The Very Merry Murder Club, Edited by Serena Patel and Robin Stevens (HarperCollins Publishers 2021)
This book is an anthology of crime and mysterious stories during Christmas and festive period by British authors. I had already read this because I was really looking forward to its release and wanted to read while sitting under the Christmas tree. So far, I’ve known Dominique Valente from the authors because the Starfell series is my new favorite this year. I really enjoyed the short stories. They were all very different and the characters were also very diverse. I love anthologies because it allows us to get to know writers we haven’t read from before.
Annaliese Avery: The Nightsilver Promise (Scholastic 2021)
The story takes place in a “parallel” London, the capital of the Empire of Albion. Paisley Fitzwilliam has always wanted to be an explorer like her father, but here the children’s future is determined in advance and the stars have assigned the girl something completely different. After their mother disappears, Paisley and his brother Dax have to go on a dangerous journey to unravel the mystery of the precious Nightsilver. The wonderful cover is the work of Natalie Smilie.
Amy Sparkes: The House at the Edge of Magic (Walker Books 2021)
The House on the Edge of Magic is the first book in Amy Sparkes’ new middle grade series, in which we follow Nine, an orphan pickpocket who one day, stole a strange, house-shaped ornament from someone’s purse and felt that her luck is about to change. However, the ornament grows into a life-size house and the task awaits Nine to rid the house and its occupants of the curse that afflicts them. The book was likened to Howl’s Moving Castle, so I’m very excited about it.
Kiran Millwood Hargrave: The Way Past Winter (Chicken House 2018)
In this story, Mila lives with her family in a frozen forest and one day wakes up to find that her brother and all the boys in the village have disappeared except one. Mila and Rune, the mage, follow the stranger who is probably responsible for the disappearances. Their extraordinary journey leads through snow-capped mountains to reach the farthest corner of the frozen North. I think it will be a perfect winter reading.
