jilljemmett

Review: DeadEndia: The Broken Halo

Title: DeadEndia: The Broken Halo
Author: Hamish Steele
Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy, LGBTQ
Publisher: Union Square and Co.
Source: Publisher
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: May 2, 2023
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Norma Khan has been split in two . . . literally! Dead End, the haunted hotel attraction at Phoenix Parks, has been rebuilt following the epic destruction that occurred there when Norma and her friends Barney and Pugsley saved the world. Unfortunately, Norma can’t keep herself together as a result. Not only is her friendship with Barney on the rocks, but she can’t seem to keep her own ghost inside her body. When Norma feels like she’s about to lose it all, her irksome friend and demon, Courtney, steps in to provide some unexpected support—though they are battling their own issues with identity and sense of belonging.

Meanwhile, Barney can’t face going back to Phoenix Parks and is mourning the loss of his beloved friend Pugsley. When his boyfriend, Logan, urges him to get a job, an opportunity from the demon planes comes knocking, and soon Barney is climbing the ladder of success in the Demon Wrestling Federation. Barney’s glory in the ring quickly comes crashing down when the friends discover they’ve stepped into an eons old battle between the demons and the angels. Can they keep their relationships and sense of self intact while doing battle with the forces of good AND evil?

Part workplace comedy, part supernatural horror adventure, with a splash of LGBTQ+ romance, The Broken Halo is perfect for fans of author Hamish Steele’s TV series Dead Paranormal Park who are in search of more adventures, for graphic novel lovers who want more diversity in their reads, or for anyone who has finished The Watcher’s Test and is ready for the next entry in the zany, creative, and laugh-out-loud funny world of DeadEndia.

Review:

Dead End, the haunted house at Phoenix Parks, was rebuilt after the tragic end of The Watcher’s Test. Norma can now split into a ghost and her relationship with Barney is still rocky. Barney isn’t ready to return to Phoenix Park yet, but he becomes a fighter in the Demon Wrestling Federation which earns him a lot of money. His success comes to a crashing halt when he’s set up for a dangerous fight. Norma, Barney, and their other friends must reunite to save the multi-planes of angels and demons.

This was a great second book in the DeadEndia series. I really liked seeing the characters again. Barney is trans, but that wasn’t as big of a plot point in this book as in the first. When the story went to the multi-planes and the battles between the angels and demons, the story drifted away from the main plot of Barney and Norma dealing with demons at the haunted house. I would have liked to see more of the fun stories that were in the first book. However, I loved the cliffhanger ending. I hope there will be another book in the series!

DeadEndia: The Broken Halo is a great graphic novel!

Thank you Union Square and Co. for sending me a copy of this book!

Have you read DeadEndia: The Broken Halo? What did you think of it?

Happy Pub Day – October 3

Happy Pub Day to these authors!

The Scarlet Alchemist by Kylie Lee Baker

Snowed in for Christmas by Jaqueline Snowe

Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle

Scream for the Camera by Lisi Harrison and Daniel Kraus

Wildfire by Hannah Grace

Three Holidays and a Wedding by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley

The Spells We Cast by Jason June

Rosie Frost and the Falcon Queen by Geri Halliwell-Horner

The Bliss House by Jim Bartley

The Blackwoods by Brandy Colbert

Down Comes the Night by Allison Saft

The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Thank you Inkyard Press, Forever, Simon Teen, Union Square and Co., Simon and Schuster Canada, Penguin Random House Canada, Penguin Teen Canada, Dundurn Press, Frenzy Books, Wednesday Books, Tor Books, and Raincoast Books for providing copies of these books!

What books are you most excited for this week?

Review: Athena’s Child

Title: Athena’s Child
Author: Hannah Lynn
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mythology, Retelling
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: September 26, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

For readers of Madeleine Miller and Claire Heywood comes the story of the most infamous monster of Greek mythology: Medusa.

First, they loved her. Then, they abused her. Finally, they made her a villain.

Gifted and burdened with stunning beauty, young Medusa seeks sanctuary with the Goddess Athena. But when she catches the eye of the lecherous but mighty Poseidon, she is beyond protection. Powerful men rarely answer for their actions, after all.

Meanwhile, Perseus embarks on a seemingly impossible quest, equipped with only bravado and determination…

Medusa and Perseus soon become pawns of spiteful and selfish gods. Faced with the repercussions of Athena’s wrath, blamed for her assault, Medusa has no choice but to flee and hide. But can she do so without becoming the monster they say she is?

Medusa’s truth has long been lost. History tells of conquering heroes, of men with hearts of gold. Now it is time to hear the story of how history treats women who don’t comply.

