2020 has been a decade, but you know, at least something good came out of it. Namely, these books!

My original goal for 2020 was to read 150 books, my stretch goal was 175, and my stretch stretch goal was 200. I ended up reading a whopping 180 books, which is way more than I ever expected. So it may be no surprise that I’ve managed to rack up quite a few five-star reads.

It used to be that I could make these posts and they’d be short and sweet, 10 or less, but this year, I had a whopping 40+ five-star reads! A lot of those were series where I just loved every book in the series, but still. That’s a lot! Instead of shortening it for this list, I’m gonna give you all 40, because I feel like after the dumpster fire that was 2020, we can all use some good news. And five-star reads are always good news.

For the sake of ease, I’m going to break these down by age group.

Hopefully, you can find some good recommendations for whatever it is you read. Either way, these are the books that I loved in 2020!

Adult 5-Star Reads

The God Game

You are invited!
Come inside and play with G.O.D.
Bring your friends!
It’s fun!
But remember the rules. Win and ALL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE.™ Lose, you die!

With those words, Charlie and his friends enter the G.O.D. Game, a video game run by underground hackers and controlled by a mysterious AI that believes it’s God. Through their phone-screens and high-tech glasses, the teens’ realities blur with a virtual world of creeping vines, smoldering torches, runes, glyphs, gods, and mythical creatures. When they accomplish a mission, the game rewards them with expensive tech, revenge on high-school tormentors, and cash flowing from ATMs. Slaying a hydra and drawing a bloody pentagram as payment to a Greek god seem harmless at first. Fun even.

But then the threatening messages start. Worship me. Obey me. Complete a mission, however cruel, or the game reveals their secrets and crushes their dreams. Tasks that seemed harmless at first take on deadly consequences. Mysterious packages show up at their homes. Shadowy figures start following them, appearing around corners, attacking them in parking garages. Who else is playing this game, and how far will they go to win?

And what of the game’s first promise: win, win big, lose, you die? Dying in a virtual world doesn’t really mean death in real life—does it?

As Charlie and his friends try to find a way out of the game, they realize they’ve been manipulated into a bigger web they can’t escape: an AI that learned its cruelty from watching us.

God is always watching, and He says when the game is done.

The God Game is a virtual reality game overlaid onto the real world, where the stakes are high, the AI is more than a little bit rogue, and nothing is quite as it seems.

My Review

Black Leviathan

Melville’s Moby Dick unfolds in a world of dragon hunters in Black Leviathan, an epic revenge fantasy from German award-winning author Bernd Perplies.

Beware! A shadow will cover you, larger than that cast by any other dragon of this world. Black as the lightless chasm from whence it was born at the beginning of time.

In the coastal city Skargakar, residents make a living from hunting dragons and use them for everything from clothing to food, while airborne ships hunt them in the white expanse of a cloud sea, the Cloudmere.

Lian does his part carving the kyrillian crystals that power the ships through the Cloudmere, but when he makes an enemy of a dangerous man, Lian ships out on the next vessel available as a drachenjager, or dragon hunter.

He chooses the wrong ship. A fanatic captain, hunts more than just any dragon. His goal is the Firstborn Gargantuan—and Adaron is prepared to sacrifice everything for revenge.

Black Leviathan is an adventure-packed, edge-of-your-seat retelling of Moby Dick … but with dragons! And a lush, expansive world that I refuse to leave, and you can’t make me. That’s it. This is me now. I belong here.

My Review

The House in the Cerulean Sea

A magical island. A dangerous task. A burning secret.

Linus Baker leads a quiet, solitary life. At forty, he lives in a tiny house with a devious cat and his old records. As a Case Worker at the Department in Charge Of Magical Youth, he spends his days overseeing the well-being of children in government-sanctioned orphanages.

When Linus is unexpectedly summoned by Extremely Upper Management he’s given a curious and highly classified assignment: travel to Marsyas Island Orphanage, where six dangerous children reside: a gnome, a sprite, a wyvern, an unidentifiable green blob, a were-Pomeranian, and the Antichrist. Linus must set aside his fears and determine whether or not they’re likely to bring about the end of days.

But the children aren’t the only secret the island keeps. Their caretaker is the charming and enigmatic Arthur Parnassus, who will do anything to keep his wards safe. As Arthur and Linus grow closer, long-held secrets are exposed, and Linus must make a choice: destroy a home or watch the world burn.

An enchanting story, masterfully told, The House in the Cerulean Sea is about the profound experience of discovering an unlikely family in an unexpected place—and realizing that family is yours.

The House in the Cerulean Sea is a masterpiece of a book with a slow-burn M/M romance, an older protagonist who’s easy to root for, and characters certain to steal your heart. It made my little Slytherin soul just melt.

My Review

Of Blood and Bone Series

A race of warrior angels, the Ben-Elim, once vanquished a mighty demon horde. Now they rule the Banished lands, but their peace is brutally enforced.

In the south, hotheaded Riv is desperate to join the Ben-Elim’s peacekeeping force, until she unearths a deadly secret.

In the west, the giantess Sig investigates demon sightings and discovers signs of an uprising and black magic.

And in the snowbound north, Drem, a trapper, finds mutilated corpses in the forests. The work of a predator, or something far darker?

It’s a time of shifting loyalties and world-changing dangers. Difficult choices need to be made. Because in the shadows, demons are gathering, waiting for their time to rise…

A Time of Dread is an epic, gory book about discovering who you are, in a world where the Ben-Elim rule, the Kadoshim threaten, and the humans and giants are caught in a no-win situation between the two.

A Time of Blood expands that to an all-out war, with detailed fight scene after fight scene and lots of strategy. Where the previous book was about discovering one’s self, this one is about learning where you belong.

My Review

Drowned Country

This second volume of the Greenhollow duology once again invites readers to lose themselves in the story of Henry and Tobias, and the magic of a myth they’ve always known.

Even the Wild Man of Greenhollow can’t ignore a summons from his mother, when that mother is the indomitable Adela Silver, practical folklorist. Henry Silver does not relish what he’ll find in the grimy seaside town of Rothport, where once the ancient wood extended before it was drowned beneath the sea—a missing girl, a monster on the loose, or, worst of all, Tobias Finch, who loves him.

Drowned Country focuses on the delightfully dramatic Silver as he grows into himself, while still expanding this dark and fabulous world that immediately sucked me in.

My Review

Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air

Teagan Frost’s life is finally back on track. Her role working for the government as a psychokinetic operative is going well and she might even be on course for convincing her crush to go out with her. But, little does she know, that sh*t is about to hit the fan.

A young boy with the ability to cause earthquakes has come to Los Angeles – home to the San Andreas, one of the most lethal fault lines in the world. If Teagan can’t stop him, the entire city – and the rest of California – could be wiped off the map.

Random Sh*t Flying Through the Air combines my love for natural disaster books with my love for sarcastic protagonists, ramped up the action, and packed a whole lot of feels in, just for good measure.

My Review

A Chorus of Dragons Series

Kihrin is a bastard orphan who grew up on storybook tales of long-lost princes and grand quests. When he is claimed against his will as the long-lost son of a treasonous prince, Kihrin finds that being a long-lost prince isn’t what the storybooks promised.

Far from living the dream, Kihrin finds himself practically a prisoner, at the mercy of his new family’s power plays and ambitions. He also discovers that the storybooks have lied about a lot of other things too: dragons, demons, gods, prophecies, true love, and how the hero always wins.

Then again, maybe he’s not the hero, for Kihrin is not destined to save the empire.

He’s destined to destroy it.

A Chorus of Dragons is an epic fantasy series set in a dark world full of magic and demons with anti-heroes and gray characters and so much backstabbing that your safest bet is to just trust no one. No, not even yourself.

10 Reasons to Read A Chrous of Dragons

My Review of The Memory of Souls

The Rage of Dragons / The Fires of Vengeance

The Omehi people have been fighting an unwinnable fight for almost two hundred years. Their society has been built around war and only war. The lucky ones are born gifted. One in every two thousand women has the power to call down dragons. One in every hundred men is able to magically transform himself into a bigger, stronger, faster killing machine.

Everyone else is fodder, destined to fight and die in the endless war. Young, gift-less Tau knows all this, but he has a plan of escape. He’s going to get himself injured, get out early, and settle down to marriage, children, and land. Only, he doesn’t get the chance. Those closest to him are brutally murdered, and his grief swiftly turns to anger. Fixated on revenge, Tau dedicates himself to an unthinkable path. He’ll become the greatest swordsman to ever live, a man willing to die a hundred thousand times for the chance to kill the three who betrayed him.

The Rage of Dragons is a roller coaster ride of emotion that rushes through at break-neck speeds with epic battles, sacrifices, plot twists, a pinch of romance, and a squad you can’t help but root for.

My Review of The Fires of Vengeance

Terribly Serious Darkness Series

What terror lurks in the shadows of the Old Country?

Well, there are the goblins, of course. Then there are the bloodthirsty cannibals from nearby Carpathia, secret societies plotting in whispers, and murder victims found drained of their blood, to name a few. That’s to say nothing of the multitude of government ministries, any one of which might haul one off for “questioning” in the middle of the night.

The Old Country is saturated with doom, and Sloot is scarcely able to keep from drowning in it. Each passing moment is certain to be his last, though never did fate seem so grim as the day he was asked to correct the worst report ever written.

Will the events put in motion by this ghastly financial statement end in Sloot’s grisly death? Almost definitely. Is that the worst thing that could happen? Almost definitely not.

The Terribly Serious Darkness Series takes the reader to new unexpected places, gives us characters that are easy to love, and takes the reader on a funny romp of an adventure, never knowing what to expect. Told with a dry, sarcastic humor, this series has a very Pratchett-esque writing style nad thrives on subverting expectations.

