I'm a huge fan of Katie O'Neill and loved her previous books: The Tea Dragon Society and Princess Princess Ever After, so I was excited to have the opportunity to read her upcoming book.

Aquicorn Cove is the story of a small fishing village and the people who live there, who love their way of life. A young girl, Lana, comes back to visit with her Auntie Mae after a terrible storm does a lot of damage in the village. While helping her family and friends clean up, she finds a seahorse looking animal (an aquicorn!) that needs help and rescues it to let it recover before returning it to the ocean. We learn that Lana's situation is complicated and that there's a lot of emotion to process while she's visiting her Auntie. When Lana asks her Auntie about the creature she rescued, Mae tells her the story of meeting a beautiful Aquicorn queen, Aure. She tells her how she helped their family and the message she gave her about the destruction of the ocean and coral reefs. This caused a huge rift between Aure and Mae. When another big storm threatens the island and Auntie Mae, Lana seeks help from the Aquicorns to keep both the village and her Aunt safe. When Lana is taken on her own undersea adventure, she discovers how much damage humans are doing to the ocean and to the coral reef. What can Lana do to help the Aquicorns and her Auntie's village? You'll have to read the story to find out!

This book is a heart-warming and thoughtful story about the power of family and how, if we all care just a little bit, we can each make a big difference in the world. I couldn't imagine a better follow up to Katie O'Neill's previous books. I highly recommend for anyone who enjoys sweet, adorable stories with gorgeous artwork and a moral to think about at the end. 

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟-- Mary gives this book 5 out of 5 stars!

Aquicorn Cove comes out on October 16th but you can pre-order it here at Foggy Pine Books or pick it up here on release day!

I really enjoyed Brenna Thummler's first original graphic novel, Sheets, a middle grade/early young adult story about a lonely girl trying to keep her family's failing laundry business alive and the ghost boy who helps her. She illustrated the recently published graphic novel adaptation of Anne of Green Gables and I absolutely adored the art work, so I was excited to check out her original story.

Marjorie is a 13 year old girl who is going through a very difficult time. Her mother recently drowned in a tragic accident and her father has fallen into a deep grief that even the care of his children cannot seem to shake. Marjorie spends all her time after school working at her family business, a laundry service, and taking care of her 5 year old brother. The story is sweet and heart-warming while also touching on some deep and dark subject matter. Watching Marjorie deal with all her family struggles and trying to keep the family business running after her mother's death was difficult, especially because I felt frustrated with her dad's behavior. There's another character who is trying to sabotage her business in an effort to get the property for himself. Enter Wendell, a young, lonely ghost, who ends up making quite a mess of things for Marjorie on accident. When he realizes what he's done, he decides to help her and goes back to the Ghost World to ask for support. After this, the story becomes so much more hopeful. A small friendship between a ghost and a girl can change things for the better.

I love how accurately working in a service industry role is depicted, as well as grief and loneliness. Thummler takes dark elements of a very human story, mixes in a little supernatural fun, and illustrates it with a Wes Anderson-esque color palette. A quick read and something I'd recommend for readers of Raina Telgemier who want something similar for older kids.

🌟🌟🌟🌟 -- Mary gives this book 4 out of 5 stars

Sheets comes out August 28, 2018! You can pre-order with Foggy Pine Books or come pick it up on release day!