You're not a hero. At least, you don't think you're a hero... you can't quite remember. In fact, you can't remember anything since waking up on the beach with nothing but "an ordinary pencil" in your pocket and a note beside you. The note is alarming: "HELP! I'VE BEEN CAPTURED! DEAR HEAVENS, I BEG OF YOU, RESCUE ME! Prince S." It's confusing, not remembering anything, and "[d]espair smothers you like a heavy blanket woven by an evil grandma." The only thing to do is try to find this prince. As you wander through the strange land of Astorya, where stories written on Earth come to life, strange friends and foes cross your path. You learn that, in order to get home, you will have to save Prince S.--and your pencil may be the greatest weapon in the land.
In Drew Callander and Alana Harrison's first middle-grade novel, Mightier Than the Sword, "you" is the main character. Told in a hilarious, second-person voice, this thrilling interactive adventure invites readers to draw, write and create their own elements of the story through word puzzles, Mad Libs-like fill-in-the-blanks and illustrations. Along the way, Callander and Harrison offer wonderful word plays and quips while fleshing out the story with a varied and fantastical cast of Couriers, a group tasked with protecting stories from erasing, the one thing that can destroy them. Ryan Andrews's black-and-white illustrations generously scattered throughout are full of energy and humor and make the work all the more delightful. Daringly original and quick-witted, Mightier Than the Sword deftly pairs lighthearted humor with themes of bravery, friendship and the power of imagination, putting this story in a category all its own. --Kyla Paterno, former YA and children's book buyer