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
