Familiars, Deadly Curses, and Dark Magic

Three fantasy books have come in at just the right time--just in time for Halloween! You'll find them in our new book section at the front of the youth department.

The first book, "The Familiars" by Adam Jay Epstein and Andrew Jacobson, involves wizards and their familiars. What's a familiar? According to Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, a familiar is "a spirit often embodied in an animal and held to attend and serve or guard a person." Aldwyn an ordinary alley cat, Skylar the sassy blue jay, and Gilbert the friendly tree frog are left with the daunting task of rescuing their wizards when the evil Loranella captures them. Is Aldwyn truly just an alley cat? Who will save the land of Vastis? This book will be great fun for 4th thru 6th graders.

The second book, "The Crowfield Curse" by Pat Walsh, is set in a medieval abbey. William lives at the abbey and is out collecting firewood when he hears a cry of someone in great pain. Upon investigation, he finds a curious creature with his leg caught in a terrible animal trap. The hobgoblin is unlike anything William has seen--it has a pointed face, furry ears, and a body the size of a cat. William brings it to the abbey for treatment and it warns him that a mythical being doomed by an ancient curse is buried beyond the graveyard. Old magic, deadly curses, and the fae bring this story to an exciting conclusion. This book would be best for junior high students.

Last, but not least, "Reckless" is a book by one of my favorite authors. Cornelia Funke, perhaps best known to you as the author of "Inkheart", has created a world that is based on the fairy tales you've grown up hearing. Only this is a dark world, one of fear and fairies and deadly moths. After his father's death, Jacob discovers Mirrorworld and enjoys his dark adventures there. But when his little brother Will enters Mirrorworld and encounters the Dark Fairy, she curses him. He begins to turn into a stone statue and Jacob will have to risk his life to find the antidote. What will cost Jacob in the end? This book may just give you nightmares--and isn't that the test of a great junior high book? :)