Rutabaga's Reads 2026: Part 4

Here I am with the first young-adult (YA) compilation post for 2026. If you read YA fiction, what do you like about it that has you reading it? What can get on your nerves when it comes to YA?

And the River Drags Her Down (Oct. 7, 2025) by Jihyun Yun.

<This is a standalone novel.>

Ancestral magic follows the female line, but there is a strict rule that one will never resurrect departed humans. Soojin Han and her older sister, Mirae, followed that to the letter, even after their mom died when her car went down an embankment. It’s six years since that accident and now one year since Mirae drowned in the local river that runs through Jade Acre, a [fictional] California town along its coast. Soojin and her dad have only grown apart since they became a two-person household. She doesn’t know how to lift others up like Mirae did and so, in desperation and with Mirae’s milk tooth, she resurrects her sister. She is overjoyed to have her big sister back, but their good friend, Mark Moon, doesn’t share her joy. As Mirae claws her way out from the earth, he sees rot where Soojin only sees vitality. And for a brief while, Mirae seems content. When their dad’s away for work during the week, Mirae cooks with Soojin and prepares her lunches to take to school. The sisters and Mark get up to tame shenanigans in the middle of the night. But Mirae grows tired of hiding. She’s restless and hungry. She needs retribution. In a town that becomes afflicted with a deluge of heavy rain, watch out. “It listens through the water. It comes through the water!” The sister Soojin brought back isn’t, perhaps, the sister she knew, but one she still loves.

            In this YA paranormal fantasy and horror novel, ancient, ancestral magic and desperate loneliness weave together to create an unraveling that is devastating and poignant. The story is grief-filled and sometimes horrible, creepy and disquieting. The plot is propulsive, the horror is mature, and the value of being well-loved is sown throughout. It’s a story of sisterhood but also of selfishness and the desperate, dangerous choices one might make to retrieve what one lost. The narrative is water-stained with darkness and decay, which makes it all the more compelling to read. This haunting isn’t for the faint-hearted, but the strong-willed, even if they come with broken hearts.

Eliza, from Scratch (May 13, 2025) by Sophia Lee.

<This is a standalone novel.>

The one thing standing between Eliza Park (Korean American) and clinching salutatorian is a scheduling conflict that lands her in Culinary Arts – a regular course – instead of AP Physics. Not only is the class unweighted, non-Honors and non-AP, Eliza can’t cook. At all. She can’t fry an egg and only knows the mandolin to be a musical instrument, clearly not knowing that a mandoline is a culinary utensil. She planned for a perfect, flawless senior year with her best friends Kareena and Meredith, but secrets kept and an academic rival disrupting the friend group has Eliza feeling unbalanced. Culinary Arts classmate Wesley Ruengsomboon (Thai American) has her feeling unbalanced, too. She’s also incredibly annoyed with his ease, skill and know-all in the kitchen. In the final period of the day, Eliza goes from star student to mortifying mess. Eliza’s high expectations push her to believe she can win the midterm cooking contest. She’ll learn from Wesley, whom their teacher infuriatingly paired her with, and from her mom. Her mom doesn’t know that Eliza’s learning how to cook Korean food for school and instead thinks she’s learning in order to become closer to the late grandmother she never put in effort to truly understand and know. This overachiever is about to learn some lessons – about life and cooking – from scratch.

            To Wesley, Eliza looks like a cookie cutter cutout of overachieving perfectionism, and she is. Anyone who’s vied for the top spot in their class understands Eliza. It’s eye-opening and frustrating in equal measure and might have some racing to convince themselves that they were never as bad as Eliza. This YA contemporary romance features an enemies-to-lovers, AAPI couple with a sweet/salty plot and a zesty cast of characters. Lee’s debut is here to appease clean romance appetites and make readers hungry for all manner of cultural cuisine. There’s a main character who doesn’t take it in stride or handle it with grace. There’s toughness and vulnerability, hidden feelings and emotions spilling over. The story is well-balanced with freshness and high school drama. For this reader who’s very nitpicky about the YA she can stomach, this one hits the spot.

The Encanto’s Curse (Mar. 4, 2025) by Melissa de la Cruz.

<This is the second novel in a duology.>

<Alert: Potential spoilers ahead.>

A creature stalks the night. It is a manananggal – a mythical creature of the Philippines that separates its upper torso from its legs when hunting – and MJ Robertson-Rodriguez must protect her kingdom as she’s also learning how to be the newly crowned queen of Biringan. She has a vivid dream in which she attacks a young couple in love. The very next day, the couple is there. Injured, but alive. They’re reporting a manananggal attack on one of their goats. MJ comes to the mortifying conclusion that she is the monster. She has no idea how this curse came upon her, and she flees to Mount Makiling with select members of her court, including Sir Lucas Invierno; Grand Duchess Amador Oscura, Sir Lucas’ promised bride; and Nix Xing, a princess of Jade Mountain. Also with their group is the delegation from Jade Mountain, led by Prince Qian, a half-brother to Nix, after he initially tries to get Nix to return to Jade Mountain by force. Prince Qian is a handsome, famed monster hunter. MJ is charmed by him and thinks she could love him someday, but her heart still beats for Lucas just as it also fills with bloodthirst. The young queen must gain control of herself lest she lose her kingdom, her crown and herself, to the viciously hungry ways of the manananggal.

            The concluding novel in The Encanto’s Daughter duology is a YA fantasy that is steeped in Filipino mythology and paranormal romance. I don’t consider it romantasy, for while it does contain kissing, there’s nothing particularly steamy about any of the scenes. I did prefer this story to its predecessor. Where MJ came across as often petulant in that story, I did not get that here, as she races to lift her curse and hide the changes happening to her. The pace is fast, the plot is tense and the tone is dark with notes of hopefulness. Aswang queen though she may be, she’s still a queen and an encanto. And unlike Yara Liliana, practically erased from the history books, MJ has friends who care for and support her. Time isn’t on her side, but her friends are.

            Book One: The Encanto’s Daughter

Rutabaga's Reads 2026: Part 3

It’s time for my first middle-grade compilation post of the year. This post highlights my love of fantasy and mythology.

Paola Santiago and the Sanctuary of Shadows (Aug. 2, 2022) by Tehlor Kay Mejia.

<This is the final novel in a trilogy.>

She has saved Emma Lockwood, her best friend. She has saved her dad. But Paola Santiago can’t find a rift to enter the void since her prophetic dreams have ceased. No matter their broken friendship, Paola is determined to save Dante Mata. Her dad, absent for so much of her life, thinks she should be a regular 13-year-old, but how can Paola just be 13 years old? She’s battled spirits and void monsters, is armed with an Arma del Alma and has saved people she loves. She can’t simply flip a switch. Her best chance of entering the void might be in Texas, but she’s still a kid with zero funds in Arizona. Coincidentally, Emma and her group of proactive friends in the Rainbow Rogues are heading to San Antonio, so Paola’s stop is practically along the way, if she can stomach the judgy girls. She’ll discover who Falsita fears most, but Falsita herself will be jarring to Pao. Pao reminds herself that her aim is to rescue Dante, no matter if he hates her, but in a sea of copies, who’s real and who isn’t? A battle is coming, and no one is prepared, but how would one prepare to face off with the lord of nightmares and dread, anyway?

            The trilogy-ender in the Paola Santiago series is a paranormal, fantasy adventure containing the importance of friends and family but also the stuff of nightmares. Based on Mexican folklore, Paola embarks on one more rollercoaster adventure, running away from her family (again) and realizing the hard way that she’s in over her head. Paola is clever and brave, but she’s also angry, rash and sometimes bratty enough that it’s hard to endure her. She’s a girl trying to figure out her identity, not only where she fits in with her long-lost father and her paranormal side, but also her orientation. Despite its fantastical storyline, it’s anchored by emotion and love. Though it isn’t my favorite within the Rick Riordan Presents imprint, the story’s heart and imagination scoot the story along.

            Book One: Paola Santiago and the River of Tears

            Book Two: Paola Santiago and the Forest of Nightmares

The Shadow Crosser (Sept. 1, 2020) by J.C. Cervantes.

<This is the final novel in a trilogy.>

<Alert: Potential spoilers ahead.>

The check-in date for Zane Obispo to begin his training at the Shaman Institute for Higher Order Magic (SHIHOM) has been moved up, but there’s one more godborn to track down with the help of a foul demon who can literally sniff them out. Joke’s on the demon, though, as there isn’t one godborn, but two. Twins Alana and Adrik are found in an antiques shop taking back a red stone that supposedly belongs to them. Camazotz (the bat god) and Ixkik’ (a.k.a. Blood Moon) want it badly. But why? What’s so significant about the stone? Hurakan (Zane’s godly parent) and Ah-Puch (no longer an adversary) inform Zane that a light on the World Tree has gone out. That means a god has died (in this case, Akan, the god of wine, who was sacrificed by Zotz and Ixkik’). Hurakan and Ah-Puch tell Zane they’ll see him the following day, except they don’t. The gods are all missing in 1987! Itzamna will protect the tree as long as he can, but Zane and company will need to locate Ki’in without dying, travel through time and space (without dying) and rescue the gods (without dying and in under 24 hours). There’s no time like the present to locate a magical calendar.

            Magic, mayhem and mythology are a triple threat of adventure in this middle-grade fantasy adventure and concluding novel in the Storm Runner Series. Mayan mythology with Aztec (a.k.a. Mexica) mythology is crafted into a perfect storm with hero youth, uninvolved parent-gods that manage to need saving, a constantly-moving plot and plenty of snark. It’s a little bizarre and not without darkness, but is fully entertaining, even without being a favorite Rick Riordan Presents series of mine. Be ready for high stakes and perfect hot cocoa (thanks, Ixkakaw)!

            Book One: The Storm Runner

            Book Two: The Fire Keeper

The Super-Secret Mission to the Center of the Moon (Pie) (Feb. 4, 2025) by Melissa de la Cruz.

<This is the second novel in a series.>

<Alert: Potential spoilers ahead.>

Is the moon made of cheese? Octos Edwin, Li’l Kimmy, Dilip, Julie, Ting-Ting, Anton and Harold are about to find out when they strap in for an emergency trip to the moon, following traitorous Maureen, who’s commandeered Octagon Valley’s best rocket, which almost turns into a crash landing. The Octos have lost their fearless leader and the only adult on the impromptu mission, the brilliantly peculiar Onasander Octagon. They get what they think is the ingenious idea to become campers with the influx of other YAK campers arriving. It gets tricky fast when they’re not put on the same team (a.k.a. quadrant), and mingling with the other teams during lunchtime, for example, turns out to be a big no-no, subject to stares, judgment and even flung insults. The team’s best chance is to win the Cosmic Games and be granted access to the YAKs’ lunar labs and their top secret activity. How will any of them win when none are actually YAKs? What if the YAKs already have Onasander?

            Infiltrating a lunar camp and participating in the Cosmic Games are big components in this middle-grade fantasy adventure involving a youthful team of geniuses, an eccentric mastermind, a backstabber whose devious ways may not be her own doing and a moon-full of vengeful YAKs (we still don’t know what YAK stands for – Young Available Kittens? Yodeling Angry Knights?). Along with the racial and cultural diversity, the setting outside Earth and the story’s entertainment value, there is weight to this novel. There are lots of personalities in these characters and the struggles that go with all of those varying (genius) minds. There’s jealousy in those whose superpowers haven’t manifested, underlying resentments and nefarious aliens (different from the aliens that the Octos are). The novel is high-energy with high-stakes momentum. My only grumble is with Edwin. That kid needs a big ole slice of humble pie with a side of humility. But don’t let Edwin stop you from picking up this energetic installment.

            Book One: The (Super Secret) Octagon Valley Society

Rutabaga's Reads 2025: Part 16

It’s been a push to piece together a third middle-grade compilation post, but I made it. In this round, you’ll find Never After heroes vs. Never After ogres, Feast vs. Famine and feisty Mayan gods vs. at least one desperate godborn.

The End of the Story (Dec. 3, 2024) by Melissa de la Cruz.

<This is the fifth and final novel in a pentalogy.>

<Alert: Potential spoilers ahead.>

The Never After crew are back together for one more world-saving adventure. Queen Olga isn’t vanquished. They are looking to locate Sabine, the last surviving fairy, before Queen Olga and her minions do. Sabine is also known as ... Tinker Bell! She must be protected. If the last surviving fairy dies, so does all of Never After. Filomena, Gretel, Jack and Alistair join friends new (like Captain Hook, an adventurer, not a pirate, with a flying ship courtesy of the fairies and a good history with crocodiles) and old. Their search will take them to Neverland and the forever boy, Peter Pan, who’s nothing like the fairy tale mortals know in the human world. There’s an impressive blacksmith’s shop “straight down till morning” in a little-known place called Everland, and the nymphs know all the tea. The Dragon Realm refuses to help them, stating that it’s too soon since they last helped them. Filomena knows what battle they’re referring to, but Jack, Alistair and Gretel do not. Filomena has time-jumped and retains her memories, but few others remember Before, and it’s shredding Filomena up keeping that secret to herself. With evil closing in and mischief afoot, the good friends must figure out how to protect the magic of Never After and conquer Olga once and for all. Then, and only then, might it come to the End of the Story.

            What’s a middle-grade fantasy adventure without some world-saving? There is drama and friendship, ogre-slaying and compassion, dragons and swoop holes. There are hellos to be had and big decisions to make, not only leading up to the End of the Story, but what might happen beyond The End. (As of this posting, there’s no rumor of a spinoff series, but I’d love one.) As with the book’s predecessors in the Never After series, the heroic characters are relatable, courageous and diverse, the plot rapidly unfolds, and Jack eventually remembers. This final tale is exhilarating and the conclusion is satisfying. The author’s given a fresh take on twisted fairy tales, and I’ve enjoyed every spellbinding moment.

            Book One: The Thirteenth Fairy

            Book Two: The Stolen Slippers

            Book Three: The Broken Mirror

            Book Four: The Missing Sword

The Fire Keeper (Sept. 3, 2019) by J.C. Cervantes.

<This is the middle novel in a trilogy.>

<Alert: Potential spoilers ahead.>

The Maya gods required him to write a book, but he’s the one who snuck a secret message in it, visible only to other godborns. Zane Obispo currently resides on a secluded tropical prison, er, island. His family (his mom and Uncle Hondo) and closest friend (Brooks) are there, but life feels far from picturesque. His dog-turned-hellhound, Rosie, isn’t the four-legged companion she was pre-hellhound, and that rift hurts. He’s ready to bust out and go save Hurakan (his godly parent), but there’s the matter of getting off an island that keeps other gods out, but also keeps him trapped inside. Before Zane and Brooks set their plan in motion to leave, a godborn arrives in a boat steered by no one with shadows surrounding her. Renata “Ren” Santiago saw his secret note in the book (she checked it out from the library). Unfortunately, he learns that in inserting that note, he unintentionally put other godborn youth at risk. On top of finding Hurakan, he must find the godborns before the gods do, because they will kill them. And, bonus note, Hurakan is scheduled to be executed. The Fire Keeper may be able to change the future if the god can be located. Zane will do whatever it takes to save his dad, even if it means interacting with Ah-Puch. Even if it means sort of dying.

            I love learning about mythology, especially mythology that’s still new to me, but I struggled with Zane. Yes, he’s desperate to save Hurakan and juggling also saving the godborn children, but his thoughtless haste, while youthful, irritated me. The pacing started off slow, but picked up. This Mayan mythology, middle-grade fantasy is fiery, the plot is busy, and the gods are as feisty as ever. As the middle story in a trilogy, it does fall a bit to middle-book syndrome, like there’s more verbiage than helps move the story along. But with secrets and lives to save, it should satisfy the most voracious of mythology fans.

            Worthy of note (to me): Itzamna, a Maya creator god of the moon, bringer of writing and culture, creator of the calendar, and father to the Bakabs: “I’d much rather read great works, write poetry, play the flute, and float across the starry sky.” Me, too, Itzamna. Me, too.

            Book 1: The Storm Runner

The Last Great Heir (Jan. 28, 2025) by Carina Finn.

<This is the first novel in a series.>

With their thirteenth birthdays around the corner, the fated duel between Merriment Feast and Rue Famine is about to commence. Raised as rivals, Feasts are adept at charms, while Famines excel at potions. Fauret has been under Feast rule for generations, and only Feasts benefit from Feast rule. Their feasting is gluttonous, and those beyond Fauret’s walls are starving. Merriment’s life has been like one big party, filled with beautiful attire and no shortage of delectable pastries. Rue’s life has been monotone in comparison, filled with studies and learning how to use her magic to help others. One has grueling studies under a tyrannical aunt, the other studies without the guidance she needs. They’ve never met, but they have more in common than they realize, including a common enemy.

            A tale of female heirs dueling to the death reminds me of Kendare Blake’s Three Dark Crowns series, but the comparison ends there. Whereas Blake’s series is YA and quite dark + violent, this story is middle-grade and only mildly gloomy. The Feast and Famine series opener receives much fanfare, but what should be a fantastical, sparkling debut loses some of its luster in its lack of smooth plotting and a later-in-the-story reveal that needs more backstory. There definitely could’ve been more worldbuilding, but I do feel I was able to distinguish between Rue’s and Merri’s voices. There are sincere moments, the setting is charming, and the premise has great promise. My favorite characters just might be the fickle, mercurial demons, with specific shoutout to Jahi.

Rutabaga's Reads 2025: Part 3

It has arrived, my first YA compilation of 2025. If you read YA, what’s already caught your interest this year? What new releases are you anticipating?

Beastly Beauty (May 7, 2024) by Jennifer Donnelly.

<This is a standalone novel.>

What makes a girl “beastly?” Is it being too stubborn? Being fiery and strong instead of sweet and compliant? Wanting to study architecture instead of attending balls? Is it simply wanting too much?

            In the band of thieves, Beau is the handsome one and is always tasked with being the charming seducer, stealing hearts along with jewels, gold and silver. When the bridge crumbles behind his thieving comrades, Beau is left to face the monster that roams the castle at night. He knows the monster is real, but no one seems to believe him. Certainly not Valmont, who doesn’t hide his utter disdain for the thief. And who are the children who claim they aren’t children? There’s a strange, sizable clockwork, and then there’s the beautiful and cold Lady Arabella with her contingent of vicious ladies-in-waiting with names like Lady Espidra, Lady Rega, Lady Hesma and Lady Iglut. Once bold and independent, much to the chagrin and disapproval of her titled parents (she’s the only child of a duke and duchess), she’s turned inward, crumbling like a ruin once full of hope, faith and love, now weighed down by despair, rage, shame, guilt and more. Arabella’s understanding is that, to break the curse, a boy must love her for her true self, which is a cruel assignment for someone who appears “beastly” on the inside and out. After all, who could ever love ... a beast?

            While I can understand Beau’s desperation to reunite with his brother, I did not like him for most of the story. It’s not only the thieving that turned me off from the character, but his greasy charm and cocksure personality. He is redeemable in the last chapters, but it’s too little too late, and I couldn’t fully appreciate the story. Fortunately, Donnelly is a skilled storyteller and invites readers into a gender-swapped retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” that manages complicated characters in daunting circumstances surrounded by a historically rich backdrop and emotional turbulence. There are glimmers of humor amidst the hopelessness and the mucky, macabre moat monsters. It’s a story of family dynamics and their complications, personal truths and battling to accept oneself, “beastly” aspects and all.

The Encanto’s Daughter (Mar. 5, 2024) by Melissa de la Cruz.

<This is the first novel in a duology.>

Command attention. Project authority. That is what Maria Josephina “MJ” Robertson-Rodriguez must do to stand her ground against the courts that oppose her ascension to the throne. MJ is a princess of the Sirena Court, which is the most powerful and thus is the overall ruler of Biringan, but she’s spent much of her life hiding in the human world, switching towns and schools at the earliest sign of danger. MJ is hapcanto: half-human, half-encanto. (Encantos or engkantos in her father’s language, but they’re also called fairies.) With her father’s sudden death, MJ must go to Biringan to claim her place as the rightful heir. She must win over a council who disapproves of her hapcanto status and that she’s a she, and don’t even get her started on those of the other courts who disapprove of her half-human side. Yep, bigotry is alive and well in Biringan, too. She doesn’t know what her magic is, which she’ll need to showcase at her coronation in less than a month, and she won’t even admit it to her first real friend Phoenix “Nix” Xing, a runaway from Jade Mountain. When she hears that her father’s death was from unnatural causes, she adds investigating his death to her already busy agenda. Nix is there to help, and MJ forges an unlikely alliance with the irritatingly handsome Sir Lucas Invierno. Where his dad once worked for the Court of Sirena, Sir Lucas now resides in the Court of Sigbin and is the realm’s highest-ranking knight. Don Elias, MJ’s godfather and the late King Vivencio Basilio Rodriguez’s most trusted advisor, suspects Sigbin Court of harboring a mambabarang, witches that practice black magic. So. Find the nasty sorceress, discover her father’s murderer, figure out her magical ability and learn all there is to know about Biringan and being royal. If MJ can do all that in less than a month’s time, she can bear the weight of the crown. Right?

            This fantasy duology opener steeped in Filipino mythology makes for a culturally rich tale of magic, family betrayal, court politics and investigation. The downside is that I usually didn’t like MJ’s character. Yes, her life has been upended, and I know she’s trying to assert herself, but she oftentimes comes across as petulant, downright annoying and, well, entitled. She redeems herself with her release of an innocent person, someone she knew had to be innocent from the get-go. Being accepted as the one true heir in only a month’s time – when she’s been gone since toddlerhood – seems far-fetched, but the stakes are high, the plot is action-driven and there’s adventure to be had. Although so-so for me, it may just be what a YA fantasy lover is looking for.

            P.S. Surprise! Maria Josephina isn’t actually her given name. What is it?

Icon and Inferno (June 11, 2024) by Marie Lu.

<This is the second novel in a duology.>

The world’s favorite pop superstar and one of the world’s elite spies are back. Winter Young has thought of Sydney Cossette every day, hoping she’ll randomly show up. She never does, until the day she shows up in his private practice room. Sydney is there to convince him to take another mission with Panacea Group, the secret operation located within Claremont Hotel, a [fictional] luxury resort hotel in St. Paul, MN, featuring a Michelin-starred restaurant called Food for the Gods. They need to make contact with an agent who’s gone dark. It’s the Arsonist, code name for Tems Bourton, and he’s, loosely, Sydney’s ex. Panacea is tracking a plot to assassinate U.S. President Rosen, and Tems is supposed to be their eyes-on-the-ground. Winter and Sydney head to Singapore for the Warcross Championships, Winter getting in with his celebrity status and Sydney joining in once again as his bodyguard. On Winter’s arm is Gavi Ginsburg, his on-again-off-again, no-strings-attached, globe-trotting socialite girlfriend/fling. The intense chemistry between Winter and Sydney remains, but it is tempered with the exes in the mix. Not that they have time to hash out feelings. They have a suspect responsible for plotting the president’s assassination, but there are definitely more people involved. Who are the rogue operatives?

