Tag Archive | conflict

Amid the pandemic’s first autumn, THERE IS A DOOR IN THIS DARKNESS, if she can find it! by Kristin Cashore (YA fiction)

Jun24
Book cover of There Is a Door in This Darkness, by Kristin Cashore. A maze with several entrances encloses and surrounds the words of the title on a background of streaky cloudy sky.

Seven people, one apartment,
one pandemic, college deferred –
who is she anymore?

Wilhelmina’s best friends and their families are in a Covid-pod together without her, and the Boston teen misses them enormously. She can always sense where people are in a building, and text messages just aren’t the same.

Her gap year has turned into running all the errands and trying to keep her younger siblings at bay while Mom and Dad work from home; her Aunts (actually great-aunts) are now here too, missing late Aunt Frankie as much as Wilhelmina does.

Tomorrow “your doughnut will be stale!” a fortune-teller tells her from 6 feet away. “Trust Wil-helm-ina” sparkles the message she sees parachuting from the snowy sky while walking in the cemetery for solitude; well-masked classmate James saw a white owl drop it!

The next day, she chooses just-fried doughnut from James’ Italian-Chinese-American family’s bakery – somehow, it is stale…

She sees James in the cemetery again, and he’s glowing at the edges. The Temperance tarot card that Frankie gave her long ago changes to “Trust Ray” in sparkles. Huh?!

What if the aunts’ mail ballots don’t arrive from Pennsylvania in time?
Could she really drive them home as the pinched nerves in her neck and arm flare with pain?
Why is James now in her recurring Aunt Frankie dream?

Chapters for each day of her pivotal week in November 2020 alternate with those filled with wonderful memories of childhood and teen summers spent with the Aunts at their lovely rural Pennsylvania home.

These strands of past and present story weave together satisfyingly and realistically and a bit magically as Wilhelmina navigates the current crisis to find herself at last.

This contemporary work of magical realism by the author of the Graceling fantasy epics is now available in paperback and definitely deserves your reading attention.

Where were you during November 2020, before the vaccines were available?
**kmm

Book info: There Is A Door In This Darkness / Kristin Cashore. Dutton Books /Penguin, hardcover 2024, paperback 2025. [author site https://kristincashore.com/books/there-is-a-door-in-this-darkness/] [publisher site https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/313481/there-is-a-door-in-this-darkness-by-kristin-cashore/] Review copy checked out from my local public library; cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Ice caps vanished, father not returned – her only hope against TERRA ELECTRICA: THE GUARDIANS OF THE NORTH! by Antonia Maxwell (MG fiction)

Jun18
Book cover of Terra Electrica: The Guardians of the North, by Antonia Maxwell. Atop a hill, a girl in summer clothes shoots magenta-colored lightning from her hands. Standing with her are a howling wolf and gigantic polar bear roaring at the Northern Lights above them. Two ravens fly to them through the magenta night sky, forest and high mountains in the distance.

Only she and her father survived the electrical sickness that killed everyone in their far-north village, where snow never ever comes now, Arctic animals long gone, polar ice caps melted away.

When he doesn’t return from weeks of hunting, 12-year-old Mani decides to search for her father, urged onward by the Polar animal spirits she meets after donning her late mother’s ancestral wooden mask.

The science man Leo is still alive, but his eyes show the Terra Electrica sickness. Somehow, Mani’s touch when holding a flashlight cures him!

Leo says they must travel north to The Ark where the other scientists are, to see if her father is there and figure out why Mani isn’t affected by the Terra Electrica. Maybe they can save the rest of humankind…

Their journey is long and dangerous, dragging their sled of supplies across muck that used to be iced-over, making a raft from driftwood and plastic bottles to cross a bay, encountering people who don’t trust Ark scientists or anyone coming from the Terra Electrica-affected zones.

Whenever she can, Mani goes back into the world of the mask, to hear wisdom from Ooshaka the polar bear and Crow and Eagle and Wolf, to seek her ancestors in the old land of ice, to listen for her mother’s spirit…

Oh! This large group also heading for The Ark says they have things to trade… things like weapons!?

Is her father really at The Ark?
What caused the Terra Electrica?
Can Ooshaka’s advice help Mani survive?

Mani’s perils due to extreme climate change remind us of the power we have in our present time to prevent future disaster.

How far north have you gone?
**kmm

Book info: Terra Electrica: The Guardians of the North / Antonia Maxwell. Neem Tree Press, 2024. [author site https://www.antoniamaxwell.com/about] [publisher site https://neemtreepress.com/book/terra-electrica-the-guardians-of-the-north/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Under the sea or stay on the land? THE SELKIE’S DAUGHTER is torn, by Linda Crotta Brennan (MG fiction)

Jun11
Book cover of The Selkie's Daughter, by Linda Crotta Brennan. A half-transformed selkie, currently part-girl and part-seal, sits on a rock at the mouth of a sea-cave with her seal-tail in the water, gazing out at the ocean.

Life is good on Finn’s Point, with Da’s music and Mum’s stories and little brother Willie, away from their isolated Nova Scotia fishing village.

If only Brigit didn’t have webbing between her fingers, proof of Mum’s selkie heritage, like the sealskin that Mum occasionally dons to transform herself into a seal in order to visit with her kinfolk in the sea.

The tween has long endured school bullies and town gossip that Mum came out of the sea, that Da’s nets must be enchanted to catch so many fish, but now they say that the new priest’s nephew is his son!

Truly, Peter is Father Angus’s sister’s son, seeing the sea for the first time after losing both parents to illness in Manitoba on their prairie farm. The schoolboy studies things scientifically so he can become a doctor and help others survive.

Oh! Someone is killing baby seals for their skins, when everyone knows it’s forbidden. Brigit sees visions of the seal families’ terror and anger when her selkie cousins venture into the secret cove near Finn’s Point.

Diphtheria sweeps through town, killing folks old and young, and people say the selkies are to blame!

As unseasonable storms blast town and endanger the fishing fleet, Brigit knows that she must try to convince the Great Selkie to relent and lift the bane.

Peter and her cousin Margaret help her plan for the difficult trip, with Peter lighting a candle in his uncle’s church before they go, “God made the rules of science and the sea. Wouldn’t hurt to have Him on our side.” (pg. 129)

Will the Great Selkie listen to Brigit?
Are her parents safe out on the storm-lashed sea?
Can a fishing town survive if there are no fish to catch?

This tale of family, friendship, and perseverance is woven throughout with Celtic mythology and seacoast lore – just released in paperback.

What do you know of selkies?
**kmm

Book info: The Selkie’s Daughter / Linda Crotta Brennan. Holiday House, hardcover 2024; Candlewick, paperback 2025. [author site https://www.lindacrottabrennan.com/] [publisher site https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/738000/the-selkies-daughter-by-linda-crotta-brennan/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Philosophy can help you become SERIOUSLY HAPPY, by Ben Aldridge (YA nonfiction)

May13
Book cover of Seriously Happy: 10 Life-Changing Philosophy Lessons From Stoicism to Zen to Supercharge Your Mindset, by Ben Aldridge. "The Thinker" statue wearing athletic socks, sneakers, and sunglasses rests his chin on fist and looks down at happy-face ball in his other hand.

Are you happy right now?
What about your happiness level for the week?
How can you live a better life?

“In the modern world, we have a big problem – a lot of us aren’t particularly happy,” (p.10) like this author who set out to shift his mindset into a happier mode by studying world philosophies.

First, you must define what happiness means to you, then uncover how living a good life is easier when you gain mental and emotional skills to weather its ups and downs.

At the heart of this book for teens are big lessons from ten philosophies: Zen, the Cynics, the Socratic School, Taoism, the Stoics, Aristotle, Buddhism, Epicurus, the Stoics again, and other ancient philosophers.

You can grow your resilience by studying the tenets of Buddhism, become seriously confident with advice from the Cynics, and power up your focus by studying Zen.

The author discusses each philosophy’s strengths in relation to living a good and balanced life, weaving in his experiences and reflections on seeking out different philosophical paths.

Each chapter ends with a set of challenges so you can interact more fully with that philosophy – walk a banana down the street (the Cynics), learn a challenging skill (the Stoics), get into the great outdoors (Taoism) – and see what its tenets might bring to your life.

When are you seriously happy and why?
**kmm

Book info: Seriously Happy: 10 Life-Changing Philosophy Lessons From Stoicism to Zen to Supercharge Your Mindset / Ben Aldridge. Quarto Publishing/Holler, 2024. [author site https://www.benaldridge.com/book] [publisher site https://quarto.com/books/9780711297807/seriously-happy] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Z is New Zealand DAWN RAID targeting of immigrant homes – time to protest! by Pauline Vaeluaga Smith & Mat Hunkin (MG fiction) #AtoZ

Apr30
Book cover of Dawn Raid, by Pauline Vaeluaga Smith, art by Mat Hunkin. Shows a dark-skinned young teen girl with long hair, hugging a book and wearing a dress and sandals. She is a bright image, walking with many monochrome-tinted native Maori and Pasifika immigrant people carrying signs and using a megaphone in New Zealand protest.

The right to free speech,
the right to education and work,
for everyone, right?

As the only girl squished in among so many rambunctious brothers, Sofia feels overlooked at home. Even her 13th birthday celebration in 1976 gets postponed when the boys get silly with darts and have to go to emergency room!

She gets too much attention in their small town school – for being Samoan, for reading her speech at assembly, for supporting the march by Maori people protesting theft of their traditional lands.

The New Zealand economy has turned bad, so the government says people with dark skin are the problem, making native Maori and immigrant Pacific Islanders alike easy targets for police harassment.

Sofia is now old enough to get a milk delivery job like her big brother. Despite all the heavy glass bottles and hearing complaints about price increases, she can save up for those groovy tall white boots she sees on TV!

Yay! Her grandparents are coming from Samoa to visit, so the whole family will take time off from school and work to go meet them in Auckland.

Oh, no… Polynesian Panthers are being jailed, just because they protest news silence about the government’s dawn raids of homes where an Islander might have overstayed their work or visitor visa!

Hmmm… Sofia has to write a new speech for the area competition about something she knows a lot about… like Islander people being the only group of overstayers being arrested.

Through Sofia’s diary entries and sketches, the 1976 Maori and Islander protests come alive, echoing the American Civil Rights movement that she learns about in school, as well as the current ICE raids in the US.

Reading what folks in other places and situations have written is a great way to know more about them – originally published by Scholastic New Zealand, brought to North America by Levine Querido, with discussion guide here: https://www.levinequerido.com/dawn-raid.

How do you support family members in difficult times?
**kmm

Book info: Dawn Raid / Pauline Vaeluaga Smith; illustrated by Mat Hunkin. Lantern/ Levine Querido, 2023. [author interview https://www.thesapling.co.nz/2018-04-17-author-interview-pauline-vaeluaga-smith/] [illustrator site https://www.mathunkin.com/illustration] [publisher site https://www.levinequerido.com/dawn-raid] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

V is for young violinist and friends – AFTER THE WALLPAPER MUSIC, now what? by Jean Mills (MG Fiction) #AtoZ

Apr25
Book cover of After the Wallpaper Music, by Jean Mills. Shows a young teen girl with long flowing red hair, playing a violin whose music swirls up and around the title.

Music soothes, charms,
tells stories, connects us,
divides us?

“My violin has magic powers and transforms into a fiddle at night, and that’s when I play the Newfoundland tunes for Auntie Flora,” says her 13-year-old namesake (pg. 7) who enjoys her great-aunt’s traditional music as much as the classical pieces that she, Kristy, Bas, and Vlad play as a string quartet.

Year 8 begins with a new classmate! Simon’s rock star dad was invited to lecture at the university in their Canadian town. Sadly, his younger sister was killed in a car crash this past summer. Simon is very quiet at school.

When the quartet instructor announces a Battle of the Bands contest coming up and her friends want to play a video game theme song instead of an edgy modern classical composer, Flora isn’t thrilled.

Unexpectedly, Simon asks Flora to bring her violin to his house, and they try jamming to rock music with different instruments – amazing! They’ll enter the Battle of the Bands, too!

Juggling homework, quartet practice, and rock practice is tough – now Aunt Flora has fallen ill and must stay in the hospital! Mom, Dad, and big sister Agnes keep things going at home and nursing home – very tough.

Will her quartet friends get used to Flora playing with Simon, too?
Which band will win those New York City concert tickets?
Can Flora go back to playing the quartet’s classical “wallpaper music” only?

A school term filled with changes and changes! (Look for the lyrics and music to Auntie Flora’s favorite in the back of the book)

When have you had to decide whether to continue a project with friends or go your own way?
**kmm

Book info: After the Wallpaper Music / Jean Mills. Pajama Press, 2024. [author site https://jeanmillswriter.com/] [publisher site https://pajamapress.ca/book/after-the-wallpaper-music/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher via Publisher Spotlight.

T is for TWELFTH KNIGHT, her online game territory, not his! by Alexene Farol Follmuth (YA fiction) #AtoZ

Apr23
Book cover of Twelfth Knight, by Alexene Farol Follmuth. Shows a Latina teen dressed in ornate black armor holding a sword toward a Black teen wearing a high school football jersey, jeans and fancy sneakers, using crutches with one knee in a brace. Several gaming icons are lined up above their heads.

Such a slacker!
More work for her,
more need to escape into the game.

What did Viola ever do to deserve a tabletop game group that doesn’t appreciate her well-crafted campaign? Or a student body president elected because he’s California football royalty, leaving all the hard work to her as vice-president? Or having to pretend to be male in Twelfth Night battle game online so she’s not harassed for being a confident, competent Latina?

Injured on a touchdown play, Jack’s PT regimen still leaves the Black teen too much free time – might as well try that Twelfth Night game his buddy recommended.

As Cesario in-game, Vi immediately recognizes Jack’s avatar (a knight armored in their school colors – ha!) and eventually partners with him in quests, some chat between battles.

Working together at school on Homecoming Dance plans, Jack asks Vi to figure out why his girlfriend Olivia is growing distant…
Vi’s closest friend Antonia decides not to volunteer at MagiCon fantasy conference, and Jack is her substitute…
College scouts are asking if Jack’s knee will be ready for the playoffs and his future with them…

After in-game chat veers into personal stuff and Jack’s growing attraction to Vi, she allows Jack/Duke to believe it’s her twin brother that he’s befriended in the game (Renaissance Faire actor, non-gamer Bash is horrified).

Bash and Vi’s mom is seriously dating now, Cesario and Duke are closing in on the game’s ultimate prize, and there’s a senior night activity to plan… argh!

Told in the alternating voices of Jack and Viola, this rom-com blends online battles, hidden identities, self-discovery, and real-life relationships – with strong echoes of Shakespeare’s play, Twelfth Night.

Have you ever adopted an online persona that’s you-but-better?
**kmm

Book info: Twelfth Knight / Alexene Farol Follmuth. Tor Teen, hardcover 2024, paperback May 2025.[author site https://www.alexenefarolfollmuth.com/twelfth-knight] [publisher site https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250884909/twelfthknight/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

S is for A SORCERESS COMES TO CALL, bringing her daughter, danger, and doom! by T. Kingfisher (YA fiction) #AtoZ

Apr22
Book cover of A Sorceress Comes to Call, by T. Kingfisher. Shows 2 curving, gnarled brown trees on either side of the title, on a dark background spangled with stars.

Isolated in a small house by Mother’s choice,
oft-ensorcelled, only a white horse as her friend,
daughter of a sorceress longs to escape!

Mother decides to find a new ‘benefactor’ in the city, and just-14 Cordelia suddenly finds herself in the magic-dazzled Squire Samuel’s mansion, tasked with posing as the 17-year-old debutante daughter of ‘Lady Evangeline’ to distract his sister.

However, Lady Hester immediately senses that Doom and her daughter have arrived – but which of them is planning to wed Samuel who’s avoided marriage so long?

Cordelia finds a friend in the middle-aged lady who teaches her embroidery and answers questions so kindly. If only she could keep Mother from controlling the minds of these nice people and using her horse-familiar to report all that happens outside the manor walls…

The Squire invites friends to visit so that Evangeline and Cordelia may stay longer at his estate, as polite society dictates. Now glamorous Mrs. Green is flirting with the Squire, and Mother is livid with rage.

What?! Mrs. Green is found with a murder weapon, Mother wants Cordelia to marry the mature Lord Evermore, and a huge ghostly beast is seen stalking the manor woods..

Can Hester save her besotted brother from evil Evangeline?
Can Cordelia’s new allies save her from her mother’s plans?
Can they save the very land and its people from the sorceress’s doom?

Another compelling and magical tale from the author of Nettle and Bone (recommended here https://booksyalove.com/?p=12858 ). Find it at your local library (worldcat.org/libraries) or independent bookstore (indiebound.org/indie-store-finder).

Have events ever made you wonder if magic was involved?
**kmm

Book info: A Sorceress Comes to Call / T. Kingfisher. Tor, 2024. [author site https://redwombatstudio.com/about-the-author/] [publisher site https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250244079/asorceresscomestocall/] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Q is for questing with the SHEPHERDESS WARRIORS to protect her village! by Jonathan Garnier & Amelie Flechais (Graphic Novel) #AtoZ

Apr19
Book cover of graphic novel Shepherdess Warriors, volume 1, by Jonathan Garnier and Amelie Flechais. Amid a desolate gray wilderness, two very young warriors sit astride their mounts who rear up on their back legs - on the left, a boy rides a gigantic shaggy dog, on the right, a red-haired girl rides a large short-horned black ram. The youths hold aloft long lances with banners that cross at center.

Ten years with no news,
their men far away at war,
the women must keep their village safe!

Molly can’t wait! Now she’s finally old enough to start training with the Order of Shepherdess Warriors, to join her mother and grandmother in defending their village and their flocks. Only the oldest men and preteen boys didn’t go to war, so women began the Order to protect everyone.

Astride her ram, Black Beard, the ten year old and her friends learn archery, blade fighting, history, and how to stay awake on night watches.

Liam longs to be a defender, too. Even though the Order is closed to men, he and his gigantic dog tag along on training missions, aided by best friend Molly, of course.

Near the edges of the Deadlands, the apprentices encounter friendly-enough witches, bumbling bandits, and a dread unknown creature!

Can they prevent the evil creature from attacking the village?
Who is the girl wandering alone in this wilderness?
Will the being called ‘Great Botanist’ help the Order in their quest?

Volume one (issues 1 and 2) of the graphic novel series, which originated in France after artist Amelie created a squad of goat-riding warrior women for a cavalry-themed art challenge. Look for Volume 2, too!

What historic defensive skill would you like to learn?
**kmm

Book info: Shepherdess Warriors, vol. 1 / Jonathan Garnier; art by Amelie Flechais; translated by Ivanka Hahnenberger; lettering by Vibrant Studios. Ablaze Publishing, 2024. [artist site https://www.amelieflechais.com/] [publisher site https://ablaze.net/products?p=G9781684971695] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

J is for journeying, SMACK DAB IN THE MIDDLE OF MAYBE, by Jo Watson Hackl (MG fiction) #A2Z

Apr11
Book cover of Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe, by Jo Watson Hackl; shows title words on signpost signs pointing in different directions, placed in a field with cricket jumping. In background, a girl sits on treehouse porch at sunset watching birds.

A grieving girl,
a ghost town in the woods,
where is the secret painted room?

Every time Cricket’s artist mother stopped taking her anxiety medicine and disappeared, the twelve year old and her Daddy coped and hoped, but now that he’s in the cemetery with Grandma…

Oh, no! The tween overhears that she’ll soon be sent away to another state! How will Mama know where to find her?

Time to find the art-filled “Bird Room” that Mama saw once and searched for every after – surely, that will make Mama stay, whenever she comes home again!

Cricket journeys through the nearby woods to a ghost town from South Carolina’s lumber days, using all the survival skills that Daddy taught her.

Emergency! Need help! HELP!

Miss V. takes Cricket in, agreeing that the runaway can stay a few days, but no snooping!

Can Cricket contain her curiosity?
Will Miss V. help her follow clues that she finds?
Will Mama ever come home?

Cricket won’t give up!
Are you as persistent at chasing what’s important?
**kmm

Book info: Smack Dab in the Middle of Maybe / Jo Watson Hackl. Yearling/Random House, 2018. [author site https://johackl.com/about-smack-dab-middle-maybe/] [publisher site https://www.rhcbooks.com/books/543975/smack-dab-in-the-middle-of-maybe-by-jo-watson-hackl] Personal copy; cover image courtesy of the publisher.