Preacher’s daughter (dresses modestly, doesn’t date, never goes to parties) is the only identity Leah Roberts has—in public, anyway. But when she sneaks out to the woods behind her house, she can be her true self: a girl who’s grieving over a tragedy that splintered her family 10 years ago. And in these woods, she watches a family of fantastic creatures who officially don’t exist. They’re large, vaguely humanoid, covered in hair and known in legend as Bigfoot or Sasquatch.

One night a newcomer arrives with the Bigfoot family—a young man who’s surprisingly close to being human. As Leah finds herself drawn to this mysterious stranger, the outside world shifts, too: Her brother’s best friend starts making romantic overtures toward her, and her mother’s perpetually odd behavior becomes stranger than usual. As details of her family’s dark history are slowly revealed, Leah finds herself in a place where the past and the present, humans and non-humans, love and loss coexist . . . and sometimes violently clash.

Part supernatural romance, part mystery and part contemporary realism, The Shadows We Know by Heart blends the psychological suspense of Stephanie Kuehn’s Charm & Strange with traditional legends of Bigfoot, adding a flavor of “Beauty and the Beast” along the way.

This article was originally published in the March 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Princess Anya has problems: Her sister, Morven, is devastated by the transformation of handsome Prince Denholm into a frog; her evil stepstepfather (yes, you read that right), Duke Rikard, is becoming a more evil and powerful sorcerer by the day; and it’s recently become quite clear that Rikard wants Anya dead. All Anya wants is to stay in her library and read about magic, but her unbreakable sister-promise to restore Prince Denholm to human form leads to an increasingly complicated Quest. 

Through the woods surrounding Trallonia, farther than she has ever traveled, Anya journeys with Ardent, a faithful royal dog; Shrub, a would-be thief transformed into a newt; and Smoothie, a river otter transformed into a girl. Anya’s list of tasks—and people to un-transform—grows, and Rikard is hot on their trail. Anya started out wanting to return to her solitary library as soon as possible, but the Quest opens her eyes to the deeper responsibilities of being a princess and, more importantly, a leader.

A master of creating beloved fantasy worlds, Garth Nix turns to the funny, whimsical and self-aware style less common in recent children’s fantasy. Shot through with the tone of adventurous fairy-tale riffs such as The Princess Bride, this novel is a rollicking breath of fresh air and a return to fantasy with room for fun and mischief.

This article was originally published in the March 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

For seven years, Scarlett writes letters to Legend, the head of the mysterious traveling half-carnival, half-game Caraval. And for seven years, she gets no reply. Then, just before Scarlett is supposed to wed a count she’s never met—an arranged marriage that will rescue herself and her sister from their abusive father—three Caraval tickets appear. Soon Scarlett, her sister, Tella, and a new acquaintance find themselves swept into the magical world of Caraval, where they have five nights to win the game and its tempting prize: the granting of a single wish.

Caraval is full of sensory delights, from glittering castles to carousels made of rose petals to edible silver bells. But darkness lurks below the surface-level gaiety: Caraval’s magic traps its players inside their lodgings from sunrise to sunset; nightmares and lies serve as currency; and a labyrinth of underground tunnels intensifies players’ fears.

Debut author Stephanie Garber weaves a suspenseful mystery as Scarlett interprets (and misinterprets) clues, navigates hidden identities and attempts to solve the puzzles of Caraval. But Garber’s true strength is her use of multisensory imagery. When Scarlett first enters Caraval, for example, “soft golden lights licked her arms,” heat envelopes her that “tasted like light, bubbly on her tongue,” and she finds herself surrounded by “a canopy of crystal chandeliers,” “plush cranberry rugs” and “golden . . . spindles that arched around heavy red velvet drapes.” A teaser at the book’s end promises a follow-up novel that readers will fervently anticipate.

Jill Ratzan matches readers with books in a small library in southeastern Pennsylvania.

In 2011, 23-year-old Veronica Roth’s debut, Divergent, set the stage for a series that would become a worldwide phenomenon. And while the series is ripe for obsessing, Roth took the story of Tris Prior to a shocking place—a place not every fan wanted to go. This unflinching pursuit of weighted questions carries over to her new duology as Roth considers faith and loyalty within a sci-fi setting. Carve the Mark is set in a solar system where a supreme force called the current flows through all beings, imbuing people with gifts similar to X-Men abilities.

The story opens when Akos and his older brother are kidnapped from their peaceful home in Thuvhe, in the northern part of their icy planet, by Shotet soldiers. The Shotet are an unrecognized nation of scavengers and warriors, and as their prisoner, gentle Akos (a win for Hufflepuff heroes) is trained as a soldier and charged with attending to hard-edged Cyra, the sister of the tyrannical Shotet ruler. Their friendship will change them both, but this is a world bound by fate, where kills are marked on the arms of killers. Loyalty to one’s family is everything, and it seems violence may be the only way to change that.

Roth’s cultural worldbuilding is meticulous and intricate, although explanatory passages slow the novel’s pace. But Roth’s conjuring of religions, belief systems and language differences is well done, and her prose has strengthened with this new series. Diehard Roth fans will be rewarded.

This article was originally published in the February 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Sixteen-year-old Amy Lennox has inherited what she calls her family’s “crazy gene.” She and her mother are crazy enough to spontaneously decide to move from their home in Germany one morning and be on a plane that afternoon. Their destination? The island of Stormsay off the coast of Scotland, where Amy’s grandmother, Mairead Lennox, Lady of Stormsay, lives in a mansion called Lennox House. 

In Lennox House, books are everywhere. There are paintings of people reading, a spectacular oak banister carved in the shape of books and a mysterious, ancient library on the moor nearby, set deep in a cave at the foot of a hill. Amy discovers she has inherited a secret family birthright: She is a book jumper, with the ability to jump inside stories and interact with the characters she finds there. Most of all, as a book jumper, she has a duty to protect literature.

Amy’s training includes practice excursions into The Jungle Book, Oliver Twist and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. But, along with a fellow reader named Will, Amy uncovers a disturbing problem: There is a dangerous thief in the book world, a thief who is somehow altering stories and stealing ideas from them. And it’s up to Will and Amy to solve the mystery.

Originally published in Germany, Mechthild Gläser’s novel combines romance, fantasy and adventure. Like Grace Lin’s When the Sea Turned to Silver, The Book Jumper celebrates the enduring power of literature and the integral role that stories can play in young lives.

This article was originally published in the January 2017 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

Sefia has lived a lonely and haunted life, pursued for years by the mysterious forces that brutally killed her father and still seek the enigmatic object—the “book”—that has been entrusted to Sefia for safekeeping. When Sefia’s aunt Nin, the only person who knows the truth about Sefia’s family, is kidnapped, Sefia develops several goals: “Learn what the book was for. Rescue Nin from the people who killed her father. And get her revenge.”

Raised in a society where books and reading are unheard of, Sefia uses her mysterious book to teach herself to read—and by doing so, unlocks not only the power of story but also, possibly, her own marvelous abilities. Archer, a mute and damaged boy whose uncanny talents for fighting and killing may mark him as fulfilling a prophecy, aids Sefia along the way.

Traci Chee’s debut novel, set in a world full of secrets and power struggles, is a dense and rewarding opening to an exciting fantasy trilogy. “Look closer,” exhorts an inscription at the novel’s opening, and readers will feel inspired to look for hidden clues in this intricately and unconventionally structured fantasy novel.

This article was originally published in the September 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.

The Fobisher men have been tending the river for generations, keeping it clear of ice and weeds and hauling corpses from its depths. As soon as Wulliam turns 16, he will become the new Riverkeep. But, just a few days before his birthday, Wull’s father is pulled underwater, and when he surfaces, he’s no longer himself. Wull sets out in search of the mysterious sea-dwelling creature that may hold the key to saving his father.

Martin Stewart’s debut novel, inspired by the real-life Glasgow rivermen, is equal parts adventure, magic and a sweet tribute to growing up. New companions Mix and Tillinghast—who immediately throw Wull off course by claiming seats on his boat—add a necessary touch of comedy and camaraderie.

Stewart’s sharp prose fluctuates between laugh-out-loud funny and seriously poignant as Wull reconciles his sense of duty with his deep-seated yearning to help others. Though the narrative drags occasionally through convoluted subplots, Riverkeep is a perfect read for teens looking for a bit of adventure to end their summers.

This article was originally published in the August 2016 issue of BookPage. Download the entire issue for the Kindle or Nook.