A Plague of Bogles by Catherine Jinks

There have been an unusually high number of child disappearances in particular corner of London, and bogles are to blame.  But bogles don't usually like to live next to each other.  Something strange is happening, and it's up to Birdie, Jem, and Alfred to find out what.

This is the sequel to How to Catch a Bogle, which I really liked.  The sequel wasn't quite as exciting as the first, but still thoroughly enjoyable.  Like the first, it's lightly disturbing and creepy without becoming full-blown horror.  Yes, children get eaten by monstrous creatures that lurk in the dark, but we never actually see that happening.  There are a few close calls, but our heroes never succumb to the bogles.

At the end of the first book, Birdie was taken in to be fostered by Miss Eames and take real music lessons.  Birdie is having a hard time adjusting, and misses her exciting life when she felt like she was doing something useful and important.

Jem wants revenge on Sarah Pickles for betraying him and attempting to feed him to a bogle, but Sarah Pickles is nowhere to be found no matter how hard Jem searches.  Jem becomes Alfred's apprentice as more and more people turn to Alfred for help as children disappear.  Alfred had sworn to not go bogling anymore, since it is so dangerous for the child who is used as bait, but Alfred keeps getting pulled back in by the thought of even more children dying.  Jem wants to be bogler's boy, even though he finds it pretty scary.

As more and more bogles are found in one area of London, Alfred realizes something strange is going on.  Bogles don't like to live too close together.  Something is forcing them all into one spot.  A good follow-up and great for fans of not-to-horrible horror.

A Plague of Bogles comes out January 27, 2015.

Shadows of the Silver Screen by Christopher Edge

Penelope Tredwell is 13, but that doesn't stop her from owning the Penny Dreadful, a magazine filled with horror stories of her own writing.  No one knows the stories are written by Penny, as she writes under the name of Montgomery Flinch and has hired an actor to play the part of the now famous writer.  Talking movie pictures are beginning to capture the population of Victorian Britain's imagination, and a filmmaker has approached the Penny Dreadful for permission to turn one of Montgomery Flinch's stories into a movie.  But as filming begins, strange things begin to happen, and actors seem to be becoming their characters.  Penny must find out what's behind the horror before her own creation is the end of them all.

Shadows of the Silver Screen is the second in a series.  The first was Twelve Minutes to Midnight.  I don't think Shadows of the Silver Screen stands up well on its own.  It felt like all the character development must have been done in the first book, so it wasn't bothered with in this one.  It seems like Penny is suppose to be a plucky heroine,  but in action, she really wasn't that interesting and didn't really do very much.  She was under the spell of the magical movie camera as much as anyone else.  She didn't really do anything on her own.  She planned to, but then couldn't because of one thing or the other and had to be rescued in the end. 

Having not read Twelve Minutes to Midnight I don't know if that holds true in the first book as well, or if Penny is more interesting and more of a character.

The plot of Shadows of the Silver Screen was confusing and contrived.  The filmmaker has a camera that brings ghost into the world by taking the souls of others.  I didn't understand why he went to all the trouble of getting the rights to Penny's story, especially since he changed it dramatically to make it fit his own lost love story.  That was the foundation for the whole thing, and I didn't think that made a whole lot of sense so the story itself was a bit shaky.

I think there are much better, much more exciting middle grade mystery stories.  I would skip this one.

Shadows of the Silver Screen comes out September 1, 2014.

The League of Seven by Alan Gratz, illustrated by Brett Helquist

Unlike most people, Archie Dent knows that monsters are real.  That's because his parents are members of the Septemberist Society who protect the world from the monstrous Mangleborns.  They are currently trapped under ground, but every thousand years or so they rise again but have always been defeated by The League of Seven, who form in the time of need.  The Mangleborn are now waking, and when Archie's parents and the rest of the society is taken over by the Mangleborn, Archie sets out to save the day, and maybe form the new League of Seven himself.

This was a great start to the series, plus it was steampunk, which I very much enjoy.  It's 1875 America, and the reason everything is run on steam is because the Mangleborn feed off electricity.  It's the Septemberist's job to make sure electricity isn't discovered, and put an end to when it is.  There was some good world building going on, most mysterious is that all contact has been lost with Europe, which might mean it's been overtaken by the Mangleborn.  That was just mentioned in passing, but I'm sure it will show up again later.  Essentially the world kind of gets remade every time the Mangleborn show up and destroy everything.

The League of Seven is always made up of seven kinds of people - a tinker (like an inventor or mechanic), a law-bringer, a scientist, a trickster, a warrior, a strong man, and a hero.  Archie is convinced he is the hero of the new League of Seven, even though he can't quite figure out what his strengths are.  He meets two other kids around his age while trying to save his parents, Fergus, a young mechanic, and Hachi, a First Nations girl out for revenge.  It's after they start working together that Archie decides they're the new League of Seven, with Fergus as the tinker and Hachi as the warrior.

Various historic figures show up in the story.  We have Thomas Edison, the crazed scientist who's determined to harness electricity no matter what the cost.  There's Tesla, a paranoid recluse and member of the Septemberist Society.  There's also lots of delightful mechanical creations, I mean, it's steampunk.  So we have the ever polite Mr. Rivets, Archie's family's Tik Tok servant, who can fill a variety of roles from pilot to protector depending on which card is inserted in his back.

As the story progresses, Archie, Fergus, and Hachi begin having strange dreams, where they hear the Mangleborn speaking to them, and see Archie's parents working toward freeing one of the monsters (remember, they're brainwashed).  Archie, however, seems to have a strange connection with the monster, who keeps calling him Jandal a Haad and telling him he's made of stone.  As the group struggles to find answers, Archie learns more about the previous Leagues of Seven, and begins to worry that he's not the hero after all, he's something stranger and more dangerous.

It was a great mix of action, adventure, and even a bit of horror (what with monsters eating people).  I also like the entire League wasn't formed by the end of the book.  They may have defeated one monster, but there's plenty more where that came from.  Further members will be found in future books.

And don't you worry, steampunk fans, there are airships.  There are always airships.  There's even a battle while on an airship.  It doesn't get better than that.

The League of Seven comes out August 19, 2014.

Doll Bones by Holly Black

Poppy, Zach and Alice have been playing the game for years.  With actions figures, dolls, and toys of their own creation the three friends have been telling an ever-expanding fantasy story.  And ruling over them all is the Great Queen, a bone-china doll in Polly's house no one is allowed to touch.  But now the three are in middle school, and Zach's father wants him to spend more time with his guy friends and playing basketball.  Before the game came can end, Polly insist the Great Queen has come to her in a dream, and the three must head out on a final quest.

This was a perfect mix of realistic fiction and a tiny bit of horror.  It's never clear if, in fact, the Queen really is speaking to the children.  Is she really moving around in the night?  Is she really sending them dreams?  Do other people really see her as a person?  It's not clear.  It might be all pretend.  Or something creepy might be going on.  You get to decide.  So it's a little dark and spooky, but not too spooky.  It can be as spooky as you make it.

Each of the three kids are dealing with their own private family issue.  Alice's parents are dead, something she doesn't talk about very much, and her grandmother is so over protective it's hard for Alice to do the things that she loves.  Alice envies Polly, whose parents are hardly ever around and aren't very involved in Polly's life.  Polly, however, feels this parental lack of interest in what she does.  Her parents can't even come and get her after she's disappeared.  And Zach is dealing with his father returning to his life, after growing up with just him and his mom.  Zach resents his father suddenly trying to act like a father and tell him what to do.  The nerve of this man saying he knows what's best of Zach, when he's been gone for years.  Despite their years-long friendship, the three can't tell each other what's really happening.

When Zach's father throws away Zach's characters, he can't bring himself to tell Polly and Alice.  Instead he just says he doesn't want to play anymore, that it's a baby game and they're too grown up for it.  Polly, always the leader, then tells Zach and Alice that the bone-china doll has appeared in her dreams and told her a terrible story.  Zach and Alice are both skeptical, but use to following Polly, agree to go along.

Things, of course, do not go as planned.  Strange things happen, and ultimately, the three end up revealing secrets to each other they have been keeping.

