(2) YA In an alternate 1937 in the wake of the Great Rust (a nationwide mystical event resulting in devastating economic consequences), the Roosevelt administration has ushered in a variety of public programs to get the nation back on track. Those with natural magical gifts, known as mages, have been asked to support Mechomancy, the country's industry and technology infrastructure (and thought by many to be superior to the mystical arts more commonly practiced by Black mages). Seventeen-year-old Black mage Laura Ann Langston reluctantly joins the "Bureau of the Arcane's Conservation Corps, Colored Auxiliary" in New York to earn her official mage's license. After she is assigned as apprentice to another Black mage known as the Skylark, the two are thrown into a perilous mission: to take on an ancient dark magic with a history of slaughtering Black mages that is threatening destruction on a massive scale. Fortunately for both of them, Laura Ann's power manifests in ways neither of them could have expected. The events are told from the alternating accounts of the Skylark's official governmental report, her truthful observations, and Laura Ann's first-person account. Plucky queer-Black-mage Laura Ann's voice brings a fresh, at-times humorous perspective to life in 1930s New York (and other dimensions). "Primary sources," including photos from Laura Ann's Brownie camera, bolster her account. Ireland (Dread Nation, rev. 5/18) has confidently merged the historical and the mystical into a fast-paced, complex, and entertaining read.

Reviewer: Eboni Njoku | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2022

(1) 4-6 "When she was twelve, Ophelia Harrison saw her first ghost"--that of her father. Having been lynched for voting as a Black man in 1920s Georgia, he appears to Ophie and warns her and her mother away before the murderers arrive to burn down their house. They flee to Pittsburgh, where Mrs. Harrison finds a job as a domestic worker for the affluent white Caruthers family, occupants of Daffodil Manor. Ophie reluctantly leaves school when a housemaid position opens up (they need the extra money to move out of Aunt Rose's house, which is already crowded with mean-tempered cousins). Ophie soon realizes that Daffodil Manor is haunted by many ghosts, including a young woman named Clara, who can't remember how she died. When Ophie attempts to solve the mystery of Clara's demise, she unwittingly uncovers a horrifying Caruthers family secret stemming from a legacy of slavery and oppression. Ireland's (Dread Nation, rev. 5/18) first middle-grade novel thoughtfully explores issues of race, privilege, and historical injustice, while also being a well-paced and shivery supernatural page-turner. Fans of The Jumbies by Tracey Baptiste, Spirit Hunters by Ellen Oh, and Doll Bones (rev. 7/13) by Holly Black will enjoy this suspenseful and multilayered read.

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

(2) YA Irascible Jane McKeene and posh Katherine Deveraux, zombie-dispatching graduates of Miss Preston's School of Combat for Negro Girls, are back in this suspenseful, satisfying sequel to Dread Nation (rev. 5/18). After surviving the fall of false utopia Summerland to the undead, Jane and Katherine flee to the neighboring settlement of Nicodemus, where they hope to find temporary safety. But no sooner are they within its gates than Jane is imprisoned for past crimes, and Katherine must find a way to break her out before the horde breaks in. Multiple betrayals, back (and front) stabbings, and an arduous trek to California test Jane and Katherine's bond, along with an abrupt separation and the tragic death of one of their closest allies. Ireland threads her thrilling plot with incisive commentary about race, gender, and power that will appeal to today's activist teen readers. Her alternate Old West (a mirror of current societal woes) is full of warring ethnic and cultural factions, each more suspicious of the other, until the undead are the least of their worries. Katherine laments, "How can we make the world a better place if we are always at odds with one another for every single kind of reason under the sun?" The answer may lie in future adventures, as the novel's ending leaves room for possible exploits to come. An author's note contains further reading about the role of Black Americans in the Old West.

Reviewer: Jennifer Hubert Swan | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2020

(4) YA Aspiring journalist Sabrina Sebastian, fourteen, hopes that investigating the horror videos posted on a popular website will land her a summer internship. There are rumors that the people in the videos are not actors and that some have actually disappeared. When Sabrina's sister goes missing, suspicion falls on the adults around them. Despite plot holes and some genre clichés, younger-teen horror fans should appreciate the mild chills.

Reviewer: Grace Enriquez

(1) YA Just days after Jane was born, the Civil War became a war between the living and the undead. Now seventeen, Jane is shipped off to a frontier outpost to be a white society lady's Attendant, a chaperone/bodyguard warding off scandal and "shamblers" alike. A refreshingly subversive zombie action story/alternate history featuring a biracial, bisexual heroine--and an unflinching condemnation of institutionalized American racism, then and now.

Reviewer: Katie Bircher | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2018

(3) 4-6 Devils' Pass series. Illustrated by Tyler Champion. This satisfactory hi-lo series introduces the middle schoolers of the Loyal Order of Helga, monster-fighters in small Devils' Pass, Minnesota. Each book focuses on a different creature as one member steps into the role of hero. Humor and legend combine in stories that focus as much on friendship as they do on monsters. Full-page black-and-white illustrations help readers envision both the horror and the humor. Review covers these Devils' Pass titles: Evie Allen vs. the Quiz Bowl Zombies, Jeff Allen vs. the Time Suck Vampires, Tiffany Donovan vs. the Cookie Elves of Desctruction, and Zach Lopez vs. the Unicorns of Doom.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) 4-6 Devils' Pass series. Illustrated by Tyler Champion. This satisfactory hi-lo series introduces the middle schoolers of the Loyal Order of Helga, monster-fighters in small Devils' Pass, Minnesota. Each book focuses on a different creature as one member steps into the role of hero. Humor and legend combine in stories that focus as much on friendship as they do on monsters. Full-page black-and-white illustrations help readers envision both the horror and the humor. Review covers these Devils' Pass titles: Evie Allen vs. the Quiz Bowl Zombies, Jeff Allen vs. the Time Suck Vampires, Tiffany Donovan vs. the Cookie Elves of Desctruction, and Zach Lopez vs. the Unicorns of Doom.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) 4-6 Devils' Pass series. Illustrated by Tyler Champion. This satisfactory hi-lo series introduces the middle schoolers of the Loyal Order of Helga, monster-fighters in small Devils' Pass, Minnesota. Each book focuses on a different creature as one member steps into the role of hero. Humor and legend combine in stories that focus as much on friendship as they do on monsters. Full-page black-and-white illustrations help readers envision both the horror and the humor. Review covers these Devils' Pass titles: Evie Allen vs. the Quiz Bowl Zombies, Jeff Allen vs. the Time Suck Vampires, Tiffany Donovan vs. the Cookie Elves of Desctruction, and Zach Lopez vs. the Unicorns of Doom.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) 4-6 Devils' Pass series. Illustrated by Tyler Champion. This satisfactory hi-lo series introduces the middle schoolers of the Loyal Order of Helga, monster-fighters in small Devils' Pass, Minnesota. Each book focuses on a different creature as one member steps into the role of hero. Humor and legend combine in stories that focus as much on friendship as they do on monsters. Full-page black-and-white illustrations help readers envision both the horror and the humor. Review covers these Devils' Pass titles: Evie Allen vs. the Quiz Bowl Zombies, Jeff Allen vs. the Time Suck Vampires, Tiffany Donovan vs. the Cookie Elves of Desctruction, and Zach Lopez vs. the Unicorns of Doom.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(4) YA Zephyr Mourning, a teenage Harpy (half-human, half-god warrior), is rescued from Tartarus (Pit of the Underworld) by a childhood friend, only to discover that she is the subject of a prophecy that could irrevocably change the relationship between the demi-gods and the Olympian Ætherals. Although some aspects of the storytelling are unnecessarily convoluted, fans of mythology will enjoy this epic love story.

Reviewer: Barratt Miller

(4) YA Escaping from an abusive mental institution, Amelie (who has become one of the three Furies by way of nonconsensual possession) tries to balance a normal life with the Furies' need to enact bloody vengeance on immoral men. The inane high school social dramas and unrealistically instant romance weigh down the narrative, but the mythical setup is, rewardingly, morally ambiguous.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross