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Those who bristle at the mention of fantasy literature often suggest that believing in magic or miracles is a snare and a crutch, that society will only realize its full potential if we depend on our brains and strong arms instead.  But where would we be without hope, that irrational but powerful force with the ability to magic us back to mental health and give us the strength to carry on against impossible odds?  This is one of the questions posed by Lauren Kate in Water Fall, a novel that explores the power of emotions in the context of an ancient conflict between the SleepingRead More →

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Gamers often play video games for the thrill of the game, for the confidence-building rewards as they move from level to level, or for the opportunity to act in a heroic role.  Others play for the power, competition, action, and sometimes violence experienced vicariously through the game. Although it is not played online but in real life, BZRK Apocalypse by Michael Grant describes a conflict that resembles a massive multiplayer online game (MMOG).  Grant’s science fiction thriller is the last in the BZRK trilogy, and the stakes in this final battle are high; the fate of BZRK players is death or madness.  Sixteen-year-old Sadie McLure, akaRead More →

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Olivia (Livie) Mead trades safety, comfort, and normalcy for a rare and enchanting adventure on her seventeenth birthday, October 31, 1900, when she participates in a women’s suffrage rally. Later that night, in the spirit of a good Halloween fright and under pressure from her friends, Livie agrees to subject herself to hypnosis and experiences the utter bliss of deep relaxation.  Henri Reverie, the hypnotist, tells Livie that because of her birth date, “legend says you are a charmed individual. You can read dreams and possess lifelong protection against the spirits” (9), but from that night onward, Livie’s life changes drastically. Livie’s father, the infamousRead More →

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A good story takes you places. And with Taking Flight, a memoir by Michaela and Elaine DePrince, the reader journeys from war-torn Sierra Leone in West Africa to recital halls in New York City with Mabinty Bangura. With this memoir, readers learn something of West African culture. In a typical household in the Kenema District of southeastern Sierra Leone, marriages are arranged, polygamy is acceptable, domestic violence is permissible, women learn how to cook, clean, sew, and care for children, and a girl child is not a cause for celebration—especially not a girl child born with the skin condition vitiligo that causes a mottled pigmentationRead More →

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One part mystery, one part science fiction, and one part realism with a dash of romance and a huge helping of dystopian fiction, Now That You’re Here by Amy K. Nichols is a multi-genre novel, one that potentially holds appeal for a wide variety of readers.   It plays what if in many of the intriguing ways that Libba Bray posed possibilities in Going Bovine. Set in Phoenix, Arizona, Nichols book explores the presence of parallel universes and whether teleportation—universe jumping—may occur via electromagnetism.  And who better to perform the research than a couple of teens seeking a science fair project? Eevee Solomon, a sophomore at Palo BreaRead More →

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The perfect Devonshire Academy girl, gifted with the privilege of class and education, Emily Bird lives in the stratified world of Northwest D.C.  But her dreams of becoming a shopkeeper in the District on U Street don’t align with Carol Bird’s aspirations for her daughter.  Conversations with her mother make seventeen-year-old Emily feel like being skinned alive.  To further complicate her life, Emily is attracted to Alonso Oliveira, the prep school drug dealer, a Brazilian boy also known as Coffee, but she is already dating Paul.  Although Paul is safe, ambitious, and well-connected, he doesn’t generate any sparks for Emily.  Coffee calls Emily out whenRead More →

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Adrian Black lives in Ashcroft, a small village in Northern England, during the Middle Ages when England is at war with Scotland and “the savage Scots are planning to invade again” (13).  Adrian, who is about to turn 13 years old, yearns to be a noble, a hero, and a master archer—a dream he believes can come true if he is a soldier.   However, because Adrian’s sister and mother both died in the plague, John the boyer, who is also Adrian’s father and afraid of losing his son as well, is overly protective. These are just a few of the challenges that Adrian faces.  OtherRead More →

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In 1941, seventeen-year-old Zenji Watanabe is Japanese born in America, a Nisei, with the gift of language.  Colonel Blake sees that gift and offers Zenji an opportunity to travel from Honolulu, Hawaii, to places like Manila, but that opportunity comes with a price beyond the patriotism, strange excitement, and pay check valued by Zenji. With the code name Bamboo Rat and his bilingual gifts, Zenji is recruited as a low profile, military spy.  In that role, he learns the difference between civilian Japan and military Japan.  He also discovers the difficulty in befriending those whom he may have to betray and confronts the dilemmas in a country’sRead More →

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A fearsome force, Susan McCallum is determined, ruthless, and in-charge, but she’s only ten years old and a girl—ineligible for military service during the World War II era.  When the brothers she idolizes, Hank and Theo, decide to serve their country in the navy, Susan is beyond angry.  Their typically stoic, Scottish father, who fears that he may lose both sons, forbids that they serve in the same branch of the military.  So, Theo joins the Army Air Corps, and the two brothers—the best defensive in-fielders in the game of baseball in Accokeek, Maryland—vow to play catch across the world, one aboard an aircraft carrierRead More →