Nicola Griffith returns with a queer recasting of Arthurian legend with Spear, the story of a young woman, a Grail quest, and love. Many know Griffith from her fabulous Hild, the story of the seventh-century saint, and while Spear travels some of that same landscape, it is definitely flush with magic and dragons. Marvelous stuff! —A Good …
Lansing’s version of Ernest Shakleton’s 1914 expedition to Antarctica is a masterful must read for anyone who seeks adventure or just wants to dream about it. Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, became icebound, miles short of their Antarctic destination. The crew lived aboard the icebound ship for the next ten months. Eventually, the ship was crushed …
Like many children who suffer from an abundance of imagination and a shortfall of social skills, I was always on the lookout for a door into a more magical world. Narnia, Middle Earth, Starfleet, Sherwood Forest– I wasn’t picky. Anywhere with spaceships, swordfights, or telepathic dragons would do. Reality stubbornly refused to provide me with …
This book is unputdownable! It is a fast paced, action packed book that melds notes of The Hunger Games and Jurassic Park together with a splash of Roman and South American history. The words weave together to create a world and characters filled with diversity and complexity that will keep you on your toes as …
I think it’s fairly safe to say that we all have several reading personalities, depending on mood and circumstance. Sometimes, you might be in the mood for the literary equivalent of a summer blockbuster, with explosions and car chases and clearly defined bad guys. Other times you might want a stately costume drama or something …
This is just the tip of the iceberg of summer reading delights awaiting young readers at independent bookstores. Here are some recent bookseller favorites for elementary and middle school students, but the shelves are stocked for a whole season of great reading. What is in your backpack or by your hammock this summer? Lumberjanes Unicorn …
This is my favorite middle grade book of 2017! Four very different kids survive a plane crash in the Amazon jungle, and readers will be fascinated by how they build a raft, harvest honey like monkeys, taste spiders, and adopt an orphan sloth. As they struggle, they learn a new respect for the natural world …
This series is complex and clever– alternate universes, fairy tale creatures, literary pirates, and the powerfully mysterious Library. The characters are charming, witty, and extremely likable. Irene and Kai team up to find valuable, one-of-a-kind books, while dealing with chaos, magic, and more. This series of adventure can’t be missed! —Dani, The Well-Read Moose, Coeur …
What begins as a post-graduate research job in academia becomes anything but ordinary when Madeleine “Max” Maxwell discovers that the historians at St. Mary’s Institute of Historical Research at England’s Thirsk University can travel through time. A history-lover’s dream becomes reality as Max and her colleagues jaunt through the ages, observing and recording historical events. …
