Spring 2022-new speculative fiction for middle graders

 Who doesn't love being able to escape the current state of affairs by diving into a magical world?  Especially magical worlds as compelling as these...

The first magical world you should visit is in Skandar and the Unicorn Thief by A. F. Steadman.  It's about Skandar, who lives with his big sister and his dad in a world where unicorns are not the colorful, gentle, cupcake pooping, glitter spewing creatures that we often see in current literature,  but terrifying beasts that can only be tamed by a single person who is meant to bond with the unicorn at their hatching.  Without that bond, the unicorns run wild, endangering people, property and other unicorns.  The unicorn riders control their unicorns using elemental magic and help to protect people from the wild rampaging unicorns.  Skandar's family struggles-his mother died when he was small, his dad isn't coping well, and his sister failed the unicorn rider test, and so even though she wanted to be a unicorn rider more than anything, she can't be one and is living a marginal existence.  And worse, an evil rider called the Weaver is capturing people and wild unicorns and no one knows why.  When Skandar goes to take the unicorn rider test, he's turned away, but in the middle of the night, a representative from the Rider Liaison office comes to tell Skandar that he has been called to the Island (where the unicorn riders train), even though he wasn't allowed to take the test, that he will be going to training.  Skandar is beyond thrilled and so even though the liaison warns him to keep a low profile and not tell anyone how he got there, Skandar goes and gets his unicorn.  Skandar also makes friends, who also have interesting backstories about how they came to be riders.  The friends try to solve the mystery of the Weaver, who is trying to destroy the Riders Academy and life as everyone knows it to this point.  This is an interesting story-the idea that unicorns need to be tamed and connected is an interesting one and the magic that connects the characters is also interesting.  I liked this story a lot and I'm looking forward to reading more about Skandar and his friends.  This one comes out next month, so look for it soon!

The second magical world you should seek is the empire of Rheinvelt.  It's ruled by the Imperatrix Dagmar and her wife, Empress Sabine.  Parts of their kingdom live under constant threat of attack but one day an onyx statue of a warrior maiden appears in one of the villages and the people are pretty over it.  They try everything to get rid of the statue and in the end, a boy from the village talks to the statue.  Every day.  For 10 years.  People believe he is communicating with the statue and in turn, the statue becomes a more benevolent presence.  About the same time the statue appears, Empress Sabine is walking through the castle and hears a funny sound.  It turns out the funny sound is a beautiful, dark skinned baby boy.  The boy is behind a wall and no one can figure out how he got there and he has a clock in his chest where his heart should be. Years pass and Alphonsus grows up to be a smart, kind person and when the Imperatrix dies, the Empress decides to send Alphonsus to the village where the Onyx Maiden is to straighten things out there.  At the same time, a girl, Esme, is sent on a magical mission, that only she can do-kill her mother.  This is a wonderfully told story, with lots of adventure and plot twists.  The characters are interesting and likable.  The mystery is well thought out and surprising with some big ideas to consider as you read-is everything adults tell you true?  How can you tell the difference between a truth and a lie?  Why do people choose to tell you the things they do?  I really liked this one and I think kids are going to like it too.  The characters feel like people you'd want to be friends with and I was sorry when the story was over.  This one came out in February so look for it now!