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.

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.