(2) YA Folk of the Air series. Illustrated by Rovina Cai. Black returns to the world of her acclaimed Folk of the Air trilogy (beginning with The Cruel Prince, rev. 1/18) in this illustrated companion volume that hinges on three chance encounters between the inscrutable elf Cardan and the troll woman Aslog. Each time they meet, they exchange a story about a boy with a heart of stone, a story that grows and changes in the retelling, even as Cardan and Aslog themselves change from meeting to meeting. Ultimately, the themes coalesce around forgiveness, redemption, and transformation. ("You didn't get what you deserved, but you don't have to live inside that one story forever. No one's heart has to remain stone.") The book works best as a character study, revealed in brief, impressionistic vignettes, helped enormously by a handsome design and lavish imagery. Cardan was a complicated love interest in the trilogy, and fans will welcome this opportunity to see what makes him tick.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2021

(2) YA Folk of the Air series. At the end of The Wicked King, King Cardan betrayed Jude, his secret wife and ostensible Queen of Faerie, and exiled her to the mortal world. Now Jude's twin arrives with the startling news that she has murdered her husband and requests that Jude stand in for her at the Faerie Court's inquest. Jude sneaks back into the Faerie realm, where she foils her foster father's traitorous designs and reconciles with Cardan. This trilogy ender delivers a heady mix of urban fantasy, court intrigue, and romance.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2019

(2) YA Folk of the Air series. Mortal Jude (The Cruel Prince), raised in the realm of Faerie and skilled at manipulation, resourcefully keeps her one-time nemesis Cardan's numerous rivals in check. The growing trust between Jude and Cardan blossoms into an unlikely romance and ultimately a clandestine marriage--but one final betrayal threatens to undo all of Jude's plans. The plot twists, turns, and dovetails perfectly with the assured character development; Black is a master storyteller.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2019

(2) YA Madoc, Jude's parents' murderer, raises Jude and her siblings in the realm of Faerie, where he is general of the High King. Mortal Jude is drawn into the web of lies, deceit, and political intrigue that swirls around the Faerie Court. With complicated characters, a suspenseful plot, and the Faerie setting of The Darkest Part of the Forest, Black's latest is sure to enchant fans.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2018

(4) 4-6 Magisterium series. Illustrated by Scott Fischer. In their final year of magic school, Call and his friends must confront the history of the Enemy of Death, the ancient soul trapped in Call's body. Multiple long-running story lines are resolved as well, sometimes to the detriment of pacing. Outstanding action sequences are satisfying, but the abrupt ending is disappointing.

Reviewer: Jessica Bushore

(3) 4-6 Magisterium series. Illustrated by Scott Fischer. Callum Hunt is now known as the Enemy of Death, his body harboring the soul of Constantine Madden, an evil magician from a past generation. With everyone at the Magisterium living in fear of Call, his hero's journey now depends on controlling the powers within. This dark fourth volume leaves some questions unanswered but will keep series fans enthralled.

Reviewer: Jessica Bushore

(4) 4-6 Magisterium series. Illustrated by Scott Fischer. Call's third year at the Magisterium (think Hogwarts minus the whimsy) is as dangerous as those previous (The Iron Trial; The Copper Gauntlet). Call struggles with the knowledge that he is the reincarnation of a famed evil mage while dealing with repeated, unexplained attempts on his life. Despite a wheel-spinning plot and an abrupt ending, this installment raises the stakes for book four.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(2) YA Fairfold townspeople smugly believe only foolish tourists, lured by the horned prince in the unbreakable glass coffin, risk bringing harm to themselves by offending the fae. Hazel and Ben Evans, who hunt the beautiful but terrible creatures of the forest, know differently. When the coffin is shattered, Hazel's memories start breaking open, too. Author Black blends magic with the ordinary world deftly and believably.

