#Karuna Riazi

[the-final-sentence]

She didn't turn around.

Karuna Riazi, from "Plus One"

[anicarissi]

So glad to get my hands on this beautiful book 💙🌸 Karuna Riazi’s A BIT OF EARTH is the story of a prickly orphan, a locked garden, and a chance for the heart to bloom. It’s THE SECRET GARDEN reimagined for a new generation, and I’m so excited to read it

[darkliterata]

Lovely haul for the New Books shelf!

[bookcoversonly]

Title: A Bit of Earth | Author: Karuna Riazi | Publisher: Greenwillow Books (2023)

[isfjmel-phleg]

March 2024 Books

Norby, the Mixed-Up Robot by Janet and Isaac Asimov

This one was a lot of fun! I should track down the rest of the series.

The World's Greatest Detective by Caroline Carlson

I was very confused about what era this world was mimicking (are they Victorian? 1920s/30s?), but it was a fun story and I enjoyed the dynamic between the protagonists.

A Dig in Time by Peni R. Griffin

I remember liking this one, but it feels like I read it years ago and I can't remember everything. Time travel with a family emphasis.

The Promise by Monica Hughes

Like Sandwriter, which this is a sequel to, I initially wasn't so sure that I liked this one, and then it went in an unexpected direction that took the themes in a more complex place, and I appreciated that.

The Yellow Fairy Book by Andrew Lang

I generally like fairy tales well enough, but this one was rather a slog to get through, and I ended up skimming a lot of it. There were some familiar favorites, but a lot of the tales were of the variety that consist of an interesting set-up followed by a seemingly incoherent series of events, and I regret I don't have enough interest in folklore to get much out of that.

The Romance of a Shop by Amy Levy

Interesting from a historic perspective mostly, but I didn't connect much with the story.

The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn by Amber A. Logan (reread)

Reread so it would be fresh in my mind before the presentation. You already know how I feel about this one.

The Humming Room by Ellen Potter (reread)

Same as above. I have a post in drafts with some thoughts on this one that may eventually see daylight.

The Making of May by Gwyneth Rees (reread)

Already discussed this one.

A Bit of Earth by Karuna Riazi (reread)

Beautifully written and very readable and develops its themes well. Does fall into the trap of making the story about grief (Maria's late parents were frequently absent from her life, and she resents this, but she did have relationships with them in ways that her counterpart in the original book never did with her parents, so it's a completely different dynamic). I found this Colin to be somewhat underdeveloped, but I did appreciate the concept of his being fearful about failing to live up to family expectation, which is a reasonable translation of the original character's source of shame.

Charley by Joan G. Robinson

I don't remember much of this one. Didn't have any problems, just didn't have as much impact as other books by this author have for me.

Greenwild by Pari Thomson

A very derivative example of the Child Learns That They Are Magical And Special And Enters A Fantastical World Where They Must Take On The Villain sort of story. I wanted to enjoy it, but everything felt trite.

Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time Lords by Steve Tribe

This was a gift from my brother. I am a very casual DW fan and haven't really engaged with the show in quite a while (really should rewatch and catch up on new stuff but that's a pretty big time commitment right now). I think I would have got a lot more out of this if I were more than passingly familiar with Classic Who and all the lore in general.

Not Quite a Ghost by Anne Ursu

I was interested in this one because it's a retelling of "The Yellow Wallpaper," and the concept of comparing the difficulties of getting difficult-to-trace chronic illnesses taken seriously and diagnosed in today's world to the mishandling of women's medical and psychological conditions in the late nineteenth century intrigued me. However, this book didn't really know what it wanted to be. The young protagonist's struggles with her mystery chronic illness took up most of the book, but there was also a plot about a literal ghost in the wallpaper of her new attic bedroom that needs to be defeated in the end, and neither of these things fitted well together. One or the other of them would have been fine, but the combination left me confused about the nature of this fictional world and the themes of the book in general.

