Oct 21 2026
subtitled The Chess Match That Changed the World. I am really glad that Grandmaster Maurice Ashley was involved in the making of this book and wrote a really thoughtful Author’s Note at the end, because otherwise I would have probably Gone Off in this review. Which isn’t to say that this book is bad at …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/10/21/mind-vs-machine-by-steve-sheinkin-maurice-ashley-thien-pham/
Oct 13 2026
I kept having to put this Middle Grade novel off but am so glad I could finally make the time for it! Deepa is a precocious 12 year-old who missed out on her entire first year of middle school while she was being treated for leukemia. Now she’s determined to get back to being a …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/10/13/deepa-m-d-by-priya-swaminathan/
Sep 28 2026
Every Jordan Ifueko book is a treat that also somehow manages to be incredibly healthy for your heart and your brain. Her latest fantasy series debut is aimed at Middle Grade readers, and is set in a future/alternate earth that is still eminently recognizable. Valentine Adesanya has grown up in the city of GlossAngeles with …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/09/28/the-genie-game-by-jordan-ifueko/
Sep 14 2026
Frankly, any good faith attempt to bring the world’s diverse mythologies to a wider audience of young readers — a la Rick Riordan’s Camp Half-Blood Chronicles — is a win in my book. While Christopher Roubique is careful to note that his story is based not on any one tribe’s beliefs but on an amalgamation, …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/09/14/mythspeaker-by-christopher-roubique/
Sep 08 2026
with a special shout-out to Yaoyao Ma Van As, who’s done an even better than usual job on the terrific cover. Young sleuth Alex Sherlock is absolutely stunned when one of the most popular girls in school sits down next to him and his best friend Yadi while they’re having lunch one day. He’s crestfallen …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/09/08/art-attack-the-sherlock-society-3-by-james-ponti/
Aug 31 2026
Is it just me or is the horror genre having a major resurgence this year? Perhaps it’s related to the growing phenomenon of Summerween and the accompanying marketing opportunities: it just feels like horror titles are making a bigger splash than usual lately. I, personally, have mixed feelings on the genre, even as I acknowledge …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/08/31/the-ghost-in-cabin-13-by-j-c-phillipps/
Aug 17 2026
Honestly, stick any Little Women retelling in front of me and I’m gonna read it. Ofc, it helps that this one has a super interesting modern twist too. Some of the changes from the original had me wondering whether this really needed to be tacked onto the LW framework but overall this was a compelling …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/08/17/little-monsters-by-maire-roche/
Aug 13 2026
I think the main thing I need to get over when reading books in verse is that the poetry is never going to grab me as art in and of itself. None of these poems stand alone, at least in my initial read of the book, but they all stand together beautifully to tell a …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/08/13/kestrel-takes-flight-by-joy-mccullough/
Aug 10 2026
This Diary Of A Wimpy Kid-Inferno mashup is back, as our hapless middle school demon hero takes on a new challenge: sleepaway camp! Now that Dante has a best friend, he’s willing to do practically anything to keep their relationship strong, including going to summer camp in the woods. Angelic Virgil insists that Camp Sulphur …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/08/10/camp-catastrophe-dante-n-ferno-2-by-brian-gordon/
Aug 06 2026
I vastly overestimated the number of books I still had to read for the 2026 Hugo for Best Graphic Story, so this is the last and, dare I say, my favorite of the slate! Full ranking at the bottom, once I’m done discussing this utterly charming graphic novel that reimagines the life of Nnedi Okorafor’s …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/08/06/the-space-cat-by-nnedi-okorafor-tana-ford/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
Emily Lauer
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire