The Fabulous Life of Minnie the Sassy Chick: Minnie's Sassy Birthday (Volume 2) by Cindy L. Shirley is a captivating read that features Minnie, a beautiful, stylish and sassy hen. She lives with Carly and Riley who constantly fuss over her. The two sisters have...

As one person commented on Zap Tales' blog, “I honestly don’t know where to begin.” The Fourth Side: A Prison Odyssey zapped me too…and how! When I began reading, I knew I was about to enter a world I knew only from movies and TV...

In The Third Kind of Magic (Crow Magic, Book 1) by Elizabeth Forest, 12-year-old Suli Wing wants to apprentice as a wise woman. When she accidentally used magic on a girl who bullied her brother, her grandmother sent her to another village to train with...

The Bishop of 12th Avenue is a post-apocalyptic novel for young adults by Ray Lucit. Eighteen-year-old Jacob “Jake” Walker is accustomed to hiding and fighting for survival in the city controlled by corrupt leaders. He rescues a man tortured by federal agents, and the dying...

It is quite possible to read The Dark Mister Snark by Lori R. Lopez in a single sitting. The book is certainly short enough. Being told entirely in engaging rhyme, the narrative all but reads itself. Mister Snark is the town eccentric, a morbidly minded...

Deep in the forest, hidden within a tree trunk, is a portal. Few know about the portal and no one knows where it leads. In The Portal Keeper: The Keeper Chronicles by S.T. Sanchez, the Maxwell family has guarded the portal in the tree trunk...

The Magic of Cape Disappointment is a contemporary fiction novel written by Julie Manthey. Kay Baker had escaped Cape Disappointment and the expectations that her family lineage had placed upon her. Yes, she was the great-great-great-granddaughter of Kehlok, the daughter of adventurer Meriwether Lewis and...

Abby Whittier had to move from Las Vegas to a small town in Massachusetts. She was not too happy about moving, losing her friends, her school, her home in the desert, and adjusting to a new place and surroundings. Everything she read about New England...

The Island by Nathan Rogers follows the magical adventures of an imp named Sky. Sky has an important job working on the engine that keeps the island floating, but she sometimes gets bored so she runs off to play with the other imps in the...

The World Behind Us by Thomas Trang is a splendid meld of crime and time travel, an intriguing story with a powerful setting between two time lines and with strong historical elements. Ray Ranglin sees himself as retired from the Corporation, but a visit from...

In Carolyn Arnold's The Secret of the Lost Pharaoh, Matthew Connor is once again called upon to unearth a legend. A map possibly pointing the way to the mythical Emerald Tablets is discovered by a colleague in Egypt, along with the tomb of an unknown...

Cedar Springs High students Zelda, Sabrina, Andrew, Gabby, and Justin are the ones everyone around them－peers, parents, and teachers－deem as lost causes, which rightly gives this YA mystery thriller its title. Two undercover FBI agents, Ryan Nash and Patricia Nichols, summoned them to a ‘group-therapy...

Justina has moved into her new dorm room and she’s settled into her classes. With all the course work, she hardly pays attention to the mysterious antique mirror left behind in her room. That is until the elaborate jewel embedded in the frame starts glowing...

Author Terrie Christine’s The Secret Power of You: A Guide to Mastering Your Inner Greatness has a comforting, straightforward narrative style. It reads much like a friend you’ve known for many years who is about to tell you something about yourself that you may be...

How do you feel about unexpected visitors? At one time, random company would not have bothered Claire. After the death of her husband, though, Claire faces a life alone with no surprise visitors and the impending departure of her college age twins. Alone except for...

The Field by Ian Dawson is a fairly straightforward YA novel about two friends, Daniel and Kyle, and what happens when one of them is kidnapped. The book starts with an introduction to both boys and their friendship, and all of the normal adolescent...

In The Bruja by Michael Molisani, the dystopian world after the Collapse sees magic as part of survival and key to winning wars. Ghosts and ancient spirits are no longer superstitions. Witches become a vital part of the army. Crafton city-state, a quarter of land...

The Walk of the Wandering Man by Ric Szabo is an epic story of humanity that starts 5000 years ago in the harsh environment of Central Europe. The story begins with the intertwining of the fates of a young boy called Konli and a young...

The Gilded King by Josie Jaffrey is book one in the Sovereign series. Julia has never ventured outside the Blue and is warned of the Red's many dangers. Her role is to serve the Nobles and she refuses to become an Attendant, but then she...

The Other Side of Elsewhere is a paranormal coming of age thriller written by Brett McKay. Riverton had come to feel like home to Ret, an unfamiliar feeling for the twelve-year-old whose family had moved frequently while he was growing up before settling in here...