Tag: found family

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Tales from the TBR, Drop Everything Edition – Goblin Vol. 2: The Wolf and the Well

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Goblin Vol. 2: The Wolf and the Well, by Eric Grissom/Illustrated by Will Perkins, (July 2024, Dark Horse Comics), $19.99, ISBN: 9781506738697

Ages 10-14

Back in 2021, I first met Eric Grissom and Will Perkins when I read their graphic novel, Goblin. I was hooked. It’s a gorgeously created graphic novel meditation on grief and loss, prejudice and acceptance with magic brimming over the edges of each page. I’ve only just read the second book in the series, published last year, and I cannot believe what I missed out on. Grissom and Perkins found a way to make a second volume of Goblin every bit as captivating and magical. The story begins with Rikt and Fish Breath, the goblin and wolf we met in the first story, seeking shelter from a storm in a fortune teller’s wagon, where Rikt is given a distressing prophecy. They flee the wagon, wolf hunters they encounter on the road, and end up the town of Silverkeep, where a woman named Miss Evelyn takes Rikt and Fish Breath to her “school for monsters”, separating Rikt from his wolf. Miss Evelyn isn’t all she claims to be, and she has pretty dark dealings on hand for her students. Rikt has to figure out how to get himself, Fish-Breath, and the other students away from Miss Evelyn before it’s too late.

Grissom touches on the prejudice other races encounter through Miss Evelyn’s classes, where she refers to her students as “monsters” and tries to whitewash their histories, bringing to mind the cruelty of residential schools that Native Americans were once forced to attend. Miss Evelyn teaches them that their belief systems – “primitive myths and deceptions” are “folktale(s) designed to push… believers into depravity”; forces them to wear human clothing, and enacts harsh punishments for anyone not following her rules. Rikt continues to push back against the falsehoods and outright lies while unraveling the secrets of the school with the help of Oola, a young female troll who has her own dark history with Miss Evelyn. Grissom tells an emotional and taut story, brought to life by Will Perkins’ moody and powerful illustration. The story ends with a suggestion of a third volume, which I am hoping upon hope that we get. If you haven’t visited the world of Goblin yet, please do.

I also discovered that Grissom has a tabletop role-playing game based in the world of Goblin! Needless to say, I printed that out immediately; it’s compatible with Dungeons & Dragons 5e rules, which I just happen to have here at my library. Guess what I’ll be introducing to my Saturday tweens? And the best part? IT’S FREE. You can visit Grissom’s webpage (which also has learning guides for both Goblin books and a host of other cool goodies) or find it on DriveThruRPG.

Posted in Fiction, Middle Grade, Science Fiction, Tween Reads

Native American Heritage Month Books Worth Reading: The Flicker

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Flicker, by H.E. Edgmon, (Sept. 2024, Feiwel & Friends), $9.99, ISBN: 9781250873965

Ages 9-12

A year after a solar flare – The Flicker – scorched the Earth and ended life as we know it, step-sisters Millie and Rose are orphaned. Millie, convinced her grandmother – a Seminole elder – is alive, convinces Rose to join her and their baby half-brother, Sammy, on the journey. Rose isn’t sure about how she feels, but joins Millie and Sammy, hoping to find the location of the rumored Sanctuary she hears codes from over the radio. They meet a group of kids called The Lost Boys and their leader, Ben, who was their counselor at theatre camp when the flare hit; Ben agrees to give them a lift to Millie’s grandmother’s home, but the land is full of terrors. Aside from the scorching heat and risk of wildfires, there’s The Hive: a shadowy corporation that militarized during the flare. The Hive’s soldiers hoard supplies so their people can live as if nothing ever happened, and they’ll go to any lengths to keep their people comfortable. Edgmon excels in his middle grade debut, exploring Indigenous identity through Millie and her memories of her grandmother, who has strong ties to the land. Edgmon introduces us to fully realized characters that readers will want to spend time with; Millie, though outwardly strong, is tender and vulnerable, locking all her feelings “deep inside her belly”; Rose wears her feelings on the outside for everyone to see, much to Millie’s aggravation. Sammy unites the two in their determination to protect him. Touching on themes of climate change, gender identity, and survival, The Flicker is unputdownable. An essential for middle grade collections, especially where survival fiction is popular. I loved this book.

The Flicker has starred reviews from Publishers Weekly and School Library Journal.

Posted in Fiction, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Happy Book Birthday to VP Anderson & Tatiana Hill’s Blood City Rollers!

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Blood City Rollers, by V.P. Anderson/Illustrated by Tatiana Hill, (Apr. 2024, Labyrinth Road/Random House Graphic), $13.99, ISBN: 9780593485712

Ages 8-12

What do you get when you a human ice skater joins a vampire roller derby team? A fun story about found family and discovering not only who we are, but what we really want from life. Mina Murray is a 13-year-old figure skater whose mom has big plans for her: the Olympics, the breakfast cereal boxes, all of it. Mina’s not so sure about her place in this world, so when two vampires “kinda sorta” kidnap her to be part of their Paranormal Roller Derby team, the Blood City Rollers, Mina is surprisingly quick to go with the new flow. The vamps need a human jammer for their team, and they need to win the Derby so they can maintain their status and keep their home. As Mina practices and becomes a part of the team, she feels like she’s finally found somewhere she belongs. A queer-friendly mashup of paranormal/horror and comedy, Blood City Rollers is for everyone who loved Roller Girl, with just a bit more spooky added in. Mina explores a crush on Val, the team captain, and skaters’ pronouns are included on the rosters; the skaters are a diverse group in terms of gender identity, race, and ethnicity. This is the first in a new graphic novel series and looks like it will be a popular one.

Blood City Rollers has a starred review from Publishers Weekly.

Posted in Graphic Novels, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Young Adult/New Adult

Himawari House: A glimpse of adjusting to life as an expat

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Himawari House, by Harmony Becker, (Nov. 2021, First Second), $17.99, ISBN: 9781250235572

Ages 14+

A glimpse into the lives of three exchange students living in Japan, Himawari House is about the friendships, frustrations, and adjustments that come with living in a new country: in this case, Japan. Nao, Hyejung, and Tina all move into Himawari House and attend the same Japanese school, but have different reasons for being there. Nao wants to reconnect to her Japanese heritage and worries about fitting in with Japanese culture. “Too Japanese” for her American life and “Too American” to Japanese classmates, she struggles with cultural identity. Hyejung, is Korean and moved to Japan to escape her overbearing parents and their unrelenting focus on her academic success. Tina is from Singapore and struggles with connection, preferring to lose herself in fandom. Although Nao’s story is the main driver, Hyejung and Tina have fully realized, moving backstories, all explored here, along with their roommates, two Japanese brothers with widely differing personalities. The group all come together and live here at Himawari House, and the story is a slice of life look into a year in their lives, as they all live and work side-by-side, eat, fall in and out of love, go to school, and talk late into the night. The language barriers are expertly illustrated here – largely bilingual, Japanese characters appear in many word bubbles; the dialogue has a blend of English, Japanese, Korean, and Singlish (the English Creole spoken in Singapore), with a brilliant explanation of the use of accents in the story at the end. Black and white artwork is largely realistic, with Chibi renderings to communicate extreme emotion. It’s a well-done character study and will be popular with teens and young adults.

Himawari House has starred reviews from Kirkus, Publisher’s Weekly, and School Library Journal.

Posted in Adventure, Animal Fiction, Fiction, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Blog Tour: Once Upon a Camel by Kathi Appelt

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

Two blog tours in one day, you ask? YES! That’s whatcha get when a cranky summer storm wrecks your Internet for a day. But look – a new Kathi Appelt book is always cause for celebration, especially one as good as…

Once Upon a Camel, by Kathi Appelt/Illustrated by Eric Rohmann,
(September 2021, Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Books), $17.99, ISBN: 9781534406438
Ages 8-12

Newbery Honoree and National Book Award Finalist Kathi Appelt delivers an heir apparent to Katherine Applegate’s The One and Only Ivan (2015) and Sara Pennypacker’s Pax (2016). Set in Texas 1910 Texas, an aging camel named Zada has a life lived: she’s won camel races in Turkey for a high-ranking Turkish officer; she’s felt like she was flying across the fields and led army missions with her best friend, Asiye; she’s outsmarted lions and befriended birds. Now, protecting two baby kestrel chicks during a sandstorm, she keeps them entertained in an escarpment as she reflects on her life and hopes that she’ll find the chicks’ parents when the storm breaks… and before the lion returns. It’s an adventure with a heart as big as the desert, and with moments that will have readers enchanted and white-knuckled. Caldecott Medalist Eric Rohmann’s gorgeous oil painting, rendered here in blacks, greys, and whites, show sweeping sea voyages and cuddly camels and chicks; thrilling escapes and affectionate moments that give texture and life to Kathi Appelt’s sweet, funny, and bittersweet words. Once Upon a Camel is a gentle story of found family and survival, separation, and reunion. Animal fiction fans and fans of Kate DiCamillo and Katherine Applegate will love this story.
If you don’t trust me, trust Richard the Camel, seen here with author Kathi Appelt during what appears to be an impromptu storytime. Look at Richard’s smile! He’s a member of the Texas Camel Corps – maybe a descendant of Zada’s?
Photo was taken at Texas Camel Corps. Photo credit: Doug Baum

Kathi Appelt is the author of the Newbery Honoree, National Book Award Finalist, and bestselling The Underneath as well as the National Book Award Finalist for The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swap. Some of her award-winning books include Maybe a Fox (with Alison McGhee), Keeper, and Max Attacks, to name just a few. She lives in College Station, Texas. To learn more, visit her website at Kathi Appelt.com.

Find Kathi on Facebook and Pinterest!

 

Posted in Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade, Tween Reads

Beware the Accursed Vampire! (Not really…)

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

The Accursed Vampire, by Madeline McGrane, (July 2021, Harper Alley), $12.99, ISBN: 9780062954343

Ages 10-13

Dragoslava is a vampire kid who works for the mean witch who cursed him ages ago. The witch wants her stolen grimoire back, so she dispatches Dragoslava and their two friends, Quintus and Eztli, to a town called Baneberry Falls, where the kids discover life in a small Michigan town around Halloween, and befriend Ayesha, the witch who has the grimoire in her possession – and her vampire partner, Sara.  Posing as travelers interested in learning magic, Dragoslava wants to gain their trust and grab the book, but Quintus and Eztli are enjoying their new surroundings and suggest that maybe Dragoslava cut ties with the witch making their life miserable? The book, however, is too powerful to be contained, and there’s another being in Baneberry Falls keeping an eye on Dragoslava and their friends. A fun story with a few thrills and lots of adventure and humor, The Accursed Vampire will appeal to readers who like their spooky books on the funny side. It’s a story about found family and learning to stand up for oneself, with a diverse cast: Dragoslava is nonbinary, referred to with “they/them” pronouns; Quintus is a male child of color, from vampire society; Eztli is a Latinx female, likely from Mesoamerican mythology: the bird feet bring to mind the feathered serpent, quetzalcoatl, and the name Eztli originates from the Aztec word for “blood”.

The Accursed Vampire has a starred review from School Library Journal. Find more of Madeline McGrane’s artwork (and more Dragoslava!) at her website.