These books are so incredibly adorable! I just wanted to stare and stare at the illustrations all day long, and the story matched them pretty much perfectly. The series is a truly delightful concoction of creepiness and cuteness!
The Goodreads description says that these books are written for reluctant readers, and I can see how they’d be perfect for that group. They feature short chapters and plenty of wonderfully quirky illustrations so the books don’t feel overwhelming, but the storylines don’t seem too “little kiddish.” Plus, I think these storylines would be engaging for older readers as well as younger ones!
Amelia Fang and the Barbaric Ball by Laura Ellen Anderson Illustrator: Laura Ellen Anderson
Series: Amelia Fang #1
Published by Delacorte Press on July 30, 2019
Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Pages: 224
Source: The Publisher
My content rating: MG (Some creepiness and minor MG-level violence)
My rating:
A hilarious illustrated middle grade POB series for reluctant readers starring a vampire girl, Amelia Fang. Welcome to the world of Nocturnia, where darkness reigns supreme, glitter is terrifying, and unicorns are the stuff of nightmares!
Amelia Fang would much rather hang out with her pet pumpkin Squashy and her friends Florence the yeti (DON'T CALL HER BEAST!) and Grimaldi the reaper than dance at her parents' annual Barbaric Ball.
Then the King's spoiled son Tangine captures Squashy, Amelia and her friends must escape the party to plan a daring rescue!
In their race against time, they begin to realize things in Nocturnia may not be quite what they seem...
This book introduces us to the spooky cast of characters—Amelia (the vampire) and her friends (a Yeti, a grim reaper, and her pet pumpkin). Like I said, it’s really impressive how well Anderson managed to merge creepy and cute. These books sort of remind me of Monster High for younger kids. There’s lots of play on words and gross-out foods and other fun details that kids will love. The story revolves around Amelia, who’s always bored at her family’s annual Barbaric Ball. She’s thrilled when she finds out that this year the king is going to attend with his son, so she’ll finally have someone her own age to hang out with (no other kids are allowed). Unfortunately, when she meets the prince, she finds that he is a spoiled brat. She has to face down her nemesis and maybe learn a thing or two about why he’s such a bully in the process. The story is super cute and engaging, and the book is just plain fun!
Amelia Fang and the Unicorns of Glitteropolis by Laura Ellen Anderson Illustrator: Laura Ellen Anderson
Series: Amelia Fang #2
Published by Delacorte Press on July 30, 2019
Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy
Pages: 240
Source: The Publisher
My content rating: MG (Some creepiness and minor MG-level violence)
My rating:
The second book in a hilarious illustrated middle-grade POB series for reluctant readers starring a vampire girl, Amelia Fang. Welcome to the world of Nocturnia, where darkness reigns supreme, glitter is terrifying, and unicorns are the stuff of nightmares!
Amelia Fang and her friends love their dark and gloomy world of Nocturnia. But when Tangine's mom, Queen Fairyweather, goes missing, they must brave the journey to the terrifying Kingdom of the Light.
With fairies and angel-kittens lurking around every corner, who can they trust? And will they finally uncover the real villain keeping the kingdoms of Light and Dark mortal enemies?
In this second book, Amelia and her friends travel into the terrifying (for them) Kingdom of Light on a quest to find a very important missing fairy (I won’t say exactly who because that would be a spoiler for the first book). The story in this second book was a lot more active, so I think I enjoyed it even more than the first. There were lots of fun elements to the Kingdom of Light, and it was hilarious to see Amelia and her friends’ reactions to them (all that sweetness tended to make them sick!). In some parts the story was just plain silly (for instance, Amelia and her Yeti friend disguise themselves as unicorns by basically just sticking horns on their heads, and apparently that’s enough to fool everyone), but this isn’t the type of book you’re supposed to take all that seriously. There was lots of adventure to this installment, and it’s a perfect set-up for future books. I can’t wait to read even more of this series!
***Disclosure: I received these books from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
About The Author and Illustrator
I love ALL things Autumn, pumpkin spice, crunchy leaves, the smell of woodsmoke and big chunky knit jumpers. Halloween is my most favourite season and the pumpkin is my patronus.
When I’m not working, I’m usually making 3D models characters, creating Harry Potter fan art, baking (and eating) and making ‘To Do’ lists.
I was born in Essex in 1988 and now I live in London as a fully-fledged grown up (sort of). I studied illustration at University College Falmouth and graduated with a First Class degree in 2010. Since then I have been lucky enough to work with many UK and US publishers on some wonderful books.
I’m so glad you liked these! I have them to read/review soon and I can’t wait to get to them. They do seem really adorable, and I think my oldest niece would love them too.
-Lauren
I just went and read your review—so glad you enjoyed them!
Oh my gosh, these sound so cute! And the illustrations look like a perfect addition to the books. (I will admit, more of my books need to include illustrations. I read too many books without pictures these days.)
I just got a YA book with illustrations for review, and I was sort of giddy about it. Who says teens (and adults) don’t like pictures anymore?
I was offered these for review but I didn’t have the time to get to them then but I will be picking them up. They look absolutely adorable.
Karen @ For What It’s Worth
I hope you pick them up—they’re so cute!!
These sound so cute! I’m going to have to look for them.
You definitely should!
These sound like adorable books! I love how you describe the series as Monster High for younger kids. I’ll keep these books in mind for younger readers 🙂
My kids love Monster High (still), and I think they’d love these books too!
This sounds like such an amazing middle grade series! I feel like I’ve read similar books when I was younger, and that I would have definitely read this as a kid! Especially since I absolutely adore the art style from the pictures you shared! I feel like I might reach for these books the next time I enter the slump and want something quick and cute to read!
I’m such a sucker for whimsical illustrations, and these books definitely win in that category!
I won this as a Goodreads giveaway. My 19yr old advanced reader daughter devoured it in a couple of days. You are so talented and I love how it’s 2 books in one which I haven’t seen in years.
I’m glad your daughter loved it so much!!