Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy by Angie Thomas

Pages: 304 

Publisher: Walker Books 

Released: 4th of April 2023 

Internationally bestselling superstar author Angie Thomas makes her middle grade debut with the launch of an inventive, hilarious, and suspenseful new contemporary fantasy trilogy inspired by African American history and folklore.

It’s not easy being a Remarkable in the Unremarkable world. Some things are cool—like getting a pet hellhound for your twelfth birthday. Others, not so much—like not being trusted to learn magic because you might use it to take revenge on an annoying neighbor.

All Nic Blake wants is to be a powerful Manifestor like her dad. But before she has a chance to convince him to teach her the gift, a series of shocking revelations and terrifying events launch Nic and two friends on a hunt for a powerful magic tool she’s never heard of...to save her father from imprisonment for a crime she refuses to believe he committed.

What I Have to Say 

This book is so beautiful! It's the book that every black kid deserves to have. Steeped in Black history and folklore, I can see how it was truly a book that was needed in the genre. 

The world that Angie Thomas has built is well remarkable! I'm hoping to explore more of the remarkable cities and culture in the next book because that's the best part of any magic society book. This book gave us a tantalising glimpse into the magic world and I am so hungry for more. 

I didn't know a lot of the folklore in the book, so I'm definitely gonna do some research into it as there were a lot of references I didn't get. In the end, I think it wasn't written for me. It was written for Black American children and I'm really glad to see more and more writers writing for them. 

Can't wait for the next book! 

4 stars 

My thanks got to Walker and Netgalley for providing me with this copy for review. 

The Marvellers by Dhonielle Clayton

Pages: 416 

Publisher: Piccadilly Press 

Released: 5th of January 2023 

Author Dhonielle Clayton makes her middle-grade debut with a fantasy adventure set in a global magic school in the sky.

Eleven-year-old Ella Durand is the first Conjuror to attend the Arcanum Training Institute, where Marvellers from all around the world come together to practice their cultural arts like brewing Indian spice elixirs, practicing Caribbean steel drum hypnosis, and bartering with fussy Irish faeries. Ella knows some people mistrust her Conjuror magic, often deemed "bad and unnatural," but she's eager to make a good impression—and, hopefully, some friends.

But Ella discovers that being the first isn't easy, and not all of the Marvellers are welcoming. Still, she connects with fellow misfits Brigit, a girl who hates magic, and Jason, who is never found without a magical creature or two. Just as Ella begins to find her way at the A.T.I., a notorious criminal escapes from prison, supposedly with Conjurors’ help. Worse, her favorite teacher Masterji Thakur never returns from a research trip, and only Ella seems concerned about his disappearance.

As tensions grow in the Marvellian world, Ella finds herself the target of vicious rumors and growing suspicions. With the help of her new friends, Ella must find a way to clear her family's name and track down her beloved mentor Masterji Thakur . . . before she loses her place at the A.T.I. forever. 

What I Have to Say 

This book was imaginative, fun filled and beautifully diverse, but it was all let down by a simple predictable story. I don't know if Dhonielle Clayton thought that things needed to be simplified for children (which is simply not true, just ask them to explain the latest Doctor Who episode!) or if she just spent all her time focused on the setting and neglected the storyline but something fell down here and I'm very disappointed. 

I'm extra disappointed because the world was so wonderful. It was filled with so much imagination and creativity. It would be perfect for fans of Nevermoor because it's filled with the same kind of zany, imaginative setting and wonderous creatures. 

It was also a very good look at what a global school would be like and how all the cultures would blend together and co-exist. It's a beautiful look at a diverse and vibrant school whilst still leaving rooms for themes of prejudice with the different forms of magic system that exist in this world. 

All in all, I really enjoyed most of this book. It could really have been a fantastic book if the plot hadn't let it down. I really hope the next book in the series is better. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Piccadilly Press for providing me with this copy for review. 

To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Meg Wolitzer

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 304 

Publisher: Egmont 

Released: 21st of February 2019 

Avery (Night Owl) is bookish, intense, likes to plan ahead, and is afraid of many things. Bett (Dogfish) is fearless, outgoing, and lives in the moment. What they have in common is that they are both twelve years old, and their dads are dating each other.

Bett and Avery are sent, against their will, to the same camp for the summer vacation. Their dads hope that they will find common ground and become friends – and possibly, one day, even sisters.

Against all odds, the girls soon can’t imagine a life without each other. But when the worst happens, and their dads break up, Avery and Bett must figure out a way to get them to fall in love again. Is keeping a family together as easy as they think it is?

From two extraordinary authors comes this moving, exuberant, laugh-out-loud novel about friendship and family, told entirely in emails and letters.

What I Have to Say 

This beautiful reverse Parent Trap style novel was just perfect. I loved the two girls and their voices so much. Their emails back and forth to each other while they tried to split up their dads made me smile and laugh.  They both had such distinct voices and the way they kept saying that they would never meet each other and they were obviously going to be complete strangers at the same time as asking each other random get to know you questions and becoming best friends was completely wonderful. It felt really real and genuine, the way that young girls really interact. 

It was great to see a gay relationship between the parents of the girls. Both had single dads, Avery's dad having never married and Bett's having been married but had his partner die. It was a great way to show the different types of relationships that gay parents can be in. It was nice to see the representation go beyond two gay people in a committed relationship having a child. 

I adored the email format of this book as well. I don't know what it is about a book told through letters or emails or even diary entries, but I just find them so fun to read. They're a bit of a change from the regular style of story, I suppose. I'm not sure I'll ever get bored of all the interesting and different ways that people find to tell a story. 

Perfect for anyone who loves plucky young girls trying to change their parents dating lives. 

My thanks go to Netgalley and Egmont for providing me with this free copy for review. 

Song for a Whale by Lynne Kelly

Synopsis (from Goodreads) 

Pages: 304 

Publisher: Delacorte 

Released: 5th of February 2019 

Twelve-year-old Iris has never let her deafness slow her down. A whiz at fixing electronics, she has always felt at home in the world of wires and vacuum tubes. 

School, on the other hand, isn't so simple. Iris is the only Deaf student in her classes, and she finds herself frustrated by the way people interact with her deafness, whether it's her teacher talking down to her or an overly helpful classmate signing childlike ASL in her face.

During science class, Iris learns about Blue 55, the loneliest whale in the world. Saddened by the animal's inability to speak to other whales, Iris uses her tech skills to come up with a plan to communicate with Blue 55. 

One small problem: the whale is swimming off the coast of Alaska, nearly three thousand miles from Iris's Texas home. But nothing will stop Iris, and with her Deaf grandmother by her side, she sets out on a trip to meet Blue 55 and make sure he's finally heard. 

What I Have to Say 

This book touched me so deeply. Iris' feelings of loneliness from being in a school where only her interpreter understood her, of being in a family where her dad hasn't even bothered to learn how to communicate with her? It was so, so sad. 

Her connection to Blue 55 was beautiful, both metaphorically and in the real sense of the journey she went on to find him. I loved how her interest in him and in whales in general brought her a real friend who put the effort in to learn from her in order to communicate properly and also how it led to her and her grandmother connecting more. The whale, so central to the plot, brought so many people together and it was just so perfect to the story. 

Iris was a lovely character as well. She was so well built and so determined. She felt so very real to me and I felt so much for her. I loved her determination, her tech skill and her sense of self. 

This book was just beautiful from cover to cover. 

My thanks go to Delacorte for providing me with this free cope to review.