Ironside, by Holly Black (McElderry Books, 2007)

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After foolishly proclaiming her love for her faerie boyfriend Roiben in the middle of his coronation as the Unseelie Court’s new King, Kaye is dispatched on an impossible quest: to find a faerie who cannot lie. This quest leads her into hazards aplenty, including a murderous attempt by the Seelie Queen to reclaim her errant knight and unite the courts under one ruler. In the middle of this, Kaye also sets out to find the human girl with whom she was swapped as a child, even if it costs Kaye the only family she’s ever known. In this sequel to Tithe and Valiant, Holly Black revisits an edgy, fascinating world of magic and treachery, where nothing is ever quite as it seems. Black is fast becoming a major new voice in urban fantasy.

Iris, Messenger, by Sarah Deming (Harcourt, 2007)

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When Iris Greenwold receives a mysterious book of Greek myths for her birthday, it begins a series of quests in which she discovers the Greek gods, alive if somewhat diminished and existing in secret all around her – performing in a jazz club, working at a beauty parlor, or cooking at a fish shack, for instance. As she tracks down the gods and learns their stories, she also learns about her own role in the grand scheme of things. This is a fun story that combines sly humor and genuine sentimentality as it explores the role of myth in today’s society, without taking itself too seriously.

Into the Wild, by Sarah Beth Durst (Razorbill, 2007)

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Julie Marchen doesn’t lead a normal life. Her mother is Rapunzel, her adopted brother is Puss in Boots, her grandmother is a witch, and the enigmatic force known as the Wild, which was the dominating force behind the fairy tales of old, lives under her bed, just waiting for a chance to break free. But as long as the Wild remains quiescent, its former victims are free of the tales they once inhabited. And then someone makes a wish, and the Wild is free to devour the world. Now Julie is the only one capable of traveling into the Wild to once again defeat it. In the process she’ll finally understand what happened to her father, the fateful decisions her mother made, and why she’s uniquely qualified to undertake this quest. Into the Wild is an entertaining, introspective, clever remixing of traditional fairy tales with a Labyrinth edge and a self-aware sensibility, and it signals a strong debut from Sarah Beth Durst.

In The Serpent’s Coils, by Tiffany Trent (Mirrorstone, 2007)

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After the deaths of her parents in the wake of the Civil War, Corrine Jameson goes to live with her mysterious uncle. However, after a series of strange dreams and mysterious events, Corrine is sent to Falston Manor, a school for troubled girls. There, oddities abound, and her dreams go ever weirder, and very soon Corrine is embroiled in an ever-deepening set of problems. A conflict is brewing between the Fey and the witches who run Falston, and girls are steadily disappearing. Caught in the middle, will Corrine figure out which side she belongs on, and discover the truth of things before her efforts cause irreparable harm? The first book in a new series, In The Serpent’s Coils is a moody, atmospheric story, full of ghosts and dark imagery, magic and mystery, which will keep readers guessing right up until the last page. I’ll definitely be looking forward to future installments in this series.

Interworld, by Neil Gaiman and Michael Reeves (Eos, 2007)

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Joey Harker always thought he had bad direction sense. However, when he takes a wrong turn and ends up in another dimension altogether, he soon discovers that he’s capable of walking between alternate worlds, and finding home may be impossible. Soon, he’s caught up in a war between science and magic, a conflict raging across an infinite variety of alternate Earths, and his only hope lies in allying with a very peculiar organization that fights against both sides. And this is just the start of a wild, wonderful, epic adventure that bounces with glee from one reality to the next. Gaiman and Reeves originally conceived this story for television, but it’s translated to book form quite nicely. Interworld’s a great deal of fun, building on some brilliant concepts, and I’m hoping we’ll see more along these lines soon.

Hex Education, by Emily Gould and Zareen Jaffery (Razorbill, 2007)

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Sophie Stone never asked to move to Mythic, Massachusetts. No, that’s courtesy of her parents, big-time Hollywood types who needed a chance of pace. And now that she’s in a town known for its witch-heavy history, Sophie’s discovering that things are much weirder than she expected, including the fact that she’s actually a witch, part of a coven that’s supposed to protect the town from some predestined evil. Can Sophie and her new friends figure out their respective roles in things before anyone gets hurt? Only if they’re clever. Gould and Jaffery turn in a fast-paced, light-hearted tale full of magic and sly humor.

Hero, by Perry Moore (Hyperion, 2007)

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Thom Creed is not your average teenager. Blessed with amazing healing powers, trying to live down the legacy of his father, a disgraced superhero, he struggles with secrets of his own. When he goes against his father’s wishes and joins the League, the world’s foremost superhero team, as a probationary member, he quickly makes new friends and enemies. Soon, his entire world threatens to come crashing down, as old secrets are unearthed. What really happened when Thom’s mother vanished? Why was his father disgraced? And what seed of corruption has taken hold at the heart of the world’s greatest heroes? And what chance do a healer, a cranky pyrokinetic, an elderly precognitive and a boy who can make anyone sick have at saving the world? Hero is a beautiful, elegant, compelling epic coming-of-age story, in which one young man comes to terms with his sexuality, his family history, and his own grand destiny. I couldn’t put this one down. It may just be one of the best books I’ve read all year.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, by J.K. Rowling (Scholastic, 2007)

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The epic saga of Harry Potter is wrapped up in the seventh book in the series, as Harry goes head-to-head with Voldemort one last time. Questions are answered, scores are settled, and plotlines are resolved in a series of escalating battles. While this book has its flaws, it’s still an excellent, enjoyable read, and it does the best it can under the circumstances. Rowling pulls out all the stops in one of the most-anticipated books of the decade, and pulls no punches, right down to killing some much-beloved characters. Fans obviously won’t want to miss the grand finale.

Worldweavers: Gift of the Unmage, by Alma Alexander (Eos, 2007)

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In a world where almost everyone possesses magic, Thea Winthrop, the seventh child of two seventh children, was expected to surpass them all. Thus, her total lack of magic dismays and disappoints her entire family. As a last-ditch effort, Thea is sent to study with a mysterious mentor who helps her to unlock her true potential – a potential she must keep secret from everyone, especially the sinister Alphiri, a cold, calculating mercantile race from another dimension. Sent to the Wandless Academy, a last-ditch school for people without, or adversely affected by, magic, Thea must further develop her gifts and bond with her new friends before a bizarre evil can destroy them all. An excellent start to a new series, with a fascinating premise, this nevertheless feels like two books joined in the middle. However, the concept is intriguing, and there’s a lot of potential left to be explored in future books. I’ll be keeping an eye on this series.

Fight Game, by Kate Wild (Chicken House, 2007)

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Gypsy boy Freedom Smith is built for fighting, courtesy of a family legacy stretching back to his ancestor, legendary bare-knuckle champion, Hercules Smith. Unfortunately, his talents have brought him all sorts of unwanted attention, which is how he ends up recruited by a shadowy organization known as Phoenix to infiltrate an illegal underground fighting group called the Bear Pit. There, he has to struggle against his darker impulses, fight to stay alive, and get to the heart of a centuries-old evil that’s somehow intertwined with his family history. Mind control, genetic manipulation, weird technology, free running, and hyperkinetic fight scenes all combine into something new and intriguingly different in this exciting offering, the first in a new series. I was instantly hooked, and am looking forward to the future adventures of Freedom Smith.