Over the Dragon’s Wallby Alanna VanePublished by Cold Blue PressReview by Kelli Worton$15.99 ISBN 9781738023325 Book One in the Children of Koshluk series, Over the Dragon’s Wall is a tremendous surprise of a book. In it, we are introduced to 13-year-old Sage, who lives in the woods outside a small village in Koshluk with her mother, father, and two younger siblings, Violet and Wren. Here, they live a simple life. Sage’s mother is a musician, and often sings and plays the violin for the family; Sage’s father makes furniture, and while they don’t have a lot, they have a home filled with love and warmth. This ends when Sage’s mother dies. Overwhelmed by grief, Sage’s father is unable to take care of even the children’s most basic needs. He finally abandons them, leaving Sage responsible for her siblings, and thrusting them into a tenuous, uncertain future. Then one day, Sage finds a picture of a dragon named Nytari, who is said to be the Guardian of Fate. Searching for a way to keep her siblings together and hoping to appeal to Nytari to change her fate, Sage undertakes a journey to find him. A gate to a mysterious world where…

Gabrielle and the Rebelsby Maureen UlrichPublished by Flatlands PressReview by Toby A. Welch  $21.99 ISBN 9781778296536 Lampman-based Maureen Ulrich, author of the much-loved Jessie Mac Hockey Series, has crafted a new series, Winds of Change. It is a fantastical coming of age story. What a wild ride readers are in for! I love the premise of Gabrielle and the Rebels, the first book in the Winds of Change series. Travel back to a time a few centuries ago, throw technology in the mix, and see what happens. From page one, this was a fun read. I found it categorized in many ways – fiction, urban fantasy, historical fantasy, and alternate history, among others – but for me the only important category is “must read.”   With such a unique storyline, I was intrigued as to how Ulrich came up with the idea for Gabrielle and the Rebels. This is what she had to say: “The concept of the book actually came from a popular Lloyd Alexander series called Westmark, which utilized alternative history/historical fantasy, colourful characters, and NO magic. Real life problems aren’t solved with a magical wand or ring, but through human interactions and technology. That’s my goal. This series has been on my desktop in various forms…

The Stones Will Singby Alanna VanePublished by Cold Blue PressReview by Toby A. Welch  $12.72 ISBN 9781738023301 The premise of The Stones Will Sing seems to be the question of whether music can be a life-changing force. It is a quirky yet fascinating topic to delve into, wrapped inside a fantastical tale of adventure.  The novel opens as the king of the country of Koshluk goes rampant on a quest to quash all the arts. Included in his declarations is that musical instruments are illegal and anyone caught singing will have their larynx removed. You can imagine the chaos that ensues when these rules (among others involving books, theater, etc.) are made known.  On one hand, you have Prince Ash, the second son of King Marcus of Koshluk, who is on a mission to protect the people of his country and their freedoms. Then there is Cedar, a woman who’s drawn to music with an inexplicable force. The duo embark on a journey, both carrying their provisions but also the weight of their secrets. For example, Cedar has no clue that Ash is a prince. Ash’s brother, James, is weaved through the tale as well as many other characters that keep things interesting…

The Legend of Sarahby Leslie GadallahPublished by Shadowpaw PressReview by Toby A. Welch  $24.95 ISBN 9781989398494 The Legend of Sarah was first published in 1988 under the title Lore Master. It has now been republished in this third edition by Shadowpaw Press Reprise based out of Regina. Myself and anyone else smart enough to grab a copy of The Legend of Sarah will be grateful that it was chosen for republication. A few minor references were changed to make them more up to date but the novel is otherwise unchanged. The Legend of Sarah is as relevant today as it was 35 years ago. The title character is a 14-year-old who lives a rough life. Sarah survives on the streets of the fictional town of Monn, rigorously trying to avoid trouble. A storyteller she regularly encounters weaves formidable tales, unknowingly providing inspiration for Sarah to aim for a better life. But of course things are never simple. She gets caught up in the crossfire of numerous evil and negative forces that aim to muscle their way into her world, trying to pull Sarah to a darker side. Boiled down, she is trapped between two cultures.  Sarah is an interesting character. She is a tenacious young thing, working hard every day…

The Amnesia Projectby Payton ToddPublished by Wood Dragon BooksReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$19.99 ISBN 9781990863264 Keeping journals and writing poetry are common practices among teens, and I commend them for documenting their lives, even if no one else ever sees the writing. Some of our most exciting and/or trying experiences may occur during adolescence, and writing’s good therapy. What’s highly uncommon, however, is for a teenaged writer to have a book published, and for that book to be a 302-paged, young adult sci-fi novel with a large cast of well-developed characters, a complex and dynamic plot, and a satisfying conclusion. Enter Payton Todd and The Amnesia Project. At age fifteen, the avid writer and student from Wood Mountain, SK won the Wood Dragon Books’ Young Author Competition. After working with publisher Jeanne Martinson on successive edits, the attractive, action-filled novel was released. In an interview with moosejawtoday.com, Martinson said “Wood Dragon worked around Payton’s school schedule, and she lives on a [cattle] ranch, too, so she has a lot of chores and obligations. We’re really proud of this book …” The futuristic novel centres around seventeen-year-old Kole Danvers, who finds himself assigned a new name and position—Beta 9X—at the Pacific…

Daughter of Earth: Book Four of the Leather Book Talesby Regine HaenselPublished by Serimuse BooksReview by Toby A. Welch$14.95 ISBN 9780993903236 Fantasy books are so hit and miss for me. I either love or hate the world that the author created and I am thrust into. In the case of Daughter of Earth, I love where author Haensel’s creativity took her. The world that revolves around Alizarine and Samel kept me sucked in, eager to keep flipping the pages. As the title points out, this is book four in The Leather Book Tales set. The author best explains this book collection: “The Leather Book Tales is a fantasy set in western North America. Four powers – fire, water, air, and earth – reveal themselves in four young people, triggered and enhanced by a pair of silver bracelets. The young people’s abilities increase as they overcome challenges and collaborate against forces that oppose and threaten them. The Leather Book holds old and tangled tales that connect with what is happening to them, but the stories don’t reveal all that is behind the events. The young people face risks, not only for themselves but also for the world and its people.” A huge bonus…

The Ghosts of Spiritwoodby Martine Noël-MawPublished by Shadowpaw Press RepriseReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$17.99 ISBN 9781989398623 I’ve always loved a good ghost story, and Saskatchewan writer Martine Noël-Maw gives us ghost stories inside a ghost story in her YA novel The Ghosts of Spiritwood. First published in 2010 in French, the book’s now available in English thanks to Shadowpaw Press Reprise, and I’m so pleased. The novel was inspired by Grade 8 French Immersion students at Elsie Mironuck School in Regina, where Noël-Maw conducted six writing workshops. The author’s work’s been recognized with two Saskatchewan Book Awards, and she clearly knows how to write well, beginning with this novel’s opening paragraph: “I still have nightmares about the events that took place in that abandoned country school near Spiritwood. I’d seen disembodied spirits before but never like those.” That’s a grabber. We immediately learn that our First Person narrator is seventeen-year-old Ethan, the son of a Regina psychologist. Ethan and his classmates were to go camping in Spiritwood where they’d “watch the northern lights,” but rather than taking the bus with the others, Ethan and twins John and Reggie, plus Ethan’s crush Alex(andra) and whiny Britney had to leave the city…

From the Street to the Stars: Andy Nebula, Interstellar Rockstar – Book Oneby Edward WillettPublished by Shadowpaw PressReview by Toby A. Welch$19.95 ISBN 9781999382728 From the Street to the Stars is not my first Edward Willett book. Odds are it won’t be my last, as Willett is constantly publishing (that is a bonus for those of us who love reading the tales that come out of his super-imaginative mind.) Like his other works, this one doesn’t disappoint. It is filled with prose that draws you right in while the characters and plot keep you glued to every page.  While From the Street to the Stars is geared for young adults and I’m approaching middle age, I loved Kit’s story. The tale of a teenager turned rockstar would’ve been enough to keep me sucked in yet Willett takes the plot several exciting steps further. He adds in spaceships, aliens, interplanetary travel, and a few other galactic surprises. While that could’ve turned cheesy fast, in this case it added fabulous layers to the story. New depths are created, especially with the kooky aliens. It was a thrill ride to go along with the cast of quirky characters on their adventures.  One of…

The Last Green Dragonby Rud VerhagenPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Michelle Shaw$19.95 ISBN 9781988783918 The Last Green Dragon is a magical tale of courage, mystery and adventure between two very unlikely friends. Gus is a green dragon who has been raised by a pair of owls since he was a hatchling. Ev is a young girl who was left on the doorstep of a kind old lady named Granny Jenkins when she was a baby. But thanks to a magical opening in Ev’s backyard the two meet and become friends. Although they don’t know it, they are both on a quest and it’s only by joining together that they will each be able to unlock the secrets of their past. Both Gus and Ev are prepared to sacrifice something precious to help the other and they encourage each other when the challenges seem too hard. But just when their friendship seems unbreakable there’s a shocking discovery at the end of the book that threatens to destroy it forever. Fantasy is not usually my go-to genre, but I was absolutely delighted by The Last Green Dragon. Gus and Ev are interesting characters who each have their own personal challenges…

Silencing Rebeccaby Nikki VogelPublished by Thistledown PressReview by Toby A. Welch$18.95 ISBN 9781771872263 Silencing Rebecca is a fantastic book that jumps right into the action with a claustrophobic scene that has us questioning what the heck is going on with the main character. The book then goes on to answer that intriguing question. The story of Rebecca, a teenager transplanted from Toronto to Edmonton, starts predictably. She struggles with the upheaval of moving to a new place and starting at a new school, something most of us can relate to. But things quickly take an unexpected turn when Rebecca morphs into a golem.  I had no idea what a golem was. I vaguely remembered hearing the word in an X-Files tv show episode. But that was in the late 90s and my memory was drawing a blank. Vogel described a golem as an ugly monster, a mythical clay creature straight out of Jewish folklore. Still feeling clueless, I had to find out more. Enter Google. Stories of golems go back centuries. While golems started in Jewish mythology, they have morphed into popular culture in Dungeons & Dragons, Pokémon, and many more places. Currently golems are considered robots that operate through…