A slightly creepy, completely entertaining collection of weird tales.
A collection of short stories featuring monster legends from across the United States.
Across seven short stories set in various small towns throughout the United States (plus a bonus tale that takes place “anywhere”), Turpin takes middle-grade readers on a monster-riddled journey through adolescence. Each story focuses on a new monster in a new place, such as the “Loveland Frogman” in Loveland, Ohio. There, twins Lyle and Lyric hatch a plan to save their house from being auctioned off by faking a Frogman sighting to drum up tourism. In Hopkinsville, Kentucky, readers are introduced to Peyton, a fourth-generation Earth-dweller whose alien family crash-landed in the 1950s and has been (mostly) blending in with humanity ever since. When a quirky girl from school notices Peyton’s blue sweat, she encourages the young alien to embrace her differences instead of hiding them. The concluding bonus chapter follows the legend of the “Fiddler Fiend” from its inception in 1926 to its various (imagined) incarnations in 2026 and 2126, demonstrating how stories morph and change over time into the legends and myths that readers know and love today. Robe’s black-and-white illustrations are simple yet effective, with bold lines and minimal details evoking a sense of spooky fun (exemplified by the “Flatwoods Monster,” with its heart-shaped eyes and O-shaped mouth). Some chapters are less monster-heavy, such as one that details a young girl’s trip to WeirdCon with her best friend (with whom she’s in the middle of a huge fight). Even the more supernatural-oriented entries contain strong reminders of the importance of family, friends, and being yourself: “Sometimes, though, we don’t have the same dreams as our parents do. We want different things for ourselves.” With smooth prose, engaging stories, and uplifting lessons for adolescents, Turpin delivers an utterly fresh selection for anyone facing the sometimes-frightening prospect of growing up.
A slightly creepy, completely entertaining collection of weird tales.Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2026
ISBN: 9781970393033
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Orange Blossom Publishing
Review Posted Online: June 19, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.
In Florence’s middle-grade fantasy novel, a young girl’s heart is tested in the face of an evil, spreading Darkness.
Eleven-year-old Lydia, “freckle-cheeked and round-eyed, with hair the color of pine bark and fair skin,” is struggling with the knowledge that she has reached the age to apprentice as an herbalist. Lydia is reluctant to leave her beloved, magical Mulberry Glen and her cozy Housetree in the woods—she’ll miss Garder, the Glen’s respected philosopher; her fairy guardian Pit; her human friend Livy; and even the mischievous part-elf, part-imp, part-human twins Zale and Zamilla. But the twins go missing after hearing of a soul-sapping Darkness that has swallowed a forest and is creeping into minds and engulfing entire towns. They have secretly left to find a rare fruit that, it is said, will stop the Darkness if thrown into the heart of the mountain that rises out of the lethal forest. Lydia follows, determined to find the twins before they, too, fall victim to the Darkness. During her journey, accompanied by new friends, she gradually realizes that she herself has a dangerous role to play in the quest to stop the Darkness. In this well-crafted fantasy, Florence skillfully equates the physical manifestation of Darkness with the feelings of insecurity and powerlessness that Lydia first struggles with when thinking of leaving the Glen. Such negative thoughts grow more intrusive the closer she and her friends come to the Darkness—and to Lydia’s ultimate, powerfully rendered test of character, which leads to a satisfyingly realistic, not quite happily-ever-after ending. Highlights include a delightfully haunting, reality-shifting library and a deft sprinkling of Latin throughout the text; Pit’s pet name for Lydia is mea flosculus (“my little flower”). Fine-lined ink drawings introducing each chapter add a pleasing visual element to this well-grounded fairy tale.
An absorbing fantasy centered on a resilient female protagonist facing growth, change, and self-empowerment.Pub Date: Jan. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781956393095
Page Count: 288
Publisher: Waxwing Books
Review Posted Online: Oct. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship.
A young tennis champion becomes the target of revenge.
In this sequel to Legacy and the Queen (2019), Legacy Petrin and her friends Javi and Pippa have returned to Legacy’s home province and the orphanage run by her father. With her friends’ help, she is in training to defend her championship when they discover that another player, operating under the protection of High Consul Silla, is presenting herself as Legacy. She is so convincing that the real Legacy is accused of being an imitation. False Legacy has become a hero to the masses, further strengthening Silla’s hold, and it becomes imperative to uncover and defeat her. If Legacy is to win again, she must play her imposter while disguised as someone else. Winning at tennis is not just about money and fame, but resisting Silla’s plans to send more young people into brutal mines with little hope of better lives. Legacy will have to overcome her fears and find the magic that allowed her to claim victory in the past. This story, with its elements of sports, fantasy, and social consciousness that highlight tensions between the powerful and those they prey upon, successfully continues the series conceived by late basketball superstar Bryant. As before, the tennis matches are depicted with pace and spirit. Legacy and Javi have brown skin; most other characters default to White.
A worthy combination of athletic action, the virtues of inner strength, and the importance of friendship. (Fantasy. 9-12)Pub Date: Aug. 24, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-949520-19-4
Page Count: 224
Publisher: Granity Studios
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2021
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