adventure

Nine Goblins

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by T. Kingfisher
First sentence: “It was gruel again for breakfast.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: January 20, 2026 (unless you want it in e-book; it’s available now)
Review copy provided by the publisher.
Content: There is some violence, including a huge (kind of gory) massacre. It will be in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

Look: goblins aren’t really made for war. It’s unfortunate that they found themselves in such a state – well, it’s not really their fault – that they are in a constant war with the humans and elves. Mostly, what goblins want to do is complain. Which, they suppose, war is good for. And the members of the Whining Nines (ha!) are really good at that. And their sergeant, Nessilka, doesn’t really want to be in charge, but since the rest of the goblins in her unit are really kind of useless, she supposes being in charge is what she has to do. That is, until they accidentally end up in the forest on the elf/human side. Where there is something decidedly… not right.

Okay, I don’t read e-books. I don’t like e-books. But, this one was spoken highly enough by several coworkers, and because it’s T. Kingfisher, I was willing to read an e-book. And I was not disappointed. Seriously. This one made me laugh out loud. It made me delighted the whole way through. There was enough of a plot to keep me going, but mostly it was the characters that just charmed the socks off me. I loved them all. And I would happily join them for more adventures if Kingfisher wanted to write them.

I don’t think I’ve read a bad Kingfisher book yet.

Audiobook: The Library of Unruly Treasures

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by Jeanne Birdsall
Read by Sorcha Groundsell
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is talk of neglectful parenting and some mildly harrowing moments. It’s in the Middle Grade (grades 3-5) section of the bookstore.

When Gwen MacKinnon is sent to live with her great-Uncle Matthew (whom she has never met) because her mother is off to Costa Rica with her boyfriend and her father got kicked out of the house of his third (soon-to-be-ex) wife, she doesn’t know what to expect. Probably nothing good, since nothing good ever happens. But what she finds when she gets there is a delightful human being in Matthew, a boon companion of a dog named Pumpkin, and the Lahdukan – who are NOT faeries, don’t even think that. The Lahdukan are convinced that Gwen is their new kalba (Matthew’s grown-up daughter Nora is their current one) and that Gwen is destined to help the MacKinnon clan and the Stewart clan (which is helpfully housed in the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum in Boston) join together. Gwen, however, has her doubts: she’s never succeeded at much of anything. How can she succeed at leading not one, but TWO Lahdukan clans?

Oh, this was charming. I probably would have enjoyed it had I read it – I do love Birdsall’s writing (especially the way she writes dogs!) – but I adored it on audio. Groundsell is a delightful narrator, and she captures everything – from charming Uncle Matthew to Gwen’s anxieties, to Julia, the 6-year-old who lives upstairs, to the myriad personalities of the Lahdukan. It was one of those books that made me happy every time I turned it on, and one I didn’t want to stop listening to.

I think, too, that Birdsall did just the right amount of fantasy to make it work. She didn’t create new huge worlds, just added a fantastical element (but they could be real!) to this one. It came across just as charming and just as perfect as the Penderwicks books did. Which means, honestly, I’ll read pretty much anything Birdsall writes.

Highly recommended for kids of all ages (this one would make a great read-aloud!).

Brigands & Breadknives

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by Travis Baldree
First sentence: “‘Fuck!’ creid Fern, ducking back inside the carriage a whisker before a clawed and scaled hand sailed past.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: November 11, 2025.
Others in the series: Legends & Lattes, Bookshops & Bonedust
Review copy pilfered off the ARC shelves at work.
Content: It is very sweary. Like VERY sweary. (I like a book that tells you what it is with the first word.) And there’s some fantasy violence. It will be in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

Fern (the bookshop owner from the last book) has decided to relocate, after 20 years, to Thune, where the orc Viv is. Mostly to be near her friend, but also because Fern has lost the love of bookselling and needs a Change. Once in Thune, though, she realizes that she just can’t sell books anymore, and on a drunken whim, climbs into the carriage of the famous (legendary, even) one-eared Elf, Astryx. She doesn’t quite know what she’s thinking, but when Astryx finally discovers her, it’s too far for Fern to walk back. So, she stays. And she and Astryx – and a weird little (hilarious) goblin named Zyll, that Astryx is nominally returning for bounty – go on a journey.

Like Baldree’s other books, the premise is super simple. The joy, however, is in all the little things. It was Fern learning how to be on the road, growing into her own over the journey. (It was also Fern’s creative swearing.) It was the “diminished Elder Blade” knife that was just silly. It was the growing friendship and respect between Astryx and Fern. It was all their silly little side quests.

