Category: Fiction

Posted in Fiction, Horror, Middle Grade, Teen, Tween Reads, Young Adult/New Adult

Scary stories to tell… well, anytime you want, really

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Fatal Glitch: Ground Zero, by Erin Entrada Kelly & Eliot Schrefer/Illustrated by Jeannette Arroyo, (July 2026, Stonefruit Studio), $14.99, ISBN: 9781464241048

Ages 8-12

This new middle grade horror series hits perfect for Goosebumps readers who are ready to take it up a notch. In Ground Zero, we meet Sofia, an 11-year-old gamer who’s not really a wonderful person. She’s being sent to Camp Forestjaw after an incident involving her older sister, and we get that she’s pretty wrapped up in the game Sandbox (think Minecraft). She blows off her dad and when she meets the other campers in her cabin – all Sandbox players – she forms some pretty rude opinions of them, too. When Monarch, their camp administrator, introduces them to the Razors – creepy mechanical vultures – and hooded, spooky NPCs, all the campers are unsettled. And then the eliminations begin. Players vote one another off, and the loser is carried off to who knows where by one of the Razors. Sofia, convinced she’s got a Sandbox pot of gold at the end of her rainbow, plays her best Survivor game, attempting to double-cross and gaslight her way to the finish line. But that’s not the way it works in this tale of comeuppance and just desserts. Illustrated with black-and-white pictures and featuring shorter chapters, this is great for readers who are just hitting their chapter book stride or who may not yet have the attention span for longer novels. Looking forward to the next book in this technology gone bad series. A recommended first purchase.

 

School Bus Graveyard Volume 1, by Red (June 2026, Webtoon), $18.99, ISBN: 9798217122875

Ages 14+

Ashlyn is a high school loner forced to make friends when a field trip goes awry and leaves her cursed. Now, she and her classmates are the only ones who see smiling phantoms in the night, and when the clock strikes midnight, the skies turn red and the teens are pulled into a parallel universe filled with the horrible creatures. The teens gather in the school bus parking lot – the “graveyard” – to strategize and survive. Ashlyn is forced to let her guard down and trust her classmates in hopes of finding the secret to breaking the curse. This volume collects episodes 1-32 of the Webtoon series and includes extra art from the author. Creepy, with laughs placed to break up the tension, this has some great moments that Webtoon fans, graphic novel readers, and horror aficionados will enjoy. The smiling monsters are chilling and watching the group figure out how to combat them and learn to rely on one another makes for a great story. Look out for a live-action adaptation, and in the meantime, read up on the WebToon here.

 

Posted in Fiction, Fiction, Intermediate, Realistic Fiction

Yay, SportsBall! Kids’ books about sports

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

I’m not as up on sports as some folks in my family (and most folks in my library) are, but that never stopped me from enjoying a good book to recommend. Here are some good ones to keep in mind.

Hut, Hut, Hike! (Sports Zone #1), by Andrew Maraniss/Illustrated by Aishwarya Tandon, (Sept. 2025, Scholastic Branches), $6.99, ISBN: 9781546120056

Ages 7-10

Nine-year-old Jasper is a football legend – in his own mind. When he and his dad play football in their living room, he’s a champ! But he quickly learns, when he and his friends Mo and Ruby try out for the flag football team, that he has a lot to learn. When Jasper’s team, the Frogs, plays their first game against the Beagles, Jasper is worried: will the coach bench him, or will he be able to play – and if he plays, will he do well? The Sports Zone series is a new series from Scholastic’s Branches line of chapter books and is a fun and easy read for newly independent readers. Maraniss creates situations that kids will see themselves in, including that nagging little voice that makes Jasper worry that he’s not good enough. Throw in two great friends and a coach who speaks in metaphors no one can seem to understand, and you have a story that readers will return to. Black-and-white artwork on every page includes graphic novel-type panels, breaking up the action into decodable chunks. Interesting sports facts run throughout. Fun questions and activities give the reader playful challenges.

