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Set far into the future during a time called the Traction Era (T.E.), Thunder City by Philip Reeve will enchant readers who are fascinated by video games or by the prospect of technomancers reanimating dead warriors. Reeve’s novel features a plethora of characters who share a common thread: They all connect to Miss Lavinia Torpenhow, a rescuer and history instructor known as Miss T. When the town of Thorbury is taken hostage by Gabriel Strega and its mayor murdered by the Architect, a dreadfully brilliant young man with an inquiring mind, Miss T must find a way to bring Max Angmering back to Thorbury fromRead More →

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Set in Boston where LifeCorp promises “everything you’d ever want if you’re willing to work for it” (93), The Dividing Sky by Jill Tew tells the story of the Lowers who toil for the privileged Uppers as mindless zombies hunting for their next fix of Mean. Brainwashed to believe that working hard and increasing their productivity scores will ensure “a world of value,” the Lowers find their escape in the Arcades where their brains are “seduced with oversaturated snippets to distract them from their monotonous realities” (80). Enter eighteen-year-old Liv Newman who serves as an EmoProxy, a technological oddity with the ability to record emotionalRead More →

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S.K. Ali writes a powerful story with her science fiction fantasy Fledgling. Told in eleven parts, this first book in a promised duology is about colonization, oppression, rebellions, and politics. However, it isn’t didactic, as Ali entices readers by sharing just enough to lure them in as they form their own opinions about pervasive attempts to manipulate minds with propaganda and as they form attachments to intriguing characters. Thematically, Ali develops ideas similar to George Orwell’s Thought Police and Aldous Huxley’s class system and lab-controlled intelligence while weaving in tropes from M.T. Anderson’s Feed to reveal how thinking threatens those in power and how technologyRead More →

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Reminiscent of Eragon and the Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini, The Last Dragon on Mars by Scott Reintgen describes mankind’s attempt to settle on Mars, a planet that never wanted people in the first place. The planet is dying, and those left behind are picking treasure from the sand in an effort to survive. According to lore, each planet in the solar system is occupied by dragons. “[Ares] was the last dragon of Mars. His death was supposed to transform Mars into a paradise. A second version of Earth. But it didn’t work” (15). Because the planet is cursed, everything on Mars is “dead setRead More →

Cover for book Heir

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Fans of Sabaa Tahir’s Ember in the Ashes series will love this spinoff duology. Full of all the elements which Tahir’s fans are used to (stunning prose, enthralling mythology, and deeply relatable characters) this book easily grabs the readers’ attention and holds on to it. Set 20 years after the conclusion of the Ember series, this novel follows Quil (the baby Ember fans saw born in that quartet) now as a grown man ready to take the throne of the Martial Empire. A series of events force Quil and his best friends Arelia and Sufiyan (another descendant of characters from the last series) to travelRead More →

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Set largely in Helena, Alabama, Blood at the Root tells the story of Malik Baron who has pain, anger and magic in his DNA. At age seven on the night his magic manifests, Malik’s mama disappears. Believing his magic is responsible for this loss and that he killed his mama, Malik buries his talent because he can’t always control it and because it reminds him of pain. Inspired by Toni Morrison, Ladarrion Williams sets out to cultivate a new era of Black fantasy with this book, one that celebrates Black boys and their magic, one that shouts, “Blackness is magic!” Given his mother’s disappearance andRead More →

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With her writing and illustrating for the graphic novel The Deep Dark, Molly Knox Ostertag takes readers on a journey into the psychology of dark thoughts and their potential to suck the life from us. Trying to survive senior year, Magdalena Herrera (aka Mags) is stuck in a small Southern California town under a mountain of responsibilities that include coursework, a part-time job, caring for her mostly bed-ridden abuela, and struggling with her gender and sexual identities. When her transgender childhood friend Nessa returns from college, Mags has a kindred spirit to help support her, and together they must make the choice to thrive orRead More →

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While not intended to teach Hindu mythology, We Shall Be Monsters by Tara Sim provides mythological cues and is a loose reimagining of the myth of Halahala. And because mythology is a mirror of humankind, Sim’s story has power to speak to all readers. Set in Dharati, India, We Shall Be Monsters features Kajal, who vows to bring her sister Lasya back from death. Because her body isn’t burned soon enough after death, Lasya warps into a bhuta, a wraithlike ghost with the ability to claim lives of its own. With her abilities to revive the dead, Kajal hopes to give her sister life againRead More →

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A.A. Vora has written a clever and creative allegory with her novel Spin of Fate. Vora bases her fantasy on Indian philosophy and lore, including a glossary “Of Language and Nomenclature” to assist readers. She also tackles some relevant social topics like borders, poverty, bigotry, prejudice, and religion. In this first installment of what promises to be a series, readers meet sixteen-year-old Aina, who lives in Malin until—against all odds—she inexplicably ascends to Mayana. “Mayana is an idyllic realm, free of Malin’s monsters and violence and corruption. Free from the tyranny of Kaldrav’s reign, from being hunted by his soldiers. It is a realm protectedRead More →