Magic has its cost
In Gillig's fantasy debut a young woman has to hide the magic she wields, and the monster that gives it to her, or else find her life forfeit.
MADreads for Teens
Teens posts by Jane J
After the fall
In her stellar adult fiction novel debut Veronica Roth explores what happens when a totalitarian, dystopian regime falls and whether or not the society can rebuild without repeating the same patterns and mistakes. And she does all of this through the eyes of someone who was complicit in that regime's behavior.
Graphic is good
We've all got them. Books we think will make us smarter but that are just a bit too daunting every time you go to pick them up and read. Mine in recent times has been Yuval Harari's Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind. I placed it on hold, had the hold come in, checked it out and then returned it unread. I think that probably happened a couple of times.
Kingfisher's cure-all
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.
Loyalties will be tested
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 occasionally broken when she's asked to help when a crime involves another woman. Males in 19th century Korea aren't allowed to touch non-familial women, thus Seol is called upon.
The best in other worlds
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.
A place to call home
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.
When gods return
Tasha Suri is a librarian who studied creative writing at University and both of those facts are evident in her debut fantasy novel which is clearly well-researched and oh so creative.
Saving Godzilla?
I've been waiting to tell you about John Scalzi's forthcoming title for a while now as it was just the antidote I needed for a reading slump. At the time most things I'd been reading were eliciting a tepid, 'ah it was fine' response. And then came the Kaiju. Not only were they a saving grace for me, but based on the author note included in the book, were one for Scalzi as well. He'd been struggling with another book as the pandemic worsened and just couldn't make progress when the idea for this story popped into his head.
50 Fabulous Favorites
In their summer reading poll this year NPR decided to focus on the past decade of science fiction and fantasy writing. They first elicited votes from readers and then had a panel of expert judges curate the final list of 50 titles. The result is about as good as it gets if you're looking for "recommended" reads in these genres.