Tag Archives: fantasy

Edison Beaker, Creature Seeker: the lost city

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Edison Beaker believes that he will never be a Creature Seeker (after book #1). But, Gigi (his great grandma) has other ideas. She tells Edison that he is ready to be a Creature Seeker and must find the Spark to light the city of Pharos. Otherwise, it will be forever sunk into gloom and the evil Baron Umbra and the Underlings will rule. Edison and his sister, Tesla, go to Gigi’s house to locate her book, which will explain everything. Thankfully, Gigi gave Tesla a monster detecting bracelet before they left, because Underlings come after them as they are looking for Gigi’s book. Their friend, Knox, from the Underwhere helps them escape the Underlings and they go through the Night Door to save Pharos.

Baron Umbra won’t let that happen easily and it takes the three intrepid heroes and a new friend, an Underling named Smudge, to return the light to Pharos and save the city. Along the way, they discover that true friendship, family and loyalty can go far in making the world better.

Colorful illustrations and a little bit of scariness make this a nice elementary level graphic novel. The classic good versus evil is woven nicely into the story. The main characters are loyal, brave and accepting of others (although Tesla was much quicker than Edison in that respect). In case you might want more – the last page has a huge hint that the story will continue…

Journey Across the Hidden Islands

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Twins Seika and Ji-Lin were two princesses whose destiny was known to them, or so they thought. Seika would become the Queen and Ji-Lin would be her royal protector along with the winged lions. They also both knew that one day they would travel to the Hidden Island of the dragon to ask for her protection against monsters and invaders, just as their ancestors had for many generations. Yet, this was not what was to happen. They began their journey before their training was finished and so began an adventure of epic proportions. Along the way, they picked up a helpful young boy and used strength and intellect they didn’t know that they possessed. But, would it be enough to save their land and people from those outside that would destroy them? And, why is the ever-protective dragon allowing this to happen?

This book is a wonderful fantasy with strong, young female characters. They are likable and realistically ‘snarky’ at times, as tweens tend to be. Their loyalty to each other and their bravery is remarkable. Buy this book!

The Whiskers Sisters. #1,May’s wild walk

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Three sisters, antlered Maya, feline Mia and pink-eyed May are awaiting the return of their grandfather, the the Guardian of the Forest. One morning, Mrs. Owl brings them a letter and after reading it, Maya and Mia plan a celebration. They don’t include May (who is younger and speaks in baby talk “ga ga ga”), so she wanders off and ends up in Mrs. Owl’s letter bag. She is carried off and falls into the forest when the strap on the bag breaks, dumping her and the rest of the mail. Interestingly, the animals in the forest understand May perfectly and she has a great time locating the missing letters with them. Maya and Mia spend their day preparing for the celebration and realize May is missing just as the party is to start. They have just a short time to be sad before May, the forest animals and, surprise(!), grandpa show up. Let the celebration begin!

This is a light little story with manga-like characters set in a cute cottage in a lovely forest. There isn’t a lot of depth to the story in this graphic novel. But, that’s ok, given it appears to be directed at the younger crowd. It’s a sweet introduction to graphic novels and is sure to please the target audience.

My little pony. Friends forever, Fluttershy & Iron Will

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Iron Will has a problem – he is a bit too assertive and the Mizzuz kicked him out. Also, his son has been misbehaving (talking back to mom and acting out at school), which Iron Will doesn’t think is a problem…hmmmm. So, off he trots to the land of My Little Ponies to ask Fluttershy for help.

Through many trials and many, many errors Iron Will was able to be a bit more sensitive and introspective. He ambled off to make amends with the Mizzuz and get a handle on that rude son of his. Fluttershy ended the story by giving the secret to working with cantankerous bulls (a lesson for all of us) – kindness and patience.

While this book doesn’t give anyone a great deal to learn, it should be popular with the Pony crowd. The message isn’t half bad either – you can change yourself for the better if you try (for goodness’ sake, a cartoon bull was able to do it). additional purchase

The Door

Aside

Hannah is a 12 year old girl whose life has been sheltered. She and her mother are care takers of a no longer used lighthouse. It has been her families job for generations. Not only are they care takers, but guardians as well. The lighthouse has a special door in it. One that leads to the underworld or City of the Dead as it is known in this tale. Continue reading →

League of Archers

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What really caught my eye was when the girl was telling the story to the little boy. She  said Robin Hood snuck into the archer shoot-out in disguise and didn’t get caught when he was only wearing a hood. This book is about a girl on the run after committing a crime she didn’t commit. It was really good. I really liked it when the girl told a story to the little boy when he was sick. I think for people woh are really into adventure books then this is a book for you.

-T.C.

