Keynan Masters and the Peerless Magic Crew

Sanders, DaVaun. Keynan Masters and the Peerless Magic Crew

October 17, 2023 by Inkyard Press

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Keynan lives with his mother and father in Bizzy Block, in a slightly futuristic dystopia where no one drives cars and relies on drones instead because of the frequency and severity of storms. He is content to help his parents with the crops, write poetry, and attend virtual school through Build-a-Scholar, where his best friend is Starbreaker. His parents, however, are obsessed with the idea that he attend Peerless Academy. Keynan doesn't want to go, and even when he gets a very insistent letter and agrees to go, he chickens out at the last minute. When a terrible storm hits Bizzy Block not long after that, Keynan thinks that if he attends Peerless, he might find a way to stop the storms. Taking a huge risk, he makes his way to the academy, which gets him in big trouble with Headmaster Kinder, since students were put into danger looking for him. Once of these students is first year scholar Leah, who doesn't mind, because she was hoping to see her older sister Yolanda out on the patrol. Keynan is put on the Wiley Squad, named for the professor in charge, and tries to get along with his squad members, including Amari. He has an easier time with that than getting along with Dez, who seems to have it out for Keynan. When the group starts to notice that the building and rooms keep changing, and that the storms around the academy keep increasing, Keynan is worried that it is his fault. He does discover that his poetry has magical qualities, but is he combining different types of arts in ways that are causing storms? When he and his friends accidentally unleash some evil, they don't feel that the can tell their professors about it. Instead, they must hone their skills and hope that a good performance at the recital will save the school. Will it be enough? And what is the secret behind Keynan's parents? There looks to be another book needed to explain the final pages!

Strengths: Keynan is an engaging character who is apprehensive about going away to a magical boarding school; that's new and refreshing. He does have a lot of motivation, since his mother was badly traumatized by the storms, and he hopes to find a way to make them not as bad. The adults at the academy are vaguely evil, but just the right amount; they are hiding things from the students more than making things hard for them. The connection between Keynan's poetry and magic was interesting, and this is a good choice for any student who is fond of writing. The cover is great.
Weaknesses: I love poetry, but my students tend not to. This starts with Keynan scribbling his verses, but I think with some encouragement, my students will struggle through that part of the book to get to the magical academy part. Even though I'm not a fan of info dumps, I could have used a little more information about the state of Keynan's world. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who can't get enough magical academy books like Alston's Amari and the Night Brothers, Clayton's The Marvellers, Perry's Cameron Battle, Hendrix's Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans, and Okogwu's Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun.

More fantasty books that you need to keep in mind!

Lee, Yoon Ha, Fox Snare. (Thousand Worlds #3)

October 17, 2023 by Rick Riordan Presents 

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

This is the conclusion to this trilogy by the author of Dragon Pearl. 

From the Publisher:

"While on a mission to cement peace between the Sun Clans and the Thousand Worlds, Min the fox spirit and her ghost brother Jun get stranded on a death planet with Haneul the dragon spirit and Sebin the tiger spirit. To survive, the young cadets will have to rely on all their wits, training, and supernatural abilities. And let's not forget the Dragon Pearl . . .

Cervantes, Angela. Dawn of the Jaguar (Shadow Bruja #2)

October 10, 2023 by Rick Riordan Presents 

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus 

From the Publisher: "Best-selling author Rick Riordan presents the breathtaking finale to J. C. Cervantes's Maya-inspired Shadow Bruja duology, in which Ren makes a bargain for her life.

Shadow bruja Ren Santiago was relentlessly pursued by the evil Aztec Lords of Night, who claimed that she was destined to be their queen, a destiny she wasn't willing to accept. So she chose death instead.

Too bad death wasn't the answer to her problems. Ren soon realizes she must return to the land of the living to make things right. Unfortunately, that means negotiating with Ixtab, queen of the underworld. Ixtab offers her ten days aboveground in exchange for the discarded crown of jade and shadow. If Ren fails, she will return to the darkness for eternity. Ren agrees, knowing full well that she also has to save her friends Marco, Monty, and Edison and, while she's at it, put those pesky Lords of Night back to sleep forever.

The only problem is, Ren lost her shadow magic and time rope when she lost her life. How will Ren manage to accomplish what feels impossible? The answer lies not in manipulating shadows or time, but in recognizing the awesome power that has always been inside her."