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​C.M. Huddleston has hit upon the secret of good reading for middle-graders in her award-winning Greg’s First Adventure in Time. The formula includes taking a respectful but sarcastic 12-year old boy, an adult ready to share an interesting life calling—such as Greg’s own mother’s career in archeology—a magical travel in time, and the discovery of a new land that comes complete with some soon-to-be new  friends. In Greg’s First Adventure in Time, Greg travels from  his mother’s worksite at Cresaptown, on the edge of the Potomac River in Maryland, to a time with some native Americans who once called the area “home”—at least for a part of their year. Young readers will learn something of the lingo of the archaeologist, some facts about the scientific process a dig requires, and some details about those who’ve gone before.
 
Greg’s First Adventure in Time is sure to be enjoyed by young readers. Greg has just the right amount of sass to keep him interesting. But parents, too, can appreciate the series, as Greg also shows respect for his elders, for information, learning, and history. He is a ready student—and sure to encourage other young and ready students to keep reading, as they’ll find many adventures through the leaves of the pages of a book, to faraway times and lands, just as is presented in C.M.Huddleston's tales.

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The cover of Beauty and the Beast offers the single word that best describes the adventure to be found within its award-winning pages. You see, this telling is one that is “reimagined” by Rebecca Hammond Yager. So it is that through Yager’s re-imaginings, readers will enter into a world of mystery, a land that is forever night, but that is lit by the magic of flora and fauna. The base story of Beauty and the Beast is, of course, well-known. But Yager’s rendition shrouds the Beast’s kingdom in new mysteries. As Beauty dreams of the Prince, she becomes convinced that the man she meets in her sleeping hours is one-and-the-same as the Beast whose castle she now shares. Surrounded by wild animals, and stories of spells cast that leave others crying for her to free them, Beauty is reminded, time and again, to: “Take not counsel from your eyes alone.” Indeed, some truths are deeper than the surface might suggest.
 
The world Rebecca Hammond Yager creates in Beauty and the Beast is colorful and magical. The story itself is “new” and different in the midst of the retellings that have gone before it. But it is the insight—the bits of wisdom Yager offers that set her reimagining apart. For example, concerned for Beauty, as she intends to marry the Beast, her father tries to warn her off. But Beauty knows something more. She knows that many men are beasts that “hide behind masks of gentility and civility,” with “handsome faces and impeccable manners,” yet “their true natures will eventually be revealed by all their ugliness.” By contrast, Beauty’s Beast also “wears a mask,” but she tells her father, “I have already seen behind it, and what I saw was beautiful.” And because Beauty is able to see beyond her own eyes, to take counsel from her heart, she’s able to reveal a genuine traitor before it’s to late, opening the way to follow her heart.

​BREEDER, by K.B. Hoyle

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It quickly becomes clear when reading Breeder, why K.B. Hoyle is an award-winning author. Specifically, Breeder, Book One of The Breeder Cycle, is a Literary Classics and a Readers’ Favorite award winner. From the opening pages, I knew that I was in for a treat. While I don’t read a lot of science fiction or dystopian stories, I can enjoy a well-thought through, well-constructed story in any genre—and Breeder certainly hit all of the marks for me.

K.B. Hoyle introduces readers to an approved Breeder for the Controlled Repopulation Program, who resides at Sanctuary. One of a group of young women that the Unified World Order (UWO) holds because they are of “perfect” genetic background, the breeders’ job is to be “happy” and to provide Contributions—in the form of newborns. Initially identifying only as resident number “Seventeen,” Hoyle’s young protagonist recalls (at the prompting of another) her former name: Pria. Not long thereafter, she finds herself questioning the system in which she lives and spirals into a deep depression. Later, during a visit to the medical unit, she meets Pax. Pax—who should long ago have met his end in that he exhibits physical characteristics that clearly identify him as one who is not of acceptable genetic lineage--convinces Pria that her life is in danger and that she should escape with him. The two manage to leave Sanctuary, then head into the mountains of the territory formerly known as Colorado. There they meet up with a group of renegades intent on bringing the UWO and its lies to an end. But first they need information to which only Pria can provide them access.
 
Breeder was a quick and very satisfying read. The characters were real, full, and interesting. The setting met the story. The world Hoyle built satisfied this reader’s expectations. To top it all off, Breeder concluded with a satisfying “end.” But even with all of that, this reader is delighted to know that there is more to come, in Criminal: The Breeder Cycle, Volume Two.  I look forward to discovering more about Pria, Pax, and all of their newfound friends (and enemies!). If you enjoy YA or are looking for engaging, well-written, “clean” stories for young readers, look no further than Breeder.