Rutabaga's Reads 2024: Part 7

Hello, fellow readers! In this post, you will find my second middle-grade compilation post. It’s a variety of … fantasy. All right, so all three fall within the same genre, but they each offer something different. There’s a Nigh that’s like NYC, but also not really. There’s a genius-recluse with a Willy Wonka-esque imagination. And there’s a house with a girl in the wallpaper.

The Golden Imaginarium (Oct. 10, 2023) by Ellen Potter.

<This is a sequel novel.>

<No spoilers outside of what may be on the dust jacket.>

Weeks have gone by since Nell Batista and the other members of the Last Chance Club, Crud Butterbank and Annika Rapp, were in the Nigh. Mr. Boot continues to act as though the lot are hopeless, though Vanessa Habscomb is helpful. A visitor clearly not of the Hither shows up – he refers to a hamster as a “little animal thingy” – and informs the three that they’re being fast-tracked to become Watchers, skipping right over the Level Cs and going straight to the Initiation Trial. This is alarming, as they have neither the experience nor the practice. They will be armed with their very own briefcase of Fates, creatures from the Nigh. Nell’s case is disappointingly small and contains only two. Neither seems particularly useful. The more useful one is the Willaweeper called Winston, which Vanessa gave her, and is now hiding in her braids. Nell’s first trial is a success, as she disrupts a Flooper: “an unexpected choice that will alter important events in the future.” Tom comes to find her and brings her back to the Nigh, where Nell encounters Katerina, Abiba and Samuel. They are ghosts ... but they weren’t ghosts when Tom brought them from the Hither to the Nigh. Nell also meets Lysander, an Imp who wants nothing more than a home and a family (even if he won’t readily admit it). They’ll see Finfolk (mermaids), who likewise despise Magicians, and spot a Grubble (a Sasquatch). Folk don’t like the latter because they dig up gardens and smell like garbage (they’re pests). Now more than ever, Nell needs to excel at chopsticks-assisting spell work. Rumor has it that the small and wicked Minister is coming after them. If Nell fails any of her trials, the Umglick Spell will be performed, and she’ll lose all memories of magic, the Nigh and the brother she’s so desperate to return to the Hither.

The middle-school protagonists are easy to root for against the evil, children-stealing Magicians in this fast-moving fantasy adventure. There is comic relief, including a budding Girl-Imp relationship that teeters on comically romantic in its awkwardness. The youth all have varied backgrounds, but most characters appear to cue Caucasian. Nell, Crud and Annika have developed a tight-knit bond through the Last Chance Club, and the creature cast is ample and contains all manner of docile-to-vicious creatures. The ending felt rushed, but is a happy one, so I don’t know if this ends at a duology or if the saga will continue. At any rate, this is a duo that has entertained me, and I’d happily read more stories. Remember that the Nigh is just like home, right up until it isn’t. And if you hear a Wickle-wickle-feee! at your ear, know that danger is way too near!

            Note: In this story, dogges is said to be pronounced as DOWGS, but, if you’ve read my post for the first novel, you’ll notice it’s pronounced differently. I don’t know if it’s an oversight or if the author purposely changed it, but I’m noting it as-is for its respective book.

            Book One: Hither & Nigh

Not Quite a Ghost (Jan. 16, 2024) by Anne Ursu.

<This is a standalone novel.>

The house on 1664 Katydid Street sat silent and alone for a long time, but now Violet Hart’s family has moved into the house in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Change is everywhere for Violet. There’s the big move, for their old home became too small for their family of five (mom, stepdad, older sister Mia and younger half-brother Owen). Violet’s entered middle school, and she isn’t on the same team as her best friends, Paige and Ally. With the start of middle school, Paige now wants their pod to become a squad with Quinn and Kennedy. Okay. Fine. Change is healthy, right? She manages to make a new friend named Will. She meets him in the school’s library. Healthy! But what about this attic bedroom that Mia didn’t want, despite it being the bigger room? The walls are a drab yellow, “somewhere between mustard and vomit,” the floor looks like it’s “been attacked by several angry bears,” it smells like “a malodorous moat” and has walls covered in a chaos of vines, leaves and flowers that look like eyes. Is the wallpaper watching her? It’s creepy. Lately, she’s spending too much time in her creepy bedroom when she falls mysteriously ill. No one can pinpoint her invisible illness. Is she making herself sick? And is that ... an outline of a girl in the wallpaper?

            It’s middle school drama meets a medical mystery and the paranormal in this page-turning tale highlighting changing friendships, balancing schoolwork and navigating an invisible illness amidst being haunted. This middle-grade novel is insightful, sometimes intense and creepy in a way that gives one not-too-scary shivers down the back. It’s a story featuring a blended family and diversity of race and sexual orientation. Despite the twisty paranormal element, there is realism to the story, not only contending with the mayhem of middle school or COVID, but being invisibly sick. The story explores what it’s like to be sick in a way no one seems to understand and is therefore dismissed. It’s effortlessly empathetic yet haunting, vulnerable yet fierce.

            P.S. At least Violet finally got a cat! (Her name is Trixie.)

The (Super Secret) Octagon Valley Society (Sept. 5, 2023) by Melissa de la Cruz.

<This is the first novel in a series.>

Only eight answered the 108th question on the Octagon Valley Assessment for the Extra-Ordinary (OVAEO) and so only eight were invited to the Octagon Valley Institute. It’s an exclusive weekend with the mysterious, high-tech genius-recluse Onasander Octagon. 11-year-old Edwin Edgefield, a boy who’s small for his age and young for his grade, hopes to meet intelligent kids like him who’ll also accept him for all of his quirks and his eidetic memory. But the other students are so different that it makes them wonder if they’re all in the right place. There’s amateur rapper Eun-Kyung “Li’l Kimmy” Kim, skateboarding surfer Dilip Aggarwal, 12-year-old violin/conductor prodigy Julie Carter, mean girl Maureen Pearson, teacher’s pet Anabelle “Ting-Ting” Costanza, gamer fanatic Anton Chesky and spoiled rich boy Harold Postman Jr. VIII. How did Harold even get invited? (It’s a legitimate question, as Onasander wonders, too.) Their introduction to the Institute isn’t what they expected. Instead of a fulfilling weekend of lectures and rumored new tech, they’re blindfolded and thrown into a labyrinthine scavenger hunt. From an escape-room challenge to attacking piranhas to abductor ninjas, the weekend is getting weirder by the moment. They’ll have to utilize their inner weird and work together to discover the true secret of the Institute. It’s part of what makes them EXTRAordinary!

            This opener in the Octagon Valley series is a fast-paced, page-turning, action-adventure that’s part mystery and part dangerous obstacle challenge with humor, mischief and, it turns out, a healthy dose of scheming. The cast is ethnically diverse: Edwin is Black, Li’l Kimmy is Korean, Dilip is Indian and Ting-Ting is Filipino. There is representation to be found in characters who struggle with things like anxiety. A story with emotional intelligence, a Willy Wonka-esque imagination and high entertainment value, it will appeal to a wide range of readers. A few words to the wise: Don’t get YAK-ed.

Rutabaga's Reads 2023: Part 1

The amount of middle-grade (MG) novels that I’ve been consuming in recent years hasn’t slowed. To showcase this fact, here’s already the first MG compilation post of 2023. It’s also my first compilation post of this year.

Serwa Boateng’s Guide to Vampire Hunting (Sept. 6, 2022) by Roseanne A. Brown.

*This is the first​ novel in a middle-grade debut series.*

Fireflies are dangerous. Not all, but some are actually adze​, shapeshifting vampires that can transform into fireflies and possess the human mind (and could then shift into that human and no other human would know it’s hosting an adze). No vampires of the sparkly variety in Ghanaian folklore. As the daughter of two of the best Slayers, 12-year-old Serwa Boateng is one of the best Slayers her age, but her parents won’t let her take the Initiation Test to become a fully fledged Slayer of the Abomofuo (“hunters in Twi¹. An organization dedicated to defending the world from the forces of black magic. Comprised of Slayers, Middle Men, and Okomfo.”). Slayers don’t only dispatch adze, but any creature of black magic. This includes obayifos (witches). One in particular, Boahinmaa, somehow breaches the magical barriers (which are formed using Adinkra, symbols that represent specific things and are often tied to proverbs). She and her parents escape, but narrowly. There is history between Boahinmaa and her mom, but neither her parents nor Boulder, her father’s mmoatia​ (forest spirit), will divulge any details of how they know one another. The gods (Nana Tegare: god of hunters, Nana Tano: god of war, Nana Bia: god of the bush) send Serwa’s parents on a mission to defeat Boahinmaa and Serwa assumes she’s going along as she always has. Instead, she winds up in Rocky Gorge, Maryland (a.k.a. Nowheresville) and its Rocky Gorge Middle School with her “Auntie” Latricia and “Cousin” Roxanne (not related by blood). She’s traded in Nokware (a sword) and her crossbow for a mean girl (Ashley) and schoolwork. Or has she? When an adze infiltrates her school, she knows it’s up to her and the GCC (Good Citizens Committee) to find who the adze has inhabited and defeat it. The GCC is an unlikely team in personalities alone, but Serwa, Roxy, Mateo, Eunju and Gavin - together with Boulder - are the only ones who can save Rocky Gorge. When Serwa uncovers a secret about her family, she’ll have to decide which side is her side.

            From tween hijinks to Serwa’s savvy narration blended with Ghanaian folklore (some of which may be familiar if one’s read the Tristan Strong​ series), this series starter is fast-paced, action-packed and serves a magical punch. This story gives readers a fresh take on vampires, which is good, because when I first read the title and saw Vampire Hunting, I had doubts. I thought, “Oh no, is this Van Helsing but as a middle-grade story?” Not at all, not even close! Brown’s story has deep layers striated with fantastical mythology and emotive characters, especially Serwa and her outburst at the story’s clearly-a-cliffhanger ending. While I don’t love the story like some of the others within the Rick Riordan Presents imprint, I am happy that I picked up this book and navigated obstacles, detention, adze-hunting, a major secret, family relationships and finding new friends with Serwa. Like middle school isn’t hard enough without firefly-slash-vampires and life-changing secrets!

            ¹: (chwee) a dialect of the Akan language spoken by millions of people in Ghana and around the world. Not to be confused with the first syllable in Twitter or Twilight.

            P.S. There is a glossary of Ghanaian words and pronunciations (love those glossaries) + an Adinkra dictionary (love that, too).

            P.P.S. For others who have read this story, I am curious to know your thoughts on the GCC consisting of students of color, implying and noted by their supervising teacher (also of color), Mr. Riley, that students of color are singled out for detention when Caucasian students are not. Do you read it as something that is relatable and current? Or do you think that sort of focus in a story perpetuates enmity and mistrust?

Tiger Honor (Jan. 4, 2022) by Yoon Ha Lee.

*This is a sequel ​ novel.*

*FYI: Sebin is nonbinary, so I will use they/them pronouns to refer to the character.*

What do you do when the one you look up to most is declared a traitor in the eyes of the Thousand World Space Forces? Sebin, a tiger spirit “cub” from the Juhwang Clan on the planet of Yonggi, plans to clear Uncle Hwan’s name, restoring the clan’s honor. And, like former Captain Hwan, Sebin wants to captain their own battle cruiser one day, though they know they’ll be expected to scrub floors and tend to the hydroponics as a cadet at the bottom of the totem pole. Sebin expects structure and maximum security, but things are off as soon as they arrive at Starbase Borasaekbam. Sebin and new cadet, Jee, are to report to the Haetae immediately, according to Special Investigator Yi and Yi’s assistant Kim Min. Sebin doesn’t have time to be sworn in by Captain Chaewon before an explosion rocks the ship. Communications are down. It’ll be up to Sebin, Yi, Min, Jee and two other cadets, Euna and Namkyu, to discover who’s sabotaging the cruiser.  But how is Sebin to help when they’re accused of colluding with the enemy and are put in the brig?

            Family loyalty vs. honor and duty. In this second space opera featuring Korean mythology, nonbinary tiger spirit Juhwang Sebin must decide where their loyalties lie: to family or the Space Forces, whose commitment to the latter supersedes all else, even family oaths sealed with blood. “Tiger Honor” is an engaging middle-grade story with fast pacing and twisty turns, an excellent choice for readers looking for sci-fi adventure. Readers of the first Thousand Worlds novel will recognize Kim Min. I have been on a mythology kick since I read Rick Riordan’s “Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief,” so I’ve been gobbling up the varied stories within the Rick Riordan Presents​ imprint in addition to what Riordan writes. Women in positions of military power and the inclusion of nonbinary characters are commonplace. Multiple characters would’ve benefitted from further character development, but that shouldn’t stop anyone who’s drawn in by [Korean] mythology, space fights and journeying with a main character who’s faced with a family-versus-integrity dilemma. Considering how popular anything K-related has become – from k-pop to k-dramas to k-food – the combination of action-adventure and cultural elements should have wide appeal.

            Book One: Dragon Pearl

The Troubled Girls of Dragomir Academy (Oct. 12, 2021) by Anne Ursu.

*This is a standalone novel (as far as I can tell).*

No one notices Marya Lupu, because her older brother, Luka, is destined to become a sorcerer. Where girls in the land of Illyria on the continent of Dovia are groomed to become wives and mothers, caregivers to younger siblings, maids, cooks or weavers, boys all hope they’ll become sorcerers, able to wield magic to protect Illyria from the Dread, the Ilvanians, the Kellians and the creatures of the Fantoma Forest, amongst other threats. It’s after a visit doesn’t go as expected that a letter arrives informing the Lupu family that Marya will attend Dragomir Academy, a school for wayward girls. Girls like Marya, who always seems to do the wrong thing even though it feels right at the time. They’ve got to learn the history of Dovia, of course, but they’re also taught how to sit, how to walk, how to eat soup and how to hold a fork. A pall descends on the Rose Hall girls when one receives a letter from her parents stating that they no longer consider her their daughter. She’s their only child. There is something about Dragomir Academy that Marya can’t quite put her finger on. How are all of these girls troubled? When the Dread wipes out the village of one of her classmates, more questions arise. Why were the sorcerers unable to track the Dread’s formation and evacuate all villagers? The Dread normally forms over a forest, but that wasn’t the case this time. What’s causing it to change and why? Why does magic purportedly manifest in males only?

            In the patriarchal Kingdom of Illyria, girls are of little consequence compared to the boys of the realm. Readers are frustrated right along with Marya as high-ranking men treat her words as frivolous or, worse, accuse her of being bewitched by a friend accused of being a witch. Marya’s character is a raw word picture of the emotional and psychological results of living in a patriarchal world, of a girl who isn’t, instead, a second son, and has a mother whom she can never please, a mother who’s all but given up on her. She carries so much guilt, shame and self-doubt, but this middle-grade novel is remarkable. The curious protagonist learns to question “who the story serves” while making friends for the first time. This is a novel that ensorcelled me with its thoughtful writing, skilled-tapestry world-building and intricately-woven plot. It’s a subtle fantasy novel, not big, loud and epic, but one that is empowering and generous. It’s an original story from an author who must have magic of her own, gifted storyteller that she is.

Rutabaga's Reads 2012: Part 8

This is Part 8 of Rutabaga’s Reads 2012. It includes books I’ve read since Part 6 that are not picture books. What are you reading today? Let me know by commenting on Part 8’s post.

Breadcrumbs (Sept. 27, 2011) by Anne Ursu.

In a contemporary version of Hans Christian Andersen’s “The Snow Queen,” Hazel Anderson does not fit. An adoptee from India, she is too imaginative, most of her classmates treat her with contempt or simply give her the cold shoulder, and she’s only stuck at the school to begin with because her parents have divorced and money is tight; therefore, she had to leave her previous school. But she has Jack Campbell, and they fit together like the pieces of a fantastic puzzle.

            Or they did.

            Overnight, Jack seemed to find her disdainful. He suddenly quit talking to her and then he went away. Because something happened. A mirror shard fell from the sky and happened into his unsuspecting eye, traveled to his heart and froze it. Hazel goes off on a quest to rescue her best friend, albeit “in ill-considered shoes, brave and completely unprepared.”

            “Breadcrumbs” is a middle-grade novel that takes place in Minnesota and mentions Minnesota Twins baseball player Joe Mauer in the storyline. Ursu writes a creative story that is part fantasy and part realistic fiction. It is magical, but the magic is subtle. Ursu expertly weaves the realism with allusions to the modern-day stories we’ve read (“Weren’t wizards good? Dumbledore’s a wizard.”), but also to the well-known tales of yesteryear (“… but all she knew about wolves was that you should never tell them how to find your grandmother’s house.”). While Hazel’s flighty imagination can be trying, she is a heroine, and even more importantly, she is an awesome best friend.

Juliet Immortal (Aug. 9, 2011) by Stacey Jay.

You think you know Romeo & Juliet’s star-crossed love story.

            But what if Juliet died so Romeo could gain immortality and join the Mercenaries of the Apocalypse? And what if, consequently, Juliet also gained immortality by joining the Ambassadors of Light? In this rendering of the greatest love story, this is precisely what happened. Romeo has spent centuries inhabiting deceased human bodies to recruit more Mercenaries through murder. Juliet has only returned to Earth about 30 times over the past 700 years. She works to bring soul mates together – to spread love and light.

            Juliet inhabits Ariel Dragland, who is not dead. She has to find the soul mates she should be helping and bring them together before Romeo negatively interferes. Romeo has reanimated the fresh corpse of Dylan Stroud. But extra trouble lurks. Juliet/Ariel can’t contact Nurse for details, and Romeo/Dylan is actually scared. Both are being watched.

            Juliet tries to mend Ariel’s relationships with her mom and with her best friend, the selfish Gemma Sloop. She even falls for Ben Luna before making a devastating discovery.

