The Beginning Place★★★⯪☆
Ursula K. Le Guin More of an in-between place, a portal fantasy of people caught in liminal spaces and a quest that never quite makes sense to the two young adults pushed into it.
Illuminations★★★★★
T. Kingfisher Madcap magical damage control in a family of eccentric artist-magicians. Fun like A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive baking, but with a tighter story and better-defined characters.
Minor Mage★★★★☆
T. Kingfisher By turns melancholy and creepy, with a dash of sarcastic armadillo.
Summer in Orcus★★★★★
T. Kingfisher A portal fantasy that answers the questions: What kind of quest would Baba Yaga send an 11-year-old girl on, and how can she save a world anyway?
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking★★★★★
T. Kingfisher A fun and original take on the teenage wizard genre. With an immortal carnivorous sourdough starter named Bob.