fantasy – Page 14 – Mom Read It

Adventure, Fantasy, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

The Fifth Vertex – a young warrior discovers his true power

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Fifth Vertex, by Kevin Hoffman (Aug. 2014) $11.99, ISBN: 978-0990647911

Recommended for ages 14+

Urus is a boy born into a warrior society, but he’s failed his warrior tests and is about to branded as a public burden – until all hell breaks loose. At the same time, an orphaned girl named Cailix, who has been living as a servant among a society of monks, finds herself on the run after a strange group of men slaughters her caretakers. What follows is a hero’s journey that will reveal to both Urus and Cailix who they really are: Urus comes from a line of Sigilords, who wield the power to create using ancient symbols, and Cailix discovers more about her origins than she could have ever imagined.

This is new fantasy series, self-published by the author, that really takes the classic hero’s quest and runs with it. Urus, who is deaf, must learn to rise above his low self-esteem and take control of the gifts he possesses – gifts only recently revealed to him. Cailix discovers her own gifts possess devastating power – but if used for good, can she turn things around? The two must figure these questions out while under the gun to save their world from a group of sorcerers determined to destroy five hidden vertices that protect their world.

This was a good read and a good start to a new fantasy adventure series for teens. There is a lot of slaughter and blood here – Urus’ society is a warrior society, and they’re fighting a band of sorcerers who use blood magic, so expect a bloodbath. If that’s not your thing, then this is not your series. I have no issue with it, and I thought the way Mr. Hoffman worked Urus’ deafness into the story, interweaving his with his signing ability as a sigilord, was really well done. We’ve got some multiculturalism in the character descriptions, a strong female lead, and a few different hidden origins and conspiracies, all laying the groundwork for subsequent books. It’s a good start for fantasy fans who want something new to read.

Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Uncategorized

Maddy Kettle: The Adventure of the Thimblewitch gives kids a new heroine to follow

Posted on September 28, 2014August 29, 2020 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Maddy Kettle, Book 1: The Adventure of the Thimblewitch, by Eric Orchard (Sept. 2014, Top Shelf Comics), $14.95, ISBN: 9781603090728

Recommended for ages 8-14

Maddy Kettle is an 11 year-old on a mission. Her parents have been turned into kangaroo rats by the Thimblewitch, so she sets out with her pet space toad, Ralph, to find the witch and get her to restore them. She will have to evade goblin spiders and scarecrow soldiers, and she’ll meet a bear and raccoon team of cloud cartographers who map the skies as she sets out on her journey.

This story is a great illustration of people’s perceptions, and how they can be so very wrong. It’s a great story for parents and kids to read together, and one that teachers should be using in the classroom, accompanied by a discussion on perception versus reality, and how we judge people by those perceptions.

Without getting too far into spoilery territory, Maddy learns that her thinking needs some adjustment as she meets these “bad” characters and learns what the real story is behind the bits and pieces she knows. She grows as a person, and heads off into new adventures – adventures, I hope, that will teach us new lessons as she goes on.

There is some great art in here; kids and adults alike will be drawn into the story by the retro-futuristic artwork and the quick pacing and resolution. It’s an all-around great intro to a new series that gives kids another positive female role model, who’s also a relatable kid (Zita the Spacegirl fans, are you with me?).

Maddy Kettle, Book 1: The Adventure of the Thimblewitch will be available this Tuesday. Check it out in stores, or order your digital copy on the Top Shelf website.

In the meantime, check out some more of the art, courtesy of Top Shelf’s website.

Fantasy, Tween Reads, Uncategorized

Frostborn – Family Intrigue, Frost Giants, and Dragons!

Posted on August 5, 2014August 5, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Frostborn, by Lou Anders, (Aug. 2014, Random House Children’s). $16.99, ISBN: 978-0385387781

Recommended for ages 10-13

Take one firstborn son, heir to a large, multi-generational family farm. Add one half frost giant-half human girl, whose mother’s past is shrouded in mystery. Place in a backdrop of a Norse mythological world, and add dragons, and you have the potential for a fantastic adventure. This is the world of Lou Anders’ Frostborn.

Karn is the son of a landowner, expected to take over the family farm one day. He’d rather just play Thrones and Bones, a board game of strategy. Thianna is a half-human frost giant, an outcast of sorts, never quite belonging to their world; her human mother’s origins lay wreathed in mystery. When the frost giants and the humans in Karn’s father’s tribe gather for their annual trading meeting, Karn’s traitorous uncle sets plans into motion that send Karn and Thianna on the run for their lives.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book; fans of mythology-based fantasy will, too. Anders is a Hugo Award-winning editor; this is his first book, and kicks off a promising fantasy series that will appeal to boys and girls alike. I love that Karn is a “gamer” – and so are other characters in the book, which will appeal to gamer boys and girls out there, who try to explain to their disapproving parents that games help sharpen their mental acuity. The characters have rich backgrounds, with the promise of more to be revealed in future books, and Anders’ description of various terrain is so vivid, I could feel the chill of the frozen land of the frost giants.

If you’ve got middle graders looking for a fantasy series along the lines of Kelley Armstrong’s Blackwell Pages, this is a great place to steer them. The book hits stores today – go get your copy!

Fantasy, Fiction, Teen, Tween Reads, Uncategorized

Egg and Spoon – Gregory Maguire spins a rich Russian fairytale

Posted on July 20, 2014July 20, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Egg and Spoon, by Gregory Maguire (Candlewick, Sept. 2014). $17.99, ISBN: 9780763672201

Recommended for ages 12+

Gregory Maguire is renowned for creating his alternate versions of fairy tales, most notably, Wicked. In Egg and Spoon, he creates a sweeping Russian fairy tale, encompassing historical figures such as Tsar Nikolai Romanov and Rasputin, and fantasy favorites like Baba Yaga, the Phoenix/Firebird, and the Slavic Dragon, to create a sweeping tale that goes from the impoverished Russian countryside all the way to Saint Petersburg and beyond.

At its heart is a tale reminiscent of The Prince and the Pauper: a young peasant girl named Elena meets a spoiled rich girl named Ekaterina, when Ekaterina’s train breaks down in Elena’s village. Elena’s mother is dying, her brothers have been called off either to military service or employment, and her father is dead. She wants to go to St. Petersburg to ask the tsar to send her brother home to help care for their mother. Fate intervenes, and the two girls swap places, where each learns about the other girl’s life by living her life. Baba Yaga shows up, because the chaotic seasons are causing her distress, and she ends up becoming Ekaterina’s guardian as they proceed to St. Petersburg to ask the tsar what’s going on in the world.

The tale, narrated by a prisoner in the tsar’s tower, looks at magic in the everyday world, and what a stabilizing force it is. There are themes of family, friendship, and morality all at play, with a lot of humor – Baba Yaga is hilarious here – and conflict.

My only concern here is that at almost 500 pages, middle graders may balk at reading this. Teens will enjoy the story, and it’s a book that really should be on every library shelf. This one will win awards, there’s no question. The writing is beautiful and there are some incredible themes explored. A semester-long unit on fairy tales for older students would really be enhanced by using this book, and book groups for all ages will never run out of material to talk about.

Fantasy, Graphic Novels, Tween Reads

Disney Fairies – The Secret of the Wings graphic novel – A WhatchaReading Review!

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Disney Fairies: Secret of the Wings, by Manuela Razzi/illus. by Antonello Dalena (Papercutz, July 2014). ISBN: 9781597077309

Recommended for ages 6-12

Oh come on, I’m not the spoiler-y type. But I will say that Papercutz’s adaptation of the Disney Fairies’ 2012 feature film, Secret of the Wings, is adorable. And I’m not even a Disney Fairies type of girl.

Read the rest of my review over at WhatchaReading! If you want a copy of the Secret of the Wings DVD to go with your graphic novel, you can pick it up at Amazon.com. You can also pre-order the graphic novel on Amazon.com.

Fantasy, Fiction, Teen, Uncategorized, Young Adult/New Adult

Dangerous Creatures gives us more Ridley and Link!

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Dangerous Creatures, by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, Little Brown Books for Young Readers (2014). $19, ISBN: 9780316370318

Recommended for ages 13+

I recently became a convert to the Beautiful Creatures series by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, having read and immensely enjoyed the first one. While a bit unorthodox, I skipped over the other books in the series to read this latest one thanks to NetGalley, so any blanks in the series that you may find in this review are my fault – which I’ll remedy, by requesting the other books in the series from the library, posthaste.

Dangerous Creatures follows Ridley and Link, who is – if you’ve been keeping up with the series, you know this – a quarter incubus now. So I really need to catch up. The gang we (I) know, including Lena and Ethan, are all together right after graduation and the events of the last book in the series, Beautiful Redemption. They’re going their separate ways, but vow to stay together and not drift apart, as so many groups of friends do.

From there, Ridley and Link head up to New York, where Link intends to find success in a band. What he doesn’t know is that Ridley is in trouble – when isn’t she, really? – and Link’s future is part of her settling her debts. Link, while ignorant of Ridley’s troubles, knows that something’s up between he and Ridley, more than the usual at-each-other’s-throats business. Ridley knows she’s no good for Link, but they just can’t seem to stay apart – or will something drive them apart for good this time?

Beautiful Creatures introduced a lot of characters and set several storylines into motion. The story of Ridley and Link has been developing since the very first book, so by now, readers know who they are. They’re a hugely popular couple and have nicely fleshed-out backgrounds and storylines. Having only read the first book in this series, I was able to follow the story easily enough, with exposition drawing in any details I missed in the meantime. Newcomers to the series will be able to jump in, and established fans will be very happy.

The book is a page-turner. There are some new characters and there’s magic; new troubles for Ridley to get herself (and Link) into, and repercussions from previous events. What I loved so much about the first book – the weaving of the Caster storyline with the history of the old South – is missing here, but the authors introduce readers to New York nightlife, which is exciting in terms of a new locale. I missed the history of it all, to be honest, and the constant “he/she loves me, he/she loves me not” interplay between Ridley and Link became a little tedious for me, but I’m sure it will continue to be hugely popular with teen readers.

I enjoyed the book. It’s got an established audience who will snap this book up. It’s going on the shelves at my library, and I know it will fly off those shelves. Now, to fill in the gaps in my Caster knowledge…

Fantasy, Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Beautiful Creatures – I finally join the bandwagon.

Posted on May 12, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Beautiful Creatures, by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, Little Brown (2009). $17.99, ISBN: 978-0316231657

Recommended for ages 14+

I’ll admit it – I’m not a Twilight fan. It’s not my book. And Beautiful Creatures felt, to me, like a Twilight type of book, so I didn’t pick it up. I was recently approved to read the latest, upcoming book in the Beautiful Creatures, though, (Dangerous Creatures – the review’s coming!) so I figured I should at least read the first book, so I could have some idea of what’s going on.

I was wrong, folks. Beautiful Creatures was great. This was my book, just waiting for me to pick it up.

The story involves Lena Duchannes and Ethan Wate, two teenagers in Gatlin, South Carolina. Ethan is a high school basketball player who can’t wait to get out of Gatlin. He’s in with the in crowd, but really doesn’t care anymore. He just want out of the everyday sameness of life in a small, Southern town. Lena is the new girl in school, and she just doesn’t fit in with the Southern beauty queen/mean girls who run the school. When Ethan realizes that Lena looks exactly like the mystery girl he’s been dreaming about, he’s got to find out who she is.

The story weaves a YA romance in with a complex, fascinating tale of witchcraft and Southern history that kept me turning pages, demanding to know what was going to happen next. I love the idea of factions within the “Caster” – they’re not witches and wizards, and this isn’t Harry Potter – community. There are different types of magic, and everyone is born to something different. When Casters reach the age of 16, they are “claimed” by either the light side of magic or the dark side – and wrapped up in this claiming is a mystery that runs through the book as an engrossing subplot.

There’s something here for everyone. There’s paranormal romance, history, mystery, and drama. We meet characters that will take on greater roles in subsequent books. All in all, Beautiful Creatures sold me – and I’m glad I picked it up. I’ve heard the movie is subpar compared to the book, so I’ll keep that in mind and just enjoy the books.

Fantasy, Fiction, gaming, geek, geek culture, Humor, roleplaying, Science Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Attack the Geek: Geek Culture Gone Wild!

Posted on March 20, 2014March 20, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Attack the Geek, by Michael R. Underwood. Gallery, Threshold, Pocket Books (2014), $2.99, ISBN: 9781476757780

Recommended for 18+

Attack the Geek is more of a New Adult read than it is a YA read, but there are plenty of pop culture, gaming, and garden variety geek references in there that will appeal to younger audiences. There’s a content heads-up for language, but it’s nothing the kids aren’t screaming at each other these days.

Attack the Geek is a side adventure to a series created by Michael R. Underwood; his previous two books, Geekomancy and Celebromancy, are available via digital download on Amazon for a very reasonable price. I haven’t read the two previous books which could be a reason why I felt off-kilter with Attack the Geek.

