Over the Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker

Over the Woodward Wall by A. Deborah Baker is the book featured/quoted in Middlegame by Seanan McGuire, written by McGuire so that she could more easily refer to it. You absolutely do not have to have read Middlegame to read this book and, if anything, reading Over the Woodward Wall might add to your experience of reading Middlegame (but I did read them in the other order). Also, completely unlike Middlegame, Over the Woodward Wall is a children's/middle grade/pre-YA book, where as Middlegame is an adult book.

Avery is an exceptional child. Everything he does is precise, from the way he washes his face in the morning, to the way he completes his homework – without complaint, without fuss, without prompt.

Zib is also an exceptional child, because all children are, in their own way. But where everything Avery does and is can be measured, nothing Zib does can possibly be predicted, except for the fact that she can always be relied upon to be unpredictable.

They live on the same street.
They live in different worlds.

On an unplanned detour from home to school one morning, Avery and Zib find themselves climbing over a stone wall into the Up and Under – an impossible land filled with mystery, adventure and the strangest creatures.

And they must find themselves and each other if they are to also find their way out and back to their own lives.

This book is definitely not similar to Middlegame, it merely exists in the universe of that book. I cannot stress this enough. If you are looking for a similar companion novel to Middlegame, then you will be disappointed. If you are looking for a portal fantasy book featuring children from a non-specified time period finding themselves in a slightly nonsensical magical world, then this is the book for you.

I liked Over the Woodward Wall. There were a lot of interesting side characters, who added to the story. There were also some creepy villain characters that the children had to contend with. There were a variety of small lessons for children to learn over the course of their adventure, which were not heavy-handed. One thing that I was not expecting is that this ended as the start of a series. This might have been mentioned in Middlegame, but for whatever reason I had been expecting a standalone story, so that's something to keep in mind if you prefer tidy endings.

Overall, this was an interesting portal fantasy for children, especially if you hold it up against the ideas explored in Every Heart a Doorway. Over the Woodward Wall is absolutely not set in the same multiverse, and has its own unique voice more suited to the kind of book it is trying to be — one that is not juxtaposed against other ideas of portal fantasy. (That said, it put me in mind of The Wizard of Oz, but that's mainly because both are portal fantasies with a road for the protagonists to follow.) I recommend this book to readers, both old and young, who find appealing the idea of two very different children thrust into a magical world together.

4 / 5 stars

First published: October 2020, Tor.com
Series: Apparently this might be a book 1 of a continuing series (based on Goodreads)
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Riverland by Fran Wilde

Riverland by Fran Wilde is a portal fantasy book for children (aka middle grade). I first encountered it during a reading by the author at Dublin WorldCon last year. This year, I finally got around to picking up Riverland after it was shortlisted for the not-a-Hugo Lodestar Award and hence was included in the Hugo voter's packet.

When things go bad at home, sisters Eleanor and Mike hide in a secret place under Eleanor’s bed, telling monster stories. Often, it seems those stories and their mother’s house magic are all that keep them safe from both busybodies and their dad’s temper. But when their father breaks a family heirloom, a glass witch ball, a river suddenly appears beneath the bed, and Eleanor and Mike fall into a world where dreams are born, nightmares struggle to break into the real world, and secrets have big consequences. Full of both adventure and heart, Riverland is a story about the bond between two sisters and how they must make their own magic to protect each other and save the ones they love.

Riverland is not exactly an easy and relaxing read. It follows twelve-year-old Eleanor and her younger sister Mike, as they deal with an abusive family situation and periodically fall into a fantastical fantasy world made of the river and dreams. The abusive father is the hard part to read, of course, but there is not very much physical violence on the page. Wilde captures the fear, confusion and instability of an emotionally abusive household excellently. I absolutely felt Eleanor's stress as she strived to keep everything just right to avoid bad things happening, and I felt the way she was always kept off-balance by the house rules changing without warning.

The fantastical river world under her bed was where dreams come from and was also caught in a battle to maintain the delicate balance between dreams and nightmares. As well as Eleanor's responsibilities at home — to always do the right thing, to look after her sister and keep her parents happy — she finds herself tasked with fixing the leaks in Riverland; yet another burden. We watch Eleanor try to juggle more balls than a twelve-year-old should ever be expected to, and Wilde transfers some of her fear and tension to the reader.

