The Last Fallen Star

Riley Oh has always wanted to be a healing witch like the rest of her family, but she is adopted and has no magical ability.  She's part of the Gom clan of healers who are themselves part of the larger secret organization of magical Korean Americans living in Los Angeles.  

Despite her frustrations, Riley is happy to see her sister, Hattie, initiated into the clan and become an official member of the healing community.  Then Hattie gets an idea.  What if she casts a spell to share her magical power with Riley?  Then they can be initiated into the clan together.  

It sounds like a great idea until everything goes wrong, and Hattie's life hangs in the balance.  The girls have violated the laws of the Godrealm, and now Riley must complete a seemingly impossible task, or her sister's life will be forfeit.

Riley's task is to find the "last fallen star," but she doesn't even know what that is, let alone how to find out.  She will have to team up with her enemies and face off against terrifying magical creatures, but she won't stop until she finds a way to save her sister.

This entry in the Rick Riordan presents imprint by Graci Kim is based on Korean mythology and is a beautifully told fantasy that explores the nature of family and the consequences of holding onto old prejudices.  This is one of my favorite entries under the Rick Riordan umbrella so far.  Highly recommended!

Curses

Merit Cravan's mother arranged a marriage for her daughter to a prince, but he was not the prince of any girl's dreams.  When Merit refused to marry the much older man, a fairy godling cursed her into the form of a beast.  Now she must marry a man her mother approves of by her eighteenth birthday or be cursed to live as a beast forever.

Tevin Dumont is a con man in a family of cons.  His usual scam is convincing rich girls to fall in love with him so their parents will pay him off.  His parents are the least responsible members of his family, and when his mother crosses the beast, she decides her handsome son will be a good trade for her freedom.

Merit doesn't want a prisoner, but she does want recompense.  She and Tevin make a deal.  He and his friends will go undercover as wealthy guests to help her determine which of her many suitors would be the best match.  What better judge of character is there than a con man?

But there is more going on in this political game of matchmaking than either of them knows, and the more time Tevin spends with Merit, the less he wants her to marry any of the options her mother approves.  

Lish McBride's gender swapped Beauty and the Beast tale is a fun romantic adventure.  One of the most questionable parts of the traditional story is removed since Tevin is not kidnapped and held as a prisoner.  He is simply paying off his mother's debt, and it is clear he could leave at any time.  Even though he is less inclined to do so the longer he stays.  I loved the support group for cursed people, and I really think McBride should do a sequel with the diamonds and toads sisters.  There is also plenty of LGBTQIA representation across the spectrum of secondary characters.  Highly recommended.

When the World Was Ours

Leo, Max, and Elsa are best friends in Austria in 1936.  They spend hours playing together including one perfect day that ended with a Ferris wheel ride and a photo taken by Max's father that captures their joy.  But the world is a dangerous place in 1936, and Hitler's army soon invades Austria.

Elsa's family quickly decides to leave the country in the hope of finding safety else.  It is not good to be Jewish in a country controlled by the Nazis.  They hope Prague will be safer, but it isn't long until Hitler's army follows them there, too.

Leo's family decides to say in Vienna, but life becomes increasingly difficult for them as his father loses his photography business and his family is stigmatized for their Jewish heritage.  But that stigma quickly leads to something more dangerous and terrifying.

Max's father always hated his son's Jewish friends, and he becomes a rising star in Hitler's army.  His rhetoric of hate and violence quickly takes root in Max's heart, and he begins to wonder if his father was right about his friends all along.

Through the years, the three friends are separated, but they each hold onto the memory of that perfect day on the Ferris wheel even as they struggle through harrowing events.

Liz Kessler's story is inspired by her own family history of escape from the holocaust.  It is a thoughtful and heartbreaking exploration of friendship and memory set against the background of one of history's greatest atrocities.  Some parts, especially in Max's sections, are difficult to read as you watch his turn from a loving friend to an adherent of Naziism.  There are definite parallels to circumstances in our modern world as we see people turn to extremism and hate when faced with adversity.  The story is beautiful, painful, and perfectly written.  Highly recommended.

CeCe Rios and the Desert of Souls

CeCe lives in Tierra del Sol, a remote village in the desert.  Every year, the village prepares for the criatura months, the time when dangerous magical creatures roam the area outside of town.  No one wants to be captured by a criatura!  Brujas are the only people who consort with spirits.  They trap the criaturas and force them to do their will, but brujeria is dangerous and illegal so it's best to follow the rules and stay safe.  

But CeCe has never been good at following the rules.  When she wonders into a dangerous area, her older sister Juana follows to retrieve her, but Juana is captured by El Sombreron, a powerful dark criatura.  The only way to get her back is for CeCe to become a bruja herself.  

She must study in secret because her parents would never let her study brujeria, not even to get Juana back.  She must learn to trap and master her own criatura in order to train.  Lucky for her, the legendary Coyote has a soft spot for humans and agrees to help her.  

CeCe will have to win a dangerous competition fighting against experienced brujas who control powerful criaturas to prove she is worthy to enter Devil's Alley and fight El Sombreron for her sister's soul.

