(2) K-3 Goodale (Windows, rev. 11/17; Under the Lilacs, rev. 7/20) presents a gentle rumination on space and time, memory, and the enduring love of family. "Today, I am at my gramma's house, high on the hill, amongst the blueberry bushes," begins the adolescent narrator, her gaze open-heartedly trained on readers from a sun-dappled spread. "And also..." Now, with a page-turn, and in a muted purply palette, she's shown as a younger child: "...I am remembering camping with Mama," with a small adventure in the woods. The story continues, shifting to the grandmother: "Today, my gramma is at the kitchen, watching me from the window. And also... / ...she is remembering being a little girl in her mother's garden." The girl's mother's recollections (and those of the grandmother's cat) follow, before returning to the narrator. Now, as an adult, she's writing this very book while recalling--and re-illustrating, with subtle differences--her time at her grandmother's. The book concludes: "We are all here...and also there. / Always." It's a heady observation made somewhat more concrete and accessible by ­Goodale's finely attuned sense of childlike wonder and the illustrations' (made from monoprint, gouache, and blueberry ink) thoughtful compositions. A red bird on every spread helps situate viewers in place and time, past and present.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

(1) YA "It is, and has been, June 23, 2020, for nine months now." Global time has inexplicably paused. The U.S. government has created a new school curriculum called "Solution Time" that instructs students "to solve the world's time problem...figure it out / be sufficiently distracted." Sixteen-year-old Truda believes "the universe noticed we're falling apart and we need to learn how to rest," but she's having a hard time crafting a thesis that proves it, because her concentration is shot by confusing dramas at home: her mother's departure; her brooding older brother's odd hours; her sadistic, banished sister's lies. And Truda's father is building a maze of plywood boxes around a mysterious switch in their house. But the most unsettling development is Truda's bizarre new ability to stop time within stopped time. She becomes convinced that the switch in her house is the key and works to dismantle the boxes to discover the truth. Through an intentionally oblique text with occasional refrains ("to understand anything is to understand energy") and ideas coexisting within sentences, sometimes separated by slashes, King (Printz winner for Dig., rev. 3/19) explores the meaning of time and the toxicity of family secrets. This inventive, surreal novel's dedication, "For the class of 2020," makes a direct address to real-life teens' "lost" COVID-19 year.

Reviewer: Jennifer Hubert Swan | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2021

(2) YA This original and suspenseful fantasy explores perceptions and understandings of space, time, identity, environmentalism, communication, and "the rightness of home." Nina, a human, is determined to translate a haunting Spanish and Lipan Apache oral story passed down by her late great-great-grandmother. Oli, a cottonmouth snake and animal person from the "world of spirits of monsters," will do anything to save his toad friend Ami, who has become ill because his Earth equivalent species is near extinction. Nina's and Oli's worlds are connected; a portal between them has something to do with a "pseudosun" in Oli's Reflecting World and temperature and magnetic anomalies on Nina's family land. The two characters eventually unite and together deal with a trickster mockingbird; an untrustworthy internet influencer; severe weather; and the threat of violent, cultish followers of a power-hungry "King" (a.k.a. "the Nightmare") who aims to be the only immortal left on Earth. They also use magic and learn why Nina's grandmother's health mysteriously declines whenever she leaves the family's land. Chapters alternate in voice and perspective, with the characters' worlds skillfully delineated and stories masterfully woven together. Modern dialogue, which offers further depth to characterization, intermingles with elements of traditional storytelling and family history, creating an imaginative and multilayered work of speculative fiction.

Reviewer: Elisa Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(2) 4-6 Héctor Muñoz's life is upended when his family relocates from San Francisco to the ­Sacramento suburbs. He enters his new middle school with high hopes of finding his people in the drama club, only to realize that his new school is nothing like his old one, which was more diverse and accepting. Accustomed to bold fashion choices and having a larger-than-life presence, Héctor quickly finds himself at the "Table of Misfits" in the cafeteria. After he is bullied for being openly gay and Mexican American, Héctor discovers an unexpected escape in the form of a janitor's closet. The room turns out to be a magical portal to respite when it's needed--and also a means of support, as the portal transports students in similar situations from other schools to the same room. Oshiro brings readers close to the protagonist--and to common middle-school ­experiences--through a running narration of Héctor's internal dialogue. The story is infused with thoughtful references to Mexican American life in California, from Héctor's learning how to make tamales from his abuela to chilled glasses of horchata providing just what the doctor ordered while he hides from his tormentor. The story's plot is fantastical, but the lessons imparted about standing up for yourself and asking for help will resonate with anyone who has experienced bullying. An appreciation of intersectional identity and a story of resilience.

Reviewer: Nicholas A. Brown | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(2) 4-6 Jadie Martin isn't your typical thirteen-year-old. In her spare time she hops out of three-dimensional space and reenters elsewhere to make tiny but ­consequential "course corrections" to the fate of humankind as ordered by the Seers, ­­super-intelligent beings from a higher dimension. One day she comes across some startling information about the family who (supposedly) abandoned her as an infant before she was rescued by her adoptive parents. Jadie learns that, rather than rejecting her, her birth family loves her very much, but the Seers seem focused on orchestrating a string of bad luck for them far beyond what chance would dictate. Could the Seers have misled everyone about their true intentions? Inspired by Flatland, the 1884 novella by Edwin Abbott Abbott, which imagined two-dimensional beings encountering a three-dimensional shape, Salerni threads a healthy dose of theoretical physics through the plot line, which should please young sci-fi fans. Well-earned reversals in the developing action will keep less mathematically minded readers engaged, while refreshingly un-clichéd characterization steers the narrative clear of tired tropes. While many middle-grade novels ask "What if...?" Jadie's adventures give the question real teeth.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(2) 4-6 Through an attention-grabbing text and distinctive graphite illustrations, Selznick (The Invention of Hugo Cabret, rev. 3/07; The Marvels, rev. 9/15) presents an enigmatic yet engrossing work. In three sections (Morning, Afternoon, and Evening), but adhering to no formal plot line, Selznick weaves together recurring concepts, themes, and imagery across space and time, with a character named James--himself ever-changing--being the most reliable constant. An apple serves as a gift from a young boy to an invisible giant; later, the fruit begins a seventy-five-thousand-page entry in a widower's reference book. Other motifs--books, spiders, angels, ancient Egypt, shipwrecks, changelings, mythology, keys--appear intermittently. Each brief chapter is prefaced by an arresting double-page abstraction that resembles the view through a kaleidoscope, followed by a representational image--literally drawing the reader into the next story. Selznick's text is deeply sensory, tactile, and intimate, with a notable emphasis placed on the importance of human contact ("I wanted to hold those notebooks again because it would be like holding him again"). The appended author's note explains that the work was largely written during pandemic isolation. A sense of closure is implied through the book's three-part structure; however, meaning and interpretation are (perhaps frustratingly for some) left to the individual reader, and likely to evolve upon re-reading.

Reviewer: Patrick Gall | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

(2) 4-6 Chronicle of the Dark Star series. In this trilogy-closer, teens Liam and Phoebe (an alien Telphon) discover the force behind the destruction of their planets: an artificial intelligence called the Dark Star. By way of apology, the Dark Star creates an alternate universe with a new Earth for human refugees to inhabit and expands Liam's time-traveling abilities--but can she be trusted? Interest never lags as deceptions are unwound, temptations resisted, and humanity saved.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Dapo Adeola. Like many kids, African American cousins Otto and Sheed Alston want just one more day of summer vacation. They get their wish when they accidentally freeze time and find their town visited by denizens from the "interdimensional community." Giles presents a page-turning magical fantasy adventure with broad appeal in which his protagonists use their considerable talents to save not only their town but also themselves.

Reviewer: Dean Schneider | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(2) 4-6 Illustrated by Emily Gravett. Ember's wicked uncle leads her into a world where the dead dwell, but Ember sees this treachery as an opportunity to bring back her deceased best friend Ness. Harrold's spare text invites slow, considered reading, with occasional passages resembling poetry. Gravett's illustrations effectively use color within the shadowy and otherwise black-and-white afterworld. The author/illustrator pair invent imaginatively creepy magic to explore the difficulty, and necessity, of accepting loss.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(3) 4-6 Feisty Cleopatra, savior of the Nile galaxy, returns for a fifth graphic novel in which readers learn the surprising backstory of her nemesis Octavian. The action is fast and furious, per usual, with Cleo dodging a murder charge, unmasking P.Y.R.A.M.I.D. spies, and grappling with her strange new power: she glows hot-pink before emitting powerful energy bursts. Cinematic, jewel-toned panels get the sci-fi-meets-ancient-Egypt vibe just right.

Reviewer: Tanya D. Auger

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Marianne Ferrer. During a visit to her grandmother, young Arianne adventures through time and space in the garden--flying with dragonflies, swimming with fish, and catching a star with her butterfly net. Ferrer's soft, otherworldly illustrations, which play with size, shape, and perspective, pull the reader through Arianne's apparent dream. The book would work better if wordless; the few words are unnecessary and feel like an afterthought.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth

(1) K-3 Robinson offers a smart, sly, and imaginative wordless story about a girl and her cat embarking on a fantastical adventure. The girl follows the cat through a portal into another dimension--and another and another, each time prompting readers to turn the book. After encountering her own double, the girl (plus cat) finally makes it back home. A subtle visual punch line at book's end will reward careful viewers.

Reviewer: Megan Dowd Lambert | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2019

(2) 4-6 Originally sent to Earth to observe and gather data, a trio of extraterrestrial smart-mass-holograph-research-units (SMHRs) discovers an interdimensional tear that allows negative energy into our world. Overstepping their mission, the SMHRs recruit four youngsters to save Earth. Humor, particularly surrounding the SMHRs' appearance, breaks the tension, while short chapters with exciting cliffhangers propel the plot at a quick pace.

Reviewer: Betty Carter | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2019

(4) 4-6 Edmund is a changeling living with above-ground humans, swapped at birth with a human (known only as the Childe), who lives in the World Below as a fay prince. When the fay kingdom is invaded, Edmund and the Childe team up to save it. This standalone graphic novel's characters and lore could be more deeply developed, but interesting design elements bring both worlds to life.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(4) YA When Kiva, who believes she lives in ancient Egyptian times, awakes from that virtual reality, she's shocked to discover herself on a shuttle to retrieve a part for a spaceship--and leading the mission is Seth, the boy she'd thought was the prince of Alexandria. Although the world-building is thin and the author plays fast-and-loose with reader credulity, the emotional drama should please romance fans.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(3) 4-6 Edison Beaker has his trusty flashlight to protect him from monsters, and he's going to need it when he and little sister Tesla stumble into the Underwhere, another world filled with monsters. This colorful graphic novel borrows heavily from Ghostbusters but features enough kid pleasing humor ("'He said underwear' giggle chortle") and a protagonist so charismatic that the familiar premise can be forgiven.

Reviewer: Jessica Costello

(3) YA Elsa leaves Veldana--a world written into existence through "scriptology"--to find her abducted mother; she ends up in an alternate nineteenth-century Italy, where scriptologists, mechanists, and alchemists wield great power. Elsa's own polymath powers make her a political target, but a society of young scientists, including charming mechanist Leo, may be able to help. Lush steampunk world-building and plenty of action characterize this alternate-history fantasy.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) 4-6 It's been just Griffin and his dad running a lighthouse on the Oregon coast since Griffin's mother died three years ago. When beings from a parallel world called Somni kidnap his father, Griffin follows in hopes of rescuing him. Reminiscent of A Wrinkle in Time, this is a well-paced fantasy-adventure with intriguing characters, surprising plot twists, and a cliffhanger ending that leaves room for a possible sequel.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(4) YA Violet and her fellow fans of dystopian novel The Gallows Dance are transported from Comic-Con to the story's world. When they inadvertently cause the death of protagonist Rose, Violet must live out Rose's role in the grim tale. The novel derives some interesting scenes from the premise of exploring a favorite story from within, but the eventual explanation of the magic is convoluted.

Reviewer: Shoshana Flax

(2) 4-6 Chronicle of the Dark Star series. In the aftermath of Earth's sun going supernova and the alien attack at Saturn base (Last Day on Mars), teens Liam and Phoebe plan to rendezvous with colonists at refueling-station planet Delphi. But Phoebe has a secret: she's not human. Rife with tension, time travel, and unexpected twists, this conceptually expansive science-fiction novel relies strongly on the human element to grab--and hold--readers' sympathies.

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