Mar 13 2026
Welcome to the second week of March, where my part of the world experienced all the temperate seasons over the course of two entire days. I’m used to being tired all the time (I do, as my friends constantly remind me, A Lot) but being sick on top of everything has really poleaxed me these …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/03/13/tantalizing-tales-march-2026-part-two/
Mar 12 2026
Every time I think parts of my Malaysian Muslim upbringing were strict, I run up against really weird shit from other Muslim cultural denominations and I’m all “wow.” Which isn’t to run them down at all! And perhaps nowhere is this sort of reflection more appropriate than in a book about a twelve year-old Muslim …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/03/12/hail-mariam-by-huda-al-marashi/
Mar 11 2026
Oh, man, now I want to make a fortune teller (or a cootie catcher as some places rather bizarrely term them.) Forty isn’t your usual paper fortune teller. Abandoned on the playground, she decides to get up and look around and see what’s up. That’s how she meets Chip, another recess cast-off who was dropped …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/03/11/forty-the-fortune-teller-by-drew-daywalt-kevin-cornell/
Mar 10 2026
If you’re not ready for the magic of Milan-Cortina’s Olympics figure skating to be over yet a/o you’re looking for something to tide you over till your next Heated Rivalry fix, then do I have the wlw graphic novel for you! Set in the world of competitive figure skating, this book revolves around Lydia Chen, …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/03/10/just-between-us-by-adeline-kon/
Mar 09 2026
God bless short stories for how easily digestible they are, having stripped away so much extraneous matter to properly capture a mood and make a point, at least, tho not exclusively, in the literary genre. Oliver Munday’s new collection of ten short stories exemplify this, almost to the point where I wanted more from several …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/03/09/head-of-household-by-oliver-munday/
Mar 06 2026
Happy March, dear reader! Today we’ve got a terrific slate of upcoming books for you, as well as two novels I missed out on in 2025 that you should still definitely keep on your radar. First up, we have Jessi Cole Jackson’s Ruinous Creatures, a standalone romantasy perfect for anyone wanting to dip their toes …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/03/06/tantalizing-tales-march-2026-part-one/
Mar 05 2026
This picture book is extreeeeemely relatable to all older siblings. Idk what it is about younger sibs always wanting to get up in our business, but this book very accurately portrays that situation, then delightfully shows readers one way to resolve it. Evie is your average kid. She believes very much in magic, and wishes …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/03/05/the-great-escape-by-deborah-marcero/
Mar 04 2026
It feels weird to pretend that this horror novella is about the supernatural more than it is ultimately about the unraveling of an adolescent mind. I actually forgot in the lead up to writing this review that the title has mannequins in the plural as, if you go into this book without reading anything about …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/03/04/night-of-the-mannequins-by-stephen-graham-jones/
Mar 03 2026
Hello, dear readers! I don’t usually do excerpts of Middle Grade books here, so I have a delightful treat for you today with this magic-tinged adventure novel. The third book in Kimberly Behre Kenna’s Brave Girls series is titled Lola Gillette And The Summer Of Second Chances. Our title heroine is so desperate to complete …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/03/03/lola-gillette-and-the-summer-of-second-chances-by-kimberly-behre-kenna-excerpt/
Mar 02 2026
I’m going to say something controversial but not unexpected given my reputation as a queer-friendly Muslim and rabid Arsenal fan: everyone in this book has terrible taste in football teams. I was somewhat mollified by the fact that the actual football-playing scenes are really rad, tho the conceit that losing a competition would reflect poorly …
Permanent link to this article: https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2026/03/02/ramin-abbas-has-major-questions-by-ahmad-saber/
Al Singh
Doug Merrill
Doreen Sheridan
Emily Lauer
John Pitzel
Lars N. Goldschlager
Laura Eilers
Professor X
Robert Maedgen
Sylvere Ap Leanan
The Shire