My Review of Terribly Serious Darkness #3

Young Adult 5-Star Reads

The Will and the Wilds

Enna knows to fear the mystings that roam the wildwood near her home. When one tries to kill her to obtain an enchanted stone, Enna takes a huge risk: fighting back with a mysting of her own.

Maekallus’s help isn’t free. His price? A kiss. One with the power to steal her soul. But their deal leaves Maekallus bound to the mortal realm, which begins eating him alive. Only Enna’s kiss, given willingly, can save him from immediate destruction. It’s a temporary salvation for Maekallus and a lingering doom for Enna. Part of her soul now burns bright inside Maekallus, making him feel for the first time.

Enna shares Maekallus’s suffering, but her small sacrifice won’t last long. If she and Maekallus can’t break the spell binding him to the mortal realm, Maekallus will be consumed completely—and Enna’s soul with him.

The Will and the Wilds is set in a whimsical, but brutal, world where humans live in fear, and where a shared kiss, given willingly, threatens to destroy both the human and mysting involved.

My Review

Dread Nation / Deathless Divide

Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.

But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems.

Dread Nation is a mix of zombie horror and social commentary. The main character, Jane, is a thrilling mixture of proud and sarcastic, written in a voicy way that had me falling for her from the very start. I just devoured this book. But not in a zombie way. I promise.

Deathless Divide is a brutal, beautiful book that pulls no punches as it drags us out West, treats us to new characters and new danger, and plays mercilessly with our emotions.

My Review of Dread Nation

My Review of Deathless Divide

Wicked Saints

A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself.

A prince in danger must decide who to trust.

A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings.

Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.

In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light. Wicked Saints is the thrilling start to Emily A. Duncan’s devastatingly Gothic Something Dark and Holy trilogy.

Wicked Saints is a dark, twisted book where the gods are more than they seem, countries are at war, and betrayal is just the name of the game.

My Review

The Extraordinaries

Some people are extraordinary. Some are just extra. TJ Klune’s YA debut, The Extraordinaries, is a queer coming-of-age story about a fanboy with ADHD and the heroes he loves.

Nick Bell? Not extraordinary. But being the most popular fanfiction writer in the Extraordinaries fandom is a superpower, right?

After a chance encounter with Shadow Star, Nova City’s mightiest hero (and Nick’s biggest crush), Nick sets out to make himself extraordinary. And he’ll do it with or without the reluctant help of Seth Gray, Nick’s best friend (and maybe the love of his life).

The Extraordinaries is the queer superhero book we didn’t realize we needed. It’s packed with a slow burn romance, a protagonist with ADHD, and enough laughs to make you cry … which makes for a really good cover when the actual feels make you cry.

My Review

The Archer at Dawn

The Sun Mela is many things: a call for peace, a cause for celebration, and, above all, a deadly competition. For Kunal and Esha, finally working together as rebel spies, it provides the perfect guise to infiltrate King Vardaan’s vicious court.

Kunal will return to his role as dedicated Senap soldier, at the Sun Mela to provide extra security for the palace during the peace summit for the divided nations of Jansa and Dharka. Meanwhile, Esha will use her new role as adviser to Prince Harun to keep a pulse on shifting political parties and seek out allies for their rebel cause. A radical plan is underfoot to rescue Jansa’s long-lost Princess Reha—the key to the stolen throne.

But amid the Mela games and glittering festivities, much more dangerous forces lie in wait. With the rebel Blades’ entry into Vardaan’s court, a match has been lit, and long-held secrets will force Kunal and Esha to reconsider their loyalties—to their country and to each other. Getting into the palace was the easy task; coming out together will be a battle for their lives.

The Archer at Dawn is a fast-paced, heisty book, filled to the brim with strong women, secrets, and betrayal. If the lush, Indian-inspired setting doesn’t get you, the witty character banter will.

My Review

Forest of Souls

Sirscha Ashwyn comes from nothing, but she’s intent on becoming something. After years of training to become the queen’s next royal spy, her plans are derailed when shamans attack and kill her best friend Saengo.

And then Sirscha, somehow, restores Saengo to life.

Unveiled as the first soulguide in living memory, Sirscha is summoned to the domain of the Spider King. For centuries, he has used his influence over the Dead Wood—an ancient forest possessed by souls—to enforce peace between the kingdoms. Now, with the trees growing wild and untamed, only a soulguide can restrain them. As war looms, Sirscha must master her newly awakened abilities before the trees shatter the brittle peace, or worse, claim Saengo, the friend she would die for.

Forest of Souls is an Asian-inspired dark fantasy with a deliciously creepy atmosphere, some serious sibling bonds that are to die for (maybe literally), and an ending that makes me question my ability to build a time machine, because 2021 is too darn far away.

My Review

Knightmare Arcanist

Magic. Sailing. A murderer among heroes.

Gravedigger Volke Savan wants nothing more than to be like his hero, the legendary magical swashbuckler, Gregory Ruma. First he needs to become an arcanist, someone capable of wielding magic, which requires bonding with a mythical creature. And he’ll take anything—a pegasus, a griffin, a ravenous hydra—maybe even a leviathan, like Ruma.

