Margin Notes

The YA novel  is the perfect spooky-season read for anyone who prefers whimsy and cozy cottagecore to darkness and fright.

After being locked out of her house, Margo finds herself at a bizarre and impossibly expansive bed and breakfast that exists between worlds. The inn also sits outside of time: Margo can stay as long as she likes, and no time will have passed when she returns to the human world.

And honestly, who wouldn’t want to check in for a while?

I thoroughly enjoyed my stay with Margo at The Between Worlds B&B. Each time I returned to the book after reluctantly rejoining the real world, it felt like wrapping myself in a cozy blanket and settling in for delightful shenanigans with my besties. I had such a wonderful time reading this book that I can’t help smiling as I write about it.

Although Margo does not realize it at first, every part of her stay has been shaped around what she needs and wants, even the things she has not yet figured out for herself. Along the way, she meets some of the most amazing magical beings, a not-so-evil demon, a woodland fairie, a wizard, and a ghost, and some equally amazing magical animals. Even though the inn is highly unusual, it’s amazing how quickly it feels like home.

Margo not only learns so much about who she is and what is important to her, she helps the other guest staying at the inn do the same. She forms intergenerational and interspecies friendships that are sure to last a lifetime.

Although this coming-of-age tale fits neatly in the YA fantasy genre, I am sure that any reader who loves a good cozy read will find this story as delightful as I did. After reading a more serious and violent historical fantasy with a complicated world building, The Between Worlds B&B was the perfect comfort read.

This would be a fantastic addition to a middle or high school classroom library, especially for readers who enjoy cozy fantasy, found family, magical creatures, and stories that are full of hope. It could also lend itself to conversations about belonging, identity, friendship, and the ways people can help each other grow.

After finishing a serious and violent historical fantasy with complicated world-building, The Between Worlds B&B was exactly the comfort read I needed. It is gentle, funny, imaginative, and full of heart.

An Octopus Named Houdini by Zana Fraillon is a hug in book form, a slimy, wet, eight-armed, nine-brained, three-hearted, 3,154 suckered hug.

Through a tenacious octopus aptly named Houdini, this sweet, illustrated middle-grade novel in verse explores some surprisingly big questions. Is captivity ever the right choice for wild animals? Is safety always more important than happiness and freedom? Just because humans can make these decisions for other creatures, does that give us the right?

These are heavy topics, but Fraillon makes them easy to understand through the story of Houdini, an aquarium octopus with a talent for escaping, and Juno, the aquarium owner’s daughter. Before the two meet, Houdini spends their nights slipping out of the tank, collecting treasures for their den, spraying Joe, the nighttime cleaner, and making messes just to hear him roar. But Houdini is always drawn to the washroom drain, where they can hear the sea calling.

When Juno is suspended from school and has to go to work with her father, an unlikely friendship begins. Juno seems to understand Houdini in a way most others cannot. The two share an almost inexplicable, soul-level connection. Juno recognizes that humans and other creatures experience the world differently and that we could learn something by being open to new perspectives: “Sometimes Houds, people need to be shown a different way of seeing.”

Juno imagines a new kind of aquarium that might keep Houdini without depriving them of the freedom that comes from a life lived in their natural habitat. Unfortunately, like many great ideas, her plan costs too much money. But the story does not leave us without hope. The people in Houdini’s life may see things differently, but each of them cares about what is best for Houdini.

One thing I especially love, and think students will too, is the collection of fascinating octopus facts included at the beginning and end of the book. Did you know octopuses can solve problems, navigate mazes, use tools, plan ahead, and even predict what might happen to them? I didn’t.

With its short verse format, illustrations, humour, and unforgettable main character, An Octopus Named Houdini is an inviting choice for middle-school readers. It would also open up rich conversations about animal captivity, empathy, freedom, and what can happen when we learn to see the world through someone else’s eyes. Students are sure to fall in love with Houdini and root for them all the way through.

Releases October 20, 2026