It’s so tempting to get stuck in a particular pattern of reading, to follow a trail of books you like, that are fun, lighthearted, not too challenging; you can dip in and out of them easily because they don’t demand that much from you, but the flip side is that they don’t really give you … Continue reading
I go bananas for books featuring female characters with agency. I go crazy for stories where the heroine’s story is her own, and she isn’t immediately (or at any point of the journey) chasing after a male stud. I go berserk for novels where the ‘strong’ female lead is something other than an Arthurian / … Continue reading
Growing up on the border of New York and Canada, with winter lingering in our bones from our Swedish mother, and a predisposition for reading in front of the fire, my sister and I embraced snow storms with open arms. And with Blizzard Juno sneaking off in to the night earlier this week, I found myself … Continue reading
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson is a bittersweet tale of adolescence; beautifully but painfully capturing the missed connections, the longing, and the growth that frames this defining period of life. Narrated by Tinker Bell, and populated with twists on the classic characters, pervasive quality of magic, and darkness that is Neverland, Anderson leads the reader … Continue reading
Isabelle Melançon (aka Secondlina) posted this amazing image she created on her blog recently; I would love to read about this character. Such a great idea: One of my favorite fairy tale figures is Baba Yaga, an old witch who lives in an enchanted forest, rides a mortar instead of a broom, lives in a … Continue reading
Once every few weeks, I find myself skipping away from my mailbox with a little gem peeking out from my pile of bills and junk mail: The Horn Book Magazine. It’s a wonderful journal that features independent articles, editorials and reviews about children’s and young adult literature. Sitting down with it, feels like I’m joining … Continue reading
I started reading The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton, while I was hunkered down during an epic storm. It was the perfect book for the occasion, because it completely transported me from the howling winds and darkening rain clouds of modern day New York, to 19th century London, where a secret truce kept fairies and … Continue reading
Sarah J. Maas’s Throne of Glass was an all-encompassing tale of mystery, intrigue, fantasy, romance and action. It was a book I thoroughly enjoyed reading, feeling at once comfortingly familiar (her characters and world building were just so darn likable), new, and enticing. I became acquainted with Maas’ fiery heroine, Celaena Sardothien with the fantastic … Continue reading
“All my life I’ve wanted to be the kid who gets to cross over into the magical kingdom. I devoured those books by C.S. Lewis and William Dunthorn, Ellen Wentworth, Susan Cooper, and Alan Garner. When I could get them from the library, I read them out of order as I found them, and then … Continue reading
I am absolutely, head-over-heels in love with these illustrators, twin sisters Anna and Elena Balbusso who live and work in Italy. Their painterly style is so enchanting, I can’t get enough of their haunting images. The sisters have been developing their portfolio since they were fifteen years old. They’ve even illustrated well known authors’ works, … Continue reading
