Young, Moira. Road To Ever After.

Young, Moira. Road To Ever After. Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends  2018

215p $16.99  ISBN 978-1-250-11729-8  elem/ms  Fantasy  E-BN

This novel is beautifully written. Davy David is an orphan who has
artistic talent drawing angels in the dirt. He copies the pictures
from a book about Renaissance angels. Just before Christmas, a stray
dog he names George sets the events in motion. Davy meets old Miss
Flint, who hires him to drive her back to her childhood home by the
sea. Reluctantly he agrees. Along the way they steal a truck full of
turkeys. When the truck runs out of gas, they buy a decrepit
motorcycle with a sidecar and then they steal a police car and a
bicycle and finally walk the the last leg of their journey.

After the first night, Miss Flint grows younger every few hours until she is a little girl of ten who has left her house. Seeking an explanation for this, Davy comes across a Celtic theory that says it takes three days for a soul to get to heaven and it is guarded and protected during that time. Davy decides that he and George are the protectors who are meant to escort Miss Flint to the place where she will go to heaven. After her death, Davy finds out that the house has been left to him and he has a bright future for the first time in his life.


The use of words is absolutely beautiful in this novel. The way death
is viewed and treated is so gentle and serene that this title could be
of help to a student dealing with the death of a relative. While
growing younger by the hour is a fantasy, the author makes it seem
plausible. An excellent title for middle-school readers. Gentle and
beautifully written, this novel is excellent for middle-school
readers.

Summary: Beautifully written novel about an orphan boy and the elderly
lady he is taking back to her childhood home. She is going home to
die. Death is treated beautifully.  Grades 5-8.

Orphans-Fiction, Death-Fiction                         --Joan Theal

Halpern, Julie. Meant To Be.

Halpern, Julie. Meant To Be. Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends  2017        313p.  $17.99  ISBN 978-1-250-09498-8  hs           Science Fiction          E-BN

Agatha “Aggy” Abrams lives in a world where The Naming is a big part of life.  Six years ago, out of nowhere, names started appearing over the hearts of everyone over the age of 18. The name refers to the person known as one's Meant-To-Be, or MTB.  Aggy refers to them as “Empties”.  Aggy doesn’t want to believe that she has no free will. She spends her summers working at a haunted carnival dreaming about making out with Luke Jacobs, and she is determined not to look up Hendrix Cutter, the name that has appeared on her chest. When her parents had MTBs appear on their chests, Aggy's father left, and her agoraphobic, romance-novel-writing uncle moved in and avoided talk of his MTB. Her best friend, Lish, finds and promptly falls in love with her MTB, and Aggy wants no part of it. Aggy is a hilarious and raunchy character that teens will instantly relate to. Her openness about her overly large breasts, her gassiness when she eats certain foods, and helping herself in the sex department will have readers laughing and commiserating with her in this well-written and fun romance for the unromantic.

Summary: Six years ago, names started appearing on people’s chests at the age of 18 -- the name of the person with whom they are meant to be.  Agatha is determined to avoid the itchy name on her chest and enjoy her summer swooning over Luke Jacobs and then moving to Australia to be a carny.  She just has to avoid looking up her MTB ("Meant To Be").

Romance, Fate, Science Fiction                                       --Erin Daly

Layborn, Emmy. Berserker.

Layborn, Emmy.  Berserker.  Feivel & Friends  2017  343p.  $17.99  ISBN 978-1-250-05520-0  ms/hs  Fantasy  E-BON

Hanne, a teenage Norwegian girl, is a Berserker, with the magical, legendary gift of deadly, violent strength (the Nytte) that was bestowed upon her at birth by the old gods. When her father dies, and she kills his three murderers, she and her siblings must escape their village and travel across the sea to America. In Montana, they encounter Owen, a young cowboy down on his luck who becomes their guide and friend, as they seek out their uncle, the only one who can teach Hanne and her brothers to control the Nytte and use it only for good. This is a rollicking adventure story told with careful attention to detail, and it incorporates ancient Viking mythology into the rough-and-tumble setting of the late 19th-century Old West. Berserker is set to be the first in a series of adventure stories. The author also wrote the Monument 14 series, which was also excellent.

