About the Book “Vividly imagined and deftly paced, The Cautious Traveller’s Guide to the Wastelands asks us to reconsider our place within the natural world amid a backdrop of capitalism and empire. Brooks has penned an elegant novel that is at once thrilling and transcendent. Also, there is a really […]
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Indie Corner – The Owl Prowl Mystery, Diana Renn
I talked with Dianna Renn, the author of five middle grade and YA novels, including The Owl Prowl Mystery (Fitzroy Books / Regal House, coming 8/13/24) and Trouble at Turtle Pond, which was named a 2023 Green Earth Book Award Honor Book by the Nature Generation and a Massachusetts Book […]
Read MoreIndie Corner – The Groundworld Heroes, Adrian So
About the Book This Indie Corner shares a Turning the Tide spotlight, which is a section of the site that highlights eco-fiction for younger audiences. In fact, this month’s author, Adrian So, had his novel accepted for publication at age 14. The Groundworld Heroes is coming out this August […]
Read MoreSpotlight – Charlie J. Stephens
About the Book Charlie J. Stephens‘ A Wounded Deer Leaps Highest came out by Torrey House Press this April. In 1980’s Oregon, Smokey is figuring out how to survive childhood with a young mom who is increasingly desperate in her search for love. As their mother’s boyfriends come and go, […]
Read MoreIndie Corner – The Botanist by W.R. Woodbury
Back to the Indie Corner series This Indie Corner revisits author W.R. Woodbury and his new novel The Botanist. In this seven episode work of literary fiction, a young man partakes of psilocybin mushrooms with a native shaman in the Pacific Northwest, and discovers that he hears voices from plants […]
Read MoreSpotlight – Donna M Cameron
About the Book The Rewilding (Transit Lounge, 2024) is an exhilarating and unforgettable love song for our world. Heartbroken and in fear for his life, corporate whistle blower, Jagger Eckerman, escapes to hide out in a remote cave, but kick-arse radical, Nia Moretti, is furious a ‘capitalist suit’ has taken […]
Read MoreFlying Up the Mountain, Elizabeth-Irene Baitie
The companion to Crossing the Stream is a moving story of friendship and a timely reminder of our duty to nature. Ato and his friends Dzifa and Leslie have been selected to visit Nnoma, the bird sanctuary that Ato’s father helped build before he died. Ato is convinced that his […]
Read MorePlaneta Blu – Rise of Agoo, Tem Blessed
Writer: Tem Blessed Artist and colorist: Michael LaRiccia Planeta Blu – Rise of Agoo is a fantastic afro-futuristic graphic novel adventure that tells the tale of New Bedford inner-city youth: Lares, her brother Angel, Tomé, and Tyler as they fight to save humanity and animal kind from the apocalyptic plans […]
Read MoreTales of the Urban Wild: A Puma’s Journey, Tiffany Yap
Illustrated by Meital Smith, Tales of the Urban Wild is a graphic novel that follows the life of a young male mountain lion as he struggles to establish his own territory. Navigating urban regions and wildlands, he confronts many challenging obstacles. The story brings awareness to the impact of humans […]
Read MoreSecrets of the Sky Series, Sayantani DasGupta
In this middle grade fantasy series starter, 10-year-old New Jersey native Kinjal and his sister Kiya accidentally unleash a monster and are whisked to the realm of the Sky Kingdom. There, the two learn of the kingdom’s missing bees and resolve to unravel the mysterious disappearance before harm comes to […]
Read MoreEphemeral Wings, Eva Silverfine
Having lost her home to changes in the current, Maggie, a mayfly, is searching the stream for the richest of foods with which to nourish her brief flight in the world of air. But the stream, with its ever-changing currents, seems a confusing array of possibilities. Where are the richest […]
Read MoreIndie Corner – W.R. Woodbury
Back to the Indie Corner series This month’s Indie Corner is the first that features one of my relatives. W.R. Woodbury is my husband’s uncle. Though he’s now on the opposite coast of us in Canada, I still recall one of the few times we met, one of which was […]
Read MoreIndie Corner – Arlene Mark
Back to the Indie Corner series Arlene Mark’s The Year Without a Summer (August 2022, SparkPress) is a heartwarming and relevant novel for middle-grade and YA readers. It’s certain to provoke thoughtfulness and discussion about the climate and empathy for those around us. For two eighth-graders, disasters erupt—natural, man-made, and […]
Read MoreAll the Horses of Iceland, Sarah Tolmie
Everyone knows of the horses of Iceland, wild, and small, and free, but few have heard their story. All the Horses of Iceland tells the tale of a Norse trader, his travels through Central Asia, and the ghostly magic that followed him home to the land of fire, stone, and […]
Read MoreTurn the Tide, Elaine Dimopoulos
Turn the Tide Middle Grade Fiction by Elaine Dimopoulos Reviewed by Kimberly Christensen When twelve-year-old Mimi Laskaris moves to Wilford Island, Florida, she immediately falls in love with the beautiful shoreline and its creatures. Then she discovers “ghost bags”—single-use plastic bags that have been left to litter the beaches. Mimi […]
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