Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

Series: Children

Fantasy Literature for Children ages 9-12.

Kat, Incorrigible: Magical Austen for the middle grade reader

Kat, Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis

I was twelve years of age when I chopped off my hair, dressed as a boy, and set off to save my family from impending ruin. I made it almost to the end of my front garden.

Thus begin the adventures of Katherine Ann Stephenson, also known as Kat. Kat is twelve and has a plethora of problems. Her oldest sibling, Charles, has gambled away all the family’s money and been sent home from Oxford. Her oldest sister Elissa is in love with the idea of being the tragic gothic heroine who sacrifices everything to marry and save her family from destruction.

The Last Hunt: A fitting end to the Unicorn Chronicles

The Last Hunt by Bruce Coville

The fourth and final book in Bruce Coville’s THE UNICORN CHRONICLES was published nearly twenty years after the first came out, and it appears that Coville sought to make up for this delay by making The Last Hunt more than six times thicker than Into the Land of Unicorns.

It’s impossible to start The Last Hunt without having the first three already read, as the story dives straight into the action with no preamble.

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There: Practically perfect in every way

The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There by Catherynne M. Valente

September returns to Fairyland to find that her shadow, which she sacrificed to save a child in the previous book, has become the Queen of Fairyland-Below. Worse, the shadows in Fairyland are disappearing into Fairyland-Below, where they enjoy the freedom to be the masters of their own fate. But the shadows are the sources of magic in Fairyland, and as more of them leave for the underworld, magic is disappearing from Fairyland. September has to solve this problem before Fairyland disappears forever.

Dark Whispers: A solid continuation of Cara’s adventures in Luster

Dark Whispers by Bruce Coville

The third book in THE UNICORN CHRONICLES by Bruce Coville continues Cara Hunter’s journey through the land of Luster as she attempts to find a way to defend the unicorn population from an ancient feud involving her own family members. After discovering her heritage as the descendant of a woman who is cursed with eternal life due to the unicorn horn trapped within her heart (and therefore determined to drive them to extinction), Cara agrees to a mission given to her by the Queen of the Unicorns.

The Ghost of Graylock: A ghost story for middle-grade readers

The Ghost of Graylock by Dan Poblocki

In the aftermath of their parents’ separation, Neil and his older sister Bree go to stay with their aunts in a small town in the middle of nowhere. There’s not much to do there — not much, that is, except breaking into Graylock, the abandoned mental hospital in the woods. Along with two new friends, Neil and Bree explore the old asylum, and soon afterward find that a spectral presence has followed them home…

The Ghost of Graylock is a ghost story for middle-grade readers,

AMULET: The Cloud Searchers & The Last Council by Kazu Kibuishi

The Cloud Searchers & The Last Council by Kazu Kibuishi

I just read The Cloud Searchers and The Last Council, books three and four in Kazu Kibuishi’s graphic novel series AMULET. AMULET, published by Scholastic, is aimed at young adult readers, but adults will find plenty to enjoy in this series.

Emily and her brother Navin lost their father in a terrifying car accident. Their mother moved them to a house she inherited from her grandfather Silas,

The Last Guardian: A final trip on the merry-go-round with Artemis

The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer

The ARTEMIS FOWL series in general has always been amusing, but after the first couple installments it rather lost the feel of being the breath of fresh air it seemed when the first novel rolled around. Eoin Colfer is never less than witty, and his premise and characters remain lively, but there has been an increasing sense that the series and the protagonists have been treading water a bit. Artemis’s world is like a slightly daring sitcom: at the end of each adventure there’s one token change that seems impactful,

The Dragonet Prophecy: Kind of like ASOIAF for kids

Wings of Fire by Tui T. Sutherland

The Dragonet Prophecy is the first in the new series WINGS OF FIRE, by Tui T. Sutherland. It’s set in a world where dragons are the dominant species; humans are present but are called “scavengers” and seen as an occasionally dangerous nuisance. The prophecy concerns five young dragons who, it is foretold, will end a long and ruinous war. The five are hidden away and raised by a small rebel underground.

Sutherland quickly takes this plot in a couple of unexpected directions that hooked me right away.

The Raging Fires: Enjoyable well-written fantasy for youngsters

The Raging Fires by T. A. Barron

“The Dragon Avenges His Dreams Yet Unhatched…”

The third book in T.A. Barron’s MERLIN SAGA, chronicling the adventures of the young wizard before his famous exploits in the Arthurian legends, continues on from The Lost Years and The Seven Songs of Merlin. Merlin has been reunited with his mother and sister on the magical island of Fincayra and is looking forward to continuing his learning in the magical arts.

The Star Shard: A winning children’s fantasy

The Star Shard by Frederic S. Durbin

The Star Shard, by Frederic S. Durbin, is a winning children’s fantasy with an intriguing setting, albeit a bit implausible. The main character, Cymbril, is a young orphan girl-slave who lives on the Thunder Rake, a mind-bogglingly massive wagon that claws its way on seven-story wheels through the countryside to trade with the world’s cities, towns, and villages. It is basically a market town on wheels that goes where the customers are. Cymbril’s job is to sing to attract and keep the crowds that will fill the market’s coffers,

Next SFF Author: Ben Aaronovitch

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