LitBit Speaks

Alys was seven when the soul eaters came to her village. These soul eaters, twin sisters who were abandoned by their father and slowly morphed into something not quite human, devour human souls. Alys, and all the other children, were spared—and they were sent to live in a neighboring village. There the devout people created a strict world where good and evil are as fundamental as the nursery rhymes children sing. Fear of the soul eaters—and of the Beast they believe guides them—rule village life. But the Beast is not what they think it is. And neither is Alys. Inside, Alys feels connected to the soul eaters, and maybe even to the Beast itself. As she grows from a child to a teenager, she longs for the freedom of the forest. And she has a gift she can tell no one, for fear they will call her a witch. When disaster strikes, Alys finds herself on a journey to heal herself and her world. A journey that will take her through the darkest parts of the forest, where danger threatens her from...

There would be blood. Blood for blood. Blood to pay. An entire world of it. For the resistance in 1950s Germany, the war may be over, but the fight has just begun. Death camp survivor Yael, who has the power to skinshift, is on the run: the world has just seen her shoot and kill Hitler. But the truth of what happened is far more complicated, and its consequences are deadly. Yael and her unlikely comrades dive into enemy territory to try to turn the tide against the New Order, and there is no alternative but to see their mission through to the end, whatever the cost. But dark secrets reveal dark truths, and one question hangs over them all: how far can you go for the ones you love? So much energy. So much awesomeness. So much action and fantastic twisty goodness. It is rare that a sequel holds up so well to a first book, but Blood for Blood  stands up spectacularly. I had no idea what to expect, but I certainly wasn't disappointed. I've been a fan of Ryan Graudin's for...

Bera doesn't ask for much in life. She's a solitary, humble troll, tending her island pumpkin patch in cheerful isolation. She isn't looking for any trouble. But when trouble comes to find her, it comes in spades. A human baby has arrived in the realm of the trolls, and nobody knows where it came from, but Bera seems to be the only person who doesn't want it dead. There's nothing to it but to return the adorable little thing to its parents. Like it or not, Bera's gone and found herself a quest. I had no expectations going into this quirky graphic novel. I haven't read anything of Orchard's before, but I trust First Second books, so when Bera  showed up in the mail, I picked it up ASAP. The entire graphic novel is illustrated with muted colours and warm tones and has an overall light but slightly creepy quality. I believe I read one review that called it melancholic, and I can see that for sure! But at its heart is a very cute story of a troll goi...