​By Nico
​
Tarisai has grown up in Bhekina House, a strange, mysterious building full of rumors and spirits, where she is surrounded by tutors who avoid touching her skin and a vast grassland which she is forbidden from venturing  into. For as long as she can remember, her life has been full of secrets--and her mother, known only as The Lady, visits Bhekina House too infrequently to provide any answers. More than anything, Tarisai longs for the Lady's love and connection, but her long absences curtail any such dreams. 

When Tarisai is sent away from Bhekina House, though, it is not with her freedom. She must now compete for a spot on the crown prince's council--a group of individuals from across the Aritsar empire bonded by the prince's magical Ray--a position that would offer the connection and family Tarisai has always wanted. But she is ensnared by a cursed command: when she loves the prince and is chosen for his council, she must kill him. 

Caught between her birth and past and a new future she may not be able to forge, Tarisai must find the strength to choose her own path--or lose the family she has only just found. 

As I found myself struggling to write a review for Raybearer which accurately described this book to its fullest, I eventually came to the conclusion that nothing so brief could truly encapsulate this story. I picked up this book after hearing about it for months, and it exceeded even my highest expectations. Ifueko delivers an exquisitely written, superbly plotted story full of complexity, originality and magic. I was sucked in from the first sentence and was caught up in its magic even before I finished the first page; the combination of engrossing, beautiful writing and a vivid, atmospheric world make it compelling and incredible. Tarisai is a strong, fierce, determined protagonist who refuses to let her fate be controlled by another, whose conflicts and choices are relatable and never felt contrived, who makes this book character-driven even in the midst of a complex plot full of twists and surprises. Raybearer is brimming with unique twists and details which make the world feel expansive and vividly realized. I highly recommend Raybearer to readers ages twelve and up--it's one of my favorite books, period! 

Note: This is a repost of the review originally posted in June 2022 on our now-defunct Young Adult reviews page!​

Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Book of Anansi was released on September 16, 2025! 

I loved Nic Blake and the Remarkables, and Angie Thomas has crafted a fantastic follow-up that left me only more invested in Nic and her world. Nic Blake has become one of my favorite protagonists in the middle-grade fantasy scene, and I can’t wait to watch her story continue to expand and gain a new, extremely well-deserved audience. 

As always, Nic and the supporting cast are absolutely wonderful, with the kind of depth and complexity that left me so excited to read more after the first book. They’re distinct, witty, and play off each other in the best possible way, and I truly would follow them wherever this series goes next. Thomas concocts a flawless play on many of the best-established middle-grade fantasy tropes, making it feel both familiar and fresh even to someone who’s read widely in this space. I adore the world of the Remarkables, and I’m excited to see it explored even more in subsequent books. 

Highly recommended! 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own. 

​Book description credited to the publisher. ​

Evil-Ish will be released on July 22, 2025!

Where can I even start with this book? With all the villain-ish whimsy, queer rep and thoughtful examinations of evil that made Nimona an all-time favorite, yet an altogether different premise and set of characters, I had a feeling I was going to love this one, and I absolutely did. 

The art here is just so much fun. Tarrell nails every beat and image in this story with their wacky, colorful, ever-detailed art, and I couldn’t resist racing through its pages. 

I also adore the characters. Hawthorne is absolutely a favorite—their determined, irreverent personality sparks across every page, and the utter enthusiasm they have for all things villainy made me fall in love with them from the start. While I could call out any number of other characters here—and indeed, all of them deserve it, especially Hawthorne’s family! —I have to enthuse a little specifically about Maple. Tarrell narrates her character arc with dazzling precision, every panel and detail of color accentuating how much she doesn’t seem to belong in a world of villainy, and yet how much it ultimately fits her. 

But this isn’t just a story about villainy. Hawthorne’s reckoning with what they actually want from their life, what evil really is, and how they want to interact with the world around them propels forward a story as much about hope and being true to yourself as a well-placed maniacal cackle. I truly can’t recommend Evil-Ish enough, particularly to readers who always find themselves taking a second look at the villain! 

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own. 

​Book description credited to the publisher. ​

​ages 12+ / ARC / fantasy / fiction / graphic novel / humorous / LGBTQ+ / standalone / young adult

Song of a Blackbird will be released on January 21, 2025! 

Emma Bergsma, 1943 Amsterdam. After witnessing the deportation of Jewish neighbors to concentration camps, Emma joins the Dutch Resistance as a printer, helping to forge documents and banknotes. 

Annick, 2011 Amsterdam. Annick's beloved grandmother is dying, and she needs a bone marrow transplant from a family member to survive. But the doctor's tests reveal that her grandmother was actually adopted - which means to save her, Annick has to find her original family first. With only a few old prints to guide her - all signed by the unknown 'Emma B' - Annick sets out to trace her grandmother's past and find her family. 

Song of a Blackbird is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel that blends past and present dual timelines into a thoughtful story about remembering the past. Although primarily fictional, this story was based on true events and carefully researched, and it shows: the arc of the story and details all rang incredibly true, and made it all the more engaging of a read. The art to this book has almost a scrapbook feel, blending historical documents with characters and artwork, and it absolutely added so much to the text, transporting me into the past through the mixed media. I loved both storylines: Annick and Emma were both compelling characters, and their individual struggles - and points of connection - made me speed through this read. I highly recommend Song of a Blackbird to readers ages twelve and up who love historical fiction and art in all its forms! 

Thank you to Macmillan/First Second for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own. 

ages 12+ / ARC / book group pick / fiction / family / graphic novel / historical fiction / standalone / young adult

By Nico

Growing up on a tiny island in the midst of a green-spore sea, Tress has no plans to leave her home. Everything she wishes for is here: the people she’s grown up with, her beloved collection of cups from across the spore seas, and her closest friend, Charlie, the duke’s son, who she’s always cared for a little more than a peasant girl should.

But when Charlie is kidnapped by the Sorceress of the Midnight Sea, Tress has no choice but to follow him across the perilous, beautiful spore seas. Braving deceptions, pirates, talking rats, dangerous spores, interplanetary visitors, dragons, and more, it will take all of Tress’s skills to find Charlie – skills she never would’ve even dreamed of possessing back home. But to succeed, she must not only discover Charlie’s location—she’ll have to discover herself, too.

This is the first book I’ve read by Brandon Sanderson, and Tress of the Emerald Sea made it certain beyond all doubt that it wouldn’t be the last. Tress’s simple yet incredibly relatable story pulled me in from the first page, into an enthralling world utterly unlike any I’ve read before. The worldbuilding was gorgeous and fascinating but never heavy-handed, making the setting feel utterly realistic, despite being so wildly different than Earth. Watching Tress grow and change over the course of this book felt equally natural, and never did the story arc feel contrived or unrealistic, instead possessing an organic quality that made me fall in love with Tress even more. There is so much that happens in this book, and yet its simplicity is part of its charm, giving it an almost old-fashioned feel that grounds even the most fantastical events. I adored all of the characters, whose lives I grew almost inordinately invested in, and the quirky, wry narrative voice of Hoid made this book decidedly a favorite. I also appreciated, as someone new to Brandon Sanderson’s books, that you didn’t need to have any prior understanding of his Cosmere universe to fall in love with it; Tress is an independent story. I highly recommend Tress of the Emerald Sea to readers ages twelve and up, whether you’re a longtime Brandon Sanderson fan or someone who’s never previously entered the world of Cosmere. 

Sir Callie and the Witch’s War is the third book in the ongoing Sir Callie series by Esme Symes-Smith. The previous books are Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston (book 1) and Sir Callie and the Dragon’s Roost (book 2).

As war comes to Helston and Dumoor becomes an uncertain haven, Callie, Willow, Elowen, and Edwyn must forge new paths if they ever want to see each other again—let alone the future they’ve all dreamed of. But doing that will mean facing their worst fears without the support, friendship, and camaraderie they’ve come to rely on from one another. And their failure will leave Helston and Dumoor alike bound for an even more terrible future than they could’ve imagined.

The Sir Callie series is truly one of the best middle-grade series I’ve ever come across, and this latest installment is no exception. Thoughtful, emotionally deep, and queer- and nonbinary-focused MG fantasy books are hard enough to come across on their own, but to find not just a standalone but an ongoing series that is all this and more is truly remarkable—and Sir Callie is exactly that. This third book in the ongoing series left me satisfied, validated, and wishing the fourth book was already out!

For me, the emotional heart of this book lies with Edwyn. He’s one of the most striking and real characters throughout the series (which is a hard distinction to make when every character is so incredible!), and seeing him come into his own during Sir Callie and the Witch’s War was truly wonderful. Anger, betrayal, love, hate, self-doubt—every one of his emotions jumps clearly off the page and makes me care about and sympathize with him even more.

Symes-Smith juggles the plotlines of Edwyn, Elowen, and Willow/Callie with flawless skill. Many middle grade books ignore the traumatic realities of young people, but this series never does, and instead of skirting around painful topics it faces them head-on and authentically portrays the challenge of loving and accepting yourself after struggling all your life to believe you deserve to be loved exactly for who you are. As someone whose own life has elements of these characters’ experiences, the validation and comfort in finding this reflected in a middle grade novel was incredibly healing, and I just want to reread it immediately now that I’m done.

This series truly keeps getting more and more incredible, and I can’t wait to read more about these characters and from this author! Highly recommended! 

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed here are my own.

Ash’s Cabin will be released on August 13, 2024.

Out in nature, surrounded by birdsong and the feeling of breeze on their bike, Ash feels at home. Everywhere else? They’re constantly bombarded by people who don’t understand them—their name, their pronouns, or just why they care so much about the planet not getting destroyed. When Ash remembers the cabin Grandpa Edwin talked about building, hidden away in the California woods for when he wanted to escape the monotony of modern life, it sounds like paradise.

So when Ash has a chance to run away and seek out Grandpa Edwin’s cabin themself, they seize it immediately. What could be better than surviving out on their own, unanchored from everything they can’t bear to live with? Ash is determined to find themself out in the wilderness, but survival might be more of a challenge than they expected.

The Prince and the Dressmaker, author-illustrator Jen Wang’s first graphic novel, is quite literally the book that made me start reading graphic novels, so I was truly thrilled when I got the chance to read an ARC of Wang’s upcoming book, Ash’s Cabin, through NetGalley. Although on the surface a very different storyline, Ash’s Cabin holds many of the same elements that made me love The Prince and the Dressmaker so much—a thoughtful storyline and beautiful art contained in a tale that leaves you feeling profoundly more at peace at its conclusion than when you started it.

It’s difficult to create a wilderness story that is at once modern and utterly believable, but Wang does so flawlessly, and Ash’s world absorbed me seemingly at once. Their struggles with the larger world and with their own sense of self feel fundamentally authentic and believable, and as I read, I effortlessly traveled with their thoughts and emotions, something I think is sometimes hard in the graphic novel format.

Ultimately, Ash’s Cabin is a beautiful, authentic, sometimes painful, and thoughtful story of growing up, finding yourself, and the natural world—one I truly can’t recommend enough to readers ages twelve and up.

Thank you to NetGalley and First Second Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions expressed here are my own.

By Nico

When Princess Brie meets Count Camembert, full of quirky dress sense and appreciation for Brie’s often unorthodox activism, it’s love at first sight.

There’s just one problem—Count Camembert is really Lady Camembert, disguised as a man so she can still inherit her father’s money after refusing to marry a man. She’s supposed to be keeping a low profile so no one can discover her secret…but after meeting Brie, she’s not so sure that’ll be possible.

Camembert knows her love can’t go anywhere. After all, Brie is a princess destined for a diplomatic marriage, and she has no idea Camembert isn’t a man. But could there still be room for a happily ever?

​With queer romance, bright illustrations, and lots of cheese puns, I read The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich in one sitting. Muniz’s artwork is expressive and quirky, and I liked the fast-paced plot and characters, particularly Zola, who was both humorous and deeper than I initially expected. Definitely check this one out if you love graphic novels and grilled cheese sandwiches! I recommend The Princess and the Grilled Cheese Sandwich to readers ages twelve and up. 

By Nico

Wren has always dreamed of joining the Coven, where every witch and magical source train together to protect the land. But despite her magical gifts, that’s never been an option; her brother died years ago from a witch’s spell gone wrong, and her ailing father can’t handle the truth about what she is. So she cares for him as he gets sicker and hides her magic instead. Surely, it’s a small price to pay for keeping him alive.

But Wren’s life is shattered when her father falls victim to a deadly magical plague. Desperate, she seeks out the only person who might be able to help her: Tamsin, the village witch.

​Tamsin used to be the Coven’s most powerful witch. Now, though, what remains of her life after breaking the Coven’s most sacred rule has been consumed by their punishing curse: she can no longer experience love or joy unless she steals it from those around her. She has no good reason to work with dreamy, inexperienced Wren, or meddle again in the kind of magic that left her cursed in the first place. But she agrees to help Wren hunt down the witch responsible for the plague anyway, and as they search for the culprit—a search that brings them dangerously close to Tamsin’s own past—she begins to feel something for Wren that she was certain was impossible: love.

I went into this story all but certain that it wouldn’t surprise me. The heartless witch, the idealistic newbie, a shared quest that becomes a burgeoning romance—although I was looking forward to digging into Sweet and Bitter Magic, since it came highly recommended, I didn’t truly expect it to be anything I hadn’t read before. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Yes, all these tropes are present in the story, but they take an almost unrecognizable form beneath Tooley’s deft pen, weaving two characters I couldn’t help but fall in love with even as they fell in love with each other. Wren’s conflict is infinitely relatable; the conflict she feels between what she wants and what she feels is right, and the guilt she feels when pursuing her own dreams, made her instantly leap off the page. Tamsin, too, felt completely real. Where many characters like her are just canonically impartial and heartless, the fact that she quite literally cannot feel love—and her longing to—made her far more complex than others like her, and that combined with her spectacular backstory gave her character incredible depth. Tooley’s writing was absorbing from the very first page, and I didn’t want to leave behind the fascinating world and spectacular cast when the book came to a close. I highly recommend Sweet and Bitter Magic to fans of queer romance, superb characters, and engrossing storylines ages twelve and up. 

By Nico

Oliver Bennet’s life does not seem too promising. With the impending threat of marriage only the latest reminder that the world still thinks he’s the girl he’s never been, his current solace—slipping out at night dressed in boy’s clothes, getting to be himself after pretending all day—looks on the verge of slipping out of reach. How can he hope to survive in a world, let alone in a marriage, that denies his very existence?

But Oliver meets Darcy, who not just treats him cordially, but seeks out his friendship. At first, Oliver is just glad that Darcy sees him as the boy he truly is. He never would’ve imagined that their friendship could become something more—or that someone could love the real Oliver.

Stuck between a false life, where he’s forced to wear petticoats and respond to a name that’s never been his, and a real one where he slips out at night to meet Darcy and discover the path he’s always dreamed of, Oliver knows that this precarious balancing act can’t last forever. With his family on the verge of learning the truth about him, Oliver must decide on his own terms how he wants to live his life, even if that means risking the only family he’s ever known.

I loved both The Wicked Bargain and Pride and Prejudice, so I knew going into Most Ardently book that it probably wouldn’t meet my extraordinarily high expectations. I was absolutely wrong. Gabe Cole Novoa delivers one of the best books I’ve read in a long time, which brought me several times to tears of joy (not something that often happens!) and, to be honest, gave me hope for the future.

To begin with, Oliver is absolutely fantastic. I immediately fell in love with his palpable longing, his strong friendships, and his worldview, all combined in a character who spoke to me so deeply that I struggled to put Most Ardently down. Due to the book’s short length, there were certainly characters I would’ve loved to see played with more (Mr. Collins and Wickam are the most obvious ones that jump out at me), but the flipside of this meant getting to spend the majority of the book with a smaller cast of characters, allowing me to get to know each of them incredibly well. I particularly loved how Gabe Cole Novoa created Darcy’s character, which felt incredibly true to the original while also gaining its own spark.

Novoa sticks to the original story but is never afraid to branch out to create a book that truly feels like it could’ve existed behind Pride and Prejudice all these years. The plotlines with Mr. Bennet and Wickam particularly leaps to mind, but honestly there wasn’t a single point in this book where my absorption in the story and suspension of belief were broken—something I very rarely see in a retelling, and yet was executed so flawlessly I didn’t even register it until the end.

The only place that might’ve felt a little too perfect was the ending, but honestly, I was so happy for all the characters that I couldn’t bring myself to mind! I highly recommend Most Ardently to readers ages twelve and up, particularly those who love historical fiction or feel-good trans romance. 

Lies My Teacher Told Me comes out on April 16th, 2024. 

Woodrow Wilson. Abraham Lincoln. Christopher Columbus. Those are the names that stand out in American history classes—the people heroized for their actions, or their personality, or, when you really dig into it, just because they were part of the dominant class at the time. But who were they, really? And why are they the people we remember?

Lies My Teacher Told Me tells the stories left out of (or radically changed in) the usual American history textbook—and invites readers to reconsider what they’re learning by thinking about who’s telling this story, and what’s being omitted. From the ‘discovery’ of the Americas to the Civil Rights Movement and beyond, it analyzes the lies, embellishments, and omissions that characterize the typical US history curriculum and uses them to consider American society as a whole, and the beliefs this one-dimensional portrayal of history perpetrates.

As a fan of the original Lies My Teacher Told Me, I knew immediately when I saw this book that I had to read it. This graphic novel adaptation of the original (a nonfiction classic with the same premise) captures the core ideas, messages, and thoughts while streamlining it into something immensely readable, making it accessible to a whole new audience without losing any of the purpose.

This is probably the most text-heavy graphic novel I’ve read, which meant that it managed to include way more information in under 300 pages than I would’ve thought possible, while still taking advantage of the illustrations and handwriting styles to carry the reader more fluidly through the narrative. That said, although it’s an easy read, it’s not a quick one; I often read graphic novels in one or two sittings, but I found this one was better to read in smaller chunks (a chapter at a time, for example), so I was able to really consider what I’d read before plunging into the next section.

If you’re a history nerd, a graphic novel connoisseur, or just exasperated by your US history class, this is a book for you! I highly recommend Lies My Teacher Told Me: The Graphic Adaptation to readers ages twelve and up.

​An e-ARC of this book was provided through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

By Nico

​Jessica Tran is not a hero.

Despite the superpowers of her hero parents and her older sister, she doesn’t have the gene—meaning that instead of training with the Heroes’ League of Heroes, she’s stuck hunting for internships to improve her college application.

When she finally stumbles on an internship with Monroe Industries, the premier robot-creating institution in her futuristic, high-tech world, Jess figures it’s as good as anything else as a replacement for saving the world. But the Monroe Industries internship turns out to be more interesting than Jess foresaw when she discovers her longtime crush, Abby, is one of her new coworkers—and that her parent’s longtime villain nemesis owns the company.

It becomes a way of rebellion—working for a villain, since she can’t become a hero like she always dreamed. But as Jess learns more about Monroe Industries—and the heroes she’s always idolized—she begins to question what being a hero or villain really means.

​Not Your Sidekick is a quirky, clever spoof of the classic superhero/villain narrative that instantly pulled me into its unexpected world. Although this is far from the first book to rewrite the usual hero/villain dynamic, C. B. Lee does so with particular flair, making Jess question the makeup of her society but only incorporating dystopian clichés with thoughtful self-awareness. The characters were awesome; Jess and Abby were definitely favorites, but I also loved Jess’s friend Bells, and how even minor characters who initially present as little more than superhero caricatures have their own depth and uniqueness. I also loved how Lee incorporated both queer and racial diversity into this story in a way that felt normal while also acknowledging and incorporating how a superhero-run society could exacerbate existing prejudice. I highly recommend Not Your Sidekick to readers ages twelve and up. 

By Nico

Hitomi knows how to keep a secret. In fact, her life is full of them: her hatred of the tyrannical Arch Mage Blackflame, her magical abilities, and secrets hidden in her past. But right now, the one most likely to get her killed is her involvement in the Shadow League, a secret organization set on undermining Blackflame and freeing the city from his rule.

When Hitomi becomes part of the Shadow League’s latest mission—to rescue an outspoken family that’s attracted Blackflame’s ire—she expects it to be a typical operation. But when the plan goes awry, Hitomi must risk her life to protect the Shadow League.

If her other secrets come to life, she’ll be risking much more.

I loved Intisar Khanani’s novel Thorn, so I was extra excited to read Sunbolt. It didn’t disappoint. Despite its relatively short page count—or maybe in part because of it—the story brimmed with twists, curiosity, and details that made me utterly fall in love with these characters and this world. I think the worldbuilding was my favorite part of this book—although there were plenty of elements that were familiar, Khanani makes them into something utterly distinct, and I’m so glad there’s a sequel so I can plunge back into this world! There were so many unexpected twists and new settings in this book that it was consistently fast-paced and exciting without ever becoming confusing or convoluted. I highly recommend Sunbolt to lovers of quick, awesome fantasy (or anyone who loved Thorn!) ages twelve and up.

​Thank you to Intisar Khanani for providing an e-book copy of Sunbolt in exchange for an honest review!