So when Volke stumbles across a knightmare, a creature made of shadow and terror, he has no reservations. But the knightmare knows a terrible secret: Ruma is a murderer out to spread corrupted magic throughout their island nation. He’s already killed a population of phoenixes and he intends to kill even more.

In order to protect his home, his adopted sister, and the girl he admires from afar, Volke will need to confront his hero, the Master Arcanist Gregory Ruma.

Knightmare Arcanist is a dark, adventurous tale about a world filled with beauty and wonder, but also darkness and deception. The fight scenes were fabulous and filled with magic. This is a world I want to get lost in, please.

My Review

Raybearer

Nothing is more important than loyalty. But what if you’ve sworn to protect the one you were born to destroy?

Tarisai has always longed for the warmth of a family. She was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as The Lady. The Lady sends her to the capital of the global empire of Aritsar to compete with other children to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince’s Council of 11. If she’s picked, she’ll be joined with the other Council members through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood. That closeness is irresistible to Tarisai, who has always wanted to belong somewhere. But The Lady has other ideas, including a magical wish that Tarisai is compelled to obey: Kill the Crown Prince once she gains his trust. Tarisai won’t stand by and become someone’s pawn—but is she strong enough to choose a different path for herself?

Raybearer is a coming-of-age high fantasy inspired by West Africa, where Tarisai is ordered to kill the boy she’s destined to love. In a world where she’s been led to believe she’s a tool—for her mother, for men—she needs to find her true purpose.

My Review

Cemetery Boys

A trans boy determined to prove he’s a brujo to his Latinx family summons a ghost who refuses to leave in Aiden Thomas’s paranormal YA debut.

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.

Bestowed by the ancient goddess of death, Yadriel and the gifted members of his Latinx community can see spirits: women have the power to heal bodies and souls, while men can release lost spirits to the afterlife. But Yadriel, a trans boy, has never been able to perform the tasks of the brujas – because he is a brujo.

When his cousin suddenly dies, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.

However, the ghost he summons is not his cousin. It’s Julian Diaz, the resident bad boy of his high school, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out what happened and tie off some loose ends before he leaves.

Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.

Cemetery Boys is a slow-burn M/M romance that will pull you in with an intriguing mystery and then trick you into fretting over the well-being of these precious cinnamon rolls for the other 320 pages.

My Review

The Merciful Crow / The Faithless Hawk

A future chieftain.

Fie abides by one rule: look after your own. Her Crow caste of undertakers and mercy-killers takes more abuse than coin, but when they’re called to collect royal dead, she’s hoping they’ll find the payout of a lifetime.

A fugitive prince.

When Crown Prince Jasimir turns out to have faked his death, Fie’s ready to cut her losses—and perhaps his throat. But he offers a wager that she can’t refuse: protect him from a ruthless queen, and he’ll protect the Crows when he reigns.

A too-cunning bodyguard.

Hawk warrior Tavin has always put Jas’s life before his, magically assuming the prince’s appearance and shadowing his every step. But what happens when Tavin begins to want something to call his own?

The Merciful Crow is a dark, dangerous book about caste systems, the oppressed, and finding one’s self. Complete with a sweet enemies-to-lovers romance, an uplifting coming of age arc, and plenty of dark magic.

The Faithless Hawk is full of uprising, betrayal, surprise twists, new faces to love, and pretty much everything you might want to wrap up a dark duology.

My Review of The Merciful Crow

My Review of The Faithless Hawk

Legendborn

After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.

A flying demon feeding on human energies.

A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.

And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.

The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.

She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.

Legendborn is an exploration into racism, the “sanctity” of tradition, family and friendship bonds, magic, and finding your place, with a healthy dose of secrets and betrayal.

My Review

The Gilded Wolves / The Silvered Serpents

No one believes in them. But soon no one will forget them.

It’s 1889. The city is on the cusp of industry and power, and the Exposition Universelle has breathed new life into the streets and dredged up ancient secrets. Here, no one keeps tabs on dark truths better than treasure-hunter and wealthy hotelier Séverin Montagnet-Alarie. When the elite, ever-powerful Order of Babel coerces him to help them on a mission, Séverin is offered a treasure that he never imagined: his true inheritance.

To hunt down the ancient artifact the Order seeks, Séverin calls upon a band of unlikely experts: An engineer with a debt to pay. A historian banished from his home. A dancer with a sinister past. And a brother in arms if not blood.

Together, they will join Séverin as he explores the dark, glittering heart of Paris. What they find might change the course of history–but only if they can stay alive.

The Gilded Wolves is the historical fantasy heist book I didn’t realize I needed until I started it. It’s filled with tropes I love, characters that are irresistible, high stakes heists, twists and turns, and the most adorable romances and witty sarcasm.