Review:

Medusa was a beautiful human girl who was sent to Athena’s temple to be a priestess to save her from an early marriage. One day, she was visited by the god Poseidon, who raped her. When Athena discovered that, she punished Medusa by cursing her to turn anyone she looks at to stone. Perseus was born to a human mother as the son of Zeus. When his mother was sent to marry a horrible King, Perseus was given the quest to get the head of Medusa to earn his mother’s freedom. Medusa and Perseus are used as pawns for the gods, but they end up having more in common than expected.

This was a great retelling of Medusa’s story. She is often made to be the villain in stories, but she is actually a victim of the gods. In this story, she was born as a human and made into a Gorgon rather than being born one. I really liked the twist at the end. I didn’t expect it, but it was a nice way to bring the story full circle and connect Medusa and Perseus in an original way.

Athena’s Child is a beautiful retelling of Medusa’s story.

Thank you Sourcebooks Landmark for sending me a copy of this book!

Content warnings: rape, spousal abuse, death, death of parents

ead Athena’s Child? What did you think of it?

Review: Scream for the Camera (Graveyard Girls #2)

Title: Scream for the Camera (Graveyard Girls #2)
Author: Lisi Harrison, Daniel Kraus
Genre: Middle Grade, Horror, Contemporary
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: October 3, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

New York Times bestselling authors Lisi Harrison and Daniel Kraus deliver a s lightly scary, extremely addictive contemporary middle-grade series—perfect for fans of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps and Ann M. Martin’s The Babysitters Club.

It’s been a month since the Graveyard Girls—Gemma, Whisper, Sophie, Frannie, and Zuzu—discovered Silas Hoke’s empty grave. A month, and no answers. That changes when messages from the other side start to creep up on the Graveyard Girls. Gemma’s good-luck charm. The skull in Whisper’s spilled milk. Sophie’s vanishing phone. Frannie’s theater curse. And Zuzu’s possessed Jōurnal. Who is trying to reach them . . . and why?

The good There might be one person with some answers. The bad She’s a mortician . . . with a deadly secret.

Speaking of bad news, straight-A Sophie is quickly sliding down the scale to becoming a B-flat friend. She is spending way more time hanging out with “Danger Me” and way less time with the Graveyard Girls and her schoolwork. Will her scary story be enough to win back her pals, or will her picture-perfect life become the ultimate photo bomb?

Review:

A month ago, the Graveyard girls discovered the infamous killer Silas Hoke’s grave was empty. They’re still wondering what happened when strange things start happening. Gemma breaks her mother’s good luck charm, Whisper sees a skull in spilled milk, Frankie curses the theatre, Sophie’s phone disappears, and Zuzu is possessed by Ginny Baker, who was Silas’s murder victim. The girls have to figure out why these strange things keep happening, while also searching for Silas Hoke’s body and dealing with the everyday challenges of being a preteen.

This was another great Graveyard Girls book! I really like the way the characters are developed. The narrative alternates between each of the five girls, but they are all distinct characters with different lives and challenges. One of the girls in the first and second books tells her own spooky story, which is included in the book. It’s a fun little bonus story that’s connected to the main plot. This story ended on a very good cliffhanger so I hope there will be more books in the series!

Scream for the Camera is a great middle grade story for spooky season!

Thank you Union Square Kids for sending me a copy!

Content warnings: child death (mention), death of parent (mention)

Other books in the series:

1-2-3-4, I Declare a Thumb War (Graveyard Girls #2)

Have you read Scream for the Camera? What did you think of it?

Review: Nayra and the Djinn

Title: Nayra and the Djinn
Author: Iasmin Omar Ata
Genre: Graphic Novel, Middle Grade, Fantasy
Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: February 28, 2023
Rating: ★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

In this coming-of-age graphic novel with a fantastical twist, Nayra Mansour, a Muslim American girl is helped on her journey to selfhood by a djinn.

Nothing is going right for Nayra Mansour. There’s the constant pressure from her strict family, ruthless bullying from her classmates, and exhausting friendship demands from Rami -the only other Muslim girl at school. Nayra has had enough. Just when she’s considering transferring schools to escape it all, a mysterious Djinn named Marjan appears.

As a djinn, a mythical being in Islamic folklore, Marjan uses their powers and wisdom to help Nayra navigate her overwhelming life. But Marjan’s past is fraught with secrets, guilt, and trouble, and if they don’t face what they’ve done, Nayra could pay the price.

In this beautifully illustrated graphic novel, Iasmin Omar Ata has created a realistic coming-of-age story with an enchanting dose of the fantastical about strength, identity, and, most of all, friendship.

