Betwixters: Once Upon a Time

Cantu, Laura C. Betwixters: Once Upon a Time. Book 1 of the Betwixters series. 278p. ISBN 978-0-9885-8519-5. Available at FIC CAN on the library shelves.

Noah’s move to England from the United States was not without difficulty, but he has adapted fairly well to his new environment. In English middle school, he made quick friends with always full of himself Ethan and best dancer and quick-witted Skye but is often the target of bully Gunther and his cronies. Noah’s father worked for the NSA, and is now involved in a secret project, which forced the family to move. Noah’s mother, who is Chinese, is very supportive of Noah and his aspirations.

Their town abuts the Dark Wood, a forest reputed to be haunted and the scene of a grizzly murder eight years ago. Noah’s father has made him promise never to enter the forest, but when Noah, Ethan and Skye are chased by Gunther and his crew, the only way to escape is to leave the school through the forest. As they go deeper, the environment changes and they can feel it become oppressive. They run in the man who owns the forest, whom they nickname Scaretaker and who warns them away from the dangers that lurk nearby. Skye, meanwhile, discovers the most amazing creature: Neevya the faerie, who comes from another realm and has unwillingly stepped through a portal to the human world. Stuck in an iron trap, Neevya has been infected by iron poisoning and must find the way back home soon, or she will die.

In a race against time and with enemies occupying the forest, Noah, Ethan, and Skye will need to outwit their parents, their bully, and the Scaretaker to deliver Neevya back to her home and save her life. Can they find the portal before it is too late?

1984

Orwell, George. 1984. 1983. 314p. ISBN 0-15-166038-7. Available at FIC ORW on the library shelves.

The Party and the government of Oceania are one. There is only one Party, and the Party provides for everyone. Big Brother is the face of the Party and of the State, and he encourages people to work hard to support the Party and Oceania against its enemies, Eastasia and Eurasia, both superpowers like Oceania. Winston Smith is a member of the Outer Party, the organization that supports the Party and implements its directives. As a worker in the Ministry of Truth, Winston’s job is to modify news report and articles so that they always match what the Party has said. Thus, if the Party predicted five years ago that the number of boots produced would be up by 5% but was down by 2%, it is Winston’s job to make sure that the newspaper reports from five years ago reflect the 2% decrease and not the 5% increase. This ensures that the Party is always right.

Winston is very dissatisfied with his life. Big Brother is spying on all of the population and the Thought Police is very active making sure everyone conforms to the Party’s ideals. When Winston meets Julia, he suddenly feels hope and love rekindled in his heart, and they begin secretly dating in a seedy part of town to escape Big Brother’s surveillance. As their relationship grows, so does their hate of the Party and of Big Brother. Encourage to join a seditious group, both of them forget that Big Brother is always watching. Caught and made to confront their worst fear by the Ministry of Love, can Winston and Julia’s love triumph over the totalitarian Party?

The Witch’s Vacuum Cleaner and Other Stories

Pratchett, Terry. The Witch’s Vacuum Cleaner and Other Stories. 2017. 256p. 235 mins. ISBN 9780062653116. Available as an audiobook from Overdrive.

How annoyed would a witch be if her vacuum cleaner was mistaken for something other than her mode of transportation? What if small people build a submarine and ended up floating all the way to the sea? What if a random encounter for directions turned into an airship adventure of a lifetime? These tales and more fill the pages of this humorous book. A total of fourteen different stories, some of them featuring recurring characters, showcase the light fantasy settings Pratchett was well known for, including his exploration of the Old West … of Britain, meaning Wales, time travel both back a few hundred years and all the way to the time of dinosaurs, and the tales of fantastic creatures including trolls and gnomes.

At age seventeen, Terry Pratchett sold his first story. While a journalist for a local newspaper, he continued to write and improve his craft. The Witch’s Vacuum Cleaner and Other Stories feature fourteen of his early tales, which have been experienced minor updates. The audio version is well engineered and feature sound effects that enhance the narrator’s delivery of voices and setting. Fans of Pratchett’s work as well as light fantasy will enjoy these tales of wizardry and magic.

The Demon Covenant

Brennan, Sarah Rees. The Demon Covenant. Book 2 of the Demon Lexicon trilogy. 2010. 440p. 901 mins. ISBN 9781416963813. Available as an audiobook on Overdrive.

In The Demon Lexicon, Alan and Nick discovered after a confrontation with the magicians of the Obsidian Circle that Nick was not human, but rather an ancient demon inserted in the body of a newborn to achieve Black Archer’s dark purpose of acquiring even more magic. Nick’s capture had failed, and as a result many of the magicians of the circle had been slain. Mae Crawford and her younger brother Jamie had returned to Exeter and resumed their lives. Having discovered that the two siblings were playing their divorced parents against each other, Annabelle, Mae and Jamie’s mother, has assumed sole custody and now keeps a closer eye on her kids.

Mae is flabbergasted when she discovers that Jamie has continued to meet and talk with Gerald, now the leader of the Obsidian Circle. Jamie possesses magical talents and hopes to develop them further, and he is also madly in love with Gerald. She contacts Alan and Nick to inform them of her worries. The two brothers appear to have had a falling out of sorts, and are barely speaking to each other. As Mae work with Nick to attempt to make him appear more human, she also begins to fall for Sebastian, a tough boy at school who’s been picking on Jamie, causing further tensions between herself and her brother. She’s also still attracted to Alan, and to Nick.

With Gerald planning to capture Nick and draining him of magical powers for his own nefarious purposes, Mae realizes that she must unite all of the magicians’ enemies into a strike force to take the magicians out. This, however, will require careful planning and the setting aside of old hatreds. Can Mae maneuver the deadly pitfalls to save everyone she cares about?