Otherworld Tales: Irish the Demon Slayer by C.T. Markee: Preteen Irish and his friends Streak and Huff are minding their own business when suddenly they find themselves in the middle of an ancient Celtic prophecy in which they must join forces with Cuchulain in the Otherworld to defeat the evil forces of the Underworld, and rescue Irish’s little sister on the way. The story moves quickly, with never a dull moment even between action scenes. I particularly enjoyed the connection with the trees, Cuchulain’s casual attitude toward facing deadly enemies, and the fairly realistic language of the preteens (or maybe I just felt a connection because I still say “dude” far more than is strictly necessary). I thought Huff’s dumb jokes were kind of pointless, but otherwise the characters were distinct and fun. Definitely something a middle-schooler would enjoy.

Also posted on BookCrossing.