[Review] Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston

Cover image from the goodreads website.

Series or Stand Alone: Supernatural Investigations #1

Release Date: 19 January, 2021

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Genre: Middle Grade Fiction/Supernatural/Spooky/Mystery

ISBN: 9780062975164

Edition: Hardback (also available in audiobook and eBook)

Rating: ★★★★★

Review Written: 22 March, 2021
Warnings: Racism, Hate Crimes, Kidnapping, Grief, Bullying, Medical Trauma, Death

Summary:  

Amari Peters has never stopped believing her missing brother, Quinton, is alive. Not even when the police told her otherwise, or when she got in trouble for standing up to bullies who said he was gone for good.

So when she finds a ticking briefcase in his closet, containing a nomination for a summer tryout at the Bureau of Supernatural Affairs, she’s certain the secretive organization holds the key to locating Quinton—if only she can wrap her head around the idea of magicians, fairies, aliens, and other supernatural creatures all being real.

Now she must compete for a spot against kids who’ve known about magic their whole lives. No matter how hard she tries, Amari can’t seem to escape their intense doubt and scrutiny—especially once her supernaturally enhanced talent is deemed “illegal.” With an evil magician threatening the supernatural world, and her own classmates thinking she’s an enemy, Amari has never felt more alone. But if she doesn’t stick it out and pass the tryouts, she may never find out what happened to Quinton.

See more by B.B. Alston at his twitter.

[Review] Small Spaces by Katherine Arden

Cover image from the goodreads website.

Series or Stand Alone: Small Spaces #1

Release Date: 25 September, 2018

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Genre: Middle Grade Horror/Middle Grade Fiction/Supernatural/Spooky/Horror

ASIN: 9780525515029

Edition: Paperback (available in Hardback, ebook, and audiobook)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 23 November, 2020
Warnings: Mild body horror, themes of death, ghosts, spoilers past the cut.

Summary:  

After suffering a tragic loss, eleven-year-old Ollie only finds solace in books. So when she happens upon a crazed woman at the river threatening to throw a book into the water, Ollie doesn't think--she just acts, stealing the book and running away. As she begins to read the slender volume, Ollie discovers a chilling story about a girl named Beth, the two brothers who both loved her, and a peculiar deal made with "the smiling man," a sinister specter who grants your most tightly held wish, but only for the ultimate price. 

Ollie is captivated by the tale until her school trip the next day to Smoke Hollow, a local farm with a haunting history all its own. There she stumbles upon the graves of the very people she's been reading about. Could it be the story about the smiling man is true? Ollie doesn't have too long to think about the answer to that. On the way home, the school bus breaks down, sending their teacher back to the farm for help. But the strange bus driver has some advice for the kids left behind in his care: "Best get moving. At nightfall they'll come for the rest of you." Nightfall is, indeed, fast descending when Ollie's previously broken digital wristwatch, a keepsake reminder of better times, begins a startling countdown and delivers a terrifying message: RUN. 

Only Ollie and two of her classmates heed the bus driver's warning. As the trio head out into the woods--bordered by a field of scarecrows that seem to be watching them--the bus driver has just one final piece of advice for Ollie and her friends: "Avoid large places. Keep to small." 

And with that, a deliciously creepy and hair-raising adventure begins.

See more by Katherine Arden at her website.

[Review] Serafina and the Twisted Staff by Robert Beatty

Series: Serafina #2

Release Date: 12 July, 2016

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Genre: Middle Grade/Historical Fiction (1800s)/Mystery

ISBN:  9780451485632

Edition: Audiobook

Rating: ★★★★☆

Review Written: 29 December, 2017

Summary: Serafina’s defeat of the Man in the Black Cloak has set new dangers in motion for both Braeden and Serafina. But at the same time, it’s made it impossible for Serafina to keep hiding in the basement of Biltmore Estate. Once the secret Chief Rat Catcher extraordinaire who explored in the shadows, now she’s thrust into the light-filled world of the upstairs, with its beautifully dressed ladies and gentlemen and their strange customs. Lacking the social graces to fit in with the Vanderbilts and uncertain about what the discovery of her catamount mother means, Serafina finds herself caught between worlds. Where does she belong, the forest or the house?

But when a sinister arrival threatens both the animal and human residents of the estate, Serafina is the only one who can fight back. A dark, gray-bearded man in search of “the Black One” uses a pack of bloodthirsty wolfhounds to attack Serafina. Is he searching for the Black Cloak she destroyed? She only escapes with the help of a strange feral boy who seems to live in the forest.

When other animals at the estate begin lashing out, Serafina learns that a terrible power is taking hold of Biltmore and the surrounding forest. As she delves into the mystery of her past and searches for where she truly belongs, Serafina must find a way to defeat this new evil before it engulfs her beloved home.

See more at Robert Beatty's Website.