Pick 6: Magic graphic novels

Spells, faeries, witches, giants. Magical elements seem to resonate with young readers and can make for really exciting reading. This is especially true when it comes to graphic novels. Strong illustrations add to the wonder of reading about magic. Here are six graphic novels published in the past six months that feature magic. 

6 new magic graphic novels

1. Sprite and the Gardener by Joe Whitt
2. Wynd: Flight of the Prince by James Tynion
3. The Okay Witch: The Hungry Shadow by Emma Steinkeller
4. The Accursed Vampire by Madeline McGrane
5. Mel the Chosen by Rachell Aragano
6. The Weirn Books by Svetlana Chmakova 
   

Non-fiction book review - Volcano

 

Volcano by Mary M Cerullo

Volcanoes are a subject we often falsely believe to be simple. A crack in the earth that spews out lava and ash, right? Even a simple book like this will prove just how inaccurate that belief actually is. Here we learn about different volcano forms and classifications; the most active volcanoes; the reasons they form and the warning signs that they may erupt. The information is presented with enough detail to inform but not so much that we get bogged down in dry science. The text is accessible, vocabulary terms well explained. There's even a section on folklore and people's relationships with volcanoes. All of the information is well supported by photos and charts.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - In the Wild Light

 

Title: In the Wild Light

Author: Jeff Zentner

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: The Quantum Weirdness of the Almost Kiss by Amy Noelle Parks

                     Paper Towns by John Green

Rating:

 

lovely

Summary (provided by publisher): Life in a small Appalachian town is not easy. Cash lost his mother to an opioid addiction and his Papaw is dying slowly from emphysema. Dodging drug dealers and watching out for his best friend, Delaney, is second nature. He's been spending his summer mowing lawns while she works at Dairy Queen.
But when Delaney manages to secure both of them full rides to an elite prep school in Connecticut, Cash will have to grapple with his need to protect and love Delaney, and his love for the grandparents who saved him and the town he would have to leave behind.

My opinion: At face value, this is a pretty simple story. Perhaps even predicable. For me, this does not matter. There's something about Zentner's writing style that makes me forgiving of apparent simplicity. For one thing, the characters are complex. Much of the page space is devoted not to events but to reflections. To Cash contemplating his history and his future. It's relative poverty and limited opportunities come face to face with privilege. We meet characters dealing with different prejudices and limitations. All together we have a plot that feels fairly inevitable and because the characters are realistic and nuanced we go along with them to that inevitable conclusion.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Hide and Don't Seek

 

Title: Hide and Don't Seek 

Author: Anica Mrose Rissi

Genre: horror/short stories

Similar books: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark by Alvin Schwartz

                      The Fearsome Foursome by Amicus Arcane

Rating:

 

I get the appeal

Summary (provided by publisher):A game of hide-and-seek goes on far too long…
A look-alike doll makes itself right at home…
A school talent-show act leaves the audience aghast…
And a summer at camp takes a turn for the braaaains…
This collection of all-new spooky stories is sure to keep readers up past their bedtimes, looking over their shoulders to see what goes bump in the night.

My opinion: This style of book has enduring appeal. The short story format is an excellent one to introduce horror to young readers. They get the scare without having to invest days or weeks into reading the build up of character and complex rules to explain fear. This collection is more technology focused than the standard bearer of horror collections: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. Still, we can see the relationship between them as well as the influence of "Black Mirror". Personally I don't find these stories especially scary but I can see where they might induce dread in a young reader.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

 

Graphic Novel Spotlight - Pax Samson

 

Pax Samson: The Cookout by Rashad Doucet

Superheroes are the standard when we're talking about graphic novels. Most people expect the standards: Superman, Spider-man, that sort of thing. These stories explore the pressures of the superhero life, the need to keep a secret identity, balancing personal lives. Stuff that isn't especially relatable for kids. That leads to books like Pax Samson, the story of a world with many superheroes. Our hero is learning how to be a hero, practicing and building up his abilities. He has other interests too and is allowed to explore them. He fights villains but also gathers rare ingredients for new recipes. Both of his interests are given equal value by the author and the characters. The plot also explores the history of this world and the effects of perspective. Enough nuance to make it good for discussion but not so much as to make it a difficult read.

 

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Non-fiction book review - Pando

 

Pando by Kate Allen Fox

I've had a minor obsession with Pando since I learned about it from a podcast a while back. I was eager to see how Fox would present the information. This is a fairly basic introduction to the organism and it's history, with an emphasis on preservation and the importance of ecology. If you're looking for a way to show kids that there is more to trees than they think, give Pando a look.

More information: Pando releases August 15. 

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

Book review - Buried Beneath

 

Title: Buried Beneath

Author: Kelly Ann Hopkins

Genre: realistic fiction

Similar books: The Library of Lost Things by Laura Taylor Namey

                      Lucky Girl by Jamie Pacton

Rating:

 

it has some problems

Summary (provided by publisher): On the outside, Shelly Frank lives a normal teenage life, balancing her gas station job and a budding new relationship with a boy from school. But on the inside, she’s harboring a dark secret: her mother is an extreme hoarder. Within the pristine, outer walls of their beautiful New Jersey home, Shelly and her mother are living amidst piles of collected trash from her mother’s disorder, and Shelly is at her breaking point.
By some miracle, Shelly is offered a chance to escape when she receives a plane ticket to Florida from her estranged father, but she’s met with a decision: should she flee this life of filth and seize the opportunity of a future in the Sunshine State? Or should she risk her own health and sanity by staying with her mother who is helpless without her? When Shelly becomes gravely sick from years of living in her mother’s nest, her decision is staring her in the face. She needs to save herself, but her mother is willing to do everything in her power to prevent that from happening.

My opinion: The base elements of this book are becoming standard: a single mother with a hoarding disorder and the daughter trying to live a "normal" life within the chaos. There are a few elements that make this one stand out from the crowd. For one, the hoarding doesn't have a distinct trigger. It's a part of a complex net of mental disorders that also means it is not easily resolved. Her mother can't seem to track reality. And that begins my trouble with this book. The mother character in particular has no consistent characterization. And the other people in Shelly's life are extremely idealized. Each plot element goes to an extreme. This makes the book increasingly difficult to accept. While I liked some parts of it, especially the conclusion, I found the overall package too much to swallow.

Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley