Post-Wiscon YA reading #3: Delcroix Academy: The Candidates

I will admit that I'm a sucker for boarding school books, or books set in some sort of training milieu. So I took to the Harry Potter books pretty much immediately. Similarly, The Candidates by Inara Scott had that going for it.

Dancia Lewis has always sought mediocrity, because she has a wild talent (telekinesis) that she can't control. She's recruited to attend Delcroix Academy, which turns out to have a lot of other students that have different sorts of special talents. For the first time in her life, she has friends, and a place where she belongs. But it turns out that the Academy may be more sinister than it initially appears.

There's nothing terribly new in this book, but I quite enjoyed it. I looked to see if the second one was out -- it's obviously the first of a series -- but it wasn't yet. I'll try to remember to buy it, or request it from the library, when it is.

Post-Wiscon YA reading #4: Modern Fairies, Dwarves, Goblins & Other Nasties

This book is subtitled "A Practical Guide by Miss Edythe McFate," as told to Lesley M.M. Blume. And Miss Edythe is the voice of the book, which is written as a nonfiction guide to the nature of fairy folk, plus eight short tales of children who encountered various fairies, mostly to their detriment. The reading level is more middle-grade than YA, I think.

It's a quick read that I finished in an evening, and I think both children and adults would enjoy it. I also suspect that this would hold up well to being read aloud. It's creepy and charming, at the same time. It's illustrated by David Foote, and the illustrations complement the content very well.

All in all, an impressive thing that doesn't fit into any standard category.