Plot: Siblings Carrie, Tim, and Jessie take a risk and share their secret with their new friend Kevin— like the Brontë children, they have created an elaborate imaginary world, Shindaria, peopled with genii, talking animals, and every kind of magic. To their astonishment, Kevin unwittingly provides the key that turns the imaginary world into reality—a reality more thrilling, and also far more perilous, than they could have dreamed.

Prose/Style: From the very first paragraph, Alison Baird captivates her reader with humor, imagination, and magic. Beautifully imagined, and so gorgeously written that the most impossible fantasy landscapes rise clearly in the mind's eye of the reader, the most complex battle scenes are described in clear, lucid, and thrillingly exciting prose, and the compulsion to keep reading to find out what happens next is well-nigh irresistible.

Originality: At last, a writer has appeared to answer the prayers of those who wished that C.S. Lewis, Edward Eager, E. Nesbit and the other greats who plunked ordinary children in wildly fantastical magical adventures had just written a few more books. Baird must have dipped her pen in stardust, for the adventures of Kevin, Carrie, Tim, and Jessie will keep readers riveted from the first page to the last.

Character Development/Execution: Kevin, Carrie, Tim and Jessie are in the best tradition of children in magical adventures—they have an inborn nobility of character that carries them through every danger they meet, yet they are entirely human and terrifically likable. A great fantasy kingdom has arisen; if you are wise, you, too, will visit the land of Shindaria.

Plot: The plot manages to be so true to life and yet it remains an original story, unique to Diego and his situation in life. The story explores real-world events and common problems adolescents face on their path to adulthood, yet the main character’s experiences as not only a Hispanic individual, but a deaf young man in modern America, shape the plot in a unique way and add exceptional value and meaning to its many messages.

Prose/Style: The prose is beautifully written—the balance between showing and telling is excellent and the language is appropriate for a YA audience. The story showcases consistent and effective pacing and voice, though after a while, the narration may leave readers wishing they could see more scenes actively play out in the moment rather than relying solely on the main character’s memories of those events.

Originality: Valiance is an effective blend between writing about a marginalized population and modern YA storytelling. Rather than falling into the ample tropes for the genre, the story reads almost like a biography of a real person’s life and the struggles which many teenagers face, in addition to those unique to those with disabilities. All of these elements combine to produce a unique and engaging read with timeless and meaningful messages.

Character Development/Execution: Diego, his family, his friends, and his complicated love interest, Seema, all play important roles in developing the realistic conflicts and coming-of-age developments throughout the story. This diverse cast of individuals play important roles in developing Diego’s character throughout the story and serve to bring the novel to life. Each character is realistic and complex, and each one serves an essential purpose.

Blurb: A breathtaking and evocative representation of young adult life and the lives of a deeply underrepresented population. 

Plot: This is an inspiring, intriguing, and sweet story. The author is able to talk of more serious topics, like a mob running a town, but keeps the themes age-appropriate. The story also encourages children to be brave and shows how even young people can help make their world a better place, like when Natasha and Max help with Grandfather’s mayoral campaign.

Prose/Style: This story is easy to read and the plot flows smoothly. The author balances out more serious scenes with some light humor. The author successfully relays how English would have been spoken by Russians and this adds a cultural element to the story without taking away from the dialogue’s content.

Originality: This is a creative story about how a girl, her pet “polar bear”, her friends, and grandfather can make a town a better place.

Character Development/Execution: Natasha is a brave girl who displays some feelings that seem above her years and an understanding of adult situations. While she starts out as a scared little girl, her time and experiences at her father’s home help her to grow into a brave and happy young woman.

Plot: The author offers up a captivating plot that creates a palpable sense of urgency from the very beginning of the story and carries through the events that follow. The plotline unfolds at an optimal pace, allowing the reader to learn more about the strange world the characters inhabit while furthering along the story at the same time.

Prose/Style: Beautifully written, this work was clearly crafted by a talented and imaginative writer. The prose feels effortless and, paradoxically, is so strong that it allows the reader to focus on the plot rather than the author's craft.

Originality: The author creates an entirely new world that is rich in detail, consistent throughout the work, and is full of unique and interesting characters and creatures.

Character Development/Execution: The main characters here are memorable, relatable, and distinct. Their dialogue clues readers in on their personalities and motivations, providing insight into who these people truly are.

Plot: The author offers a retelling of religious stories in a creative and refreshing way. There are occasional inconsistencies that could be addressed, but otherwise the plot is sure to engage readers.

Prose/Style: The talented writer does a particularly good job of integrating potentially unfamiliar concepts such as Shabbat, shofar, and mikvah into the story in a way that is easily understood and doesn't interrupt the flow of the narrative.

Originality: While the framework of this story is based on the retelling of familiar Christian stories, the author's reimagining of these tales and the story line of Yeshua and Shim'on is inventive and engaging.

Character Development/Execution: Both Yeshua and Shim'on are highly developed, and despite the long ago setting, these young men feel relatable to a modern audience in many ways.

Plot: In this absolutely charming and beautifully illustrated children’s story written in verse, toddler Zachary falls asleep and encounters a slew of “scary” jungle animals, including a pythoctopus and a rhinoceboar, until finally he triumphs by becoming a dinosaur himself…just before he wakes up. The story itself is followed by eight pages for coloring and creativity.

Prose/Style: A long verse with an ABCB rhyming scheme, this story flows off the tongue and will be delightful to read aloud.

Originality: This is an excellent children’s story in the tradition of Maurice Sendak, with equally scary monsters.

Character Development/Execution: Zachary evolves from a little boy into a dinosaur and back again, so character development is creative in the extreme.

Blurb: Jungle Dream is an absolutely charming and beautifully illustrated children’s story in verse a la Maurice Sendak.

Plot: Charming illustrations by Jennifer Keen grace this tale told in well-crafted rhyming couplets about an enormous Jiger and his wife, the Tiraffe. They are looking forward to having a baby and wondering who it will resemble, Jiger with his long neck and stripes, or Tiraffe, with her hooves and spots. The surprise ending will delight the preschool age set.

Prose/Style: This story rolls off the tongue and will be one that youngsters will want to have read to them over and over.

Originality: The story is wonderful, though the ending couplets are perhaps a little heavy-handed.

Character Development/Execution: Jiger and Tiraffe prove to be loving, accepting parents, whoever their babies turn out to be.

Blurb: Bright, well-executed illustrations help tell this story of love and acceptance. The tale is told in rhyming couplets that make it an excellent read-aloud for preschoolers.

Plot: Simple, childlike crayon illustrations grace this charming story about a big fluffy cat who comes to visit and ends up staying, but only on its own terms.

Prose/Style: Easy-to-understand prose makes this the perfect read-aloud for the preschool age group.

Originality: The clever ending to this story brings us full circle and offers an opportunity for children to add more “chapters” to the story.

Character Development/Execution: A loving, welcoming family and an independent-thinking cat are the main characters in this repetitive story that makes a point.

Blurb: This circular story about a big fluffy cat who is "just visiting" and a welcoming family is a wonderful read-aloud for preschoolers.

Plot: Jake Graham, a twelve-year-old deaf student at Winthrop Junior High School in New Hampshire, is grieving his beloved Grampie. After a school year full of bullying, Jake’s parents send him to Camp Pawtuckaway where he is befriended by Paddy, a youngster who has suffered his own tragic loss. When an accident occurs and Jake gets lost in the Maine woods with a nonfunctioning hearing aid, he tries to put his sparse outdoor skills to use and discovers that Grampie’s memory lives on in unexpected ways.

Prose/Style: The prose is easily to read and flows well, though the dialogue between Jake and Paddy is more tuned to explaining to others how they are interacting that to reflecting how kids might speak to each other.

Originality:  This YA novel is a deep dive into the emotions of a twelve-year-old, more focused on describing Jake’s feelings as his life goes on without his grandfather than it is on action. The rather slow pace of the book makes it possible for young readers to absorb and understand Jake’s situation and perhaps to find parallels with their own.

Character Development/Execution: In this coming-of-age-story, Jake, unable to hear, discovers the depths of his own strength and abilities as he survives seven days alone, or alone with a wolf companion, in the wilderness where he has only his newly-acquired outdoor skills, his courage, and a couple of guardian animals to rely on.

Plot: This novel, which starts with a vivid description of Gaia ripping out her own bloody internal organs in an effort to stop her soul’s pain, is in its sometimes unrelenting horror akin to The Divine Comedy. Into this chaos, the shi-kai Amiria has come to find herself a husband and the boy Teverock, a human who has been adopted by a dragon-human father with the Sight, will complement her adventures well.

Prose/Style: The writing is stellar—not a superfluous word to be found, even though fairly sophisticated concepts are integrated into the story. The action moves at breakneck speed though the reader is never left trying to figure what happened—or why.

Originality: This work seems to be intended as a religious allegory and it is in some ways similar to the Chronicles of Narnia in the anthropomorphism of animals and the ongoing battle between good and evil. But it is far, far darker and not in a way that will be easily explained or put aside, because of the skill with which MacDaniel activates elements of the collective unconscious.

Character Development/Execution: There are many types of strange characters here—wizards, dragon and humans with paranormal powers, and completely mythic beings who represent concepts more than living entities. The characters that resemble humans are absolutely consistent in their actions and their voices, part of what makes reading this novel such an entertaining endeavor. A world and a sequence of events that might have been hopelessly confusing are clear and engaging.

Blurb: A superbly written allegory that taps into the collective unconscious to create a compelling story that adult readers will not be able to put down or soon forget.

Plot: The conclusion of this two-book fantasy epic adventure series takes David Bishop and his friends in search of the mysterious Crystal Caverns in their quest to save the world from total annihilation by a demon army led by General Krauss. T.C. Crawford continues the device he created in the first book of having the fantasy action appear to occur when David is dreaming, but his incredibly detailed descriptions of this fantastic world make it easy for the reader to believe it is as real as David’s waking life.

Prose/Style: The prose flows well and is written at a level easy for middle schoolers to comprehend without seeming stilted or condescending, keeping the narrative moving forward at breakneck speed.

Originality: Crawford’s description of the land of Hurea is a Tolkienesque imaginative tour de force and is full of wonderfully envisioned elves, demons, undead, anthropomorphic wolves, dwarves and other supernatural figures, as well as humans.

Character Development/Execution: David Bishop is portrayed as a very relatable, realistic character, and his feelings of inadequacy as he enacts his prophesied fate make him all the more believable and sympathetic. Other characters are distinctive and consistent, helping the reader to follow the story and stay engaged until the end, when the fate of the world will hang on the result of one thrilling battle.

Plot: Izzy is in torment as she keeps vigil beside her boyfriend’s hospital bed. Josh and his brother Ryan are badly injured, and no one knows if they will ever wake up. What follows is an Insightful depiction of teens finding their way through and past the difficult emotions sparked by physical and emotional trauma and of the impulse of victims of domestic abuse to blame themselves.

Prose:  This fast-paced page turner is told from two points of view, Izzy’s and Josh’s. Both perspectives are equally convincing and gracefully crafted.

Originality: Angela Mack takes a difficult subject that could easily become mawkish and treats it, and her characters, with respect and sensitivity. Her device of telling the story from two points of view is very effective in showing how teenagers might respond to extreme circumstances and to each other under those circumstances.

Character/Execution: Sixteen-year-olds Izzy and Josh are both shocked out of their typically self-centered worlds and forced to contend with horrible abuse, death, and the needs of a Josh’s nine-year-old brother. Both characters mature, but in a two steps forward, one step backwards trajectory that seems eminently true-to-life.

Plot: Duffy's story tells the exciting tale of two boys who are searching to find their paths in life and end up on an epic adventure of self-discovery and saving the world. 

Prose/Style: The language here is easy to understand and age-appropriate. It is easy to follow the story and the pace moves quickly. 

Originality: This story is very original, and features a creative spin on magic. A further explanation of some of the worldbuilding elements would be helpful. 

Character Development/Execution: Par and Enio demonstrate great growth throughout this coming-of-age tale. By the end, readers can see their maturity while still holding on to a small bit of childlike joy.

Blurb: An incredible coming-of-age tale about friendship and making your own way. 

Plot: The author offers a delightfully captivating tale that will engage young readers as Hannah and her brothers do whatever is necessary to stay together. The action unfolds at a steady, even pace, which allows the reader to get to know and identify with all the major characters.

Prose/Style: The author does an effective job creating an age-appropriate story using language ideally suited for the book's intended audience.

Originality: This is a creative and original story, with distinct and memorable characters.

Character Development/Execution: The author does a fine job with characterization, particularly with Hannah and Aunt Olga, who will make readers with loving, kind aunts particularly grateful.

Plot: Johnson has created a very detailed world with colorful characters. There is a nice mixture of cultures and family structures in this story. The plot is subdued and feels as though one is reading a daily journal about this school year. There are some heavy elements that seem out of place for a YA book, such as the description of the principal’s death and Kade’s parents’ marital problems, that might be minimized.

Prose/Style: Johnson has a very descriptive storytelling style. The characters are all very relatable and detailed, their relationships complex.

Originality: Johnson has crafted an original world and highlights the combination of different cultures with everyday narration resulting in a unique story.

Character Development/Execution: The characters are all very detailed. The students exhibit growth throughout the book and the reader can see how they’ve developed over the school year. Johnson also gives the reader a glimpse into the future of some characters by using a specific event in that character’s storyline to impact the rest of their life.

Plot: This is an intriguing work set in the late nineteenth century, and the author does an excellent job not only depicting the period but detailing the struggle of a Native American boy who is caught between the white man's world he lives in and his cultural history. His struggle is palpable, but the author sacrifices action for inner turmoil. The storyline would benefit from more action to balance the elements out.

Prose/Style: The author is a capable writer who is able to convey the inner angst of Prairie Cub. Some events, however, seem implausible or unlikely, and the book would benefit from a developmental edit to clear up such scenes.

Originality: This is a clever, highly original work that revisits a lost era. Young readers will learn much about the past while reading about Prairie Cub’s life and experiences.

Character Development/Execution: The author does an excellent job depicting Prairie Cub and the challenges he faces. His "torn between two worlds" life is vividly detailed, and the reader cannot help but root for this character.