The Barren Grounds by David Robertson

Morgan has been shuffled from one foster home to another in Manitoba, Canada since she was three years old.  Even though the adults in her most recent home are trying to be nice, she still feels mistrustful and angry all the time.  When another foster kid, Eli, joins the home, they don't really get along well at first. Then one day they find a secret door in their attic that leads to a mythical land, Misewa.  To Eli, who was raised in an indigenous community, the land feels like home, but they are not in the land long before they discover that the talking beasts of the land have been stuck in perpetual winter for many years. Morgan and Eli have to decide if they will risk everything to try to help the creatures of Misewa.

Robertson has borrowed a bunch of tropes from The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. There is the magic door, the perpetual winter, talking beasts, and a different timeline when you are in the mystical land. In both books there is the epic struggle of the good vs evil.  In  the Narnia Books, the White Witch represents evil or Satan, but in this book the bad guy represents Europeans. It is also interesting to compare Ochek, who is the hero/mentor of this book to Aslan in the Narnia book. (spoiler alert) When Ochek first meets Arik, a talking squirrel,  he wants to kill and eat her, even though she is a sentient being. The children have to stop him. In other words, the big hero, the savior character,  is, in a way, a confessed cannibal. I could see some people having problems with that and the anti- "white man" message. If, however, you just take it as a middle-grade fantasy, it is actually pretty good. The writing is artful and the characters as are well drawn and complex. It is a book that would make a good young reader stretch and contemplate some really hard questions. It would also be an interesting book for a parent/child book club. (2021, 256 p)

The Truth about Miss Ashbourne by Joanna Barker

 Cassandra Ashbourne is surprised when she finds out she has received a generous inheritance in her maternal grandfather's will. The only stipulation is that she go and stay with her family for a month. Her family has been estranged from that side of the family ever since her mother, a rising aristocratic debutant, eloped with a naval officer. Since her mother's death, Cassandra has supported herself as a governess, but when that goes sour, she decides to accept the inheritance and meet her maternal relatives.  She worries that they will be critical of her, a working class girl, but is pleasantly surprised when most of them are warm and welcoming. When she first meets Wm Rowley, the heir to the estate, she thinks he is a merciless tease, but as they spend time together their relationship starts to warm up as well. He is a rich, handsome, and charming gentleman, and she a poor governess.  Will she ever feel at home in his world?

As you can tell from the summary, this is not an original storyline, but Ms Barker does a good job of telling the story in an appealing way.  It is a bit like eating a favorite dessert.  Even though you have eaten it dozens of times before, you still enjoy eating it again. Cassandra is a mixture of reserve and spunk.  William is a charming tease. The relationship between Cassandra and her new found grandmother is sweet, and even her first experience with a ladies' maid is cute.  Ms Barker has a good sense of humor, and there are some delightfully lighthearted scenes.  I look forward to reading more by Ms Barker. (2018, 272 p.)

Royal Heir by Traci Abramson

 Princess Cassandra of Sereno is just starting to take on some of the roles that she will inherit as the king's oldest child. When an assassination attempt seems to be aimed at her, rather than at her father, her father sends her into hiding at the summer palace of their neighboring kingdom and long-term allies, the Meridians. In order to keep her true identity secret, she pretends to be the girlfriend of her new bodyguard, Levi Marin. Levi has worked for the rulers of Meridian for several years, but has secrets of his own.  As he works with Cassandra to try to figure out who is trying to kill her, their pretended relationship begins to feel more real. Levi knows he shouldn't fall for the princess, especially because he has not been entirely truthful with her, but he finds his attraction to the beautiful, brave, and intelligent royal is hard to resist. Will their growing closeness lead Princess Cassandra into even more danger?

When I picked this off the shelf I didn't realize it was the 4th in the series but it works fine as a stand-alone.  Abramson is not a NYT best selling author, but the story line is solid and the characters are, if a little too perfect, at least likeable. Ms Abramson's books often include mysteries involving the intelligence community, and I discovered that she actually worked for the CIA for a few years. This book demonstrates her understanding of the complexity of creating personal security systems. The book is by Covenant, and is squeaky clean. I was a little distracted by the narrator, who was trying to use an Italian accent, but it came out sounding like a Russian accent, but I generally enjoyed the book anyway. (2020, 304 p)

Skandar and the Unicorn Thief by A.F. Steadman

 The people of the Mainland used to think that unicorns were sweet with rainbow colored poop.  Then they saw footage of the fierce and bloodthirsty wild unicorns of the Island. The only way to tame the terrifying predators is to have them bond to a human at the moment of hatching. Skandar has always wanted to be a unicorn rider, but is afraid to hope after his older sister fails the hatchery exam.  When his time comes, mysterious circumstance bring him to the Island and he is bonded to a rare and outlawed "spirit" element unicorn. The Island the the Mainland are threatened by the Weaver, a terrifying spirit element rider, so Skandar must try to hide is elemental affinity while still gaining the trust of his young and strong-willed unicorn. As the threat of the Weaver mounts, Skandar begins to understand that he, with the help of his new friends, might be the only one who can end the Weaver's reign of terror.

At first I was amused by the premise of this middle-grade novel. It is clearly a pushback against all the unicorn merchandising of the last few years. As I read on, however, I got caught up in the story and characters.  This is an above average "magic school" novel with complex themes and interestingly flawed characters. The world building has a few holes, but the setting, particularly the Eyrie,  is a lot of fun and I think would really appeal to the target audience. There are some humorous passages, and a lot of good action writing. This book has a satisfying ending, but leaves enough unanswered questions to lead the reader to the second in the series (which I am likely to read sometime) (2022, 448 p)

Meditations for Mortals, by Oliver Burkeman

In this self-help book Burkeman writes short chapters meant to be read one each day for four weeks.  Each one gives suggestions, quotes, and perspective about how to let go of toxic perfectionism and unrealistic expectations, and embrace natural limitations in order to live a fuller life.  Burkeman suggests that the reader follow generous promptings, pay attention to their own needs, finish the projects they start, prioritize things that fulfill their "life task," and reject the notion that all important things are difficult. He advises the reader to recognize when things really are too hard and impractical and to accept defeat with good grace. The goal of the book is to help the reader remove anxiety and stress due to worrying too much about things we can't control or do, and spend time on things that bring more joy and meaning.

This is a good choice to hand to the person in your life who wears busyness and stress like a badge of honor. Burkeman has a lot of good advice and the book is written in an accessible tone and length.  I didn't read the book as it was intended, i.e. a chapter a day for four weeks, but I still feel like I got something out of it.  That being said, when I started to write this review just a few days after finishing the book, I had a hard time remembering the specific topics he covered--so not super memorable. A lot of the principles he promotes have similarities to American Buddhist ideas of non-striving and being present but he doesn't use that terminology at all. This has much more of a "put your feet up and sit a spell" vibe. I think it is a message needed in current American society. (2024, 208)

An Unwitting Alliance by Anneka R. Walker

The Matchmaking Mamas are at it again.  This time they have arranged a marriage between teasing Tom (Lord) Harwood and Cassandra Vail, the oldest daughter in a family of many children and dwindling funds. Both victims of the matriarchal mechanatons resist being forced into matrimony...at first.  But as they spend more time together they find more to admire in each other.  Tom is working with the Rebels to try to reform a deplorable workhouse. Cassandra is trying to support her family as her mother struggles through a difficult and dangerous pregnancy. Will their struggles bring them together, or tear them apart?

This is the second in the Matchmaking Mamas series and is very like the first.  Walker strikes a good balance between humor, drama, and romance. Tom can be a little annoying at times, but that makes his moments of sweetness even more appealing. I liked how Cassandra, at the end, is so emotionally overloaded she hardly knows what to do with herself.  I remember that stage in my own courtship. This is not Pulitzer prise level writing, but I am looking forward to the next installment in the series which is coming out later this month. (2023, 272 p)

Greenwild: The World Behind the Door by Pari Thomson

 Daisy Thistledown is happy with her life following her exuberant mother around the world chasing the next big news story. Daisy adores her mother, and is never happier than when at her side, so she is very concerned when her mother decides to put her in a boarding school for a short time while she goes after a story in the Amazon River basin.  Daisy hates the school and when her mother doesn't return by the end of term, she senses something has gone wrong. She goes to a garden her mother and she always went to together, and there finds a magic door into another world. She soon discovers that this new world which is a botanical paradise, is connected to her family, but is also in danger. She teams up with other children her age and together they try to figure out which of the adults is the traitor trying to bring an end to all they love. 

The "through the magic door" is a pretty common trope for middle grade fantasy, but this book does it better than most.  It is clearly a "save the environment" book, but the author really does seem to have a genuine connection to and love of nature that shines through in her writing.  It is almost worth reading for the nature descriptions and world building alone. Daisy, and even the secondary characters, are fully developed, interestingly flawed, and show good character development through the course of the story. The plot twists are a little predictable to me who have read literally hundreds of middle grade fantasies, but I didn't ever get bored and will probably read the next in the series. (2023, 333p.)