Skip to main content

Review: Lightfall: The Girl & the Galdurian

 

By Tim Probert
New York, NY: HarperAlley, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, 2020. Graphic Novel. 246 pages.

In The Girl and the Galdurian, we're first introduced to a pig wizard and his adopted granddaughter Bea who run a tonic and tinctures shop deep in the forest. This stunningly creative adventure begins to take shape as Bea is rescued by Cad, an axolotl-type Galdurian, who is on his way to speak with Bea's grandfather. Upon reaching the shop, the two new friends discover the forgetful pig wizard has wondered off on a mysterious yet dangerous errand. They team up, determined to find him. Their quest leads them across the world of Irpa, through one beautifully imagined landscape after the next. Along the way, a complex back story is hinted at as they are pursued by shadowy bird creatures who seem to be after the endless flame lantern Bea was gifted from her grandfather. Bea and Cad are a engaging duo who will have you cheering for them from the first page, and this compelling mystery with a cliffhanger ending will have you scrambling to pick up its newly released follow-up, Shadow of the Bird


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Review: Fowl Play

  Fowl Play By Kristin O'Donnell Tubb New York: Katherine Tegen Books, 2024. Fiction 277 pages. Still reeling from her beloved uncle's death, Chloe Alvarez is comforted and confused when at his last will and testament reading, Uncle Will gifts her his African Grey parrot, Charlie. Charlie has a robust vocabulary and loves to make Alexa requests for her favorite songs, but when she starts saying things like, "homicide," and "cyanide," Chloe becomes convinced that Uncle Will may have met his demise by murder instead of a genetic disease, as was previously thought. Ultimately, bringing in her brother, Grammy, and Uncle Frank (and of course Charlie,) Chloe's ragtag and adoring family support her search for answers ---going on stakeouts, engaging in fast pursuits, and searching for clues. But as the suspects stack up and the mystery grows, Chole will learn that the process of death and grieving is complicated, and in the end her Uncle Will's words that, ...

Review: The Factory

The Factory By Catherine Egan New York, NY : Scholastic Inc., 2025. Fiction. 306 pages.  Thirteen-year-old Asher Doyle has been invited to join the Factory, a secretive research facility in the desert which ostensibly extracts renewable energy from the electromagnetic fields of its young recruits. But Asher soon realizes something sinister is going on. Kids are getting sick. The adults who run the Factory seem to be keeping secrets. And the extraction process is not only painful and exhausting, but existentially troubling. Asher makes a handful of new friends who help him with an investigation that turns into a resistance, which turns into...a cliffhanger! The Factory is a page-turning sci-fi with multidimensional characters, an intriguing plot, and refreshingly straight-forward writing. Egan weaves in detail about climate crises and social unrest, making the story's dystopian setting feel rich and plausible. With its sophisticated themes and accessible storytelling, I would recomm...

DISPLAY: The Day of the Dead

Day of the Dead or Día de los Muertos is a lively holiday that is observed in Mexico and some other Central and South American countries each year in November. It honors and celebrates family members past and present. Celebrate Day of the Dead with Paper Crafts By Randel McGee Enslow Elementary, 2015. informational Learn to make a skull mask, a skeleton candy basket, fancy cut-paper window banners, and more as you explore the important symbols of Day of the Dead. Day of the Dead  By Linda Lowery Carolrhoda Books, 2004. Informational This colorful informational book introduces the holiday, Day of the Dead, or Día de los Muertos, and describes how it is celebrated in Mexico and in the United States. Just in Case  By Yuyi Morales Roaring Book Press, 2008. Picture Book As Senor Calavera prepares for Grandma Beetle's birthday he finds an alphabetical assortment of unusual presents, but with the help of Zelmiro the Ghost, he finds the best gift of all. Ghosts...