Reviews written by Angela Blount, Staff Reviewer

This book is a light dystopian YA, with a persistently Urban Fantasy feel. An unmentioned number of years after a plague of unknown origins has decimated humanity, the human genome is in shambles. People continue dying off starting in their late teens, and those...

An enchantingly vibrant storybook combined with a range of arts and activities. Emily Jones is called out of her world and into Elvendale, to the aid of The Dragon Queen. The Elf Witch, Ragana, has captured the queen and is after her clutch of dragon eggs....

After an opportunistic revolt on an English farm proves successful, the animals who've managed to run off their human oppressors immediately establish their own society—complete with rules of conduct they initially refer to as the “seven commandments.” The rules are, of course, meant to keep the animals free, civil, and...

Packed with techno-medieval adventure and LEGO-memorable characters, this book is perfect for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd-graders who may still feel a bit intimidated by heftier chapter books. Teamwork is the central theme of this particular Knights tale. The book holds 32 pages of story and still-shot...

Aiming for the magically inclined, this Middle Grade urban fantasy feels like the start of a series while standing well on its own. Wandmaker is told in third-person from multiple viewpoints, though readers spend the majority of time in the head of the primary young protagonist: Henry...

The monstrous narrative of an evil book, with all the techno-medieval flair you’d expect from LEGO NEXO Knights. This is a sort of exceedingly and unabashedly non-objective guide to the NEXO Knights universe—depicted almost entirely from the primary bad guy(er…book?)’s point of view. Its primary function...

A sweet romance featuring a showy villain, a troublesome language barrier, a vengeful hero (who may be impaired in more ways than just his fashion sense), and a heroine who isn’t afraid to wield blunt objects in defense of those she loves. Running almost concurrent...

Pace yourself! Reading this primer is a bit like taking a college-level literature class. Or perhaps an entire semester worth of literature classes… Acknowledging that storytelling is as old as humanity itself, The Literature Book takes on the daunting challenge of giving readers a historical and...

Disclaimer: Unfortunately I was issued only a one-chapter sample of the book (15 pages) rather than the book in its 256 page entirety. As such, my impressions are woefully limited in some respects—for which I apologize. I absolutely loved the idea of this book. As huge...

A captivating gem of a story—an absolute treasure. I hated having to put it down to attend to ‘real life,’ and relished the joy of picking it back up again. “I could feel the beginning of the story gathering in her throat. Stories are that way, like...

A fast-paced, volatile follow-up to Alive. "Our creators designed our bodies. Our faces are theirs--these scars are the only things we can truly call our own." In the first book the so-called “Birthday Children” awoke—twelve-year-old minds in the bodies of 18 to 20-year-olds—unsure...

An excellent resource for children who may be interested in getting a better sense for how characters, places, and things fit into the DC universe—cleverly depicted via LEGO’s highly accessible style and age-appropriate adaptations. This 144 page guide is impressively extensive, without being overwhelming to its target...

A sweet coming-of-age historical romance--featuring a dangerously bold heroine and a hero who is bound by duty is to bring her to justice. Taking place in the author’s prime element, 14th century Germany, The Huntress of Thornbeck Forest is a sort of gender-flipped Robin Hood/Swan Lake...

Based on the TV specials, Star Wars gets a child-friendlier facelift—LEGO style. In this abbreviated made-for-kids version of episodes 1 through 3, C-3P-O acts as our cybernetic bard. This combination comic and young reader chapter book is initially set at what would be the very end...

A sweet YA/NA crossover romance appealing to all ages, with strong themes of courage and fortitude in the face of emotional and psychological abuse. The fifth book in Dickerson’s fairytale retelling series, this Germanic-inspired historical adapts the treasured story of Rapunzel. It is told in 3rd-person...