MG/YA Book Reviews by a MG/YA Writer
Table of Contents
Author News
MG/YA Book Reviews
In the Garden
Author News
Welcome to the December edition of Bookcase Bizarro!
In author news, this year is winding down, and so am I. My Garrison Creek companion novella, Rogue Wizard, is undergoing its final round of copy edits. My copyeditor caught several plot holes that had escaped the developmental editor. (My very astute beta reader had also flagged some of these earlier.) If I ever needed proof of why it’s good to have several pairs of eyes on a manuscript, this was it. And there’s still one more pair of eyes still to go! My proofreader will no doubt find an error or two that’s fallen through the cracks. We are nearing the finish line, folks, which means my thoughts are turning to book production. So, I thought it would be a good time to give you a glimpse of what it’s like to turn a manuscript into a finished book.
The first step is to use my word processor’s styles tools to pre-format my finished manuscript. I’m talking about things like headings, margins, pages, paragraphs, characters, and spacing. This makes it easy for Vellum (the book formatting software I use) to create the layout for the book with a minimum of tweaking from me. I’ve also saved my styles settings as a template, so every time I want to start a new book, I simply open the template and all of my pre-formatted headings, margins, etc. are already in place. Learning to use styles and templates was a bit of a learning curve, but it now saves me tons of work with every new book. So worth it!
Vellum can only be used with Mac computers. I’m a Linux gal myself, and I really wanted to use this software without spending tons of money. A friend of mine gave me a 2014 Mac laptop that he had no use for. I took it to a shop where they installed a new hard drive, and I was up and running for less than $200 (plus the cost of the software, which I bought at a 30% discount during the Black Friday sales). I can’t use the software’s new and updated features with a computer this old, but the legacy version of the software gives me everything I need. If I’d been more strapped for cash, I’d have formatted my books using Draft2Digital or Reedsy’s free book formatting tool, which can be accessed by opening a free account on either website.
Vellum has several layout options, so I just pick the one I want and the software converts my DOCX manuscript into a beautifully laid out book. Because Vellum can recognize my pre-formatted chapter headings, it auto-generates a table of contents for my book. I add in front and back matter like dedication, copyright, acknowledgement and About the Author pages. (There’s an option to import these into later books.) I also add ornamental breaks to mark scene changes in a chapter. Then I check the entire book to make sure the layout looks good, and there are no odd words sticking out anywhere. Finally, I generate EPUB files for my eBooks, which I upload to Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Google Play, and the aggregate distributor, Draft2Digital (for distribution to libraries and a wide array of global online bookstores). I also generate PDFs for paperback books, which I upload to KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing) and IngramSpark. Amazon handles most paperback sales for me. IngramSpark makes it possible for librarians and booksellers to order my books independently. On each platform, I pick a publication date, and hey presto! I’m published!
Of course, it’s not that easy. There are lots of moving parts to keep track of, which is why production plans and pre-publication checklists are a good idea. Finicky as it is, the book production phase is special. It’s the time when something I created inside my head gets published as a finished product and goes out into the world. If I’m lucky, it will find a home inside readers’ hearts.
This month, I round up my top 5 MG/YA picks, as well as a couple of old favourites. Interestingly, only one of my top picks was published in 2025, which reflects my love of backlist titles and is no comment on the number of amazing books that were published this year. I didn’t review as many books as I’d planned because of a heavy writing schedule. I hope the release of my new book, Rogue Wizard, will somewhat make up for the lack of blog posts, and I look forward to putting on my reviewer’s hat again in the new year.
A quick note to new readers: books that are available from the Toronto Public Library will be marked #TPL, because books don’t have to be new or owned in order to be loved.
Top Picks for 2025
A friend of mine recently asked me to recommend some books for her sixteen-year-old grandson. I looked through a lot of YA titles, but nothing was really clicking. Then it hit me: a sixteen-year-old is more than ready for adult books. (I mean, they can drive and everything.) Heck, I read The French Lieutenant’s Woman when I was fifteen, and I would most definitely be reading Waubgeshig Rice today if I were sixteen. So, this year’s first pick is:
Moon of the Crusted Snow, by Waubgeshig Rice. (ECW Press, 2018.)
A permanent blackout shuts down a northern Anishinaabe community and the rest of the planet, but what does an apocalypse look like to people who’ve already experienced the end of the world—and survived? (#TPL)
YA/Adult
Moon of the Turning Leaves, by Waubgeshig Rice. (Penguin, 2018.)
Moon of the Crusted Snow: The Next Generation. (#TPL)
YA/Adult
Promise Boys, by Nick Brooks. (Henry Holt, 2023)
Three teenage boys are accused of murdering their high school principal, thanks to the systemic injustice of the thin blue line and the too-quick judgements of the social media mob. (#TPL)
YA
Not Lucille, by Mike Steele. (Creative James Media, 2025)
Ten-year-old Lucy Contento is not good at obeying the rules. When she sneaks onto the campus of the Trenton Academy for the Deaf, and secretly befriends a student, that’s only the start of her troubles. Or is it? (#TPL)
MG
Hazel Bly and the Deep Blue Sea, by Ashley Herring Blake. (Little, Brown, 2021)
How does a kid heal from a loss that she thinks is her fault, when she fears that her mother might also blame her? Answer: mermaids may have something to do with it. (#TPL)
MG
Our Kidlit book club recently discussed which books we were looking forward to reading over the holidays. I drew a blank until someone mentioned Terry Pratchett. Then, I knew: Wintersmith, my favourite Tiffany Aching book. I may very well listen to it, since the audiobook, narrated by Stephen Briggs, is absolutely fantastic.
Wintersmith, by Terry Pratchett. (HarperCollins, 2006)
When Tiffany Aching does something nobody’s ever done before and jumps into the Dark Dance, which marks the passage from summer to winter, she attracts the attention of the Wintersmith himself. (#TPL)
MG/YA
One book I read and re-read, and re-read again when I was a middle grader, is The Giant Under the Snow, by John Gordon (Harper & Row, 1971). In fact, I borrowed my best friend’s copy so much, she finally gave me my own copy of the book as a birthday present. (I still have it.)
This is not a book I’d recommend to most kids today, as the pacing differs greatly from the fast, plot-driven narratives of many current MG books. Still, for atmospheric chills (of the British folklore/ folk horror variety), truly creepy villains (a dead warlord and his horde of leather men), and some of the best descriptions of flying children ever, it’s worth a read even now—especially for the historically curious. And I still love it.
Gordon was part of a group of British children’s writers (including Alan Garner and Penelope Farmer), who were better known for their atmospheric writing than their plotting or characters. This was very much a thing in the late sixties into the seventies. Childhood reads are fun to return to, but I don’t live inside them. And they’re humbling. They show that today’s current trends and conventions will not escape the forces of history: they too shall pass. For older Gen Xers who are looking for a hit of nostalgia this holiday season, this one’s for you!
MG
In the Garden
There have been some wins and some losses in the garden this month. Wins include all the greens and most of the herbs. The Monstrueux de Viroflay spinach is indeed a monster, clocking in at a 1-foot diameter as at Nov. 25, 2025. The lettuce was a last-minute addition to the garden, as I wanted to test the viability of some old seeds. Most did not germinate, but the ones that did are magnificent. And to be fair, some of these seeds are nearly ten years old! Note to self: replenish lettuce seed stocks before spring.
The rescue rosemary grew like a giant herbal weed over the summer, so much so that I will have to divide it come spring to keep growing it in the same pot.
The mint is looking a tad threadbare since we have been enjoying the delicious leaves a bit too much. We have put ourselves on a severe mint-restriction diet to give the plant time to grow back.
Alas, we lost both coleuses. The stems decayed, perhaps the result of too much water. I have ordered some Black Dragon coleus seeds and intend to regrow the plants in the upcoming year. The Genovese basil I planted is just too big for the pot. The diminutive Spicy Globe basil is doing well, and I bought some Dwarf Greek basil seeds to share the space in the new year.
I’ve decided to swap out the Bull’s Blood beets for another chard, as one chard plant produces three times as much food in the same amount of space. Also, I like the taste of chard better.
It’s so wonderful to be surrounded by green growing things as we move into winter!
From L-R, T-B
Ruby Red Chard, Monstrueux de Viroflay spinach, Spicy Globe basil, rescue mint, rescue rosemary, lettuce bowl.
Thirteen-year-old Ermin is a gifted mechanic and the worst student at St. Anselm’s Training School for Orphans. She’s just failed her exams for the third time—something nobody’s ever done. Worse, Ermin’s been running her own repair business for money—something that’s expressly forbidden. If the headmistress finds out, Ermin will go to prison. Her future will be over before it’s even begun.
But that’s not her only secret.
Her best friends, Colin and Georgie, are wizards in a world where magic is strictly controlled. Ermin worries that her friends will be captured, drained of their power, then banished. When Georgie’s caught aiding the Wizard’s Resistance, Ermin repairs a broken flying carpet so all three of them can escape.
Hesitant to join the Resistance because of her lack of magical power, Ermin steals an experimental device from a wizard hunter that could destroy every wizard in the Creek. She’s faced with a choice: either smash the device or convert it into a different kind of weapon—one that not only helps wizards but just might get her an apprenticeship at the prestigious Guild Academy.
Ermin’s got one chance to get it right. If she fails, she risks losing her two best friends… and her dreams.
Find Shadow Apprentice at your local library through Hoopla or buy from online retailers:
Thanks for being a Bookcase Bizarro reader! I’ll be back next month with more author news, and more MG and YA book reviews. See you then!
#IMWAYR is a weekly blog hop hosted by Unleashing Readers and Teach Mentor Texts. Its focus is to share the love of KIDLIT and recommend KIDLIT books to readers of all ages.
Greg Pattridge also hosts weekly MG blog hop MMGM every Monday at his website, Always in the Middle.
Thanks for your book recommendations and for pictures of your beautiful plants. happy Holidays!
Thanks, Carol! You, too!
I enjoyed seeing your book recommendations. And your garden is doing great. I wish I still had all those green plants in my garden too. Happy Holidays! See you in 2026.
Thanks, Natalie! I have such a need for green during the winter, it’s not even funny. Not all of the plants are doing well indoors, but that’s why I experiment so much, to find ones that will. Happy holidays to you, too! See you in 2026.
Not Lucille is one that sounds intriguing and the mermaid book too! Your plants are beautiful. I have a few still holding out here in Oregon as it hasn’t been very cold here. Your book’s cover is just gorgeous!
Thanks, Jenni! The uber-talented Jessica Bell designed that cover. I envy you your Oregon garden! Some of my plants aren’t doing well indoors, so I’ll probably replace them in the new year with ones that DO do well. I’m finding that full-sun herbs, even leafy ones like parsely, don’t do very well under the lights in my set-up. Interestingly, basil, which does well in full sun or partial shade, is going like gangbusters.
I’m glad you found a couple of books to add to your growing TBR pile. Cheers!
Great selection of future reads! I’ve only read a few of these so my TBR list grows even more. Thanks for being a part of MMGM this week.
What?! I managed to find some books that you haven’t read? That is high praise indeed! I’m always happy to be part of MMGM.
Lots of interesting books. I don’t know how you have time read and review them all!
True confession: the list may look impressive, but it’s actually culled from all the books I read and reviewed during the past year. I missed putting out Bookcase Bizarro several times because of my heavy writing schedule, so the list was even shorter than usual.
I’ve been following your blog and your publishing journey with great interest. I love that you’re working with Isabelle Knight. She’s a very astute reviewer. I’m also in awe of your ability to put together engaging school presentations, which absolutely terrify me.
Thanks for sharing many of the steps that you do in Word; it was a learning experience. I always enjoy your garden pictures and words. The review of your childhood favorite in comparison with today’s books was enlightening.
Thanks, ET! Yeah, the styles menu is a bit of a learning curve, but the trade-offs make it worthwhile. I’m happy you enjoyed the hopefully not too nostalgic walk back into a childhood favourite.
It’s interesting–I recently re-read The Giant Under the Snow, and it held up to my adult scrutiny. I was very surprised, since I’d expected exactly the opposite. I was able to pick out the exact passages I’d loved as a child, and I still loved them as a grown-up writer. It’s a very particular kind of book, extremely atmospheric without a lot in the way of a unique plot. Curiously, its spare character development seems to work. Go figure!
Thanks for the insight into your formatting process – great work on getting the refurbished Mac! they are ridiculously expensive :). Thanks for the recommendations and the lovely photos of your plant! Looking forward to Rogue Wizard!
Thanks, Valinora! Yes, with the RAM and hard drive shortages due to AI, I lucked in with that computer, for sure. Draft2Digital and Reedsy free formatting are just fine, too. They may not have a ton of layout options, but I prefer a simpler layout to keep the focus on the words. I hope your writing life is going well!
All good with me, thanks! 🙂
Your garden looks great. Thanks for all the book recommendations. Happy holidays to you.
You’re very welcome, Rosi. Happy holidays to you, as well.
While I don’t read a great deal of MG, I love it and I read about 7 this year. My fav was The Trouble with Heroes by Kate Messner.
Thanks for sharing your “Best of 2025”- I have some of them on my TBR list already- but others were new to me. Love the pictures of the plants! Happy 2026!
Thanks, Stephanie! Happy 2026!