On the Wings of la Noche by Vanessa L. Torres - ADVISABLE

On the Wings of la Noche by Vanessa L. Torres, 352 pages. Knopf Books for Young Readers (Random House), 2025. $20

Language: G (4 swears, 0 ‘f'); Mature Content: PG ( kissing, partial nudity); Violence: PG (death scenes)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

17yo Noche Villanueva  lives in Duluth, Minnesota and secretly shifts into an owl-like being known as a Lechuza, escorting souls of the dead to the afterlife. After her girlfriend Dante drowns, Noche refuses to release Dante’s spirit, creating emotional and supernatural consequences. As she navigates grief, friendship, cultural identity, and a new romantic connection with Jax, a boy awaiting a heart transplant, Noche must confront whether love means holding on or letting go.

I liked the way this author handles love and loss in this book. Torres doesn’t treat grief as something simple or quick to fix, instead, she shows how messy and confusing it can be. The mix of Mexican folklore and modern teen life makes it feel unique, and the Lechuza mythology adds a cool supernatural layer.  I also appreciated how all of the relationships felt genuine and layered, not just surface-level drama. That said, the pacing slows down in the middle, and some of Noche’s inner thoughts repeat before the story really moves forward. I also would have liked a little more explanation about how the supernatural rules work. Still, for high school readers who enjoy emotional stories with romance, identity struggles, and a touch of magical realism, this book offers something meaningful and memorable.

Noche and Dante are Latina/Mexican American.

Jessica Nelson CTHS Librarian

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen - ADVISABLE

Skin of the Sea (Skin of the Sea #1) by Natasha Bowen, 325 pages. Random House, 2021. $13.

Language: G (0 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Chosen to help gather the souls of those who die in the sea, Simi is supposed to let the ocean take the memories of her life on land. But she holds onto the image of brown eyes. Eyes she is reminded of when she finds a boy in the sea, and, instead of just saving the human boy’s soul, she also saves his body.

While there are elements of Simi’s story reminiscent of The Little Mermaid, her story is more fully occupied with telling the African mythology version of mermaids, fairies, pantheon of gods, and more. The language Bowen uses to paint Simi’s story is resplendent, making the pages pass quickly despite the feeling that there wasn’t much going on in the first half of the book. An abrupt ending draws readers into needing the sequel right away.

Simi is described as having “dark brown” skin, and Kola and his siblings are described as having “reddish dark brown” skin. The òyìnbó are White and everyone else who isn’t explicitly described in shades of tan, brown, and onyx are implied Black. The mature content rating is for alcohol use and kidnapping for enslavement. The violence rating is for corpses, assault, gun use, blood and gore, fantasy violence, and suicide.

Reviewer: Carolina Johnson

The Aftermyth by Tracy Wolff - ESSENTIAL

The Aftermyth by Tracy Wolff, 434 pages. Aladdin (Simon), 2026. $19

Content: G (mild danger)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ESSENTIAL

APPEALS TO: MANY

13yo Penelope has been looking forward to her entrance to Anaximander’s Academy her whole life.  Her goal has been to become an Athena like all her family before her. Entrance to the academy was much more difficult than she was led to believe. And while her twin brother is admitted to Athena Hall, Penelope is housed in Aphrodite Hall. What! Her roommate, an effusive, typical Aphrodite, renames her Ellie, and tries to show Ellie why Aphrodite’s are so much more fun than Athenas.  While Ellie resists, she is drawn in to the challenge and drama of the school, including Ellie’s remote-feeling muse, Calliope; her mysterious 12 labors that she is supposed to finish before she graduates; and the thrill of the school-wide myth challenge - this year based on Pandora’s box. 

Your first impulse will be to dismiss this as a “magical school” ripoff and your second impulse will be to compare it to another series based on Greek mythology. Get over yourself and dive in!  Wolff has created something completely unique and so much fun.  I’m actually miffed that I am going to have to wait year after year for the next installments!  I had so much fun meeting Ellie and her new friends and I can’t wait to see what the next volume brings.

The characters cue white.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

The Faerie Isle by Sine Quinn, illustrated by Dermot Flynn - ADVISABLE

The Faerie Isle by Sine Quinn, illustrated by Dermot Flynn, 76 pages. Candlewick Press, 2024. $19

Content: G

BUYING ADVISORY: EL (K-3), EL - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

Irish faeries come in many forms. They include leprechauns, banshees, selkies, water horses, pookas, changelings, mermaids and many others. Most faeries have a dark side, but if you are kind and respectful, they usually leave you alone. They also often give assistance to the needy. You can protect yourself from them with such things as salt, horseshoes, and rowan branches. Knowing how to be on good terms with them is the best protection.

Quinn presents this Irish folklore in a straightforward way by sharing the traditions around each faery and then, consecutively telling a short story about each one.  He also presents modern take-offs from these grim characters, along with regional preferences and origins. Quinn includes the Celtic names of the faeries along with a glossary of terms. While the illustrations are entertaining, many of the pages are almost too dark to read the type, making it difficult to read.  

MOMMAC

The Lost Queen by Aimee Phan - ADVISABLE

The Lost Queen by Aimee Phan, 356 pages. Putnam (Penguin), 2025. $20

Language: R (10 swears, 1 ‘f’); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (some fighting)

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

15yo Jolie has always known that her grandfather was special among the Vietnamese seers in her close knit community. Ever since the bizarre incident at a swim meet a year ago, however, Jolie has been ostracized by her best friends and the larger school community. When she saves the life of Huong, the school It girl, however, things start to look up. Huong reveals to Jolie that her grandfather’s powers are directly related to Jolie’s incident - that the two girls are actually reincarnated Vietnamese dragon goddesses and that this is their chance to reclaim their powers and save the world from their scheming brothers, who have  continued to kill them through the ages. 

Bear with me - I know the summary sounds a bit bizarre, but Phan has done a terrific job of unfolding the story bit by bit and never letting us know more than Jolie does.  Phan weaves the story in a way that keeps you reading - especially as deeper forces are at play in several different ways. It is refreshing to have a book about a cultural history and mythology that doesn’t rely on love triangles to further the story. I found this article that shows the history of the sisters. 

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

The Spindle of Fate by Aimee Lim - ADVISABLE

The Spindle of Fate by Aimee Lim, 304 pages. Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan), 2025. $18

Language: G (G swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (deaths and danger in the underworld)

BUYING ADVISORY: MS - ADVISABLE

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

12yo Evie Mei’s mother is missing, but she refuses to believe that she is actually dead, like everyone says. When she sneaks into her mother’s secret workshop - not only does she encounter a talking monkey (actually an evil demon), he informs her that her mother was the leader of one of the prestigious magical Guilds. Evie Mei takes a desperate chance and plunges into Diyu, the Chinese Underworld (after life) to search and retrieve her mother, only accompanied by a teenaged, slightly inept, warrior. 

Probably my favorite take on Chinese mythology to date. Evie Mei isn’t the savior of the world - she just wants to save her mom.High stakes for her, but not world-ending.  Evie’s eagerness to find her mom I found to be endearing and there is plenty of danger and action to keep readers engaged. 

I listened to this book courtesy of libro.fm

Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS

The Rescue by Mike Sizemore, Dave Kennedy, Pete Kennedy, and Jance Chiang - ADVISABLE

The Rescue (Fetch #2) by Mike Sizemore, Dave Kennedy, Pete Kennedy, and Jance Chiang, 104 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL Storm King Comics, 2024. $15 

Language: G (0 swears) Mature Content: PG (the well endowed siren only wears long hair) Violence: PG (mythological violence) 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: MANY 

Continuing her hunt for her dog, 12yo Danni is making her way through Hades with her little brother and their guide, Odysseus. They face new enemies and find new friends in their adventures. 

Readers will want to read these two books in order. This wraps up the story while leaving a gateway for further adventures. The art is stunning and the mythology fun. The ending concludes well. Danni's little brother, Sammy, is somewhere on the spectrum, which gives this story more depth. Nice read. Danni and Sammy are white and Hades is black. 

Michelle in the Middle 

The Journey by Mike Sizemore, Dave Kennedy, Pete Kennedy, and Janice Chiang - ADVISABLE

The Journey  (Fetch #1) by Mike Sizemore, Dave Kennedy, Pete Kennedy, and Janice Chiang, 104 pages. GRAPHIC NOVEL Storm King Comics 2023 $15 

Language: G (0 swears); Mature Content: G; Violence: PG (fighting skeletons, mythological creatures) 

BUYING ADVISORY: EL, MS - ADVISABLE 

APPEALS TO: MANY 

12yo Danni is mourning the loss of her dog when she gets an old Greek Mythology book from a new teacher. The book helps her find the entrance to Hades, the Greek underworld, where Danni thinks she can find her dog and bring him back. Danni's younger brother shows up unexpectedly and together they find a guide to help them through the underworld: Odysseus. 

The illustrations are colorful and beautiful. Danni seems a bit young to be undaunted by killer skeletons , Medusa, and a cyclops. but she takes it in stride. It may help readers to have a background in Greek mythology, though this may spark that interest. The plot works surprisingly well, it's just really short. Danni and her brother are white and Hades is black. 

Michelle in the Middle 

A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang - OPTIONAL

A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang, 336 pages. St. Martin’s Press, 2024. $32.

Language: PG (5 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: R

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

APPEALS TO: SEVERAL

From a poor family in a kingdom ravaged by war with the Wu, Xishi (20yo) washes raw silk and wishes that she could hold the Wu accountable for their wrongs—especially for the wrongful death of her younger sister. Fanli (22yo), the Yue king’s minister, asks Xishi to be a tribute to the Wu king and a spy for the Yue. In this new battle, Xishi’s overwhelming beauty will be her sword.

Based on Chinese legend, Xishi’s story is hauntingly beautiful. While Xishi is sent to the Wu king as a concubine, there are no vulgar scenes, and it’s even implied that sex is never involved in their relationship. The pressure of Xishi’s situation hangs over readers with little levity to offer contrast, making it hard to put down through to the last page.

The characters are implied Chinese. The mature content rating is for alcohol use, mentions of trafficking, partial nudity, kissing, and innuendo. The violence rating is for assault, blood and gore, mentions of child abuse, corpses, battle scenes, suicide, and murder.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen