Title: Akata Witch 

Author: Nnedi Okorafor

Recommended Grade Level: 7 and up

Summary:  Sunny is a 12 year old American born to Nigerian parents, who, after moving to Nigeria, discovers she has

magical powers and joins up with three other magical teens to defeat a serial killer.

Where I found it: My local library

Why I chose it: I’ve heard of this book but have never read it because it sounds a little to fantastical for me. Many of the

reviews call it the “Nigerian Harry Potter” and praise Okorafor’s writing.  Also, I’m impressed that she was the first black

woman to win the World Fantasy Award for Best Novel for her book Who Fears Death.

Awards: Amelia Bloomer Book List 2012

There’s more vivid imagination in a page of Nnedi Okorafor’s work that in whole volumes of ordinary fantasy

epics.” --Ursula K. Le Guin

Title:  Orleans

Author: Sherri L. Smith

Recommended Grade Level: 8 and up

Summary:  After New Orleans and the Gulf Coast experiences a series of devastating hurricanes and hit by the deadly

Gulf Fever, the area is walled off from the rest of the U.S. and tribes of people are left to fend for themselves, including

a teenager called Fen who tries to save her tribe leader’s baby by getting her over the wall.

Where I found it: https://www.readbrightly.com/best-ya-science-fiction-fantasy-2018/ and in my public library

Why I chose it: I’ve had Flygirl on my TBR list forever and I have just read Don Brown’s Drowned City  so I am

fascinated by the premise that the area continues to be hit by one natural disaster after another and becomes a

Lord of the Flies type scenario.

Title:  On a Sunbeam

Author: Tillie Walden

Recommended Grade Level: 7 and up

Summary: This graphic novel tells the story of Mia joining the crew of a spaceship that   rebuilds beautiful, broken

structures in space in order to piece the past together; it also tells Mia’s story of meeting Grace and the pain of love

and loss.

Where I found it: My school library

Why I chose it: I love the blend of science fiction, relationships and LGBTQ characters.  The illustrations are simple--

purples, black and white--yet evocative and the plot sounds intricate and touching.

Awards: Los Angeles Times Book Prizes: Graphic Novel 

  School Library Journal Best Nonfiction Books: 2018

“Walden creates the intoxicating effect of a universe as mysterious as our real one.” ―The Atlantic

“Phenomenal . . . Utterly mesmerizing . . . A remarkable, stunning comic.” ―Booklist

Title:  The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage

Author:  Philip Pullman

Recommended Grade Level: 8 and up

Summary:  An 11 year old boy called Malcolm finds a secret message about a dangerous substance called Dust; the spy

for whom the message was intended gets him entangled in trying to protect baby Lyra from a variety of

evil characters who are trying to harm her. 

Where I found it: My local library

Why I chose it: I loved His Dark Materials and so am excited to read this new series which was written as its prequel.

Philip Pullman is an incredibly talented and interesting writer whose stories are both enjoyable and thought-provoking.

I am not usually a fan or world-building but I find Pullman’s delightful.

Awards: 2018 Won School Library Journal Best Books of the Year

    YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults 2018

"Reading this novel is like standing in a room in which suddenly all of the windows have blown open at once." —Slate 

"A stunning, otherworldly journey. La Belle Sauvage dives deeply into magic and intrigue. What a gift it is to be allowed back into this universe." —BuzzFeed