            Whether you accept – or scoff at – this take on Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, consider this book. Juliet/Ariel and Romeo/Dylan are well-developed characters even when supporting characters appear flat and underdeveloped. The full story of the Ambassadors and Mercenaries is unclear, but the main plot is intriguing. Besides, who doesn’t like the occasional love story with a twist? I expect fans of supernatural YA novels will enjoy this one.

Princess Academy (July 6, 2005) by Shannon Hale.

Have you ever dreamt of being a princess? Miri Larendaughter hasn’t, until eligible-age girls from their village home of Mount Eskel – in the kingdom of Danland – are summoned to a princess academy. To learn what? How to properly be a princess, of course! There are the usual subjects of Reading, Mathematics and Commerce, as well as the princess-forming subjects Poise, Conversation and Diplomacy. Studies are led by the harsh Tutor Olana, who makes it clear what she thinks of mountain girls, but fortunately knows not what quarry-speech is. They have a year’s time to learn to read for the first time and become as polished and poised as true princesses. The competition is strong. Who is chosen as the academy princess? Who catches the eye of Prince Steffan of Danland? When danger arrives by force and aggression, how are Miri and her classmates saved?

            This is a satisfying middle-grade story of tough work, hard studies, family, friends and where our hearts call home. For anyone who’s ever felt out of place in anything or felt wronged by unfairness, you’ll connect with Miri. She stands up for herself and for the fairness of the class, as she also strives to learn all that she’s never had the opportunity to. She struggles internally: with her feelings for Peder, how she can help her village and the possibility of becoming princess. They say that Home is where the heart is. Where does Miri’s heart tell her she belongs?

This Dark Endeavor (Aug. 23, 2011) by Kenneth Oppel.

Oppel writes a gothic prequel of Dr. Victor Frankenstein. In this version, Victor is a hot-headed, hot-blooded, attention-loving sixteen-year-old. He lives with his parents, two younger brothers and cousin, Elizabeth, at Chateau Frankenstein. In Oppel’s narrative, Victor also has a twin brother, Konrad. Victor, Konrad and Elizabeth stumble one day upon the Dark Library. It is filled with books on alchemy and ancient remedies. Their father discovers them there and forbids them to return, as it is illegal to practice alchemy. But when Konrad falls deathly ill, Victor is driven to find a cure. To procure the ingredients, Victor, Elizabeth and their friend, Henry, enlist the help of a disgraced alchemist named Julius Polidori. The ingredients are few, but obtaining them is dangerous and difficult. Victor is overly confident in the ability of the elixir. Can the Elixir of Life save his much-loved twin?

            Oppel creates a young Frankenstein who is on his way to becoming the mad scientist we know from Mary Shelley’s novel. Victor is perhaps unlike the protagonists we are used to reading – those who are, for the most part, easily likeable – but that is part of what makes Oppel’s tale so appealing. “This Dark Endeavor” is an excellent prequel to Shelley’s work and honors it well. It has enough horror and romance to push it into gothic territory, enough history and science to feed the story without muddling it, and it has bursts of humor to prevent it from reading too darkly. There were a couple particularly tough parts to read, but it otherwise read very quickly. I won’t be surprised if a movie version is made of Oppel’s creation.

Unbroken: A Ruined Novel (Feb. 1, 2013) by Paula Morris.*

Rebecca Brown (“Ruined,” see Part 1) has returned to New Orleans (NOLA), a city of beauty and ghosts. After the events of the previous year, the last thing Rebecca wants or expects to see is a ghost. Now cue a teenage boy with intensely blue eyes named Frank O’Connor. He’s looking for a lost item that led to his death in 1873 and will trap him if it isn’t found soon. Complications arise as Rebecca strives to help. Not enough time. Aloof, maybe-boyfriend Anton Grey. Keeping secrets. Threats from vengeful ghost Gideon Mason. Unhinged Toby Sutton. Rebecca’s vacation to NOLA isn’t a vacation. It’s a high-stress trip tougher than a school project. Can she help Frank before he’s trapped for eternity? Can she open up to others about the spirit world? Will Toby get his revenge?

            This is another enjoyable YA story from Morris. Rebecca did spend a decent amount of time completing wonderful volunteer work, but it occasionally detracted from the ghost world. That said, I do see how Morris used the volunteerism backdrops to allow Rebecca to have a ghostly chat or put a visual to a verbal description. “Unbroken” is a fast-paced, engaging read. If you like ghosts. And some non-scary suspense.

* This is a Scholastic purchase, and the edition is only available through the school market.