Unidentified Suburban Object

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The title invoked a colorful mix between science fiction and everyday life. The blurb addressed “not fitting in”, a concern for many middle schoolers and diversity in a small town.

The plot focuses on Chloe Cho who despite being extremely successful in everything she does is frustrated because she has no one to talk with about her cultural background. She is the only Korean girl in town, and her parents don’t talk about their heritage, so when a new teacher, also Korean, arrives, Chloe is anxious to learn from her. However, the plot twist comes when Chloe soon discovers more about her family than she ever wanted to know. Chloe struggles with the new knowledge and her status as “the best” at everything also suffers. In the end, Chloe has to come to terms with who she is and what it means to “fit in”.

The reader initially sympathizes with Chloe as a girl who is just trying to learn more about her background. However, through the plot twist, Chloe becomes harder to like, as her narrative becomes completely selfish. The reader starts to side with her parents. The plot twist does keep you on your toes, and Chloe’s reactions are normal for a teenager, it just would have been a more enjoyable read if Chloe had been a little more relatable.

If you enjoy realistic fiction with a science fiction twist, then Unidentified Suburban Object is the book for you!

S.H.

Some Kind of Happiness

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 “Some Kind Of Happiness“ written by Claire Legrand is story about young girl’s real life mixed with mystery and fantasy, who tried to struggle with her anxiety and overwhelmingly difficult days all by herself, keeping her secret only in the notebook through imaginary stories.

      The book is best summed up in author’s pre-words/preview:

                            “If you are afraid, sad, tired, or lonely

                                  if you feel lost or strange

                          If you crave stories and adventure,

                       And the magic possibility of a forest path —

                                    this book is for you.“

   Finley, 11 year old girl, who has been sent to her unknown grandparents’ house (Hart’s House “enormous and white, the largest house I ever seen in real life…”), from her father’s side for the whole summer, until Finley’s mom and dad can solve their relationship problems.  This little girl tried to escape reality through her imagined tales, which helped her deal with real life problems, like dealing with her previously unknown cousins or her weird neighbors ( children of Bailey’s family ), who go on to become her best friends.  Through her stories, she creates an imaginary kingdom of Everwood – “towering green place full of sunlight”, where she pretends to be “an orphaned girl”, while everyone else had their own roles in the story.  Meanwhile she tries to uncover an old secret , why her father’s family got separated.  Her imaginary game ends up uniting the feuding families after years of avoiding each other.  This feud inspired her to seek out, what caused the falling out between these families ( Hart’s and Bailey’s ), which heavily involves her father.

This book spans three generations of her family, showing that family secrets can become huge issues, even between the closest family members.  But even with all the issues within the families, the children still love and cherish their parents, no matter their flaws.

In my opinion this story is very informative and educational to the young readers for several reasons.  Firstly, it shows how the reader can organize all their thoughts .  Secondly, it introduces interesting words in a way that sticks with the reader, expanding their vocabulary in the process ( “ … one of my favorite words, a nine-letter word for “slow, heavy, rhythmic” : ponderous.” ). Thirdly, it encourages the young readers to use their imagination to create fun and adventurous games in real life.

Reading as an adult, it was interesting to see the world through 11 year old Finley’s eyes, especially the way she sees adults in her life, bringing me back to my own childhood and various games we used to play. It was fun.

I would highly recommend this book for young readers (middle school age) as well, as for adults.  This book manages to be both relaxing and breathtaking at the same time, gripping the reader with its mysteries and memorable plot . I really enjoyed this book.

M.M.

The Witch Boy

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The basis premise of this book I that a boy wants to learn spells and other magic like witches, but boys are expected to become shift-shapers. Witches can only be girls. There is lots of adventure, fantasy, action, conflict and interesting characters. It also challenges gender constructs and might really pique the interest of a student who doesn’t fit traditional gender norms or who need an opportunity to learn how to celebrate differences, There is a lot of “world building” in this novel that makes me infer that there may be a sequel in the future.

Wax by Gina Damico

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Reviewed By: Shelley Walter, OHS Library Secretary

WAX by DamicoThis is the story of a teenage girl, Poppy, who is an aspiring actress. She has a nightmare performance and is ridiculed by her peers, namely a boy name Blake. Blake bullies her and she seeks revenge and finds a secret studio inside the town’s famous candle factory.

The old woman in the secret studio, who crafts wax figures of various people including townspeople, warns Poppy of a plot to take over the town by replacing the humans with wax substitutes.

The book took time to get going and at times seemed to drag. It is a good story and did get my interest as it went along.

Poppy’s family did not quite develop into interesting characters. The wax teenage boy “Dud” plays a part, I found myself wishing he had a bigger part (he did in the end).  Poppy has a somewhat sarcastic sense of life and I identified with that.

My first young adult novel to read in quite a while.