Reviews written by Jan Farnworth, Digital Manager/Blog Assistant and Staff Reviewer

The Totally Not Wicked Stepmother takes the role of stepmothers who are generally shown as evil in stories and movies. They read to poison all the children giving stepmothers a lousy start with their stepchildren. However, through its humor and patience, The Totally Not Wicked Stepmother shows kids that stepmothers...

The cocoa Magic setting is a 1920s chocolate shop, where what makes the treat special are thoughtful acts of kindness. There is a special connection between eight-year-old Daniel and her excellent uncle lewis, who owns the chocolate shop. Daniel hatches a creative way to bring joy to his...

Jester is a brilliant debut magical competition fantasy novel with a murder mystery to be solved. Lisette lives on the streets of Oasis because her father is accused of killing the king, and she is desperate to survive. She makes a living on the streets and uses cheap...

The Collector is a novella extra from Philip Pullman's Golden Compass series. This Novella gives us a glimpse into the young girl that will eventually become the scary adult, Mrs. Coulter. A creepy tale involving two works of art that are always together but are also linked to...

In my opinion, Seasparrow is a character-driven story rather than a plot, which can make for a less exciting story. Yes, the zilfium mines and bombs coming to the Seven Kingdoms are imperative to the plot, but Seasparrow is about Hava's journey overall. We always come back to her struggles,...

What I liked: Invisible Spy is the second book in the Forgotten Five Series. This one is unique in focusing mainly on our supernatural catalog character and his relationships with his father or nonrelationship. Trapped on an airplane, hoping not to be discovered, unexpected information is...

What I liked: Curse Undone is the sequel to Gold Spun, an excellent Rumpelstiltskin retelling that introduced us to Nor and Casper. They are an unlikely duo who will go through thick and thin in this tale. The creative imagining of adding Fae into the mix and how...

What I liked: Gold-Spun is a fun-fast-paced retelling of Rumplestiltskin. I was drawn in by Nor, a swindler who is always trying to find a gift to feed her siblings. One day she is in the town square with a new grift that ends up with her in...

What I liked: Shadows over London is the first book in a series where Justice and her family find themselves in the middle of a fairy invasion. Justice has witnessed her father playing chess with the fairy king, seen the wild hunt, and is determined not to...

What I liked: Tall Tales is another fast-paced adventure with tons of fun twists and turns. More than a couple of new characters are introduced, and it's a treat to meet them (good and bad) as they hit a little familiarity and then go beyond. The tension stays...

What I Liked: Heliana is a fantasy world full of shape-shifters who live on a floating island. They believe that the island floats due to the magic of the young prince. However, the world below is full of humans, and somehow a mysterious illness has invaded the floating...

Colleen Nelson knows kids, which shows in this sweet and engaging story about a video game-addicted underachiever who reinvents himself as a nerd with the unintended help of a classmate whose best friend has just moved away. The chapters are short and sweet, which helps if you have a...

The Empress of Time is the second book in The Keeper of Night #2, which follows the story of Ren, who has become the Goddess of Death ruling Japan’s underworld. Thematically this continues to explore our main character’s struggle to find where she fits as a biracial woman, rejected on...

What I liked: Daughters of the Dawn is the story of twin princesses Ria and Rani, united at last but still struggling to learn their magic and battling to save their world. I found the quest a significant part of the story, allowing us to explore more of...

What I liked: This installment of the Mary series focuses on Mary (Godwin) Shelley and Ada (Byron) Lovelace. If you're unfamiliar with this series, the authors take real people (named Jane and Mary) and give them new (better), more fantastical stories. In My Imaginary Mary, Mary and Ada...