book reviews

Book Review: Graciela in the Abyss

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Graciela in the Abyss by Meg Medina

Graciela in the Abyss
by Meg Medina (Goodreads Author), Anna Balbusso (Illustrator), Elena Balbusso (Illustrator)

3 out of 5 stars

Graciela is only thirteen when she falls off a cliff and dies in the ocean. One hundred years later, she wakes from her death sleep and becomes a ghost. The friendly ghost community welcomes her, and her mentor Amina teaches her about living in the ocean and trains her to be a sea-glass artisan.
Jorge is a living boy from a family of blacksmiths. He discovers that his grandfather created a mystic harpoon capable of killing ghosts and sending them to a final death. He puts his own life at risk in order to destroy the terrible weapon, but he can’t do it alone.

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Book Review: The Floating Island

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The Floating Island by Elizabeth Haydon

The Floating Island (The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme, #1)
by Elizabeth Haydon

4 out of 5 stars

Ven’s family are shipbuilders, and when Ven goes on a ship to inspect it, the ship is sunk by Fire Pirates and Ven is left adrift in the ocean. He is rescued by a merrow/mermaid and taken aboard a passing ship on the way to Serendair, an island nation where adventure awaits.

This book has an enchanting fantasy world! There are little variations on different typical fantasy creatures. Ven is a Nain, which is similar to a dwarf. There are merrows, like a mixture of mermaids and selkies. The Spice Folk are like nature fairies or brownies who are invisible. The Lirin are sort of like forest elves. They all have their own characteristics and skills and magical abilities. I was delighted with the details about each culture!

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Book Review: Secrets of the Snakestone

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Secrets of the Snakestone by Piu DasGupta

Secrets of the Snakestone
by Piu DasGupta 

3 out of 5 stars

Zelie’s father has gone missing, along with the mysterious Snakestone that can grant healing and long life to the wearer. Zelie meets Jules, who was working down in the sewers below Paris and found the locket that once held the Snakestone. The locket is empty, and Zelie and Jules go on an adventure to find the Snakestone and Zelie’s missing father, but a dangerous secret society is also hunting for the Snakestone.

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Book Review: The Strange Disappearance of Imogen Good

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The Strange Disappearance of Imogen Good by Kirsty Applebaum

The Strange Disappearance of Imogen Good
by Kirsty Applebaum (Goodreads Author)

3 out of 5 stars

When Fran goes to visit her aunt and uncle, she discovers that they can’t remember their own daughter, Fran’s cousin Imogen. Imogen has completely disappeared without a trace, and no one remembers her but Fran. There is a mystery surrounding the hidden garden behind the estate, and Fran begins to investigate. Imogen’s diary says that she went to the garden on the day of her disappearance. Fran recruits the girl next door, Bex, to help her find the hidden garden and find out what happened to Imogen.

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Book Review: Escape Room

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Escape Room by Christopher Edge

Escape Room
by Christopher Edge

4 out of 5 stars

Ami is excited to join the Escape Room game with the other kids assigned as her teammates. When they enter the game, they are told to find the Answer and save the world. Their first puzzle is in a dusty attic filled with antique technology. They move through various rooms, confronted with impossible puzzles in a massive library, a Mayan tomb, a derelict shopping mall, and a spaceship. In every room, there are mysterious clues that could lead to life-threatening danger or… escape.

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Book Review: Quest of the Mermaid Princess

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Quest of the Mermaid Princess by Lee Watts

Quest of the Mermaid Princess
by Lee Watts

4 out of 5 stars

Angelique is secretly a mermaid, abandoned as a baby in an orphanage on land. She has never seen another mermaid and avoids salt water so that she doesn’t transform into a mermaid. Although Angelique grew up working as a servant, but hopes to get a job as a handmaiden to the queen and find a true home. She rescues a little otter and names him Dash, and he becomes her faithful pet. Captain Tarren commands a rowdy group of privateers, and tells Angelique of treasures to be found in the ocean that could make her rich, so she decides to venture into the coastal waters and test her abilities as a mermaid. But dark magic and danger await her in the ocean depths, and Angelique is pursued by an evil witch!

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Book Review: Dungeon Runners: Ocean Chase

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Dungeon Runners by Kieran Larwood

Dungeon Runners: Ocean Chase (Volume 3)
by Kieran Larwood (Goodreads Author), Joe Todd-Stanton (illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

Kit is a half-gnome and half-dwarf, who has entered the Dungeon Runners league. His teammates are a sea hag and a vegan vampire. Kit is supposed to be the fighter in their group, but he keeps dropping his magic sword in training. Everyone laughs, thinking that this team is too small and too young to survive the dangerous competition. In this third book of the series, they go into an underwater dungeon, and Kit is very nervous because he can’t swim! But they find that some of the other dungeon runner teams are friendly, and they might have some unexpected allies.

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Book Review: Dungeon Runners: Sky Battles

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Dungeon Runners by Kieran Larwood

Dungeon Runners: Sky Battles (Dungeon Runners, #2)
by Kieran Larwood (Goodreads Author), Joe Todd-Stanton (Illustrator)

4 out of 5 stars

Kit is a half-gnome and half-dwarf, who has entered the Dungeon Runners league. His teammates are a sea hag who can only do one spell, and a vegan vampire. Kit is supposed to be the fighter in their group, but he only has a useless wooden sword. Everyone laughs, thinking that this team is too small and too young to survive the dangerous competition, but Kit and his trusty friends discover that the Dungeon hides more surprises than anyone bargained for. In this second book of the series, they compete in their first real dungeon located high in the mountains, and they have to use some wily cleverness to make it through alive.

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Three Book Reviews from Nosy Crow

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Princess Minna by Kirsty Applebaum

Princess Minna: The Giant Beanstalk
by Kirsty Applebaum (Goodreads Author),Sahar Haghgoo (Illustrator)

5 out of 5 stars

Princess Minna is called to defend the town from a giant who keeps stealing noisy animals. Princess Minna follows the giant up the beanstalk and brings the animals back, but the giant just keeps stealing more noisy animals, looking for an animal that can sing beautifully. Princess Minna will have to be very clever and kind if she can find a solution and help the giant!

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Book Review: The Worm Ouroboros

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The Worm Ouroboros by E.R. Eddison

The Worm Ouroboros (Dover Literature: Science Fiction/Fantasy)
by E.R. Eddison

2.5 out of 5 stars


The lords of Demonland go to war against the necromancer King of Witchland. The Witch King uses dark magic to carry off one of the Demon lords, Goldry Bluszco, and his brothers vow to find him. Lord Juss and Brandoch Daha travel past the inhospitable Impland to the dangerous mountains, searching for Goldry, while Lord Spitfire continues the war against Witchland at home. They fight manticores, search for a hippogriff egg, and face ghostly apparitions and enchantments in their search through the mountains to find Goldry. Several magical ladies and queens assist them in their quest, but the war is not going well for Lord Spitfire back in Demonland.
Lord Gro is a traitor from Goblinland who has joined the Witchland court and is counselling the Witch King and other Witch generals in the war. He plays against both sides, always with his own agenda to latch onto any high official and play puppet master.

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