#IMWAYR August 8, 2022

 

It's Monday What Are You Reading is hosted each week by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts. If you are a person who loves kidlit, all you need to do to join is to blog about books you are reading on Monday, add your link to either of those two blogs, and post using the hashtag. I hope you will join in!

I'm desperately trying to hold on to the last weeks of summer, but with all the back to school advertisements and with both of our teens coming home from their summer adventures, holding on is difficult. We took one final driving vacation and went up to Vermont, Quebec City, and New Hampshire before coming back to Connecticut, which gave me lots of time this week to read some great fantasy books!

Middle Grade

I can't believe I missed this one by Kelly Barnhill since she's one of my favorite middle grade fantasy authors. Her stories revolve around forgotten truths and that magic always has consequences. In this case, a long time ago a kingdom was separated when Toed to steal magic. In order to prevent the king from getting what he wanted, the magical beings caused a woods to grow and over time the people on each side of the woods mostly forgot about each other. Only the wrong twin, a fox, and a bandit's daughter can set the magic free and prevent war between two kingdoms that have forgotten each other's existence until now. 

Young Adult

Judah was born to change the world, but all she knows is that she was found as an orphan and taken to live in the castle where she is treated as a blemish on the world instead. The king would have had her killed, but his oldest son, his heir, is physically bonded to her, and the bond cannot be broken. What Judah feels, Gavin feels, and vice versa. Those who know of this connection want to use Judah and her power. All she wants is a life of her own. This young adult book is not for the faint of heart. Many characters in the book are tortured, physically and mentally. Those who enjoyed The Hunger Games would enjoy this book.

I was excited to get this one from Netgalley after seeing it on the cover of PW.  It is the story of Shin Lina, an 18 yo girl who has been forced into a dangerous life to keep her younger sister safe from harm. After her crime family is killed by another crime boss, Lina is forced to work for him. When he has her steal an important tapestry, the two of them find themselves in the realm of the Dokkaebi, the immortals. The only way Lina can escape with her life and save her sister is to kill the emperor of this city. But things are not always as they seem. This book combines Korean fantasy, the story of the Pied Piper, and romance. The Last of the Talons releases next month! Get it on September 27, 2022. 

This book doesn't come out until January 2023, but if you love fantasy and romance, you'll be excited to wait for it. To use magic, the witches in this world are bound to the roll of the dice. So far, Calliope Rosewoods' rolls have all been the number six, which may mean that she is fated to be a dangerous warrior. Between her rolls and her magic, which is a power that even has other witches scared, Calla wants to change her fate. When she meets two brothers, she may have found the key to changing her fate, but she in the process she may lose her heart. The only problem with getting this book so early is I will have to wait even longer for the next one.

____________________________

Stacy Barnett Mozer is a third grade teacher and a middle grade author. If you like what she's been reading follow her on Goodreads. Please leave a comment below.