            Sydney doesn’t want to admit it, but she’s struggling. It’s her last mission with Niall O’Sullivan and Sauda Nazari as the head agents/operatives, because it’s Niall’s last mission. He’s retiring! He plans to visit his daughter, Quinn, for the first time in a decade. Niall is the closest to a father figure that she’s ever had. She’s already missing him and is a little jealous of his actual daughter (not that she’ll admit it).

            The Stars and Smoke duology closer is a dramatic, YA spy fiction sequel to its predecessor. It’s action-packed and sometimes violent, occasionally spitting and a little steamy (the scene does leave much of it up to the reader’s imagination). The sexy, romantic tone that Lu incorporated didn’t impress me, but the emotive characters with their abusive, psychologically pain-filled pasts and Lu’s enigmatic writing make this caper dynamic and propulsive. Undoubtedly, there is beauty and ferocity where there is international intrigue surrounding attractive people. But don’t forget that these characters are handy with weapons while playing with fire. Beware getting in the crosshairs.

            Favorite line: “How strange an emotion love was, how powerful it must be to fuel kindness and hatred and empathy and revenge and grief, all at once.” --Sydney, p. 282

            Book One: Stars and Smoke

Rutabaga's Reads 2024: Part 14

I’m back with more middle-grade novels in this third compilation of 2024. In here, you’ll find Wonderland, Korean mythology and mischievous magpies.

Beyond the Isle of the Lost (May 7, 2024) by Melissa de la Cruz.

<This is the fifth novel in a series.>

You are unwelcome to Wonderland, where the Queen of Hearts hosts the un-parties of the year, and despite the scrumptious-looking sweets, no one can ever eat them. Treats are discouraged, especially cupcakes, and having fun is unacceptable. Birthdays remain illegal. There are so many ridiculous rules, and Red of Hearts, the Queen’s daughter, loathes the idea of following in her mom’s red-heeled footsteps. She’s heard that, in faraway Auradon, they get to do things like sing and laugh and run “around willy-nilly like little white rabbits.” Red is ready to perform the ultimate rebellion: throw an actual party! She’s gained two new friends in Chester and Ace, and they’re on-board with planning this rebellious party. What Red doesn’t know is that this party will set off a chain of un-events that will have unforeseen consequences.

            Falling down the rabbit hole to the land of Wonderland is madcap and enchanting in thrilling, equal measure. It has the fun, adventure, heart and humor that readers recognize throughout the entire Disney’s Descendants series with a new protagonist, new friendships and a familiar antagonist (“Off with their heads!”). It’s been five years since we’ve had a Descendants novel, and it’s an entertaining treat to read. It’s sweet fuel for my soul, as stylish as any dessert from Amorette’s Patisserie at Disney Springs, with the tastefully dark vibes of Gideon’s Bakehouse.

            Book One: Isle of the Lost

            Book Two: Return to the Isle of the Lost

            Book Three: Rise of the Isle of the Lost

            Book Four: Escape from the Isle of the Lost

Fox Snare (Oct. 17, 2023) by Yoon Ha Lee.

<This is the final novel in a trilogy.>

Being the bearer of the Dragon Pearl carries duty and weight, which is how Min the fox spirit finds herself involved in a mission to cement peace between the Thousand Worlds (of which she’s a part of, growing up on Jinju) and the Sun Clans with her ghost brother, Jun, Sebin the tiger spirit and Haneul the dragon spirit. Min is surprised to meet Yang Miho, the Thousand Worlds assistant minister, as she is a fox spirit with a high-ranking title in a realm that doesn’t think highly of fox spirits. Despite wanting to feel a natural camaraderie with another fox spirit (and a nine-tailed one, at that!), she withholds her own fox heritage. After an explosion finds Min, Jun, Sebin and Haneul in an escape pod, they crash-land on Jasujeong, a planet claimed by both the Thousand Worlds and the Sun Clans. It’s also said to be the resting place of the Sejong-Dehwang, a dreadnought with superweapon capabilities that doesn’t exist on any current or recent battle cruisers, guarded by its ghosts. The planet is home to plants and creatures unfamiliar to the group, and Min carries the power to terraform Jasujeong with the Pearl. But journeying across Jasujeong is tricky, especially when Haneul falls ill. Someone else has landed on the planet, too, but the character’s goals might not actually align with Min’s, and that could prove dangerous, not just for her and the others stranded with her, but for the two nations.

            It turns out that Korean mythology melded with space opera science fiction is a brew that I never knew I’d enjoy until I read it, and I’ve now read the full trilogy. Lee’s world-building contains rich detail, dynamic characters and high-octane adventure that leads to a satisfying conclusion. The story alternates between Min’s and Sebin’s perspectives. The centuries-long conflict between the Thousand Worlds and the Sun Clans references the historical struggle between Korea and Japan in a boldly subtle way. It’s in the smart way that Lee blends science fiction with Korean culture and folklore that gives this cohesive trilogy complexity and, I hope, wide appeal amongst teens and sci-fi-loving adults.

            Book One: Dragon Pearl

            Book Two: Tiger Honor

Winston Chu vs. the Wingmeisters (Feb. 6, 2024) by Stacey Lee.

<This is the second novel in a duology.>

Thanks to Winston Chu, his older sister Philippa and his friends (Mav, Cassa, Bijal and Monroe), San Francisco has been saved from magpie-turned-human Mr. Pang. They should brush off their hands and enjoy teenager-hood. Right? Wrong. Now they’ve got to face an even bigger problem and not only because he’s the front-runner to be San Francisco’s next mayor. He’s magpie-turned-human Mr. Gu, and he’s Mr. Pang’s brother. Behind Mr. Gu’s sunny laugh and loudly-colored tropical shirts, he’s hiding something in the eerily-timed fog around Treasure Island, an island long-abandoned ... or so everyone thinks. There’s a mysterious flocking of exotic birds to San Fran that has no obvious explanation. It might have something to do with the CHUs (Community Hi-tech Units), but could they really be taking humans and turning them into Birdbrains? There is definitely something fowl going on. The mischievous mustache is back (when it wants to be), Philippa convinces Sir Huxbury, the suit of armor, to talk, there are magical Kaleido Beans, a Destiny Racket, a Mirth Ball and a Banana Mike (yes, that’s correct), and it turns out that they’re going to need Mr. Pang’s help to best his own brother.

            Lee wraps up her debut middle-grade duology with an action-packed novel that is part bildungsroman, part chaos-adventure, part magic, and all entertaining, inspired by Chinese mythology and featuring a racially diverse cast. Winston’s got a lot of big feelings – pride, anger and jealousy – and he needs to determine what type of son/brother/friend he wants to be, as the group tries to save San Francisco again. Those sorcerous magpies sure are troublemakers! This duology-closer is fun and fantastical, but readers will want to be familiar with the events of the Whimsies before diving into the Wingmeisters.

            Book One: Winston Chu vs. the Whimsies

Rutabaga's Reads 2024: Part 8

Here I finally am with my first YA compilation of 2024. I’ve published more solo YA posts, which is why I didn’t create a second compilation post this year, as I originally thought I would. 

The Headmaster’s List (Feb. 28, 2023) by Melissa de la Cruz.

<This is a standalone novel.>

Her ex-boyfriend, 18-year-old Ethan Amoroso, is known as a reckless driver, so when 15-year-old Chris Moore is killed in a high-speed car crash with a tree, it’s easy for the public to skip over ‘innocent until proven guilty’ and proclaim him guilty, since he said he was at the wheel, but Spencer Sandoval, also 18, knows he wouldn’t be careless with the lives of others. His own? Sure, but not others’. Spencer dives into her own investigation into the crash, trying to find the memories of that night that she can’t recall. Was she drugged? Is it the trauma of the night? A brain injury? Why can’t she remember? And why is the picture of Ethan in her memory screaming her name “all wrong?” She has an ally in Jackson Chen, Ethan’s soccer teammate and best friend, and her new, loyal sidekick, Ripley, a service dog for her PTSD. She’s asking lots of questions, becoming obsessed (and dependent on her Vicodin Rx), and someone clearly feels threatened. Spencer receives a threatening note and someone tries to run her off the road one night as she’s biking home after work. Is it someone she knows? Or someone who’s heard her name through Peyton Salt’s popular, true crime podcast? What kind of truth is she getting close to that someone else doesn’t want to see the light?

            Like ripping off a bandage, I’ll state right off that I struggled with this book. I’ve enjoyed so many of de la Cruz’s stories, but this one drug on, and it began with guessing something [correctly] early on. It’s atypical of me to quit a story, so I read the novel in its entirety. Ripley is definitely a win for the story, her training a good balance to Spencer’s increasing obsession, likely related to her Vicodin dependence. Just because this story wasn’t a victory to me doesn’t mean it’s without merit. Indeed, it does have fascinating facets, venturing in a place ruled by pedigree and privilege. In an elite LA private school, race still stands out (Spencer occasionally refers to herself as the “brown kid”). This thriller has plenty of cute boys, a range of diversity and teen snark. Where it glitters, it’s also sinister, and the humanness can be razor-sharp. It’s a likeable YA thriller, just not one that resonated with me.

Revelations (May 9, 2023) by Bella Higgin.

<This is the second novel in a series.>

<Casual spoiler if you haven’t read the first story.>

When Renie Mayfield first entered Belle Morte, one of the vampire houses in the U.K., where vampires are A-list celebrities, living a life of luxury in their top-brand attire, she was a human selected as a donor to try to find her Vladdict (obsessed with vampires) sister, June. Now Renie is a new vampire, and the vampire responsible, the love of her life, Edmond Dantès, is confined to the secret cells of Belle Morte in cuffs of painful silver. June appears to have escaped and her whereabouts are unknown. June is beyond any help, but Renie continues to love the sister she once was. Renie’s desperate to free Edmond, locate June and punish the one who killed her sister. That someone isn’t working alone, and the betrayal runs deeper than the secret passageways of Belle Morte. The other U.K. houses are likely also compromised, as becomes apparent after they flee. It isn’t only the smell of blood that lingers within Belle Morte’s walls, but corruption, too.

            I’ll be frank. This is a vampire novel, so it’s not a story that I read expecting to be deeply complex. Indeed, the plot never wades into the deep end, but it depicts a lush setting, the allure of a glitzy lifestyle, the glamour associated with vampire novels and a fresh take on the genre. The world-building is detailed, especially if you like fashion. Renie is 18, making this a YA novel, but the intimacy in the story and the many adult supporting characters in the book make this a better choice for older readers. I don’t have children, but if I did, I wouldn’t want my 14- or 15-year-old reading it. There’s a centuries-wide age gap between Renie and Edmond, so maybe there’s a book club discussion in there about power dynamics if one wants to make this story into something deeper. If you like brooding vampires who are tall, dark-haired and handsome, this has got that. I’d recommend this for vampire aficionados and those who haven’t read any vampire novels since Twilight.

These Deadly Prophecies (Jan. 30, 2024) by Andrea Tang.

<This is a standalone novel, as far as I can tell.>

“I will die at the hands of my best beloved. So shall it be.” Chinese American teen Tabatha Zeng is the daughter of a lawyer mom and an engineer dad, and she’s chosen to pursue sorcery, much to the disappointment of her parents. At least she’s an apprentice to one of the world’s most famous sorcerers. It’s too bad that he predicts his own brutal death, and it comes true. Detective Elena Chang is the one-woman show of the occult crimes unit with the local police department. She’s very anti-magic. Callum is Sorcerer Julian Aurelius Solomon’s youngest son, and the only one of his children who’s a fortune teller (prophecy sorcery) like Tabatha is and his dad was. The twins and Callum’s half-siblings are Felix (the eldest, who excels at kinetic sorcery) and Circe (who casts illusions, which are often seen as fluff sorcery). Felix is believed to be the favorite child, but it’s Callum who has the gift of prophecy, the most coveted of the magics. Who is Sorcerer Solomon’s best beloved, and who will be bequeathed the Solomon Family legacy? There’s a murder to investigate, and with Tabatha and Callum being the last two to see him alive, they’re the prime suspects.

My first story from Tang is a YA murder mystery thriller with paranormal elements. While I didn’t love it, it’s sharp and clever with witty banter to boot, and it reads quickly. It’s a magical madcap mystery with the narrator (Tabatha) sometimes in reflection mode. For those who are drawn to YA novels with dark and light elements, this is an intriguing choice if they only decide to pick it up. Callum might’ve dubbed her the “squishy wizard,” but Tabatha is serious about her prophecies. She might be reciting one out to the world right now. Please handle with care. So shall it be.

Helpful note: “Not all spell casting is the same, but the three classes of sorcery – illusion, kinetic, and prophecy – can be broken down in broad strokes like so: wishing, willing, and wondering. Illusionists create their mirages by wishing them real, the same way you might wish to be married to your middle school crush by writing their name over and over again in your notebooks. Kinetics, meanwhile, take it a step further. Instead of simply wishing, they will their desires into true existence: the crack in the ground that starts an earthquake, the whirlpool curving the center of a calm sea, or, well, a fireball flung at a spoiled teenager’s Lexus.” (p. 83)

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.

"The Missing Sword" by Melissa de la Cruz

Never After: The Missing Sword (Dec. 5, 2023) by Melissa de la Cruz.

<This is the fourth novel in a series.>

<Alert: Spoilers possible.>

Filomena Jefferson-Cho’s mom, Bettina, is mysteriously ill, and it’s evil Olga’s fault. Filomena and the rest of the League of Seven (Jack, Alistair, Gretel, Byron, Beatrice and Rosie) start off to find a very famous sword. It’s in Camelot, of course, but Camelot is also Oz. Or Oz is also Camelot? There’s Arthurian legend and witches that weren’t meant to be wicked but are living up to the rumors Olga started. Avalon exists, just as the Emerald City does. There are Munchkins and evil flying monkeys, a Lady of the Lake and Merlin -- oops, Marlon. Sorry, Marlon! Filomena will be tested through the Brocéliande Forest to test if she deserves to enter Camelot. The group – not usually the full League of Seven – will follow the yellow brick road as they seek Excalibur in ruby red high heels (which are surprisingly comfortable), while carrying Dragon’s Tooth swords and overcoming very large arachnids and Olga’s ogres. Where there are quests within the main quest, tests to survive lest all quests fail, lions, tigers and bears (oh my!) will be the least of the League’s troubles.

            Contemporary life and fairy tales collide in this penultimate tale in The Chronicles of Never After, a middle-grade fantasy adventure. Readers embark on an escapade that’s as fun as their favorite theme park ride with the gritty determination of anyone on a mission to save a loved one. Love is brewing between Filomena and Jack, so that tween romance does feel cringey, and it didn’t lend any value to the story. The author’s stories are made absorbing by her courageous, relatable characters, rapidly-moving plot, great diversity and creative world-building of fictional realms I’d happily visit (sans evil ogres and all unsavory types, be they human or not). This is another de la Cruz middle-grade tale that’s an overall hit.

            Book One: The Thirteenth Fairy

            Book Two: The Stolen Slippers

            Book Three: The Broken Mirror

Rutabaga's Reads 2023: Part 13

It’s not a competition, but I think middle-grade (MG) is winning. It’s almost year-end, but I’m back with the third MG compilation post of this year!

It’s Showtime, Kavi (July 1, 2023) by Varsha Bajaj.

   Parvati Pillai, illustrator.

Where her eight-year-old brother, Rishi, wants to be an aspiring doctor, diagnosing everything by ending it in –itis, Kavi Sharma has a passion for music and performing. Kavi and her best friends, Pari and Sophie, sign up to perform in their school’s revue. To participate, students must be in good academic standing, so it’s not a good sign when Kavi receives her first tardy ever (the day their mom returns to the workforce) and flunks a pop quiz in science class the following day because she didn’t do her homework (because she forgot her textbook at school). As Rishi would say, Kavi’s got a bad case of Broadwayitis. When Kavi wants to quit, Rishi wonders if she has quitteritis. When it all comes out in the open, and she knows it’s okay to ask for help, things turn around and scholaritis sets in. Kavi isn’t the most organized person, but she’s definitely determined. Her family’s behind her, including Scamper, their dog, and the show must go on!

            This is an illustrated middle-grade novel marketed for what I’d consider younger middle-grade readers. However, Girl of the Year (GOTY) 2023 Kavi is older than most of the characters at 12 years old (they’re typically around nine or ten). She’s American Girl’s first GOTY of South Asian descent, and I love the cultural flair the story has. Pillai’s illustrations are bold and colorful, but the ones featuring Indian dress are what pull me in the most. It also feels real, from the weight of juggling schoolwork with extra-curriculars and/or lessons to feeling so overwhelmed that quitting seems like the best option. The story flowed well and didn’t feel contrived. It has me wanting to eat samosas and Dadima’s cookies (dadima is your dad’s mother in Hindi), learn a Bollywood dance and own a sari.

Never After: The Broken Mirror (Dec. 6, 2022) by Melissa de la Cruz.

<This is the third novel in a series.>

Their loads are light as they trek to Snow Country, but only because Robin Hood and his band of thieves have stolen their possessions. Robin Hood robs from the poor to give to the rich. Yes, that’s correct. Filomena Jefferson-Cho, Jack the Giant Stalker, Alistair Bartholemew Barnaby (Ali Baba), Gretel the Cobbler’s Daughter, Byron Bessley (formerly Beast) and [Princess] Beatrice are off to Snow Country after a detour to aid Princess Jeanne of Northphalia by rescuing Lord Sharif (Riff) of Nottingham. They must also find her crown before King Richard (not a real king) can take her head and her crown. New lines of the prophecy state that “Only the League of Seven can save the lands” from the ogres. Who’s the League of Seven? Are they seven DWARVES (actually giants; it’s an acronym for Dwayne’s Army of Really Very Extra-Large Soldiers)? Are they seven swan brothers? Whoever they are, they must be fearless, and they are needed. Hortense’s Prince Charlie has been turned into a frog, the fairy Colette’s whereabouts are unknown, and word comes that the fairy, Zera (Scheherazade), has been captured by one conspiring with Olga (the ogre queen) and Cinderella (her evil ogre daughter). Filomena is also wrought with worry over her adoptive mom back home in North Pasadena, California, as she’s fallen sick, and the doctors can’t figure out what’s wrong with her. They make new friends along the way, namely, Rose Red (Rosie), daughter of Snow White/Colette. With the ogres and their evilness spread far and wide, perhaps even into the mortal world, how can Filomena and her friends save Never After?

            de la Cruz’s third fractured fairy tale in The Chronicles of Never After is another win. The story is engaging and delightful with high-spirited adventure and young heroes navigating feelings of helplessness and fear as they’re also trying to save a land they love. There’s magical enjoyment and emotional depth in this absorbing middle-grade fantasy. Real world and the fantasy world don’t collide so much as segue from one to the other, and the author has a knack for making it read seamlessly. It contains racially diverse characters with casual mentions of food and drink which may not be familiar to all readers, like when Hortense wants to drink dohwa-cha or peach blossom tea (a traditional Korean tea). Entertainment value is high, but it isn’t without intense scenes, as death does happen in Never After. It’s a land I’d love to visit, perhaps live in part-time, thus becoming biportal, but I’ll wait to visit until after Filomena and her friends defeat the ogres.

            P.S. This is a small thing, but the part that niggles at me are her poems. I didn’t like their flow. Like, I’m reading it in my head and get into a rhythm, a tempo, but the lines (verses) don’t match up. The poems are like puzzle pieces that should fit together but don’t quite.

            Book One: The Thirteenth Fairy

            Book Two: The Stolen Slippers

Winston Chu vs. the Whimsies (Feb. 7, 2023) by Stacey Lee.

<This is the first novel in a duology.>

Shenanigans arise for 12-year-old Winston Chu when he inadvertently halts a robbery and winds up with a broom and dustpan as a reward from Mr. Pang’s Whimsies, an oddities shop in San Francisco’s Chinatown that smells like popcorn. He might’ve first touched the KICK-ME BOOTS, FAR-SEEING EYEBALLS or the EGGS OF TRUTH. Even the HOVERING PIZZA SWAT (CAUTION: HOT) would’ve been far more significant than a broom. And dustpan. Feeling defeated, Winston takes his two-for-one “reward” to the home he shares with his crotchety older sister, Philippa, his “threenager” little sister, Coco, and their hard-working mom, Willa, single since their military-translator dad, Philip, was killed in a friendly fire incident in Iraq. It’s after the broom and dustpan return home with him that beloved possessions go missing, from Philippa’s Babar the Elephant to Lucky (Winston’s goldfish) and even his only soccer jersey. Coco’s different, too; she’s now Not-Coco. Winston only has five days to find the changeling Chang-Ah-Ling and switch them back. Winston won’t be alone. He has his soccer mates and friends: Maverick (Mav) McFee, Cassa Kowalski and Bijal (last name unmentioned). He might even have Dani Kim, the cute and talented niece of his cooking instructor, who wears a seemingly magical cocktail umbrella behind her ear. Answers may come from the cloud weaver and her husband, the cowherd, if they’re willing to work as a team. Warning: a dance-off seems imminent. Prepare to avoid the object’s sharp and poisonous needles. No pressure.

            East and west collide in this contemporary middle-grade novel that re-imagines a Chinese folktale full of magic, mayhem, a go-to boba shop and friendship. The tale has middle-school smart-mouthing, but it’s also heartfelt. Themes of family and friendship and working through grief help bind the cleverly-written, fast-paced, action-filled story. I appreciate that Lee has created a racially diverse cast (Bijal cues as South Asian, Mav has some Senegalese ancestry, Dani’s name hints as Korean and Cassa interprets as Caucasian). This adventure from the Rick Riordan Presents imprint is a win, and I look forward to more magical mischief and mirthful hijinks in the next installment. Look out for the Fire-Weiler and the Were-Bear. The mustache is up to mischief, but may come in handy, too. For anyone who ventures into this story, keep a weather eye open for all of those whimsically wicked objects!

            P.S. I could use a Brain Strainer. It will “seep stress away.”

            Also by Stacey Lee: Luck of the Titanic (YA)