Sarah Kettles

After witnessing a magic ball of light leave her father in a coma, Akoma Addo makes it her mission to understand the supernatural. She even goes so far as to join a secret police unit dedicated to solving magical crimes in San Francisco’s AfricaTown, hoping to unravel the mystery of her father’s extended illness and to make use of the unit’s advanced tech in the meantime. But when a body is found in a pool of molten gold, Akoma finds herself at the centre of a much larger – and more dangerous – mystery.

A soothing, playful romp, this book comprises of poems collected from the contents of a young witch’s pockets: jotted-down spells, reminders, notes, wishes, hopes and dreams. It is a loving exploration of the complexity of adolescence, alternating between tender, as when she muses on remaining close to her sisters while growing up, and toothy, as when she imagines how she might advertise a family-run hex business.

Like the veiled kingdom in which she lives, Viola Sinclair is cursed: cursed with magic, for which the punishment is death, and worse, cursed with the attention of the kingdom’s only prince, who also happens to be the queen’s deadly assassin. When the queen discovers Viola’s magic in the course of her hunt for the king’s killer, the clock begins ticking: Prince Roze has seven days to end her life, or the queen will end his. But Roze has a secret too, and he’s willing to sacrifice everything – and feign an engagement to Viola – to get what he needs.

Joan’s life was already fraught before the pact between the Fae and humankind fell; her magic, skin colour, and gender all make her stand out in her worlds of metalworking and swordsmanship. Now William Cecil’s targeting her, the Queen has made Joan her plaything, and responsibility for restoring the pact and keeping London safe has fallen on Joan’s shoulders. The burdens are heavy, but she’s not alone in carrying them; her family and friends are always at her side.

Years ago, Emma Carver’s mother disappeared into the bog behind her house. Last year, her sister did the same. Emma herself has spent the past twelve months in sunny California, sent away by her protective father, but now that she’s returned, it seems only a matter of time before she too is lost to the bog.

A quirky glimpse into sixteen favourite fairy tales, this book explores ‘ever after’ as experienced by princesses and frogs, heroes, villains, and puppets through a series of silly, tongue-in-cheek letters written back and forth between these well-known characters and their fans. Lovers of the original stories will enjoy this collection, as will anyone who enjoys sharp wit and fresh, funny commentary.

This expansive, gorgeously detailed book brings traditional European fantasy elements face to face with Jamaican-inspired ancestor magic in a timely exploration of colonialism, imperialism, and rebuilding in the aftermath of both.

Milly McCarthy is going to be a World Champion Irish dancer, she’s sure of it; all she needs is to convince her parents, which is always a challenge, given the chaos created by her previous extracurricular. But when it turns out Milly is actually quite talented, her mother agrees and Milly’s ascent through the world of competitive Irish dance begins. Alas for Milly, her World Championship dream ends the way everything seems to for the girl whose number one skill is calamity: in disaster!

Twelve-year-old Sai is drowning in secrets: her desperately poor upbringing and lack of traceable ancestry must be hidden from her upwardly mobile peers, and her prestigious apprenticeship with her country’s most celebrated mapmaker kept from her conman father.

When Ivy’s birthday surprise goes awry and her parents, the king and queen of the Sand Witches, disappear, Ivy leaps into action. She and her familiar, the wolf-boy Tom, set off across Miracula. Pairing up with a young wizard to defeat an evil queen, they must bravely attempt to rescue Ivy’s parents and reunite the kings and queens of Miracula.