MADreads Reviews

I've mentioned in a few other posts how my reading tastes lately have leaned to stories that take me to other worlds and center on honorable characters. And with that reading quest in mind, a co-worker (thank you Amy S!) suggested T. Kingfisher. And a better balm to the soul, it would be harder to find. In this, the first in the Saint of Steel trilogy, we meet a paladin whose god has died and a perfumer who has escaped an abusive past.

Zuli is determined to find out why the souls of birds have stopped returning to the Great Tree and bring them back. Adventures and mishaps happen one after another as she gets closer to finding out who’s responsible and learns about who she really is and what she’s capable of. There’s magic and a slew of magical creatures like goblins, griffins, a dragon  and the cautious, yet faithful owl, Frowly. The cliffhanger promises more adventures with Zuli’s newfound friends and more information about her past.

June Hur's debut novel is a police procedural set in 1800 Joseon, Korea. Seol grew up in rural Korea but because of the family's poverty was sent by her sister to serve an indenture for the police bureau in Joseon. As an indentured servant she's to keep her mouth shut and her thoughts to herself as she cleans and runs errands. The monotony of that work is occasionally broken when she's asked to help in crimes involving women. Males in 19th century Korea aren't allowed to touch non-familial women, thus Seol is called upon.

The best science fiction, fantasy and horror novels were picked and announced on June 25th by the Locus Science Fiction Foundation. There are lots of good possibilities for a summer read from the winners and the other nominated titles.

Are you looking for a great summer ghost story for middle grades? I highly recommend The Girl in the Lake. Celeste, her younger brother Owen, and their cousins Daisy and Capri are invited to spend several weeks at their grandparents' lake home where the water is murky, the weather is stormy and tensions are high. Without giving too much away, there's a haunted house, a family mystery, a spooky lake and enough summer thunderstorms to send anyone hiding under the covers.

Kat Leyh’s Snapdragon came out in 2020, and it’s been almost a year since the last time I read it, but I still find myself talking about it all the time! What was initially just an interesting-sounding graphic novel that I picked up on a whim quickly became one of my absolute favorite middle grade books.

Get swept up in the sweetest, cutest, kindest, most romantic young love! Charlie and Nick sit next to each other in class and become friends.

Amal is the smartest student in her Pakistani village with the best grades, highest scores, and a desire to become a teacher. Her family is in crisis after the birth of a fifth daughter and Amal struggles to care for her younger sisters, complete homework, and help around the house while her mother recovers. Well aware of how she's treated differently because she's a girl, Amal wants another kind of life for herself. She misses school and her classmates and especially her best friend, Omar.

Izumi lives in northern California with her single mother and behaves the same way so many high school seniors do: she hangs out with friends, they obsess over love interests, pancakes, style, and their present and future potential. Izzy, as she's known to her friends, has never met her father and doesn't even know his full name. She knows he's Japanese and went to Harvard with her mother but not much more. After some internet sleuthing to find likely candidates an exciting truth is uncovered: Izzy's dad is the Crown Prince of Japan.  

Beautiful illustrations and masterful storytelling await  as you step into the world of Himawari House by Harmony Becker. This graphic novel follows the story of three young people, Nao, Hyejung, and Tina, as they move to Japan to forge their own paths, attend Japanese language school, and discover themselves. Becker’s illustrations help to tell the story of Nao seeking to connect with her Japanese roots and how the three foreign exchange students struggle with language barriers, relationships, and everyday trials and tribulations.

Shara Wheeler has been Chloe Green's nemesis for years. She's perfect, everyone loves her, and she is Chloe's only competition for valedictorian. So when Shara kisses Chloe in an elevator and then vanishes in the middle of prom a few days later, Chloe knows something is up.

“What if on the day she was born there was a quiet storm of tiny shimmering dust that settled on tree leaves, on flower petals, on rooftops, on the ground, on the shiny work shoes, and glided through open windows to settle on hardwood floors?” 

Travis Baldree's debut novel is a member of what's being called 'cozy SFF' in some parts of the interwebs (okay, I admit I found it on #booktok). Cozy science fiction and fantasy is just that, it's certainly imaginative and involves beings and creatures fresh and innovative, but it's also warm,  good hearted and even funny. Sample titles, in case you need more of an idea, All Systems Red by Martha Wells or The House in the Cerulean Sea by T. J.

Belonging is a common theme in many young adult stories. Graphic novels provide an excellent visual of capturing the experiences and emotions as characters grow and find themselves. It’s as if we’re dropping in or hovering over a character’s shoulder to see a slice of  their life. Here are three insightful and at times, humorous graphic novels to check out:

Move over Boxcar Children, the Mighty Muskrats are on the case!

I highly recommend this enjoyable story and exciting mystery set in present day Canada. Realistic, multifaceted protagonists Chickadee, Otter, Atim and Samuel are inseparable cousins. They are known all over their reservation as “the mighty muskrats,” a nickname given to them by their oldest uncle.  

Twelve year old Maisie Cannon is all about ballet. But now, after an accident and surgery, she is recovering rather than dancing. And all is not well. Her grades are slipping, she is growing distanced from her friends, and she is being uncharacteristically snippy with her family. All that Maisie wants is to get back to dancing. While on a family trip to the Olympic Peninsula, Maisie learns about her Native heritage as well as about some of her own personal family history. And that it is ok to ask for help.

It’s not very often a science fiction book wins the Newbery Award and the Pura Belpré Award but The Last Cuentista did this year. The Last Cuentista is a dystopian story with tales of Mexican folklore woven within. ‘Cuentista’ in Spanish means storyteller and the main character, Petra Peña, is truly the only cuentista left in the world.

Seriously. In this young adult novel, high school is the worst. Todd Mayer has died and no one at his school will answer any questions or admit to knowing him when the police investigate. Things are not right, that's for sure. Georgia's brother goes to school with Todd and is in the same grade, even, and won't acknowledge that he knows Todd. So what's up?

This book is described as a smash-up of art and text that captures 2020 and what it was like to be black during the COVID-19 lockdown and racial unrest and protests. It is incredible:  painful, powerful, and beautiful. Told in three sections called Breath One, Breath Two and Breath Three, I viewed the book as illustrated poetry with the parts representing the past, present and future.

Temple Alley Summer is full of mystery, history, and ghosts. Kazu's summer project is to learn more about his neighborhood, Temple Alley, named for the former Kimyo Temple located where Kazu's house currently stands. An old legend claims that the temple has the power to bring the dead back to life. A girl named Akari suddenly appears in the alley and Kazu starts to wonder if the legend is more than a story.