YA Fantasy/Urban Fantasy

Blurb

After spending most of high school as the quiet girl, Ellie Kobata is ready to take some risks and have a life-changing summer, starting with her Anti-Wallflower List—thirteen items she’s going to check off one by one. She’s looking forward to riding rollercoasters, making her art Instagram public (maybe), and going on an epic road-trip with her best friend Lia.

But when number four on Ellie’s list goes horribly wrong—revenge on Jack Yasuda—she’s certain her summer has gone from charmed to cursed. Instead of a road trip with Lia, Ellie finds herself stuck in a car with Jack driving to a magical convention. But as Ellie and Jack travel down the coast of California, number thirteen on her list—fall in love—may be happening without her realizing it.

In The Charmed List, Julie Abe sweeps readers away to a secret magical world, complete with cupcakes and tea with added sparks of joy, and an enchanted cottage where you can dance under the stars.

Review

What a delightful witchy book this was! It was just the kind of story I was looking for. The Charmed List follows our main character Ellie Kobata, a “magic-aware” shy high school student who is a bit of a wallflower and prefers to be “invisible.” She also used to be best friends with Jack Yasuda, but after Jack ghosted her and humiliated her at school, they’ve been enemies ever since.

Ellie is on the verge of leaving on a summer road trip with her best friend, Lia. Determined to no longer remain invisible and let life pass her by, Ellie has also created an ‘anti-wallflower list’ containing 13 items that she wants to complete over the summer, including dancing under the stars and kissing a boy, and getting revenge on Jack Yasuda. However, her vengeance scheme doesn’t go according to plan and instead lands her in plenty of hot water with both their parents. As punishment, Ellie’s and Lia’s trip is canceled, and instead, Ellie and Jack have to travel together to a Magical Convention where both their families will be selling their wares.

They reluctantly agree to bury the hatchet and attempt to get along during the trip. But as the journey progresses (including stops in a Magical Village and at a Magical Hotel), Ellie begins to realize how much she’s missed having Jack in her life. Moreover, her feelings for him may be shifted from enemy to…something more, something different than before.

I tend to enjoy road trip books (especially the forced proximity kind), and this one was super fun. I loved the witchy vibe to this story, rendering it a magical reading experience. The friends-to-lovers aspect was exceptionally well done, and I adored the lovely relationship that developed between Ellie and Jack, evolving into something more than the friendship they once had experienced. It’s also worth mentioning that some hidden secrets and non-evident family dynamics are revealed as we move through the pages.

The Charmed List ended up being such a heartfelt and whimsical story about feeling: feeling love, feeling friendship, feeling magical, leading to the inevitable conclusion that the one reason there are walls around us is that we put them there ourselves. That being said, I loved the characters of both Ellie and Jack and found them to be believable and relatable, and charming. In addition, I thought the world-building was exceptional and enjoyed the easy-to-understand magic system that the author created.

All in all, this book is a delightful friends-to-enemies-to-lover romp that I’m so glad came to my attention. The author’s lush writing gives way to a sweet and endearing tale of love and forgiveness ―all with just a hint of magic—and I loved this book through and through. A wonderful, heart-tugger of a love story for anyone who enjoys a sweet love story with a dash of magical realism thrown in.

A huge thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/Wednesday Books for providing a review copy of this novel. Expected publication date is July 5, 2022.

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Blurb:

Sixteen-year-old Dylan Highmark thought his winter was going to be full of boring shifts at the Dairy Queen, until he finds himself in love with a boy who’s literally too hot to handle.

Dylan has always wanted a boyfriend, but the suburbs surrounding Philadelphia do not have a lot in the way of options. Then, in walks Jordan, a completely normal (and undeniably cute) boy who also happens to run at a cool 110 degrees Fahrenheit. When the boys start spending time together, Dylan begins feeling all kinds of ways, and when he spikes a fever for two weeks and is suddenly coughing flames, he thinks he might be suffering from something more than just a crush. Jordan forces Dylan to keep his symptoms a secret. But as the pressure mounts and Dylan becomes distant with his closest friends and family, he pushes Jordan for answers. Jordan’s revelations of why he’s like this, where he came from, and who’s after him leaves Dylan realizing how much first love is truly out of this world. And if Earth supports life that breathes oxygen, then love can only keep Jordan and Dylan together for so long.

Review

I love queer superhero books, so I was super excited when this book crossed my path. It follows a lonely and somewhat anxious sixteen-year-old gay kid named Dylan Highmark who is awestruck when a cute but mysterious boy named Jordan comes into the Dairy Queen where Dylan works. Jordan is different from most boys in that he is very hot — hot as in he runs at 110 degrees Fahrenheit and can shoot fire from his hands.

