Deirdre F. Baker
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Review of Winterkeep
Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore High School Dial 528 pp. g 1/21 978-0-8037-4150-8 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-0-6981-5890-0 $10.99 Cashore returns to the world of Graceling (rev. 11/08), Fire (rev 9/09), and Bitterblue (rev. 5/12) for the first time in some years and introduces Winterkeep, a nation distinctive for its higher education,...
Review of Amber & Clay
Amber & Clay by Laura Amy Schlitz; illus. by Julia Iredale Middle School, High School Candlewick 544 pp. g 3/21 978-1-5362-0122-2 $22.99 Curation, historical fiction, performance piece — Schlitz (Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!, rev. 11/07) brings a bundle of learning, artifice, and intentionality to this highly stylized tale of ancient...
Review of The Daughters of Ys
The Daughters of Ys by M. T. Anderson; illus. by Jo Rioux Middle School First Second/Roaring Brook 208 pp. g 8/20 978-1-62672-878-3 $24.99 e-book ed. 978-1-25079-036-1 $11.99 In graphic novel form, Anderson (Yvain, rev. 3/17; The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge, rev. 9/18) and Rioux (The Golden Twine) tell the traditional...
Review of A Wish in the Dark
A Wish in the Dark by Christina Soontornvat Intermediate, Middle School Candlewick 375 pp. g 3/20 978-1-5362-0494-0 $17.99 Soontornvat balances inner change and political action with insight and stylistic flair in this fantastical Les Misérables retelling. In Chattana City, the Governor wields a power that is almost...
Review of All He Knew
All He Knew by Helen Frost Intermediate, Middle School Farrar 272 pp. g 8/20 978-0-374-31299-2 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-374-31300-5 $9.99 In free-verse poems, Frost tells the story of Henry, deafened by disease in 1937 at age four. Because Henry is deemed “unteachable” by the School for the Deaf, his family...
Review of Igniting Darkness
Igniting Darkness by Robin LaFevers High School Houghton 560 pp. g 8/20 978-0-544-99109-5 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-0-358-33580-1 $9.99 In the second book of a duology (Courting Darkness, rev. 1/19) set in an alt-historical world of fifteenth-century Brittany and France (also the setting of several of her other novels), LaFevers returns...
Review of The Enigma Game
The Enigma Game by Elizabeth Wein Middle School, High School Little, Brown 426 pp. g 5/20 978-1-368-01258-4 $18.99 e-book ed. 978-1-368-01651-3 $9.99 In this companion novel to Code Name Verity (rev. 5/12) and its prequel The Pearl Thief (rev. 5/17), and featuring characters from both, Wein takes her turn at...
Review of Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All
Thirteen Doorways, Wolves Behind Them All by Laura Ruby High School Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 367 pp. 10/19 978-0-06-231764-3 $17.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-231766-7 $10.99 At first, this seems to be the story of Frankie, a girl in a Catholic orphanage in Chicago in the 1940s. She and her sister and brother...
Review of A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II
A Thousand Sisters: The Heroic Airwomen of the Soviet Union in World War II by Elizabeth Wein Middle School, High School Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins 388 pp. 1/19 978-0-06-245301-3 $19.99 e-book ed. 978-0-06-245304-4 $8.99 Wein has established herself as a consummate writer of historical fiction (Code Name Verity, rev. 5/12; Rose...