“Bumi” by Ellina Oh

Bumi is an adorable orange monster with a little sprout growing out of his head. He spent his whole young life in his monster village with his monster family. Everyone was kind and food was plentiful, but there were not a lot of different kinds of food–and Bumi loved food. While it was difficult, Bumi knew that he needed to follow his heart and try foods he’d never encountered before. And so, Bumi left his family and village behind and headed to New York City. Bumi just knew that New York City had the kind of food variety he craved. Of all the things Bumi tried in New York City, one food stood far above the rest: chocolate. Bumi had never had chocolate before and relished in its flavor and texture. The chocolate inspired Bumi so much that he became determined to start a chocolate cafe. He works diligently in many ways to open his cafe. But when the business isn’t as popular as Bumi dreamed, what can he do to keep his dream alive?

Read More...

“Annie’s Odyssey” by K.A. Plouffe

Annie’s Odyssey: The Dragon’s Gift by K.A. Plouffe tackles many difficult themes, particularly mental health. While a fantasy novel, it starts off in the real world, with a young sixteen-year-old named Annie. Annie is living a lost, transient, dangerous, and lonely life. She finds herself unmoored, without anyone to take care of her but with plenty of people to take advantage of her. She goes from dreams of being a popstar to being transported to a magical, alternate world where she encounters a journey she never could have expected to be on.

Read More...

“The Call to Witchery” by Lorraine Johnston

Abigail Winslow comes from a family of witches. In fact, it’s hard to go anywhere in Farmridge without running into another witch. However, ever since her parents died in a tragic accident, Abigail has rejected magic – even if it is her birthright. The amulet that she relies on for her magic, though? It’s useless until it’s activated. Activating it means accepting her fate as a witch, but Abigail doesn’t want to go there. It somehow comes about that it gets activated, and that’s when Abigail’s world turns upside down. A notorious collector of artifacts stops at nothing to get his hands on it, a wolf shows up, Abigail’s grandparents struggle to help her control her power and, what’s worse, harpies attack, hoping to steal the amulet. Then there’s the talking squirrel as well as a talking bird, both allies in Abigail’s journey to understand her newfound power.

Read More...