I've been getting some great reading done lately!
WE WERE LIARS, by E. Lockhart (The Secret History of Frankie Landau-Banks), is a tense, emotional story about four friends who spend summers together on a private island. The Sinclair family is rich and privileged, beautiful and troubled. Cadence Sinclair has survived a terrible accident, and now she relates to readers the summer leading up to it, the summer she was fifteen. Secrets and lies abound in this hard-hitting intense and suspenseful novel. (YA)
A CREATURE OF MOONLIGHT, by Rebecca Hahn, is a beautiful, atmospheric tale about one girl who lives on the edge of a magical forest, a forest that is on the move, encroaching on the kingdom it surrounds. Marni is the daughter of a princess and a dragon, but she has been exiled to a tiny cottage to live with her grandfather. Now that she is grown, she must make a choice: claim her birthright as princess, though the King wants her dead, or disappear into the forest, in search of the father she has never known. (YA)
For adventure with a touch of magic, try THE BOUNDLESS, by Kenneth Oppel. Will Everett is onboard the locomotive Boundless, a train more than seven miles long, making its first voyage across Canada. There are treasures aboard and trouble afoot. Someone is murdered almost immediately after the journey begins, and it's up to Will and the members of a traveling circus to prevent a group of nefarious scoundrels from murdering Will's father to get to the gold. Throw in a proliferation of sasquatches, avalanches, muskeg bogs, and magic, and you get this fine story, which also examines the subtleties of right and wrong. (MG)
And one of the best fairy tale-infused fantasies I've read (Far, Far Away is another), WEST OF THE MOON, by Margi Preus tells the story of Astri, who is sold by her aunt to a cruel goat farmer. Astri is mistreated and longs to escape. Taking the spinning girl with her, along with a troll treasure and a book of spells, Astri and her sister slowly begin making their way to America, where they hope to reunite with their father. Superstition, storytelling, folklore, and dreams--there are so many kinds of magic filling the pages of this book that it's hard to know where Astri's reality begins and ends. It's wonderful! (MG)
THE FARMER AND THE CLOWN is a new wordless picture book by Caldecott Honor artist Marla Frazee. When a small clown falls from a train, the farmer hurries to his rescue. They enjoy an unlikely friendship until the train, and the little clown's family, return. Lovely art showcases a warm and amusing story.
In GASTON, by Kelly DiPucchio, illustrated by Christian Robinson, Gaston works hard to be as charming as the other Poodle puppies, Fi-Fi, Foo-Foo, and Ooh-La-La, but he's just not as small or neat or quiet as they are. When they meet the Bulldog family in the park, with puppies Rocky, Ricky, Bruno, and delicate Antoinette, the families fear that a mix-up has occurred. But Gaston and Antoinette follow their hearts to a perfect solution. Witty storytelling and simple but gorgeous acrylic art make this a storytime winner.
BABY BEDTIME, with pictures by Emma Quay, is another superb offering from the legendary Mem Fox. A soothing rhymed text accompanies reassuring illustrations, in this tender bedtime book.
--Lynn
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