Over a Thousand Hills, I Walk with You

Over a Thousand Hills, I Walk with You by Hanna Jansen, 2003 Carolrhoda Books

     In 1994 Rwanda, Jeanne d'Arc Umubyeyi is a girl just like any other. But when the political and racial turmoil races though her country Jeanne is the only member of her Tutsi family to survive the genocide. She flees to her mother's home village and discovers two sisters who also wish to escape. The girls find protection and a path from their turbulent homeland with the rebellion forces.
     Written by her adopted mother, Over a Thousand Hills, I Walk with You is Jeanne's story of escape. The story is written in verse, based on the young woman's own words to describe the terror she witnessed. While passionately descriptive, Jeanne's story may be beyond younger readers' grasp.

Greenwitch

Greenwitch by Susan Cooper, 1974 Margaret K. Elderry Books

   Simon, Jane, and Barney Drew with their mysterious uncle Merriman Lyon return to a small coastal town to rediscover the Golden Grail lost by the Dark. Reinforcements have been called, but the children are unaware of their new companion's role in this great quest. Will Stanton is loathe to tell the Drew children his status as an Old One. Like Merriman he is more than he appears.
     But Jane is the one invited to join the local women in their creation of the Greenwitch--an ancient superstition and offering to the sea for a plentiful harvest. Though the form is sinister, Jane finds a sadness about the creature made of branches and leaves. Her kindness in the meeting is returned when Will and Merriman seek the manuscript which wil translate the magical Grail.
     After the Greenwitch is cast into the sea, a strange lackey of the Dark reaches beyond his grasp to struggle the creature's stolen "treasure" from it, only to be destroyed as the spirits of the sea are released. The Old Ones step up to stand between the people of town and the destructive force of the greatest bounty - the ocean.
     Merriman, Will, Simon, Jane, and Barney realize the war they wage is one of moral struggle, not physical. A war which allows a warm bed through the night and the habitual cup of cocoa to soothe battle-weary soldiers. The high fantasy of Greenwitch draws the reader further into the war between Light and Dark as it nears it's inevitable and ultimate clash. Aimed at young readers, Cooper's style is most suited to pre-teen and early teen readers; though anyone can enjoy her vivid imagination.

City of Flowers

City of Flowers by Mary Hoffman, 2005 Bloomsbury

     A perfume bottle is the talisman which draws Skye Meadows across the veil between modern London and Renaissance Talia. Skye lands in Giglia, much like Italy's Florence. There he meets and is embroiled in a feud between the two ruling families: the di Chimici and Nucci.      At home Skye is shy and withdrawn--intent on protecting his mother as she recovers from a longtime illness. When he arrives in Talia he is linked with Friar Sulien -- also a pharmacist for the rich and Stravagante.
     When Arianna, Duchessa of Bellezza, and Lucien Mulholland, a transfer Stravagante from London, arrive Skye (known in Talia as Celestino) is drawn into the preparation for four di Chimici weddings. He learns to trust the people around him and also himself. Will his new-found strength be enough when the floodgates open in Talian nobility?
     Skye learns trust, he learns to change with his changing world, he learns skills in Talia which help him to become the young man he wants to be in London. The high intrigue and adventure adds to the fantasy of royal families. Older elementary school readers will enjoy the espionage which brings familiar characters back into play.

The Secret of Shadow Ranch

The Secret of Shadow Ranch by Carolyn Keene, 1965 Grosset & Dunlap

     Nancy is called to Shadow Ranch, a horse ranch in Arizona, to help discover the truth of a ghost horse that's been appearing throughout the valley. She follows her friends Bess Marvin and George Fayne to help their cousin Alice discover the mystery of her amnesiac father.
     When the girls arrive they search for the treasure left by an outlaw who was one of the original residents, they help Bess and George's aunt run the dude ranch, and they look into the mysterious horse. Nancy and her friends enjoy the mountainous Arizona wilderness and the western lifestyle away from River Heights.
     Life at Shadow Ranch is not without the danger which seems to follow Nancy, but the four young women manage to survive their journey and even enjoy the mysteries they encounter. Nancy Drew's story is appropriate for readers of all ages.

Struck

Struck by Jennifer Bosworth, 2012 Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

     Mia Price and her family moved to Los Angeles where lightning rarely strikes. Mia is a lightning addict. She has risked her life and the lives of people around her in her pursuit of the strike's thrill.
     An earthquake caused by massive lightning strkes reduces the massive city to a minefield of rubble and refugees. The beaches become cities of displaced and the shattered downtown becomes a hazard. Two factions rise to power, both share strange powers and believe Mia the key to success.
     But Mia wants nothing to do with either the Followers or Seekers. She wants to believe the handsome but enigmatic Jeremy and trust him when he says he wants to protect her from his fellow Followers. She wants to protect her younger brother who makes a decision to fight with the Seekers. Mostly Mia just wants life to return to a semblance of normal.
     When she becomes the answer to the city's impending disaster, Mia makes a stand ignoring those who claim to have her best interests at heart and forges her own path. Maybe the girl who's been struck by lightning is the only one to solve its problems.
     The romance plot has moments where it could be realistic, but the relationship between Mia and her family - her PTSD-stricken mother and rebellious brother - is multi-faceted and creates a depth in Mia that her relationship with Jeremy does not have. Struck was written for older teen readers, though the themes of independence and self-reliance transcend age.