For any gamers out there – did you ever have a roleplaying session where one bar fight or battle took up hours of your campaign? If you know what I’m talking about, that’s how I felt while reading Attack the Geek. It’s a single combat story, with barista Ree Reyes, the heroine and protagonist of the series, and her fellow geekomancers coming under attack at Grognards, the establishment owned by Ree’s boss, Grognard. The geekomancers have the ability to channel the power of geek culture by consuming it – Ree, for instance, keeps clips from her favorite movies, like X-Men or Spider-Man, to draw upon when she needs power – and she’ll be able to shoot webs or toss people with telekinesis. There are props aplenty, including working Star Trek phasers and Star Wars lightsabers, and collectible card game cards merely need to be torn to release their magic in this world, if channeled by the geekomancer. So when they come under attack from a Strega witch named Lucretia, it’s a hairy battle, loaded with pop culture references and witty banter.

This being a side adventure is my own issue – I am unfamiliar with the geekomancy power and these characters, so in a sense, I was at a disadvantage. But I also thought the book was trying to be too witty, throw too many references in, for its own good. The references took over the plot, and after a while, I was just reading about a battle where there was Spider-Man web slinging, Star Trek phasers, and lots of collectible card game references. This just wasn’t my book. For anyone who’s a devoted sci-fi/fantasy/gaming/comic book fan, it’s worth a shot. It’s why I requested it from NetGalley, after all, and I may read Geekomancy now just to see if having more of a background will help me better grasp the book.

Fiction, Humor, Middle School, Science Fiction, Tween Reads

M.E. Castle’s The Clone Chronicles concludes with Game of Clones

Posted on March 16, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

Game of Clones: The Clone Chronicles, #3, by M.E. Castle. Egmont USA (2014), $15.99, ISBN: 9781606842348

Recommended for ages 8-12

In M.E. Castle’s third installment of the Clone Chronicles, seventh grader Fisher Bas and his clone, Fisher-2, put aside their differences to team up and fight Three, the Fisher clone created by the evil Dr. X. Three’s gone rogue, with plans for world domination on his mind, and he’s on track to make it happen – will Dr. X make an appearance? Is the enemy of Fisher’s enemy a friend?

The book is a fast-moving action-adventure series that should appeal to both middle grade boys and girls. Fisher and Fisher-2 have allies in their classmates, Amanda and Veronica, both of whom serve as the boys’ crushes and as intelligent, strong females in the series. Fisher tends to be an overthinker, and Alex struggles to define his own personality despite being a Fisher clone. This struggle runs throughout the book, and mirrors many a tween’s burgeoning identity and personality clashes and crises; where Fisher-2 is a clone, a tween pushes back against being merely “the son” or “the daughter”. Three wreaks havoc in Fisher’s neighborhood and school, forcing him to think of creative solutions and seek help outside of his gadgets; he realizes the power of friendship and of reaching out to ask for help, and it makes him a better person.

Overall, it’s a fun book in a popular series that tweens will enjoy. Game of Clones is part of The Clone Chronicles series; the first two books are Popular Clone and Cloneward Bound.

Graphic Novels

Guest Post from Chuck at WhatchaReading: Delilah Dirk and The Turkish Lieutenant – A Formidable Heroine in a Swashbuckling Adventure!

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Rosemary Kiladitis

I am a big fan of graphic novels and comic books, and firmly believe they have a place in literacy and the classroom. My friend Chuck has a great comics and comic culture blog over at WhatchaReading, where you can also find my comic book reviews. I realized the other day that we write up a lot of “all-ages” books – books that appeal to younger audiences, rather than teens and adults, as most titles tend to these days, and I’d like to bring some of those reviews to my readers here at MomReadIt. So you’ll be seeing more guest posts, and I’d love some feedback – so speak up!

And now, Chuck’s review for Delilah Dirk and the Turkish Lieutenant:

We’ve had the pleasure of reviewing a few books from :01 (First Second) and I’ve got to admit that this book has sat on my to review pile for a while. I started reading it months ago, finished it quickly and thought it was wonderful. Somehow the review never got started. How about we rectify that oversight immediately.

When I started the book this was literally all I had to go on; From author Tony Cliff: “Delilah Dirk is the heroine of a series of adventure comics set during the early 19th century. Each story is completely self-contained, and they’re suitable for readers of all ages!”

Read the rest over at WhatchaReading.com!