ARC Review: Griffin Speaker by Jan M. Flynn

Griffin Speaker
Author: Jan M. Flynn
Publication: Disney Hyperion (May 5, 2026)

Description: Impossible Creatures meets The Giver in this unforgettable fantasy series starter perfect for kids 8-12!

When twelve-year-old Rain bonds with the last wild griffin, she has the chance to change her fortune—and possibly her world.

As an orphan on the lowest rung of society, twelve-year-old Rain is destined for a future of hard labor—until she meets a wild griffin and bonds with him.

An old law says that bond entitles Rain to an education at the elite Griffin Riders Academy instead of a life in the mines. But Rain’s Rise threatens to topple Griffin Land’s fragile hierarchy, and those at the top are determined to see her fail. So they task Rain with proving herself: Armed with just her wit and accompanied by her best friend and an unlikely ally, Rain must scale the highest peak in Griffin Land and defeat the monster at its summit.

Rain’s success could change the world. But with an impossible quest ahead, will she and her griffin even survive?

Filled with awe-inspiring black-and-white illustrations, Griffin Speaker is both a delightful friendship-adventure story and a hopeful tale of resistance in an unequal world.

My Thoughts: This middle grade fantasy tells the story of a 12-year-old girl named Rain who is an orphan at the lowest rank in society. Her future will consist of underground mining of root. She fears her future because she is afraid of the dark, closed-in tunnels. 

Rain's future changes when she meets a griffin that her aunt, who has a farm raising exotic winged creatures for sale to the rich, is hiding in her barn and training to sell to a man from the highest rank of society. His daughter Orla wants to join the exclusive griffin riders, but she's been denied because of politics. 

Rain names the creature Griff. She able to talk to him and understand him in her mind. Griff is a wild griffin. Wild griffins are hunted by the griffin riders who are the society's enforcers. Rain decides that she and Griff will present themselves to the griffin training academy which must admit them both according to an ancient law. 

Rain's plan runs into politics. Those in the highest ranks of society see Rain as a demonstration of societal change that they do not want to happen. To keep her out, they design a quest that they intend to see that she doesn't survive.  With Griff taken from her and drugged, Rain and Orla who has declared herself Rain's Champion have to travel to a distant mountain to get the tail of the queen of the Nightflyers. They are joined on their quest by Rain's only friend Twig who has come to the city with Rain's belongings. 

This was an engaging introduction to epic fantasy for young readers. A young heroine of pure heart goes on a quest which changes society before it is all finished. It is also a friendship story about friends working together for a goal. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Red Trailer Mystery by Julie Campbell

The Red Trailer Mystery
Author: Julie Campbell
Series: Trixie Belden (Book 2)
Publication: Random House Books for Young Readers (June 24, 2003)

Description: Trixie and Honey’s friend Jim has run away from Sleepyside–before anyone could tell him that he is the only heir to the huge Frayne fortune. The girls set out across upstate New York in a trailer to track him down . . . and stumble onto another mystery along the way!

My Thoughts: Trixie and Honey, under the supervision of Miss Trask, take off in a motor home to try to find Jim to let him know that he has inherited his great-uncle's estate and will be having a new guardian.

But before they find him, they deal with a strange family in a red trailer, a couple of men who are stealing trailers and looting them, and normal kid stuff like losing and finding their dogs. 

This story about much more innocent times was also a sweet story of friendship and family. They do assist in uncovering a few mysteries while and being in dangerous situations. Young mystery fans will enjoy meeting Trixie and her mystery-solving family and friends. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Secret of the Mansion by Julie Campbell

The Secret of the Mansion
Author: Julie Campbell
Series: Trixie Belden (Book 1)
Publication: Random House Books for Young Readers (June 24, 2003)

Description: Trixie’s summer is going to be sooo boring with her two older brothers away at camp. But then a millionaire’s daughter moves into the next-door mansion, an old miser hides a fortune in his decrepit house, and a runaway kid starts hiding out in Sleepyside!

My Thoughts: Trixie Belden is back again. Originally written in 1948, this story returns the reader to an earlier time. 

Thirteen-year-old Trixie is looking forward to a boring summer with her two older brothers away at camp. But things turn around quickly when poor little rich girl Honey Wheeler moves into the mansion next door to the Belden's modest home. 

The two girls become fast friends as Trixie teaches Honey how to ride a bike and Honey's stable man teaches Trixie how to ride a horse. The girls have a couple of accidents as each falls from her new form of transportation, but they also enjoy exploring and swimming and boating and hanging out together. 

The two girls also explore the decrepit mansion next door when old Mr. Frayne is taken to the hospital with pneumonia. They discover that fifteen-year-old Jim Frayne has taken refuge in the home after running away from a stepfather who is constantly beating him. Rumor has it that old Mr. Frayne has hidden a fortune in the mansion. The kids explore but don't find money. They do find an old bible with a will inside confirming that Jim is Mr. Frayne's heir but that doesn't solve the problem of the stepfather determined to control Jim and Jim's money. 

I enjoyed this sweet story complete with the original illustrations. I enjoyed the growing friendships among the kids and the age-appropriate mystery. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: The Dark Lord's Daughter by Patricia C. Wrede

The Dark Lord's Daughter
Author: Patricia C. Wrede
Publication: Random House Books for Young Readers (September 5, 2023)

Description: From the New York Times bestselling author of Dealing with Dragons comes this timeless fantasy, about an ordinary girl who discovers she's the heir to a dark throne, and must find her place between her life on Earth and her magical inheritance.

Kayla is just an ordinary girl . . . or so she thinks. When a day at the state fair is interrupted by the news that she’s the daughter of a “Dark Lord,” she and her family are quickly whisked to another world—one that’s chock-full of magic but lacking in technology!

As her family encounters fantastical creatures in place of their Earthly gadgets, Kayla must prepare for the unpreparable: meeting her father, the Dark Lord himself, for the very first time. All Kayla wants is to go home, but she must learn magic to do so. The catch? For the Dark Lord’s daughter, the road to mastering magic is filled with evil traditions.

As she ventures closer to her father, Kayla must decide whether to accept her birthright. Is she destined for darkness? Or can she become a new kind of Dark Lady?

My Thoughts: Fourteen-year-old Kayla Jones has always known she was adopted. But she is surprised to learn that she is the daughter of the Dark Lord of Zaradwin. She learns this when a man who has been searching for her for more than ten years finds her at the Minnesota State Fair with her mother and younger brother and takes them to the alternate universe so that she can become the newest Dark Lady.

Kayla has dealt with a lot in her young life including watching her adoptive father die of cancer when she was ten. But dealing with a new world and unwanted expectations might be too much for her without the support of her mother and younger brother. 

This story had excellent worldbuilding. I especially liked how her computer turned into her familiar when she switched worlds. I also liked Kayla who was a mature and responsible young woman who wasn't going to let anyone push her around no matter how often she was told that something was Tradition. 

Kayla is determined to be a new kind of Dark Lady and to make her new world better than it is when she arrives in it. This was an engaging story with well-rounded and interesting characters including a ten-year=old brother who wants to do magic so that he can make things explode. 

Favorite Quote:

"You mean the rulers of Zaradwin keep a secret vault where the Light can't get it?" Archie sounded outraged. "That's cheating."

"Of course it is," Destini said with a sniff. "We're Dark Lords."

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.