Summary: Hanne is a Berserker, which means she carries the ancient Norwegian gift of deadly, violent strength that she received from the old gods. When she and her siblings need to flee Norway and end up in America's Old West, they meet up with Owen, a young cowboy, and find new and unexpected adventures.

Norwegian Mythology-Fiction                              --Carol Kennedy

McLemore, Anna Marie. Wild Beauty.

McLemore, Anna Marie. Wild Beauty. Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends  2017    352p.  $17.99        ISBN 978-1-250-12455-5            ms/hs            Fantasy         E-BN

La Pradera is home to the Nomeolvides who tend the enchanted gardens for nearly a century where outcasts of the prestigious Briar family are sent. It is the place where the lovers of the Nomeolvides women vanish for being loved too deeply. Unexpectedly, a young man, Fel, awakens in the garden with no memory of who he is or where he came from. Some of the Nomeolvide believe him to be a sign that their vanished lovers may reappear, while others worry that his appearance is a warning from La Pradera. Will Fen regain his memory to realize his purpose in the garden? What does La Pradera have to reveal to the Nomeolvides?

This beautifully written novel is a true page-turner. Mystery and suspense abound in each chapter. The writing is as magical and mystical as the story. The plot flows as exquisitely as the gardens are described. Anna Marie McLemore has created an original, mysterious, magical, and at times dangerous novel that is sure to absorb young adult readers.

Summary: La Pradera is home to the Nomeolvides who tend the enchanted gardens where outcasts of the prestigious Briar family are sent; where the lovers of the Nomeolvides women vanish for being loved too deeply; and where suddenly a young man, Fel, awakens in the garden with no memory of who he is or where he came from.          
    

Magic-Fiction                                                           --Virginia McGarvey

Middleton, Dana. Open If You Dare.

Middleton, Dana. Open If You Dare. Macmillan/Feiwel & Friends       2017  279p.  $16.99          ISBN 978-1-250-08572-6            ms/jr    Mystery-Suspense         VG-BN         

A reader makes a journey when reading, and young teenaged girls will definitely enjoy the journey of three protagonists, stars of this new book by Dana Middleton.  A book of note needs to be special, exuding a certain element of warmth, or drama, or entertainment, as it were.  The strength of this book of note lies in the way three girls change as they navigate their final summer together before Rose moves to England with her family and Ally goes to a different middle school than Birdie, the story’s narrator.  It is plain to see that Birdie is scared of being alone.  But characters need to demonstrate growth, and in this case, all three of them experience new changes that will shape them as they move forward in this world, especially Birdie.  Rose is a violinist.  She is in love with Romeo, a classmate who happens to be in love with someone else.  Birdie is keeping a big secret from Rose, which is that Romeo loves Birdie.  Ally is a baseball star pitcher, undeterred by her female status in a man’s world.  Quite surprisingly, she inadvertently allows her brother to influence her negatively when she overhears him ranting about his lack of success and his sister’s shining talent. 

The incident that launches the plot happens right away, when the three girls find a wire around the base of a tree, a wire that they unravel to reveal a hidden box.  Inside that box is a mysterious letter whose words will become Birdie’s obsession throughout the novel: "If you’re reading this, I’m already dead.”  All the while she tries to figure out who was murdered and by whom, the three girls play out the dramas in each of their lives.  Rose must reconcile her unhappiness at the move to England.  Ally must find out how to channel the angst that she feels with her ever-deteriorating pitching, and Birdie finds conflicts with her family, her friends and herself, especially when she is stymied by two more clues she discovers when trying to solve the mystery of the missing girls.  Middleton knows the true voice of an early teen, she crafts a seamless plot, and her characters share conflicts that are experienced by all of us.                             

Summary: When Rose has to move to England with her family and Ally’s baseball pitching turns sour, Birdie tries to help both. At the same time, she comes to terms with her own feelings about being alone as she embarks on her journey to middle school.  A mysterious letter sets the three on a crime-solving mission that keeps them guessing.           

Friendship-Fiction, Murder-Fiction                      --Martha Squaresky