Category Archives: review

Be Careful What You Bargain For: A Review of The Rose Bargain

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The Rose Bargain 
Written by Sasha Peyton Smith 
Published by Harper/HarperCollins Publishers 
Ages 15-18 (Publisher recommends ages 13 and up) 
Available February 4, 2025 

The time has come for Lady Ivy Benton to make her debut into high society and her bargain with England’s immortal faerie Queen Moryen, who has ruled for the last 400 years. Ivy has been dreading her debut since her family fell from grace when her older sister’s debut season went wrong after she bargained away her memory to experience something new and escape the confines of high society. However, when the queen announces a competition to marry her fae son, Prince Bram, Ivy sees an opportunity to repair her family’s social status. Facing the queen’s cruel tests and the animosity of the five other girls in the competition, the stakes rise when Bram’s human stepbrother, Prince Emmett, proposes a risky plot to unseat the Queen. Soon, Ivy’s plan to save her family from social ruin develops into a mission to free all of England from the queen’s cruel reign, made only more complicated by her growing feelings for the wrong prince. 

Smith expertly crafts a compelling plot full of intrigue, romance, and danger in this historical fantasy. Ivy’s friendship with the other girls develops fully over the course of the plot, starting as adversaries and eventually becoming each other’s confidantes as they face the grueling competition together. Ivy and Emmett’s developing romantic feelings, which culminate in a sexually explicit intimate scene, add a layer of emotional tension and skew this novel toward the older end of the young adult range. The cast of characters is diverse without feeling tokenized, including characters of Japanese and Ghanian descent, and a lesbian romance subplot. Although Ivy’s perspective dominates the book, Smith includes vignettes of other characters’ points of view, including the other competitors, Emmett, and Ivy’s sister, Lydia. These additions add depth to the story and worldbuilding without distracting from the central plot. A thrilling fantasy adventure, The Rose Bargain will keep readers hooked from page one and counting down the days until the next installment. 

“Grow Towards the Light”: A Review of Beyond Mulberry Glen 

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Beyond Mulberry Glen 
Written by Millie Florence 
Illustrated by Astrid Sheckels 
Published by Waxwing Books 
Ages 8-12
Available January 7, 2025 

Lydia loves her life in Mulberry Glen, and she wouldn’t change a thing about it, even though change looms over her as she gets closer to the time when she will need to leave for an apprenticeship. Her inner turmoil only grows when she learns about a mysterious force, called the Darkness. Troubled by the effects she feels from the Darkness, Lydia asks her fairy guardian, Pit, about it. The next morning, she discovers Zale and Zamilla, the mischievous twins that live with her in Mulberry Glen, have left to go defeat the Darkness. Lydia sneaks off to rescue them. Along the way, she learns about the inevitability of change and the importance of using the Light within yourself to fight the Darkness. 

Beyond Mulberry Glen is a delightfully cozy story about a young girl overcoming her fear of change and learning to accept that life is still beautiful, even when it has dark moments. Florence fully develops Lydia’s character arc as she overcomes her fears of change and discovers that, while life can have dark moments, she has the power within herself to overcome them. Florence uses Lydia’s resistance to an apprenticeship to illustrate her anxiety over her life changing, effectively making this fantasy setting relatable to all readers. While the overall tone of the story is light, there is an undercurrent of apprehension as Lydia searches for the twins that brings gravity to the story about the life changes that accompany growing up. Sheckels’s illustrations at the beginning of each chapter add an element of charm to the story by giving readers a glimpse into Lydia’s world. A great Lord of the Rings read-alike, Florence weaves together a story that is both whimsical and suspenseful in its portrayal of the anxieties of growing up. 

Finding the Words: A Review of A Voice in the Storm 

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A Voice in the Storm 
Written and illustrated by Karl James Mountford 
Candlewick Press/Candlewick Studio 
Ages 3-7 
Available November 5, 2024 

Sometimes, it’s hard not to feel like there is a storm raging inside. In Karl James Mountford’s A Voice in the Storm, Rat struggles with her own emotional storm and how to open up to her friends about her feelings. When a storm starts outside, she runs away from her friends, Jackdaw and Hedgehog. As lightning flashes and thunder cracks, Rat has a frightening experience with Snake, almost stepping into his mouth when he offers to shelter her. Afterwards, she runs into Bear, who teaches her that the storm outside “‘needs time to free its voice’” (p. 22). With Bear’s advice and support, Rat learns how to open up to her friends and give a voice to the storm happening inside her. 

Mountford’s stunning artwork and poignant prose come together to create a touching story that discusses depression and helps guide readers in figuring out how to express themselves. Mountford uses digitally created, geometric illustrations with a color palette of purples, greens, blacks, and grays to draw the eye of the reader and show the intensity of Rat’s emotions. His animals are expressive, showing Rat’s sadness, Jackdaw’s worry, and Bear’s kindness. Mountford’s use of storms as a metaphor aptly describes mental health struggles in a way that’s easy for young readers to understand and relate to. Additionally, the dialogue between characters, especially Rat and Bear, introduces readers to ways they can articulate their own feelings: Bear tells Rat that “‘all voices [are] just noise until someone listens’” (p. 22). When Rat opens up to Bear, she tells him that she “‘[cares] about everything all at once, and yet, [she doesn’t] feel anything at the same time’” (p. 25). This conversation gives readers an opportunity to learn how they can ask for support when they need it. While the publisher recommends this book for preschool-early elementary school readers, this emotionally moving story can serve as a thoughtful conversation starter for all ages participating in discussions about mental health. 

Out of Her Depth: A review of The Unfinished

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The Unfinished
Cheryl Isaacs
HarperCollins/Heartdrum
September 2024
Age: 13+

Everyone in Crook’s Falls knows to stay on the forest trails, but no one will explain why. For Kanyen’kéha (Mohawk) teen Avery, those running trails are home until she’s drawn from their safety to the deep forest and a sinister black-water pond. Soon she is plagued by nightmares and feeling watched, while townspeople begin to disappear—again. Something dangerous resides in the water, and Avery has woken it. When it’s Key, Avery’s loyal best friend and crush that vanishes, the stoic and self-contained teen turns to her estranged tribal elders for stories and answers. It will take all her runner’s determination to outwit the black water and pull Key from its depths.

Cheryl Isaacs’ (Kanyen’kéha) YA novel weaves elements of indigenous lore with dark supernatural creations in this chilling horror debut. Fast pacing and moody forest settings complement the suspenseful plot. With well-developed young characters—thoughtful, selfish, and reckless in turn—and a typically indistinct cast of secondary adult characters, themes of communication and community become more pronounced as Avery opens up emotionally to her friends and family. Avery’s personal growth drives a deepening of her friendships, her ability to ask for help, and an acknowledgement of her feelings for Key. It also drives the action toward a terrifying yet satisfying conclusion. Isaacs does not lean heavily on indigenous culture, but uses the juxtaposition of the family’s intentional disconnect and Avery’s need for help to build both tension and a genuine bridge back to her heritage.

Winter Teamwork: A Review of In the Winter Woods by Daniela Kulot 

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In the Winter Woods 
Written and illustrated by Daniela Kulot 
Translated by Elisabeth Lauffer 
Charlesbridge 
Ages 3-7 
Available October 15, 2024 

It’s the middle of a cold winter, and Fox, Mouse, and Crow are all hungry, but they can’t find even a morsel to eat. Squirrel is hungry, too, but he has a secret stash of snacks hidden away that he can’t wait to enjoy. When Fox, Mouse, and Crow ask Squirrel to share, he says no. After hours of searching, he realizes that he forgot where his stash was hidden. He asks Fox, Mouse, and Crow for help in exchange for sharing his food. Soon, they find Squirrel’s food and feast together! 

With these woodland creatures, Kulot tells a story of friendship and community, showing the importance of working together and sharing with others. Although the message has been repeated before, Kulot brings charm to the basic “sharing is caring” theme with her woodland creatures and winter landscape. The illustrations are done in digital media, and the animals have a cute, slightly cartoonish look with beautiful backdrops of winter in the countryside. Kulot uses muted blues, browns, oranges, and greens to create the cold, barren atmosphere. These delightful illustrations complement the text, where Kulot uses devices like alliteration and rhyming to add a sing-song-like quality, bringing levity to what could otherwise be a dire situation. With its beautiful art and thoughtful message, In the Winter Woods would be a great addition to libraries and classrooms looking to do a program or lesson on winter or social-emotional learning.  

The Strength in Being Seen: A Review of Deer Run Home by Ann Clare LeZotte 

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Deer Run Home 
Written by Ann Clare LeZotte 
Scholastic Inc/Scholastic Press 
Ages 10-14 
Available October 1, 2024  

Effie Pappas is Deaf and linguistically isolated from her family, who don’t speak American Sign Language. Effie and her sister, Deja, are sent to live with their father at the end of the summer. When school starts, Effie’s ASL interpreter, Miss Kathy, begins to suspect that something is wrong with Effie’s home life. After Miss Kathy visits Effie’s home and sees the neglect, she is awarded temporary custody of Effie. Now that she finally has a safe home and a budding friendship with a new girl at school named Cait, Effie starts to open up about her experiences with her family. Miss Kathy eventually petitions for and wins permanent custody of Effie, giving her the security and family she never had. 

Ann Clare LeZotte’s Deer Run Home is a touching story that exposes the reality that d/Deaf children can experience growing up in hearing families without ASL. LeZotte draws on the real-life court case this novel is inspired by to thoughtfully depict the neglect that Effie experiences because her family won’t learn her language, as well as the difficulty Effie has with speaking up about the sexual abuse she endures at the hands of her stepfather. The sexual abuse happens before the novel begins and is thoughtfully described only once, but it serves as one of the obstacles Effie is able to overcome when she finds kindness and support from Miss Kathy and other adults at school. LeZotte takes advantage of the verse format to mirror ASL grammar and storytelling styles at some points. The verse is poignant and moving, and every word is intentional. Readers are drawn to Effie’s character, feeling every bit of her joy, sadness, fear, and loneliness. LeZotte also ties in a plotline of habitat loss for the local deer population, drawing parallels between the displaced deer and Effie’s feelings of loneliness and being lost. At once heartbreaking and empowering, Deer Run Home shows the healing and growth that comes with discovering your voice.