The Sports Zone series has a book about soccer (Corner Kick!) out now, and one on baseball (Grand Slam!) coming in August. All of the books include this core group of characters, providing nice familiarity. Characters are diverse.

Posted in Fiction, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction, Tween Reads

Middle Grade Must-Read: Smoke & Mirrors by Rosalyn Ransaw

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Smoke & Mirrors, by Rosalyn Ransaw, (June 2025, Amulet Books), $18.99, ISBN: 9781419770135

Ages 8-12

Andy Carter is having a lousy summer. He’s spending the summer with his aunt because his father’s parole hearing was postponed. He’s the only Black kid in a small Midwestern town, and he ended up taking the fall for a dumb prank that set at neighbor’s barn on fire. To repay the damage, Andy must help Mr. Gilbert – the barn’s gruff owner – renovate his crumbling home, a mansion with a mysterious history. As Andy and Mr. Gilbert work on the house together, Andy learns that the house was once owned by a magician called the Red Knave. In 1954, the Knave was a suspect in a murder that shook the town, but he disappeared before he could be questioned, leaving generations of townsfolk to believe he was guilty. It doesn’t make sense to Andy, who starts his own investigation into the mystery. It’s a mystery that necessitates him teaming up with someone he doesn’t trust: one of the kids who was there the night he took the fall for the burning barn. There are incredible twists that readers won’t see coming in this incredibly readable mystery that also takes a look at the culture of contemporary racism in the American Midwest. Characters are beautifully brought to life; Andy, in particular, has depth and backstory that immediately endears him to readers. Do not miss this one.

Smoke & Mirrors is a debut novel from Ransaw and received starred reviews from Kirkus and Booklist.

Posted in Horror, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Cosmic horror lets loose in the Hamptons?! You’ve Awoken Her

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

You’ve Awoken Her, by Ann Dávila Cardinal, (June 2025, HarperCollins), $19.99, ISBN: 9780063299559

Ages 12+

HOLY COW, folks, you are going to love this book. I’ve been on a bit of a spooky kick for a little bit, and this tale was everything I needed between two tidy covers. Gabriel – Gabi to his friends – is a kid living in Astoria, Queens. His best friend, Ruthie, has moved away and is living the posh life in the Hamptons, and he’s on his way to spend some time with her, despite a warning from a complete stranger on the train platform that “they’ve awoken her”. It’s New York, he figures it’s nonsense – despite that creepy feeling in his gut – and heads to the Hamptons, where he sees Ruthie is a party girl and so different from the girl he knew. And he’s not thrilled with her smug rich-boy boyfriend, Frost, either. When a woman drowns by the water at one of Frost’s parties, AND he sees what looks suspiciously like a tentacle near the drowning woman – he starts digging into the town’s secrets. When more residents start dying, Gabi knows that his discomfort is about so much more than Hamptons society: he’s sure Frost is behind this somehow. Now, he just has to convince Ruthie that he’s not jealous of her new boyfriend or new lifestyle. Cardinal hooks readers from page one and doesn’t let up, introducing exciting characters and creepy scenarios. She also takes on Lovecraft by reframing cosmic horror in an inclusive, diverse lens: Gabi is Puerto Rican; there are LGBTQ+ characters in the story. More importantly, Cardinal addresses Lovecraft’s shortcomings within the story while creating a new way of reading and enjoying works influenced by his ideas. Don’t miss this book – it’s a good one.

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Apocalyptic Bargains! Check out Aisle Nine!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Aisle Nine, by Ian X. Cho, (Sept. 2024, HarperCollins), $19.99, ISBN: 9780063206809

Ages 13+

Jasper is a 17-year-old checkout clerk working in the local discount store. He puts up with all the things store clerks do, like bickering customers or customers who want to use one coupon for an entire shelf’s worth of toilet paper. The one thing that sets Jasper apart is that his store has a demonic portal in Aisle 9. It’s been closed off to the general public, sure, but every now and then, something will come through and he has to help shut the store down until the entity is dealt with. Jasper also has amnesia, so he has no idea what his life was like before, but he’s heard from everyone around him that Hell Portal Day – the day portals opened up all over the world and the demons attacked – was pretty terrible. He’s pretty sure, from the claw marks in his carpet, that he lost his parents on Hell Portal Day, too. His store manager lets staff know that the coming Black Friday – the start to holiday shopping season – is going to be the biggest one in recent memory, and as Jasper tries piecing together bits of his memory, he learns more and more about Hell Portal Day, the corporate entity that claims to protect the citizenry from the demons, and even the people he work with. Bitingly witty, Cho introduces us to a hero we can root for while taking aim at corporations monetizing terror in a way that readers will laugh at and shake their heads in agreement with. Supporting characters, including an adorable sidekick and a strong female love interest, make things even more interesting. Cho deftly mixes comedy with horror and a touch of romance in a dystopian setting. This is a great choice for YA collections.

 

Posted in Fiction, Horror, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Chopping Spree: Back to the Mall!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Chopping Spree, by Angela Sylvaine, (Sept. 2024, Dark Matter INK), $14.99, ISBN: 9781958598313

Ages 14+

I am a woman of a certain age, and that certain age involved reading Stephen King before I entered my teens, and watching movies where a lunatic chased teens, and hanging out at the mall. Chopping Spree ticks off all of those boxes: I mean, look at this cover! Let’s dive into this novella: set in the present-day, the action in Chopping Mall takes place in a mall that’s all about giving folks the ’80s experience, from the hits piped through the speakers to the pastel colors. Penny is a high school junior who works at the mall, working at a trendy store run by her best friend’s parents. The town has been besieged by disappearing teens, and Penny has her own thoughts on the matter but doesn’t want her cool coworkers to think she’s some kind of conspiracy nut. When an after-work part goes horribly awry, though, Penny and her friends find themselves the target of a killer let loose in the mall, and she’s about to learn some very dark secrets about her town.

I had a blast reading Chopping Spree. It’s quick, it’s fun, and it never takes itself too seriously. With an over-the-top reveal and an ending that will leave readers shrieking with glee, it’s Tales from the Darkside-level joy. With Halloween coming, now’s the perfect time to put this on a display right next to Stranger Things.

Posted in Animal Fiction, Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Realistic Fiction

Elephant Touch is about healing and resilience

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Elephant Touch, by Susan R. Greenway, (Sept. 2024, SparkPress), $14.99, ISBN: 9781684632688

Ages 9-13

Animal lovers and fiction readers will immediately know there’s something special about this meditation on grief, loss, and healing. Quinn is a girl grieving her mother’s loss; she and her aunt visit a Thai elephant sanctuary in hopes that helping care for elephants will bring them some healing. Quinn initially resists the experience, but bonds with an abused elephant, Sumana, who lovingly rests her trunk on the girl. The sanctuary welcomes a baby elephant, Lee Lawa Dee, who witnessed her mother’s death at the hands of poachers and has stopped eating. Quinn, desperate to help save the elephant, insists that Sumana can help Lee Lawa Dee, but is rebuffed by the staff. Using her connection to the elephants and powered by her grief and desire to save a life, Quinn takes matters into her own hands – which may bring consequences for Quinn and her aunt. Greenway writes with empathy and feeling that will leave readers rooting her Quinn, Sumana, and Lee Lawa Dee. It’s an emotional read: Quinn’s reactions to the abuse endured by the elephants before arriving at the sanctuary are a stand-in for the reader. Readers invested in the characters will rejoice at the story’s end. A sweet crush on another volunteer, a boy named Hunter, adds interest. Animal fiction readers who loved books like Ali Benjamin’s The Thing About Jellyfish (2015), and Alina Chau’s Marshmallow & Jordan (also about elephants, 2021). Get this one on your shelves!

Posted in Fiction, Horror, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Remy Lai goes horror with Read at Your Own Risk

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Read at Your Own Risk, by Remy Lai, (Aug. 2024, Henry Holt & Co.), $13.99, ISBN: 9781250323354

Ages 8-12

Lai goes full-on horror with her latest book, and I am delighted. I have been a fan of Lai’s since I read Pie in the Sky and love her talent for tender family stories. With Read at Your Own Risk, the author uses an illustrated diary format, similar to Pie in the Sky but with more illustration. The book reads as the diary of a girl named Hannah, who played a game with her friends but is now cursed, and is filled with the creepiest, crawliest storytelling that will delight middle graders. Lai’s characters remind me of Junji Ito’s human characters, sporting wide black eyes and creepy smiles; during Hannah’s interactions with the spirit – played out in the diary itself – we get loose teeth, drops of blood, and sinister wordplay. Illustrations are black and white, with splashes of red for gore – I mean, good – measure. Your Goosebumps readers are going to squeal with terrified joy at this one. A must-purchase.

Read at Your Own Risk has a starred review from Kirkus.

Posted in Fiction, Historical Fiction, Intermediate, picture books, Realistic Fiction

Mamie Tape Fights to Go to School – historical fiction based in reality

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Mamie Tape Fights to Go to School, by Traci Huahn/Illustrated by Michelle Jing Chang, (May 2024, Crown Books for Young Readers), $19.99, ISBN: 9780593644027

Ages 4-8

Mamie Tape was an 8-year old Chinese girl who fought, alongside her family, to attend school during a time when America was openly hostile to Chinese immigrants – while they labored to build the country. Mamie played alongside the white children in her San Francisco town, but was not allowed to attend the all-white school. Defining her struggle with on the Chinese proverb, “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”, Traci Huahn and Michelle Jing Chang bring Mamie and her family to life on the page. Huahn tells Mamie’s story and does not shy away from the virulent racism of the time, noting that the school principal told her, “Your kind is not welcome here”; that a preacher in favor of educating Chinese children had his home vandalized; that newspapers of the day resorted to using words like “heathen”, “barbarian”, “trouble”, and “disaster” to refer to children. Chang’s illustrations show the Chinese community in protest, the disappointed faces of the Tape family, and the determination of young Mamie Tape, who made the decision to continue pushing forward to attend school. Back matter includes an epilogue to the Chinese Primary School, which opened in 1885 and where Mamie and her brother Frank attended; an author’s note on the Tape family, complete with photos, and a selected bibliography. Endpapers continue the story by showing Mamie staring out the window of her home, and eventually running, with her brother, dressed for school. A very good study of American attitudes toward the Chinese community and a good addition to historical picture book collections.

Posted in Fiction, Fiction, geek culture, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Middle School, Realistic Fiction, Tween Reads

Table Titans Club – read it!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Table Titans Club, by Scott Kurtz, (March 2024, Holiday House), $22.99, ISBN: 9780823453160

Ages 8-12

Eisner Award Winner Scott Kurtz crafts a hands-down fantastic story about the power of a good role-playing group in this middle grade graphic novel. Val – short for Valeria – is the new kid in school, and she’s got a bit of a temper. Luckily, a schoolmate named Andrew decides she’s just what the Table Titans – a school role-playing group – needs in their campaign. He and friends Alan and Darius invite Val to be part of the group, and Val discovers she loves the game and the fact that she’s finally found a place where she feels like she belongs. But the teacher who sponsors the group is about to go out on leave, and unless they can secure another teacher sponsor, the Table Titans are looking at an early retirement. Val agrees to join the school’s wrestling team in return for having the coach sponsor the group, and takes on Kate, a fellow classmate who seems to have it out for Val. But why? Table Titans touches on the basics of being in a fantasy role-playing group, and the storytelling is there as a support for Val’s story, as she learns to navigate new friendships and work on controlling her reactions to people around her. Support characters are recognizable and relatable. Kurtz’s artwork is vibrant, bold, and fun to read. All around, an excellent addition to graphic novel collections and another great entry into the gaming-centric stories that have been published lately. Anything that shows folks gaming as social-emotional learning is tops with me. Don’t miss this one.

Table Titans Club has a starred review from Booklist.

Scott Kurtz’s website is a treasure trove of webcomics, including his Table Titans series that follows a group of Dungeons & Dragons players in and out of the game (not the characters from Table Titans Club).