A Girl Called Owl by Amy Wilson (eProof) - It's bad enough having a mum dippy enough to name you Owl, but when you've got a dad you've never met, a best friend who needs you more than ever, and a new boy at school giving you weird looks, there's not a lot of room for much else.
So when Owl starts seeing strange frost patterns on her skin, she's tempted to just burrow down under the duvet and forget all about it. Could her strange new powers be linked to her mysterious father? And what will happen when she enters the magical world of winter for the first time? From Goodreads.
Nevermore: The Trials of Morrigan Crow by Jessica Townsend (eProof) - Enter the Wundrous world of Morrigan Crow and Nevermoor - the most fantastical children's release of the year.
Morrigan Crow is cursed. Having been born on Eventide, the unluckiest day for any child to be born, she's blamed for all local misfortunes, from hailstorms to heart attacks - and, worst of all, the curse means that Morrigan is doomed to die at midnight on her eleventh birthday. But as Morrigan awaits her fate, a strange and remarkable man named Jupiter North appears. Chased by black-smoke hounds and shadowy hunters on horseback, he whisks her away into the safety of a secret, magical city called Nevermoor.
It's then that Morrigan discovers Jupiter has chosen her to contend for a place in the city's most prestigious organisation: the Wundrous Society. In order to join, she must compete in four difficult and dangerous trials against hundreds of other children, each boasting an extraordinary talent that sets them apart - an extraordinary talent that Morrigan insists she does not have. To stay in the safety of Nevermoor for good, Morrigan will need to find a way to pass the tests - or she'll have to leave the city and confront her deadly fate once and for all.
Perfect for fans of the Harry Potter series and His Dark Materials, this series takes readers into an extraordinary world, setting hope and imagination alive. From Goodreads.
See You in the Cosmos by Jack Cheng (eProof) - A funny, luminous, utterly moving novel about a space-obsessed boy, his dog Carl Sagan, and a journey toward family, love, hope, and awe.
11-year-old Alex Petroski loves space and rockets, his mom, his brother, and his dog Carl Sagan - named for his hero, the real-life astronomer. All he wants is to launch his golden iPod into space the way Carl Sagan (the man, not the dog) launched his Golden Record on the Voyager spacecraft in 1977. From Colorado to New Mexico, Las Vegas to L.A., Alex records a journey on his iPod to show other lifeforms what life on earth, his earth, is like. But his destination keeps changing. And the funny, lost, remarkable people he meets along the way can only partially prepare him for the secrets he'll uncover - from the truth about his long-dead dad to the fact that, for a kid with a troubled mom and a mostly not-around brother, he has way more family than he ever knew. From Goodreads.
Ad: Once Upon a Bookcase is affiliated with Bookshop.org. This means if you make a purchase through the link above, any specifically marked links, or via using the search widget below, I will make a small commission at no extra cost to you.
All written content contained on this site belongs to the author, unless otherwise stated, and should not be appropriated for use by anyone without permission. Any content provided voluntarily by other writers is subject to the same rules as my own. Any photos or images used on this site that do not belong to the author are royalty free and licensed under creative commons, or cover images of books used to promote them. Any images belonging to the author should be regarded in the same way as the previously mentioned written content and should not be used without permission. The opinions offered on this site are for the purposes of information and entertainment only.