Beetle & the Chimera Carnival by Aliza Layne – Book Review

June 25, 2025May 29, 2025 | Tasha

Beetle & the Chimera Carnival by Aliza Layne (9781665907484)

This sequel to Beetle and the Hollowbones captures the same spirit as the first. In this new story, Beetle and Kat are looking forward to attending the Chimera Carnival together, an event that happens every ten years. The event draws dragons from across the world to the space. But when Kat and Beetle discover an injured dragon who is crying for their egg to be rescued, they are drawn into a dark mystery that hides behind the celebration. Meanwhile, Beetle’s magic starts to manifest physically in new ways and Kat has to deal with her parents and their expectations for her and her magic. As the threat grows, Kat and Beetle have to figure out who to trust and how to battle a force that could wipe out everyone they love.

Layne does such an amazing job of creating a graphic novel that is both an adventure through a magical realm and also an exploration of the two main characters and their love. This second book explores the world more fully, including Beetle’s goblin magic and a new underground realm. It also has the characters coming out to loved ones and developing their connection to be even closer. The art is filled with purples, oranges and greens, bringing the world, the carnival and the characters to life with color and action.

A dynamic and loving second book in a great graphic novel series. Appropriate for ages 12+.

Reviewed from copy provided by Atheneum.

2025 Locus Award Winners

June 24, 2025June 23, 2025 | Tasha

The winners of the 2025 Locus Awards have been announced. They are the best in science fiction and fantasy and each category has ten finalists that were announced in May. Here is the winner and finalists for the Best Young Adult Novel:

YOUNG ADULT NOVEL WINNER

Moonstorm by Yoon Ha Lee

FINALISTS

Blood Justice by Terry J. Benton-Walker

Compound Fracture by Andrew Joseph White

Fall of the Iron Gods by Olivia Chadha

The Feast Makers by H. A. Clarke

The Maid and the Crocodile by Jordan Ifueko

Rest in Peaches by Alex Brown

Sheine Lende by Darcie Little Badger

Sleep Like Death by Kalynn Bayron

A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal

2024 Bram Stoker Award Winners

June 17, 2025 | Tasha

The winners of the 2024 Stoker Awards have been announced by the Horror Writers Association. Here are the winners in the Middle Grade and YA categories. You can head to Locus to see the winners in all categories.

WINNER SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A MIDDLE GRADE NOVEL (TIE)

The Creepening of Dogwood House by Eden Royce

There’s Something Sinister in Center Field by Robert P. Ottone

FINALISTS

The Curse of Eelgrass Bog by Mary Averling

The No-Brainer’s Guide to Decomposition by Adrianna Cuevas

The Witch in the Woods by Michaelbrent Collings

WINNER SUPERIOR ACHIEVEMENT IN A YOUNG ADULT NOVEL

Clown in a Cornfield 3: The Church of Frendo by Adam Cesare

FINALISTS

The Blonde Dies First by Joelle Wellington

Come Out, Come Out by Natalie C. Parker

The Losting Fountain by Lora Senf

A Place for Vanishing by Ann Fraistat

2025 YA Book Prize Shortlist

June 13, 2025 | Tasha

The Bookseller has announced the shortlist for the 2025 YA Book Prize that they run along with the Edinburgh International Book Festival. The award celebrates the best YA fiction from the UK and Ireland. Here are the shorlisted titles:

Apocalypse Cow by O. R. Sorrel

The Dagger and the Flame by Catherine Doyle (Available in US)

The End Crowns All by Bea Fitzgerald

Four Eids and a Funeral by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Adiba Jaigirdar (Available in US)

Glasgow Boys by Margaret McDonald

If My Words Had Wings by Danielle Jawando

Lover Birds by Leanne Egan (Available in US)

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson (Available in US)

Songlight by Moira Buffini (Available in US)

Where the Heart Should Be by Sarah Crossan (Available in US)

Hat tip to LoveReading4Kids.

All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson – Book Review

June 12, 2025May 9, 2025 | Tasha

All the Blues in the Sky by Renée Watson (9781547605897)

Sage’s entire life changed on her thirteenth birthday. It was the day her best friend was killed by a drunk driver as she walked to Sage’s house. Now Sage is lost in her grief and ashamed of the way she treated her friend on the day she died. Sage has joined a counseling group at school with other girls who have experienced recent deaths of loved ones. As Sage and the other girls process their grief together, there are moments of sadness, anger and somehow friendship manages to grow too.

This is one of the best and most piercing depictions of grief for teens that I have ever read. I appreciate that that book moves beyond blame, shame and anger to also show healing and good things happening. Newbery Honor winning author, Watson, has written this book in a dynamic mixture of prose and verse, allowing real feelings to be shown bare and honest on the page. All of the processing of grief and healing feels organic and true as readers see the various shades of blue that grief entails.

One of the best teen novels about grief, get this one in your collection. Appropriate for ages 12+.

Reviewed from library copy.

I Am the Swarm by Hayley Chewins – Book Review

May 29, 2025April 25, 2025 | Tasha

I Am the Swarm by Hayley Chewins (9780593623862)

Nell knows that her magic is going to appear soon since woman in her family gets their magic at age fifteen. Each woman’s is unique to them. Her mother changes ages constantly, her grandmother can feel every room in the house she is in, her aunt’s hair whispers secrets to her. Perhaps the worst of them is Nell’s sister, Mora, who bleeds music and who uses razor blades to release it from her body. Mora is now in the hospital to get help, and Nell fears what her own magic will do to her. When her magic arrives as insects that reveal the emotions that Nell is unable to feel, Nell doesn’t know what to do. The blue stick insects are her sadness, the ladybugs are her creativity, but worst are the wasps that are her rage. Can Nell manage to lock away her emotions deep inside to keep the wasps from coming again? Or can she find a way to feel these dangers emotions somehow?

This verse novel is simply incredible. Chewins writes a book of raw and edgy verse that demands that we see beyond the magic to the truth of each person’s experience. The verse lays bare Nell’s experience, including the abuse that she refuses to acknowledge and the trauma of her family because and despite the magic they have. The use of insects adds a creepy beauty to the book, enough to make your skin itch but also be in awe of the spectacle.

Furious, beautiful and dangerous, this verse novel insists on being heard. Appropriate for ages 13-16.

Reviewed from library copy.

2 Adult SFF Reads Recommended for Teens

May 21, 2025April 17, 2025 | Tasha

Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite

Aboard the HMS Fairweather, bodies are disposable but minds last forever until one day that all changed. Dorothy, one of the ship’s detectives, awakens in a body that isn’t hers just as the ship is going through magnetic storms that mess with its systems. Dorothy must figure out why she is in an unfamiliar body but even more importantly why someone else aboard the spaceship has been murdered! What she does know is that part of this predicament is due to her nephew Ruthie who may be smart but is also chaotic. But he also may have just saved her mind from being erased forever.

The answer to what happens when you mix a great mystery with a science fiction setting, this teen-friendly adult novel is great fun. Told in a novelette format, the book is only 100 pages long and whizzes readers along introducing marvelous characters, including the sentient ship itself. With lots of inclusive characters, many of whom are part of the LGBT community, the book makes the most of the unique characteristics of a ship in space and virtually unkillable people. A grand mystery among the stars, here’s hoping that we will visit again soon.

Great fun for older teen readers, this jaunt of a science fiction mystery is highly recommended. Appropriate for ages 14+.

Reviewed from library copy.

The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong (9780593815915)

Tao travels alone with her mule and wagon across the land, making sure that she only tells insignificant fortunes so she won’t attract the attention of the mage guild. She is an immigrant to the country having lost her father and come with her estranged mother. Even if she’s lonely, she makes sure she is safe. Soon though, she finds herself helping a reformed thief and a warrior to find a lost little girl. They are also joined by a baker looking for adventure and an aloof magical cat. With these new companions come new friendships but also new dangers.

This cozy fantasy is as warm and lovely as I imagine Tao’s wagon to be. The friendships develop organically on the page and the adventures the group has culminate in a very fulfilling ending that addresses much of Tao’s past. The writing is spry and great fun thanks to Leong infusing the entire read with a lot of humor and joy.

A grand adventure just right for adults and teens alike, particularly those not looking for a romance just good fun. Appropriate for ages 14+.

Reviewed from library copy.

A Song for You and I by K. O’Neill – Book Review

May 20, 2025April 22, 2025 | Tasha

A Song for You and I by K. O’Neill (9780593182307)

Rowan is learning to be a ranger, taking care of the land and its people with the help of a flying horse. But when Rowan tries to show off their skill and doesn’t listen to cautions, their horse is injured. Stuck now walking everywhere, Rowan is assigned to help Leone, a lone figure who spends a lot of time with sheep. Leone has his own dreams. He plays the fiddle constantly but won’t play for any person at all. As the two of them start their slow journeys together, their friendship begins to grow. Each finds support in one another, creating joy and romance.

O’Neill is author of The Moth Keeper and the Tea Dragon Society. This graphic novel combines a fantasy world with a trans and non-binary coming out story for both main characters. Beautifully told and filled with true moments of connection and romance, this book features characters who are complex and layered.

Beautifully illustrated and compellingly told, this graphic novel will make your heart soar. Appropriate for ages 10-14.

Reviewed from library copy.

Teens’ Top Ten Voting Opens

May 12, 2025 | Tasha

YALSA has opened the voting for the Teens’ Top Ten which is a top ten list of the best books of the previous year voted on entirely by teens. The titles being voted on were nominated by teen book groups in 15 school and public libraries across the nation.

Here are the nominated titles: