The Sydney Taylor Shmooze

This Dark Descent by Kalyn Josephson Roaring Brook Press (imprint of Macmillan Publishers), 2023 Category: Young Adult Reviewer: Cheryl Fox Strausberg Buy at Bookshop.org The best way to get what you want in the fantastical land of Enderlain is to win the Illinir - a magical horse race that is as dangerous as it is prestigious. Win this race and anything you want, you shall have - even a boon from the King, himself. With such rewards on the line, it’s hard to resist putting your life on the line to win. Enter the team of outcasts - Mikira (the rider), Arielle (the magician), and Damien (the mastermind) who know that they can win because they have huge things to lose and a lot riding on victory. For Mikira, winning the Illinir will not only bring her the fame and fortune to keep her family’s farm, but will give her the ability to free her father from forced indentured servitude. For Arielle, a Kinnish refugee, winning means having the ability to earn an honest living as a licensed encha...

Hollowthorn (A Ravenfall Novel) by Kalyn Josephson Delacorte Press (imprint of Random House Children's Books), 2023 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Kathryn Hall Buy at Bookshop.org Hollowthorn 's cover is exquisite and made me eager to read this sequel to the author's novel Ravenfall , which I have not read. I very much appreciated the excellent summary of Ravenfall provided before chapter one. Hollowthorn is told from three viewpoints: 13 year old Anna, 14 year old Colin, and Ravenfall, the magical inn that Anna and her family run as a bed & breakfast in Wick, Oregon. All of the major characters, and most of the minor ones have some sort of supernatural abilities. Anna and Colin used their magic after the murder of Colin's parents to rescue Colin's brother Liam in the previous book. Now, a little more than a month later, in Hollowthorn Anna and Colin join Henry (Anna's father) and Salem (a Raven, but human) on a quest to prevent Ashmedai, the Jewish Lord o...

Ravenfall by Kalyn Josephson Delacorte Press (imprint of Penguin Random House), 2022 Category: Middle Grade Reviewer: Rebecca Klempner Buy at Bookshop.org Annabella Ballinkay is a 13-year-old girl with the ability to -- with a single touch -- see deaths which have been witnessed by others. Each member of her family has their own magical ability. She lives at her family's inn, Ravenfall, which sits at a spot in Oregon where the Shield guarding the "normal" world from the Otherworld is thin enough for magic and magical beings to spill over. Shortly before Samhain, 14-year-old Colin Pierce shows up at Ravenfall. He's been on the run from the murderers of his parents for weeks. Since he's been separated from his older brother, Liam, Colin follows the directions he'd received for such an eventuality: go to Ravenfall and wait for Liam to arrive. Newly introduced to the world of magic, Colin soon learns that he's a Raven, a guardian of the Shield. Anna and her fa...