Middle Grade 5-Star Reads

Watch Hollow

Deep within the enchanted woods in the town of Watch Hollow stands the once-grand Blackford House, whose halls hold a magical secret: a giant cuckoo clock that does much more than tell time. But when the clock’s gears cease to turn, an evil presence lurking among the trees begins to come out of the shadows.

When Lucy and Oliver Tinker arrive in Watch Hollow, they have no idea that anything is wrong. A mysterious stranger has made their father an offer that’s too good for him to refuse. All Mr. Tinker needs to do is fix the clock at Blackford House and fistfuls of gold coins are his to keep.

It doesn’t take long, however, for the children to realize that there is more to Blackford House than meets the eye. And before they can entirely understand the strange world they’ve stumbled into, Lucy and Oliver must join forces with a host of magical clock animals to defeat the Garr—a vicious monster that not only wants Blackford House for itself, but also seeks to destroy everything the Tinkers hold dear.

Watch Hollow and its sequel Watch Hollow: The Alchemist’s Shadow are a pleasant combination of goosebump-inducing creepiness, fast-paced action, twists and turns, magic, and found family.

My Review of Watch Hollow #2

Twist

A group of gifted kids must band together to save their town and a fantasy world from horror-story monsters come to life in Sarah Cannon’s imaginative middle-grade novel, Twist…

Eli has a dream. He’s going to be the next Stephen King, and he’s just created his best monster yet!

Neha has a secret. Her notebook is filled with drawings of a fantasy world called Forest Creeks, and it’s become inhabited by wonderful imaginary creatures. But her new friends are in danger . . .

Court has a gift, both for finding trouble and for stopping it. And when she accidentally ends up with one of Neha’s drawings, she quickly realizes that the monsters raiding Forest Creeks are coming from Eli’s stories.

When these three creative kids come together, they accidentally create a doorway from Forest Creeks into the real world, and now every monster that Eli ever imagined has been unleashed upon their town!

Twist is a throwback to the ’80s, complete with nerdy characters, some wholesome family bonding, pop culture references, monsters running amok, an overriding sense of danger, and lots of laugh-out-loud moments.

My Review

The Ben Braver Series

Ben Braver is an ordinary kid. All he wants to do is finish his summer watching awesome TV shows and eating his favorite candy. But when some kid screams for help, Ben, like his favorite comic book heroes, tries to save the day. Let’s just say it ends badly. But it does lead him to a secret school where kids with super abilities learn to control their powers. Ben’s never had any powers—and never thought he could be special. So when he’s offered a spot at the school, Ben realizes this is his chance to become the superhero he’s always dreamed of. Packed with black-and-white art and comic strips throughout.

Ben Braver is a series full of adventure, action, and comedy, where the laughs are almost as big as the egos of these heroes and villains. Just remember … not all powers are a blessing.

My Review

They Went Left

Germany, 1945. The soldiers who liberated the Gross-Rosen concentration camp said the war was over, but nothing feels over to eighteen-year-old Zofia Lederman. Her body has barely begun to heal; her mind feels broken. And her life is completely shattered: Three years ago, she and her younger brother, Abek, were the only members of their family to be sent to the right, away from the gas chambers of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Everyone else–her parents, her grandmother, radiant Aunt Maja–they went left.

Zofia’s last words to her brother were a promise: Abek to Zofia, A to Z. When I find you again, we will fill our alphabet. Now her journey to fulfill that vow takes her through Poland and Germany, and into a displaced persons camp where everyone she meets is trying to piece together a future from a painful past: Miriam, desperately searching for the twin she was separated from after they survived medical experimentation. Breine, a former heiress, who now longs only for a simple wedding with her new fiancé. And Josef, who guards his past behind a wall of secrets, and is beautiful and strange and magnetic all at once.

But the deeper Zofia digs, the more impossible her search seems. How can she find one boy in a sea of the missing? In the rubble of a broken continent, Zofia must delve into a mystery whose answers could break her–or help her rebuild her world.

They Went Left is a poignant, heartwrenching exploration into how one carries on living when everything has been taken from them. It’ll unapologetically destroy your feels on one page, and give you something to hope for on the next.

My Review

The Wolf of Cape Fen

First Frost has touched Cape Fen, and that means Baron Dire has returned. For as long as anyone can remember, Baron Dire has haunted the town come winter, striking magical bargains and demanding unjust payment in return. The Serling sisters know better than to bargain, lest they find themselves hunted by the Baron’s companion, the Wolf.

Then the Wolf attacks Eliza’s sister Winnie. They manage to escape, but they know the Wolf will be back, because the Wolf only attacks those who owe the Baron Dire. Winnie would never bargain, so that must mean that someone has struck a deal with Winnie as the price.

Eliza embarks on a journey to save her sister, but as she untangles the links between Baron Dire, the Wolf, and her family, she discovers a complicated web of bargains that cross all of Cape Fen. If Eliza can learn the truth, she might be able to protect her sister, but the truth behind the bargain could put her own life in danger.

The Wolf of Cape Fen is a heartwarming story of sibling bonds, the power of dreams, and the nature of curses with a sweeping mystery that led to growth in all the characters.

My Review

What We Found in the Corn Maze and How It Saved a Dragon

When three kids discover a book of magic spells that can only be cast a few short minutes a day, they’ll need all the time they can get to save a dying magical world, its last dragon, and themselves!

An ordinary day turns extraordinary when twelve-year-old Cal witnesses his neighbor summon a slew of lost coins without lifting a finger. Turns out she has a secret manual of magic spells…but they only work sometimes. And they’re the most boring spells ever:
To Change the Color of a Room
To Repair a Chimney
To Walk With Stilts
To Untangle Yarn

Useless! But when Cal, his friend Drew, and his neighbor Modesty are suddenly transported to the world the spells come from — a world that’s about to lose its last dragon — they’ll have to find a way to use the oddly specific incantations to save the day, if only they can figure out when magic works.

From the inventive mind of Henry Clark comes a hilariously wacky adventure about magic, friendship, a lookout tower come to life, a maze in the shape of a dragon, an actual dragon named Phlogiston, and lots and lots of popcorn.

What We Found in the Corn Maze and How It Saved a Dragon is a funny, punny adventure that extols the virtues of science in a sneaky, engaging way, wrapped up in a whole dragonload of fun.

My Review

The Jumbies

A spine-tingling tale rooted in Caribbean folklore that will have readers holding their breath as they fly through its pages.

Corinne La Mer isn’t afraid of anything. Not scorpions, not the boys who tease her, and certainly not jumbies. They’re just tricksters parents make up to frighten their children. Then one night Corinne chases an agouti all the way into the forbidden forest. Those shining yellow eyes that followed her to the edge of the trees, they couldn’t belong to a jumbie. Or could they?

When Corinne spots a beautiful stranger speaking to the town witch at the market the next day, she knows something unexpected is about to happen. And when this same beauty, called Severine, turns up at Corinne’s house, cooking dinner for Corinne’s father, Corinne is sure that danger is in the air. She soon finds out that bewitching her father, Pierre, is only the first step in Severine’s plan to claim the entire island for the jumbies. Corinne must call on her courage and her friends and learn to use ancient magic she didn’t know she possessed to stop Severine and save her island home.

With its able and gutsy heroine, lyrical narration, and inventive twist on the classic Haitian folktale “The Magic Orange Tree,” The Jumbies will be a favorite of fans of Breadcrumbs, A Tale Dark and Grimm, and Where the Mountain Meets the Moon.

The Jumbies is a deliciously creepy book about family and friendship in the face of danger. Based on Caribbean folklore, it’ll have you on the edge of your seat as it brings to life all the different and terrifying types of jumbies.

The Menagerie

Logan Wilde is accidentally drawn into the mysterious, dangerous world of the Menagerie when he discovers a griffin hiding under his bed . . . and it leads him straight to the weirdest girl in seventh grade, Zoe Kahn.

Zoe is panicking. Her family has been guarding the Menagerie for centuries. If they don’t get the cubs back fast, the whole place will be shut down. To save the griffins’ lives, she’s willing to break all the rules, even if it means letting an outsider like Logan help. But the real mystery remains: Is someone trying to sabotage the Menagerie?

Who let the griffins out…and why?

The Menagerie is an adorable adventure that takes the reader to a mythological zoo filled with wondrous creatures where things have gone slightly awry. Our young heroes have to find out why and put things back in order before the menagerie gets shut down for good.

Paola Santiago and the River of Tears

Space-obsessed 12-year-old Paola Santiago and her two best friends, Emma and Dante, know the rule: Stay away from the river. It’s all they’ve heard since a schoolmate of theirs drowned a year ago. Pao is embarrassed to admit that she has been told to stay away for even longer than that, because her mother is constantly warning her about La Llorona, the wailing ghost woman who wanders the banks of the Gila at night, looking for young people to drag into its murky depths.

Hating her mother’s humiliating superstitions and knowing that she and her friends would never venture into the water, Pao organizes a meet-up to test out her new telescope near the Gila, since it’s the best stargazing spot. But when Emma never arrives and Pao sees a shadowy figure in the reeds, it seems like maybe her mom was right. . . .

Pao has always relied on hard science to make sense of the world, but to find her friend she will have to enter the world of her nightmares, which includes unnatural mist, mind-bending monsters, and relentless spirits controlled by a terrifying force that defies both logic and legend.

Paola Santiago and the River of Tears is a harrowing adventure into a dark world full of myth and superstition, where a young girl learns to find her light.

My Review

The Time of Green Magic

From acclaimed author and Costa winner Hilary McKay comes The Time of Green Magic: a beautiful, spell-binding novel about a new families, a magical old house and a mysterious cat . . .

When Tom and Polly marry, blending their single parent families together, their children find it hard to relinquish their old lives. Max realizes his birth dad will never come home now, while Abi suddenly finds herself a middle child, expected to share far too much – especially with grubby little Louis. The family start over together, stretching their finances to the limit and renting an eerie, ivy-covered house, big enough for all of them.

