Again, so many fantasy fiction books, so few readers in my library. There must be a lot of tweens who do enjoy fantasy, based on the number of books published each year, but I need to spread my limited budget around. See if these are something that would do well in your library.
August 13, 2024 by Scholastic
E ARC Provided by Edelweiss Plus
We all would love to have wishes granted, but it's a process that often has difficulties. Voigt, who absolutely ruled the 1980s Young Adult scene with titles like The Tillerman Saga (1981), Izzy Willy-Nilly(1986), and Tell Me if the Lovers Are Losers (1982), is back after a long break with a middle grade fantasy title. In it, four children all find envelopes delivered to them with instructions to "make a wish". Bug, whose large family is crowded into an apartment over the family's sporting goods store, initially wishes to win a skateboard and then a Lego set, but eventually finds that these wishes were wasted, and that he is happiest when he helps people find what they should wish for and help it come true. Zoe wishes for her parents to stop fighting, only to have them stop speaking to each other. Her father moves out, and the parents even want to split up her and her brother, Connor. How can she reframe that wish? Casey wishes for a dog even though she knows her busy and abrasive mother, Faye, won't allow one. Instead, a neighbor asks Casey to dog sit Calvin, and when the neighbor doesn't return, it takes some wise wishing to be allowed to keep her new pet. Finally, Billy wishes to have a unicorn, and is happy to hang out with the magical creature and race it, but he soon realizes that a wish that makes him happy might not make the unicorn happy.
There have been a few middle grade books that deal with wishes. Snyder's Bigger Than a Breadbox is similar to this book, since it deals with the fact that items and things wished for come at a cost. Hubbard's You Wish involves a lifetime of birthday wishes, so is rather charming. Whitesides' The Wishmakers is probably my favorite because it's goofy and action packed. Reader who enjoyed the Best Wishes series (by a variety of authors, including Sarah Mlynowski, Debbie Rigaud, and Christina Soontornvat) might like this new book, which evokes classic tales of everyday magic like MacDonald's Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and Eager's Half Magic.
August 6, 2024 by Scholastic Press
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
I enjoyed the character of Freddie, and was especially interested in her interactions with her Ông ngoại (grandfather), as well as the traveling around Vietnam.
From the Publisher:
When Vietnamese American Freddie Lỗ finds herself in Vietnam for the first time since she was little, she's not quite sure how to feel. The memories of her extended family are more like distant echoes; she has a tough time speaking Vietnamese; and she can't help but feel like she just isn't Vietnamese enough.
Still, this is her chance to reconnect with her family, especially her Ông ngoại -- or grandfather -- who is receiving a lifetime achievement award. But when Ông ngoại is kidnapped, it's up to Freddie, her cousin Liên, and a mysterious boy named Duy to get to the crossbow before it ends up in the wrong hands.
In this Indiana Jones–style adventure, readers will travel through Vietnam -- from its seaside villages, through remote jungles, to the majestic Marble Mountains of Đà Nẵng -- as Freddie learns what it takes to be a hero.
Abe, Julie. Tessa Miyata is So Unlucky
Still, this is her chance to reconnect with her family, especially her Ông ngoại -- or grandfather -- who is receiving a lifetime achievement award. But when Ông ngoại is kidnapped, it's up to Freddie, her cousin Liên, and a mysterious boy named Duy to get to the crossbow before it ends up in the wrong hands.
In this Indiana Jones–style adventure, readers will travel through Vietnam -- from its seaside villages, through remote jungles, to the majestic Marble Mountains of Đà Nẵng -- as Freddie learns what it takes to be a hero.
August 20, 2024 byLittle, Brown Books for Young Readers
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
I enjoyed the fact that Tessa and Jin became good friends. Of course they get magical powers and get invited to a magical school. That's always fun for middle grade readers, but why are there no books about teachers at magical schools? This is a good choice if culturally connected fantasy novels circulate well in your middle school library.
From the Publisher:
In this thrilling new adventure, Tessa Miyata and her best friend Jin must battle the gods... and win. With magic abound and stakes higher than ever, this is a perfect pick for fans of Amari and the Night Brothers! After her first adventure in Tokyo, Tessa Miyata is having the best summer of her life with her best friend, Jin. Still, she wonders if she'll ever see Kit, the mythical Unlucky God that Tessa and Jin freed, or the last magical city again.
Then, Tessa and Jin get magical, talking invitations informing them that they've been chosen to attend the Academy of Gods– to battle immortals on behalf of the Unlucky God! Win, and they'll be given the gift of immortality. Lose, and they'll forget everything they learned about the magical city and Kit will cease to exist. Tessa and Jin may be God Blessed, but they’re mortals amongst gods... Can they defeat the other clans? or will they lose Kit forever?
In this thrilling new adventure, Tessa Miyata and her best friend Jin must battle the gods... and win. With magic abound and stakes higher than ever, this is a perfect pick for fans of Amari and the Night Brothers! After her first adventure in Tokyo, Tessa Miyata is having the best summer of her life with her best friend, Jin. Still, she wonders if she'll ever see Kit, the mythical Unlucky God that Tessa and Jin freed, or the last magical city again.
Then, Tessa and Jin get magical, talking invitations informing them that they've been chosen to attend the Academy of Gods– to battle immortals on behalf of the Unlucky God! Win, and they'll be given the gift of immortality. Lose, and they'll forget everything they learned about the magical city and Kit will cease to exist. Tessa and Jin may be God Blessed, but they’re mortals amongst gods... Can they defeat the other clans? or will they lose Kit forever?
August 20, 2024 by Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
The African folklore was very interesting, but this seemed very familiar because there was magic that had been damaged by evil rulers, and a tween that has to save the world and find out her own history. I might have bought it, since it's a good length, but the cover looks very young. An engaging story for readers who enjoyed Okorafor's Ikenga, Smith's Where the Black Flowers Bloomed, Perry's Cameron Battle and the Hidden Kingdoms, and Hendrix's Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans.
From the publisher:
Though the land of Kun used to be lush and green, Amara has only ever known her homeland as a dry, dusty desert. When the griots vanished more than a decade ago, they took their magic with them, along with goddess Oala’s gifts of rain and plenty, leaving Kun controlled by a powerful and uncaring king. And though her foster mother, Zirachi, assures her that Kun is not under a curse, Amara can’t help but wonder if her own origin, which is shrouded in mystery, is somehow linked to the broken kingdom.
When Amara and Zirachi are attacked by the Nkume, the fearsome king’s guard, Amara must flee, leaving all that she has known behind. With nowhere to go but knowing that she is under Oala’s protection, Amara sets off to do the find the griots and save Kun before the kingdom blows away like dust.
When Amara and Zirachi are attacked by the Nkume, the fearsome king’s guard, Amara must flee, leaving all that she has known behind. With nowhere to go but knowing that she is under Oala’s protection, Amara sets off to do the find the griots and save Kun before the kingdom blows away like dust.
August 27, 2024 by Aladdin
E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus
The Pied Piper story is a deeply creepy one, and isn't retold much in middle grade literature; Cody's The Peddler's Road and Skurzynski's What Happened in Hamelin (1979) are the only ones I can think of. The divorce, and Sam's feelings about it, would have been great in a realistic fiction book, but wishes gone wrong are always appealing.
From the Publisher:
From the Publisher:
Sam Windsor’s parents and younger siblings, Grayson and Addie, are his whole world, so when his parents announce they’re separating, Sam is devastated. He’d do anything to make his parents change their minds and keep the family together. When a stranger offers a flute made of bone that supposedly grants the player’s wish, Sam doesn’t really believe it will work but figures he has nothing to lose.
Surprisingly, the wish on the skeleton flute comes true. The next day, his parents are happily in love, with no plans for his dad to leave. But there’s a major problem: his parents’ relationship isn’t the only thing in his life that has changed, and some of the changes are definitely for the worse.
Caught in a world full of unintended consequences and familiar strangers, Sam has limited options for returning to his old life—worries, challenges, and all. Can he track down the mysterious man who gave him the flute and undo his wish?
Alston, B.B. Amari and the Despicable Wonders
Surprisingly, the wish on the skeleton flute comes true. The next day, his parents are happily in love, with no plans for his dad to leave. But there’s a major problem: his parents’ relationship isn’t the only thing in his life that has changed, and some of the changes are definitely for the worse.
Caught in a world full of unintended consequences and familiar strangers, Sam has limited options for returning to his old life—worries, challenges, and all. Can he track down the mysterious man who gave him the flute and undo his wish?
August 27, 2024 by Balzer + Bray
I'll have to wait until I get the library copy of this one to read it, since no advanced copies were available.
From the Publisher:
War has come to the supernatural world, and Amari’s two worst enemies are leading the charge.
Elaine Harlowe has manipulated her way into becoming prime minister, using her mind control ability to force the Bureau to take up her vicious grudge against magiciankind. Meanwhile, Dylan Van Helsing, the newly crowned leader of the League of Magicians—and Amari’s former partner—is after a destructive new power that would not only ensure the magicians’ victory . . . it would make him invincible.
With neither the Bureau nor the League safe for Amari, and her newly returned brother, Quinton, determined to keep her out of the fray, she and her friends decide to find a way to end the war on their own.
So when they learn that the only way to stop Dylan is to find powerful magical inventions known as Wonders, they go after them. But wielding these items comes at a terrible cost, and Amari will have to decide just how much she’s willing to sacrifice . . . because the Despicable Wonders will demand everything.
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