Review:

Nayra Mansour is under pressure from her family to do well at school, but her family doesn’t know how much she is bullied for being Muslim. She is friends with the only other Muslim girl at school, Rami, but that friendship isn’t strong enough to make Nayra feel better. While Nayra is considering transferring to a different school, a Djinn, a mythical creature in Islamic folklore, appears before her. The Djinn has run away from their home, but they want to help Nayra with her problems. Nayra has to figure out how to solve her problems with the help of the Djinn.

This was a great middle grade graphic novel! Nayra experienced a lot of racism and Islamophobia from her classmates. There was one girl who would call her names, even when Nayra asked her to stop. Nayra had to figure out a way to connect with the bully in order to get her to stop. It was sad to see her treated like that. Throughout the story, Nayra was fasting for Ramadan, but her classmates didn’t understand that so they made fun of her. If more people can understand and be empathetic to people from different backgrounds, there may be less racism in the world. It’s important for children to read stories like this one to see the harm that can come from bullying and racism.

Nayra and the Djinn is a great middle grade graphic novel!

Thank you Penguin Teen Canada for providing a copy of this book!

Content warnings: racism, Islamophobia, bullying

Have you read Nayra and the Djinn? What did you think of it?

Happy Pub Day – September 26

Happy Pub Day to these authors!

The Witches of Bone Hill by Ava Morgyn

What Became of Magic by Paige Crutcher

Athena’s Child by Hannah Lynn

The Ex-Mas Holidays by Zoe Allison

Faking Christmas by Kerry Winfrey

For Girls Who Walk Through Fire by Kim DeRose

The Christmas Wager by Holly Cassidy

Foul Heart Huntsman by Chloe Gong

Thieves’ Gambit by Kayvion Lewis

The Scarlet Veil by Shelby Mahurin

We the Sea Turtles by Michelle Kadarusman

Thank you St. Martin’s Press, Sourcebooks Landmark, Berkley Romance, Union Square and Co., Penguin Random House Canada, Simon and Schuster Canada, Penguin Teen Canada, HarperCollins, Fable App, and Pajama Press for providing copies of these books!

What books are you most excited for this week?

Review: The Meadows

Title: The Meadows
Author: Stephanie Oakes
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, LGBTQ, Dystopian
Publisher: Dial Books
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: September 12, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A queer, YA Handmaid’s Tale meets Never Let Me Go about a dystopian society bent on relentless conformity, and the struggle of one girl to save herself and those she loves from a life of lies

Everyone hopes for a letter—to attend the Estuary, the Glades, the Meadows. These are the special places where only the best and brightest go to burn even brighter.

When Eleanor is accepted at the Meadows, it means escape from her hardscrabble life by the sea, in a country ravaged by climate disaster. But despite its luminous facilities, endless fields, and pretty things, the Meadows keeps dark secrets: its purpose is to reform students, to condition them against their attractions, to show them that one way of life is the only way to survive. And maybe Eleanor would believe them, except then she meets Rose.

Four years later, Eleanor and her friends seem free of the Meadows, changed but not as they’d hoped. Eleanor is an adjudicator, her job to ensure her former classmates don’t stray from the lives they’ve been trained to live. But Eleanor can’t escape her past . . . or thoughts of the girl she once loved. As secrets unfurl, Eleanor must wage a dangerous battle for her own identity and the truth of what happened to the girl she lost, knowing, if she’s not careful, Rose’s fate could be her own.

A raw and timely masterwork of speculative fiction, The Meadows will sink its roots into you. This is a novel for our times and for always—not to be missed.

Review:

Every child hopes to receive a letter to attend a special school for the best and brightest children. Select kids aged 12-14 receive a letter, sending them to the school for four years, with a few other children the same age. Eleanor was invited to the Meadows, which is in a secret location, surrounded by endless fields. However, she doesn’t know that the school is meant to reform students to fit in with the way that society insists they follow. When Eleanor meets Rose, she realizes there is another direction her life can take. Four years later, Eleanor is working as an adjudicator, someone who makes sure that former children of those schools have been reformed. Eleanor can’t stop thinking about Rose and the mysteries that surrounded her time at the Meadows. She persists in finding answers, even if the cost will be her life.

This was an incredible story. It was set in a dystopian world where a climate disaster destroyed a lot of the world. Society is run by the Quorum, who monitors everyone with cameras and microphones to make sure they are living by their rules, particularly that men and women are not having relationships with the same sex. The most disturbing part is that this isn’t far off from the real world. Conversion therapy, like what was happening at these facilities where the kids were sent in the story, is still happening in the world. There was also a mystery element to the story while Eleanor looked for Rose after leaving the facility, that kept me turning the pages. I really didn’t want this story to end but I did love the way it ended!

The Meadows is a new YA dystopian that everyone should read!

Thank you Penguin Teen Canada for sending me a copy!

Content warnings: homophobia, abuse, death of parents

Have you read The Meadows? What did you think of it?

Review: Only a Trenza Away: A Tale of Trust and Strength

Title: Only a Trenza Away: A Tale of Trust and Strength
Author: Nadine Fonseca, Camila Carrossine
Genre: Picture Book, Children’s
Publisher: Shadow Mountain Publishing
Source: Publisher
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: August 8, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

A little girl feels her father’s love as he takes time to braid her hair each night and share imaginative bedtime stories.

Every night, Xiomara’s (zee-oh-MA-da) papa delicately braids her hair before bed. As he gently tugs and twists and tightens her hair, father and daughter embark on imaginative and fun adventures as he makes up stories about Xia and her trenzas, or “braids” in Spanish.

In one story, her trenza becomes a sturdy twisted vine that she uses to bravely swing through the jungle. In another, her trenzas are jump ropes as she catches the beat to play double Dutch with the best players in the neighborhood.

But Xia worries what she would do if Papa was not there to help her in a real adventure—like starting a new school. Could the strength Xia needs already be woven into her braids?

Review:

Every night before bedtime, Xiomara’s father braids her hair and they go on imaginative adventures together. He makes up stories about Xiomara and her braids (or trenzas). One night, her father wasn’t there to braid her hair and she felt lost without having her trenzas in her hair. Xia must learn that the strength from her trenzas is already within herself.

This is a beautiful picture book. I loved the ritual that Xiomara had with her father braiding her hair every night. It reminded me of when I was a child and my dad would read me bedtime stories. I also liked that it was her father that braided her hair, which would stereotypically be considered a “female job” to braid her daughter’s hair. The time her father spent braiding her hair was nice bonding time for Xia and her father.

Only a Trenza Away is a beautiful story!

Thank you Shadow Mountain Publishing for sending me a copy!

Have you read Only a Trenza Away? What did you think of it?

Happy Pub Day – September 19

Happy Pub Day to these authors!

Paper Princess by Erin Watt

The A&A Detective Agency: The Fairfleet Affair by K.H. Saxton

Nightbreaker by Coco Ma

A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid

Thank you Berkley, Union Square Kids, Penguin Teen Canada, and HCC Frenzy for providing copies of these books!

What books are you most excited for this week?

Review: The A and A Detective Agency: The Fairfleet Affair

Title: The A & A Detective Agency: The Fairfleet Affair
Author: K.H. Saxton
Genre: Middle Grade, Mystery, Contemporary
Publisher: Union Square Kids
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: September 19, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Follow clues, solve puzzles, crack the code… find the missing millionaire.

The celebrated museums of the Fairfleet Institute are known for curating the mysteries of humanity. But they don’t solve mysteries. Luckily, twelve-year-old friends Alex Foster and Asha Singh of the A&A Detective Agency do. Or they will . . . once they get a real case to test their skills as sleuths.

When Dr. Alistair Fairfleet, the institute’s eccentric chairman, disappears on the first day of Alex and Asha’s summer vacation, they receive a letter written by the missing millionaire himself inviting them to a game involving complicated clues and puzzles. It is just the sort of case they’ve been waiting to tackle. But nothing in the Fairfleet case has a simple solution. As the kids track down clues, they uncover art forgeries, archaeological crimes, and Fairfleet family secrets. All of this tests their partnership and forces them to confront the complicated legacies of the people and places they admire most.

Review:

Alex and Asha are twelve-year-old detectives in Northbrook who haven’t had a real case yet. When Dr. Alistair Fairfleet, the chairman of the Fairfleet Institute, goes missing, Alex and Asha get their first case. Dr. Fairfleet sent letters to his four directors of the Institute, as well as Alex and Asha, which were to be delivered if he ever went missing. They are on a countdown to find Dr. Fairfleet by July 15th. The two friends follow a series of clues to discover art forgeries, archaeological crimes, and secrets of the Fairfleet family.

This was a fun middle grade mystery filled with puzzles! I loved this kind of puzzle story as a kid and now as an adult. It felt like a combination of The Da Vinci Code, The Westing Game, and The Inheritance Games. The puzzles were intricate but fun to solve along with the characters. I had figured out most of the ending before I reached it, but I’m sure most middle grade readers would be pleasantly surprised at the twists!

The Fairfleet Affair is a fun mystery! I hope there will be more books in this series!

Thank you Union Square and Co for sending me a copy!

Have you read The A & A Detective Agency: The Fairfleet Affair? What did you think of it?