In The Cabinet of Wonders by Maria Rutkoski, Petra goes on a quest to get back her father’s eyes from the cruel prince. A magical mechanical spider and a gypsy boy help her along the way. I enjoyed this fantasy that mixed magic and technology together. Other fans of fantasy should enjoy this one, too.
Book reviewed by Keary B., Youth Collection Specialist
If you’ve ever tried to help out but ended up making things worse, you know how Roscoe feels in Never Glue Your Friends to Chairs. This is the first book in the Roscoe Riley Rules Series. Trouble is brewing before the big recital when the drummers can’t sit still, and the bee antennae won’t stay on the kids’ heads. Roscoe steps in with his super-duper strong glue, and soon everything is sticking in place. I laughed the whole time reading about how Roscoe used super glue to glue his class to their chairs for their concert. If you like funny stories about school, you’d like this book.
Book reviewed by Keary B., Youth Collection Specialist
At first glance these four fifth graders have nothing in common. Well, that is, except that they are all named after flowers. So how do they become best friends? It all starts on the first day of school with an accident, a mean girl, and a lost turtle. The four girls will have to come together if they want to end a sinister plot by the reigning queen bee of the school. Luv Ya Bunches skips around from girl to girl to tell the story and even includes instant messages, online chats, and video scripts to liven it up. If you like stories about finding friends or fitting in, this book is for you! Recommended for grades 4-6.
Book reviewed by Keary B., Youth Collection Specialist
Looks may be deceiving with this title! The Robe of Skulls by Vivian French may look creepy, but it is really a lighthearted fantasy. Lady Lemorna wants a new dress but doesn’t have the money to pay for it so she comes up with a crazy plan to turn some princes into frogs and make their parents pay her to turn them back. Only Prince Marcus escapes being turned into a frog, and now he must save his brother with the help of some talking bats and a brave new friend. If you enjoy funny stories about princes, magic, and adventures, this book is for you!
Book reviewed by Keary B., Youth Collection Specialist Librarian
How do you have a book about colors without any colors? That’s just what Menena Cottin does in Black Book of Colors. She describes each color through the senses of smell, taste, touch and hearing, and the pages are all black with raised pictures you can feel! I loved reading what the color red tastes like and what green smells like. Read the book and see if you can describe the feel, taste or smell of a color too!
Book read by Keary B., Youth Collection Specialist Librarian
In Pandora Gets Jealous by Carolyn Hennesy, Pandy accidentally opens a strange box that releases plagues and all sorts of bad things into the world. Forced by Zeus to return all the evils, Pandy begins a quest to get jealousy back in the box with the help of some friends. If you like mythology, this updated version of Pandora’s Box is the book for you!
Book read by Keary D., Youth Collection Specialist Librarian
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart. Just the title makes me want to find out more. I don’t like being left out of a good secret, and neither does gifted orphan Renyie Muldoon, the hero of this post’s book. He takes a test at the urgings of his tutor only to find out that he has been recruited by a narcoleptic genius to infiltrate an isolated school. He, along with three other talented children, must attend the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened and find the cause of hidden messages being broadcast around the world by its strange founder, Mr. Curtain, all without anyone catching onto their secret mission or being brainwashed.
Book reviewed by Keary D., Youth Collection Specialist Librarian
What do you do when your town is going to be attacked by goblins, trolls, and other creatures, and you find out the town’s hero is a fake? Well, Mason Quayle, in Standard Hero Behavior by John David Anderson, decides to go on a quest for a hero, maybe even become one himself. Mason is joined in his quest by his best friend Cowel, a quill salesman. Along the way they meet all sorts of possible heroes and unusual characters, including a man who sword fights in his sleep, the daughter of two heroes, a werewolf hit man, an attractive young witch, and some angry pixies. Mason also finds out what happened to his hero father, who disappeared on a quest many years ago. Does Mason find a hero? Is the town saved from the goblin attack? Read the book and find out!
Book Reviewed by Keary D., Youth Collection Specialist Librarian
Blackbringer by Laini Taylor is the first book in a new series called The Faeries of Dreamdark (“faeries” is a fancy fantasy way of spelling the word “fairies”). In a world where once they were powerful, magical creatures, faeries have forgotten most of their history. Magpie Windwitch, devil hunter and granddaughter of the West Wind, is the only hope of saving the world and restoring the faeries to their former glory. Magpie must fight an ancient evil creature, the Blackbringer, who escaped from his bottle, before he unmakes all of creation (“Unmakes all of creation” is a fancy fantasy way of saying “Destroys the world”). To do this she must awaken the great Djinn, who created the world, and she must outsmart an evil queen. She is aided by a group of crows, a faerie prince who can’t fly, and other magical creatures. This is a fun read for any fantasy fan. Watch for others in the series, too!
Book reviewed by Keary D., Youth Collection Specialist Librarian
