Geo Librarian

  THE FIRELIGHT APPRENTICE      written & illustrated by Bree Paulsen Quill Tree Books, 2024 ISBN: 978-0-06-326659-9 Source: publisher for review Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK In a city powered by magic and still recovering from a bloody war, Ada is concerned about her younger sister Safi’s developing powers. She understands that Safi could learn how to control her magic under the apprenticeship of a king's magician. But with the memories of war still fresh, Ada is conflicted by this prospect—despite her knowing that she can’t keep Safi safely at home with the threat of deadly, power-thieving liches prowling the kingdom. When a traveling group of magicians comes to the city to perform, they immediately recognize Safi’s talents and offer to take her on as an apprentice. Safi is thrilled about her new adventure—even if that means leaving behind Ada and the...

  KAYA OF THE OCEAN by Gloria L. Huang Holiday House, 2025 ISBN: 9780823457885 Source: eARC from Beth Parker PR Ages 9-12 Middle grade fantasy/speculative fiction Book cover, author photo, and interview provided through Beth Parker PR. ABOUT THE BOOK On the surface, thirteen-year-old Kaya leads a charmed life. She lives in beautiful, beachy Lihiwai. She has ride-or-die best friends. She’s ultrasmart and killing it at school. She even works with a super-cute boy at her parents’ restaurant. But she also has anxiety—serious anxiety, the kind that makes you scratch and pick—and she’s always had bad luck around the ocean. It’s hard to enjoy Hawaiian beaches when you’ve almost drowned more than once. But as stranger and stranger things happen to Kaya around the sea, she realizes that—wanted or not—she has a special connection to it. Waves rise when she’s angry. Surf smooths when she’s calm. Fish come when she calls them. And when she learns the truth about her family and her divine ...

SCRAM Society of Creatures Real and Magical written and illustrated by Rory Lucey First Second, 2024 ISBN:   9781250851956 Source: purchased eBook Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Rockhurst is your average suburban town. It has everything you'd happy families, fun shops…and magical creatures! In the hopes of learning more about the local cryptids, three friends, Jenny, Emiko, and Brian, start the Society of Creatures Real and Magical―S.C.R.A.M.! Their first order of business? To meet a troll! As they venture into the unknown, our heroes learn valuable lessons about friendship, perseverance, and the importance of keeping a fish head in an old boot. REVIEW One of the funniest books I've read in quite a while, S.C.R.A.M. finds Jenny, Emiko, and Brian on the hunt to find a real life troll. Using the information found in an old book in the library, the three friends start followin...

  JUPITER NETTLE AND THE SEVEN SCHOOLS OF MAGIC written by Sangu Bandanna, illustrated by Pablo Ballesteros Viking, 2024 ISBN: 978-0-593-46449-6 Source: purchased Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK When you've dreamed of getting into the Seven Schools of Magic your whole life, what do you do when it turns out to be the worst thing ever? This heartwarming graphic novel adventure is perfect for fans of Harry Potter, The Okay Witch, and City of Dragons! For all of her twelve years, Jupiter Nettle has wanted to attend one of the Seven Schools of Magic. When she finally gets the call to take the entrance exam, she shocks everyone with her magic skills . . . but not in the way she'd hoped. Failing spectacularly in one test after another, Jupiter goes home dejected and confused. What will she do now? That night, Jupiter gets an unexpected visitor and, amazingly, another chance at ...

THE NIGHT LIBRARIAN by Christopher Lincoln with color assistance by Bonnie Rosado Dial Books for Young Readers, 2024 ISBN: 978-0-593-61765-6 Source: purchased Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK A graphic novel adventure in which two siblings, a mysterious Night Librarian, and a motley cast of book characters try to save the New York Public Library Twins Page and Turner know about the magic a library holds—they’ve been going to their beloved New York City public library for years, especially since their parents are always traveling for work. But a secret mission involving their dad’s rare and valuable edition of Bram Stoker’s Dracula uncovers a world they’ve never known, featuring a mysterious Night Librarian, famous heroes (and villains) that have broken free from classic books, and an epic battle to save the library from total destruction. REVIEW Paige and Turner spend much of their t...

