A Little Smoke Was All It Took To Get the Better of the Mighty Avatar

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books in the Avatar: The Last Airbender series, or don't mind knowing spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

Avatar: The Last Airbender
Smoke and Shadow
By Gene Luen Yang & Gurihiru
in collaboration with Bryan Konietzko & Michael Dante DiMartino
Amazon ~ Powell's

The Fire Nation is threatened by a prophecy told by the Kemurikage--mysterious figures thought only to exist in legend: remove Zuko from the throne or the country will perish! Unrest is brewing as the New Ozai Society prepares to make its move against the crown, and children begin to go missing from their homes under mysterious circumstances! Avatar Aang and his friends are doing everything in their power to save them--but will it be enough?!


I'll admit, when I realized that this would be a continuation of Zuko's family's story following The Search, I was a bit more excited than I was for The Rift. I mean, I love Toph, and it's interesting seeing what the Fire Nation colonies are getting around to, but between Zuko and Azula and their mother, there's just so much drama and baggage to unpack. Add in some good political intrigue and a mystery to things, and I'm sold!

The Border Between Our Two Worlds Grows into a Rift

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books in the Avatar: The Last Airbender series, specifically The Promise & The Search, or don't mind knowing spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

Avatar: The Last Airbender
The Rift
By Gene Luen Yang & Gurihiru
in collaboration with Bryan Konietzko & Michael Dante DiMartino
Amazon ~ Powell's

Avatar Aang asks his friends to help him honor Yangchen's Festival—one of the highest Air Nomad holidays, which hasn't been celebrated in over one hundred years. But cryptic visits from the spirit of Avatar Yangchen herself lead Aang to discover a jointly owned Fire Nation and Earth Kingdom refinery—operating on land sacred to the Airbenders! Is this simply a case of corporate greed or is something more mysterious happening?


Tackling my unfinished series this year, and juggling a new job on top of all that, I decided to go a little out-of-order and jump back into the Avatar comics/graphic novels. I went ahead and re-read through the first two again, then jumped straight into this one. But after reading through it, I think I actually may have read it before. Well, I knew I'd read at least the first part, but I think I recognized enough in it that I'd actually read the whole thing through. Well, better late than never, right?

Run First, Mourn Later - the Perfect Motto for Morganville

~Glass Houses~
The Morganville Vampires
Book 1
By Rachel Caine
Amazon ~ Powell's

College freshman Claire Danvers is a 16-year-old math whiz whose parents decided she should spend two years at a small local college instead of taking her scholarships to an Ivy League school. And she has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation.

When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs of life, but they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood.

Will she be able to face the town's terror or will she drown like everyone else?


The theme for this month's Vampire Book Club was start-to-a-series. I actually have owned this book for ages but haven't had a good excuse to start a new series (hence this year's reading goal), so I welcomed this chance to finally pick it up. Straddling the line between YA and NA, would this be the start to a compelling series I'd be chomping at the bit to continue, or would these vamps leave me feeling stale?

The Fowl Phantom Solution

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books in the Artemis Fowl series, specifically The Fowl Twins & Deny All Charges, or don't mind knowing spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

The Fowl Twins
~Get What They Deserve~
Book 3
By Eoin Colfer
Amazon ~ Powell's

Irish twins Myles and Beckett, Artemis Fowl's younger brothers, return in their third and most bizarre adventure yet.

For almost two years, Lord Teddy Bleedham-Drye, the Duke of Scilly, has been plotting revenge against the Fowl Twins, who humiliated him in Book One. Teddy plans to give them exactly what they deserve: permanent death.

He threatens Myles with his weaponized jet and Beckett and Specialist Lazuli succeed in disarming the aircraft and causing an accident that kills the duke. But does it really?

Ghosts, clones, and fairy magic come to play in this ultimate and ridiculous showdown between the twins and their worst enemy.


Being a long-time fan of Colfer and his Fowl series, it was a no-brainer to see this was coming out and immediately know I had to read it. Actually, the only reason I didn't read this book sooner was that the release of the book was a bit...off. For some reason, the book was scheduled for release in October 2021, but all that became available was the audiobook. Then, when the text versions released a month later, my library got the physical book but not the ebook. Well, I finally decided I was through with waiting, picked up the previous books for recollection's sake, and was ready to see just what Lord Teddy had in store for our favorite twins.

Did I Ever Mention How Much I Love Wolves and Cheetahs?

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous two books in the Teen Titans graphic novel series, or don't mind knowing spoilers for them.
SPOILER ALERT

Beast Boy Loves Raven
Teen Titans
Book 3
By Kami Garcia & Gabriel Picolo
Amazon ~ Powell's

It seems like years, but it’s only been a few days since Raven Roth recovered her memories, trapped her demon father, Trigon, into her amulet, and had her heart broken for the first time. But she doesn’t have time to think about the past…she has to focus on finding a way to get rid of Trigon for good.

Garfield Logan still can’t believe he has powers that allow him to change into different animals, but the price of knowing that his parents kept this secret hidden from him just feels too high. And what’s more, his difficulty controlling these abilities could have unexpected consequences.

Both are seeking answers from the one person who seems to have them all figured out: Slade Wilson.

When their paths converge in Nashville, Raven and Gar can’t help but feel a connection, despite the secrets they both try to hide. It will take a great amount of trust and courage to overcome the wounds of their pasts. But can they find acceptance for the darkest part of themselves? Or maybe even love?


Coming off of both characters introductions, I was itching to finally move on with their story. Add to that the anticipation of seeing one of my first major OTP's coming into the story, and you can bet I was that much more impatient to dive in. After waiting for my library to finally get a copy in, I wasted no time getting into it.

Her Mouth Got Long, and Her Big Teeth Got Bigger

~What Big Teeth~
By Rose Szabo
Amazon ~ Powell's

Eleanor Zarrin has been estranged from her wild family for years. When she flees boarding school after a horrifying incident, she goes to the only place she thinks is safe: the home she left behind. But when she gets there, she struggles to fit in with her monstrous relatives, who prowl the woods around the family estate and read fortunes in the guts of birds.

Eleanor finds herself desperately trying to hold the family together — in order to save them all, Eleanor must learn to embrace her family of monsters and tame the darkness inside her.

Exquisitely terrifying, beautiful, and strange, this fierce paranormal fantasy will sink its teeth into you and never let go.


Coming off of two somewhat disappointing werewolf stories, and having a surprise spot opened up for October, I decided to seek out another werewolf story to see if I could satiate my craving for fangs and fur. Enter What Big Teeth which happened to be available in both e-book and audio formats in my library. I remembered this book mainly from its enticing cover, its wolfish reference to Red Riding Hood, and seeing it doing the rounds on Facebook earlier this year, but otherwise had no idea what it was about. So, deciding not to question my luck, I went ahead and sank my teeth into this story.

My Friends Call Me Raven

~Raven~
Teen Titans
Book 1
By Kami Garcia & Gabriel Picolo
Amazon ~ Powell's

When a tragic accident takes the life of seventeen-year-old Raven Roth’s foster mom—and Raven’s memory—she moves to New Orleans to live with her foster mother’s family and finish her senior year of high school.

Starting over isn’t easy. Raven remembers how to solve math equations and make pasta, but she can’t remember her favorite song or who she was before the accident. When strange things start happening—things most people would consider impossible—Raven starts to think it might be better not to know who she was in her previous life.

But as she grows closer to her foster sister, Max, her new friends, and Tommy Torres, a guy who accepts her for who she is now, Raven has to decide if she’s ready to face what’s buried in the past...and the darkness building inside her.


My first introduction to Raven and the Teen Titans was via the Cartoon Network show which ran from 2003 to 2006, while I was in high school. I loved the action, the comedy, and all the characters, but especially Raven—who had the perfect amount of snark and intelligence to appeal to teenagers, plus a ton of drama and angst to keep you invested in her story—and Beast Boy—the shapeshifter and goofball. So when I saw they each had a new book/graphic novel out, I knew I had to jump in on that nostalgia and see what my fave Titans were up to.

It Was a Very Different Scenario in the Brujx Cemetery

~Cemetery Boys~
By Aiden Thomas
Amazon ~ Powell's

Yadriel has summoned a ghost, and now he can’t get rid of him.

Bestowed by the ancient goddess of death, Yadriel and the gifted members of his Latinx community can see spirits: women have the power to heal bodies and souls, while men can release lost spirits to the afterlife. But Yadriel, a trans boy, has never been able to perform the tasks of the brujas - because he is a brujo.

When his cousin suddenly dies, Yadriel becomes determined to prove himself a real brujo. With the help of his cousin and best friend Maritza, he performs the ritual himself, and then sets out to find the ghost of his murdered cousin and set it free.

However, the ghost he summons is not his cousin. It’s Julian Diaz, the resident bad boy of his high school, and Julian is not about to go quietly into death. He’s determined to find out what happened and tie off some loose ends before he leaves.

Left with no choice, Yadriel agrees to help Julian, so that they can both get what they want. But the longer Yadriel spends with Julian, the less he wants to let him leave.


I think I first saw this one through my library's new release emails, but I've since seen it all over the web. I was especially drawn to this one, not only for my curiosity about the brujx traditions, but because of the trans main character. Having a trans sibling, I'm all for supporting the trans community and learning more about their experiences. On the other hand, with my grandma's recent passing I was very hesitant to dive into a book dealing directly with death and lost spirits, and so I ended up putting off reading at all for a couple months. But, after an overly long hiatus I decided to finally take the plunge and find out if this book was really worth all the hype.

For All We Knew, We Came From Pieces of Corn at the Beginning of Everything

~Sia Martinez and the Moonlit Beginning of Everything~
By Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
Amazon ~ Powell's

It’s been three years since ICE raids and phone calls from Mexico and an ill-fated walk across the Sonoran. Three years since Sia Martinez’s mom disappeared. Sia wants to move on, but it’s hard in her tiny Arizona town where people refer to her mom’s deportation as “an unfortunate incident.”

Sia knows that her mom must be dead, but every new moon Sia drives into the desert and lights San Anthony and la Guadalupe candles to guide her mom home.

Then one night, under a million stars, Sia’s life and the world as we know it cracks wide open. Because a blue-lit spacecraft crashes in front of Sia’s car…and it’s carrying her mom, who’s very much alive.

As Sia races to save her mom from armed-quite-possibly-alien soldiers, she uncovers secrets as profound as they are dangerous in this stunning and inventive exploration of first love, family, immigration, and our vast, limitless universe.


Though I planned to read this as one of the 25 Reads of December from RivetedLit, I actually missed the deadline for opening the book before the day was up, so I ended up picking this up from my library as both an e-book and an audiobook instead. This one caught my eye firstly from its gorgeous cover, and secondly due to its interesting premise which promised to blend immigration issues with aliens?! Bizarre? Maybe. But surely it had to be exciting, right?

I've Got a Wish List & This Invisible Spirit Floating Over My Head

~The Wish List~
By Eoin Colfer
Amazon ~ Powell's

Can dead teen Meg save her soul by helping a near-death senior finish his wish list?

Meg Finn is accidentally killed by her partner-in-crime during a burglary. Her last-minute act of kindness rescues her from being sent through the tunnel directly to hell. After winding up in limbo instead, the girl's spirit returns to earth in the hope of eventually going through "the Pearlies."

To make the heavenly cut, Meg goes to the aid of the elderly Lowrie McCall 68, a depressed down-and-out bloke who has four wishes on his list before he dies. But demon Beelzebub wants her soul, too, and he's sent a "Soul Man" -- a vicious dog-boy who murdered her -- to retrieve it.


This book was one of the first of Colfer's I picked up. I assume it was following reading Artemis Fowl but I don't know for certain. Regardless, when my library finally got its e-book copy in (after my having suggested it years ago), I figured it was a good excuse to pick it up again and see if it still held up over the years. Admittedly, I have a lot of nostalgia for this book. In fact, I remember it being one of the more influential stories that helped shape my religious views. Reading it again now, though, I'm not sure what enthralled me so much back then. Because I doubt I'd forget loving it for the reasons I do now.

You’re Going to Book Club Me to Death?

~The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires~
By Grady Hendrix
Amazon ~ Powell's

Fried Green Tomatoes and Steel Magnolias meet Dracula in this Southern-flavored supernatural thriller set in the '90s about a women's book club that must protect its suburban community from a mysterious and handsome stranger who turns out to be a blood-sucking fiend.

Patricia Campbell had always planned for a big life, but after giving up her career as a nurse to marry an ambitious doctor and become a mother, Patricia's life has never felt smaller. The days are long, her kids are ungrateful, her husband is distant, and her to-do list is never really done. The one thing she has to look forward to is her book club, a group of Charleston mothers united only by their love for true-crime and suspenseful fiction. In these meetings, they're more likely to discuss the FBI's recent siege of Waco as much as the ups and downs of marriage and motherhood.

But when an artistic and sensitive stranger moves into the neighborhood, the book club's meetings turn into speculation about the newcomer. Patricia is initially attracted to him, but when some local children go missing, she starts to suspect the newcomer is involved. She begins her own investigation, assuming that he's a Jeffrey Dahmer or Ted Bundy. What she uncovers is far more terrifying, and soon she--and her book club--are the only people standing between the monster they've invited into their homes and their unsuspecting community.


I've always been a big supporter of Quirk Books' lineup. From their monster mashups (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Android Karenina, etc.) to their more serious but still humorous fair (Miss Peregrine, The Con Artist, & The Obama/Biden Mysteries) I just love their commitment to offering the quirky. So when I saw their latest publication on Facebook, I knew I had to check it out ASAP. Unfortunately this probably wasn't the best time for me to read it.

No More October Left to Play

~October Girls~
Crystal & Bone
By Scott Nicholson
Amazon

Momma warned her not to consort with the dead and tried to teach her the magic spells that would close the portal to the afterlife. But Crystal doesn’t want to be a trailer-trash witch like Momma. She has dreams of going to community college and escaping the Appalachian town of Parson’s Ford.

Her best friend Bone is only too happy to escape the afterlife and help Crystal break the rules. Bone died too young, and she’ll do whatever it takes to remain among the living.

Then a teen movie maker comes to Parson’s Ford, and he has a very special project in mind: a horror movie starring a real ghost. The kids who watch his movies turn into brainwashed zombies. And to totally complicate matters, Crystal thinks he’s kind of a hunk, and she’s afraid her boyfriend Pettigrew only loves her because of Momma’s magic spells.

Now it’s Halloween, the night when the portal to the afterlife is widest, and somebody’s been messing with Momma’s potions. The fate of the world is in Crystal’s hands, but she hasn’t been paying attention to her lessons. And a mysterious figure in the afterlife is urging Bone to stay loyal to her own kind instead of to Crystal.

The movie is rolling, the creatures are stirring, and the brainwashed teenagers are ready to welcome a new star from the other side of the grave.

Crystal and Bone must overcome drama queens, coffin cuties, and mangled magic if they want to remain best friends forever—but at this rate, forever may not last much longer.

While this claims to be the first of a series, there haven't been any installments in 8 years, so I'd consider it abandoned. And I can't say I blame it.

Whichwood Was a Distinctly Magical Village

~Whichwood~
Furthermore
Book 2
By Tahereh Mafi
Amazon ~ Powell's

Laylee can barely remember the happier times before her beloved mother died. Before her father, driven by grief, lost his wits (and his way). Before she was left as the sole remaining mordeshoor in the village of Whichwood, destined to spend her days washing the bodies of the dead and preparing their souls for the afterlife. It’s become easy to forget and easier still to ignore the way her hands are stiffening and turning silver, just like her hair, and her own ever-increasing loneliness and fear.

But soon, a pair of familiar strangers appears, and Laylee’s world is turned upside down as she rediscovers color, magic, and the healing power of friendship.


This book is REALLY dark. Like, darker than even I (at 30) was comfortable with at times.

The Graveyard Kept Its Secrets

~The Graveyard Book~
By Neil Gaiman
Amazon ~ Powell's

Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place—he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their ghostly teachings—such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him.

Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are beings such as ghouls that aren't really one thing or the other.


My second book of Gaiman's (following Stardust), I grabbed this mostly due to the enthusiasm I'd heard online. I think the best word I have for it would be "quaint".

Worrying About Ghosts Or—Shudder—High School

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, Hex Hall, Demonglass, & especially Spell Bound or don't mind knowing some spoilers for them. School Spirits, however, will remain spoiler-free.
SPOILER ALERT

~School Spirits~
Hex Hall
Book 4
By Rachel Hawkins
Amazon ~ Powell's

Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters.

For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures—and fifteen-year-old Izzy is the last of her line. But when her older sister vanishes without a trace, Izzy's mom decides they need to take a break from the Brannick's age-old calling.

As Izzy and her mom move on to Ideal, Mississippi, however, they discover the town is not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. First, her clothes are all wrong. Second, what are these things called "friends"? Third, there's a boy named Dex making her heart skip—but not in a bad way...so, that's weird. For a tough girl who's always been on her own, it feels strange to suddenly be the center of attention.

Izzy's training taught her to never get attached, but she doesn't know if she can solve the case alone. Can she trust her new friends to find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt?


After the disappointment I had with the last Hex Hall book, I admit that I was a bit reluctant to return. True, Hawkins had moved on to a new character, one with a completely different backstory, and there were no promises that this would be dragged out into its own trilogy, but I knew it was still a matter of whether the writing itself had changed or not.

Turns out that changes were made, and a lot of them were for the better.