Tag: friendship

Rival Magic

~ rachelbenzine ~ Leave a comment

Plot:

Antonia is serving as an apprentice to Master Betrys, a super-talented wizard. While Antonia has read all of the spell books she can get her hands on, and flawlessly recites complex spells… the power of her spells doesn’t seem to match the power of her knowledge of spells. And then everything gets way worse when some scullery maid girl named Moppe turns out to be super powerful, and now Antonia is competing for Master Betrys’s attention. When Master Betrys and her apprentices are accused of treason, will Moppe and Antonia be able to get over their differences? They’ll have to go on a quest, face creatures they thought were just legends, and not get petrified while they’re at it. This was such a fun middle-grade book!

What I loved most:

I really love when children’s authors find a way to write in beautiful prose that’s accessible to young readers. Listen to this gorgeous excerpt:

“From this perch high on the mountainside, the scattered fishing boats were like children’s toys bobbing across the blue. Far away but ever-present, the sea filled my vision, wrapping half the horizon in turquoise and azure. I’d never seen my home like this. It made something catch in my throat. Awe. Or maybe thankfulness. It was so beautiful.”

(Rival Magic, Chapter 9)

COME ON. The imagery. The actual picture painted in your head. This is the kind of thing that really pulls a kid into a story – when you feel like you’re seeing what the characters are seeing. I’ve read a lot of adult authors who do this well, but it seems harder to execute successfully for children. Absolutely gorgeous.

Read this book if you like:

Friendship stories, celebrating unique strengths, celebrating differences, teamwork, magic, fantasy creatures, quests

Book details:

  • Author: Deva Fagan
  • Publisher: Atheneum
  • Date of Publication: April 2020
  • Age Recommendation: 4th – 6th grade
  • Look up Rival Magic on WorldCat to find it at library near you!

Pretty Guilty Women

~ rachelbenzine ~ 1 Comment

Review:

During the weeklong celebration of the Banks wedding, a man dies. Four women each confess to the murder, saying they committed it alone. Ginger is trying to manage her three kids and husband during this vacation they can’t afford. Kate is desperately trying to get pregnant. Emily is planning to drink her unpleasant memories away. And Lulu is pretty sure that her fifth husband is going to leave her. Why would each of these woman confess to the murdering the same man?

Over the course of the novel, we flash back and forth between police interviews of the women who confessed, and the days leading up to the murder. Pretty Guilty Women is a compelling suspense story. It touches on crucial issues like familial relationships, domestic violence, and what it means to be a parent. Added bonus: the author lives in St. Paul – I am always pumped to rep local writers! Pretty Guilty Women comes out in September, and I see it being a huge hit this fall!

Favorite Passage:

“Detective Ramone: Ms. Brown, Lulu admitted responsibility for a man’s death this evening. Here’s a photograph. Do you recognize him?
Emily Brown: Well, she can’t have killed this man.
Detective Ramone: Why not?
Emily Brown: Because that’s the man I shot.”
— twelve

What I Loved Most:

I absolutely adore murder mysteries… but I don’t read many of them nowadays, because they tend to give me nightmares. This book had a mystery, and I was excited to know who the killer was – but it wasn’t the kind of book that was creepy or overly suspenseful or is going to make me freaked out to be in my house by myself. Pretty Guilty Women was a great mystery without the unnecessary scary factor.

Read this book if you like:

Mysteries, female friendship, trying to figure out the story before the end of the book, Big Little Lies

Book Details: