Goddesses #3: Muses on the Move and #4: Love or Fate, by Clea Hantman (Avon Books, 2002)

Goddesses #3: Muses on the Move, and Goddesses #4: Love or Fate, continue and conclude the story about three teenage Muses exiled to modern-day Earth until they can overcome certain character flaws. When we last saw our heroines, Polly (Polyhymnia), … Continue reading

Goddesses #1:Heaven Sent and #2: Three Girls and a God, by Clea Hantman (Avon, 2002)

Polly, Era, and Thalia have just suffered the ultimate in grounding: banishment to Earth. You see, they’re not exactly ordinary run-of-the-mill teenage girls. No, they’re the resident troublemakers of Olympus, home of the Greek gods, and they’ve just upset their … Continue reading

Gifts, by Ursula K. Le Guin (Harcourt, 2004)

In the Uplands, warring clans of witchfolk rule, each clan possessing specific, often deadly powers through which they both protect themselves and enforce their wills. It’s a region of distrust, of insular and secretive people, of long-held grudges and blood … Continue reading

Fourth World, by Kate Thompson (Bloomsbury, 2005)

Christie’s always known there was something different about his older stepbrother Danny. Heavy, clumsy, mentally slow, prone to fits and episodes, capable of holding his breath for unusually long times, Danny doesn’t fit in with normal people at all. And … Continue reading

Firebirds, edited by Sharyn November (Firebird Books, 2003)

In January 2002, Firebird Books was launched, an imprint specifically devoted to young adult and childrens’ fantasy and science fiction, the very same material this column covers. In that short space of time, they’ve released dozens of reprints and originals … Continue reading

Fairy Dust, by Jane Denitz Smith (HarperCollins, 2002)

Nine-year-old Ruthie finds her world slipping away slowly when her mother leaves on a long business trip, forced to rely upon her father to take care of everything around the house. However, her father has more than enough to do, … Continue reading

Faerie Wars, by Herbie Brennan (Bloomsbury, 2004)

Two worlds collide in this captivating tale of magic and mayhem. Henry Atherton’s home life is falling apart, his parents separating and his sister in denial. As things get worse, he throws himself into helping old Mr. Fogarty clean up … Continue reading

The Extraordinary Adventures of Alfred Kropp, by Rick Yancey (Bloomsbury, 2005)

Alfred Kropp is an unlikely, unexpected sort of hero. Oversized for fifteen, a slow thinker with no real ambitions or motivations, he’s content to lie in his room and listen to music, rather than please others by playing football or … Continue reading

Eragon, by Christopher Paolini (Alfred A. Knopf, 2003)

In the world of Alagaesia, a change is in the wind. Eragon, a young man living in a backwater village far from the heart of the Empire which nominally controls it. His only goal is to hunt and help provide … Continue reading

Enna Burning, by Shannon Hale (Bloomsbury, 2004)

The kingdom of Bayern is in trouble. Their longtime foes and neighbors, the land of Tira, are on the move, positioned to invade in a move that will take advantage of Bayern’s current peaceful state. And as war disrupts the … Continue reading