THE SECRET OF THE FANG Meesh the Bad Demon #2 written and illustrated by Michelle Lam with colors by Lauren "Perry" Wheeler Alfred A. Knopf, 2024 ISBN: 978-0-593-37291-3 Source: Nicole Banholzer PR Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by the publisher through Goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK Meesh the Bad Demon is no stranger to saving the world—but she never thought she’d have to do it twice! Can she defeat the darkness once and for all in this sequel of epic proportions? When Meesh banded together with Fairy Princess Nouna to save the underworld, she never expected she’d have to… do it again someday. Though, as Meesh grows into her newly discovered destiny as the Guardian of the world, she figured there would be a few minor rescues, maybe some crime-fighting here or there. But before long, her new friend Chai’s family is forced out of their home by an evil force who threatens to destroy all of fox-kind if they dare stay. Meesh s...

  GRAVE MISTAKES The Dade Family #1 by Kitty Curran Melissa de la Cruz Studio, 2023 ISBN: 978-1-368-08347-8 Source: eARC from publisher through Netgalley. Ages 9-12 Middle Grade Fantasy/Speculative Fiction All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. REVIEW Grave Mistakes  presents readers with a most unusual family. Molly, her father, and brother, Timothy, all remain human after the accident that killed her mother and brother, Marty. But Molly's mother has returned as a ghost who can't be seen, but can be heard by anyone. Marty on the other hand has come back as a poltergeist, a ghost who can touch and move things. And the family has adopted a young girl who returned to life as a zombie. All of these changes creates awkwardness between Molly and her best friend, Grace. Molly's family encouraged her to tell Grace about the changes in their family, but Molly has yet to do so, creating a great deal of uncertainty and frustr...

WORST BROOMMATE EVER! Middle School and Other Disasters #1 written by Wanda Coven, illustrated by Anna Abramskaya Simon Spotlight, 2023 ISBN: 978-1-6659-2528-0 Source: publisher for review (Thanks!) Ages 9-12 Middle grade speculative (fantasy) All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. REVIEW In this follow-up series to Heidi Heckelbeck by Wanda Coven, Heidi leaves to attend boarding school. This boarding school offers not only a regular education but a magical one as well. The school houses a secret school for witches that Heidi is excited to attend. She's also nervous though to leave her family and friends behind for a new place and new people. Heidi's excited to find a friend also attending the school. And the school itself sounds awesome. It's a place many young readers would love to attend with its own shopping area, a secret magic school, and fun activities. Things take a turn for the worse, however, when Heidi le...

THE GIRL IN WHITE written by Lindsay Currie Sourcebooks Young Readers, 2022 ISBN: 978-1-7282-3654-4 Source: ARC for review from publisher Ages 9-12 Middle grade horror/fantasy All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. REVIEW The setting of The Girl in White jumped out at me from the very beginning.  When Mallory moved to Eastport with her family, she wasn't expecting to find a town obsessed with the macabre. For her, it feels like Halloween all year long.  The old sea fishing village turned tourist magnet uses stories and legends related to its past to attract visitors. Parades and creepy decorations dominate the month of October. Even her parents restaurant serves dishes focused on some of the scary legends her mother loves to tell to the customers. The town itself feels like a character in the story.  Mallory isn't thrilled about her new home; she didn't want to leave her friends and home in Chicago, especially for...

BATU AND THE SEARCH FOR THE GOLDEN CUP written by Zara Nauryzbai & Lily Kalaus translated by Shelley Fairweather-Vega Amazon Crossing Kids, 2023 ISBN: 978-1662507021 Source: Blue Slip Media Ages 9-12 Middle Grade fantasy/speculative fiction All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & other materials provided by publisher through Blue Slip Media. ABOUT THE BOOK A warrior’s power lies not in his weapons but in his heart. Batu is just an ordinary kid in present-day Almaty, worried about bullies, school, and his mom’s new baby…until the day he meets Aspara, the Golden Warrior. Aspara steps straight out of Batu’s notebook cover—and out of Kazakhstan’s past. Aspara has been waiting hundreds of years to be summoned to the human world and to finally get his chance to search for the Golden Cup, a magical talisman sent down from the heavens. When the Golden Cup was lost, Aspara watched as many of his friends and family were killed or disappeared. Craving adventure and a sense ...

CHILDREN OF THE BLACK GLASS by Anthony Peckham Atheneum/Caitlyn Dlouhy Book, 2023 ISBN: 978-1-6659-1313-3 Ages 12-14 Middle grade dystopian fantasy All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover provided by publisher through Goodreads.com. Interview arranged through the publisher. REVIEW Brother and sister, Wren and Tell, descend from their mountain home in an effort to save their father's life. After cutting a magnificent piece of black glass from the village mine, the children's father ends up blinded. According to village custom he will be abandoned to die on the local glacier unless a cure can be found to help him heal.  Unwilling to be forced to live with other villages, Tell determines to take the black glass belonging to his father and try to sell it for a cure for his father and enough supplies to last them through the winter.  After his sister, Wren sneakily joins him, the two children and their stubborn mule, Rumble leave the mountain.   But neither Wren n...