Reviewer: Lauren Adams | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2015

(3) 4-6 Magisterium series. Illustrated by Scott Fischer. Callum's second year of magic school finds him pursuing a dangerous artifact and its thief--i.e., Callum's father, who may want to kill him. Callum's worry about being predestined to become an Evil Overlord provides a solid link between the adventure plot and the shifting friendship dynamics, and the story continues to offer smart twists on the familiar "chosen one" trope.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(3) 4-6 Magisterium series. Illustrated by Scott Fischer. The lone survivor of a horrific massacre as a baby, Callum Hunt is found with a curious note from his mother: "KILL THE CHILD." His mysterious past and inexplicable powers seem to mark Callum as the classic child of destiny, but the authors stand that trope on its head. With a clever ending twist, this series seems poised to attract a loyal following.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt

(2) YA After losing her mother to vampirism, Tana keeps her distance until she wakes up to a house littered with the drained corpses of her friends. The only other survivors are her charming but cheating ex-boyfriend Aidan and beautiful, mysterious vampire-guy Gavriel. Black's compelling prose, descriptive yet direct, conjures a modern gothic world populated by cruel immortals, desperate humans, and hardscrabble survivors.

Reviewer: Lauren Adams | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2013

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Eliza Wheeler. Twelve-year-old Zach and his friends Poppy and Alice play an elaborate game with their dolls. When Poppy is haunted by dreams of a girl whose ashes are inside the game's queen doll, they embark on an adventure to lay the girl's ghost to rest. The story contains ample thrills, but it also takes on the changes adolescence brings and the tests friendships face.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2013

(3) YA Curse Workers series. Working secretly for the Feds is complicating Cassel's life, since his romantic interest, Lila, the daughter of a mob boss, has joined the family business. Amidst family and romantic drama, the Feds ask Cassel to use his transformation skills on an out-of-control politician. But do they have his best interests at heart? A third cunning, fast-paced con-artist adventure.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter

(3) YA Curse Workers series. "Transformation worker" Cassel Sharpe (White Cat) is investigating his brother's murder. He's also navigating complexities of senior year, including his complicated feelings for Lila. Add in the Feds, the mob, and his "curse-worker" family, and Cassel has a lot of outsmarting to do. The series and characters continue to build in complexity, leaving readers eager for the next installment.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter

(2) YA Illustrated by Theo Black. With its wide range of subject matter and style, this collection of supernatural stories shows off Black's fertile imagination. Palpable details and shifts in tone carry readers between times and places while the diverse protagonists create some unexpected perspectives. Two stories here are new, but most appeared in previous collections, which may account for the entertainingly eclectic mix.

Reviewer: Lauren Adams | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2010

(3) YA Illustrated by Ted Naifeh. In this supernatural graphic novel trilogy-ender, Rue struggles with her identity as half-human, half-fey. Her every choice is, at best, a loss and, at worst, a betrayal as she schemes to avert war between the humans and faeries and choose between two romantic entanglements. Naifeh's illustrations capture the chaos caused by the uncomfortable merger of Rue's two worlds.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) YA Curse Workers series. Cassel Sharpe's family of curse workers (people whose touch can control others) treat him as an outsider. Cassel confronts family secrets that reveal truths about himself--and a murder he can't fully remember committing. Out-conning the mob leads Cassel on an exciting journey that will have readers on the lookout for future series installments.

Reviewer: Cynthia K. Ritter

(2) YA Illustrated by Ted Naifeh. In Episode Two of the series, Ann is betrayed by Keith; Justin falls in love with Lucy; Dale keeps nightly trysts with some faeries; and Rue cheats on Dale with Tam. Plot and action drive this graphic novel that uses supernatural horror as metaphor for adolescent angst. Naifeh's illustrations are dark, threatening, and delicious, all fangs and fingernails, pointy ears and scowls.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2010

(4) 4-6 Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles series. In this third Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles fantasy adventure, the kids continue their quest to save Florida from assorted supernatural creatures. These include the titular wyrm king, a massive group of hydras creating sinkholes as they devour the earth. DiTerlizzi's detailed line art supports the story, which is bound to confuse any reader not familiar with Spiderwick lore.

Reviewer: Betsy Murray

(3) 4-6 Spiderwick Chronicles series. This weighty Spiderwick volume includes The Field Guide, The Seeing Stone, Lucinda's Secret, The Ironwood Tree, and The Wrath of Mulgarath. Appended sections include DiTerlizzi's sketches, accompanied by his notes, three "lost chapters" from the stories, and a "Spiderwick All-Star Gallery" of illustrators including Mo Willems, LeUyen Pham, and Dan Yaccarino riffing on Spiderwick themes. Collectors will eat it up.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz