Previous SFF Author: John Wyndham
Fantasy Literature for Young Adults (over the age of 12).
Calling (2022), the final installment in Molly Harper‘s SORCERY AND SOCIETY trilogy, brings Sarah Smith’s journey to a close. You’ll want to read Changeling and Fledgling first (expect spoilers for those installments in this review).
This story continues with Sarah, Alicia, and Ivy hiding out in the English countryside with the changeling children they’ve rescued. They’re trying to protect them from the looming threat of Miss Morton’s zombie army.
February 14th, 2025. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Molly Harper | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Somewhere Beyond the Sea by T.J. Klune
2024’s Somewhere Beyond the Sea continues the adventures of Arthur Parnassus and Linus Baker and their six magical children, in a second world similar to ours, with a government kind of like Britain’s. The Amazon blurb for this book says, “This is Arthur’s story.” While I enjoyed the book and found it a much-needed escape from real life current events, this tale left many of Arthur’s issues unaddressed in its rush to show us fun, bantering scenes with the children, and let Arthur and Linus match wits with another government inspector and a government minister,
February 3rd, 2025. Marion Deeds´s rating: 4 | TJ Klune | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Tegan and Sara: Junior High by Tegan Quin and Sara Quin (writers) and Tillie Walden (artist)
In this column, I feature comic book reviews written by my students at Oxford College of Emory University. Oxford College is a small liberal arts school just outside of Atlanta, Georgia. I challenge students to read and interpret comics because I believe sequential art and visual literacy are essential parts of education at any level (see my Manifesto!). I post the best of my students’ reviews in this column.
January 25th, 2025. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4.5 | Comics, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Poison Ivy: Thorns by Kody Keplinger (writer), Sara Kipin (artist), Jeremy Lawson (colorist), and Steve Wands (letterer)
Keplinger’s Poison Ivy: Thorns is a wonderful young adult graphic novel from DC illustrated in a unique style by Sara Kipin. The graphic novel is divided into four sections: Toxic, Roots, Bloom, and Ivy. It takes a look at Poison Ivy when she was Pamela Isley, a struggling high school student, and it gives her a different origin story than some of the usual ones that are presented in other DC storylines,
November 9th, 2024. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4 | Comics, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
No Night Without Stars by Andre Norton
No Night Without Stars (1975), by Andre Norton, is a post-apocalyptic adventure set in a world where civilization has collapsed, and all that’s left are scavengers and warring factions.
The hero of the story is an ambitious and curious young man named Sander who has left his tribe, where he feels disrespected, to search for lost knowledge from the past. Sander hopes to discover the secrets of creating a particular alloy that smiths used to use.
September 12th, 2024. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Andre Norton | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Fledgling (2019), the second book in Molly Harper‘s SORCERY AND SOCIETY series, picks up where Changeling left off, following Sarah Smith (posing as Cassandra Reed) as she endeavors to learn magic and navigate elite society at Miss Castwell’s Institute for the Magical Instruction of Young Ladies while keeping her identify as a former housemaid secret. If you haven’t read Changeling yet, you’ll want to do that first.
Sarah is feeling more comfortable with her magical abilities and her social situation.
September 10th, 2024. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Molly Harper | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Sarah Smith is a Snipe, one of the non-magical servants who works in the home of the rich, powerful, and magical Winter family. Sarah’s life takes a dramatic turn when, in a stressful situation, she does a minor bit of magic in front of Mrs. Winter. Afraid of the consequences of harboring a magical snipe, Mrs. Winter concocts a whole new identity for Sarah and ships her off to the prestigious academy for young magical aristocrats. Here, Sarah is thrust into a world of privilege and power, where she must not only learn to control her newfound abilities but also navigate the treacherous social waters of a Victorian-esque society that looks down on those without a noble lineage.
August 19th, 2024. Kat Hooper´s rating: 3 | Molly Harper | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Reposting to include Rebecca’s new review.
Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo
Rule of Wolves, the second half of Leigh Bardugo’s NIKOLAI DUOLOGY, picks up right where King of Scars left off and flings the reader headlong into the story. In other words, if it’s been a while since you read King of Scars, you’d be well advised to refamiliarize yourself at least a little with its plot;
July 29th, 2024. Tadiana Jones and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3.5 | Leigh Bardugo | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
With UnDivided (2014), Neal Shusterman rewards fans of his UNWIND DYSTOLOGY with a thrilling and satisfying finale. Readers will need to read the first three novels, (Unwind, UnWholly, and UnSouled) first.
The story picks up where UnSouled left off. Our heroes, Connor, Risa, Lev, Grace, and Cam are desperately trying to fight a batch of newly proposed legislation which gives the government even more power to unwind troublesome teens,
January 30th, 2024. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Neal Shusterman | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
The third book in Neal Shusterman’s YA UNWIND DYSTOLOGY is UnSouled (2013). It follows Unwind and UnWholly, and you’ll need to read those first. I almost gave up on this series because I found the premise to be so unlikely but, while Shusterman has not convinced me that many Americans would choose to have their children “unwound” (scrapped for parts, basically), he’s managed, over three books, to build an alternate history that at least has made me seriously consider the possibility and has challenged me to consider the consequences.
January 16th, 2024. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Neal Shusterman | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Previous SFF Author: John Wyndham
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…