So as I said, it wasn't a fun, light read, but it was interesting. I liked the fantasy world and I liked the fact that it was somewhere the girls kept revisiting rather than a place they went to and stayed in to have adventures, à la Narnia. And for all that I've emphasised the difficult parts of the book, there were also plenty of hopeful moments, though I don't want to spoil them. The ending was also a good one (though, again, not spoiling).

I highly recommend Riverland to anyone looking for a crunchy children's fantasy book I would probably hand it to slightly older children, because it does deal with some heavy issues. But I expect younger children in similar situation may benefit seeing themselves in the narrative.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2019, Amulet Books
Series: No
Format read: PDF
Source: Hugo Voter Packet

Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee

Dragon Pearl by Yoon Ha Lee is a space fantasy book aimed at younger readers. It's the first in a series and is entirely unrelated to Yoon Ha Lee's other books, which are adult science fiction. I don't generally read much middle grade, but I picked this one up mainly because of the author. I'd say its also at the older end of the category: the protagonist is thirteen years old, but spends much of the book pretending to be sixteen, so there is a bit of a YA feel to it as well.

THIRTEEN-YEAR-OLD MIN comes from a long line of fox spirits. But you'd never know it by looking at her. To keep the family safe, Min’s mother insists that none of them use any fox-magic, such as Charm or shape-shifting. They must appear human at all times.

Min feels hemmed in by the household rules and resents the endless chores, the cousins who crowd her, and the aunties who judge her. She would like nothing more than to escape Jinju, her neglected, dust-ridden, and impoverished planet. She’s counting the days until she can follow her older brother, Jun, into the Space Forces and see more of the Thousand Worlds.

When word arrives that Jun is suspected of leaving his post to go in search of the Dragon Pearl, Min knows that something is wrong. Jun would never desert his battle cruiser, even for a mystical object rumored to have tremendous power. She decides to run away to find him and clear his name.

Min’s quest will have her meeting gamblers, pirates, and vengeful ghosts. It will involve deception, lies, and sabotage. She will be forced to use more fox-magic than ever before, and to rely on all of her cleverness and bravery. The outcome may not be what she had hoped, but it has the potential to exceed her wildest dreams.

Dragon Pearl follows Min as she sets out on an illicit adventure to find out what really happened to her brother. She sets off with almost nothing other than her fox-based shape-shifting magic and magical Charm, and finds herself very far away from her home planet. It was a fun space adventure involving morally ambiguous adults, new friends and dangerous situations. I enjoyed it a lot and I look forward to any sequels that may be forthcoming. Although the story is quite self-contained, it sets up a possible series and I definitely want to read those other stories.

As well as not being a big middle-grade reader, I also tend to steer away from space fantasy books, having been burned a few times before. To be honest, I wasn't sure how strong the fantasy element would be before I started reading, but I was assuming it would mostly be science fiction. It is set on other planets and in space, so it's science fiction if that's your definition of it. But the world building is very deeply steeped in Korean folklore and the associated magic. The story very prominently involves shapeshifting supernaturals and ghosts, and the titular pearl is a magical terraforming device. This worldbuilding worked for me very well. It felt very consistent — perhaps because it's directly based on real mythology rather than being entirely fictional. (I am trying very hard not to name the authors that previously ruined magic in space for me, can you tell?)

I highly recommend Dragon Pearl to fans of science fiction and fantasy, especially space adventures. Readers who are already fans of Korean folklore, or just want to learn more about it, will also find much to like here. I hope I will have the opportunity to give this book to my niece before she outgrows it.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: January 2019,  Rick Riordan Presents (Disney)
Series: book 1 of ? (I thought I saw the second book announced, but I am failing to find any info right now)
Format read: ePub
Source: Purchased from Kobo store

The Girl With the Dragon Heart by Stephanie Burgis

The Girl With the Dragon Heart by Stephanie Burgis is a sequel to The Dragon With a Chocolate Heart, but the books are both quite self contained and could be read out of order, if one didn’t mind a few spoilers for the first book being contained in the second. As with the prequel, this is a book for younger readers (or middle grade) with the main character being only around 13 years old. However, it’s written in a sufficiently captivating way that I expect many older readers will also enjoy it, as I did.

