(4) YA Lacy wakes to find herself an inhabitant of a cemetery populated by ghosts that rise each night (arbitrary rules make the afterlife oppressive). As she struggles to help the dead express themselves in an open mic night, Lacy awakens the ghost of Edgar Allan Poe, forges new relationships, and comes to terms with her own demise. The darkly comedic novel is structured as a play, with varying degrees of success.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) YA Women have no rights in Viridia. Nonetheless, Serina dreams of serving as a "Grace" (concubine) in the Superior's court. Her sister Nomi is unexpectedly chosen instead, and Serina is banished to an island, surrounded by violence, danger, and death. Chapters alternate between the sisters' perspectives as they dream of reuniting. Some underdeveloped characters and predictable plot twists blunt the novel's power.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) YA Mia resents her political marriage to Prince Quinn, but when an assassination attempt occurs at the altar, she helps him escape. Their journey unsettles everything she has ever learned about herself, her family, and the laws that govern her country--especially the tradition of killing women who work magic. Barton explores oppression, power, and corruption through a fast-paced fantasy with plenty of plot twists.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) 4-6 Farm girl Only Fallow can tell when someone is lying and herself always speaks the truth. When this secret is discovered, Only is taken from her orchard home and forced to serve the king. She takes the opportunity to help the Ordish, a persecuted nomadic minority, but as her influence at court grows, so too do the dangers. With a cheerful, folksy voice, narrator Only has charm as well as heart.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) 4-6 The Faeran, magical wood-dwellers, have always lived peacefully alongside the Cherokee in this story set in the Great Smoky Mountains in 1900. Now, loggers and settlers move in, threatening the region's beauty and inhabitants. Young Faeran Willa, who's been taught to fear humans, flees her restrictive clan and finds herself seeking refuge with a human and helping him. Beatty reminds readers of the strength and sacrifices renewal demands.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) YA In this sequel to Traitor's Kiss, Sage's decision to go behind Alex's back on a military adventure prevents a war but damages their relationship. As Sage's diplomatic skills and experiences deepen, misunderstandings and betrayals threaten both the future of their romance and the kingdom of Demora. Sage grows in this craftily plotted second installment, but Alex and supporting characters lack depth.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) YA Three Dark Crowns series. Katharine finally holds the crown of Fennbirn, but a growing rebellion troubles her reign. On the mainland, Arsinoe's and Mirabella's new lives are interrupted by haunting dreams that call them to return home. But it seems the rules the triplet queens were raised with have changed... With her large cast of characters fully established, Blake's expertly labyrinthine plotting comes to the fore in this third installment in the series.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) YA After her mother is executed as a witch, Alyce flees to London. There with the help of Solomon, a friendly actor, she discovers strange truths about the supernatural powers that drive the politics of Renaissance England. Although Bowling's novel showcases deep historical research, the plot is an extended chase scene, with Alyce making one discovery after another until she and Solomon escape to the New World.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) YA Emma is surprised when her family's new foster child, Dylan, is a high-school boy nearly her own age. She's even more shocked when they begin to fall for each other--in a story arc that also, in effect, references Wuthering Heights. Emma's journey from quiet overachiever to confident young woman who gets everything she wants presents self-involved wish-fulfillment in the guise of forbidden love.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) 4-6 Servant Felix tells of how, in 1816 Switzerland, his employer Lord Byron's night of revelrous storytelling with friends (including Percy and Mary Shelley) is interrupted by Lizzie, a blind and scarred girl seeking her sister. Horror unfolds as Lizzie recounts her experience with loss, lightning, and an unprincipled woman scientist. Literary-minded readers will recognize Lizzie's haunting story as the germ of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) YA Windy City Magic series. With a fantastic best friend, boyfriend, and culinary career all lined up, Amber Sand (The Best Kind of Magic) ought to be happy. Too bad her matchmaking magic keeps causing problems: she struggles to help a siren and a mermaid whose cross-species love seems doomed, and visions of her boyfriend's betrayal upset her even more. Amber's witty voice keeps the modern-day fantasy lively as it explores love's unpredictability.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(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) YA Another ice age has sent humanity to live on spaceships. Stella escapes an impoverished life on a decaying space vessel and takes a governess job on the Rochester. Although the captain of the new ship is charming and she welcomes its luxuries, Stella senses secrets and dangers on board. Donne loosely (and mostly successfully) maps the plot and themes of Jane Eyre onto post-apocalyptic space fiction in her debut novel.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) 4-6 Back in England with Aunt Evie, Americans Tess and Max (The Castle in the Mist) visit the traveling Fun Fair. Tess is recruited to perform with aerial artists; Max discovers oddities in the House of Mirrors. But the outing turns ominous when the magical carnival's proprietor kidnaps the siblings. Ephron balances genial fantasy with a tinge of threat in this pleasing if unstructured episodic adventure.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) 4-6 Ages of Oz series. Illustrated by Sebastian Giacobino. Created by Gabriel Gale. As Glinda and her friends continue their quest to defeat the wicked forces oppressing Oz, she discovers her relationship to a powerful sorceress, visits the Sea Fairies and Nomes, and acquires magical tools central to her identity. This darker-edged prequel series (A Fiery Friendship) revels in references to the Oz canon as it builds backstories for Baum's famous characters; occasional black-and-white illustrations are included.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) YA Three illegitimate daughters are summoned to the capital to compete to be dying King Andros's heir. Each girl hides a secret and soon finds herself being blackmailed. The three join forces to try to unravel the political and magical conspiracies at court. A fantastic premise leads to a somewhat predictable narrative. The cliffhanger ending hints at another installment.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) YA Smoke Thieves series. A princess facing an arranged marriage, a bastard son discovering his identity, a servant dispossessed by war, a loyal guardsman torn by love, and a child demon hunter take turns narrating this novel. As their story lines converge, a detailed picture emerges of rival kingdoms on the verge of war. Green provides complex characters and persuasive political conflicts but not much resolution in the opener to a projected trilogy.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) YA Aspiring author Charlotte Brontë's admiration of classmate Jane Eyre is unwavering (even when Jane is suspected of poisoning the headmaster). When Jane turns down a job offer from the ghost-hunting Society for Relocating Wayward Spirits and instead leaves Lowood School to work as a governess, Charlotte tags along. An entertaining, madcap reinterpretation of Jane Eyre wherein Victorian practices collide with paranormal adventures.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) 4-6 After her stealing compulsion lands twelve-year-old Hush in the Sass, Georgia, sheriff's office, she's offered a second chance working at a plant nursery. Bolstered by a good friend, a compassionate community of quirky characters, and the discovery of her own ability to help others, Hush flourishes. Harkey softens a story of neglect and poverty with a resilient protagonist, distinct voices, and a touch of magical realism.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) YA After waking from a cursed sleep, Princess Aurora recruits her sister Isbe to help protect the kingdom from further encroachments by the evil faerie Malfleur. This satisfying sequel to Spindle Fire incorporates elements of the "Sleeping Beauty" and "Cinderella" stories. Hillyer's tale about love, loyalty, and persistence avoids typical fairy-tale clichés by depicting protagonists with limitations and by keeping romance at a distance.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac