Tag Archive | non-US author

Only THE MIDNIGHT UNICORN can save their kingdom! by Alice Hemming (MG book review)

book cover of The Midnight Unicorn, by Alice Hemming. Published in USA by Kane Miller/ EDC | recommended on BooksYALove.com

A kingdom at peace,
protected by the Midnight Unicorn.
Now danger approaches!

Enchanted raven Corvus relays a message to the Queen as her newborn twin daughters sleep nearby – her evil brother has escaped his banishment and is bringing an army to Essendor!

Away from the castle they flee – one baby with court wizard Maneo to the west, the other with their Nanny to the east, the queen and king to the south.

Thirteen years later, Alette and her sorcerer father leave their chilly, isolated home and begin searching for the sister she never knew about. How could he keep this secret so long?

In her mind, Audrey has told Shadow for years how she longs to escape the small dusty town where she works in her mother’s bakery. She’s shocked when Shadow sends a visual message in return one night – she is coming to Audrey!

Finally together, the twin sisters feel whole, just like their necklaces join to make a picture of a unicorn. Evil King Zelos told the kingdoms that the princesses died when the castle was taken, but they are alive – and they have more right to the throne than he does!

When will Audrey be able to transform into a unicorn as Alette can?
Who can they trust with their secrets?
Can they reach the city without alerting the king?

Danger and secrets are everywhere, even in a drowsy apple orchard, as Maneo accompanies the sisters on their quest.

First in the Dark Unicorns series, followed by The Darkest Unicorn (information here).

Can you envision a unicorn in your neighborhood?
**kmm

Book info: The Midnight Unicorn (Dark Unicorns, book 1) / Alice Hemming. Kane Miller/ EDC, 2022 (US), 2019 (UK). [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Almost time for the April #AtoZchallenge!

#AtoZChallenge 2022 alternative badge

The calendar is sliding toward April, so #AtoZChallenge is just ahead!

This will be my 11th year of participating in the blogging challenge to post alphabetically themed entries throughout April (with Sundays off).

My 2022 #AtoZChallenge theme is… books beyond bestsellers!

For y’all, this means a double-handful of new recommendations of middle-grade and young adult books, plus a few surprises.

You have time to sign up your blog for this free Challenge, too – more info here.

As I wrap up my 12th continuous year of recommending books – without giving away the endings, please let me know which April selections go on your wishlist to find at your local library or independent bookstore (remember – no affiliate links here – ever!).

Happy reading to all!
**kmm

Hurry along on HENRIE’S HERO HUNT for all the clues! by Petra James (MG book review)

book cover of Henrie's Hero Hunt, by Petra James, art by A. Yi. Published by Kane Miller Books | recommended on BooksYALove.com

The Hero Hotline phone rings!
Who needs help?
Is the newest Hero ready?

Being the first girl born into the House of Melchoir (HoMe) in 200 years won’t keep young Henrie from her destiny as a Hero!

With her brave Aunt Ellie, Henrie is continuing to search for her parents who aren’t dead at all, despite what the Melchior men told them for so long.

The HoMe Hero Hotline calls Henrie and friend Alex to help Marley uncover the truth about a beloved great-aunt whose golden reputation as an Egyptologist on the King Tut discovery team was tarnished by scandal.

In a wheelchair with a broken leg, Marley found a 1946 ad for HoMe among Great-Aunt Agnes’ things – that’s why she called the Heroes!

Hieroglyphics on Aunt Agnes’ tombstone and unique embroidery stitches lead the trio to an old bookstore and a museum… but they’re not alone!

Who’s been skulking outside Marley’s house?
Who’s following the tweens through the city?
Can they uncover the secret that restores Agnes’ reputation?

Filled with Tips from the Hero’s Handbook, quizzes, and codes to decipher, this book is a race between heroes and villains to find the truth!

If you’ve missed book 1, Hapless Hero Henrie, never fear! Our determined hero will catch you up on its thrilling events as she and Alex and Marley race to find the clues – before it’s too late! Brought to the US from Australia by Kane Miller Books.

What heroic qualities are strong in you?
**kmm

Book info: Henrie’s Hero Hunt (House of Heroes, book 2) / Petra James, art by A. Yi. Kane Miller Books, 2021. [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

SOMEBODY GIVE THIS HEART A PEN, a poet speaks up, shouts out – by Sophia Thakur (YA book review)

book cover of Somebody Give This Heart a Pen, by Sophia Thakur. Published by Candlewick Press | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Being seen,
seeing others truly,
acknowledging support and pain.

In her poetry, Sophia Thakur captures life-moments low and high, reveals bone-deep concerns, speaks of youth, for youth, to youth.

“To you, the silence in this stillness is to be endured
not experienced.
It scratches at every anxious bone that you own…”
begins the poem “Fidgeting” (pg. 66), one of several whose unflinching observations resolve with grace and advice.

Section headers composed of proverbs and sayings – Grow, Wait, Speak, Grow Again – present themselves as concrete poems of wisdom, slashed white against a dark page.

Honed through her performance poetry and TED talks (like this one), the Black British poet’s style radiates on the page, like the opening lines of “When to Write”:

“When your fists are ready to paint faces
When there is nowhere to confide
When your skin lingers high above your bones
and you’re so out of touch with self.
Write…” (pg. 98)

Check out her first volume of powerful and empathetic poems today at your local library or independent bookstore, and be inspired to let your heart speak.

“…I swore to my lips
never to send up anything that would compromise
anyone’s perception of me.
I have a vision of how I wish to be seen
and I fear that that image will be challenged
if ever they know more of me.” –from “Secrets” (pg. 57)

Your favorite contemporary poem?
**kmm

Book info: Somebody Give This Heart a Pen / Sophia Thakur. Candlewick Press, 2020. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

A GLASSHOUSE OF STARS, safe or mysterious? by Shirley Marr (MG book review)

A long journey,
an empty house,
so many changes to face!

The trip from their small rural island to the New Land was planned by Uncle, but he died before they reached his huge city.

Now Meixing has her very own room on the second floor of the tall Big Scary house with all its windows like eyes looking out and a top floor with no stairway up – did its round window wink at her again?

Oh, she does meet Uncle in the greenhouse hidden in the overgrown backyard – how? There he helps the girl plant seeds that sprout as she watches, shows her the wonderful orange trees that he wrote about when he invited her family to live with him, ignores the pink snake behind him…

Ba Ba seeks any kind of work, driving their rattletrap car on traffic-filled streets, as Ma Ma prepares for the new baby to arrive, both hampered by their limited English,.

A kindly neighbor who speaks a different home language brings baby clothes and a uniform for the school that Meixing will attend with her grumpy son Kevin who gets in trouble for not doing his homework.

Meixing has trouble understanding everyone, so she’s glad when they get special English reading and writing classes with Ms. Jardine.

A classmate steals Meixing’s ring – whose story will be believed?
An accident leaves Meixing and Ma Ma alone in the too-big house – what now?
Visiting relatives say this house is haunted – maybe its ghosts are friendly?

The greenhouse and Big Scary begin to share their secrets with Meixing in this magical realism for middle grades, based on the author’s childhood immigration to Australia, written in second-person voice.

What place has spoken to you and revealed its secrets?
**kmm

Book info: A Glasshouse of Stars / Shirley Marr. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2021. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

It’s Mardi Gras! Let’s go TO CARNIVAL: a Celebration in Saint Lucia! by Baptiste Paul & Jana Glatt (Picture Book review)

book cover of To Carnival: a Celebration in Saint Lucia! by Baptiste Paul; art by Jana Glatt. Published by Barefoot Books | recommended on BooksYALove.com

The music, the parade, the food – little Melba loves so much about Carnival that she can hardly sleep the night before!

Oh, no! How could her family leave for the morning parade without her?

As she hurries to the bus stop, the young girl meets a steel pan drummer heading to town, too. Oh, there goes the bus!

When they stop to help her friend Kelwin get his kite down from a tree, the bus passes them by again…

Hurrying to town, the group grows as birds and animals of Saint Lucia join them.

Will they get there in time to see the parade?

The author’s childhood memories of this Caribbean island come alive with vibrant images by the Brazilian illustrator. This title is also available in Spanish and French!

Find Creole word pronunciations and meanings at the end of the book, as well as more about Carnival – celebrated in many nations leading up to Mardi Gras (that’s today!) and other times as locally chosen.

What costume would you wear to join in the Carnival parade?
**kmm

Book info: To Carnival: a Celebration in Saint Lucia! / Baptiste Paul; art by Jana Glatt. Barefoot Books, 2021. [author site] [artist site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

She’s leaving. DESTINATION ANYWHERE, anywhere but here, by Sara Barnard (YA book review)

book cover of Destination Anywhere, by Sara Barnard; Christiane Furtges, illustrations. Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Bullied.
Mocked.
No friends during all her years in secondary school – not. a. single. one.

Even trying to make friends in early college was so disastrous that 17-year-old Peyton just leaves England, flies to Vancouver with her sketchbook and savings, choosing an adventure alone over being so very, very alone at school.

At the Canadian youth hostel, she meets honestly nice people from all over the world. With young adults from Scotland and Russia and beyond, she tours the city, visits the beach and a zipline in the forest – and they’re glad that she’s with them (wow).

Flashbacks to the dreadful night in college that triggered her flight illuminate the chasm of self-doubt caused by years of bullying – can journeying get her over that?

Beasey, Khalil, and friends think that Peyton is traveling to see her grandfather in Alberta (well, she tells everyone that’s why she’s here) and ask if she wants to join them when they rent an RV to visit Banff, which is on her route – why not?

They understand her dreams of becoming an illustrator (her parents don’t), savor nature’s beauty with her, and soon will be on their way to other countries and jobs and such – what next for her?

Maybe actually visiting the grandfather who abandoned her dad and grandma decades ago is the right path…

By the author of A Quiet Kind of Thunder (I recommended it here).

Where would you go on your next journey of self-discovery?
**kmm

Book info: Destination Anywhere / Sara Barnard; Christiane Furtges, illustrations. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2021. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Who is she truly, THE GIRL FROM THE SEA? by Molly Knox Ostertag (Graphic novel review)

book cover of The Girl From the Sea, by Molly Knox Ostertag. Published by Graphix/Scholastic | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Slipping off the rainy cliff,
Hitting her head,
Drowning, sinking…saved by a kiss!

Morgan can’t wait to escape from her Atlantic island town and be herself. The 15 year old Korean-Canadian tries so hard to fit in at school, agree with her boy-crazy best friends, channel her clothing designs into acceptable styles … exhausting.

Summer with her grumpy little brother and recently divorced mom becomes a little better because Keltie is there, the selkie who saved her from drowning! They’d met in the sea when Morgan was young, and Keltie’s been watching the shore for her ever since.

Now true love’s kiss has granted Keltie her landlegs, and she wants to be with Morgan, whose friends aren’t so sure about this new girl who loves sparkly clothes instead of the latest fashion.

Stolen moments together in secluded coves, Keltie explaining that she’s the only selkie of her generation, wondering what their future together might be like….

But a huge tourist boat plans to hug the island’s shoreline for summer excursions, endangering Keltie’s seal family – and the parents of Morgan’s friend Serena own it!

Can Keltie stop the boat from getting too close to the rookery?
Can Morgan keep her friends and Keltie, too?

This graphic novel by the creator of the Witch Boy trilogy explores friendship and family, plans and destiny. Find it at your local library or independent bookstore today!

Do you agree with Morgan’s mom: “You have to risk letting your life get messy to get to the good parts” (p. 151)?
**kmm

Book info: The Girl From the Sea / words and art by Molly Knox Ostertag . Graphix/Scholastic, 2021. [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

BLOOD LIKE MAGIC, by Liselle Sambury – her witch test will destroy love or family! (YA book review)

book cover of Blood Like Magic, by Liselle Sambury. Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Safety is staying in her family home,
facing the forces outside is her fate…
how can she balance the magic required?

Oh yes, her extended family is exasperating on a day-to-day basis, but 16-year-old Voya knows they love her and that she’d do anything to keep them safe in mid-21st century Toronto.

Now the Trinidadian-Canadian teen pleads for a second chance to claim her Calling as a witch, through a task to be set by her ancestor.

But this task is brutal, far beyond what anyone in her extended family experienced in their Calling – ‘destroy her first love.’

Time is of the essence as Voya must fall in love with someone and then eliminate them…or her little sister will die, and her entire family will lose its long-held magic!

Love match via genetic blood test?
Cozying up to a rival magic family?
Surely there must be another way…

Find this great YA debut at your local library or independent bookstore now. The series continues with Blood Like Fate in August 2022.

What would you sacrifice to keep your family safe?
**kmm

Book Info: Blood Like Magic (Blood Like Magic, book 1) / Liselle Sambury. Margaret K. McElderry Books (S&S), 2021. (author site) (publisher site) Review copy & cover image courtesy of the publisher.

She stays BRUISED to mask her bone-deep anguish, by Tanya Boteju (YA book review)

book cover of Bruised, by Tanya Boteju. Published by Simon Schuster BFYR | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Block the mental pain
with physical pain,
repeat, repeat, repeat…

Daya bruises herself to keep from feeling the guilt and sorrow of surviving the car crash that killed her parents. Keeps her distance from everyone at school, from the well-meaning artsy aunt and uncle she lives with now, from the therapist trying to coax out feelings that must stay boxed in.

But the Sri Lankan-Canadian teen finds a better escape when skateboarding pal Fee introduces her to roller derby. Strong women, sweating and pushing and falling and getting up to skate and hit some more!

Can Daya up her skating skills enough to get onto the rink where the bashing starts?
Was Fee right when they said she could really do this?
Is Daya willing to let veteran skaters help her improve?

When she starts falling for Shanti, the derby team captain says Daya’s interest in her sister shows weakness, threatens to bench the former youth boxing champ for not being tough enough…

Stellar complex story from the author of Kings, Queens, and In-Betweens (recommended here).

Ever try the right thing for the wrong reasons?
**kmm

Book Info: Bruised / Tanya Boteju. Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2021. (author site) (publisher site) Review copy & cover image courtesy of the publisher.