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Lamar Giles, author of Ruin Road, takes the idea of selling one’s soul to the devil to a whole new level. His novel further reinforces the moral: Be careful what you wish for, and even suggests that sometimes fear can be a good thing. Playing wide receiver, Kincade (Cade) Webster attends Neeson Preparatory School on an athletic scholarship and dreams of playing football for Ohio State. When he makes it into the pros, he plans to take his best friends out of Jacob’s Court with him: Gabby and Booker Payne. One night, while escaping an altercation on the bus, Cade walks into Skinner’s Pawn andRead More →

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While not intended to teach Hindu mythology, We Shall Be Monsters by Tara Sim provides mythological cues and is a loose reimagining of the myth of Halahala. And because mythology is a mirror of humankind, Sim’s story has power to speak to all readers. Set in Dharati, India, We Shall Be Monsters features Kajal, who vows to bring her sister Lasya back from death. Because her body isn’t burned soon enough after death, Lasya warps into a bhuta, a wraithlike ghost with the ability to claim lives of its own. With her abilities to revive the dead, Kajal hopes to give her sister life againRead More →

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Those who favor fantasy literature laced with an apocalyptic zombie thread will likely enjoy Dead Things Are Closer Than They Appear by Robin Wasley. The plot revolves around seventeen-year-old Isidora (Sid) Spencer who claims to have no best self; she is one self without a qualifier. This adopted Korean girl has an adopted brother, Matt Spencer, whom she loves deeply but doesn’t know completely. Matt has a secret: he is a Guardian of the fault-line in Llewellyn (Wellsie) where the ghosts look like rainbows made of smoke. People come to Wellsie “to stand where magic lies sealed beneath the earth” (1). The fault line hasRead More →

Cover image for Your Blood, My Bones

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Your Blood, My Bones by Kelly Andrew is a paranormal YA novel full of sinister things that will drag the reader into dark places. Protagonist Wyatt Westlock has always been kept away from the darkest parts of the legacy she inherited as one of the Westlock guardians of Willow Heath. Growing up on her family’s forest surrounded land, she is content to run wild with James and Peter, her childhood friends. She doesn’t question the dark rituals her father and his guildsman conduct in the dead of night, or why one of her best friends never seems to belong. After a tragic night, Wyatt’s motherRead More →

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Bittersweet in the Hollow by Kate Pearsall is set in Caball Hollow in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, where legend and lore thrive. Pearsall tells the story of the James family and the lives of its women whose legacy is superstition. A family of suspected witches, the James women use minerals and locally grown plants to create infusions, tinctures, and balms. With these homemade remedies and whispered words, they treat people’s ailments. However, this story extends beyond a family and natural remedies to become about our deepest desires, a belief in possibility, and the sacrifices we are willing to make in the name ofRead More →

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Anyone wishing for a Halloween thriller will likely find it in The Last Girls Standing by Jennifer Dugan. With this horror story, Dugan creates Charlene Addison Barnes, aka Cherry, and Sloan Thomas, two survivors of a mass murder at Camp Money Springs where they had taken summer jobs as camp counsellors. Able to diffuse tension with a single sentence, Cherry survives the killing spree of a “save the Earth” cult with her memory intact. However, like a rabbit in a snare, Sloan is caught in a time loop in her head. Although Sloan wants to study social work and save the world, her perfect plansRead More →

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A mixture of myths, legends, and folklore, Once There Was by Kiyash Monsef is an amazing book! A tapestry of James Herriot’s veterinarian expertise and Sherlock Holmes’ sleuthing, the book is simultaneously a fantasy and then a truth-telling narrative that reveals deeply philosophical truths. The leading lady in this drama is Marjan Dastani, an Iranian/American fifteen-year-old whose father is a veterinarian. Jamsheed Dastani, “a man of education and wisdom, a man of compassion, a man you’d trust with your pet” (12) is much more than the sum of those visible parts. This mysterious and haunted man is weighed down by secrets and a mission thatRead More →

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In her novel The Weight of Blood, Tiffany D. Jackson tackles a tough topic: segregated proms and their underlying societal racism. She also unpacks light-skin privilege and explores telekinesis so that she can effectively paint a picture of her protagonist, Madison Washington (Maddy). Under the thumb of an abusive father, Maddy is unaware that she’s strong, brave, and powerful. She dreams of someday being part of a movie crew and sharing a Hollywood set with famous superstars. She envisions working in the design department, sewing elaborate costumes or maybe creating in the kitchen, cooking gourmet meals. But more than anything, she “wants someone to loveRead More →

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Twelve-year-old Logan Foster is good at research, deductive reasoning, and logical problem-solving. However, he is not so adept at emotional responses, human interaction, and reading social cues. This unique protagonist evolves into the hero of Shawn Peters’ novel The Unforgettable Logan Foster.  Set in Santa Monica, California, Peters’ novel retells the story of an orphan who loves comics. Logan considers comics relatable because most superheroes are orphans. They also work to undermine villains and thwart bullies. When Gil Grant and Margie Morrow visit the El Segundo Transitional Orphanage (ESTO) as promising prospective foster parents, Logan experiences the feeling of being wanted and decides it feelsRead More →