Kaela Rivera's fantasy is full of colorful characters and Mexican folklore.  This adventure really comes to life with vivid characters and snappy dialogue.  CeCe is strong character who refuses to back down but also someone with compassion, even toward the criaturas who should be her enemies.  I love the story, and I love CeCe.  I can't wait for book two!  Highly recommended!

Hide and Seeker

Justin's best friend has returned after being missing for a year, but he is not the same.  He looks frightened all the time, and he can't carry on a conversation with anyone.  Zee's mom wants to believe everything is fine, so she invites some of the neighborhood kids over for a welcome home party.  

The kids decide to play a game of hide and seek while they wait for Zee to appear, but things go horribly wrong, and the kids start disappearing one by one.  They broke the rules of the game, and now there are consequences. 

They find themselves trapped in a place called Nowhere where a creature called the Seeker forces them to relive their worst fears over and over again.  Suddenly all of Zee's strange warnings make sense.  Everything in Nowhere is designed to keep kids alone, but Justin and his friends quickly realize they will have to work together if they have any hope of escape.

This new thriller from Daka Hermon is a real treat for horror lovers!  It has a diverse cast with a truly frightening villain.  Justin is a well-developed character who is still struggling with grief and anxiety following his mother's death.  Plus, bonus points for an awesome cover!  Highly recommended.

The Shape of Thunder

Cora and Quinn used to be best friends.  They did everything together.  They are even next door neighbors.  That all changed the day Quinn's older brother took a gun to school. When Cora's older sister died, so did her friendship with Quinn.  Cora misses Quinn, but she has to be loyal to her sister.

Quinn has been grieving for the past year, too.  Her parents never talk about what happened or how things got to that point, and they don't seem to understand that her life is ruined, too.  She has to find a way to fix this.

On Cora's twelfth birthday, Quinn leaves a birthday gift on her doorstep.  Quinn believes she's found a way to travel back in time and stop her brother, but she needs Cora's analytic mind to make it work.  Is it really possible to go back in time to prevent this tragedy and fix everything that went wrong?

Jasmine Warga's follow up to Other Words for Home is an emotional and heartbreaking exploration of grief, friendship, forgiveness and the devastating effects of violence. Highly recommended.

The Great Destroyers

Jo lives in a world where nuclear weapons were never created.  Instead, nations learned to build mechas, giant robotic suits of armor, to fight their battles and end WWII.  Now mecha fighting is a popular sport around the world, and nations come together every four years for the Pax games to see whose fighters are the best.  

Jo lives in San Fransisco with her father and younger brother in a repair shop that usually pays the bills.  They never talk about her mother who was Chinese and left when her brother was a baby.  All Jo remembers are the bad times, and it's better for people not to know she's half-Chinese since many people are openly racist against them.  

Jo dreams of fighting in the Pax Games, but people don't take her seriously because she's a girl.  The United States has never sent a female fighter to the games, but the Soviets have.  Two of the highest ranking fighters in the world are sisters from the Soviet Union, and the tensions of the Cold War make them the team American's hate.

Everything changes for Jo when Senator Appleby knocks on her door.  One of the American fighters for the games is injured, and his spot is Jo's if she wants it!  Before she knows what's happening, she's in a plane headed for Washington, D.C.  Jo loves mecha fighting, and she wants to be the Soviets and win, but she also knows the winners get endorsements from corporations, endorsements that would go a long way to helping her family get financial security.  

But the games have barely begun when fighters start to die in the arena.  Is this some kind of sabotage?  When the blame is directed at Jo, she knows she has to figure out the truth if she doesn't become a victim in the process.

Caroline Tung Richmond has another alternate history for fans to enjoy.  Even readers who don't know the real details of this period in history will enjoy the political plotting, robot battles, and mystery.  Maybe this book will encourage them to do some research and see how the events in the book compare to real life.  Hand this one to historical fiction and Hunger Games fans alike!  Recommended.

Ten Thousand Tries

Golden believes if he can be perfect at anything if he practices 10,000 times.  That's how he's going to become a soccer superstar like his hero Lionel Messi.  Soccer is important to the whole family.  His dad used to be a professional player, and now his dad coaches the high school team where his sister plays, and his mom coaches Golden's middle school team.  Golden really wants to be team captain, so he's working on becoming a better player and trying to think like a captain.

There is one thing in his way.  His dad was diagnosed with ALS, and things are getting worse.  It seems like every day he loses more control over his muscles.  This puts a strain on everyone in the family, but while Golden's mother and older sister are trying to accept the changes, Golden is convinced his father can beat the disease if he just tries hard enough.

In his desire to work hard and be the best, Golden is losing sight of his relationships and the pain of the people around him.

I really like this book!  Golden is a very realistic middle schooler in his single-mindedness and the way he ignores the needs of everyone around him.  He was pretty annoying for a while, but it makes the ultimate realization that he can't control everything more powerful.  This book is a gut punch in the best way possible.  Highly recommended!