As Dylan and Jordan get to know each other, we learn that Jordan’s power is the result of an accident that killed his parents, and now, he’s on the run from an evil corporation out to kidnap him so their scientists can perform experiments on him. But when a new complication arises, they have to fight not only to find each other again but also to stay alive.

This fast-paced story drew me in almost immediately, and I had fun getting to know Jordan and Dylan. They were so cute together, with a phenomenal romantic chemistry between them. I appreciated the witty and fun banter between them and the character growth they both experienced as the events unfolded.

Additionally, the book touched on many important themes such as romance, first love, secrets, friendship, enemies vs. allies, and family, all of which were well done by the author. The book especially focused on the various friendships in the book – old friends, new friendships, and unlikely friendships, all the while examining the sometimes challenging relationship dynamics therein. That being said, this is a beautiful story about love and friendship and how they can spring up in the most unlikely of places. Thus, alongside this engaging story, the author also gives us an incredible cast of characters.

The book contained a compelling and engaging mystery that kept me frantically reading until the end. I loved how the author ratcheted up the tension as the suspense and intrigue continued to build and build until the final climax. Brian Zepka really nails the teenage voice in this story. He seems to really understand the teenage soul—the longing, the self-awareness, the anxiety, the awkwardness, the challenges, the confusion. I would definitely love to see more future books with Dylan and Jordan in them.

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A huge thank you to Netgalley for providing a review copy of this book.

This was such a fun, witchy, and ghosty read! It follows our main character Yadriel, a sixteen-year-old Latinx boy born into a family of witches or “Brujos and Brujas.” He’s hoping to partake in a ceremony in which he’ll become an office Brujo, a ritual overseen by Lady Death herself. However, the problem is that his traditional family is having a difficult time accepting his gender, and they deny him the ceremony.

So Yadriel, determined to prove to himself and to his family that he’s a real Brujo, performs the ritual himself. But to be a true Brujo, he needs to find a ghost and set it free. He decides to summon the spirit of his murdered cousin Miguel; however, the summoning didn’t quite go as he planned, and he ends up summoning Julian Diaz, the school’s snarky resident bad boy. Julian refuses to break set free until he can find out what happened to him, how he died. Yadriel has no choice but to help the rebellious boy because the sooner he finds out what happened to Julian, the sooner he can release him and become an official Brujo. But the more time he spends with Julian, the more he wants him to stay.

Oh, and there’s also an evil villain who may or may not bring about the end of the world.

This was such a clever and unique plot with a compelling mystery to solve as well. I also loved the developing relationship between Yadriel and Julian, and there was plenty of witty banter and bickering between them that had me laughing out loud several times. I truly enjoyed the dynamic between these two characters — they just felt so genuine to me as well as purposeful.

But I will say that my heart broke for Yadriel, who desperately craved to be accepted by his family and his community. Though his family wasn’t unlikable by any means, they were extremely traditional, so Yadriel had quite a task in tearing down those patriarchal walls built up over generations and show them that you can combine the traditional with the modern. Though, to be fair, they did use his chosen name and his correct pronouns, but some traditions were so firmly entrenched that they were unwilling to budge.

Though the book’s overall tone was light, the author touched on some serious and heartbreaking themes, such as homophobia, transphobia, deadnaming, misgendering, gang violence, teen homelessness, child abuse, deportation, and racism. So that being said, there were definitely some difficult and heartbreaking moments in the story.

Now, I love books about Latinx culture, identity, and mythology, so I enjoyed learning about this family of witches who lives in a cemetery and who commune with the local spirits, setting them free when necessary. I especially enjoyed reading about Yadriel’s family and their history and journeying along with them as they prepared for the Día de Muertos celebration.

That being said, I loved the book’s heavy focus on family and friendship. Additionally, though Yadriel being trans is the basis of the plot, the book is not solely about his difficulties in that regard, but at its core, Cemetery Boys is a lovely romance between a boy and a ghost, a romance which was extremely well-done in my opinion.

All in all, I thought this book was a wonderfully diverse, affirming, atmospheric, and well-written paranormal urban fantasy with delightful characters and a heart-warming slow-burn romance. I sure hope this author continues to write and look forward to seeing what they’ll come out with in the future.

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This is the latest offering by Justin A. Reynolds, an author whose work I always enjoy. It’s difficult to classify this book…I was thinking maybe magical realism? But on second thought, I think I’d go with contemporary with a touch of sci-fi.

So the story follows a young man named Jamal. He once had a best friend named Q (which was short for Quinn), but we learn right away that somehow Jamal blames Q for his parents’ death two years earlier and hasn’t spoken to Q since the funeral. Now Q resents Jamal and feels abandoned by him, so we have a very messy relationship dynamic.

So one night, Jamal is walking by the water, and he hears a cry for help. He dives in to rescue the person, and of course, it’s Q. He begins dragging Q to shore but ends up losing strength on the way. He makes it, but Q is unconscious but alive. Jamal heads to the hospital, where he learns that Q has died.

But that’s not the end of our story because, you see, there is a new technology that would allow Q to be reanimated — that is to say, to be brought back to life with no memory of his death or of what happened to him. But there’s a catch: he’ll only be alive for a short time: a couple of weeks max, maybe only days, and once that time has passed, he’s gone for good.

Jamal discusses this possibility with Q’s mom, and she agrees to have the people in charge of this technology — it’s not the doctors at the hospital — bring Q back to life. But there is a stipulation: nobody is to tell Q that he died nor that his days are numbered.

I love redemption stories, and that’s kind of what we have here as Jamal has one more chance to make things right with Q. What’s interesting is that in so doing, Jamal ends up creating a new type of family that supports him and surrounds him with love. I thought this aspect of the story was incredibly moving. So we have a significant focus on friendship and family in the novel as well as forgiveness.

My huge takeaway from this story was how we are all on limited time with the people we love, and now is the time to focus on making these relationships and the moments of our life count. So imagine how you would do if you only have a few days left? We definitely see the importance here of “seizing the day.”

But I will say that this story is incredibly sad, so be sure to have tissues handy. This is kind of like “They Both Die at The End” by Adam Silvera in that we know how it’s all going to turn out, and I knew there’d no way I wouldn’t tear up at the end. The book is beautiful, happy, and heartfelt but also, of course, heartbreaking as well. I loved this story. I loved the entire premise of this story where a grieving young man gets a second chance to say goodbye to someone he lost and maybe even make up for some of his mistakes.

This story certainly provides a lot to think about and contemplate, such as how forgiveness can not be expected or assumed but only hoped for and, of course, the importance of living life to the fullest now because…you never know. With that in mind, it’s a reminder not to waste our time being angry and resentful with others. I remember a speaker once said that being angry about something that happened in the past is like investing in a mausoleum – it will never pay off.

This may be one of those books that I’ll need to reread at some point. It totally surprised me how it wasn’t really about death, but instead was a celebration of life, friendship, and family,

Another new favorite book by Justin a Reynolds. I love this author!

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This book is kind of difficult to classify. It’s kind of a speculative fiction, alternate reality, paranormal murder mystery, I guess.

The world in the story is pretty identical to ours except that it is no stranger to magic, and discussions about monsters, magic, and ghosts, and heroes of legends are not unusual. There are also vampires who’ve pretty much been accepted by society and even fairy rings, which serve as a mode of transportation.

Our tale follows a young Lipan Apache girl named Elatsoe, who has the ability to raise the ghosts of animals. She even has a ghost dog named Kirby as a companion. This skill has been passed down to her through the women in her family. In fact, her six-great grandmother was quite a legendary hero. We learn that Elatsoe’s cousin Trevor has just been killed in an automobile accident, but he appears to her in her dreams and informs her that his death was no accident. He even names his murderer: a man in Willowbee called Abe Allerton and asks Elatsoe to ensure that justice is done and protect his family.

She ends up investigating the odd little town where her cousin’s murderer lives and, in the process, unearths some pretty dark secrets, and she soon discovers that the murderer is a key figure in a much larger and more dangerous conspiracy.

I especially loved this book because of the numerous indigenous stories that everyone told and how they were seamlessly intertwined with the plot. It’s clear that the concept of “story” is a key theme in this book, and I enjoyed how the stories about “Six-Great” rendered her immortal. I especially loved the tales about her and her ghostly mammoth.

Ellie’s character is also so lovable and real. She’s strong, delightfully nerdy confident, and never doubts her ability to succeed. Her touch of sarcasm and biting wit endeared her all the more to me. She’s also proudly asexual, so I enjoyed that rep in this story. What also really worked for me in this novel was the strong circle of support that Elatsoe has around her, including her parents, her friends, her ever-faithful, and protective ghost dog. Oh, and I absolutely adored her relationship with the ghost dog.

All of the secondary characters are well-fleshed out and vivid, and I enjoyed getting to know all of them. There were also quite riveting in their own right, such as her Fey friend and another character — I think it was her friend’s sister — who’s in love with and hopes to marry a vampire. Additionally, I loved the fact that no matter how far out Elatsoe’s experiences are, her parents and friend never doubt her or question her. At no point does anyone think she’s lying or fail to show her the utmost respect.

This book has a plethora of riveting themes such as grief, loss, family, the exploitation and genocide of indigenous people, colonialism, murder, greed, racism, and so much more. The fact that this was a book focused on Indigenous culture and its traditions was a huge plus for me. We got to see those traditions firsthand in the everyday life of Elosoe and her family.

So yes, this was a wonderfully written magical story with phenomenal world-building and a cast of realistic characters.

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