Once upon a time, in a beautiful city famous for chocolate and protected by dragons, there was a girl so fearless that she dared to try to tell the greatest story of all: the truth.

Silke has always been good at spinning the truth and storytelling. So good that just years after arriving as a penniless orphan, she has found her way up to working for the most splendid chocolate makers in the city (oh, and becoming best friends with a dragon). Now her gift for weaving words has caught the eye of the royal family, who want to use her as a spy when the mysterious and dangerous fairy royal family announce they will visit the city. But Silke has her own dark, secret reasons for not trusting fairies ...

Can Silke find out the truth about the fairies while keeping her own secrets hidden?

This book follows Silke, who we met in the first book as the friend of Aventurine, the dragon who had been turned into a girl. In the first book we mainly saw her venture into the world of advertising to promote the chocolate shop with hand bills and slightly tall tails. In this book she gets her own story, which does involve the handbills but also a lot of family history and a new adventure/problem. We also see more of the crown princess who runs Drachenburg and get to know her younger sister.

The Girl With a Dragon Heart was a very enjoyable read and I highly recommend to people who enjoyed the first book or readers that enjoy cosy fantasy stories. This one had maybe a little bit more darkness than the first book (and also a bit less chocolate) but was still overall a very fun read.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: August 2018, Bloomsbury
Series: Yes. Book 2 of 2 of the Tales From the Chocolate Heart
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: 2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious by Shannon and Dean Hale

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl: 2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious by Shannon and Dean Hale is the second Squirrel Girl prose novel, following on from the setting and characters established in the first book, Squirrel Meets World. That said, 2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious stands alone fairy well and does not require having read the earlier book to be enjoyed.

Squirrel Girl is BACK in an all-new adventure and things are about to get . . . hairy. Thanks to Squirrel Girl, Ana Sofia, and the Squirrel Scouts, the crime rate in New Jersey is at an all time low. It makes for safer streets but also bored-er squirrels. That's why it's super exciting when Doreen's school announces a new mall is being built right next to their town. Mmmm . . . Doreen can smell the soft pretzels now. The corporation building mall has also announced that there will be a competition to choose the mall's mascot. Because malls need mascots?Anyway, Doreen's school will be voting for a cat and the neighboring school will be voting for a dog. As the relationship starts to unravel between the two towns, Squirrel Girl and her friends suspect something more sinister is at work. With the help of old friends like Ana Sofia, Tippy Toe, and The Mighty Thor as well as some surprising new ones, Squirrel Girl will squash a villainous plot and save everyone.The unbeatable Squirrel Girl is ready for more nuts AND more butts! Are you?

Much as expected, this book was fun, light-hearted and humorous. It revisits middle school-aged Squirrel Girl/Doreen Green along with her best human and squirrel friends, Anna Sofia and Tippy Toe, respectively. While Doreen and Anna Sofia navigate friendship and middle school, something strange and probably evil is brewing in their town. Will they realise in time to put a stop to it before it gets out of hand? And now many Squirrel Girl commentary foot notes can be squeezed into one book? (94. The answer is 94.)

I enjoyed 2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious a lot, although I think slightly less than I enjoyed the first book in the series. I'm not sure whether that's to do with actual differences in tone/voice etc or just a difference in my mood when each book was read. That said, I did feel there was a difference in Tippy Toe's voice with its idiosyncrasies being toned down a bit in 2 Fuzzy, 2 Furious compared with Squirrel Meets World. I don't think this is a bad thing though, since it's now a bit more accessible.

Overall this book was strong on the power of friendship and being nice to people, with a few amusing attempts at peaceful conflict resolution on Squirrel Girl's part. I would definitely not hesitate to give it to young children (although Australian and other non-US children would probably require an explanation as to what middle school is). I enjoyed it a lot and I will definitely be reading any more Squirrel Girl books the Hales write.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: March 2018, Marvel Press
Series: The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl book 2 or 2 so far
Format read: ePub
Source: Purchased via iBooks

Dragon with a Chocolate Heart by Stephanie Burgis

Dragon with a Chocolate Heart by Stephanie Burgis is a children's novel (the main character is 12ish) about a young dragon that gets turned into a human girl and has to make it on her own in a strange new city. And also chocolate.

Aventurine is the fiercest, bravest dragon there is. And she's ready to prove it to her family by leaving the safety of their mountain cave and capturing the most dangerous prey of all: a human. But when the human she finds tricks her into drinking enchanted hot chocolate, Aventurine is transformed into a puny human girl with tiny blunt teeth, no fire, and not one single claw.

But she's still the fiercest creature in the mountains -- and now she's found her true passion: chocolate! All she has to do is get herself an apprenticeship (whatever that is) in a chocolate house (which sounds delicious), and she'll be conquering new territory in no time...won't she?

This was a delightful read. Sometimes I, as an adult, find books for younger readers a bit too condescending or talking-down to the reader too much, in a way that probably wouldn't have bothered me when I was closer to the intended age bracket. This is absolutely not the case with Dragon with a Chocolate Heart. It's a lovely book that will be enjoyed by children and adults alike.

The story follows Aventurine, a young dragon who's sick of being stuck in her family cave, waiting to  grow up so she can safely hunt and fly around outside. One day she decides to experiment with going outside and the first human she meets transforms her from a dragon into a human girl. As well as being traumatic, the transformation, which hinged on an enchanted hot chocolate, awakens Aventurine's love of chocolate. As well as working out how to live as a human, Aventurine becomes fixated on tasting chocolate again.

This book has a lot of delicious chocolate descriptions in it, which made me a bit sad not to be having any chocolate when I read the book. Recommendation for reading: consume with hot chocolate. The setting is a vague Germanic medieval fantasy world, which we don't see much of beyond the city and the mountains. We hear a bit about a few other cities too. The main focus is definitely on the characters: Aventurine and her friends, family and other people she encounters.

Dragon with a Chocolate Heart was the kind of story in which the bad guys are merely annoying rather than actually evil, which was refreshing, especially coming out of having read a few more dire books. It's not that everything always goes well for Aventurine, but nothing especially dire happens and overall this was a very feel-good book. Highly recommended for people looking for a heartwarming read.

I highly recommend this book to all fans of fantasy, dragons and books for younger readers. It is, like I said, written for a younger age group than YA usually is, and I'm not sure that all teens will necessarily enjoy reading about a twelve-year-old. But I think it can be enjoyed equally as much (if not more) but adults (and maybe teens who are less self-conscious).

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: February 2016, Bloomsbury (UK/ANZ)
Series: No.
Format read: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Mars Evacuees by Sofia McDougall

Mars Evacuees by Sofia McDougall is a fast-paced YA or younger (the main characters are 12) book about kids being evacuated to Mars during a war with aliens. I picked it up not realising the characters and target age group were younger than the YA I usually enjoy, but I ended up enjoying it a lot. It was also a good book to read on a plane and while jetlagged.

The fact that someone had decided I would be safer on Mars, where you could still only SORT OF breathe the air and SORT OF not get sunburned to death, was a sign that the war with the aliens was not going fantastically well.

I’d been worried I was about to be told that my mother’s spacefighter had been shot down, so when I found out that I was being evacuated to Mars, I was pretty calm.

And despite everything that happened to me and my friends afterwards, I’d do it all again. because until you’ve been shot at, pursued by terrifying aliens, taught maths by a laser-shooting robot goldfish and tried to save the galaxy, I don’t think you can say that you’ve really lived.

If the same thing happens to you, this is my advice: ALWAYS CARRY DUCT TAPE.

What made Mars Evacuees such an enjoyable and fun read was the voice of the first person protagonist, Alice. Her narration is full of snide and sarcastic remarks and seeing everything through her eyes brought the story to life. The mostly likely problem I am to have with younger reader (middle grade for you yanks) books is being talked down to by the narration, which was absolutely not the case here.

Another thing I appreciated about Mars Evacuees was the pretty accurate science/physics of space travel and stuff on Mars. There were only a few small bits that raised my eyebrow, but they were also glossed over by the author with no details, making it easier to ignore and harder to pinpoint actual sciencefails (if that's what they were). Much as I generally appreciate accurate science in my science fiction, I think it's even more important when it comes to kids books that can be quite formative.

Overall I really enjoyed Mars Evacuees. The characters were fun, the story was exciting and the resolution felt finished. This is the first book in a series but it certainly doesn't feel like the story is unfinished. I am interested in picking up the next book, but I don't feel like it's necessary.

I highly recommend Mars Evacuees to science fiction fans, especially those that enjoy YA books or books for younger readers. That said, I think this is a fun read that most adult fans will also enjoy. And while I said the science was accurate, it's not dwelt upon enough to make it hard SF, if science overpowering the story is something you prefer to avoid.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2014, Egmont
Series: Mars Evacuees book 1 of 2 so far
Format read: ePub
Source: purchased from Google Play

The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare is the first in a new series of fantasy books for middle grade/younger readers (as in pre-YA). It is, in a nutshell, about twelve-year-olds going to a secret underground magic school in the US.

Most kids would do anything to pass the Iron Trial.

Not Callum Hunt. He wants to fail.

All his life, Call has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. If he succeeds at the Iron Trial and is admitted into the Magisterium, he is sure it can only mean bad things for him.

So he tries his best to do his worst - and fails at failing.

Now the Magisterium awaits him. It's a place that's both sensational and sinister, with dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future.

The Iron Trial is just the beginning, for the biggest test is still to come . . .

Because of the contemporary setting plus magic school element, comparisons to Harry Potter are inevitable. Aside from the starting age group, the fact that there is a school for magic, and the gender distribution of the three main-est characters, there's very little the two series have in common. The type of magic and the structure of the school are completely different. Instead of going to a series of different classes, the students are apprenticed to a master in small groups of five or less. That and the different type of magic make for a very different dynamic.

Black and Clare throw in some nice twists on the standard formula... which I can't go into detail about without spoiling, but they were my favourite part. My least favourite part was probably the "twelve-year-olds are stupid" aspect, but this wasn't especially prominent. However, I will say that I felt The Iron Trial was less apt to transcend it's target audience than the last middle grade book I read, which was a bit unfortunate. I listened to it as an audiobook borrowed from the library and, while I'm glad I didn't request an ARC and feel obliged to read it, I am interested in what happens next. There were some interesting things towards the end, particularly, which certainly made me want to see how it all works out. I will probably read the sequel in some form at some point.

I should also mention that the main character, Call, was injured as a baby in circumstances such that one of his legs never properly healed. Now he has a limp and his leg causes him chronic pain. I felt this was well incorporated into the narrative to show both realistic limitations and the fact that Call hated to let it stop him from doing anything. The story (so far, anyway) would have worked just as well without it, so it struck me as a nice inclusion.

The Iron Trial was a reasonable read. My dislike mainly stems from not being the target audience (I like YA, but younger books don't usually do it for me), which I knew going in. I would definitely recommend it to younger teens and pre-teens who like fantasy books (and perhaps are Harry Potter fans but have run out of those books to read).

4 / 5 stars

First published: September 2014, Scholastic (Audiobook narrated by Paul Boehmer)
Series: Magisterium book 1 of 5
Format read: Audiobook
Source: Borrowed from library

Hal Junior: The Gyris Mission by Simon Haynes

Hal Junior: The Gyris Mission by Simon Haynes is the third book about Hal Junior, although it stands alone and the series doesn't have to be read in order. It is aimed at younger readers. I have previously reviewed the second book, Hal Junior: The Missing Case, and two Hal Spacejock books for adult readers, set in the same universe: Hal Spacejock: Baker's Dough and Hal Spacejock: Safe Art.

Hal Junior and Stephen 'Stinky' Binn live aboard a high-tech space station, far from the nearest planet. The rules are strict, and their lives are carefully regulated.
That's why they're so excited about the camping trip to Planet Gyris ... imagine a whole week of fishing, swimming, sleeping in tents and running wild!
Unfortunately, the boys crash land in the middle of a forest, and there's little chance of rescue. Is this the end of the camping trip ... or the start of a thrilling new adventure?

First I want to emphasise that this book absolutely stands alone in terms of the other Hal Junior books and the Hal Spacejock books. You do not have to have read any of them to enjoy The Gyris Mission. However, if you have read them, as I have, you may find yourself, like I am, desperate to know exactly how the Hal Junior books fit into the larger Hal Spacejock universe. Is Hal Junior Spacejock's son? If he is, how did Spacejock meet his mother? If not, why is he called Hal Junior and why does he idolise "Captain Spacejock"? Or is Hal Junior about Hal Spacejock's childhood? I was already curious before I read The Gyris Mission, and then Spacejock characters showed up AND NOW I MUST KNOW.

Ahem. As for the actual story. The Gyris Mission is a funny and exciting comedy of errors. Hal Junior does a lot of silly things, Stinky is forever reminding him of things they learnt in class and adult characters are absent at opportune moments. I've mentioned in my other reviews of Haynes' books that despite the honour and light-heartedness with which his books are written, he goes out of his way to include accurate physics. The Gyris Mission is no different. Stinky's reminders to Hal of relevant information they'd learnt in class felt natural and I think was a gentle way of educating the younger audience without preaching or talking down to the reader. It's certainly a book (/series) I'd encourage my kids to read. Y'know, if I had any. Haynes also does a particularly good job of describing space station life by portraying Hal and Stinky as being surprised by various aspects of being on a planet.

The Gyris Mission is a fairly short read (about par for the age group, I think) and full of action and laughs. I recommend it to younger readers with any passing interesting in science fiction or adventure stories. Or to adults who want a light read and/or are fans of Haynes' books.

4.5 / 5 stars

First published: 2012, Bowman Press
Series: Hal Junior, book 3 of ? Standalone series
Format read: ePub on iPhone
Source: Purchased from SmashWords
Challenges: Australian Science Fiction Reading Challenge

Jamie Reign: The Last Spirit Warrior by PJ Tierney

Jamie Reign: The Last Spirit Warrior by PJ Tierney is the author's début novel. It's a fast-paced YA/younger readers read that I felt was over really quickly. I think readers who usually enjoy adventure-based YA will probably find much to like about Jamie Reign, but the age of the protagonists — twelve or so for all the main kids — suggests to me that it might be intended for younger readers (or what the US industry calls "middle grade"). The blurb:

Jamie Reign can’t read a word, but he can handle a tugboat better than most. All his life he has dreamed of becoming a kung fu expert, like the legendary Master Wu. But that sort of kung fu, the sort that draws on the ancient and mystical force called the Way, is only for the Chinese boys and Jamie isn't Chinese enough for that.

While diving on an uncharted reef, Jamie discovers a terrible force that exposes his connection to these ancient warriors and to the warlord intent on destroying them all. He must quickly learn kung fu and the secret skills of the Warriors of the Way, guided by Jade, who seems intent on making him fail, and Wing, who is even worse than Jamie is at kung fu.

Jamie’s past and the future of these ancient warriors are inexplicably linked. And as the two collide, Jamie and his new friends set off on a desperate mission to save them all.

So basically, Jamie Reign is a martial arts caper. As the subtitle suggests, the Last Spirit Warrior is an important figure — the chosen one — and the fate of the world rests on his or her shoulders. Very little of the plot was surprising other than, to some degree, the opening. We first meet Jamie when his alcoholic and abusive father is using him to help run a dodgy salvage operation somewhere off the coast of China. Jamie feels like an outsider in their community, partly because no one likes his father's borderline-nefarious activities and partly because his white father means he's only half-Chinese and hasn't been taught all the customs of his mother's culture. The opening struck me as particularly sad and quickly made me care about Jamie's plight.

After that, however, Jamie Reign struck a lot of martial arts and fantasy tropes and was generally fairly predictable. That doesn't have to be a bad thing, of course. I found the book sufficiently well written and entertaining that the fact that I could predict much of the plot did not affect my enjoyment. Of course if you're particularly sick of standard martial arts/fantasy tropes, your mileage in this respect may vary. There also wasn't all that much fighting in it per se, which I suspect reduced the rate of martial arts mistakes (the way flying kicks were described was... interesting). If you're after a book heavy on fighting, this doesn't entirely fit the bill. But as a martial artist myself (who is prone to getting annoyed at inaccuracies in all the fields she knows things about), I didn't find any particularly terrible inaccuracies. And well, there's magic, so that can explain a lot.

I did think that Jamie and his friends were possibly a little too competent and with it for twelve year olds, but on the other hand, that has become par for the course in fiction (in all mediums) these days. I did like how Tierney gave the main characters different skills and flaws that complemented each other. For example, Lucy and Jade are particularly good at kung fu, while Wing is brave and Jamie, of course, has special skills. As a side note, I'm quite pleased to see the characters represented by models of the correct race on the cover. Yay for not white-washing.

I quite enjoyed Jamie Reign, despite it's predictability. It was a fun, quick read and I recommend it to fans of adventure stories, magic and martial arts. As I mentioned at the start, it's definitely the kind of book that will appeal to younger readers. I look forward to reading more books in this series when they come out.

4 / 5 stars

First published: July 2013, Harper Collins
Series: Yes. Book 1 of ?
Format read: eARC
Source: publisher via NetGalley
Challenges: Australian Women Writers Challenge

Talisman of El by Alecia Stone

Talisman of El is Alecia Stone’s first novel and the first book published by Centrinian Press. I received a review copy through Netgalley. It’s marketed as YA, but the protagonists are on the younger side for YA (14 years old), so I expect a younger reader would enjoy it more than a 16-18 year old.

Blurb nabbed from Goodreads:

WHAT IF YOUR WHOLE LIFE WAS A LIE?

One Planet.

Two Worlds.

Population: Human … 7 billion.
Others … unknown.

When 14-year-old Charlie Blake wakes up sweating and gasping for air in the middle of the night, he knows it is happening again. This time he witnesses a brutal murder. He’s afraid to tell anyone. No one would believe him … because it was a dream. Just like the one he had four years ago - the day before his dad died.

Charlie doesn’t know why this is happening. He would give anything to have an ordinary life. The problem: he doesn’t belong in the world he knows as home.

He belongs with the others.

Plot-wise, I was hoping for a fun read with some adventure thrown in. It started promisingly with Charlie, an orphan, living with his new foster-father. At the start he’s mostly concerned with fitting in at school and the adoption going well. That is until the social worker’s back is turned and his new guardian abruptly turns nasty. Then confusing dreams and mysterious strangers lead Charlie and his friends on a quest to find a mysterious world hidden inside the Earth (a la Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne but with more magic).

The writing is clunky and unpolished. At times there were completely wrong word choices (more than just typos, I mean), but the main thing was the lack of flow in the prose, sometimes within individual sentences. Also, the dialogue was unnatural and at times awkward. In the middle, large chunks of dialogue were info-dumps. A stronger editorial hand might have improved the writing, but on the other hand, a crit group might also have helped. As it was, I wanted to get a red pen and start scribbling on my Kobo. Your mileage and sensitivity to language may vary.

The plot started out all right, and I liked Charlie’s grungy friend Alex. She added contrast to both the school bullies and the other girls who liked Charlie (but of whom he was oblivious).

Once the weird things started happening, I didn’t feel that the story hung together as well, most notably the section set in the other world. I liked the way in which Charlie’s abandonment issues are explored in relation to Derkein, an adult that gets involved in the magic quest.

Overall, the book started all right, flagged in the middle and the ending was nice. It had potential but didn’t quite reach it.

2.5 / 5 stars

When You Wish Upon a Rat / Careful What You Wish For by Maureen McCarthy

When You Wish Upon a Rat by Maureen McCarthy is the US edition of the book originally released in Australia as Careful What You Wish For. I’m going to refer to it as When You Wish Upon a Rat as I have a review copy from the US publisher ABRAMS. The US edition is due out September 1st while the original Australian edition was published in 2010 by Allen & Unwin.

When You Wish Upon a Rat is a story about Ruth, a slightly self-centred eleven year old who isn’t particularly fond of her family except for one favourite aunt, Mary Ellen. Mary Ellen gives Ruth a lifelike toy rat and hints that he’s somehow special. In the course of events the rat grants Ruth three wishes — three chances to change her life into the life she wants. Unsurprisingly, things go horribly awry.

As an adult reader, it was quite obvious from the start what lessons Ruth would learn (in short, to appreciate her family and her life as it is), but I didn’t feel that detracted from the story at all. It is, after all, about the journey not the destination and McCarthy takes us on an interesting and at times surprising journey. There was even an unexpected “Aha!” moment near the end.

I enjoyed the Australianess of the setting and was glad to see that not all the Australianisms were removed for the US edition. In fact, I think the only changes were spelling and one confusing sentence mentioning “liberal arts” and “math”. All the slang, as far as I noticed, was Australian, which was nice.

While When You Wish Upon a Rat is definitely a book for children, I don’t think it’s one that adult readers would find dull or simplistic, as with some books in the same age bracket I’ve read (not reviewed on this blog). Despite the pending moral, I found it entertaining and and enjoyable quick read. I definitely recommend it to kids/early teens. The fantasy element is obviously present but not blatant and the setting (sans magic rat) is entirely realistic so I think non-fantasy fans would also enjoy it.

4 / 5 stars

Hal Junior: The Missing Case by Simon Haynes

Hal Junior: The Missing Case by Simon Haynes is the second of his Hal Junior books, although they stand alone and reading order isn’t important. The Hal Junior series is itself a spin-off of Haynes Hal Spacejock novels for adults.

Hal Junior is a kid growing up on a space station who is particularly adept at getting himself into trouble and causing havoc. In The Missing Case, he is given the important task of entertaining and looking after a VIP visitor’s son Alex. Except that it turns out Alex isn’t the VIP’s son, but his daughter, much to Hal’s dismay. Alex is also entrusted with looking after her father’s very important (and titular) briefcase. Shenanigans ensue.

Since I started reading the Hal Junior books, I’ve been very curious as to how they fit into the larger Hal Spacejock universe. Initially I thought Hal Junior was going to be about Spacejock’s childhood, but this is obviously not the case once you start reading. There was a hint at the end of The Missing Case which suggests that maybe we’ll find out more soon, hopefully in Hal Junior 3 (which I think isn’t that far off).

The Missing Case is a quick fun read and good for a few laughs. I would also recommend it to kids (I believe the US category is called “middle-grade”, but in Australia I’ve only seen it called “for younger readers”) who enjoy space adventures or reading about general mischief-making.

4 / 5 stars

Skye Object 3270a by Linda Nagata

I received Skye Object 3270a by Linda Nagata from the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program a little while ago. It was great and I’m a little annoyed at myself for putting off reading it for so long.

It’s a book that can be classified as middle grade or YA — personally I’d call it YA because a) it’s about teenagers and b) I don’t really understand where the boundaries for middle grade are supposed to be anyway. On the other hand, the main character is 14, a little younger than standard for YA and the romantic story line isn’t super serious as in many YA books.

Skye Object 3270a is set on and above a distant planet in the far distant future. It’s about Skye, who was found in an escape capsule when she was a baby. No one knows where she came from or how long she was in hibernation in the capsule before being discovered. She is named after the astronomical designation for her capsule before they realised it was a capsule (which I thought was a bit mean of the civilisation, but at least no one teases her for it).

Skye and her friends are ados, adolescents in a world where people live for several centuries (perhaps indefinitely, but the planet they live above (up a space elevator) hasn’t been settled for that long and the oldest people were just under 300 I think). People are considered ados and aren’t taken seriously until they’re 100 and become Real people. Interestingly, this sees 14 year olds lumped into the same demographic as 99 year old and they’re all treated more or less the same. Which is to say, sort of taken seriously but also dismissed as a bit silly and reckless.

And reckless is a pretty good description of Skye and her friends. From bungee jumping down the space elevator shaft the maximum allowed distance (4.3 km) to breaking many rules for a variety of reasons, there are lots of entertaining shenanigans in this book. There’s also a more serious underlying mission to find out where Skye really came from.

What really struck me about Skye Object 3270a is the depth of the world building. From the space elevator to the freefall scenes to the nanobots and biological oddities, Nataga’s world was not only physically plausible but rich and detailed. An exemplary example of SF worldbuilding. Apparently, Skye Object 3270a is set in the same world (but different characters) as Nagata’s Deception Well (which is indeed the name of the planet in Skye Object 3270a) and a few other stand alone novels. I bought the Locus Award-winning The Bohr Maker (also in that universe but set earlier in time) a while ago and it has just jumped up a few places in my virtual TBR pile.

I highly recommend Skye Object 3270a to lovers of quality science fiction and adventure. Although it is written for younger readers, I think it can be enjoyed by all (even if older readers, like myself, shake their heads at the dangerous stunts the characters pull).

5 / 5 stars