fantasy

‘Max in the House of Spies: A Tale of World War II’ by Adam Gidwitz is both charming and chilling

/ Pamela Kramer

Adam Gidwitz is a much loved children’s author whose fabulous tales have taken readers young and old from Grimm’s fairy tales (“A Tale Dark and Grimm“) to the Inquisition (“The Inquisitor’s Tale“) and now to WWII in “Max in the House of Spies: A Tale of World War II.” This historical fiction also contains Gidwitz’s trademark fantasy twist with two mythical creatures who accompany main character Max as he travels from Berlin to London as part of the Kindertransport, which took Jewish children from Germany to countries where they stayed in foster homes until the end of the war.

Continue reading →

‘The Lies Among Us’ by Sarah Beth Durst is a thoughtful fantasy

/ Pamela Kramer

Award-winning author Sarah Beth Durst’s new novel, “The Lies Among Us,” is a bit of a mystery at first. We are taken aback as we meet Hannah, the first person narrator, when she is inside her mother’s casket just before burial. That’s our first clue that Hannah isn’t a flesh-and-blood person. We quickly learn that Hannah’s mother has just died, leaving only Hannah’s sister Leah. And Leah can’t see or hear Hannah, so basically, Hannah is alone for the first time in her life.

Continue reading →

‘Boy of Chaotic Making’ by Charlie N. Holmberg is the 3rd book in the Whimbrel House fantasy series

/ Pamela Kramer

The first book in the Whimbrel House series was so wonderful and complete, it might have seemed impossible that author Charlie N. Holmberg could create a sequel as compelling and gripping and touching as that first novel. Well, now we have the third novel in this fantasy series, “Boy of Chaotic Making,” and this story is just as lovely, filled with the same characters we have come to admire for their strengths and their failings, and with a plot that definitely keeps us guessing.

Continue reading →

‘Once There Was’ by Kiyash Monsef is a beautiful and compelling young adult fantasy

/ Pamela Kramer

Instead of “Once upon a time…” the fairy tales that we read in Kiyash Monsef’s wonderful fantasy novel “Once There Was” begin with different words. When the main character Marjan’s father, who was from Iran, told her the childhood tales about mythical creatures, he started the stories with “Once was, once wasn’t…” The first story is about a trapped unicorn saved by a young girl; that encounter changes the young girl and the lives of some of her descendants. We learn that Marjan is one of those who descended from that girl.

Continue reading →

‘Inheritance’ by Nora Roberts is the first in her new ‘The Lost Bride’ trilogy

/ Pamela Kramer

There’s a reason Nora Roberts is one of the most beloved authors of women’s fiction, and her newest release is “Inheritance,” the first in The Lost Bride trilogy. The story begins about 200 years ago with the prologue, where a newly married Poole bride is brutally murdered shortly after her wedding. The narrative then moves. to the present and we meet main character Sonya MacTavish. She is about to find out that her fiancé is cheating on her. She provides clues that the guy she’s marrying is definitely no Prince Charming, so it’s actually a relief when she finds proof that he’s not the guy she wants to spend the rest of her life with.

Continue reading →

‘Beaky Barnes and the Devious Duck’ by David Ezra Stein is clever, funny, and filled with life lessons

/ Pamela Kramer

Usually I prefer to review picture books as a group, but my grandson loved “Beaky Barnes and the Devious Duck” by Caldecott Honor winner David Ezra Stein so much that he insisted on taking it home with him after reading it. When I asked him specifically what he loved about it, he said that it’s just really excellent. But he (and his grandfather) loved the humor. They loved the sneaky acts and the deviousness. They loved the characters. And they loved the plot.

Continue reading →

‘Mixed Up’ by Gordon Korman is another brilliant middle grade novel: how important are our memories? (Discussion questions included)

/ Pamela Kramer

“Mixed Up” is a typical Gordon Korman novel; typical because it’s both very accessible and very brilliant. Korman’s books are legendary (among teachers and students) because they are almost unique in their ability to provide a plot that moves rapidly with plenty of action, yet at the same time offer us thoughtful issues to consider — in every story. His newest release accomplishes all that.

Continue reading →

‘The Enchanted Hacienda’ by J. C. Cervantes is a charming and beautiful fantasy

/ Pamela Kramer

Summer flowers are magical, and in “The Enchanted Hacienda,” J. C. Cervantes makes that idea a reality. The Estrada women have magic running through their veins, and that magic is most apparent at their flower farm in Mexico, where they grow flowers that are “just” beautiful and flowers that perform beautiful magic. Their gift originated with an Aztec goddess named Mayahuel, who promised that if they would carry out her legacy, each of their female descendants would be blessed with the power to “grow mystical flowers, create enchantments, and to forever protect love, passion, and beauty.”

Continue reading →

‘The Poisoner’s Ring’ by Kelley Armstrong is the second in her time-travel mystery series

/ Pamela Kramer

In Kelley Armstrong’s second book of the “Rip Through Time” series, we see that Mallory Atkinson is still adjusting to being thrust back in time to 1869. In the current time, she had been a homicide detective in Canada, but somehow went back in time while visiting her ailing grandmother in Edinburgh. Luckily, she ended up in the body of a maid who worked for an unusual family, the head of which is interested in crimes and who runs a funeral business. His sister is a chemist with whom Mallory has become friends.

Continue reading →

‘Heir of Uncertain Magic’ by Charlie N. Holmberg is the second book in the delightfully fantasy-filled ‘Whimbrel House’ series

/ Pamela Kramer

Author Charlie N. Holmberg writes a lot of fantasy, and her latest novel, “Heir of Uncertain Magic” is the sequel to “Keeper of Enchanted Rooms,” the first book in the “Whimbrel House” series. Unfortunately, neither title gives even a hint of the delightful character of this magic-filled series about two fairly tortured souls in search of some stability and in desperate need of some love in their lives. We meet those two, Merritt Fernsby and Hulda Larkin, in the first book as Merritt inherits a magical house, and Hulda is sent to help him figure out how to control the magic of the house. It’s filled with action, danger, and some truly heart-wrenching moments.

Continue reading →

‘The Unforgettable Logan Foster and the Shadow of Doubt’ by Shawn Peters is a thoughtful fantasy middle grade novel

/ Pamela Kramer

In his second book in the Logan Foster series, “The Unforgettable Logan Foster and the Shadow of Doubt,” author Shawn Peters asks readers to consider the power of actual strength, as in super strength, versus the power of the mind. The main character, Logan Foster, starts his narrative by explaining that while he is “a twelve-year-old orphan living on the Westside of Lost Angeles,” he’s halfway through high school because he has an eidetic memory. He tells us, “I’ve retained every word, sound, and image that I’ve seen or heard since I was three.” He also makes it clear that he is writing this narrative for his younger brother, whom he is hoping to find and with whom he hopes to be reunited.

Continue reading →