Comics/Graphic Novels

Benevolent Sisters of Charity (Over the Garden Wall)

This is the only one of the OTGW comics that I wasn't able to buy before it went out of print, so I ILLed it and realized that it was for the better that I hadn't. The story was incoherent and pointless and the characters were OOC. The art was much better than the story deserved.

Wayne Family Adventures Vol. 3

I've read these as a webcomic already but wanted it in book form too. These are entertaining; you just have to go into it aware that this is The Fluffy World version of everybody and they are characterized accordingly.

The Flash by Grant Morrison & Mark Millar

Not on a level with Waid's work, of course, but the highlight of this one was the storyline in which Linda dies and Wally manages to bring her back (some good Bart content here) and a delightfully meta short story in which Mark Millar meets up with Wally to figure out what story about him to tell next...and Wally is given a co-writing credit in the end.

The Flash by Mark Waid Books Seven and Eight

An effective end to this run. Waid points out in his Afterword that he's still got another story on reserve, so...anytime he wants to give that to us, that would be great. I'll be waiting.

The Secret Garden on 81st Street: A Modern Retelling of the Secret Garden by Ivy Noelle Weir (reread)

You know how I feel about this one. (I whipped it out at the convention to show somebody who was talking to me about CEN in the present day through leaving one's child to technology that that concept was used in this retelling, and somebody nearby oohed about what a diverse retelling it was as I flipped through pages. Which is, you know, more important than effective storytelling. It should have done both! We could have had both!)

Stephen McCranie's Space Boy Omnibus Volume 5

I've read this in webcomic form already, but it's a pleasure to have a physical copy of the latest omnibus.

Sinister Sons #1-2 plus additional material establishing the backgrounds of Lor-Zod and Sinson

A sort of response to the series Super Sons (which featured Jon Kent at his proper age and Damian Wayne), by the same author. This is going to be about a teamup of Lor-Zod (son of General Zod, was Chris Kent in another continuity, has apparently been Zukoed in this incarnation) and Sinson (a young, apparently orphaned thief who believes that his father must be Sinestro, the Green Lantern's arch-nemesis). So far the boys haven't done much more than fight, but I'm interested to see where this is going. (#3 is in the mail now!)

Lor is a horrid little piece of work, but his parents' recent treatment of him puts him in a more sympathetic situation, and I am hoping he'll get a redemption arc that would move him closer to his original version. Sinson is no angel either, but he's just a child who really, really wants a family and is clinging to the only hope for one that he has--and if that means he's a supervillain's son, then he's ready to follow in those footsteps to gain acceptance.

(Also he drew a mustache on himself with a black marker to look more like his alleged father, and that's so ridiculous and kind of endearing.)

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

The Grimoire of Grave Fates edited by Hanna Alkaf and Margaret Owen

goodreads

Crack open your spell book and enter the world of the illustrious Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary. There's been a murder on campus, and it's up to the students of Galileo to solve it. Follow 18 authors and 18 students as they puzzle out the clues and find the guilty party. Professor of Magical History Septimius Dropwort has just been murdered, and now everyone at the Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary is a suspect. A prestigious school for young magicians, the Galileo Academy has recently undergone a comprehensive overhaul, reinventing itself as a roaming academy in which students of all cultures and identities are celebrated. In this new Galileo, every pupil is welcome—but there are some who aren't so happy with the recent changes. That includes everyone's least favorite professor, Septimius Dropwort, a stodgy old man known for his harsh rules and harsher punishments. But when the professor's body is discovered on school grounds with a mysterious note clenched in his lifeless hand, the Academy's students must solve the murder themselves, because everyone's a suspect. Told from more than a dozen alternating and diverse perspectives, The Grimoire of Grave Fates follows Galileo's best and brightest young magicians as they race to discover the truth behind Dropwort's mysterious death. Each one of them is confident that only they have the skills needed to unravel the web of secrets hidden within Galileo's halls. But they're about to discover that even for straight-A students, magic doesn't always play by the rules. . . . Contributors include: Cam Montgomery, Darcie Little Badger, Hafsah Faizal, Jessica Lewis, Julian Winters, Karuna Riazi, Kat Cho, Kayla Whaley, Kwame Mbalia, L. L. McKinney, Marieke Nijkamp, Mason Deaver, Natasha Díaz, Preeti Chhibber, Randy Ribay, Tehlor Kay Mejia, Victoria Lee, and Yamile Saied Méndez.

Mod opinion: I've heard of this anthology before and while it does sound interesting, I don't think I'll read it myself, since interconnected anthologies like that rarely work for me.

[badassbutterfly1987]

Unbroken: Stories Starring Disabled Teens (individual stories reviewed)

I picked up this book on a whim at the library. I started reading and had some thoughts about both the stories and the representation. For some personal context: I have diagnoses for both epilepsy and autism, as well as some form of chronic pain/fatigue; while I can offer perspective on that, I'll have less to say about other disability representation.

'The Long Road' by Heidi Heilig:

story: Lihua is a teen girl in historical China traveling to Persia with her family. She has a unnamed disability that they are hoping to recieve a cure for. She meets a girl with a similar experience that tells her there is no cure, only lifelong treatment.

disability: implied to be some kind of mood disorder, possibly bipolar. The treatment is described as 'clean living' as well as finding connections and keeping hope.

'Britt and the Bike God' by Kody Keplinger

story: Britt is a tandem biker. She is paired up with Andre, a boy she crushes on but worries that he only views her as a burden slowing him down. They clear up the misunderstanding mid race.

disability: progressive blindness, specifically retinitis pigmentosa. Detail is given about how Britt had to adjust from traditional biking to tandem biking after she started to lose her vision. She struggles with feeling like a burden on her biking partners.

'Leap and Fall' by Kayla Whaley

story: Gemma guides Eloise to a abandoned carnival hidden in the woods. They explore and find a place for a tarot card reading. Gemma is revealed to be possessed by a ghost who lured Eloise in to share the same fate.

disability: Eloise uses a wheelchair. While it affects how she interacts with her surroundings, it's very much secondary to the rest of the story. Not much to say for this one.

I enjoyed this one less overall. It may be just because I couldn't tell what genre it was supposed to be until the third act. Was it a romance? A toxic friendship? No, it was a ghost/possession story.

'Per Aspera Ad Astra' by Katherine Locke

story: Lizzie is a teen on a sci-fi world who due to health issues stays at home. When the planet is attacked, she needs to reset the defense shield that she designed.

disability: Lizzie has severe anxiety attacks. It has caused her to stay at home and only take online classes, though even the anxiety of turning in a paper and waiting for results gets to her. At least one caretaker is dismissive of her anxiety, treating it like unreasonable fear over nothing.

'Found Objects' by William Alexander

story: Unnamed narrator is a high school theatre kid. He has a magical gift that tends to pop up when he's acting. When he gets a bit too into his Richard III role during rehearsal, it creates a Richard doppleganger that he needs to dispel.

disability: Narrator is a cane user with chronic pain. He is notably more bitter than most of the other story leads, having angry thoughts about the casual ableism he encounters. He recalls a time when a friend admitted they were glad that their recently dead aunt was at least no longer in pain, while narrator can't expect an end to his pain and is bothered by the implication that being dead is better than being in pain.

This is one of my favorites, both for the creative magic and the meditation on handling pain. It's neat to see a character use their pain to power their magic.

'Plus One' by Karuna Riazi

story: Hafsah is a Muslim teen on a pilgrimage to Mecca with her family. She hopes it will get rid of her 'monster'.

disability: the exact disability is unnamed but symptoms sound like anxiety and mention is made of night terrors.

'The Day the Dragon Came' by Marieke Nijkamp

story: Alix and Delfin live in a medieval-ish city that is building a tower that will have an important dragon figure set at the top; messenger Alix dismisses it as just a fancy weather vane while carpenter Delfin thinks it's both symbolically and magically powerful. They develop a bond but conflict when Alix wants to run away while Delfin wants to stay.

disability: Alix is a cane user with chronic pain, specifically back and leg pain. She is used to being pushed away and is unsure how to handle Delfin's friendship and possible romantic feelings. She buys mediocre canes at the market because she can't afford better; Delfin carves her a better cane as a gift.

Notes: not sure if this is historical or fantasy, as the references to the dragon and plague-causing sprites are vague enough to be either. I also appreciate the trans representation with Delfin.

'Captain, My Captain' by Francisco X. Stork

story: Alberto is a Mexican immigrant who lives with his sister Lupe, her garbage boyfriend, and their toddler son. He struggles with deciding to stay with them or strike out on his own.

disability: Alberto has a developmental disability. He struggles with what I think is intrusive thoughts he has labeled as Captain America, who encourages him to run away and live on his own.

'Dear Nora James, You Know Nothing About Love' by Dhonielle Clayton

story: Nora writes dating advice for her school newspaper despite not dating herself. She is still dealing with her parents' divorce.

disability: Nora has a stomach disorder as well as related anxiety.

didn't like this one as much, partly because my interpretation of the setup didn't match the conclusion. Nora is uninterested in dating, something I thought might be because she's aro or ace, but it's then implied to be because she's hurt by the divorce and might start dating at the end. There's a teen boy that's been crushing on her for years, a character I thought was meant to be a loser creep, but nope guess he's a sweetie that she should give a try.

[transbookoftheday]

The Grimoire of Grave Fates by Hanna Alkaf & Margaret Owen

Crack open your spell book and enter the world of the illustrious Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary. There's been a murder on campus, and it's up to the students of Galileo to solve it. Follow 18 authors and 18 students as they puzzle out the clues and find the guilty party.

Professor of Magical History Septimius Dropwort has just been murdered, and now everyone at the Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary is a suspect.

A prestigious school for young magicians, the Galileo Academy has recently undergone a comprehensive overhaul, reinventing itself as a roaming academy in which students of all cultures and identities are celebrated. In this new Galileo, every pupil is welcome—but there are some who aren't so happy with the recent changes. That includes everyone's least favorite professor, Septimius Dropwort, a stodgy old man known for his harsh rules and harsher punishments. But when the professor's body is discovered on school grounds with a mysterious note clenched in his lifeless hand, the Academy's students must solve the murder themselves, because everyone's a suspect. 

Told from more than a dozen alternating and diverse perspectives, The Grimoire of Grave Fates follows Galileo's best and brightest young magicians as they race to discover the truth behind Dropwort's mysterious death. Each one of them is confident that only they have the skills needed to unravel the web of secrets hidden within Galileo's halls. But they're about to discover that even for straight-A students, magic doesn't always play by the rules. . . .

Contributors include: Cam Montgomery, Darcie Little Badger, Hafsah Faizal, Jessica Lewis, Julian Winters, Karuna Riazi, Kat Cho, Kayla Whaley, Kwame Mbalia, L. L. McKinney, Marieke Nijkamp, Mason Deaver, Natasha Díaz, Preeti Chhibber, Randy Ribay, Tehlor Kay Mejia, Victoria Lee, and Yamile Saied Méndez

[thesecretdollgarden]

Jamie and Mei’s Library Trip

Jamie, Mei, and Chester the beagle made it to the library bright and early this morning to stock up for the weekend. After a long month of grey skies with only the barest teasings of sunlight to be had, they were happy to take the long way back on the bridge to soak up all of the Vitamin D.

Jamie picked up another Nancy Drew mystery for Emily, “The Quest of the Missing Map.” She also snagged a copy of “Robin Hood” that she’s planning to buddy-read with Kit. Mei has more of a tendency to enjoy non-fiction, especially paired with audiobooks. She grabbed a book on astrology because Christine (TM #23) informed her that Mei is a triple Scorpio and she needs to know what she’s in for.

As there have been more and more challenges to the intellectual freedom of public libraries in recent years, they also made sure to put in book purchase requests while they were there for minority voices typically targeted by conservative groups according to the American Library Association. Jamie requested “Abeni’s Song” by P. Djèlí Clark and “A Bit of Earth” by Karuna Riazi. Mei ordered “Skating on Mars” by Caroline Huntoon and “We Are Your Children Too” by P. O’Connell Pearson. This can be especially fun to do throughout Black History Month when reading lists are plentiful. Chester didn’t request anything but he did promise not to eat any books that looked especially tasty.

The public library is a place for all voices. Jamie and Mei plan to do their part to keep it that way.

[richincolor]

We have three books on our radar this week! Which ones are you interested in?

Forty Words for Love by Aisha Saeed Kokila

In this luminous young adult novel by New York Times bestselling author Aisha Saeed, two teen protagonists grow from friends to something more in the aftermath of a tragedy in their magical town. Moonlight Bay is a magical place—or it was once. After a tragic death mars the town, the pink and lavender waters in the bay turn gray, and the forest that was a refuge for newcomers becomes a scourge to the townspeople. Almost overnight, the entire town seems devoid of life and energy. The tourists have stopped coming. And the people in the town are struggling. This includes the two teens at the heart of our story: Yasmine and Rafay. Yasmine is a child of the town, and her parents are trying and failing to make ends meet. Rafay is an immigrant, a child of Willow Forest. The forest of Moonlight Bay was where people from Rafay’s community relocated when their home was destroyed. Except Moonlight Bay is no longer a welcoming refuge, and tensions between the townspeople and his people are growing. Yasmine and Rafay have been friends since Rafay first arrived, nearly ten years ago. As they've gotten older, their friendship has blossomed. Not that they would ever act on these feelings. The forest elders have long warned that falling in love with "outsiders" will lead to devastating consequences for anyone from Willow Forest. But is this actually true? Can Yasmine and Rafay find a way to be together despite it all? -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Writing in Color: The Lessons We've Learned edited by Nafiza Azad and Melody Simpson Margaret K. McElderry Books

So, you’re thinking of writing a book. Or, maybe you’ve written one, and are wondering what to do with it. What does it take to publish a novel, or even a short story? If you’re a writer of color, these questions might multiply; after all, there’s a lot of writing advice out there, and it can be hard to know how much of it really applies to your own experiences. If any of this sounds like you, you’re in the right place: this collection of essays, written exclusively by authors of color, is here to encourage and empower writers of all ages and backgrounds to find their voice as they put pen to page. Perhaps you’re just getting started. Here you’ll find a whole toolkit of advice from bestselling and award-winning authors for focusing on an idea, landing on a point of view, and learning which rules were meant to be broken. Or perhaps you have questions about everything beyond the first draft: what is it really like being a published author? These writers demystify the process, sharing personal stories as they forged their own path to publication, and specifically from their perspectives as author of color. Every writer has a different journey. Maybe yours has already started. Or maybe it begins right here. Contributors include: Julie C. Dao, Chloe Gong, Joan He, Kosoko Jackson, Adiba Jaigirdar, Darcie Little Badger, Yamile Saied Mendez, Axie Oh, Laura Pohl, Cindy Pon, Karuna Riazi, Gail D. Villanueva, Julian Winters, and Kat Zhang. -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

Actually Super by Adi Alsaid Knopf Books for Young Readers

A globetrotting novel that takes a determined teen from Japan to Australia and to Argentina and Mexico on a quest to prove that humanity is more good than bad from the author of Let’s Get Lost and Before Takeoff. Isabel is having an existential crisis. She’s three years into high school, and everything she’s learned has only shaken her faith in humanity. Late one night, she finds herself drawn to a niche corner of the internet—a forum whose members believe firmly in one that there are indeed people out in the world quietly performing impossible acts of heroism. You might even call them supers . No, not in the comic book sense—these are real people, just like each of us, but who happen to have a power or two. If Isabel can find them, she reasons, she might be able to prove to herself that humanity is more good than bad. So, the day she turns 18, she sets off on a journey that will take her from Japan to Australia, and from Argentina to Mexico, with many stops along the way. She longs to prove one— just one— super exists to restore her hope for the future. Will she find what she’s looking for? And how will she know when—if—she does? -- Cover image and summary via Goodreads

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb: Crack open your spell book and enter the world of the illustrious Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary. There's been a murder on campus, and it's up to the students of Galileo to solve it. Follow 18 authors and 18 students as they puzzle out the clues and find the guilty party. Professor of Magical History Septimius Dropwort has just been murdered, and now everyone at the Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary is a suspect. A prestigious school for young magicians, the Galileo Academy has recently undergone a comprehensive overhaul, reinventing itself as a roaming academy in which students of all cultures and identities are celebrated. In this new Galileo, every pupil is welcome—but there are some who aren't so happy with the recent changes. That includes everyone's least favorite professor, Septimius Dropwort, a stodgy old man known for his harsh rules and harsher punishments. But when the professor's body is discovered on school grounds with a mysterious note clenched in his lifeless hand, the Academy's students must solve the murder themselves, because everyone's a suspect. Told from more than a dozen alternating and diverse perspectives, The Grimoire of Grave Fates follows Galileo's best and brightest young magicians as they race to discover the truth behind Dropwort's mysterious death. Each one of them is confident that only they have the skills needed to unravel the web of secrets hidden within Galileo's halls. But they're about to discover that even for straight-A students, magic doesn't always play by the rules. . . . Contributors include: Cam Montgomery, Darcie Little Badger, Hafsah Faizal, Jessica Lewis, Julian Winters, Karuna Riazi, Kat Cho, Kayla Whaley, Kwame Mbalia, L. L. McKinney, Marieke Nijkamp, Mason Deaver, Natasha Díaz, Preeti Chhibber, Randy Ribay, Tehlor Kay Mejia, Victoria Lee, and Yamile Saied Méndez

Review:

A professor has been murdered and everyone at the magical academy known as the Galileo Academy for the Extraordinary is a suspect. Eighteen students, 20 hours, and a murderer to catch. Told from 18 different students, along with evidence, interviews, and notes, the mystery and events unfold all leading up to who killed the despised professor Septimius Dropwart and how each of the students could be involved. This was such a fun and magical read, especially when you get to see the events fold bit by bit from each student’s perspective all leading up to the events of the professor’s death and who could be involved. The mystery is revealed in tidbits and overall, it was a fun mystery read told in a unique format that definitely was an undertaking. i would highly recommend this for fans of mystery and fantasy reads! The students all had possible motives and all of them had some connection to the event. With so many unique perspectives and personalities, all the students were interesting to get to know and the overall villain was a fun one to figure out. Seriously, what a fun read!

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[theobviousparadox]

Review: A Bit of Earth by Karuna Riazi

A Bit of EarthKaruna RiaziGreenwillow BooksPublished March 14, 2023 Amazon | Bookshop | Goodreads About A Bit of Earth Maria Latif is used to not having a space of her own. But what happens when she feels the sudden urge to put down roots in the most unexpected of places? Growing up in Pakistan, Maria Latif has been bounced between reluctant relatives for as long as she can remember–first…

[anicarissi]

Middle grade books with big emotions ♥️

[hijab-described]

[ID: Book cover of The Gauntlet by Karuna Riazi. Three children run towards a tower in the middle of a round structure reminiscent of clockwork, with lots of gears and metallic parts. In the background looms a large metallic spider. ID 2: Portrait of the author. She’s a hijabi woman with medium light skin leaning an elbow on a table and smiling. She wears a beige sweater and orange-brown hijab. /end ID]

There’s a new fantasy book out starring Muslim kids! Click here to read an interview with the author (the source of the pic above, btw) in which she reveals some interesting tidbits about her experience getting published, including the fact that if you wind up getting a book deal while you’re in college, they might count it as your thesis!

On to my review: In The Gauntlet by Karuna Riazi, a Bangladeshi-American tween named Farah, And Her Two Friends, have to battle a sadistic, hidden game-master in order to rescue her brother from a board game. They have to play by his rules – showing up on time for each game, not making it too obvious they’re trying to bust out, and only looking for poor Ahmad during their few moments of free time. The games include, for example, life-size Mancala with holes big enough to fall into that are also full of bones, so the whole thing is very cinematic veering on kiddie-appropriate horror. My favorite characters were the other prisoners of the game, who populate what’s basically a timeless Bangladeshi city complete with souk and palaces. The tween MC’s meet a mysterious woman who keeps feeding them decadent lunches and then forgetting them entirely, a cute guy in a hot air balloon who’s been trapped in this world since he was their age (I don’t think he was described as cute in-text but he appealed to me and I liked the resolution of his storyline), and best of all–a Resistance composed entirely of lizards, led by Henrietta Peel. Yes, a female resistance captain who is also a lizard. I sure hope there’s fan art! The comparisons between the elevator pitches for The Gauntlet and that movie Jumanji are obvious, and possibly also to Labyrinth, but like JKR (who also built on the shoulders of MANY giants), Riazi shines most in all the bits that are completely new – the cultural setting, for example, and the surprise resolution. Warning for readers who are the type to get hungry for what they read – you are going to need snacks. There’s even a game about snacks–that was one of my favorite parts. Props to Riazi for a poignant bit of imagery in which we find out, when Farah gets the chance to drink moonlight, that it “tastes lonely.” I love concepts like that. Also, Farah’s from New York City and has just moved to a less diverse school where she’s the only hijabi, so when she sees others who look like her in the game-world’s marketplace, her reaction is “the feeling spread through her, a gulp of seltzer, bright and bubbly…” There are bits where I felt like the references to real life got too detailed–for example, at one point they have to do something reminiscent of riding a skateboard, and it’s not just “like riding a skateboard”, there’s an extra note thrown in there that it was her cousin who taught her to ride–but maybe these are there to give the audience a greater picture of Farah’s “regular” life since we only meet her the morning of her getting sucked into the game. I would highly recommend The Gauntlet as a book to hand the young person in your life who’s into the “kids getting into fantastical adventures” genre. I did have a good time reading it, but I guess I haven’t read very much Middle Grade lit in the past twenty years because it did feel a bit young for me (but it should! I am not the target audience; I’ll be thirty-six this fall.) TW for random blood and bones that don’t…. belong to any of the MC’s? Just used as horror elements.

[winningthesweepstakes]

A Bit of Earth by Karuna Riazi

A Bit of Earth by Karuna Riazi. Greenwillow Books, HarperCollins, 2023. 9780063098664  Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 4.5 Format: Hardcover What did you like about the book? Maria Latif has been bounced around most of her life, shuffled from one family member to another even before the death of her parents traveling in Australia. Maria is not a bubbly, happy young woman.…

[isfjmel-phleg]

Noncomprehensive list of books that are retellings of/inspired by The Secret Garden

Moongarden by Michelle A. Barry

The Tarnished Garden by Alyssa Colman

Into the Bright Open by Cherie Dimaline (upcoming)

The Secret Garden of Yanagi Inn by Amber Logan

The Secret Garden: A Graphic Novel by Mariah Marsden

Misselthwaite / Return to the Secret Garden by Susan Moody

The Humming Room by Ellen Potter

The Making of May by Gwyneth Rees

A Bit of Earth by Karuna Riazi (upcoming)

The Edge of In Between by Lorelei Savaryn

A Secret Princess by Margaret Stohl and Melissa de la Cruz

The Painted Garden by Noel Streatfeild

Return to the Secret Garden by Holly Webb

The Secret Garden on 81st Street by Ivy Noelle Weir

Disclaimer: This list is for informative purposes, and inclusion of a title does not necessarily constitute a recommendation from me. I've read only about half of these so far, and at least one of them I will probably never read.