Juvenile Fantasy: The Girl, The Dragon, and the Wild Magic, Dave Luckett

The Girl, The Dragon, and the Wild Magic (Rhianna trilogy)
Dave Luckett
ISBN: 0439411874
Scholastic paperback (originally published in Australia)
Read April 12, 2016


This is a cute little standalone juvenile fantasy, perfect for a reluctant reading young lady, or perhaps as a stepping stone to the Alanna books (Song of the Lioness series, Tamora Pierce) or The Hero and the Crown/The Blue Sword (Robin McKinley).

Rhianna is really bad at magic.  The rules are inconsistent and the logic is fuzzy, and all of her attempts at spellcasting end in catastrophic failure.  Makes sense, because for most people, too little magic is the problem, and for Rhianna, a rare Wild Magic talent means that her problems stem from too much magic - and therefore not enough control.  Her talent is pulling the raw power from the entire countryside, and until she can learn control herself, the court wizard works out a catch-and-release mechanism - which unfortunately a covetous local wizard and his nasty son turn against both Rhianna and the locals.  Comeuppance is swift and karmic, when his foolhardy and greedy nature calls a dragon to town, giving Rhianna a chance to show off how well she can do in a situation where more magic is a help rather than a hindrance.

Cute, sweet, innocent, and easily readable.  There are two sequels:
The Girl, the Apprentice, and the Dogs of Iron
The Girl, the Queen, and the Castle

Fairy Tale / Fantasy: Uprooted, Naomi Novik

Uprooted
Naomi Novik
ISBN: 9780804179034
Beautiful and haunting fantasy-reworking of Beauty and the Beast.

This is the best book I've read all year, and I have read some truly mindblowing, amazing, masterful works of art this year.  This is it.  This is everything I ever wanted in a story forever and ever.  This is what I want to write myself when I grow up.  Nothing against any of the other wonderful authors and artists I've seen so far, or will see later in the year, this is just the pinnacle right here.

I simply and truly have no words.  If you know that this is a Beauty and the Beast re-telling, that it's set in a fantasy kingdom with an encroaching malevolent Wood, and a politically-unstable dynasty, and an enmity with the neighboring human kingdom, you have everything you need to know to read it and be thrilled and swept away.

I can't wait to read it again!