We’re about halfway through our summer reading program, Adventure Begins at Your Library, so we’re sharing a list of children’s adventure novels (ages 7-14). Most of these were published in the last year, or are part of an ongoing series!

A Royal Conundrum (The Misfits Book 1) by Lisa Yee and Dan Santat (ages 8-12)

Every kid sometimes feels like a misfit, but Olive feels like one most of the time. When she’s sent to what she thinks is a reform school, she instead finds it is a secret spy school where she and her misfit classmates/friends can save the day by stopping the heist of the century!

Treasures of the Maya by Geronimo Stilton (ages 8-12)

Geronimo Stilton is the most anxious adventurous reporter mouse in the world! On his trip to Chichén Itzà, his sister Thea and an ancient Mayan necklace go missing, and Geronimo has to find them. The Geronimo Stilton books are colorful, action-packed and fun for kids to read.

Trim Saves the Day by Deborah Hopkinson (ages 7-10)

Trim the kitten loves being part of the ship’s crew, but hasn’t quite found his place yet. After trying several jobs, he discovers something big that requires all hands on deck! This is an intermediate reader, great for kids who are just starting to read chapter books. A second book in the series is coming in July.

Viewfinder by Christine D.U. Chung (ages 6-9)

A young explorer in the distant future lands on an uninhabited Earth. She finds a viewfinder, which shows her what Earth used to be. But she also finds signs that there might be someone else living on Earth now. This is a wordless graphic novel, perfect for those who love to tell the story themselves!

The Mapmakers and The Lost Magic; The Mapmakers and The Enchanted Mountain; The Mapmakers and The Flickering Fortress by Cameron Chittock (ages 8-12)

This relatively new series (books published in 2022, 2023 and 2024) features Adelaide, who wants to run away from home and the diabolical Night Coats, and the magical creature she accidentally awakens named Blue. Adelaide discovers the magical hideaway of the long-dormant Mapmakers, and begins a journey toward becoming a Mapmaker, abolishing the Night Coats and bringing peace and joy back to her world.

Adia Kelbara and the Circle of Shamans by Isi Hendrix (ages 8-12)

This is the first of a trilogy about an African girl whose family believes she has a demon inside her. She gets a kitchen internship at the Academy of Shamans, runs away with cat Bubbles, and hopes she fits in better at the Academy (and that there’s someone who can cure her there). But what she finds is that she needs to harness her powers to exorcise a truly evil demon from the kingdom’s emperor! The second book in the series comes out in October.

The Minor Miracle: The Amazing Adventures of Noah Minor (ages 10-14)

Sure, Noah fell out of a 16^th floor window when he was a baby, but his life has been pretty dull since then. He wants to be as amazing and talented as his two best friends, so he’s thrilled when, during a routine vision test, he finds out he can manipulate gravity and is recruited to train with Gravitas, a top-secret government agency. But Gravitas wants him to hunt down the one person who might be able to help him with his powers, his great-uncle Saul. The characters in this book are in 7th grade, making it perfect for those late elementary and middle school readers.

Magnolia Wu Unfolds It All by Chanel Miller (ages 7-11)

Magnolia pins the lone socks she finds in her family’s laundromat to the bulletin board, but no one ever claims them. So, she and her new friend Iris from California decide to travel across the city to solve the mystery of each sock, and find out all kinds of interesting things along the way. This is a great early chapter book for kids in elementary school.

Mary Beth Adams is the Community Engagement Librarian for Alamance County Public Libraries. You can reach her at madams@alamancelibraries.org.

Batman : the killing joke / Alan Moore, writer ; Brian Bolland, art and colors ; Richard Starkings, letterer ; introduction by Tim Sale ; afterword by Brian Bolland. New York: DC Comics; 2008.

Warning: Mature themes, rated M. Not intended for younger readers.

The 1988, The Killing Joke by Alan Moore in the re-colored and remastered 2008 printing of the famous DC Comics One Shot is one for the ages. I have had cursory knowledge of The Killing Joke being a fan of comics both Marvel and DC but never sat down to really take it all in. I’ve watched the animated adaptation a few years ago but have since forgotten the story. After reading it, I walked away considering this to be the end of the Batman x Joker tale. It feels resolute in its tragedy.

Batman goes to Arkham Asylum to talk to Joker about their relationship and how it is doomed to end in one or the other or both dying by each other’s hands. The Joker gets a sympathetic origin story that is teased to be just a hallucination by Moore in the afterward. While I prefer the more dynamic frames of Japanese Mangaka there is something to be said about the standard block frames of older DC comics. Visual devices such as match cuts used to cut back and forth from a flashback sell a sense of unease while Joker attempts to drive Commissioner Gordon mad. Repeated multicolored frames at the start of a sequence that serve to drive you just as mad. Or an upbeat sequence followed by a page turn jump-scare of the Joker. With frames of smiling faces that unsettle you with ease. It is a masterclass in how to seed discomfort in your readers by utilizing the standard comic book format. There is no wonder as to why this is considered one of the greatest Batman comics.

Ian Alcantar is a Circulation Assistant at North Park Library. He can be reached at ialcantar@alamancelibraries.org.

“The Honey Witch,” by Sydney J Shields. Copyright 2024, New York: Redhook (268 pages, $18.99).

Content Warning: Fire/fire injury, death, grief, sexual content, miscarriage, blood, death of a parent, torture, confinement.

In Shields’ debut novel, she takes magic, nature, and finding one’s self when all odds are against you and turns it into the sweetest success. Marigold Claude has always preferred the ways of the wild than conforming to societies’ standards (and suitors) and jumps at the first chance she can to see a different life. Apprenticing under her grandmother, a honey witch, and then taking over for the care of the Isle of Innifree, Marigold faces the ups and downs of being a witch. One of those consequences being that no one can fall in love with a honey witch. A “curse” that Marigold was ok with, or so she thought.

As Marigold experiences loneliness after her grandmother’s passing, she seeks familial companionship in her friends. What Marigold did not think would happen was falling in love with the sceptic, Lottie, and the choice that Marigold now faces. Stay a witch, keep the curse, save Isle of Innifree. Or forsake all that she has worked towards in order to love openly and freely with Lottie.

The Honey Witch is a delightful fantasy novel with a lot of cozy vibes. I’m looking forward to seeing more of what Shields plans to write in the future.

Kayleigh Dyer is a Library Technical Processing Assistant at May Memorial Library. Contact her at kdyer@alamancelibraries.org.

Thirsty. Hammonds, Jas. New York : Roaring Brook Press, 2024.

Content Warning: alcohol addiction, self-hatred, bullying, hazing, and suicidal ideation.

Wow. Jas Hammonds writes books that move you to tears (sad and happy). I wasn’t sure if Thirsty could be as good as their first book, We Deserve Monuments, but it absolutely is.

Blake has been dating Ella for four years, the entirety of high school. Now, she, Ella, and her best friend Annetta are going to college at Jameswell and (hopefully) joining the Serena Society. Serena Society is more than just a sorority – it is a network of Black women who support each other, mentor each other, and membership leads to success in life.

As summer begins, Blake is drinking. A lot. She is drinking to escape that she doesn’t have a great relationship with her parents, who don’t seem to understand the struggles she is facing as a biracial lesbian. She is drinking to escape that even after four years of dating, she doesn’t feel secure in her relationship with Ella. She is drinking to escape that this charmed life could end with one wrong move on her part (like throwing paint on a racist country club member’s yacht), because she isn’t rich like Ella and Annetta. She is drinking because she is insecure, and drinking brings out Big Bad Bee, who isn’t scared of anything, who is up for anything, and whom everyone loves. Everyone but her best friend Annetta, who worries that Blake is drinking too much.

Then the official Serena Society pledge period begins, and there’s more drinking, more hazing, more chances for her life to go off the rails. The president of Serena Society, Roxanne, seems to revel in making the pledges drink to excess and complete risky tasks. Roxanne flirts shamelessly with Ella, making Blake feel even more insecure in her relationship. Annetta tries to intervene and help Blake with her drinking, but Annetta has her own issues to deal with, including a new relationship with a nonbinary person, and figuring out if she (or they) is/are nonbinary as well.

At times, this book is difficult to read, because you hurt for Blake while internally (or externally) screaming at her as she makes bad choice after bad choice. Hammonds does an incredible job of making the reader feel just as unsettled, depressed and desperate as Blake feels. This book deals with serious issues, such as alcohol addiction, self-hatred, bullying, hazing, and suicidal ideation. But it also has hope, and that makes all of the pain worth it.

Mary Beth Adams is the Community Engagement Librarian for Alamance County Public Libraries. She can be reached at madams@alamancelibraries.org.

Zom 100 (manga) : bucket list of the dead / story by Haro Aso ; art by Kotaro Takata ; translation: Nova Skipper ; touch-up art & lettering: Vanessa Satone. San Francisco, California : VIZ Media, LLC, 2021.

Warning: Mature themes, rated M. Not intended for younger readers.

Contrary to the title, Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead isn’t about zombies. Well… OK it is. But this isn’t your grandpa’s zombie apocalypse. Zom 100 follows Akira Tendo, a 24-year-old wage slave. He works for a production company he thought would be his forever career; only to find out it was an extremely exploitative company. When he wakes up after coming home from an all-nighter he opens his door to zombie apocalypse and is filled with emotion. Not dread as everyone around him seems to be, but all-out delight. He doesn’t have to go to work anymore? This is the best! Now he can do everything he wanted to. And so, the “Things I want to do before I become a zombie” bucket list was born.

Haro Aso, Zom 100’s author, mixes dystopian themes, deeply human emotional moments, and comedic joy in to this fast-paced manga. It’s an exploration on the importance of mental health, facing every-day anxieties, and relying on friendships in the face of adversity. Whether said adversities are zombies or otherwise. Despite being set in a zombie apocalypse the zombies really serve as a mechanism to move the characters along. Zom 100 is first and foremost a love letter to people who feel stuck or unfulfilled and advocates to not wait until the zombie apocalypse to go out and do the things you’ve always wanted to do.

Ian Alcantar is a Circulation Assistant at North Park Library. He can be reached at IAlcantar@alamancelibraries.org.

The summer reading theme for this year is Adventure Begins in Your Library, and we have plenty of adventures for people of all ages!

Our Summer Reading Kickoff is this Saturday, June 8, 11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at Graham Recreation Center. We’ll have an inflatable obstacle course, a face painter, a balloon artist, cotton candy, oversize lawn games, a special mascot, our Mobile Library, and more. All of this is at NO CHARGE!

Our programming calendar lists our larger programs at each branch this summer. We have storytellers, magic shows, knights, painting and art, gem mining, cosplay, animals, sewing and more! Some of the programs do require registration, so pay attention as you choose programs (look for the *RR beside the listing in the brochure).

Our regularly-scheduled programs for kids, from storytimes to book clubs, also will be happening and will take them on even more adventures. You will find these and our other special events listed in each branch’s monthly calendars (here’s June’s calendars from May Memorial, Mebane, North Park and Graham).

The other part of our summer reading adventure is our reading log through ReadSquared! We challenge everyone (kids, teens and adults) to read 1000 minutes this summer. For every 90 minutes you read (or are read to), you earn a prize or a raffle ticket for our end-of-summer gift baskets. Everything counts when you’re trying to reach your 1000-minute goal – books, audiobooks, comics, magazines, and newspapers. Sign up today and start logging your minutes on Monday, June 10.

If you need recommendations of books for children and teens to read, we have you covered, with brochures with plenty of options of adventurous reads. Or you can ask your favorite library staff member to recommend some great books.

It’s going to be a great summer – join us for adventure at Alamance County Public Libraries!