(2) 4-6 Mollie sets out to return Guest, a changeling child, to the Kinde Folke and bring home her true brother, Thomas--but on the journey, she grows to feel compassion for the unwanted creature. Mollie's sisterly affection toward both of her brothers gives the story its heart. Twists and turns provide ample opportunity for Irish folklore and legends to mingle with very human concerns about family, growing up, and bravery.

Reviewer: Sarah Berman | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2019

(4) YA Ciara, princess of Mide in the ancient land of Éirinn, has mind-control powers that help her kingdom defeat Northmen invaders but also terrify her father's army. After being banished for believing a dire vision, Ciara works with a captured Northman leader to defeat an even bigger threat to her land. Leake creatively mixes Celtic and Norse mythologies, which elevates an otherwise predictable romance.

Reviewer: Jenn Matters

(3) 4-6 Julius Zebra series. Zebra Julius and his animal friends (Rumble with the Romans!) continue their gladiatorial adventures, this time being sent to Londinium to fight Celtic gladiators while trying to escape from their Roman captors. The protagonists are still awkward, gangly, and mostly clueless, but the silly story's irreverent humor and goofy, black-and-white cartoon illustrations on every page should entertain readers.

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(3) YA Grey Land series. Nessa and Anto survived their Call (The Call), both escaping the horror-filled realm of the Sídhe (wicked fae) both physically altered. The young lovers look forward to a peaceful future, but their romance is stalled by a more terrifying prospect: the Sídhe invading real-world Ireland. Book two of the series continues the page-turning terror and visceral trauma as a desperate nation faces supernatural war.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(3) YA Lady-in-waiting Branwen's devotion to Princess Eseult and to their country, Iveriu, is tested when an enemy from Kernyv washes ashore. Blessed with magical healing, Branwen nurses Tristan back to health. When Branwen later finds herself betrayed, she makes a tragic choice. Pérez's lush reinterpretation of the Tristan and Iseult legend will devastate and delight romance fans. Includes notes on the source mythology and a glossary.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(3) YA One by one, the teenagers of Ireland are called to the nightmarish Grey Land of the Sídhe (wicked fae). The teens reappear after only three minutes, but with magically misshapen bodies--or dead. Readers follow a class of fourteen-year-olds, including Nessa, with polio-twisted legs, as they experience the Call in a grisly and gripping plot reminiscent of Battle Royale.

Reviewer: Jeannie Coutant

(4) 4-6 When a unicorn, the embodiment of magic, is wounded with a poison dart, Maddy (The Feral Child) is called upon to re-enter Tír na nÓg and track down the unicorn's attacker. Hostile faeries of the Tuatha de Dannan court complicate her quest. Although the action is slow to get going, Golden breathes life into Irish mythology by highlighting real antagonisms.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) 4-6 Time out of Time series. Timothy, newly crowned Filidh of Time out of Time, must solve a map code and find the Telling Stone to keep Balor the One-Eyed from upsetting the balance of Dark and Light. Timothy's sister Sarah and friend Jessica play roles as well. Though this second volume's slack plot hangs on coincidence, McQuerry's intriguing research and fresh reimagining of Celtic mythology will entrance readers.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) 4-6 Time Out of Time series. Scrabble-loving loner Timothy and his older sister Sarah access an ancient mythological prophecy when Timothy saves his school tormentor, Jessica, from being hunted on Beltane, the Gaelic May Day festival. Heavy reliance on Celtic mythology and symbolism doesn't help an awkwardly disjointed plot, though the strong good/evil dichotomy will attract fans to the new series. A code in Ogham script runs along each page.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam

(4) YA Illustrated by Javier Serrano Pérez. A slim illustrated volume, Virgo's poetically written adaptation of the selkie legend traces one family from the mother's mysterious origins to her son's escape into the sea from which she emerged. Pérez punctuates the tale with softly shaded drawings of surreal quality. An attractive pairing, but the unusual book is likely too conceptual for most readers.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby

(2) YA American Fairy series. Half-fairy princess Callie (Dust Girl) and her friend Jack continue their search for Callie's parents. The clues lead them to MGM Studios, where they fall in with child star Ivy Bright. Zettel brings the mythology of the Celtic fairy tradition into 1930s Hollywood; the cold glitter of the fairy courts acts as a parallel to the tawdry glitz of Hollywood fame.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2013

(4) 4-6 Mythology Rocks! series. Each of these volumes (revised and with slightly different titles--without "Rocks!") begins with a brief introduction to the title culture. Several myths important to that culture follow; a short question-and-answer section, along with "expert commentary," appears after each story. Stippled illustrations break up the dense texts but otherwise don't add much. Reading list, websites. Glos., ind. Review covers these Mythology Rocks! titles: African Mythology Rocks!, Celtic Mythology Rocks!, Chinese Mythology Rocks!, Gods and Goddesses in Greek Mythology Rock!, Maya and Aztec Mythology Rocks!, and Heroes in Greek Mythology Rock!

Reviewer: Antonio Trujillo

(4) YA The Faery Courts must unite to defeat Bananach in battle. But first, Seth, Aislinn, Keenan, and Donia must resolve their romantic stalemate, and Niall must overcome the madness of grief. Frequent point-of-view shifts detract somewhat from emotional investment in the exposition-heavy narrative, but the payoff is a resolution of every plot thread from the previous four books and romantic happiness for all.

Reviewer: Amy Bennett-Zendzian

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Pascal Milelli. After Finn, a young fisher, rescues a magical shape-shifting seal (or selkie), she takes the form of a human girl to join him on land. When a sudden storm comes up, she saves Finn's life but then must return to the sea forever. Dramatic oil paintings, particularly effective in their portrayal of the ocean and the selkie, illustrate the bittersweet, evocative story.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Susan Mitchell. An old woman grumbles and complains about housework--and fairies appear to do it for her. At first it's wonderful, but as soon as they finish a chore, they undo it and start afresh--over and over. At last the village wise woman provides a solution, and the old woman never complains again. Understated and humorous watercolor illustrations accompany this amusing retelling.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley

(3) YA Devlin, the Fairy High Queen's brother/assassin, and Ani, the half-mortal hellhound, are both suffering the burden of strength coupled with disenfranchisement. Devlin's disobedience allows for Ani's existence but also results in mortal danger, particularly when the two become romantically involved. The book's crisis, romance, and solution are all eminently entertaining.

Reviewer: Thom Barthelmess

(3) YA As Elizabeth I's troops storm Ireland, fourteen-year-old Maeve O'Tullagh fights to save her mother and sister from a mysterious illness. To do so, she must confront Uria, a vengeful Valkyrie, and the malicious Tom Cavan. Flashbacks, dream sequences, and historical elements combine in this tightly woven Celtic fantasy.

Reviewer: Becca Schaffner

(4) YA Barnes's humorously narrated follow-up to Tattoo fuses a chick-lit chronicle of the friendship between four high school seniors with a fantasy adventure featuring elements of Greek and Irish mythology. The episodes set in the Otherworld are awkwardly plotted, but the girls' bantering relationship, worries about graduation, and schemes to romance the geekiest boys in school are warmly conveyed.

Reviewer: Megan Lynn Isaac

(4) YA Marr's eerie supernatural soap opera builds on the interpersonal and political intrigues established in Wicked Lovely. Aislinn, now the new Summer Queen, attempts to maintain her relationship with mortal Seth, whose bid to become a faery becomes part of a larger power struggle within Faerie. Though occasionally lacking direction, this sequel hooks readers with plenty of angst and strong emotional underpinnings.

Reviewer: T. Borregaard

(4) YA Four friends stumble into a supernatural battle between the Three Fates when they apply temporary tattoos that give them magical abilities. Though the girls' characters rarely rise beyond standard types (tomboy, fashionista, etc.), they are sympathetic players in a layered plot that fuses Celtic and Greek mythology for a sort of supernatural Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby