Here are some shorter musings on recent MG fantasy reads. Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack This book is fun. It is a book full of adventure, an obvious bad guy, some more complicated morally gray area characters, and a strong, brave heroine. It is also a book about friendships, community, and fighting for what is right. All things that usually work for me really well. While I enjoyed this, I did feel it was a little overlong and there were certain plot points at the end I didn't love. However, there were things I thought were done really well, such as Anya's Jewish faith and the idea that power needs to be challenged. In the end it was a middle of the road read for me, but it is one I will certainly be recommending to dragon and fantasy adventure lovers I know! R is for Rebel by J. Anderson Coats This is tough because I usually really like Coats's books. I had such a hard time with this one though on so many levels. It's difficult to get into because t...
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One of Robin McKinley's best IMHO that doesn't often get talked about is Deerskin. I reread it almost as often as The Blue Sword. And Kenneth Oppel's early Silverwing series should be recommended to anyone who likes animal protagonists, bats, or just anyone who likes good fantasy.
Diane Duane's So You Want to Be a Wizard series is excellent if you like a sort of sci-fi version of magic (trust me, it's really cool) (and she just came out with a ninth installment). And I should give a shout out to Laini Taylor's first two novels, Blackbringer and Silksinger, because she still needs to finish that series!
This is a really good TTT idea!
And I'm glad my review was helpful to you!
I would LOVE a new Franny Billingsley, but she is an author worth waiting for.
I bounced hard off the first McKinley I read (The Hero and the Crown) and then thought the second (Beauty) was only okay. As a result, I haven't tried anymore.
Don't worry though! The stories told are complete. The third was going to be several years later.