Chanticleer Book Reviews

Author: alexander-edlund

CELEBRATING CHILDREN’S BOOKS with GERTRUDE WARNER Awards for Middle-Grade Readers – Action/Adventure, Coming of Age, Fantasy, Magic, School, Sci-fi
Here at Chanticleer, we love Children’s literature! There is just something about a truly well-told story that sparks the imagination of the young – and the young at heart.

So, as we celebrate Children’s Book Week – May 4 – 10, 2020, allow us to bring along a few friends and share with you some really good books.

Did you know that 2020 marks the 96th anniversary of the first edition of the first book The Boxcar Children by Gertrude C. Warner?

It’s true! We titled the Chanticleer International Book Awards (CIBAs) division for middle-grade readers The Gertrude Warner Awards in honor of the author of the well-loved children’s The Boxcar Children Series.

I guess you could say, we’re fans. BIG fans!

We love Gertrude and so many others! Here’s a little list of some of Middle-Grade Children’s authors you probably already know:

Ron Dahl – Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter series

Rick Riordan – Percy Jackson and the Olympians

R.J. Palacio – Wonder

Lemony Snicket – The Series of Unfortunate Events

Madeleine L’Engle – A Wrinkle in Time

Louis Sachar – Holes

Kelly Barnhill for The Girl Who Drank the Moon

Neil Gaiman – for so, so many books!

Lois Lowry – The Giver

Now – a very special treat! Please take the time to find out about some of our very own personal favorite Middle-Grade Children’s Authors:

The Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers – FINALISTS for 2019 – are
- Amber L. Wyss – Phoenix Rising
- M.J. Evans – PINTO!
- M.J. Evans – The Stone of Wisdom – Book 4 of the Centaur Chronicles
- Beth Stickley – Tarnation’s Gate
- Rey Clark – Legends of the Vale
- Laura M. Kemp – Burnt Feathers
- Alex Paul – The Valley of Death, Book 5, Arken Freeth and the Adventure of the Neanderthals
- Trayner Bane – Windhollow and the Axe Breaker (Windhollows, Book 3)
- Carolyn Watkins – The Knock…a collection of childhood memories
- Liana Gardner – 7th Grade Revolution
- Nancy McDonald – Boy from Berlin
- Wendy Leighton-Porter – The Shadow of the Tudor Rose
- Kit Bakke – Dancing on the Edge
- Mobi Warren – The Bee Maker
- C.R. Stewart – Britfield and the Lost Crown
- B.L. Smith – Bert Mintenko and the Serious Business
These titles are in the running for the First Place positions of the 2019 Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers

– and one will be named GRAND Prize Winner!

The 2018 Gertrude Warner Book Awards Grand Prize went to Jules Luther – for the unpublished book, The Portals of Peril

2018 Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers First in Category Winners
- Keelic and the Pathfinders of Midgarth by Alexander Edlund
- Guinevere: At the Dawn of Legend by Cheryl Carpinello
- The Portals of Peril by Jules Luther
- From the Shadows by KB Shaw
- Tallulah’s Flying Adventure by Gloria Two-Feathers
- Vampire Boy by Aric Cushing
- The Adventures of Rug Bug by Kay M. Bates
Paul Aertker took home the CIBA GRAND PRIZE 2017 Gertrude Warner Book Awards Grand Prize for

BRAINWASHED: CRIME TRAVELERS SPY SCHOOL SERIES

2017 Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers First in Category Winners
- The Supernatural Pet Sitter by Diane Moat
- Bryce Bumps His Head by Robert D. Calkins
- Brainwashed: The Crime Travelers Series by Paul Aertker
- The Queen and Knights of Nor by Rebekah Stelzer/R.L.Stelzer
- Lucky Rocks by Murray Richter
- Flowerantha by Bek Castro
- The Strange Case of Mr. Beets by A Pharmacist on a Yak (Anand Vora)
The 2016 Gertrude Warner Book Awards Grand Prize was won by Alan Sproles & Lizanne Southgate for their work, The Train From Outer Space.

2016 Gertrude Warner Book Awards for Middle-Grade Readers First in Category Winners are:
- Life On Base: Quantico Cave by Tom & Nancy Wise
- The Train from Outer Space by Alan Sproles and Lizanne Southgate
- The Mystery of Hollow Inn by Tara Ellis
- Ethyr by M.P. Follin
- I, Mary by Mike Hartner
Are you interested in seeing how your Middle-Grade book stands up to the competition? Submit them to the Chanticleer International Book Awards and we will choose the best among the entries!

