Published by Philomel Boks

Summary:  Tess and her brother Max have just finished up a year at a Swiss boarding school, and are spending the summer with their Aunt Evie in the English countryside.  They were sent abroad because their father is a journalist on assignment in Afghanistan and their mother is being treated for an undisclosed but life-threatening illness.  Tess accidentally stumbles into the neighbor’s backyard, and meets William, a charming but seemingly otherworldly boy about her own age.  She brings Max along to their next meeting, and William invites them for dinner.  Aunt Evie is baffled by the invitation, certain that the house has long been abandoned.  During their visit, Max accidentally falls into some hawthorn trees that William has warned them to stay away from, and all three children find themselves in grave danger.  Tess is able to find courage and strength within herself to help them.  By the end of the story, Dad has returned, William and his servants and family have disappeared, and the mystery of who he was is cleared up with a visit to the castle, now turned into a secluded museum.  167 pages; grades 3-6.

Pros:  A quick read for fans of magic realism.  The story unfolds at a good pace, dropping clues about William that reveal just enough to keep things interesting.

Cons:  The book is too brief to really create an interesting magical story.  Reviews have compared it to E. Nesbit and Edward Eager.  Please.

Published by Farrar Straus Giroux

Summary:  In this twist of the traditional Cinderella tale, Prince Char is the rat prince of all those rodents who live in Lancastyr Manor.  Tough times have arrived at the manor, in the person of the wicked stepmother, and Lady Rose has been reduced to little more than a house servant nicknamed Cinderella.  Prince Char is determined to defeat the evil Wilhemina, and when an ancient goddess is released from an heirloom Lancastyr ring, it looks like it may be possible.  Char is transformed into Charming, one of Rose’s footmen, and it doesn’t take long for him and Rose to fall in love, despite their knowledge that he will turn back into a rat at midnight.  Together, they travel to the great ball, where they must deal with both Wilhemina and the evil prince Geoffrey, who is seeking to make Rose his queen.  Told in the alternating voices of Char and Rose, the night progresses with plenty of twists and turns until the two of them are able to arrive at happily ever after.  272 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  In this unusual take on Cinderella, Hodder manages to pull off what would seem impossible to believe.  Both Char and Rose are strong, likeable characters, and there is plenty of action to keep the pages turning.

Cons:  The somewhat sticky-sweet romance may turn a few young stomachs.

Published by Algonquin Young Readers 

Summary:  Each year, the youngest child in the Protectorate must be sacrificed to the witch to keep the people safe.  One year, the mother goes mad when her daughter is taken away.  Antain is just a boy when he witnesses this, but he never forgets it, nor can he forget what it was like to walk away, leaving the baby girl in the forest to die.  Little does he know that she is rescued by Xan, the witch who has rescued all the babies.  Usually Xan takes the children to another city to be adopted, but she accidentally feeds this one moonlight, filling her with magic, and decides to name her Luna and raise her herself.  And so the story goes, for almost 13 years, following Antain, Xan, Luna, a monster named Glerk, a tiny dragon named Fyrian, the madwoman, and the evil Sister Ignatia, until they all meet one fateful day in the forest.  The magic in Luna finally comes to fruition, and allows the power of love to overcome the power of evil.  386 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros:  Beautifully written and crafted, this is one of those books that weaves many different strands through the entire story until they all come together at the end.  Look for this as a Newbery consideration.

Cons:  While I admire and appreciate this book, the story never really grabbed me.  I had to assign myself nightly readings to get through it in a timely fashion.

Published by Algonquin Young Readers 

Summary:  Princess Jeniah has just become Queen Ascendant, by virtue of the fact that her mother, the queen, is dying.  Jeniah’s training is rushed due to the circumstances, but she stumbles over one of her most important lessons: if any monarch enters Dreadwillow Carse, then the Monarchy will fall.  The dark, swampy Carse is uninviting, but Jeniah feels she must find a way to explore it.  In her quest to do so, she crosses paths with Aon, a peasant girl who feels broken because she’s the only person she knows who feels emotions other than happiness. She’s also one of the only people to be able to enter the Carse, so Jeniah enlists her to go deeper into it than she ever has before and report back.  As Jeniah learns more about her kingdom and Aon explores the Carse, both girls discover secrets about their land and themselves that threaten the eternal happiness that has been part of the Monarchy for many generations.  256 pages; grades 3-6.

Pros:  An enchanting fairy tale with plenty of adventure and some good messages about embracing the full range of emotions, not just happiness.

Cons:  Putting a 12-year-old in charge of the Monarchy seemed like a bad idea.

Published by Disney-Hyperion 

Summary:  Thorn is trying to find his missing father when he is captured and sold into slavery.  He’s rescued by Tyburn, an executioner from the kingdom of Gehenna, a country of darkness and gloom, rumored to be home to zombies and other questionable beings.  13-year-old Lily, a.k.a. Lilith Shadow, is the new queen of Genenna, having come to power when her parents and brother were murdered.  Tyburn has executed five of the bandits who killed the royal family, and is determined to track down the sixth one, whom he believes to be the mastermind and someone who wants to see Lily dead.  When Thorn becomes Tyburn’s squire, he meets Lily and gets drawn into the dangerous world around her.  Together, they experiment with some dark magic and race against time to try to unmask the evildoer whose ultimate goal is to take over Gehenna.  336 pages; grades 4-6.

Pros:  Fans of Harry Potter and Percy Jackson will enjoy this first entry in a new series featuring young teens learning to use their magical powers to defeat the evil around them.  With lots of adventures, plot twists, and short exciting chapters, this is sure to please fantasy readers.

Cons:  A friendly young character is murdered and there’s a slightly graphic description of Lily’s family’s killings.

 Published by HarperCollins 

Summary: Raffa Santana is a gifted apothecary, training under his stern father. He has an intuition about mixing potions and infusions that often prove to be effective at healing. On his first independent trip to the Forest of Wonders, accompanied only by his cousin Garith, he discovers a mysterious red vine. When he later uses it to treat an injured bat, he is amazed to find out that the vine gives the power of speech to animals. Garith takes part of the vine with him when he and his father move to the capital city. When Raffa learns of other more dangerous properties the vine has, he knows he must travel to Garith’s new home to warn him. He undertakes a perilous journey, befriending two somewhat mysterious girls along the way, and discovers the real, ominous reason Garith and his father have moved. The four kids have to make a daring escape, and the end of the book finds them on their own, surrounded by adults who want to put a stop to their rebellion. The first chapter of the next book in the series is included to whet readers’ appetites for more. 352 pages; grades 4-7.

Pros: Interesting characters, plenty of action, talking animals, and a good dose of magic will please fantasy fans.

Cons: Is it just me, or is it grating to refer to dawn as “daybirth”, or have the characters wish each other “Steady morning”? It seems a little pretentious when compared to the humor of a Rick Riordan or J. K. Rowling.