Books

David J. Pedersen's ANGST saga continues to be a breathtaking adventure. The titular hero, Angst, is in his forties and living the life he dreamed of when he was younger -- being that of a hero saving his family, his friends, his country, and quite possibly all the world. Unfortunately, it comes at a cost far beyond creaking bones and physical exhaustion.

Angst is a magic weilder -- even a powerful one. But his magic became that much stronger when he bonded with Chrysleanor, a foci in the form of a sword as tall and as wide as a very tall and very wide man. This made Angst an Al'eyrn, a sort of super magic user of legend. Then Angst did the impossible and bonded with a second foci, Dulgirgraut, a sword of similar proportions but entirely different power. This made Angst something hitherto unseen in history, something that shouldn't exist.

From author-illustrator Marie Letourneau comes an adorable new picture book, ARGYLE FOX. 

Argyle Fox just wants to play outside. However, the gusty wind has other ideas. Despite his mother's warnings, Argyle Fox tries to build a card tower outside - but the wind quickly whooshes and blows the tower over. Determined to find a game to play on this windy day, Argyle Fox sets out to try different activities - but can he find something to do that the weather won't ruin?

Cute and whimsical full-page illustrations show Argyle Fox's adventures in enticing colors. This is a great story about using critical thinking to solve problems rather than giving up. While Argyle Fox's "answer" might be obvious to adult readers, children will love watching him think through his conundrum and try different activities. I loved the illustrations!

This is a quick read I think kids will really enjoy. 
 

If you haven't already rushed out and ordered your copy of HEARTS & OTHER BODY PARTS, then you have not yet begun your journey down what is almost certain to be the YA paranormal romance everyone will be reading and talking about this summer. You'll find yourself believing in witches, vampires, demons and other kinds of monsters. What you will have the most difficulty believing is that this novel is the first for author (yes, he can officially use that title on business cards, resumes, and -- shudder -- tax forms now) Ira Bloom. It's too seasoned, too nuanced, and just too good to be the product of the new kid on the YA block. (Oh yeah, and he has a Y-chromosome, too! How rare is that in the YA paranormal romance marketplace?)

We had the privilege of snaring an interview with Bloom before his schedule becomes swamped with such requests. Somewhere along the way, you'll probably see a link to Amazon to pick up this book. You'd be smart to click on it.

HELLO THERE, DO YOU STILL KNOW ME? is the second and newest book in the Madison McGee Adventure series by Laurie B. Arnold. HELLO THERE is a fun genre mashup that straddles the line between sci-fi, magical realism, and contemporary adventure. 

DROWNING IN ANGST is the third in David J. Pedersen's fantasy series following the adventures of a man who always wanted to be a hero -- and then finally got his chance after turning 40.

Chris Grine (CHICKENHARE) puts out graphic novels with all the restraint of a fourth grade storyteller. His cast of characters are the "pulled out of a hat at random" variety pack that should have absolutely no logical team cohesion -- how else to explain that the good guys are a scientist, a ghost, a chicken-beaked T-rex and Robot Abraham Lincoln, and that the bad guys are a skeleton in a pressurized space suit, a hollow mummy, and Vampire Napoleon?

Philip Pullman is breaking into the graphic novel business, and he's bringing the accomplished Fred Fordham with him.

The hardcover GN releasing in May is THE ADVENTURES OF JOHN BLAKE: MYSTERY OF THE GHOST SHIP, which leads me immediately to think there's more to come than what's just between the covers herein. And what an adventure it is! Pullman wastes no time establishing the eerie legend of the Mary Alice, a ghost ship that appears in the fog, and the demon boy in the red shirt that accompanies it. The sightings go back for centuries, but it's a story that has its origins in the early days of the twentieth century, and involves no less a personage than Albert Einstein.

In Edgar Allan Poe's short story, "The Purloined Letter," the hero C. Auguste Dupin outwits the police when he is brought in to consult on a stolen letter being used for blackmail purposes. In the story, the police search an apartment where they know the letter to be hidden, checking the drapes and other unique hiding places that might conceal it. Dupin saves the day when he looks for the letter and finds it sitting out in the open, too obvious to be the object the police sought. The story is often pointed to as the epitome of the adage, "Hiding in plain sight."

When I saw the covers for Darkrose Studios' TREADWATER graphic novels, I knew exactly what I was getting into. Skin tight suits, strange flying crafts, mid-air explosions. Surely this was a space opera war along the lines of Michael Tierney's WILD STARS or Van Allen Plexico's LUCIAN.

I could not have been further off, at least in setting if not in flavor.

Continuing our series of releases for the Best of 2016 Awards, we now come to the category for Best Novel of 2016. And, boy, did we have a selection of choices in titles and genres!

However, there were three standouts who topped the list, starting with THE CROWN by Keira Cass, which came in third, edged out by BORN A CRIME by Trevor Noah -- both really excellent books and neither one anything at all alike. That's just a taste of the kind of range faced by our readers who voted in this poll.

Ira Bloom's HEARTS & OTHER BODY PARTS reads with such fluidity and magnetism that it's difficult to believe this is a debut novel. It's a YA romance novel that blends urban fantasy with modern reality to the point that it is neither one and better than both.

Esme, Katy and Ronnie Silver are sisters attending the same high school. Esme is an intellectual overachiever, Ronnie is a natural beauty and knows it, and Katy is an everygirl whose fun to have around. They're also witches. Real spell-casting, potion-brewing, hex-tossing witches. And, no, they're not attending Monster High, tempting though it might be to draw the comparison. Middleton is an average high school filled with everyday kids -- and three witches.

I've been a fan of Batgirl ever since I first saw Yvonne Craig don the tights when I was just a wee lad laying on the floor with my chin propped up on my hands watching a 17 inch color television. (I couldn't reasonably go outside as the Earth's crust was still cooling, obviously.) Over the years I've added numerous odds and ends to my Batgirl collection, including first appearances of both Batgirl and Bat-girl in comics, some statues, and a couple of autographed stills from the television show.

You'd think there'd be nothing in BATGIRL: NEW HERO OF THE NIGHT, the latest in Scholastics DC COMICS BACKSTORIES line, for me to learn. In fact, given the tenure of the hero, I scoffed a little at the "new" in the title.

In EVERLAND, Wendy Spinale took readers through a mind-magnet of a tale with a steampunk rendition of the legend of Peter Pan. It involved a virus that wiped out most of the adults, set upon the world by the Bloodred Queen and her devoted son, Captain Hans Otto Oswald Kretschmer (or "Hook"). After the bombing of London, Pete and his Lost Boys, along with the seemingly immune Gwen and her siblings, left the Everland province with what they thought was a cure for the horrible Horologia virus.

It was a case where the cure was worse than the disease.

Uh oh! Master Wu's past is catching up with him when two old enemies return to wreak havoc. The Ninjago team of Cole, Jay, Kai, Lloyd, Nya and Zane have their hands full with the Time Twins, who have the power to change the future and the past! Fortunately, they have the best help they can get on their side: You!

NINJAGO: THE HANDS OF TIME is an activity book that uses these fan-favorite LEGO Ninjago characters as teaching tools, taking the reader through tests of math, logic, and reading comprehension skills. Oh, and it's also fun from cover to cover! And as an added enticement, this book comes with a Vermillion Warrior LEGO minifig to add to your collection!

I have been waiting for the 6th book in the LEGACY series for a long time.  As I have mentioned in the past, LEGACY is a spin-off from THE DESTROYER series.  I am a long time fan of THE DESTROYER, and new series writer RJ Carter did a terrific job with his first book in the series, BULLY PULPIT.  But, I have to admit that I like the LEGACY books even more.   They take the brilliant world of THE DESTROYER and flesh it out to a whole new level.

PIP BARTLETT’S GUIDE TO UNICORN TRAINING is the second book in Maggie Stiefvater and Jackson Pearce’s whimsical Pip Bartlett series. I have not read the first book, PIP BARTLETT’S GUIDE TO MAGICAL CREATURES, but I had no problem following along in this fun, cute, and witty sequel.

Pip Bartlett assists her Aunt Emma in her job as a vet. However, these aren’t cats and dogs coming to the clinic – these are magical creatures like Rockshines, Griffins, and Greater Rainbow Minks. Never heard of them? Don’t worry – there are full-page textbook entries with pictures of each species throughout the book, so it’s easy to keep them straight.

Pip has a special skill to aid her in her work: she can speak with these creatures as easily as speaking with a friend. And they’re full of personality.

My nephew has loved Troy Cummings’ Notebook of Doom series for a couple years now. So when I noticed the eleventh book in the series, SNEEZE OF THE OCTO-SCHNOZZ, was available for review, I had to check it out.

The Notebook of Doom series features Alexander and his friends – members of the exclusive S.S.M.P. (Super Secret Monster Patrol) – as they hunt down monsters in their neighborhood and school.

In OCTO-SCHNOZZ, there’s a honking, stinky monster afoot – and it’s stealing rotten food! Alexander and his friends must work together to take down this smelly fiend, chasing it all the way to their newest member, Dottie’s, mini golf birthday party. If that’s not bad enough, Alexander is forced to attend private classes with their mean – and possibly monstrous – principal, Ms. Vanderpants.

I think I have a new favorite Middle Grade series!

THE BAD GUYS by Aaron Blabey is just so FUN! In this new middle grade graphic novel series (I read the original BAD GUYS and the second installment, MISSION UNPLUCKABLE), Mr. Wolf sets out to show once and for all that he is NOT a bad guy! Along with three other antiheroes – Mr. Snake, Mr. Piranha, and Mr. Shark, they set out to prove that they’re more than their stereotypes. Starting “The Good Guys’ Club,” these four friends set out to rescue a cat from a tree and spring some dogs loose from the pound (I mean, if Mr. Snake can stop trying to eat Mr. Piranha).

Jack is a squirrel who's just a little bit smarter than others. He knows how to avoid traps, and he knows how to get around barriers to bird feeders. And he knows that the young boy, Collin, who sits outside in his wheelchair, will feed him treats.

He also knows that when the big yellow machines show up, it means more trees will be torn down and more human dens will appear. And now the big machines have shown up at the edge of the woods where his nest is.

But Jack -- so named by Collin -- has also learned something. He's learned what a wheel is, how it works -- and how it can be stopped. Using this tiny bit of knowledge, Squirrel communicates to the rest of the forest creatures and organizes them to work together to stop the machines from threatening their homes and their lives. But as Jack and the other animals are about to discover: a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing. Because humans don't like to lose.

Fantasy stories that find a person transported to another world have always been a staple in the industry. Whether the protagonist walks through a wardrobe or falls down a rabbit hole, falls asleep in a cave of mists (like Edgar Rice Burroughs' A PRINCESS OF MARS) or gets swallowed by a hippo at the zoo (Brandon Mull's BEYONDERS), the method is usually nothing more than a convenient story device to get Person A to Plot B for the sake of expediency so the action can begin.