(2) 4-6 In a world where talking wolves live alongside humans, twelve-year-old Ruby is a rising star player of the sport Tooth & Claw, in which teams of human girls attempt to escape from a wolf opponent whose role is to hunt them. During a critical Tooth & Claw match, the wolf player chasing Ruby drops dead, and Ruby is framed as the number one suspect. Unwilling to be jailed and charged for a murder she didn’t commit, Ruby goes on the run with Fillan, a young wolf accused of being her accomplice, and they search for clues to identify the true culprit and clear their names. Bell takes a premise that pushes the limits of suspension of disbelief and runs with it, sending Ruby and the reader on a roller coaster ride featuring death-defying acrobatics, undercover investigations, and all the red herrings befitting a whodunnit mystery. The story doesn’t take itself too seriously, with tongue-in-cheek humor and plenty of winks and nods to the folktale that inspired it, such as characters named Charlotte Grimm and Wilhelm Jacobs. Although the Zootopia-esque treatment of wolves as a stigmatized population doesn’t always land, this is still an enjoyable romp that will have readers rooting for Ruby and Fillan to emerge victorious over their many enemies and obstacles.

Reviewer: | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2026

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Matt Sharack. Suzy Smith doesn't think twice before boarding the troll-run Impossible Postal Express train, which delivers mail to the Union of Impossible Places. However, as a newly deputized postal operative, Suzy faces a steep challenge: her first delivery is to the Union's most powerful sorceress. Bell's smart pace guides Suzy smoothly through one impossibility after another without bogging readers down in reality-based objections; spindly line drawings capture the action.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018