Toward the end, the three are sleeping in a library (where they go to try and figure out the location of the graveyard they're trying to find) and are discovered by the librarian.  The librarian with pink hair and green glasses.  Thanks, Holly Black.  Thanks for sending the kids to the library when they need to figure something out and having a librarian who isn't a 80-year old women with a bun and orthopedic shoes.  Thank you.

Great, slightly creepy middle school read.

How to Catch a Bogle by Catherine Jinks

Birdie is apprenticed to Alfred the Bogler.  A Bogler is someone who traps and kills bogles, terrifying monsters that eat children.  Birdie is the bait.  It might not sound like a great job, but it much better than living on the streets in Victorian London.  When orphans begin disappearing off the streets in London, there's no one to pay Alfred to catch the bogle.

This was great.  It had everything you could want.  Scrappy orphans.  Tough little girls.  Pickpockets.  Monsters.  Adventure.  Daring-do.  Mad scientists.  It was totally delightful.

Birdie actually quite enjoys her job, there's a lot of pride in working for a Bogler.  She worries about when she'll be too old to help Alfred.  Bogles only go after children.  She also worries, a bit, about being eaten.  She doesn't worry about this nearly as much as you'd think.

We see Birdie have closer and closer escapes as the stakes are raised.  A few times she hardly escapes with her life.  And then, of course, there is the crazy Dr. Morton who thinks he can catch a bogle and make it do his will.  Birdie realizes it's not just the monsters she has to be afraid of.

Birdie is tough little girl.  She's determined not to let anyone take her job away from her, not even concerned adults like Miss Eames, who are willing to take her in a give her proper music education.  It's tempting, but Birdie doesn't like Miss Eames butting in, with her scientific ideas that involve catching bogles with other bait than a little girl.  Birdie thinks Miss Eames is just trying to put her out of a job to make Birdie come live with her.

This is a middle grade novel, and it won't be for everyone.  Not all kids want to read about child-eating monsters.  But it really had just the right level of horror.  The bogles that Birdie comes up against are described is terrifying detail.  We hear the stories of poor kids disappearing.  But we never actual get a scene with a child being eaten by a monster.  It thought it was just right.

This is a great one to add to you collection.  It's the first of a trilogy, although I really think it could stand by itself.  I hope the other books in the series are just as good.

How to Catch a Bogle comes out September 3, 2013.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Jacob grew up with his grandfather's stories about the magical home he lived in Wales during WWII, where children with peculiar abilities stayed, protected from monsters.  Now 16, Jacob doesn't believe his grandfather's stories.  He knows his grandfather fled the Nazis and lived in Wales before enlisting in the army.  His stories are just his way of telling the trauma of that time.  Or are they?  When Jacob's grandfather suddenly and suspiciously dies, and Jacob thinks he sees one of his grandfather's monsters, he begins to wonder if maybe all the stories were really true.

Can we first talk about Ransom Riggs' name?  That is an amazing name.  Is Ransom his given name?  Perhaps it's a family name.  Or perhaps his parents just named him Ransom, in which case they were way ahead of the curve with giving their child a weird name. 

But we're here to talk about the book.  It was not what I expected.  I don't know why, but whenever I see a book with old timey pictures, I go to a certain place.  And that place is often one of tongue-in-cheek humor, like The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place.  So when one is expecting The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place, and gets this book instead, well it's quite a surprise.

 Spoilers 

Broxo by Zack Giallongo

Princess Zora has left the safety of her own clan, the Granitewings, to look for the Peryton Clan, who no one has seen in years. Upon her arrival, Peryton Peak seems to be abandon.  There's no one there at all...except for Broxo, who can't, or won't, tell Zora what happened to his people.

When we first see Zora, she seems like a pretty tough girl.  She's trekking alone through the mountains, and has just scaled a considerable cliff.  She's got a sword, and from the way she's drawn she looks like a warrior.  She has strong, muscular legs and a look of grim determination.  However, it turns out Zora is not much of a warrior.  If Broxo hadn't shown up to save her, she'd be dead several times over.  Despite having a sword, Zora doesn't actually seem to know much about defending herself, so I wonder what that's about.  Why does she have a sword if she doesn't know how to use it?

So Broxo ends up doing most of the physical fighting.  He has been living alone in the wilderness for a long time, and he knows how to take care of himself and defend himself from the many dangerous there are.  Especially from the walking dead.

Zora is determined to figure out what happened to the Peryton Clan, and she knows Broxo is the key, but Broxo is as stubborn as she is.  They also have to deal with Ulith, an outcast with great power she can hardly control.  Ulith also knows far more than she is willing to say.

Zora begins to come into her own a bit as she comes up with plans for freeing the walking dead.  Broxo also learns more about his past, and takes on a great burden.

I thought this was a great start to a series, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens to Broxo and Zora next.  They were headed back to Zora's clan, but I'm sure they'll have adventures along the way.

The Culling by Steven dos Santos

Lucian Sparks lives in a world ruled by the Establishment, a cruel, dictatorial government.  Wanting to protect his four-year-old brother Cole, Lucian seeks out his childhood friend Cassius, who is now in a position of power, for help.  But when Cassius thinks Lucian has chosen rebel Digory Tycho over him, he punishes Lucian by making both Digory and Lucian recruits, who are forced to compete against each other in a series of task.  If a recruit fails, he is punished by choosing an incentive - a loved one - to be killed.  For Lucian, it would be Cole.

It's The Hunger Games!  Now with more flesh eating!  Seriously, this didn't even try to pretend it wasn't completely ripping off The Hunger Games.  Person only trying to protect a much younger sibling?  Check. Person not interested in joining the rebellion, only trying to keep said younger sibling safe?  Check.  Young people forced to compete in Gladiator-type games at the hands of cruel dystopian government?  Check.  Young people forced to form alliances to survive, only to have to break those alliances and kill each other in order to protect their loved ones?  Check.

So yeah, it was The Hunger Games, only this time with a male protagonist and a male-male romance.  I did like that aspect of it, that falling in love with another man is not strange in this world.  It was completely accepted as the norm.  The Culling was also more graphically violent.  I know, I know, The Hunger Games are all about kids killing kids, but honestly, the first two books are not especially graphically violent.  The third one much more so.  This was like the third one.

Bad Taste in Boys by Carrie Harris

Kate is more than ready to move beyond her high school experience and go off to college to pursue medicine. She's got everything prepared in order to look the best she can to the college recruiters. This means that she's also staying on top of her extracurriculars, like volunteering lab time with the science teacher and unfortunately helping out with the losing football team. Kate stumbles on evidence that the football coach is giving the team steroids, but it has horrifying side effects. Side effects that look very similar to what you think a zombie would be like. Now people are dying and Kate is worried that those closest to her could be infected: her brother, her best friend, and her secret crush Aaron.

This isn't going to be a long review, because the book itself isn't long. It's super fast-paced and only 208 pages. I think it took me a grand total of two hours to read this. There's not a lot of in depth descriptions of thoughts or evaluation of emotions. Obviously more plot-driven.

I think that it's a longstanding fact that I don't like horror. Zombie especially freak me out. I mean seriously, that shit could happen. So this book was kind of perfect for me. Most of the horror was  from the ambient tension of where the boys were being infected from and having to be covert about where Kate was looking for information rather than from the zombies themselves. Not that the zombies weren't scary, Carrie Harris did a great job describing the effects of the drugs. I especially liked the scene where one boy pukes up black and then seems to die. Well done, creepy without making me put the book down.

This is a series, and the sequel is called Bad Hair Day and involves werewolves. I'll be reading it, mostly because I think this is fun mind-candy. Fast read, without a lot of emotional commitment. Nice.

The Spindlers by Lauren Oliver

Liza wakes up one more and realizes her little brother, Patrick, has been taken by the Spindlers.  Her parents think Patrick is the same as he always way, but Liza knows that his soul has been taken away.  Liza must journey under the ground and confront the Spindlers to try and win back Patrick's soul.

It fell flat.  I could definitely feel the Coraline vibe going on.  I could tell that's what the intention was.  The world of adults doesn't understand Liza.  They are disconnected from the real world and are far to worried about things like bills and where they put their glasses to see what's right in front of them or give their child the attention she deserves.

Liza travels to a scary place which she must travel through alone, with only her wits (and a large rat) to help her.  The world is frightening and grotesque, and often times violent.

Unlike Coraline, the horror just wasn't really there.  I mean it was written there, it just didn't work very well.  It wasn't horrifying, because everything felt flat and forced.  I wasn't able to feel anything in particular for Liza.  She wasn't much of a character, and she didn't really have a whole lot of growth throughout the book.  She wasn't able to articulate why she was willing to go through all this for her brother at the beginning, or at the end (I assume it was because she loved him, but she never actually verbalized that she loved him).

A giant rat that acted like a human named Mirabella helps Liza through most of her journey.  Liza is disgusted by Mirabella though most of the book, and then is shocked when Mirabella betrays her.   Somewhere along the way they became friends, I guess, but I didn't really see that moment happen.  They just suddenly wear.

It lacked a vividness and a sense of place.  Without that, the element of the grotesque and horror just doesn't come through very well, and so it wasn't a very interesting read.

If a kid I knew liked this genre came looking for a book, I would definitely point them to Coraline or The Graveyard Book first.

The Spindlers comes out October 2, 2012.

After School Nightmare by Hokago Hokenshitsu

Mashiro seems to live a charmed life- he participates in kendo, is polite to everyone, and is popular with girls. Unfortunately Mashiro has a secret, while his upper half is male his lower half is female. This means he must keep everyone at arm's length, including his frustrating rival Sou and the cheerful androphobic Kureha. Mashiro isn't the only one with a secret, he discovers that the only way to graduate from his school is to participate in a game that is played through dreams. Players must find a key, but must fight and sometimes kill the other players. In this dreamscape, players are revealed as their 'true selves' and unfortunately for Mashiro his alternate dream form is a girl!

This was a trippy story. Some great horror elements, amazing sub-plots, back-stories, and characters. While this is considered a shojo (a piece of literature intended for high school girls with elements of romance and beautiful boys in it) Hokago Hokenshitsu twists all the themes and makes them more thought provoking, or at least makes you stop a moment and go "Huh." This is a dark story line, and nothing is as it seems. Which I guess is why I like it. I've read through volume two, and it's rather fascinating to see Mashiro's struggle between wanting to be seen as a boy, with all the societal empowerment that comes with being male, and taking care of Kureha; to his conflicting romantic feelings for Sou whom he has always considered a rival. Fascinating.

This manga series was published in America by Go! Media Entertainment and finished in volume ten back in 2008.

My Boyfriend is a Monster: I Love Him to Pieces

Dicey, the only girl on the high school baseball team and Jack Chen a D&D playing science genius, end up partners for the classic health class egg baby project.  Just as Dicey and Jack Chen are seeing the blossoming of their relationship despite their different interests, a virus sweeps through the town turning people into mindless zombies!  Dicey and Jack Chen are on the run for safety, and when Jack Chen is bitten, they are rapidly running out of time.

Adorable.  Totally.  Loved it.  Dicey is pretty fabulous.  She's an amazing baseball player and takes it very seriously.  She likes Jack Chen from the start, but she isn't about to fall all over herself to get his attention.  It doesn't occur to Jack Chen (who is always referred to by his first and last name) that someone like Dicey could ever be interested in him, and it takes him a while to figure out that she likes him and that he also likes her.

Their relationship is really cute.  Despite their different interests, they get along really well and have a lot of fun working on the project together.  By the way, did your school make you pair up for the egg baby project?  And did you do it in high school?  Eggs babies were definitely a middle school project for me (got to teach the children when they're young) and we weren't paired up with anyone.  We were all single parents.  Anyway, Dicey and Jack Chen take an interest in what they other one likes to do, but of course, isn't it always the way, right when things get going disaster strikes!

Now, luckily for Jack Chen, both his parents are scientists who were working on finding a cure for this disease, which was not suppose to jump to the town so quickly.  So when Jack Chen is bitten, Dicey knows she has to get him to his parents before he succumbs to it.  At one point, Jack Chen tries to take off without her so she won't be in danger, but Dicey is having none of that and tracks him down and sets him straight.

It seemed like the whole town got zombified pretty fast, but everyone seemed pretty up beat at the end, so maybe it wasn't as bad as it looks.  I will definitely read the following volumes.

The story is told through black and white drawings and is done with a fairly traditional comic book format of panels.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Last Gleaming by Joss Whedon

In volume 8 of season 8, Buffy and company are doing what they do best: kicking some supernatural butt.  An organization know as Twilight (hehe) is trying to destroy the Seed, which will unleash all the monster of Hell into the world.  It's already started, as Buffy and her fellow slayers have their hands full fighting off crazy alien monsters.  Things get even more confusing for Buffy now that Angel is back, but whose side is he on?

Oh Buffy.  Our love for you will never die.  All the wonderful snark and fabulousness of Buffy lives on through the graphic novel series.  I haven't read all of them, so I had to do some filling in the blanks and had several moments of total confusion.  "Wait, why can people fly?"  "Xander's with who?"  I'd definitely recommend reading them in order, but if you're familiar with the series, you'll probably be able to work things out.

Personally, I don't find the art anything special, although I love the portraits that are done between the chapters.  They're beautiful and look exactly like the characters from the TV show.  During the regular parts of the book, I sometimes wouldn't know who someone was suppose to be until their name was used.

There's an extra story at the end that involves Riley, that's suppose to take place before season eight.

If you love Buffy but haven't started reading the graphic novels yet, you need to get on it.  Like, now.

Brain Camp by Susan Kim, Laurence Klavan, and Faith Erin Hicks

Jenna and Lucas are two young teens who don't seem to fit in. Jenna's family are all geniuses and Jenna's immaturity and fixation on role-playing are troubling. Lucas has been sucked into the wrong crowd of friends and is continuously getting into trouble with the law. They are shipped off to Camp Fielding, where their families are assured that their behaviors will be 'fixed,' and return super smart. There's only one problem, Jenna and Lucas don't want to be fixed. Especially when it seems like everyone around them is turning into drones, and more than a few are going missing...

I think it's a well documented fact that I generally don't like horror. This was just enough science fiction mixed in with horror to completely entertain me. Lucas and Jenna are sassy, engaging, and funny. Their families are pretty off the wall and yet believable. And spoiler: the camp is implanting alien birds into the heads of their campers, which is killing some of them off. Watching the camp director yank a bird fetus from some kid's throat was disturbing to say the least.

Fun, hilarious, and scary-ish. Definitely a worthwhile read.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman, adapted by P. Craig Russell

Coraline has just moved into a new flat with her somewhat neglectful parents, and everything seems just terrible. The weather is bad, the other tenants are weirdos, and school is starting soon. Coraline just wants to escape, and it seems that someone has answered her wish. A door appears and Coraline enters a world that mirrors her own. But here all her wishes come true, nothing is beyond her reach. But her Other Mother and Father seem a bit off... a bit too eager to keep her and make Coraline their own. When Coraline's real parents disappear, the true nature of the Other Mother unfolds. Only with the help of a taciturn cat can Coraline free her parents and save the souls of three other children.

I don't know if I've ever discussed my love of all things Neil Gaiman. He is a genius in my eyes. I've read this book, watched the movie, and now read the graphic novel. I have to admit that I was expecting the graphic novel to underwhelm me. But to my surprise it snuck under my skin and really creeped me out. Which is what I wanted! Really all my hopes rested on how the Other Mother was portrayed. She's one of those characters that should be bone-chillingly horrifying. Cloyingly sweet until she is thwarted. My favorite scene from the book was well represented in the graphic novel. You know the one, where the Other Mother sits, eats beetles, and taps at her button eyes? Excellent.

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Rory has come from Louisiana to London for her senior year of high school.  She arrives just as "Rippermania" begins.  Murders imitating the time, place and style of Jack the Ripper have London trapped in terror and fascination.  The police can't figure out who's behind the murders, and there are no leads and no witnesses.  Except Rory.  Rory saw a man at the scene of the third murder, which took place right at her school, but no one else seemed to be able to see him.  So why could Rory?

When I first saw the cover, I thought we were actually going to be in the time period of Jack the Ripper (1888) and was looking forward to that so I was quite surprised to find myself not taken back in time, but in the present day.  So I don't think this cover makes sense at all.  At all.

I guess I would classify this as a supernatural thriller.  There's a bit of a mystery for a little, as Rory and the rest of London wonders who is committing these terrible murders.  She figures out who's behind it early on, so there isn't much of a mystery left, but the crime is far from being solved.

Spoilers ahoy!

Waiting on Wednesday Spellbound The Book of Elsewhere Vol. 2 by Jacqueline West

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine to spotlight an upcoming release that we're excited about. This week I'm waiting on the graphic novel Spellbound: The Book of Elsewhere Vol. 2by Jacqueline West.


With no way into the house's magical paintings, and its three guardian cats reluctant to help, Olive's friend Morton is still trapped inside Elsewhere. So when Rutherford, the new oddball kid next door, mentions a grimoire - a spellbook - Olive feels a breathless tug of excitement. If she can find the McMartins' spellbook, maybe she can help Morton escape Elsewhere for good. Unless, that is, the book finds Olive first.

The house isn't the only one keeping secrets anymore. Mystery, magic, corruption, and betrayal abound (plus just enough laughs to take the edge off). You'll never guess what happens next in this thrilling, chilling second volume in the critically acclaimed series.

Obviously this is a sequel (I seem to be recommending a lot of those) of a book I got as an ARC at the ALA conference last summer. It was AWESOME! Seriously one of the best I got from the conference. Creepy and engaging it was amazing. When I saw that the sequel was finally coming out I actually squealed at my desk, not my proudest moment but I was overcome. Can't wait to get this book, and if anyone has a hook up to get the ARC of this PLEASE HELP A BLOGGER OUT AND SEND A COPY!!! I promise to send good karma your way.

Spellbound comes out July 12. Yay!

Agnes Quill an Anthology of Mystery by Dave Roman

Agnes Quill is a teenager who is just trying to make a buck. Having taken over the family business, she uses her special abilities to help the strange inhabitants in her steampunk city Legerdemain find what they're looking for. Whether you need to get rid of some ex-girlfriend zombies, keep your underground community connected to electricity, or find an expensive heirloom in a corpse's head, Agnes is the girl to solve your mystery. (It helps that she can see ghosts since most of her clients are dead.)

I liked this book quite a bit. It seemed very fresh even though it was published five years ago, I loved the steampunk traits mixed in with the mystery and Agnes was just so wonderful and funny. There were four stories with a different artist for each: Jason Ho, Dave Roman, Raina Telgemeier, and Jeff Zornow. I actually didn't really catch on until about 3/4 of the way through that the main character in each story was supposed to be the same girl, but it was still wonderfully done. I especially liked Ho's and Zornow's artwork, it seemed to really fit the setting of the stories. The others were good, but perhaps a little too simplistic. Regardless, awesome. Pick it up and give it a go. You won't regret it.

The House of Dead Maids by Clare B. Dunkle

Tabby is taken from Ma Hutton's knitting school to serve as a maid at Seldom House, so she thinks. Upon her arrival, she finds there is little for her to do in the big, empty house. She has actually been chosen as a companion to a half wild child with no name. Things are very strange at Seldom House, and become even stranger as Tabby is haunted by the ghost of the maids before her. What happened to them? Is the same fate in store for Tabby?

The Thin Executioner by Darren Shan

Jebel Rum is the runt of his family, and has been publicly shamed by his father, the much honored executioner of Wadi. Jebel wants to compete in the competition to become the next executioner, but knows he has no chance of winning. Jebel decides to set out on a quest to ask the high god Sabbah Eid for invincibility. The quest will be long and hard and take many months. Not only that, but Jebel must find a slave that will go with him, and then allow himself to be sacrificed to the high god.

Jebel finds Tel Hesani, who is willing to sacrifice his own life in return for his family's freedom, and the two set off. Things do not go as planned.