Today, I’m reviewing two MG verse novels, a MG fantasy, a MG graphic novel and a YA fantasy. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction!
Ruptured by Joanne Rossmassler Fritz Published by Holiday House on November 14, 2023
Genres: Contemporary, Middle Grade, Verse
Pages: 272
Source: Edelweiss
Cover Artist: Maeve Norton
My rating:
The sensitive, suspenseful story of a family coping with a life-changing tragedy, told in stunning verse.
Is it wrong to grieve for someone who is still alive? Claire's mom and dad don't talk to each other much anymore. And they definitely don't laugh or dance the way they used to. Their tense, stilted stand offs leave thirteen-year-old Claire, an only child, caught in the middle. So when the family takes their annual summer vacation, Claire sticks her nose in a book and hopes for the best. Maybe the sunshine and ocean breeze will fix what's gone wrong.
But while the family is away, Claire's mother has a ruptured brain aneurysm--right after she reveals a huge secret to Claire. Though she survives the rupture, it seems like she is an entirely different person. Claire has no idea if her mom meant what she said, or if she even remembers saying it. With the weight of her mom's confession on her shoulders, Claire must navigate fear, grief, and prospects for recovery.
Will her mom ever be the same? Will her parents stay together? And if the answer to either question is yes, how will Claire learn to live with what she knows? This beautifully written novel speaks to kids' fears and credits their strength, and stems from the author's incredible experience surviving two ruptured aneurysms.
Ruptured is a MG verse novel that explores the fragility of life and the triumphs that come from making it through incredibly difficult situations. Claire’s mom shares some devastating news with her just before suffering an aneurysm, so Claire struggles with fears both about her mom’s health and about the fate of her family. The story is based off the author’s own experiences as a brain aneurysm survivor (or, rather, on the experiences of her family, since she doesn’t remember much of the circumstances herself), so the details of the illness and the emotions involved all ring true. It was nice to see a story where the parent recovers from an illness in a realistic way, and it’s impossible not to empathize with Claire as she goes through the experience. Another stunning verse novel from this author.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via Edelweiss for review. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
Enemies in the Orchard: A World War 2 Novel in Verse by Dana VanderLugt Published by Zonderkidz on September 12, 2023
Genres: Historical Fiction, Middle Grade, Verse
Pages: 288
Source: Edelweiss
My rating:
Set against the backdrop of WWII, this achingly beautiful middle grade novel in verse based on American history presents the dual perspectives of Claire, a Midwestern girl who longs to enter high school and become a nurse even as she worries for her soldier brother, and Karl, a German POW who’s processing the war as he works on Claire’s family farm. This poignant and moving story of an unlikely connection will stay with readers long after the final page. It’s October 1944, and while Claire’s older brother, Danny, is off fighting in World War II, her dad hires a group of German POWs to help with the apple harvest on their farm. Claire wants nothing to do with the enemies in the orchard, until she meets soft-spoken, hardworking Karl. Could she possibly have something in common with a German soldier? Karl, meanwhile, grapples with his role in the war as he realizes how many lies Hitler’s regime has spread—and his complacency in not standing up against them. But his encounters with Claire give him hope that he can change and become the person he wants to be. Inspired by the little-known history of POW labor camps in the United States, this lyrical verse novel is told in alternating first-person poems by two young people on opposite sides of the war. Against a vivid backdrop of home front tensions and daily life, intimate entries reveal Claire’s and Karl's hopes and struggles, and their growing friendship even as the war rages on. What are their chances of connection, of redemption, of peace?
This MG historical novel-in-verse tells a story of World War II that’s usually overlooked. The author based the circumstances (if not the story’s detailed events) on POWs who worked on her own family’s orchard in order to help fill in for American soldiers who had been sent off to war. The book is told from two POVs: Claire, a girl whose family owns the orchard, and Karl, a young German POW who works on the orchard. Both Claire and Karl have to face questions about what it means to be faced with someone you’ve been taught to hate. Claire doesn’t want to see humanity in the German soldiers, especially since her own brother is oversees fighting against them. And Karl questions his own country’s propoganda and the lies he’s been told about America, the Jewish people, and more. The book presents a nuanced portrayal of humanity without romanticizing the German soldier too much, a fine line that’s hard to walk on. I learned something new about history from this book, and I read a compelling story too!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via Edelweiss for review. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
Skandar and the Phantom Rider by A.F. Steadman Series: Skandar #2
Also in this series: , Skandar and the Unicorn Thief
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on April 27, 2023
Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade
Pages: 496
Source: The Publisher
Cover Artist: Two Dots Illustration
My rating:
The Island shall have its revenge . . .
Skandar Smith has achieved his dream to train as a unicorn rider.
But as Skandar and his friends enter their second year at the Eyrie, a new threat arises. Immortal wild unicorns are somehow being killed, a prophecy warns of terrible danger, and elemental destruction begins to ravage the Island.
Meanwhile, Skandar’s sister, Kenna, longs to join him – and Skandar is determined to help her, no matter what. As the storm gathers, can Skandar discover how to stop the Island tearing itself apart – before it’s too late for them all?
Kids who loved the action and adventure in the first book in this series will not be disappointed with the follow-up. You’ve got the magical boarding school atmosphere, complete with rivalries, mysterious unicorn deaths, and students who are being possessed by their unicorns’ darker natures somehow. Of course, Skandar gets blamed for it all, and he also has to juggle his disappointment with the breakdown of his close relationship with his sister (which becomes its own subplot that I won’t reveal too much about here), a strained relationship with his aunt, and a (thankfully?) nonexistent relationship with his villainous mother. It all adds up to a fantastical adventure middle grade readers will adore.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
Ink Girls by Marieke Nijkamp Illustrator: Sylvia Bi
Series: Ink Girls #1
Published by Greenwillow Books on November 21, 2023
Genres: Graphic Novel, Historical Fiction, Middle Grade
Pages: 288
Source: The Publisher
My rating:
Set in a city-state inspired by Renaissance-era Italy, INK GIRLS tells of a young printer's apprentice who must find a way to save her master who is arrested for sedition after she printed a newspaper calling out the crimes of the most powerful man in the city.
This semi-historical MG graphic novel explores the lengths some people will go to in order to reveal the truth in news. The story takes place in a fictionalized medieval Italian city where Cinzia is a printer’s apprentice. Her mentor has just learned about a financial scandal involving one of the city’s most prominent nobles, and she prints the story, even though she knows her life and livelihood might be at stake. When she’s arrested, Cinzia is desperate to prove that her mentor’s story is all true, and hopefully save her from being executed. This story has action, intrigue, and some great diverse representation. Kids will learn a bit about how printing used to be done, and will also learn an important lesson about the importance of the press (a timely subject). It’s an engaging story, and the illustrative style of the graphics pull the reader in even more. Highly recommend!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
The Luminaries by Susan Dennard Series: The Luminaries #1
Published by Tor Teen on November 1, 2022
Genres: Contemporary Fantasy, Young Adult
Pages: 294
Source: Purchased, The Publisher, Won It!
Cover Artist: Sasha Vinogradova
My rating:
Hemlock Falls isn't like other towns. You won't find it on a map, your phone won't work here, and the forest outside town might just kill you.
Winnie Wednesday wants nothing more than to join the Luminaries, the ancient order that protects Winnie's town—and the rest of humanity—from the monsters and nightmares that rise in the forest of Hemlock Falls every night.
Ever since her father was exposed as a witch and a traitor, Winnie and her family have been shunned. But on her sixteenth birthday, she can take the deadly Luminary hunter trials and prove herself true and loyal—and restore her family's good name. Or die trying.
But in order to survive, Winnie enlists the help of the one person who can help her train: Jay Friday, resident bad boy and Winnie’s ex-best friend. While Jay might be the most promising new hunter in Hemlock Falls, he also seems to know more about the nightmares of the forest than he should. Together, he and Winnie will discover a danger lurking in the forest no one in Hemlock Falls is prepared for.
Not all monsters can be slain, and not all nightmares are confined to the dark.
Do you ever have a book that you hype up so much in your own mind that you then can’t bring yourself to read it? (No? Just me?) Typically this happens to me with the final book in a series, but I did that with this book for some reason. I own four copies of The Luminaries: I got an ARC sent to me, won an ARC box, pre-ordered a signed copy and then bought the B&N exclusive edition as well. My mom read one of my ARCs and loved it, I followed all of Susan Dennard’s news about it, and I reminisced about the original Twitter version of the story (which I followed, though I will confess I didn’t see all of it) – but somehow I never read the book. Until now.
So glad I finally picked this one up, because I loved it! My favorite aspects of the book are the creatures and the Luminaries society worldbuilding. I found it all fascinating. And then, of course, there is ugh, Jay, who is just as broody and lovable as he needs to be. The book sets up a bunch of mysteries that kept me turning the pages, some that I suspect I know the answers to (even if we didn’t get them in this book – I’ll have to wait until the next installment to know for sure) and some that I have no idea how they will eventually pan out. Time to pick up the next book so I can get some more answers!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
I have tears in my eyes reading about Ruptured. So many reasons why we grieve people who are still alive. Heartbreaking.
I usually do that hype up with books like JLA’s books. And then I pick them up and read them and LOVE them. Luminaries was one of my favorites last year and I enjoyed the second book that just came out this month too. I also found a couple titles on this list I might get my niece for Christmas or her birthday in February. So thank you for sharing the MG reviews!