I’ve joined up with the IT’S MONDAY! WHAT ARE YOU READING? kid-lit edition, hosted by Unleashing Readers. This will help me get more reviews posted – I have lots of books I’ve loved lately to share with you!
So, today I’m sharing reviews of two middle-grade debuts. Hope these bite-sized reviews are enough to feed your fiction addiction!
The Last Rhee Witch by Jenna Lee-Yun Published by Disney-Hyperion on May 14, 2024
Genres: Contemporary Fantasy, Horror, Middle Grade
Pages: 352
Source: Edelweiss
Cover Artist: Deb JJ Lee
My rating:
For fans of The Last Fallen Star, Witchlings, and Ghost Squad, a heartfelt middle grade debut where Korean folklore is all too real and summer camp includes a gwishin haunting.
You couldn’t hold onto everything and everyone. You had to choose. And Ronnie only had two hands.
Since her mother died when she was five years old, it’s always just been Ronnie Miller and her dad. Two Korean Americans who, thanks to Ronnie’s dad’s adoption by white parents, have never felt all that Korean. But Ronnie is okay with that—as long as she has her dad and her best friend Jack, Ronnie is 99% certain she can get through anything.But as much as she wants everything to stay the same, the world—and her dad—has other plans. Now, Ronnie and Jack are headed away to sleepaway camp for the first time ever. Camp Foster promises all of the outdoorsy activities that Ronnie has so far managed to avoid: ropes courses, scavenger hunts, kayaking on the lake. Ugh. But she can do this. As long as she has Jack.
As it turns out, an old manor in the woods is the kind of place that’s crawling with secrets. Secrets like a mysterious gwishin haunting the grounds, a blood-red scarf wrapped too tightly around her ghostly neck. And a witch-hunting dokkaebi intent on finding and silencing the last Rhee witch. And the strange habit all the counselors have of rhyming when they speak . . . just like Ronnie has begun to do lately.
For a girl who wants everything to stay the same, nothing is scarier than all the changes Camp Foster brings. New friends. New foes. Souls with unfinished business. And, possibly worst of all, revelations that disprove everything Ronnie knew to be true.
Jenna Lee-Yun combines magic, mystery, suspense, and humor into a ghostly action-packed contemporary fantasy.
This summer camp story is perfect for middle grade readers who like the thrill of imagining the spooky stories told around a campfire just might come to life! When Ronnie goes to camp for the first time, she’s not so sure she’s going to love it. Her best friend is there with her, but he seems more interested in making new friends than hanging out with her. And the idea of a ropes course strikes fear in her heart more than excitement. But soon Ronnie realizes that she has a lot more to fear than just a precarious obstacle course in the sky when ghost stories of a gwishin on the grounds prove very real. Worse yet, the witch-hunting dokkaebi might be even more dangerous–Ronnie doesn’t want to believe it, but it seems that these Korean myths have come to haunt her. So while Ronnie navigates changing friendships and family secrets, she must also keep herself alive!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via Edelweiss. No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
Murray Out of Water by Taylor Tracy Published by Quill Tree Books on 05/21/2024
Genres: Contemporary Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Middle Grade
Pages: 400
Source: Edelweiss, Purchased
Cover Artist: Sas Milledge
My rating:
Perfect for fans of Rebecca Stead, Natalie Lloyd, and Jasmine Warga, this beautiful novel in verse explores one girl's struggle to regain her magic after a hurricane forces her to move away from her beloved ocean that, she believes, has given her special powers.
Bighearted and observant twelve-year-old Murray O’Shea loves the ocean. Every chance she gets, she’s in it. It could be because the ocean never makes her apologize for being exactly who she is—something her family refuses to do—but it could also be because of the secret magic that Murray shares with the ocean. Though she can’t explain its presence, the electric buzz she feels from her fingertips down to her toes allows her to become one with the ocean and all its creatures, and it makes Murray feel seen in a way she never feels on land. But then a hurricane hits Murray’s Jersey Shore home, sending the O'Sheas far inland to live with relatives. Being this far from the ocean, Murray seems to lose her magic. And stuck in a house with her family, she can no longer avoid the truths she’s discovering about herself—like how she feels in the clothes her mom makes her wear, or why she doesn't have boys on the brain like other girls her age. But it’s not all hurricanes and heartache. Thankfully, Murray befriends a boy named Dylan, who has a magic of his own. When Murray agrees to partner with him for a youth roller-rama competition in exchange for help getting her magic back, the two forge an unstoppable bond—one that shows Murray how it's not always the family you were given that makes you feel whole...sometimes it's the family you build along the way.
This gorgeous middle grade novel in verse explores the beauty and confusion of figuring out who you are and who you want to be. The book is a contemporary with a splash of whimsical fantasy that will draw middle grade readers in! When a massive hurricane sends Murray away from the ocean she is convinced she’s magically connected to, her whole life changes. She’s sent to live with her aunt, uncle and cousin, away from everything she loves. At first, she very much feels like a fish out of water–she feels her magic waning, and she fears she won’t ever get it back. But it soon becomes apparent that not everything about this change is bad. Murray finds an acceptance with her aunt’s family that she never felt at home, and she’s finally able to reconnect with her older brother who’s been estranged from the family for years. The book is about Murray finding her magic once again, and finding herself in the process. She learns that she can explore her gender identity without shame, and that she will always have her found family behind her. The book is both realistic and hopeful–with a bit of fantastical flair that makes it shine!
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher via Edelweiss (but then bought myself a copy and read the copy I bought. I always prefer physical copies of verse novels). No compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
What I’m currently reading:
Right now I’m listening to Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross. My daughter listened to this one first and told me I need to read it. She was right. It’s excellent. And I’m reading Cruzita and the Mariacheros by Ashley Granillo, a wonderful contemporary that puts the spotlight on culture and friendship!
I haven’t read either one, nor even have them on my list! Thanks for the reviews, will remember them!
Glad I could introduce you to some new books!
I’m glad that my reviews are useful. Summers are hard, because I don’t have any students to give books to, and it’s always nice to have a little bit of feedback. I also have to remind myself that the blog has been really useful in helping me to remember details of titles; I often tell students that I read a book before they were born, so I’ll have to pull up my review of it. Hopefully, you’ve picked up some of the coded ways I say that I DON’T like things; I try to do this in ways that authors won’t know but my loyal readers will. Thanks for commenting!
I always enjoy books with folklore from cultures that I don’t know a lot about, so that first one sounds so good! I also like Rebecca Stead books, so the second sounds good, except I just don’t read a ton of novels in verse. I’m trying to branch out more into that though! Thanks for sharing these!
I love the cover of Murray Out of Water, and I really love verse novels, so this looks like one I would enjoy for sure. It’s new to me, so I’m adding it to the TBR. Always nice to be introduced to new books and to keep that TBR list full!
Rhee Witch sounds wonderful. Change is tough, but at least Ronnie had the safety of the camp and camp friends to support her during this time of discovery and change. Sounds wonderful!
Oh yay, so glad you loved Murray! I just know that I will too! I also now apparently need to read Divine Rivals, eh? I have really enjoyed the author’s books in the past but was on the fence about the premise of that one, but I guess I am in!