Middle Grade Monday: Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu by Erika Lewis

Image: Macmillan

Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu by Erika Lewis. 432 p. The Academy of the Unbreakable Arts series #2. Starscape/ A Tom Doherty Associates Book/ Macmillan, July 2023. 9781250208309. (Review of arc courtesy of MB Associates.)

Happy Monday! It's a one-session day for students at my school and we teachers have afternoon PD. It's also Indigenous Peoples' Day. My weekend flew by! It was rainy and miserable on Saturday, but I ferried into NYC to see Shucked with my sister for our birthdays. Sunday was spent working in the yard. 

Middle Grade Monday features Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu by Erika Lewis. In book two of The Academy of the Unbreakable Arts series, Kelcie meets Lexis during her summer break, which she spent with her beloved grandmother. Unbeknownst to Kelcie, Lexis is a spy, sent by the Queen of Winter to infiltrate the Academy. Kelcie's grandmother feels a great foreboding before sending her back to school. Once there, she finds her bff Niall strangely aloof. Lexis and she are roommates and Kelcie keeps dismissing Lexis' suspicious behavior until it's nearly too late. Lexis, in the meanwhile, discovers the Summer People are not as bad as her Queen makes them out to be and begins to question her mission, though failure is not an option.

As in the first installment, this adventure is steeped in Celtic mythology and filled with action and humor. Friendships are fierce and loyal.There is a glossary and other explanatory info in the back matter to help readers understand the myths. If you have students who love fantasy that takes place at a school for magic, they will love these books. This book can stand alone, but I recommend reading them in order. Happy reading!

What's New?

"Stacking the Shelves" was a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews. It seems the blog is gone though, so I will just continue to post a "What's New? post whenever I receive new books. 

For Review:

Image: Macmillan

Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu by Erika Lewis. The Academy of Unbreakable Arts #2. Starscape/ A Tom Doherty Associates Book/ Macmillan Publishers, July 25, 2023. 9781250208309. 

Publisher synopsis: Kelcie Murphy is back in another action-packed middle grade adventure, Kelcie Murphy and the Hunt for the Heart of Danu!, the second book in Erika Lewis's magical series infused with Celtic mythology, The Academy for the Unbreakable Arts.

It’s hard having a father who’s an infamous traitor. It’s even harder having a mother who’s an omen of doom.

After a summer away, Kelcie Murphy is excited to be back at the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts. But she and her friends have barely settled in when they receive a visit from her mother—the war goddess, Nemain—with a warning of coming calamity.

The Heart of Danu, the legendary source of all light and warmth in the Lands of Summer, is going to be stolen. And only Kelcie and her mates can stop it. As they travel with the rest of the students to Summer City to take part in the glorious Ascension Ceremony, Kelcie has no time for the military parade, the lavish ball, or even to visit her father: she’s determined to protect the Heart and her new home.

But the Lands of Summer are still not a welcoming place for Kelcie. When disaster strikes, the Queen, the High Guard, and even some of her schoolmates suspect Kelcie is to blame.

As the world is plunged into darkness, Kelcie will have to decide: does she keep fighting for a place that may always see her as a traitor’s daughter, or for a future greater than the war to come.

I really enjoyed book one, Kelcie Murphy and the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts. I look forward to immersing myself in Kelcie's world again. 

Purchased: Nothing!

What's new on your pile?

Middle Grade Monday: Kelcie Murphy and the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts by Erika Lewis

Image: Macmillan Publishers

Kelcie Murphy and the Academy of Unbreakable Arts by Erika Lewis. 336 p. Starscape/Tom Doherty Associates/ Macmillan Publishers, March 1, 2022. 9781250208262. (Review of finished copy courtesy of publicist.)

Happy Monday! I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Winter has returned! I had hoped to get some serious garden clean up done over the weekend, but it was intermittently rainy, very windy and raw. I ended up doing lots of indoor chores, which was just as productive, but not what I hoped.

Middle Grade Monday wishes a belated book birthday to Kelcie Murphy and the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts by Erika Lewis. Kelcie Murphy is trying to stay below the radar. She's on a bus to a field trip to a museum in Boston. She's new to this school having changed foster homes yet again. Her caseworker is losing patience with her as well. 

Eight years earlier, she was saved from drowning in Boston Harbor, presumed to be an orphan and has been bouncing around in the foster care system ever since. Now twelve, she's used to the petty cruelty of her classmates at each new school, she's even used to being accused of something she didn't do, so when she's accused of theft at the museum and a policewoman wants to question her, she's not surprised. She is though, when instead of leaving the museum, she is taken by the cop and her caseworker into a subbasement of the museum and they both turn into winged fairy creatures with a mission-to test Kelcie to see if she is the heir. Heir to what? 

She's sucked into a portal through a tree, seemingly led there by the charm on her necklace. She ends up in the Land of Summer, where the inhabitants are at war with the Land of Winter and young people are flocking to audition for entrance into the Academy for the Unbreakable Arts to train to become warriors under the leadership of the legendary Celtic warrior, Scáthach.

The action is nearly non-stop in this series beginner. Kelcie is fearless, but doubtful. She also doesn't know who to trust. She fears she is different, but wants desperately to fit in. Readers who enjoy fantasy like Harry Potter or The Iron Trials will love this. 

The back matter is comprised of a glossary of names and terms in Celtic mythology, which I found helpful. I discovered after reading with my eyes that there is an audiobook available. I might reread it with my ears to hear the correct pronunciations of the Celtic names! If you have readers in your life who can't get enough fantasy, this is the book for you. I already have a waiting list for it since posting it to my Daily Book Talk on our school's learning platform.

ABOUT ERIKA LEWIS: Erika Lewis grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, spent summers with her grandparents in Worcester, Massachusetts, and currently lives in Los Angeles, California. With a passion for storytelling set in magical places, she spends as much time as she can traveling. When she’s not writing, she can generally be found scribbling notes in a blank book while wondering through abandoned buildings, all kinds of museums, and graveyards. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, her list of credits straddles the comics and novel space, including Game of Shadows from Macmillan’s Tor Books, Firebrand and Acursian from Legendary Comics, #Guardian from Awesome Media & Entertainment, and The 49th Key from Heavy Metal Publishing. The Color of Dragons (HarperCollins), her debut novel for young adults, publishes Fall 2021.

Visit her website at https://erikalewis.com/

Twitter: @ErikaElyLewis

Facebook: @TheErikaLewis

Instagram: @erikaelylewis

TikTok: @erikalewisauthor

Goodreads: Erika Lewis | Goodreads