As the seasons change and start moving toward winter, it seems appropriate to feature a somewhat seasonal book for today’s featured review: Winterhouse, written by Ben Guterson and illustrated by Chloe Bristol, a nominee in our Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction category. It was reviewed this past week by Round 1 judge Katy Kramp, a public librarian, reader, and mom who …
REVIEW: Beneath the Citadel
Today’s featured review is a nominee in the Young Adult Speculative Fiction category: Beneath the Citadel by Destiny Soria, author of Iron CastGreat Imaginations. Round 1 YA Speculative Fiction judge Kara Malinczak reviewed this title for the blog , where she reviews books from a wide range of genres. About this one, she said: I really liked the idea of …
REVIEW: Dactyl Hill Squad
Today’s featured nominee is from the Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction category: Dactyl Hill Squad by Daniel Jose Older. Greg Pattridge, a Cybils veteran and Round 2 judge in Middle Grade Fiction, reviewed this book a couple of days ago on his blog, Always in the Middle: [T]his interesting new series combines fantasy and real life events for readers. It’s a …
Interview with Stephanie Burgis
Dragons and chocolate seem like an odd combination. How did you come up with the idea? Dragons and chocolate are two of my very favorite things in the world, so I just loved the idea of mixing them together! And of course it gave me a fabulous excuse to make myself a rich, strong dark hot chocolate EVERY DAY for …
Interview with Neal Shusterman
Congrats! We’d love to know: how did you come up with the idea for Scythe? After many years teen dystopia, I wanted to do something that flipped it upside down. Rather than a tale of a dystopian world, I thought “What would be the consequences of a truly perfect world?” A world without war, poverty, crime, or disease. A world …
REVIEW: A Face Like Glass
Our Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction category chair Charlotte Taylor wrote today’s featured review–she blogs at the long-running Charlotte’s Library, with a particular focus on sci-fi and fantasy books for children and teens. Some time ago, she reviewed finalist title A Face Like Glass by Frances Hardinge: It is both simple and complicated, and a really nice one to give to …
REVIEW: They Both Die at the End
Today’s featured blog review looks at Young Adult Speculative Fiction finalist They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera. The review is from Round 2 judge C. Lee McKenzie, a writer and former teacher of Linguistics and Inter-cultural Communication at San Jose State University. In her Goodreads review, she said: Another reason I fell into this book was the …
REVIEW: Spirit Hunters
Round 1 Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction judge Katy Kramp is a public librarian who blogs at A Library Mama, and she brings us our featured review of the day. A couple of months ago she reviewed finalist title Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh: Here’s a super-creepy book by We Need Diverse Books founder Ellen Oh for those who want to …
REVIEW: Wonder Woman: Warbringer
Today’s finalist review is one of six worthy competitors from the Young Adult Speculative Fiction category–Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo, author of the acclaimed Shadow and Bone trilogy. This novel brings readers a new story featuring the beloved DC character recently rebooted on the silver screen. Round 1 judge and YA author Tanita Davis reviewed it on Finding Wonderland …
REVIEW: Ghosts of Greenglass House
The co-editor of this very blog, Melissa Fox, is also a Round 1 judge this year in Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction. Melissa is a bookseller, mom, and reader in Kansas who blogs at The Book Nut (and, of course, here!). A couple of months ago she reviewed Ghosts of Greenglass House by Kate Milford, the sequel to Greenglass House and …