Tweens who love fantasy stories but have enough of boy wizards, fairy tale mashups and dragons should give the Luck Uglies series a try.
The Luck Uglies (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $6.99)
The first in a series with the makings of a modern classic, The Luck Uglies is an irresistible cross between Joseph Delaney’s The Last Apprentice and Chris Colfer’s Land of Stories series, overflowing with adventure, secrets, friendship, and magic.
Rye O’Chanter has seen a lot of strange things happen in Village Drowning: children are chased through the streets. Families are fined for breaking laws that don’t even exist. Girls aren’t allowed to read anymore, and certain books—books that hold secrets about Drowning’s past—have been outlawed altogether.
Now a terrifying encounter has eleven-year-old Rye convinced that the monstrous, supposedly extinct Bog Noblins have returned. Before the monsters disappeared, there was only one way to defeat them—the Luck Uglies. But the Luck Uglies have long since been exiled, and there’s nobody left who can protect the village.
As Rye dives into Drowning’s maze of secrets, rules, and lies, she begins to question everything she’s been told about the village’s legend of outlaws and beasts . . . and what she’ll discover is that it may take a villain to save them from the monsters.
This critically acclaimed debut middle grade novel was named an ALA Notable Book and a New York Public Library Title for Reading and Sharing and won the Cybil Award for Middle Grade Speculative Fiction.
Luck Uglies #2: Fork-Tongue Charmers (4.5/5 stars, currently priced at $9.99)
The Luck Uglies face their greatest enemies in this thrilling sequel to the critically acclaimed first book in the series, hailed by Kirkus in a starred review as “a sparkling must-read”! The Luck Uglies is a perfect match for fans of Chris Colfer’s Land of Stories books and Joseph Delaney’s Last Apprentice series. This second installment ratchets up the humor, charm, and adventure, taking the series to brand-new heights!
Rye O’Chanter was shocked to discover that her father was the leader of the notorious band of outlaws known as the Luck Uglies. Now she too has been declared a criminal in her own village, and she must flee to the strange and remote Isle of Pest while her father faces off against the Luck Uglies’ bitter rivals, the Fork-Tongue-Charmers, on the mainland.
But all bets are off when the battle moves to the shores of Pest. To defeat the Fork-Tongue Charmers, Rye must defy a deranged earl, survive a test meant to judge the grit of the fiercest men, and lead the charge in defending the island against a strangely familiar enemy, which means uncovering some long-buried family secrets…
The Luck Uglies #3: Rise of the Ragged Clover (scheduled for release on 3/1/16, currently available for pre-order at $9.99)
In this exhilarating conclusion to the critically acclaimed Luck Uglies series, the final battle between the Luck Uglies and the treacherous Fork-Tongue Charmers comes to Rye O’Chanter’s doorstep. Filled with adventure, humor, friendship, and a hint of magic, this fantasy series is an irresistible cross between Chris Colfer’s Land of Stories series and Joseph Delaney’s Last Apprentice.
When Rye travels back home to Village Drowning to help her father with his plan to defeat the Luck Uglies’ bitter rivals, she finds the place in shambles. Monstrous Bog Noblins now raid the streets at night. And people are afraid to leave their houses because no one is around to protect them. Rye realizes she can’t wait for the adults to sort it out—so she enlists her friends to come up with a plan. A plan that could change everything for Drowning . . . because the only way to save her village may be to destroy it.
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