But when the children are alone there, strange things start to happen. Worried, Louis summons comfort from outdoors, and a startling guest arrives – is it a cat, or an owl, or something else? Abi reads alone, tumbling deep into books. Max loses his best friend and falls in love.

Meanwhile, Louis’ secret visitor is becoming much too real. And when Max and Abi too start to see the great spotted cat-thing that arrives in the night, it becomes a problem the three of them must find a way to solve – together. But where has the creature come from, and how will he get back?

The Time of Green Magic is a gorgeous, heartwarming book about a blended family trying to learn what exactly it means to be “family,” in a new house that has its own quiet magic.

My Review

Scritch Scratch

A ghost story about a malevolent spirit, an unlucky girl, and a haunting mystery that will tie the two together.

Claire has absolutely no interest in the paranormal. She’s a scientist, which is why she can’t think of anything worse than having to help out her dad on one of his ghost-themed Chicago bus tours. She thinks she’s made it through when she sees a boy with a sad face and dark eyes at the back of the bus. There’s something off about his presence, especially because when she checks at the end of the tour…he’s gone.

Claire tries to brush it off, she must be imagining things, letting her dad’s ghost stories get the best of her. But then the scratching starts. Voices whisper to her in the dark. The number 396 appears everywhere she turns. And the boy with the dark eyes starts following her.

Claire is being haunted. The boy from the bus wants something…and Claire needs to find out what before it’s too late.

Scritch Scratch is an addicting ghost story that’ll give you all kinds of goosebumps, but also deeper feels, filled with sibling bonds, growing friendships, and a peek into haunted Chicago’s tragedies.

My Review

Sky Song

The snowy kingdom of Erkenwald was once a magical place—until an evil ice witch cursed the land and began stealing the voices of the kingdom’s people to increase her powers.

Eska is one of the many prisoners of the Ice Queen. With no memories of her past, Eska only knows that she cannot allow the Ice Queen to take her voice, that it might be special in some way…

When young inventor Flint sneaks into the Ice Queen’s palace in an attempt to rescue his mother, he ends up rescuing Eska instead. Together, Flint and Eska must journey to the Never Cliffs and beyond in search of an ancient, long-forgotten song with the power to end the Ice Queen’s reign and return voice back to the people of Erkenwald.

This is the story of an eagle huntress, a boy inventor, and a wicked queen in a castle made from ice. But it’s also a story about finding a place to belong, even at the farthest reaches of the world.

Sky Song is an adventure into a magical, whimsical world filled with darkness and light, with found family and sibling bonds. It’s a charming tale that anyone, of any age, will love!

My Review

Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky / Tristan Strong Destroys the World

Seventh-grader Tristan Strong feels anything but strong ever since he failed to save his best friend when they were in a bus accident together. All he has left of Eddie is the journal his friend wrote stories in. Tristan is dreading the month he’s going to spend on his grandparents’ farm in Alabama, where he’s being sent to heal from the tragedy. But on his first night there, a sticky creature shows up in his bedroom and steals Eddie’s journal. Tristan chases after it — is that a doll? — and a tug-of-war ensues between them underneath a Bottle Tree. In a last attempt to wrestle the journal out of the creature’s hands, Tristan punches the tree, accidentally ripping open a chasm into the MidPass, a volatile place with a burning sea, haunted bone ships, and iron monsters that are hunting the inhabitants of this world. Tristan finds himself in the middle of a battle that has left black American gods John Henry and Brer Rabbit exhausted. In order to get back home, Tristan and these new allies will need to entice the god Anansi, the Weaver, to come out of hiding and seal the hole in the sky. But bartering with the trickster Anansi always comes at a price. Can Tristan save this world before he loses more of the things he loves?

Tristan Strong Punches A Hole in the Sky is a masterful mid-grade story about a relatable kid struggling with grief who happens to enjoy punching things. And who doesn’t? It’s got a black pantheon of gods, a vast new world, and action that just won’t quit.

Tristan Strong Destroys the World is a masterful sequel that picks up the comedy and adventure from the first book, yet packs a harder punch to the feels with its focus on trauma and healing. Also, there’s Gum Baby, who deserves her own shout-out, obviously.

My Review of Tristan Strong #1

My Review of Tristan Strong #2

Hollowpox: The Hunt for Morrigan Crow

Morrigan Crow and her friends have survived their first year as proud scholars of the elite Wundrous Society, helped bring down the nefarious Ghastly Market, and proven themselves loyal to Unit 919. Now Morrigan faces a new, exciting challenge: to master the mysterious Wretched Arts, and control the power that threatens to consume her.

But a strange and frightening illness has taken hold of Nevermoor, turning infected Wunimals into mindless, vicious Unnimals on the hunt. As victims of the Hollowpox multiply, panic spreads. And with the city she loves in a state of fear, Morrigan quickly realizes it’s up to her to find a cure for the Hollowpox, even if it will put her – and everyone in Nevermoor – in more danger than she ever imagined.

Hollowpox, the third book in the Nevermoor series, returns to the whimsical world of Wunsoc, but exposes the darker underbelly of it. There’s magic and danger and mystery and everything you could ask for—and Morrigan’s adventure has really only just begun!

My Review

Amari and the Night Brothers

Artemis Fowl meets Men in Black in this exhilarating debut middle grade fantasy, the first in a trilogy filled with #blackgirlmagic. Perfect for fans of Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky, the Percy Jackson series, and Nevermoor.

Amari Peters has never stopped believing her missing brother, Quinton, is alive. Not even when the police told her otherwise, or when she got in trouble for standing up to bullies who said he was gone for good.

So when she finds a ticking briefcase in his closet, containing a nomination for a summer tryout at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, she’s certain the secretive organization holds the key to locating Quinton—if only she can wrap her head around the idea of magicians, fairies, aliens, and other supernatural creatures all being real.

Now she must compete for a spot against kids who’ve known about magic their whole lives. No matter how hard she tries, Amari can’t seem to escape their intense doubt and scrutiny—especially once her supernaturally enhanced talent is deemed “illegal.” With an evil magician threatening the supernatural world, and her own classmates thinking she’s an enemy, Amari has never felt more alone. But if she doesn’t stick it out and pass the tryouts, she may never find out what happened to Quinton.

Amari and the Night Brothers feels like a Men in Black-esque story for kids combined with a Harry Potter style magic school. The world is wondrous, the friends Amari meets are fun, and the adventure/mystery had me hooked!

My Review

Graphic Novel 5-Star Reads

Witch Hat Atelier

In a world where everyone takes wonders like magic spells and dragons for granted, Coco is a girl with a simple dream: She wants to be a witch. But everybody knows magicians are born, not made, and Coco was not born with a gift for magic. Resigned to her un-magical life, Coco is about to give up on her dream to become a witch…until the day she meets Qifrey, a mysterious, traveling magician. After secretly seeing Qifrey perform magic in a way she’s never seen before, Coco soon learns what everybody “knows” might not be the truth, and discovers that her magical dream may not be as far away as it may seem…

Witch Hat Atelier is a manga series filled with magic and wonder, about a girl who dreams of being a witch finally come true … but there’s a catch. This book is filled with absolutely gorgeous illustrations, charming characters, intense action, and a mystery that grabbed my attention and pulled me along.

The Tea Dragon Society

From the award-winning author of Princess Princess Ever After comes The Tea Dragon Society, a charming all-ages book that follows the story of Greta, a blacksmith apprentice, and the people she meets as she becomes entwined in the enchanting world of tea dragons.

After discovering a lost tea dragon in the marketplace, Greta learns about the dying art form of tea dragon care-taking from the kind tea shop owners, Hesekiel and Erik. As she befriends them and their shy ward, Minette, Greta sees how the craft enriches their lives—and eventually her own.

The Tea Dragon Society is a graphic novel aimed for younger readers but perfect for any age. Filled with whimsical, adorable artwork, a heartwarming story, found family, and characters that are easy to love, it’s a quick read that’s sure to worm its way into your heart.

The Accursed Inheritance of Henrietta Achilles: Book 1

The life of Henrietta Achilles is about to change. After years of living as an orphan, she receives a summons to the strange town of Malrenard. To her surprise, she’s the only living relative of Ornun Zol–a notorious wizard, now deceased, who leaves Henrietta with his house and everything in it.

With Ornun Zol gone, escaped creatures and misfired curses have been spilling out into Malrenard. If that’s not enough, Henrietta will discover countless squabbling squatters inside her uncle’s abode: soldiers, bandits, tiny monsters, and more. Then there’s the matter of the strange black cat following Henrietta around . . .

The Accursed Inheritance of Henrietta Achilles: Book 1 is filled with gorgeous artwork that will not only steal your breath but steal you away to a world that’s as funny as it is magical. Though this is only the start of Henrietta’s journey, I have no doubt this will be a fun adventure to go on!

My Review

The Last Halloween: Children

The monster apocalypse is nigh, but never fear! Humanity is under the protection of . . . this crew?

It’s a lonely Halloween night for ten-year-old Mona. While everyone else is out having a ghoulishly good time, she’s stuck inside without so much as a scary movie to watch. Just when she figures this evening can’t get much worse, a giant monster appears in her living room, proving her very, very wrong. Running for her life, Mona quickly sees that she’s not alone; trick-or-treating’s been canceled due to monster invasion! A barrier keeping billions of monsters at bay has broken and the horrific hordes have descended upon humanity, wreaking bloody havoc everywhere they stomp, slither, or squish. She may not be equipped for it, but it’s up to Mona to save the world with a team of fellow weirdos by her side. Perhaps they will succeed. Or perhaps this will be . . . The Last Halloween.

The Last Halloween: Children is the perfect Halloween read, where monsters invade and start killing humans, and it’s up to 10-year-old Mona to help get to the bottom of things. Even though she’s clearly in over her head.

My Review

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