River Readers

Corinne is back from her adventures with the mermaids and Mama D'Leau but she knows things are resolved yet. When an out of season hurricane hits the island, she knows something is up. Then another storm follows quickly behind it and Corinne learns that the god Huracan is responsible. It seems the jumbies had and agreement with Huracan that they would stay in their respective spots (land, sea, air), but Mama D'Leau and Papa Bois have broken that agreement to be together. Corinne herself unwittingly broke the agreement when she took Severine to the deepest part of the ocean. 

Jerome is twelve years old when he is shot by the police and killed for playing with a toy gun in the park. Jerome was a good kid who never got in trouble. Loved by his parents and little sister, his spirit rises from his dead body and tries to find some meaning behind his death. Along the way, he encounters the ghost of Emmett Till and together they try to navigate the troubled waters of finding out if there can be any good to come out of their murders.

How do you research the world of mazes and labyrinths? Eliot provides history, philosophies, stories, and personalities of this fascinating topic in a book that is not only informative but also a unique reading experience. As you hold the book upside down, right-side up and sideways in order to read it, the reader experiences the sensation of wandering through a maze. The illustrator Quibe primarily uses a unbroken single red thread that weaves its way throughout the entire book.

Volume Two of this series finds Peony in the Cannibal Coliseum where the rules are simple, "cook or be cooked!"

This is a cute second volume in the series. A must read if you read the first!

Peony suddenly finds herself in outer space selected to compete in Space Battle Lunchtime to see who the best chef in the galaxy is. Mayhem ensues as sabotage is not discouraged.

This was a cute beginning to this series, highly imaginative and creative.

The Bird King takes place during the end of the reign of the last sultan of Granada. The story centers on a concubine named Fatima and her beloved friend, Hassan. Hassan has a magical skill that enables him to draw maps of places he's never seen and alter the reality of those places. His gift is coveted because of its importance in times of war and retreat. On the edge of losing his kingdom, the sultan hands Hassan over to the Inquisitors who have come to negotiate the transition of power to Spain.

Eleven-year-old Lorenzo Ventura knows heroes are rare - like his father, who died in the war, or his friend Paloma Lee, who fearlessly pursues her dream of being a famous musician. Renzo would never describe himself as a hero, but his chance comes when he adopts Marty, a runt piglet.

This was an intriguing listen and nothing like the story I grew up hearing. However, with the "evils" of gold, this telling makes perfect sense. The fact that Red is tied in to this story too, makes it a nice addition to the series.

Molly and her brother, Kip, are desperate. Their parents are gone and they are on their own. They have exhausted all their options save for the promise of work at an old English manor house. When they arrive they soon discover that all is not as it seems.

This book is wonderfully creepy, mystical and engaging. I don't usually like books like this book found myself riveted in Molly and Kip's story. This is the second of Jonathan Auxier's books I've read and loved. I am anxious to pick up another.

Elfin Brangwain Spurge is catapulted into goblin territory in order to present an artifact to their leader as a peace offering. At least that's what he believes. In reality, the artifact is a bomb, and he the unwitting bomber. Why would elves offer peace to such a brutal society?

The third in the Court of Thorns and Roses series finds Feyre back in the Spring Court feigning loyalty to the Spring Court and Tamlin but in reality she is spying on him and Hybern. Prythian is on the brink of war with Hybern and since he has the Cauldron, the High Lords are scrambling to find a way to defeat him but that means an alliance with Courts that are sworn enemies.

Sarai has lived and breathed nightmares since she was six years old.

She believed she knew every horror and was beyond surprise.

She was wrong.

In the wake of tragedy, neither Lazlo nor Sarai are who they were before. One a god, the other a ghost, they struggle to grasp the new boundaries of their selves as dark-minded Minya holds them hostage, intent on vengeance against Weep.

Marjorie Glatt was just thirteen years old and trying to hold what was left of her family together. Since her mother's death, her father was just barely hanging on and it was left to Marjorie to run their family business, a laundry service.

Wendell was a little ghost who was looking for a friend. He left his ghost town and found himself at the laundry run by Marjorie. This is a cute story about friends, love and loss.

Alina thinks she's a recently laid off news reporter trying to get an interview with musical Superstar Reign who is fae. Fae and humans are Not allowed to touch - to protect the humans from becoming bespelled - willing to do anything for the fae they are in love with. Turns out Alina is neither human nor fae, but just an ethereal construct.

Nan Sparrow was a "climber" for a heinous chimney sweep named Wilkie Crudd. She had no choice since her mentor and protector "The Sweep" had mysteriously disappeared. All he left her was a chunk of char she kept with her always. When Nan got stuck in a chimney the truth about what the Sweep left her became known.