Click here for more information about The CIBAs!

The deadline to submit your book for the Gertrude Warner awards is May 31, 2019. Enter here!

The deadline for 2019 submissions has been extended to June 15, 2019. Grand Prize and First Place Winners for 2019 will be announced on September 5, 2020, at the CIBA Awards Banquet.

Any entries received on or after June 16, 2019, will be entered into the 2020 Gertrude Warner Book Awards.

As our deadline draws near, don’t miss this opportunity to earn the distinction your Middle-Grade Reader deserves! Enter today!

The GERTRUDE WARNER Book Awards is a division of the Chanticleer International Book Awards – the CIBAs.

All Finalists and First Place category winners will be recognized, the first-place winners will be whisked up on stage to receive their custom ribbon and wait to see who among them will take home the Grand Prize. It’s an exciting evening of dinner, networking, and celebrations!

Don’t delay! Enter today!
May 7, 2020
KEELIC and the SPACE PIRATES, The Keelic Travers Chronicles Book One by Alexander Edlund – Sci-fi, Space Opera, Y/A

Alexander Edlund’s Keelic and the Space Pirates is a classic coming-of-age in an anything-but-classic environment. Eleven-year-old Keelic Travers wants what most young boys want, adventure and friendship, and he hopes to find both in his new home in Ermol, an “unspoiled oasis.”

Having left his best friend and the overpopulated world-city on Pesfor, Keelic initially finds excitement in the mostly rural world where his family has been sent to work. His award-winning exobiologist father shows Keelic how to properly explore and even allows him to explore on his own, but Keelic’s joy evaporates when he begins attending his new school, where he is constantly bullied. His only refuge is his advanced mathematics classroom, where he is the only student with an instructor who actually listens to him.

He believes he’ll never find a friend until he meets an alien left at his school by military officers. Thotti, a sentient creature who communicates non-verbally with colors and images, becomes Keelic’s constant companion when Keelic’s mother brings the creature home with them. He and Thotti discover a secret hidden deep in the Ermolian forest, a secret which could end up saving the lives of the entire planet.

Keelic is far from perfect. Though extremely smart, his adventurous, impish nature proves his strength and his downfall. Whether collecting specimens for his father or battling imaginary spaceships with Thotti, Keelic loves anything that forces him to use his wits, but at the same time, he’s still the fragile new kid who just wants to be accepted, or better yet, left alone.

This spunky fighter has a heart of gold and begins to question very grown-up concepts like self-awareness and free-will before the novel’s end. Dreaming of a war that occurred over two hundred years ago, Keelic sees only the glory of being a war hero until he must face real death at the arrival of the space pirates. This dynamic protagonist learns that life isn’t a game, and defending yourself often means less than defending others. His emotional growth isn’t linear; he often spins in moral circles, much like the real world.

Hardcore space opera fans of all ages will appreciate how seamlessly the author integrates the technical jargon of the novel. Readers will be fully immersed in a world three-hundred-years in the future, where humans are only one species of many, and small details create a believable environment that is such an intricate part of excellent science fiction.

Please click here to enjoy Keelic and the Space Pirates book trailer.

February 1, 2019
KEELIC and the PATHFINDERS of MIDGARTH (The Keelic Travers Chronicles Book 2) by Alexander Edlund – Science Fiction, Middle-Grade Coming of Age, Action/Adventure
When it comes to high-adventure Science Fiction, why should adults have all the fun? Alexander Edlund’s novel, Keelic and the Pathfinders of Midgarth proves that younger readers want in on the action.

Twelve-year-old Keelic Travers has adults all around him dropping their jaws because he has just defeated the evil pirate Jaw Take-ta-Kua in battle and taken possession of the outlaw’s ancient battleship. In doing so, he rescues his parents from Jaw’s clutches, reversing the traditional scenario of parents protecting their child. Surely all the survivors of this recent war are eternally grateful to Keelic and will follow his every order?

Well, no.

Imagine how his parents and most of the other adults feel about taking orders from a 12-year-old, even one who can pilot a starship. While Keelic does his best to present a mature and confident facade, the reader witnesses his private moments of self-doubt, nightmares, and even adolescent jealousy when Leesol, a lovely and intelligent girl, converses with other boys. He may only be twelve, but Keelic is already struggling to balance the responsibilities of his professional life with the challenges of adolescence.

Plot and characterization fit nicely together in this novel as Keelic decides he wants to train to be a Pathfinder, a member of a highly elite team of people who explore the galaxy. To become a Pathfinder requires an extensive study with a curriculum of topics such as route finding, alliance and negotiation, threat identification range, vector speeds and energy signatures, as well as astrophysics, and planetary geophysics, among other subjects. This schooling gives Keelic a chance to interact with classmates close to his age, including a pair of twins who offer comic relief from time to time. The group, known as Keelic’s “Complement” engages in challenging and exhausting training that will test them individually and as a team. While the Pathfinders-in-training learn to trust one another implicitly, Keelic has another plan in mind.

It’s a dynamic of good versus evil with a bit of David and Goliath thrown into the mix. And while Keelic doesn’t have a slingshot, he does have the intelligence and battle skills needed to consider slaying the most destructive menace in space.

To Edlund’s great credit, the dazzling technology of the future is believable and inspires awe with prose that often merges the empiricism of science with the ethereal mysteries of space, resulting in beautiful, resonating language.

Keelic and the Pathfinders of Midgarth will appeal to a broad age range of readers – in much the same manner as the Harry Potter series continues to capture the attention of all.

And while Keelic and Harry may be growing up in vastly different places, they both begin as adolescents who realize special gifts and undertake an atypical education to develop and hone those gifts. If Keelic and his classmates found themselves at Hogwarts instead of the Pathfinder Academy, they likely would have fit right in with the other brave and loyal Gryffindors. Star Wars and Star Trek enthusiasts, as well, won’t want to miss this book or any others in The Keelic Travers Chronicles.

Luckily, outer space is large enough to fit every single fan.

A futuristic YA Science Fiction pick that will capture readers’ imaginations and entertain them for years to come. Keelic and the Pathfinders of Midgarth belongs in the hands of those who yearn for a great read with enchanting lands, fantastical adventures and a hero with a lot of heart.
April 3, 2018
COME the WIND by Alexander Edlund – Fantasy, War, Coming of Age Y/A

With Come the Wind—the second in his series, The Book of Banea—author Alexander Edlund creates a lush tapestry of fantasy, coming of age story that links the power of one woman to the skills and talents of all women.

Breea Banea, born to the Library of Limtir, became aware of her destiny as an Alach “weaver” or manipulator of etheric energies in A Woman Warrior Born, causing her to take up arms against the mysterious Oregule threatening her people. In Come the Wind we learn that the Oregule are in fact evil shapeshifters manipulated by an ancient enemy of Limtir. In her attempt to overcome the Oregule, Breea must free the regions they dominate. She will do so both as a warrior, and more reluctantly, as a queen, a role she adopts in order to recruit the Kultash and other peoples to her side in battle.

In her new role as “Chosen,” Breea, a natural leader, will meet war victims needing help, consider the possibly duplicitous priest, Duyazen, and convene with leaders of all the region’s armies whose support she needs, but who mistrust her new edict that women can fight alongside men. But most significantly perhaps, she is approached by a stranger who speaks her Limtir tongue and advises her of a great prophecy concerning “six Alach-born children who are destined each to destroy an Oregule. A child each of earth, wind, life, light, fire, and song.”

Unknown to Breea, even as this fateful prediction is uttered two of her own faithful followers, the lord Taumea and his companion Valenia are already on the trail of Alach sisters, Anila and Spe, who though young, display mighty powers not unlike those to which Breea herself is heir. Together they will take on the nefarious Oregule.

Edmund’s prose is potent, with no wasted words and many splendid ones. He celebrates Breea’s warrior nature along with her wisdom and the extraordinary abilities she has been given while showing her “human” failings and self-doubts for balance. She is always willing to take advice from her servant Dori and the refugee Simarn, who is proving herself to be as strong and fearless as her new queen. Though at times seeming burdened with holding together the fabric of his fantasy through every conceivable situation, Edlund is as faithful as he can be to the powers and limitations of every character and creature he has created. His book would benefit with a brief precis of the first volume in the series to bring the reader up to speed, even a glossary of terms would be useful. This is no slight – it is indicative of an exceptionally intricate world and readers will not want to miss a beat.

In this war and weapon-filled coming of age fantasy, one woman’s strengths and aspirations prove her worthiness as a leader. Exceptionally intricate world building and potent prose — readers will not want to miss a beat of this epic fantasy!

November 3, 2017