From the award-winning author of Princess Princess Ever Aftercomes The Tea Dragon Society, a charming all-ages book that follows the story of Greta, a blacksmith apprentice, and the people she meets as she becomes entwined in the enchanting world of tea dragons.
After discovering a lost tea dragon in the marketplace, Greta learns about the dying art form of tea dragon care-taking from the kind tea shop owners, Hesekiel and Erik. As she befriends them and their shy ward, Minette, Greta sees how the craft enriches their lives—and eventually her own.
This was such a cute, magical little graphic novel! I really loved it. Tea dragons are little dragons whose horns store the memories of their time together with their owners, whom they love very much. Those horns grow tea leaves, which can be cut off and brewed into very high quality tea. When a person drinks this tea, they receive a vision of a memory of that tea dragon’s owner. Greta is a blacksmith and finds a lost tea dragon wandering through the market. When she returns this tea dragon to its owner she is offered the opportunity to learn the art of raising tea dragons and brewing their tea. She makes three new friends and they form a loving bond as their raise their tea dragons together. When Greta drinks some of the tea we get to see how the group formed and learn more about the pasts of these characters.
The story is divided up into four chapters: one for each season of the year. It’s is simple, but very sweet and great for all ages. It felt like a warm blanket. And the illustrations are to die for. The colors are beautiful, and everything is so cute! I’ve clipped a few of my favorite illustrations so you can see what I mean. The dragons are particularly adorable, and they are all named after common teas: Jasmine, Chamomile, Roobios, etc.
This image is one of the visions/memories that comes from drinking some tea.
All in all, I don’t have one complaint! This graphic novel was a joy to read. I loved the magical storytelling, unique story elements, the sweet characters, the adorable little tea dragons, and the moral of the story, which is to surround yourself with people you love and to cultivate the talents you’re passionate about. I would most definitely recommend this to readers of all ages who are looking for beautiful illustrations and a timeless, sweet, and light feel-good story.
Edited on 5/5/21: This author now goes by Kay O’Neill and not Katie O’Neill.
Welcome to my stop along the blog tour for Gabrielle Prendergast’s Zero Repeat Forever, hosted by Rockstar Book Tours! You might remember Gabrielle from my A Week of Beauty and the Beast event this past March, and I’m so happy to have her back to talk more about her book during this month’s event, Magic, Myth, and Mischief. Read more about Zero Repeat Forever, Gabrielle, and enter to win a signed finished copy and some cool swag below!
1. What makes your book magical, mythical, and/or mischievous?
As science fiction Zero Repeat Forever not exactly magical, but the mythology it taps into is partly the Pinocchio myth (that of a manufactured non-human who wants to be human) and also, of course, Beauty and the Beast. These are two of my all time favorites. As for mischief, the protagonist of Zero Repeat Forever, Raven, is very mischievous, but never for its own sake. Before the aliens invaded she got into a little trouble just having teenage fun, but after the invasion she channels that impulsivity into surviving.
2. What elements of the original Beauty and the Beast tale did you incorporate into your retelling?
The dynamic of their relationship is very similar. Eighth is very taken with Raven from the first time he sees her, while she takes a LOT longer to warm up to him. Books play a part in the development of her trust of him, as in Beauty and the Beast. And they spend time in a penthouse apartment, which is an analog of the Beast’s castle. Some readers have declared Topher to be Gaston and I won’t argue with that!
3. What are some of your favorite novels influenced by fairy tales/mythology? (Besides, of course, your own!)
I love all of Rick Riordan’s books and am super excited about his new project, Rick Riordan Presents, where he’s working with diverse authors to write installment of his series based on multicultural mythologies.
4. If you found yourself trapped in a fairy tale, which would you want it to be?
Beauty and the Beast, obvs. Because I love the beast so much, just the way he is. Also his library.
5. Who are your favorite villains of lore?
Of lore? I love Macbeth, and Lady Macbeth. And Medusa. I can relate to her lifelong bad hair day.
6. If you could live in any fairytale or mythological world, which one would you choose to live in and why?
I mean everyone wants to go to Hogwarts, right? The problem with mythological worlds is that they mostly take place in sort of pre-medieval settings and life really sucked then. I suppose if I could actually have magical powers it might be okay, but there’s the still the whole itchy woolen corset problem.
7. If you turned your life into a fairytale story, what would the title of it be?
Rumpledshirtnskirt is about right.
8. What lesson do you want your readers to learn from your retelling?
Never judge someone by their group membership or their appearance.
Zero Repeat Forever by Gabrielle Prendergast Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on August 29, 2017 Genres: Science Fiction, Romance, Retellings Find it: Amazon •B&N •Audible •iBooks •BD • Goodreads
He has no voice, or name, only a rank, Eighth. He doesn’t know the details of the mission, only the directives that hum in his mind.
Dart the humans. Leave them where they fall.
His job is to protect his Offside. Let her do the shooting.
Until a human kills her…
Sixteen year-old Raven is at summer camp when the terrifying armored Nahx invade, annihilating entire cities, taking control of the Earth. Isolated in the wilderness, Raven and her friends have only a fragment of instruction from the human resistance.
Shelter in place.
Which seems like good advice at first. Stay put. Await rescue. Raven doesn’t like feeling helpless but what choice does she have?
Then a Nahx kills her boyfriend.
Thrown together in a violent, unfamiliar world, Eighth and Raven should feel only hate and fear. But when Raven is injured, and Eighth deserts his unit, their survival comes to depend on trusting each other…
About the Author
Gabrielle is a writer, teacher and designer living in Vancouver, Canada. You can read about her books here. She is represented by Barbara Poelle at the Irene Goodman Literary Agency.
In 2014 she was the Writer in Residence at Vancouver Public Library. In 2015 she was nominated for the BC Book Prizes and chosen to tour the province to promote BC Books. In 2017 Gabrielle took part in the TD Canada Children’s Book Week Tour. She has also been nominated for the White Pine Award and the CLA Award.
Magic, Myth, & Mischief, hosted by me and Bonnie, is a month-long event that celebrates fairy tales and mythological retellings, as well as retellings of favorite classic novels and books featuring mythical beasts such as mermaids, dragons, and fae! Find the schedule of events and other information here.
Welcome to the first annual Magic, Myth, & Mischief event, hosted by me and Bonnie! This is a month-long event that celebrates fairy tales and mythological retellings, as well as retellings of favorite classic novels and books featuring mythical beasts such as mermaids, dragons, and fae! It’s going to be a really fun month of book reviews, blog tours, guest posts, and author interviews, so make sure to join back each day for fun new content!
This post is your go-to spot for all the information about this event. Here you will find the event schedule on my blog (links will be added as posts go live, and additional content will be added as we receive it from authors and guest bloggers), the calendar for the coordinating Instagram photo challenge that we hope you will participate in, an awesome giveaway, and the link-up for anything you’ve posted that fits our event (we want to come visit!).
(For the most part, we will not be posting on weekends but you’ll still see us on Instagram!)
Instagram Photo Challenge
If you take part in the daily photo prompts, you’ll get bonus entries for the event giveaways!
These themes were designed with your creativity in mind. Interpret them however you wish: super literal or not. We’re really excited to see what you come up with. :)
Make sure you tag your photos with #MagicMythMischief so we can come see!
Giveaway
We hope you will be adding some new books to your TBR as you follow along, and we’re going to let you win some! Two of you will be winning books this month, and it’s international as long as Book Depository ships to you!
If you are the first place winner, you can choose any book that Bonnie, Mandy, or I review or feature during Magic, Myth, and Mischief from September 1-30, 2017!
If you are the second place winner, you can choose any fairytale/mythology themed book under $10!
The giveaway ends October 15th, and there will be many opportunities to enter throughout the entire month.
If you post (or have posted recently) any book reviews, giveaways, vlogs, feature articles, etc. about fairy tales, mythology, or books featuring mythical creatures, link up here so that we can come visit!
All you have to do is link your post below like this: Title of Post (Website).
Top Ten Tuesday is hosted over at the other blog I write for, The Broke and the Bookish.
I’ve been having a lot of trouble with contemporary YA right now. I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older and not relating as easily as I used to, or if trends in the genre are shifting and I’m just not as happy with the new direction? I’m not sure. I keep holding out hope, though, and I continue trying books and adding them to my TBR because of hidden gems like these that I’ve loved over the years. And I couldn’t pick just 10, so here’s twelve for you!
Note: I’m defining hidden gem as a book that I don’t remember hearing much about when it came out, or a book that is so backlisted that nobody is really talking about it anymore.
The Summer I Became a Nerd by Leah Rae Miller
Popular cheerleader turns nerd over the summer and falls for a boy in a comic book store. It’s adorable.
Love, Lucy by April Lindner
Summer backpacking trip through Italy! Plus it’s a retelling of A Room With a View!
The Fine Art of Truth or Dare by Melissa Jensen
Artsy character! And a super cute romance that’s compared to Anna and the French Kiss.
Starry Nights by Daisy Whitney
This book was a gift to my inner art historian. It’s about a boy who falls in love with a girl in a Renoir painting, and dances and eats dessert with her on the museum floor each night. So fun!
From What I Remember… by Stacy Kramer
The entire story had a very “Grease” kind of feeling. Kylie is the valedictorian of her graduating class. She’s smart, and liked by pretty much nobody except her hilarious gay friend named Will. She gets paired up for a last-minute class project with the jock of the school, Max. He’s extremely hard to work with, but she HAS to get a good grade. So she pushes him. In a conglomeration of crazy events, they both find themselves smuggled across the border in a van of stolen electronics. They are in Mexico with no passports, no way of getting home, and graduation day is closing in. Geeky girl turns hard core, and jock notices. So cute!
Unbreak My Heart by Melissa C. Walker
Clementine spends her summer on her parents’ sailboat nursing a broken heart. But it might not be the kind of heartbreak your mind just jumped to. She falls in love and spends a lot of time with her family eating disgusting meals made only from canned foods, eating s’mores by blow torch, star gazing, sunbathing, laughing, and bonding. I really loved this book!
Decked With Holly by Marni Bates
I have a big thing for books set on cruise ships… and cute Christmas stories… so this book won in two areas of my bookish heart. It was just as adorable and laugh-out-loud funny as I had hoped.
The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman by Louise Plummer
Adorably quirky heroine who is a self proclaimed writer, witty dialogue, mature word choices (I had to use a dictionary a time or two), tons of glorious 90’s references, a so sparkly and Christmasy story. Kate’s family has this huge traditional Swedish Christmas with lots of yummy food, decorations, great music playing all the time, a TON of snow, Christmas tree shopping and trimming, etc.
The Summer My Life Began by Shannon Greenland This book warmed me inside and out, and had me smiling like an idiot while I read it. It takes place in a little Outer Banks town that I’d love to visit, the descriptions are dripping with summer, I fell in love with the characters, there’s an amazing family dynamic, and I love the messages of learning who you are and having fun while you do it.
Stolen: A Letter to My Captor by Lucy Christopher
This book shocked me so many times, but how I felt at the end of it shocked me more than anything else.
Did you read and love any of these, too?
Have you added any of these to your TBR?
Any recommendations for other contemporary YA gems that have slid past me?
When rogue packs of wolf-hybrid soldiers threaten the tenuous peace alliance between Earth and Luna, Iko takes it upon herself to hunt down the soldiers' leader. She is soon working with a handsome royal guard who forces her to question everything she knows about love, loyalty, and her own humanity. With appearances by Cinder and the rest of the Rampion crew, this is a must-have for fans of the series.
I’m a major lover of The Lunar Chronicles and was pretty sad when it was all over. So OF COURSE I was over the moon when I learned about the graphic novels. Anything to get me back in that world!
I kind of knew this would happen, but the story was much simpler that the full length novels. Not as much happened, but I was ok with it because I was back with my favorite characters! I was just so happy to see them, and see them I finally did. Truth be told, I don’t enjoy seeing illustrations of beloved characters because they never look like they do in my head. In this case, though, Iko looked exactly as I pictured, so that was fun! Wolf was a little over the top wolfy for my taste (I never pictured him as such a big hulking, scruffy wolf), but I recognized everyone! It was a pleasant surprise. And I really loved the artwork! I’ve never been much of a fan of the comic book style illustrations, but I like Holgate’s work a lot.
There were lots of cute moments with all our characters, set against Iko’s wolf-hybrid soldier hunting storyline. Cress gets a cold and Thorne has to take care of her. Scarlet and Wolf are on their farm in France, so I we don’t get to see as much of them as I would have liked. Winter is the ambassador to Earth, and it was fun to see her in such a powerful position since we met her when she was pretty useless and imprisoned by her mind. I loved seeing her strength in this graphic novel. Cinder and Kai have never been my favorite couple in this series (they’re actually my least favorite, which is nuts), but it was fun to see what Cinder is up to now that she’s ruling things. Iko’s got a little thing going on with Kinney, Cinder’s royal guard, which I love. I hope she finds love, too!
All in all, this was so much fun an exactly what I needed after still being so hungover after Winter. I love this world and these characters, and I loved being there with them again. A must-have for fans of the series. I can’t wait for the next volume!
The Tea Dragon Society by Kay O'Neill 
Zero Repeat Forever by Gabrielle Prendergast
Wires and Nerve by