I listened to the other two on audio (Baldree is a fantastic narrator), and I wondered if this would hold up in print. It absolutely does. I loved being back in this world, I really enjoyed Fern as a main character, and I’d be happy to follow them all on any more silly adventures that Baldree dreams up.

Plain Jane and the Mermaid

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by Vera Brosgol
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There are some mildly scary moments, and the plot does hinge upon people getting married. It’s in the Middle Grade Graphic Novel section of the bookstore.

Jane’s parents have died in a freak fish cart accident, and because they have no surviving male heir, the house and assets will go to Jane’s odious cousin. That is, unless she gets married. She wants to keep her house, so she proposes to the prettiest boy in town, Peter, who wants to get out of the fish business. Except he’s charmed by a mermaid and dragged to the depths of the sea to marry her instead. Jane – determined to keep the house – goes after him. Adventures ensue. 

Brosgol says in the afterward that she’s always wanted to write a folktale, and this certainly qualifies. It’s less about the plot and more about Jane’s growth, realizing that she is worth more than what she looks like and that she is capable of achieving what she desires. There’s a strong anti-beauty culture message throughout the whole book, which I think Brosgol manages without being didactic or heavy-handed. And the art, like all of Brosgol’s books, is just delightful. 

I hope there are kids who will find this and enjoy it, because I did!

The Fireborne Blade

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by Charlotte Bond
First sentence: “On my oath, I, Sir Nathaniel, do swear that what I am about to tell the Distinguished Mage is the truth.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Release date: May 28, 2024
Review copy pilfered from the ARC shelves at work.
Content: There is violence and some pretty gruesome deaths. It will be in the Science Fiction/Fantasy section of the bookstore.

Maddileh is a knight. She’s managed to get herself disgraced – it was something to do with an ex-lover and punching him in the face because he was an ass. She figures that there’s only one way to reclaim her honor: get the legendary Fireborne Blade from The White Lady Dragon. It’s impossible, but she’s going to do it.

Of course, it’s not that simple. Her story is interspersed with chapters that are histories – some oral, some told by others – of knights who fought dragons and often didn’t live to tell their tales. If the White Lady is anything like these… then how is Maddileh going to survive? The narrative also jumps in time – sometimes you’re present with her and her squire in the tunnels, others you’re getting her backstory.

This slim novel is utterly compelling. It’s tight, it’s giving me dragons in a way I haven’t seen dragons before (yay for that), and it’s got characters I care about. The publisher is comparing it to Fourth Wing, etc. but that’s not it: it’s more comparable to T. Kingfisher, Martha Wells, or Nicola Griffith than the sprawling, over-dramatic Fourth Wing. This prose is SPARE. The action is intense. The romance is incredibly understated. It’s masterfully done, and I hope it finds an audience because I think it’s fantastic. (Bonus: the sequel is out in October.)

Audiobook: The Puppets of Spelhorst

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by Kate DiCamillo
Read by Allan Corduner
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: It’s a short book, and there isn’t anything objectionable. It’s in the Beginning Chapter section of the bookstore (grades 1-2) but it could go older.

Once upon a time, there were five puppets: A girl, a boy, a wolf (with very sharp teeth), an owl, and a king. They were happy in the shop of the puppet maker, but they longed to go on adventures. Then one day, an old man saw the face of his lost love in the eyes of the girl puppet, and the toymaker would sell just her, so they all were bought. From there, they had adventures, first at the old man’s house, then with the junk man, after the old man died, and finally in a home with two young girls who put on a play with the puppets.

That’s it for the plot. And yet, because it’s Kate DiCamillo, it’s a lovely fairy tale, one I enjoyed listening to, even as an adult. Much like The Tale of Despereaux or The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, it’s a story to be read aloud, to be enjoyed together. It’s a simple story, but there are profound moments, silly moments, and tender moments. It’s probably not my favorite DiCamillo out there, but it is a lovely one that will delight many children (and their parents/guardians/teachers).

Things in the Basement

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by Ben Hatke
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Content: There are some mildly scary things, and it has a dark color palate. It’s in the Middle-Grade Graphic Novel section of the bookstore.

Milo’s family has just moved to a new house, and his mom has sent him to the basement to find one of his younger sibling’s lost socks. But once down there, Milo discovers that there’s a LOT more to the basement, as he goes on an epic adventure to find the sock.

Sure, that sounds simple. But with Hatke’s imagination and art, this adventure takes on a life of its own. There are some things that are scary at first, but Milo learns the importance of friendship and helping each other.

Like everything Hatke does, it’s charmingly drawn (I love the character that speaks entirely in emojis!), and is a heartfelt, sweet story. I picked it up on a whim and I’m so glad I did. It’s a great story and a fantastic graphic novel.

Mister Impossible

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by Maggie Stiefvater
First sentence: “When they came to kill the Zed, it was a nice day.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Others in the series: Call Down the Hawk
Content: There is a lot of swearing, including multiple f-bombs.It’s in the Teen section (grades 9+) of the bookstore.

I saw a virtual event last fall for Swamp Thing in which Maggie said that writing a graphic novel helped her writing overall, made it tighter and more streamlined. And that it affected the way Mister Impossible was written. And you know what? She’s right. Mister Impossible is a tight, streamlined ride. There is action and tension and mystery and reveals, and maybe she’s not all up in the feels with Ronan and Adam, but it all works. In fact, I would say that this one, while it’s the middle in a series, is one of her best books, overall. (Not my favorite, but definitely one of the best.)

I’m not going to go into the plot because spoilers, but know this: it’s a great book. It’s full of Stiefvater-ness (chapter 13! So many little turns of phrases here and there!) and I love the magical world she’s built. And there’s really no “bad” guy — just competing good intentions. What does one do when your good intention is in conflict with someone else’s?

And the end? Let’s just say that waiting for the last book in this trilogy is going to be agonizing.

I love Maggie’s work, yes, but this one? This one is truly excellent.

Audio book: Fable

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by Adrienne Young
Read by Emma Lysy
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Or listen at Libro.fm
Content: There is some violence and some off-screen, implied sex near the end. It’s in the YA section (grades 6-8) of the bookstore.

It’s been four years since Fable watched her mother die in a storm that sank the ship that they, along with Fable’s father, were on. And four years since Fable’s father dumped her on a god-forsaken island, abandoning her to her fate. Now, she’s found a way off the island on a ship captained by West, a young trader who has bought her gems for the past couple of years. And Fable is determined to take her place in her father’s crew.

But things are not what they seem in this cutthroat world of trading and selling. And West is not everything he seems. Can a girl — even one who was raised the daughter of a captain and who has special gifts — make her own way in this world?

I really enjoyed the world that Young built here. It’s rich and lush, and very Pirates of the Caribbean-y. Which, in my book, is a good thing. There’s magic, of a sort, but it’s very slight. I liked Fable’s journey getting off the island, and the slow reveal of her past and her place in her father’s empire (of sorts). The romance was a bit out of nowhere (all of a sudden they were kissing, and while I don’t mind that, it did feel a bit, well, unearned.) but it wasn’t the focus of the book, which was a relief. I did feel Young did a bit too much telling rather than showing, but it’s the first in a duology, and she needed to set up the world, and I’d rather some telling all along than a big infodump at the beginning.

Lysy was good as a narrator, even if she did over-emphasize her Ts at the end of sentences. (Once I noticed it, I couldn’t unhear it.) She kept me engaged and kept the story moving forward. I think I enjoyed this a lot more on audio than I would have otherwise.

And the book ended on a bit of a cliffhanger (there got to a be a point about 3/4 of the way through where I kept expecting something bad to happen. And it did. In the last chapter.) so yes, I’ll be checking out the sequel.

Tristan Strong Destroys the Universe

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by Kwame Mbalia
First sentence: “Nobody likes getting punched in the face.”
Support your local independent bookstore: buy it there!
Others in the series: Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky
Review copy provided by the publisher
Content: There is some violence and talk of trauma. It’s in the middle grade section (grades 3-5) of the bookstore.

Tristan Strong fixed the problems that he created in the first book in this series. And then he returned to our world while Alke rebuilds. Except: there is a new foe. The Shamble Man has is wreaking havoc on Alke and he has come into our world and kidnapped Tristan’s grandmother. Which leaves Tristan no choice but to return to Alke to get her back. And what he finds is a whole lot messier than he thought it would be when he left.

This is very much a second book in a series — being a bit more dark and dismal than the first. However, I enjoyed that Mbalia not only gave us a complete story. No cliffhangers here. I also appreciated along with the humor and adventure, Mbalia addressed the underlying trauma that happens when things — bad things, hard things — happen. It’s a clever and good way to introduce the concept to kids, and to allow for an opening to talk about them. It’s handled really well. But, even though Mbalia tackles tough subjects, it’s still a lot of fun to go with Tristan back into the world of Alke. I adore Gum Baby and her silly bravado, and I liked the way Tristan was able to work with people he initially found difficult to work with.

In short: it’s smart, it’s fun, and it’s definitely worth checking out.