Kids Fantasy
THE BEAST PLAYER by Nahoko Uehashi
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Elin’s mother has always cared for the water serpents, the Toda. She is the best Toda doctor in all of Aluhan. But when the most powerful Toda mysteriously die, Elin’s mother is blamed and sentenced to death. After failing to rescue her mother, Elin flees and takes refuge with a beekeeper in a neighboring territory. There she learns of her own gift of communication with the Toda, of her mother’s connection with the mystical Ahlyo people, and of her own place in the civil war between the country of her birth and the country where she found refuge.
An award-winning novel with masterful world-building, THE BEAST PLAYER will appeal to YA fantasy fans despite the protagonist’s youth (age 10 at the novel’s start). For graphic novel fans, there are manga and an anime TV series!
THE MISSING PIECE OF CHARLIE O’REILLY by Rebecca K. S. Ansari
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Charlie’s little brother, Liam, disappeared almost exactly a year ago, and Charlie is the only one who remembers him. When he disappeared, every trace of him vanished with him–his clothes, his photographs, even the top bunk of Charlie’s bed. Charlie’s mother also changed when Liam disappeared. Even though she can’t remember him, she almost never gets out of bed these days. Charlie is determined to find Liam and bring him back, because he knows it’s his fault Liam is gone. After all, the night before Liam disappeared, Charlie fell asleep wishing he didn’t have a brother. As Charlie and his best friend Ana search for Liam, they stumble upon a secret asylum full of disappeared children and realize that Charlie’s unusual dreams about an Irish family from the past may hold the key to freeing the trapped children–but only if they want to be released.
No mistake is too big to be forgiven in this novel about how family makes us whole. As Charlie discovers what happened to Liam, the mystery of his disappearance gives way to a race to escape from a magical prison. Interwoven with this suspenseful story is the theme of self-forgiveness as the characters must learn to accept themselves and their past mistakes. Character development and plot work together beautifully to drive the story forward. I highly recommend this book to middle grade readers who enjoy realistic fiction with a touch of fantasy and character-driven suspense.
THE TRAIN OF LOST THINGS by Ammi-Joan Paquette
Marty’s father is sick. The kind of sick with surprise hospital stays, weeks in bed, and not much talk of the future. When he first found out about the cancer, Marty’s dad got him a present: a jean jacket so that the two of them could collect buttons and pins to represent different memories during the time they had left together. It is Marty’s most prized possession. So when the jean jacket goes missing during one of Dad’s hospital stays, Marty is frantic. It can’t possibly be gone! That conviction that the jacket must be out there waiting for him somewhere reminds Marty of an old story his father used to tell him about the Train of Lost Things, a train that flies around the world at night collecting the lost precious possessions of children and holding onto them until they can find be returned to their owners. Desperate for his jacket, Marty sneaks out one night in search of the train and stumbles into an adventure beyond his wildest dreams.
In this touching coming of age story, a dose of fantasy helps Marty and the reader process the grief and loss of a loved one. About half of the book reads like realistic fiction, so this book will be most appealing to readers who enjoy both realistic fiction and fantasy, or fantasies that are heavily rooted in the real world, such as Savvy by Ingrid Law.
THE WIZARDS OF ONCE by Cressida Cowell
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Xar, the son of the wizard king, is known for being a troublemaker–disobedient, destructive, leading his ragtag entourage of sprites and snow cats into all kinds of danger. And the fact that at thirteen his magic still hasn’t come in makes him even more unruly. Wish, the warrior princess, is downright weird. Her limp, her eyepatch, and her odd interests make her hardly fit to call herself a warrior. But the mischief of these two sworn enemies reaches new heights when two forbidden errands collide in the Badwoods. Xar has come to set a trap for a witch, the darkest, most evil magic creature ever to exist, which everyone believes are extinct, but whose magic Xar hopes to steal. Wish enters the Badwoods chasing her pet, an iron spoon that must be magic and is therefore thoroughly forbidden (much to her young Assistant Bodyguard’s anxiety). She also has a magic sword she found near her mother’s dungeon that has an inscription claiming that it kills witches. And unfortunately for both Wish and Xar, that sword may be blood-curdlingly necessary.
As much as this novel is the thrilling start to a creative and engaging new fantasy series, it is a coming of age tale for two very different protagonists, each struggling to find a place in their respective society and to work through a complicated relationship with their respective intimidating parent. I suspect that the cheeky omniscient narrator would have annoyed me had I not been listening to the brilliantly performed audiobook. But otherwise, I loved everything about it. Can’t wait for the next installment!
I highly recommend the audiobook (performed by David Tennant), a well-deserved Odyssey Award Honor recording.
THE GAUNTLET by Karuna Riazi
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Farah sometimes hates having to spend all her time with her little brother, Ahmad. She knows that his ADD makes it difficult for him sometimes and that she should be nice. But on her birthday? When her two best friends from her old town have come to the new house to spend time with her? Thinking she has finally shaken him off, Farah, Essie, and Alex slip upstairs to open Farah’s present from her Aunt Zohra. But Ahmad has gotten there first, tearing off the paper and discovering what seems to be a game called the Gauntlet of Blood and Sand. Farah has a bad feeling about it. It seems to have a heartbeat. And when they open it up, the game grows before their eyes into a miniature maze-like tower, almost like a whole city. Before they can stop him, An excited Ahmad leaps into the game and vanishes. It turns out The Gauntlet was not meant to be Farah’s birthday present. The Gauntlet is the harrowing, sentient game that stole Aunt Zohra’s best friend decades ago–a game that Aunt Zohra has kept ever since to keep other children from becoming ensnared. But now it is too late, and Ahmad’s only hope is for Farah, Essie, and Alex to enter the game world as well, to win each of the Architect’s challenges, and to make it out alive.
A neat read, this book is a sort of Middle Eastern Jumanji. The game world is richly imagined, and the challenges the children face remind me of The Mysterious Benedict Society. Young readers who enjoy fantasy that is rooted in the real world and/or books with riddles and puzzles should check it out.
GHOSTS by Raina Telgemeier
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Cat is not happy about having to move from beautiful, sunny Southern California to cold, rainy, miserable Bahia de la Luna. But the weather will be better for her little sister Maya’s health. Despite her illness and difficulty breathing, Maya is always cheerful and doesn’t seem to mind leaving all her friends behind. In fact, she almost immediately makes a new friend: a boy Cat’s age who just happens to lead the town ghost tours. Cat is less than thrilled. She hates ghost stories. But things get far worse when the ghosts turn out to be real. Spirits of the dead hang around in Bahia de la Luna awaiting the Day of the Dead festival, and their presence will force Cat to confront her sister’s mortality.
With an infusion of folk fantasy, this graphic novel tackles the topic of a terminally ill sibling with a realistic range of emotions–from resentment to fear to sadness. This novel will appeal more to realistic fiction fans than ghost story aficionados, though it has elements of both genres.
DOLL BONES by Holly Black
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It’s not that Zach doesn’t care what other kids think of him. He does his best to hide his secret imaginative life from his friends on the basketball team. But it’s worth the risk of getting caught in order to keep playing the game with Poppy and Alice. When Zach is being William the Blade, it is like his whole identity changes; he becomes a pirate. And the creepy bone China doll they pretend is their queen really seems to have deadly powers. When Zach’s dad throws away all of his action figures, Zach feels like his world is falling apart. He can’t get up the courage to tell Poppy and Alice why he can’t play anymore. But the bone China doll isn’t about to let Zach go so easily. A ghost appears to Poppy in a dream and suddenly Zach and his friends find themselves on a real adventure every bit as dangerous and magical as any of their games.
This creepy adventure story combines the family and friendship tensions of growing up with an intriguing ghost story. I wouldn’t call it scary, but it definitely has a chilling tone at times. The main thrust of the book, however, is the evolving character relationships and Zach’s coming of age. I would recommend this book to middle grade readers who enjoy fantasy adventures set in the real world.
