On Your Radar: Epoca, Bubbala, Electric Heir

The fall/winter always brings some of the best books and sometimes it's hard to keep up with them up. I am trying to feature books periodically and tell you what I thought about them so you know what you want to read but also what would make great gifts. Here are just a few as we move into November.

Epoca - Kobe Bryant & Ivy Claire

Set in an alternate classical world dominated by sports and a magical power called grana, Epoca: The Tree of Ecrof is the story of two children: the lowly born Rovi and the crown princess Pretia who uncover and battle terrible evil and discover their inner strength along the way.

Epoca: The Tree of Ecrof takes place at the most elite sports academy in the land, where the best child-athletes are sent to hone their skills. When Rovi and Pretia arrive, each harboring a secret about themselves, they begin to suspect that something evil is at play at the school. In the course of their first year, they must learn to master their grana in order to save the world from dark forces that are rising.

Wow. If you remember it wasn't too long ago that I read and reviewed another book that was the brainchild of Kobe Bryant (Legacy and the Queen) and I really liked that one. When I saw this come in the mail I absolutely loved this cover and I was interested in the idea of this. Certainly not a new trope, but I liked the sports twist and I really see an entire audience of kids suddenly being interested in reading because of that and because of the magic in it. Normally I'm not a fan of fantasy and there were parts in this that were too far into the fantasy genre for me but of course, if that's what you're coming here for, you're going to enjoy this. I have to give this one a solid 3 stars, I would definitely recommend this for middle school, maybe even late elementary school if they have a higher reading level or consume books in general. I do like how the main characters all have very different home lives/backgrounds that I think, when you break it down, a lot of can identify with and ultimately lose themselves in the story for awhile.

   

Goodnight Bubbala - Sheryl Haft

This zesty parody of one of America's favorite picture books offers a very different bedtime routine: one that is full of family exuberance and love. Instead of whispers of "hush," this bedtime includes dancing and kvelling, and of course, noshing--because this little bunny is a Jewish bunny, and this joyous book celebrates the Jewish values of cherishing your loved ones, expressing gratitude, and being generous.

Filled with Yiddish words, the book includes a phonetic glossary and even an easy latke recipe by beloved cookbook author Ina Garten, who calls the book "brilliant, beautiful, important, and so much fun!"

If you know me at all, you know I'm a fan of parodies of children's books. I have a few on my shelf that I've been given as gifts at baby showers and I feel like they are fun. You might not know this about me but I'm not Jewish. I know next to nothing about the Jewish traditions or beliefs, the community, vocabulary, etc. Nothing. I know none of that. While I know none of that, this was a pretty cute book. The illustrations are colorful and funny, the cadence of the story when reading it aloud is melodic, and it's humorous. The nice thing is in the back there is a Yiddish glossary so I was flipping back and forth from the story so that I could make sense of it and thank goodness because I understood it better and I enjoyed the humor. Also, Ina Garten (who I LOVE!!!) has a recipe for "Easy Latkes" at the end and I've seen her show, I'm not sure how easy they actually are because she can cook anything effortlessly, but it at least sounds fairly easy. Overall, this was cute, I'd give it 5 stars in the world of parodies, and I love that this is aimed at an often forgotten market.

The Electric Heir - Victoria Lee

Six months after Noam Álvaro helped overthrow the despotic government of Carolinia, the Atlantians have gained citizenship, and Lehrer is chancellor. But despite Lehrer’s image as a progressive humanitarian leader, Noam has finally remembered the truth that Lehrer forced him to forget—that Lehrer is responsible for the deadly magic infection that ravaged Carolinia.

Six months after Noam Álvaro helped overthrow the despotic government of Carolinia, the Atlantians have gained citizenship, and Lehrer is chancellor. But despite Lehrer’s image as a progressive humanitarian leader, Noam has finally remembered the truth that Lehrer forced him to forget—that Lehrer is responsible for the deadly magic infection that ravaged Carolinia.

Now that Noam remembers the full extent of Lehrer’s crimes, he’s determined to use his influence with Lehrer to bring him down for good. If Lehrer realizes Noam has evaded his control—and that Noam is plotting against him—Noam’s dead. So he must keep playing the role of Lehrer’s protégé until he can steal enough vaccine to stop the virus.

Meanwhile Dara Shirazi returns to Carolinia, his magic stripped by the same vaccine that saved his life. But Dara’s attempts to ally himself with Noam prove that their methods for defeating Lehrer are violently misaligned. Dara fears Noam has only gotten himself more deeply entangled in Lehrer’s web. Sooner or later, playing double agent might cost Noam his life.

Way back in May I reviewed the first book in this duology (The Fever King) and I didn't realize that this one was going to come out so soon so I put some other books aside so I could get to this one. I know that so many people loved The Fever King, and rightfully so, but I'm here to tell you that you might..... love this one even more. It isn't expected to be available until March 2020, but I'm telling you the wait will be worth it and you are going to fly through this.

The best part of this book for me is the overwhelming theme of abuse, rising above abuse, thriving despite abuse. Not just that, but all of that looks differently for everyone and that you can be a vocal survivor, you can be a quiet survivor, you can be a variation and everything between survivor. Secondly, if you are looking for a book that wants to see more inclusive characters? Victoria Lee brings it for you. Noam is bi-sexual and bi-racial and each of those brings a variety of challenges and misconceptions and though the cliffhanger from the first book left me reeling, I feel like we got closure here. Not without major twists and turns, and we have Noam recalling all the awful Lehrer has done so you know that is your major conflict in this book. But the ending? Swoon. I closed the last page happy. I loved the arc of this book, I loved Noam and Dara more in this book than I thought I possibly could, and that really surprised me. You're going to love it. Swearsies.

   

I have to give a huge thanks to all of the publishers for sending me ARC's of each book (Granity Studios, Dial Books for Random House, Skyscape), all thoughts are my own. This post also contains affiliate links.