New Releases by Ellen Booraem

Magic moves in next door in this hilarious and heartfelt middle grade fantasy about a resourceful girl battling a temperamental thunder wizard. Donna''s always liked her life by the river--that is, until her beloved aunt Annabelle died in a tragic kayaking accident. Now money''s tight, her mom works all the time, and her best friend, Rachel, would rather hang out with her basketball teammates than with Donna. When a strange old woman moves in next door and hires Donna to clean part-time, she figures this is the perfect chance to get over her friendship troubles and help her family out--especially since the woman pays in gold. Turns out, Donna''s new neighbor is an ancient, ornery thunder mage, and it doesn''t take much to make her angry. Before Donna knows it, Rachel is in danger and Donna''s family is about to lose their home. To save the day, Donna will need the help of a quirky new friend and the basketball team . . . plus the mysterious, powerful creature lurking in the river.

Perpetual scaredy-cat Conor O''Neill has the fright of his life when a banshee girl named Ashling shows up in his bedroom. Ashling is--as all banshees are--a harbinger of death, but she''s new at this banshee business, and first she insists on going to middle school. As Conor attempts to hide her identity from his teachers, he realizes he''s going to have to pay a visit to the underworld if he wants to keep his family safe. "Got your cell?" "Yeah . . . . Don''t see what good it''ll do me." "I''ll text you if anything happens that you should know." "Text me? Javier, we''ll be in the afterlife." "You never know. Maybe they get a signal." Discover why Kirkus has called Booraem''s work "utterly original American fantasy . . . frequently hysterical." This totally fresh take on the afterlife combines the kid next door appeal of Percy Jackson with the snark of Artemis Fowl and the heart of a true middle grade classic.

An irreverent take on fairies for fans of Savvy and Ella Enchanted! Mellie has been trying, unsuccessfully, to live down the day she told her kindergarten class she had a fairy living in her bedroom. Years later, she is still teased. So when her parents inherit her grandfather''s inn and their family moves to a new town, Mellie believes she''ll leave all that fairy nonsense behind - only to discover that her family members have been fairy guardians for generations and the inn is overrun with small persons with wings (they hate to be called fairies). Before she knows it, the family and fairies are all facing an evil temptress in disguise who wants the fairy magic all for her own. Can Mellie set things right and save the day?

A boy and a goatman defy the establishment in a whimsical fantasy about belonging, the dangers of forgetting history, the Usefulness of art, and the importance of wind control.