Welcome to Litsy!

Friday at Grand Rapids Comic Con! I got these two books signed and also chatted with author Ben Riggs for quite a while. Bonus, my favorite bookish skirt (it has pockets!).

#Studio42Books #GRCC

Cute middle-grade fantasy with familiar tropes about the protagonist wanting to follow a different path than their family expects them to, but with plus-size representation. Giada has a nice blend of confidence (including her anti-chafing balm, necessary for walking in hot, humid weather), insecurity, and stubbornness in considering alternate viewpoints that rings true for a tween character.

By far, my favorite aspect of this novel is that Giada is plus sized and confident. Similarly, Giada portrays a healthy relationship with food, which is important for young girls to read about. Furthermore, as if the body positivity wasn‘t enough, this story was absolutely wonderful! Overall, there were so many great things about this novel! I especially recommend it if you have a young girl in your life who needs an inspiring role model!

state's only Diana's followers are gifted familiars. I have a bad gut feeling about this Streghe del Malocchio who stole her brother though. Also Piccolina's greeting to her was so cute. Piccolina's father helping them get to the city to rescue Giada's brother was sweet as well. The city seemed very scary as well. The anchovies scene was hilarious with the cat's swarming around the strange women. I wonder what these people want with Giada.

How to Heal a Gryphon is a great book for kids that like fantasy and magic, and who love animals!
This story was fun with great themes, and I would recommend it. Even though it's middle grade, it was still enjoyable for me as an adult.
There are several Italian words, phrases, and references. If the reader is unfamiliar with them and wants to enrich the experience a bit, looking up those details can add some extra learning along the way as well!