Today’s featured blog review comes from our very own Cybils blog co-editor (and Young Adult Speculative Fiction judge) Melissa Fox, a bookseller and mom who blogs at The Book Nut. She recently reviewed YA Speculative Fiction finalist Pitch Dark by Courtney Alameda: I really liked this book. A lot. But I have NO idea how to describe it succinctly. See, …
REVIEW: The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein
Are you as excited as we are by the impending reveal of the 2018 Cybils Finalists? Don’t forget to tune in to the blog tomorrow or follow us on Twitter for the big announcement! In the meantime, we have another featured review today from one of our Round 1 judges, Pamela Thompson McLeod, a writer, editorial intern, and reviewer from …
REVIEW: Ghost Boys
Today’s featured review, I’ve just now realized, is from our third Jennifer in a row, Jenni Frencham–a Round 1 judge in Elementary/Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction. She’s a blogger at From the Biblio Files, and earlier this year she reviewed Cybils nominee Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes on her Goodreads page: This book covers an obviously timely topic and includes references …
REVIEW: Honor Among Thieves
Cybils veteran, category organizer, and YA Speculative Fiction judge Charlotte Taylor wrote our featured review for today–a few weeks ago, she looked at YASF nominee Honor Among Thieves by Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre on her blog, Charlotte’s Library: There’s smart-alecky bantering to lighten the mood, some moments where I was deeply moved, and intellectual pleasure from guessing where the …
REVIEW: Winterhouse
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 …