HEREVILLE: HOW MIRKA GOT HER SWORD by Barry Deutsch
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Mirka dreams of battling dragons. She loves to read stories of knights and monsters, even though such Gentile books are forbidden in Hereville. When a chance encounter with a talking pig earns her a favor from a witch, Mirka seizes the opportunity to embark on a quest for her very own sword. But her task becomes more challenging when she realizes the troubles her siblings now face from being in the family of a crazy pig girl.
This story combines humor, fairytales, family problems, and Jewish culture into an enjoyable graphic novel. Readers will learn dozens of Yiddish words as they plunge into Mirka’s unique fantastical yet realistic world. I would recommend this book to middle grade readers who enjoy graphic novels, spunky heroines, and both fantasy and realistic fiction.
THE REAL BOY by Anne Ursu
The Magician Caleb adopted Oscar as his shop assistant, to help with small tasks like restocking the pantry, but not with magical tasks of preparing spells for the customers. As far as Caleb and his mean-spirited apprentice Wolf know, Oscar can’t even read—although Caleb has begun to suspect something of Oscar’s self-education through the way he obviously knows more about herbal magic than Wolf. Shy Oscar is happy to remain in the background where he doesn’t have to interact with people, who often think there is “something wrong with him.” But when Caleb goes out of town on a secret errand, Wolf sneaks out to the forest for an afternoon and is chopped up into bits by some unknown creature. Soon after, Callie, the healer’s apprentice arrives with more distressing news: the children of the lords and ladies in the high-walled “Shining City” are contracting mysterious illnesses—and the healer is also away on unnamed business. Fearing a resurgence of the plague that nearly destroyed their country years ago, Oscar and Callie realize they cannot wait for their masters to return. They must try to find a cure for illnesses—and hope that whatever monster killed Wolf does not return.
I loved this book! I found it much more engaging than Breadcrumbs. The story develops slowly, with a lot of time devoted to world-building. But by interspersing a few dramatic and intriguing events early on, Ursu kept me eagerly turning pages, trying to puzzle out the mystery as I became immersed in the fantasy world. As the title suggests, it is inspired by Pinocchio, but only loosely; the connection isn’t even clear until over 200 pages into the story. More significant is Oscar’s struggle to fit in with the “normal” people around him, his gradual discovery of his own abilities and self-worth, and his growing friendship with Callie. All of the characters—good and not-so-good—are carefully crafted with strengths and short-comings. And the ominous evil that threatens them is both terrifying and misunderstood. A wonderfully complex and engaging fantasy—I highly recommend it!
If you liked The Real Boy, you might like Charmed Life by Dianna Wynne Jones, Dreamwood by Heather Mackey or The Secret of Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson.
ETIQUETTE AND ESPIONAGE by Gail Carriger
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Sophronia’s older sisters are refined and well-mannered Victorian ladies. But Sophronia is much more interested in climbing around in dumb waiters and tinkering with gadgets than more ladylike pursuits. So when a highly sought-after finishing school offers Sophronia a place at their academy, her mother ships Sophronia her off immediately. What her mother does not realize, however, is that Sophronia is a covert recruit to a finishing school that trains evil geniuses in espionage, assassination, and other fascinating arts–in addition to the requisite curtsying and handkerchief manipulation, of course. Sophronia’s curiosity and climbing skills thrust her into the middle of a skirmish between the school administrators, dangerous flywaymen, and her least favorite fellow pupil–the pompous Monique, who has stolen and hidden a very valuable prototype somewhere off school grounds. With help from her new school friends, the school’s young mechanics (the “sooties”), and her pet mechanimal (Bumbersnoot), Sophronia is determined to find the prototype before Monique or the flywaymen can get to it.
Set in an alternate 1850s England, this novel is part sci-fi and part fantasy. There is plenty of machinery to please steampunk fans, and some werewolves and vampires for those who prefer the supernatural. And for readers who enjoy stories about boarding school mischief (think the Marauder’s Map from Harry Potter), it is a very fun read! I highly recommend it to middle grade and teen readers.
Susan the Librarian 