This second installment of Allison's Bad Machinery spin-off series contains just as much whimsy, hilarity and oddity as the delightful first volume. Susan, Daisy and Esther prepare for a winter ball, tackle hometown thugs over winter break and barely survive their first set of exams. A wonderful slice of life at an English college in a universe full of strangeness.

A fun girl-centric fantasy series. Adrienne and her dragon, Sparky, rescue a princess from a tower... only to find she is a Pirate King's daughter and not above theft and trickery.

This volume focuses quite a bit on Adrienne's younger brother, who has no desire to be king, but is pressured by his father to set aside his sewing for a sword. Meanwhile Adrienne is dumped into a dangerous swamp on the way to rescue another of her sisters- but not everything is as it seems.

A very engaging and quick read about children (ages 3-18) who declare themselves to be other than the gender that was marked on their birth certificates. Dr Ehrensaft's revolutionary approach to this? We should listen to them. Psychological, medical and anecdotal stories are woven together into an affirmative and loving celebration of gender creative children and their families.

Instead of leaving a generic glowing review, which this book deserves and has probably earned many times already, I want to mention two things that have impressed me in every Terry Pratchett book I've ever read. Pratchett, in his fantasy world, paints clearer pictures of what it is to be human, and to deal with other humans, than perhaps any other author that I know of. Every one of his characters, from the title actors to the one paragraph appearances, are full to the brim with both the best and worst parts of humanity, and even the stingy, shortsighted, self-centered people are described with so much care and sympathy that you almost feel sorry that they can't see their own faults. Pratchett was deeply aware of how petty and terrible we as a species can be. But he also knew how self-less, hardworking and brave we can be too- his stories make me feel like my actions matter. That it matters how I speak to others, and how I spent my time, and whether I decide to give to others rather than always working to serve myself. He also has such a gift of knowing what parts of a story to leave out. He makes painterly use of the fact that writing is not a visual media. His choices about what not to describe are masterly. When I finish one of his books, I feel the potential in myself to be a better storyteller and a better person.