The Princess in the Opal Mask

The Princess in the Opal Mask by Jenny Lundquist, 2013 Running Press

     At its founding Galadria's first queen's clumsiness gave birth to a legend that would shatter her kingdom. Queen Eleanor the Great founded a dynasty which would fulfill such a legend.
     Several centuries later Galadria's king gave his daughter a mask she was forbidden to remove, then promised her to the king of the realm which rose from Eleanor's legendary schism.
     When the orphan Elara travels from her distant villiage to teh nation's capital she discovers the reason teh Masked Princess is masked--she shares her face with an orphan from the edges of Galadria.
     Elara and her twin, Wilha, travel to Kyrencia to fulfill the treaty and prevent outright war, but the two young women discover they are no longer willing to be helpless pawns in their own lives. Elara and Wilha have a chance to take on new identities and discover their hearts' desires, and their own destinies.
     This new princess story is a quick read for young adults, challenging the idea of every girl's fairy tale dream. Political intrigue and romance lace the journey both Wilha and Elara take from Galadria's traditional center to the up-and-coming Kyrencia's vibrant capital.

The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden by Francis Hodgson Burnett, 1911 Frederick A Stokes Publishing

     Mary Lennox is sent away from her family's pot in India, back to England and her mother's family. But her life with her parents wasn't much: her mother and father were self-absorbed and Mary was raised by servants bent on placating her. The selfish and crude child is sent from a household killed by the local cholera outbreak.
     With her uncle Archibald Craven traveling or cooped up away from both his own son and Mary, Mary is her usual surly self. The housekeeper directs the girl to stay in her rooms. Martha, Mary's maidservant, takes pity on the brat and tells her about the late Mrs. Crave and her walled garden. When Mrs. Craven died in her garden after an accident involving a swing and broken tree branch Mr. Craven locks up the gate in the wall and buries the key.
     Mary soon becomes more genial toward Martha and Ben the gardener. She goes out on the moor and explores the Manor becoming more and more pleasant. Eventually, Mary finds the key to the secret garden. Martha's brother Dickon brings gardening tools and after some time he and Mary become friends.
     Exploring the Manor Mary follows the sound of crying and meets her cousin Colin. Mary and Dickon bring Colin out into the garden where he gains strength. The children grow and develop, each in their own way within the walls of the garden. The effects of clean air and child's play have a remarkable affect on everyone at the Manor with magic and common sense prevailing over the nonsense of contemporary science.

All Night Long

All Night Long by Jayne Ann Krentz, 2005 G.P. Putnam's Sons

     Irene Stenson has been fighting the demons of her parents' murders for seventeen years when an old friend surfaces from the darkness. Pamela Webb was her best friend that summer, and the reason she wasn't home the night her world fell apart. After seventeen years of silence Irene is stunned when Pamela's e-mail arrives and they arrange to meet.
     But before the women can talk about the past Pamela dies of an apparent overdose. Irene doesn't think her once friend was suicidal and looks into the mystery.
     The investigation drives her closer to the enigmatic innkeeper managing to the lodge Irene stays at during her visit. Luke Danner is an ex-marine, ex-scholar and overall fascination with his own troubles.
     As the mystery behind Pamela's death heats so does the liaison between Luke and Irene. Through several encounters with Pamela's father, a U.S. Senator, and drawing back to Irene's parents' murders the small town's secrets are coming to light.
     All Night Long is an adult novel with more mature elements including gruesome murder, drug abuse, psychological trauma, and child abuse. The story is aimed at mature readers leading them into the darkness before the characters can come out with the truth.

The Joys of Love

The Joys of Love by Madeleine L'Engle, 2008 Farrar, Straus & Giroux

     On a stage balanced over the ocean's edge Elizabeth Jerrold is an apprentice of the summer theater company. Acting is her dream and this summer is her chance to make the dream come true. After four years of chemistry at college, Liz convinced her aunt to fund this summer job in exchange for her cooperation. But when Aunt Harriet calls to summon Liz back to Virginia for immoral behavior, Elizabeth fights for one last week to work under her idol, Valborg Andersen. 
     Events conspire to allow Liz one more week, but that week holds more than she bargained for. When the politics of the theater rip away the prime opportunity for Liz to break into professional acting, her friends step in and make it a week to remember. 
     Practicing scenes, managing the box office, and free time on the beach fill the friends' free time while they each discover their own hopes and dreams. Liz fights the expectations placed upon her to find her path; from Ben, the sweet, loyal young man who stays by her side through trouble; to the sophisticated director/producer who flits from woman to woman with the sense of his own importance Elizabeth must choose between the choices presented, or step off the boardwalk adn trudge her own path across the sand. 
     Liz's story, while steeped in romance, is more than the usual young adult meandering about a life's plan gone awry. She is passionate and, at twenty, has an integral belief in who she is. Teens and young adults can enjoy and relate to her story as she grows to accept those things she cannot change, but also battles to chance those things she can.

A Tale of Two Cities

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, 1859

   In 1875 Lucie Manette travels with her father's solicitor from England to France to find her father, long thought dead. After eighteen years in the Bastille Doctor Manette has gone crazy and his solicitor convinces Lucie that she can bring him back.
     Five years later Charles Darnay is on trial for treason. His lawyer is getting nowhere until one of the firm's assistants, Sydney Carton, cites his own similarities to Darnay as the reason the man could not have been the spy he is accused of. Carton notices Lucie and Doctor Manette in the courtroom and invites Darnay to a tavern to discuss the beautiful young woman who comes to show her sympathy. Carton is jealous of Lucie's attention, as her attentions remind him of everything he's abandoned.
     Back in France the Marquis Evremonde awaits his nephew's arrival. He shows a disconcern for the general populace which characterizes the French Revolution until Darnay arrives and despises his uncle's estate and contemporaries. The Marquis is murdered, seemingly by revolutionaries and Darnay renounces his family name to return to England.
     After a year, Darnay asks Manette for Lucie's hand. He promises himself to reveal his past to his future father-in-law, but hesitates from bringing the darkness into Lucie's life. He views her as all that is bright and good in the world, inspiring him to be a better man. Upon returning from their honeymoon Carton comes to Darnay to ask his friendship and Darnay assures the man he will always be welcome in Lucie and Charles Darnay's home.
     In France the revolution is still in its secretive phase and Madame Defarge knits the names of people to be executed into a pattern from the front porch of her tavern. Several years later, in 1889 the French Revolution breaks into chaos. After the initial years the Evremonde steward asks Darnay's help breaking from prison and Charles Darnay goes to his kinsman, despite his own danger.
     When Charles Darnay is captured for his title and his family's misdeeds Doctor Manette, Lucie, Sydney Carton, and the rest of the cast are drawn into his drama. The French Revolution's senseless violence abound throughout the story, and Dickens' dry narration stands in contrast to the vivid and gruesome scenes he describes. A Tale of Two Cities is a classic and considered required reading throughout high school curricula.