Speculative middle grade fiction-Summer 2022

 Summer vacation is awesome!  We're back from our travels (western Canada and western NC) where we got a big dose of mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, family, and fun.  I love traveling but it's great to be home too!  Here are a couple of books I've gotten to read over the last few weeks.

The first one is a Rick Riordan book, in the same vein as the Lightning Thief-but this one is based on Ghanian folklore and it was terrific.  It's called Serwa Boateng's Guide to Vampire Hunting by Roseanne A. Brown.  It's about Serwa who has been training to be a vampire fighter since she was tiny.  She's been homeschooled so that she can train intensely and her parents are two of the biggest, baddest vampire hunters ever.  So it's kind of a surprise when a obayifo (a witch) attacks her parents and destroys her family home seeking a magic drum.  Serwa's parents decide the best course of action is to send Serwa away to keep her safe.  Serwa is not on board with this plan, but since she's twelve, she goes to stay with an aunt and a cousin in a small town near Baltimore.  Part of this plan includes Serwa going to public middle school and that's where things start to get a little weird.  Serwa is sure that there is some magical mayhem afoot but her parents are equally sure that there is not and cut off communication with her.  Serwa is hurt and angry but as the evidence for magical mischief mounts, Serwa needs reinforcements and starts training some of the other kids at her school.  This is a super fun story to read.  It moves very quickly and there's a ton of action.  The characters will remind you of people you know and Serwa's voice is so clear and so vivid-I felt like she was one of my new friends.  Her comments about Ghanian culture (beyond the scary vampires) was really interesting.    There are also some pieces about micro-aggressions towards people of color that will be excellent conversation starters for many.  I thought this was terrific and I can't wait to get it into my library.  It comes out in September, so make sure you look for it!

The second one is also a magical mystery-this one is based in Norse mythology.  It's called Fenris and Mott and it's written by Greg van Eekhout.  I adored COG and The Voyage of the Dogs so I was super excited to see this one come out.  It's about Mott who lives with her mom in a small apartment in Los Angeles.  Mott does video reviews about root beer with her best friend, Amanda, except that Amanda is away for the summer so Mott is trying to do it on her own, without much success.  She hears a funny noise in a dumpster and finds an adorable white puppy.  She knows she can't keep the puppy so she takes it to a shelter close by.  The volunteer at the shelter explains to her that the puppy is a wolf and that it needs to go to a special wolf rehab shelter but when they try to put a leash on the puppy, it runs away.  Mott runs after it and that's when things start to get a little weird.  It turns out that the puppy's name is Fenris and it's a Norse mythical creature that is meant to devour the world.  Mott decides that she will save the world and the puppy.  Lots of other Norse mythical creatures turn up to both help and hinder Mott and it's such a fun ride.  Mott is a wonderful character-full of heart and amazing problem solving strategies.  The rest of the characters are terrific too, I don't want to give too much away because the book unfolds in such a fun and exciting way.  Don't miss this one-it's SUCH a fun ride.  This would be great to compare to Riordan's Norse myth books-the Magnus Chase series or Neil Gaiman's book on Norse mythology.  I think the kids are going to love this one too.  This one comes out in August, don't miss it either!