse hotel over the winter holiday is especially nice now that the weather here has gotten colder.  The hidden passageways and addition of Elana and her grandmother, Mrs. Vesper also add just the right element of mystery making for a delightful read. Elana is quite a mysterious girl, and at first, the duo isn't sure of her intentions.  Is she looking for companionship or trying to get information from Elizabeth and Freddy about the hotel?  Mrs. Vesper turned out to be way creepier than I was expecting, especially with the mesmerizing way that she talks.  Also what is up with Northbridge?  He's been kinda unavailable lately and there are some questions from his past that Elizabeth would like the answers to.  Plus now that Elizabeth's "powers" have been developing further, and she's having these episodes where she lets her anger get the best of her, she could really use his input on whether there is some connection to Gracella that Elizabeth should be worried about.  

Like in his previous book, each chapter of The Secrets of Winterhouse begins with an interesting title and in this case, an anagram to decode.  I had a lot of fun rearranging the letters to make new words and must say some of the anagrams were pretty challenging.  Chloe Bristol's black and white illustrations are always a delight as well.  Freddy and Elizabeth's are such wonderful friends and I enjoy how they're both so smart, talented and inquisitive which really comes handy when trying to solve those riddles.  The ending of the story isn't fully resolved, but that's ok because now I have Winterhouse and the Midnight Puzzle to look forward to.  Can't wait to see what kind of mystery and puzzles Guterson will come up with next.