Speculative Fiction by another name is science fiction and fantasy.
Introducing Charlotte Taylor, EMG Speculative Fiction Chair
Charlotte has been a fan of fantasy and reading all her life. Just ask her sisters – she preferred escaping into a book to playing with them. As Elementary/Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction chair, it is easy for Charlotte to combine her love of those two favorite things! Three if you count choosing books over sisters.
Charlotte’s EMG Fantasy Picks
The Demon Sword Asperides
by Sarah Jean Horwitz
For the past two hundred years, the demon sword Asperides has led a quiet life. Nack Furnival is far from satisfied with his existence. He has trained since birth to be a brave and noble knight. He just isn't good at it. To prove his worth, Nack needs a quest. And to complete that quest, he’ll need the one thing no knight can do without: a sword.
For the past two hundred years, the demon sword Asperides has led a quiet life. Nack Furnival is far from satisfied with his existence. He has trained since birth to be a brave and noble knight. He just isn't good at it. To prove his worth, Nack needs a quest. And to complete that quest, he’ll need the one thing no knight can do without: a sword.
Finch House
by Ciera Burch
Micah (11) doesn't want to move out of her grandfather’s house. To avoid packing, she goes for a bike ride and ends up at Finch House. It's not the decrepit Victorian that Poppop says is Off Limits. It's fixed up, and there's a boy in the front yard! The next day when Theo invites her inside, she realizes she can't leave and that this "building" is alive.
Micah (11) doesn't want to move out of her grandfather’s house. To avoid packing, she goes for a bike ride and ends up at Finch House. It's not the decrepit Victorian that Poppop says is Off Limits. It's fixed up, and there's a boy in the front yard! The next day when Theo invites her inside, she realizes she can't leave and that this "building" is alive.
Fury of the Dragon Goddess
by Sarwhat Chadda
While on vacation in London, Sikander Aziz gets his hands on the mythic tablet of destinies. Naturally Sik uses it to get his brother Mo back among the living. His wish is granted, but at a terrible cost.
Sik’s troubles multiply a billionfold when the tablet is stolen by the elder god of insanity, Lugal, who brings back Tiamat, the great chaos dragon and mother of all monsters.
While on vacation in London, Sikander Aziz gets his hands on the mythic tablet of destinies. Naturally Sik uses it to get his brother Mo back among the living. His wish is granted, but at a terrible cost.
Sik’s troubles multiply a billionfold when the tablet is stolen by the elder god of insanity, Lugal, who brings back Tiamat, the great chaos dragon and mother of all monsters.
Charlotte’s Other Nomination Nods
The Buried and the Bound (The Buried and the Bound, #1)
by Rochelle Hassan
As the only hedgewitch in Blackthorn, Massachusetts―an uncommonly magical place―Aziza El-Amin has bargained with wood nymphs, rescued palm-sized fairies from house cats, banished flesh-eating shadows from the local park. But when a dark entity awakens in the forest outside of town, eroding the invisible boundary between the human world and fairyland, run-of-the-mill fae mischief turns into outright aggression, and the danger―to herself and others―becomes too great for her to handle alone.
As the only hedgewitch in Blackthorn, Massachusetts―an uncommonly magical place―Aziza El-Amin has bargained with wood nymphs, rescued palm-sized fairies from house cats, banished flesh-eating shadows from the local park. But when a dark entity awakens in the forest outside of town, eroding the invisible boundary between the human world and fairyland, run-of-the-mill fae mischief turns into outright aggression, and the danger―to herself and others―becomes too great for her to handle alone.
Lost in the Moment and Found
by Seanan McGuire
Welcome to the shop where lost things go. Antoinette lost her father (metaphorically). He’s not in the shop, and she’ll never see him again. When Antsy finds herself lost (literally), she finds that however many doors open for her, leaving the Shop for good might not be as simple as it sounds. And stepping through those doors exacts a price.
Welcome to the shop where lost things go. Antoinette lost her father (metaphorically). He’s not in the shop, and she’ll never see him again. When Antsy finds herself lost (literally), she finds that however many doors open for her, leaving the Shop for good might not be as simple as it sounds. And stepping through those doors exacts a price.
Star Splitter
by Matthew J. Kirby
For Jessica Mathers (16), teleportation and planetary colonization in deep space aren't just hypotheticals--they're real. They're also the very real reason her scientist parents left her behind six years ago.
Teleportation is safe and routine in the year 2198, but something seems to have gone very, very wrong. Jessica wakes up in an empty, and utterly destroyed, landing unit from the DS Theseus, the ship where she was supposed to rendezvous with her parents.
For Jessica Mathers (16), teleportation and planetary colonization in deep space aren't just hypotheticals--they're real. They're also the very real reason her scientist parents left her behind six years ago.
Teleportation is safe and routine in the year 2198, but something seems to have gone very, very wrong. Jessica wakes up in an empty, and utterly destroyed, landing unit from the DS Theseus, the ship where she was supposed to rendezvous with her parents.