The Indigo Pheasant, by Daniel Rabuzzi

The Indigo Pheasant (ChiZine, Oct. 2012) is a multi-cultural historical fantasy, with a complicated alternate history/religious bent, writt...

The Diviners, by Libba Bray (with a bit of Kidlitcon to start with)

I am writing from New York, where I am busily attending Kidlitcon.  Yesterday I attended two lovely publisher previews, at Random House and ...

Look Ahead, Look Back (The Snipesville Chronicles #3), by Annette Laing, for Timeslip Tuesday

Look Ahead, Look Back , by Annette Laing , is the latest adventure of three time travelling kids from Georgia.  When Hannah and Alex Diaz m...

The Broken Lands, by Kate Milford

Wowzers (and bang goes my resolve to write coldly crisp, analytical reviews of great intellectual rigor).   But when a book knocks your sock...

Splendors and Glooms, by Laura Amy Schiltz

Splendors and Glooms , by Laura Amy Schiltz (Candlewick, August 28, 2012, middle grade) In late 19th century London, a lonely rich girl name...

The Sherwood Ring, by Elizabeth Marie Pope, for Timeslip Tuesday

The Sherwood Ring , by Elizabeth Marie Pope (1958), is one I wavered about ever putting in the "time slip" category, because ...

Peaceweaver, by Rebecca Barnhouse

Peaceweaver , by Rebecca Barnhouse (Random House, 2012, middle grade/YA, 336 pages) At the end of The Coming of the Dragon , a retelling of ...

In Darkness, by Nick Lake, for Timeslip Tuesday

I've been reading In Darkness , by Nick Lake (Bloomsbury, 2012, YA), in short bits for almost two months. My lack of plunging straight...

The Haunting of Nathaniel Wolfe, by Brian Keaney

The Haunting of Nathaniel Wolfe , by Brian Keaney (Hodder & Stoughton, April 1, 2012, middle grade, 240 pages). On a smoky, foggy, fetid...

Scarlet, by A.C. Gaughen

Scarlet , by A.C. Gaughen (Bloomsbury 2012, YA, 304 pages) When Robin of Locksley returned from the crusades, he found his lands taken from ...

Lavinia, by Ursula K. Le Guin

Lavinia , by Ursula K. Le Guin, has been sitting in my to-be-read pile ever since it was published, way back in 2008 (eep!). But, as of 1:...

The Aviary, by Kathleen O'Dell

The Aviary , by Kathleen O'Dell (Knopf 2011, middle grade, 352 pages), takes place in that best of settings (as far as I'm concerned...

The Inquisitor's Apprentice, by Chris Moriarty

The Inquisitor's Apprentice , by Chris Moriarty (Harcourt Children's Books, 2011, upper middle grade) In an alternate late 19 th -ce...

Icefall, by Matthew Kirby

Icefall , by Matthew Kirby (Scholastic, October 2011, middle grade, 336 pages) When is historical fiction fantasy? In reading well-written h...

The Wicked Enchantment, by Margot Benary-Isbert

One of the pleasures of moving to my current house (12 years ago--yoiks. Why is there still so much to be done?) was exploring the library f...