MAP OF FLAMES The Forgotten Five #1 by Lisa McMann G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2022 ISBN: 978-0-593-32540-7 Source: purchased Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by publisher through goodreads.com. ABOUT THE BOOK X-Men meets Oceans Eleven in the new middle-grade series from the New York Times bestselling author, Lisa McMann (The Unwanteds). Thirteen years ago, eight supernatural criminals fled the city of Estero to make a new life in an isolated tropical hideout. Off the grid, the missing criminals were presumed dead--but that wasn't really the case. Until recently, when the last one died. Left behind alone on the island are their children: There's Birdie, who can communicate with animals. Brix has athletic and healing abilities. Cabot is super-smart, but there's no sign yet of her special ability. Seven's skin camouflages to match whatever is around him. Tenner can swim like a fish and has heightened senses, including the a...

ONYEKA AND THE ACADEMY OF THE SUN by Tola Okogwu McElderry Books, 2022 ISBN: 9781665912617 Source: publisher for review (Thanks!) Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by Goodreads.com & publisher. ABOUT THE BOOK Black Panther meets X-Men in this action-packed and empowering middle grade adventure about a British Nigerian girl who learns that her Afro hair has psychokinetic powers—perfect for fans of Amari and the Night Brothers, The Marvellers, and Rick Riordan! Onyeka has a lot of hair­—the kind that makes strangers stop in the street and her peers whisper behind her back. At least she has Cheyenne, her best friend, who couldn’t care less what other people think. Still, Onyeka has always felt insecure about her vibrant curls…until the day Cheyenne almost drowns and Onyeka’s hair takes on a life of its own, inexplicably pulling Cheyenne from the water. At home, Onyeka’s mother tells her the shocking truth: Onyeka’s psycho-kinetic pow...

SPINELESS by Samantha San Miguel Union Square Kids, 2022 ISBN: 978-1-4549-3762-3 Source: publisher for review (Thanks!) Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by Goodreads.com & publisher. ABOUT THE BOOK This exciting middle-grade adventure is Hoot for the Gilded Age—with scientific discoveries, secret plots, and surprisingly enormous fauna.    When his asthma lands him at a health resort in the wilds of Gilded Age South Florida, twelve-year-old Algie Emsworth is over the moon. The scientific treasure trove of unexplored swamps may launch his dream career as a naturalist. But even Algie is startled when he happens upon a brand-new species and her brood in the karst springs surrounding the resort. Algie quickly realizes he must keep his discovery a secret: a famous collector of exotic animals is also staying at the hotel, and the new species is threatened by his very presence. An apparent curse has also descended u...

SKANDAR AND THE UNICORN THIEF by A.F. Steadman Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2022 ISBN: 978-1-6659-1273-0 Source: ARC from publisher for review (THANKS!) Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by Goodreads.com & publisher. ABOUT THE BOOK Soar into a breathtaking world of heroes and unicorns as you’ve never seen them before in this fantastical middle grade debut perfect for fans of the Percy Jackson and Eragon series! Skandar Smith has always yearned to leave the Mainland and escape to the secretive Island, where wild unicorns roam free. He’s spent years studying for his Hatchery exam, the annual test that selects a handful of Mainlander thirteen-year-olds to train to become unicorn riders. But on the day of Skandar’s exam, things go horribly wrong, and his hopes are shattered…until a mysterious figure knocks on his door at midnight, bearing a message: the Island is in peril and Skandar must answer its call. Skandar is t...

MONSTERS IN THE MIST by Juliana Brandt Sourcebooks Young Readers, 2022 ISBN: 978-1-7282-4544-7 Source: publisher for review Ages 9-12 All opinions expressed are solely my own. Book cover & summary provided by Goodreads.com & publisher. ABOUT THE BOOK When Glennon McCue moves into a lighthouse on a mysterious island not found on any maps, he must figure out why those who visit are never heard from again before he and his family fall victim to the island's curse. When Glennon McCue's father takes an overseas position, Glennon finds himself relocated from Minneapolis to his Uncle's light house on Isle Philippeaux, smack dab in the middle of Lake Superior surrounded by nothing but black, ominous waters. The place is frightening and becomes even more so when a storm rocks the island and a ship wrecks outside the lighthouse. Even worse, the survivors are terrified to learn they've washed up on the phantom isle. There are many stories about Isle Philippeaux; sailors wa...