Dearest by Alethea Kontis

Dearest by Alethea Kontis is the third book in the Woodcutter Sisters series of retold fairy tales.

Friday Woodcutter, loving and giving, is caught up in a mysterious magical ocean that comes flooding through the kingdom. She is almost drowned, but a passerby takes her to the castle where her sister Sunday is queen, and where many refugees have fled due to the flood. While caring for the refugee children, Friday befriends a mute kitchen maid and discovers that this maid is more than what she seems: a foreign princess caught in a curse, along with her six brothers who sleep in the ruined tower as princes by night, and swim in the castle pond as swans by day. Friday, with her empathic magic and her skill with a needle, is the ideal sister to help these cursed individuals -- but the evil magician who cast the curse is on his way to the kingdom, and Friday and her new friends may not have much time. . .

The events in this book are concurrent with those in its predecessor, Hero -- this book tells about what happens in the kingdom while Saturday is off on her adventure. It's just as delightful as the first two volumes, and can stand on its own fairly well, though I'd recommend starting at the beginning with Enchanted. My only criticism is that the climax of the book is a little muddled, or crammed too full of stuff, a fault that the other books in the series share. I think it's because the series has such an ambitious premise, pulling in all sorts of fairy tale elements in each book and yet also weaving together the larger story of the Woodcutter family, seeped as they are in legend and portent. I'm excited to see where the series goes next (I'm assuming each sister gets a book, but that could be tricky since one of them is, well, dead), and I'm already picking up hints that Monday's story, which should be the last book in the series, will be epic. Fans of retold fairy tales, if you haven't discovered this series yet, you need to do so soon!

(Reviewed from an advance copy, courtesy of the publisher.)

Finding Serendipity by Angelica Banks

Finding Serendipity by Angelica Banks is a cute juvenile fantasy with elements of metafiction.

Tuesday's family seems ordinary to most observers, but that's because they don't know the truth: Tuesday's mother is the world-famous novelist Serendipity Smith. Tuesday loves her mom's stories, but her favorite times are when her mom is not writing and the family can enjoy time together. On the evening of the last day of school, Tuesday enters her mother's writing room, hoping to find that her mother has finished her book and family vacation can commence. Instead, Tuesday finds her mother missing, with only a mysterious thread and an open window as clues to her whereabouts. Following the thread, Tuesday finds herself in the world of story, where she's convinced her mother is being held hostage by the villain of her books. Can Tuesday rescue her mother, or will her efforts ruin the story and trap both of them there for good?

I liked this story well enough while reading it, though it has a few weaknesses in writing and plot. I think kids in grades 3-6 will really enjoy this story, though I probably wouldn't recommend it to most adult readers -- if you like the premise, try a different series about a woman named for a day of the week: Thursday Next.

(Reviewed from an advance copy, courtesy of the publisher.)

The Princess in Black by Shannon and Dean Hale

The Princess in Black by Shannon and Dean Hale is a fun early chapter book about an unconventional princess.

Princess Magnolia has a secret: when the Monster Alarm goes off, she leaves her perfectly pink chambers and becomes The Princess in Black, fearlessly protecting her kingdom from the monsters that would otherwise run amok. But when the Monster Alarm goes off as she is sipping hot chocolate with the Duchess Wigtower, will Princess Magnolia be able to deal with the intruder and return before the Duchess can snoop into her belongings and find out her secret?

This delightful little book demonstrates that girls can be princesses and superheroes, too. With its chapter book layout, simplified wording, and plethora of bright illustrations, it hits it just right for readers who are just graduating from leveled readers into the world of chapter books. I'm hoping to hear more about the Princess in Black and her incipient sidekick the Goat Avenger soon!

(Reviewed from a finished copy, courtesy of the publisher via the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program.)

Popular by Maya Van Wagenen

Popular: Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Geek by Maya Van Wagenen is a teen memoir with a fun twist.

When Maya Van Wagenen discovers a 1950's teen popularity guide while helping organize her father's office, she just thinks of it as a weird curiosity -- until her mother suggests that she take the guide's advice for her eighth grade school year and document the consequences. Though she initially balks at the idea, she finds she can't get it out of her head, and so she embarks on a quest for the 1950's teen ideal. She starts with the easiest chapters and works her way up to the more challenging ones. Along the way, of course, she learns a lot of interesting stuff about popularity, her fellow students, and herself.

I read this all in one evening -- I definitely found it a fun, engaging read. It would pair well with Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt, a novel with a similar premise. I'd recommend this to readers who enjoy memoirs and high school stories.

(Reviewed from a finished copy, courtesy of the publisher and YALSA.)

The Year of the Book by Andrea Cheng

The Year of the Book by Andrea Cheng is a gentle, slight story for middle-grade readers.

Third-grader Anna is having friend troubles: her ex-best-friend Laura is now hanging around with Allison, a mean but popular girl, leaving Anna on her own. Anna escapes into the pages of books -- but when Laura is facing serious problems at home, can Anna let go of her resentment and remember how to be Laura's true friend?

The best descriptor I can come up with for this book is "nice" -- it's not going to rock anyone's world, but it's a nice, gentle sort of story. Girls like Anna, who escape into books and have friendship troubles and run-ins with mean girls, will see themselves in this book. There's also an element of diversity as Anna learns to respect her Chinese heritage. A pleasant read, but I won't seek out others in the series.

(Reviewed from an advance copy, courtesy of the publisher.)

The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming

The Family Romanov by Candace Fleming is a look at the tumultuous years leading up to the Russian Revolution.

During the reign of Tsar Nicholas II, the rich grew richer, the poor grew poorer, and the government grew out of control as the leaders lost touch with the realities of life for the average Russian peasant or worker. Unprepared to lead a country, Nicholas listened to bad advice, took drastic action that exacerbated the problems the country faced, and failed to act when action was needed. As the government was overthrown, and then overthrown again, Nicholas and his family suffered the fatal effects of these decisions.

I've read a fair bit about the Russian revolution, so most of the major details of this story were familiar to me. Fleming has done a great job of researching and organizing her facts, including primary source accounts from common people as well as the nobility. However, I felt that she was not sympathetic to the subjects of this book, the Romanov family themselves. (In a speech accepting the nomination of this book as a YALSA Excellence in Nonfiction finalist, she admitted that she initially intended to write just about Anastasia, but found her "boring" the more she researched her.) I feel that a biographer, even of such flawed subjects as the Romanovs, should find something to like in her subject matter. On the other hand, this book is almost compulsively readable, hard to put down even if you know what is coming. (I did, and I still kept reading right up until bedtime, with the result that I had nightmares about the House of Special Purpose, as I knew I would.) And despite the dark portrait she paints of the Romanovs, she does not give the impression that what followed for Russia was an improvement. I think this is a good introduction to the Romanov family and the Russian revolution for readers unfamiliar with the topic, but would recommend looking at other sources as well if you find this period interesting.

(Reviewed from a copy borrowed through my library system.)

The Grimm Conclusion by Adam Gidwitz

The Grimm Conclusion by Adam Gidwitz is the conclusion of his fractured fairy tale trilogy.

Once upon a time, fairy tales were dark and scary and just generally awesome. Gidwitz has never shied away from the more grim side of the Brothers Grimm, and he continues to explore those murky depths in the stories of Jorinda and Joringel, who face a cruel stepfather, a heartless king, and even the Devil himself (not to mention his grandmother) before reaching "The End."

Though the three books in this trilogy are more companions than sequels, readers who have already enjoyed the first two books are likely to get more out of this one. I'm a big fan of fractured fairy tales, and though I felt like occasionally Gidwitz overdid it on the gross factor, I think this book has a lot of kid appeal and does a good job of wrapping up the series.

(Reviewed from an audiobook borrowed through my library system.)

Completely Clementine by Sara Pennypacker

Completely Clementine by Sara Pennypacker is the conclusion of the Clementine series.

It's the end of the school year, and Clementine is not ready to say goodbye to third grade. What if her fourth grade teacher is not as understanding as Mr. D'matz? Has she really learned enough to move on? Clementine is not sure. On top of that, she's not speaking to her father, who ate some of Mrs. Jacobi's meatloaf in spite of Clementine's strongly-held, albeit recently-discovered, views on eating animals. Plus, Margaret's mother is about to get married, and Clementine's mother is about to have a baby. There are plenty of changes in store for Clementine as she prepares to say goodbye to third grade -- and to her adoring readers.

I'm sad to see Clementine go, but glad she went out on a high note with this book, which is just as delightful and tightly written as the earlier books in the series. These are such fun books, and I know I'll be recommending them to young readers for years to come.

(Reviewed from an advance copy, courtesy of the publisher.)

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier

The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier is a delightfully creepy middle-grade tale.

Siblings Molly and Kip escaped the Irish potato famine only to find themselves orphaned and penniless in unfriendly England. To soften the harsh realities of their situation for her younger brother, Molly spins stories for him as they travel to their new home. The only place Molly can find work is at the creepy Windsor mansion in the foreboding Sourwoods. She was prepared to tell all sorts of stories to get hired, but in truth, the solicitor who gave her the job seemed almost too anxious to fill the position. When they arrive at the Windsor estate, they find a crumbling old house dominated by an enormous black tree that almost seems to have the entire house in its grasp. The house is full of secrets, including a locked room, nightmares that plague every inhabitant, and muddy footprints that mysteriously appear during the night. Despite the unlikelihood of finding another job, Molly is tempted to take Kip and leave -- until, one day, she discovers what waits in the locked room . . .

On the rare occasions when I read something that might be classified as horror, I feel the need to add the disclaimer that I don't usually do horror, so hardcore fans of the genre will probably laugh derisively at my idea of what is scary. That said, I thought this was a great story, with just the right level of scariness for, say, a fourth or fifth grade reader who has graduated from the Goosebumps books and wants something with a little more substance. (Or for wimpy adults like me.)

(Reviewed from a copy borrowed through my library system.)

Copper Magic by Julia Mary Gibson

Copper Magic by Julia Mary Gibson is historical fiction with just a hint of magic.

When Violet Blake discovers a Native American relic in the woods near her home, she little expects the changes that are about to take place in her own life. The flat copper hand seems to show her glimpses of the past. When a wish she makes while holding the hand comes true, she starts wondering if the hand really is magical -- and when it is taken from her, she is determined to do anything to get it back.

This book has a lot going for it, but it fell short in a few ways, for me. I thought the characterization was a little uneven, and the pacing dragged in the middle of the book. I did like the setting and period that the author chose for this story. All in all, an okay read, but not a great one.

(Reviewed from an advance copy, courtesy of the publisher.)