Reviews by Category: Fantasy

Teen Review

Ruins of Gorlan

By John Flanagan

Rated by
Ivan
Jul 4, 2018

Will Treaty was a young slender man growing up in an orphanage. Both of his parents were killed in the past. Growing up all his wardmates new what occupation they were suited for and prepared for them. However, Will had not the slightest idea of what he was for, and was worried he might have to be a farmer. This all changes when he gets a letter saying he has been selected as the new ranger's apprentice. He gets his exciting position not long before the evil Lord Morgorath starts assembling his army.

Staff Review

Spellbook of the Lost and Found

By Moira Fowley-Doyle
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Chris K.
May 15, 2018

If you don't close your mouth, a fly will fly in, and then you'll have to swallow a spider to catch the fly, and then a cat to catch the spider, and then a dog to catch the cat, and then a goat to catch the dog, and then a cow to catch the goat, and then a horse to catch the cow, and then a lost soul to catch the horse.

Enchanting. Atmospheric. Mysterious. (a lost soul to catch the horse) Lush. Gritty. Suspenseful. There are so many good words I can think of to describe the beguiling collection of words that is this book. Dark. Mature. Sensual.

Teen Review

Fish Girl

By Donna Jo Napoli

Rated by
Olivia from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
Mar 29, 2018

She is a mermaid. She has lived her entire life in an aquarium located on the boardwalk. She is the main attraction, but visitors can never catch more than a glimpse of her. She can’t walk or speak, but she can make friends with Livia, an ordinary girl, and yearn for life outside the water. She can grow stronger and braver, and with the help of her determination, a touch of magic and the help of a loyal octopus, she can do anything.

Fantasy and reality intersect in this mermaid tale. It was beautifully drawn, with a good story too.

Staff Review

The Hazel Wood

By Melissa Albert
Star Rating
★★★★★

Rated by Chris K.
Mar 21, 2018

I'm not a fan of gruesome, graphic, gory horror; however, I'm a big fan of stories that are dark. Atmospheric. Disquieting. Plumbing the depths of the human psyche. Some of those stories are creepy dark. Some of them are deliciously dark. The Hazel Wood is gritty dark.

Teen Review

Dorothy Must Die

By Danielle Paige

Rated by
Olivia from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
Mar 15, 2018

Amy Gumm is just a normal girl living in trailer park in Kansas. She never expected anything interesting to happen in her life, until she is swept up in a tornado and lands in Oz. But this is not the same Oz from the movies. Dorothy found a way back and became queen. And that power went to her head. Now she is a ruthless dictator and no one is safe. In this new Oz, good witches can’t be trusted, wicked witches might even be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. Dorothy is the reason the once beautiful Oz has fallen.

Teen Review

Tales of the Peculiar

By Ransom Riggs

Rated by
Olivia from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
Mar 9, 2018

Wealthy cannibals who dine on the limbs of peculiars. A princess with a forked tongue. The story of the first ymbryne. These are a few of the stories told in the Tales of the Peculiar, a book known to hide information about the peculiar world that was introduced in the Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children series. This book invites you to read this collection of original stories and learn some of the secrets of the history of peculiars.

Teen Review

The Siren

By Kiera Cass

Rated by
Addy
Jul 10, 2017

Kahlen is just a normal girl. She has 2 brothers and a nice family. Her mom and dad have lots of money so she lives well. But that all changes one summer day while on a cruise. She's just inside her cabin, watching her mom put on make up when all of a sudden she hears some wonderful music. What could it possibly be? Everyone goes out to check. But then disaster strikes when everyone starts to jump overboard. Kahlen finds herself surrounded by a few beautiful women who look to be teenagers after finding herself thrown into the water, wishing not to die.

Teen Review

The Great Hunt

By Wendy Higgins

Rated by
Olivia from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
May 25, 2017

When a dangerous beast begins to terrorize the kingdom, fear panics the citizens. But soon a proclamation is sent out: kill the creature and win the ultimate prize: the daughter of the king’s hand in marriage. Princess Aerity understands her duty to the kingdom, but she can not bear to marry a complete stranger, until a mysterious young hunter catches her eye. She can’t deny her attraction to him, or his strange resentment against her. As they both continue to surprise each other, Paxton’s perilous secrets he has so meticulously buried begin to surface.

Teen Review

On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness

By Andrew Peterson

Rated by
Olivia from Leawood Pioneer Library YAAC
May 4, 2017

Janner, Igiby, Tank, and their disabled sister Leeli are gifted children living in a cottage above the Dark Sea of Darkness. But even with their gifts and the help of their mother and former pirate grandfather, they still struggle to survive as the evil Fangs of Dang pursue them and take over the land by killing anyone who stands in their way. For these children are not only special, but the Fangs believe they hold the secret to finding the legendary jewels of the former king.

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