The Secret of the Mansion

The Secret of the Mansion by Julie Campbell, 1948 Western Publishing

     Thirteen year-old Trixie Belden is lives with her family: Mr. and Mrs. Belden, Trixie's two older brothers, Brian and Mart, and her younger brother Bobby on Crabapple Farm along the Hudson River. Brian and Mart are away at camp for the summer leaving Trixie to help their mother around the house and with young Bobby. The summer looks to be unbelievably boring and Trixie dreams of some excitement.
     When a wealthy family moves into one of the neighboring mansions Trixie meets Honey Wheeler. Honey is the same age as Trixie and spends the summer with her governess Miss Trask. In the other mansion nearby to Crabapple Farm Jim Frayne seeks refuge in his miserly great-uncle's home after running away from his abusive stepfather, Jonesy.
     When great-uncle is taken away with pneumonia Jim tells the girls the legend of a hidden treasure in his new home. The trio begin to search through the decrepit mansion for the treasure which will allow Jim to escape his step-father. Things begin to heat up when Jonesy comes looking for the runaway and Trixie's summer of boredom isn't as boring as she expects.
     A mystery for younger readers The Secret of the Mansion is the first in a series of mysteries starring the young teen. The beginning of Honey and Trixie's friendship is rocky but settles into a relationship which can stand the test of time. The mystery and suspense are suitable to older children and young teens, but enjoyable by readers of all ages.

Son

Son by Lois Lowry, 2012 Houghton Mifflin

     When she goes through her Ceremony of Twelve Claire is given the task of Birthmother. In her community, Birthmother is the task of young women selected to bring new lives into the community. When her first delivery is fraught with complications Claire is moved from the Birthmothers' Dormitory to the Fish Hatchery.
     Something keeps nagging at Claire, despite the good work she is doing for the community. When she takes the moment to stop and visit her Product. The child, like all others, is treated as a commodity, but Claire is attached. Unlike the other women in the community Claire has feelings.
     One night a commotion breaks out, Claire never quite remembers what happened, but a child, Jonas, escapes the community with Claire's son and she finds herself following. She is discovered in the ocean offshore of a fishing village on the edge of a sea she has never seen before. Claire grows and discovers a new world full of colors and animals, emotions and friends. She meets a young man: Fierce Einar who teaches her to climb the massive cliff keeping the people along the shore.
     Claire learns to love the young man and he is instrumental while she can no longer remember her life before the village. When Einar decides Claire is ready, he provides her with the courage and confidence which will lead her to her son. When she reaches the top of the cliff Claire meets the Trademaster who trades for what she most wants in the world: to find her son. He even gives her the first knowledge of his name: Gabriel.
     Gabriel escaped with Jonas at the end of The Giver and the two have aged in a refuge which has made its mark by becoming a shelter for those fleeing misfortune. Gabe has always had a desire and need to look to where he came from. He remembers vague moments of his mother holding him, loving him, but they are simply memories of a feeling Gabe hasn't felt in over ten years.
     The boy is preparing to search for his history when Trademaster returns and it is up to Gabe to save the town and people he loves. Claire has spent the last years watching her son from afar when the danger reappears, she must face the consequences of her choices and send him into danger where he can use his gift to save them all.
     In this evocative conclusion to the Giver quartet the reader follows Claire on her journey from a single sheep following dictates of her community to the individual who is willing to trade her chance at happiness to see her child grow into adulthood. Old characters reappear and the reader is rescued from the dangling cliffhanger. Written for middle school readers and older, there are some mature themes throughout the novel, with something for even adult readers to enjoy.

Warrior Princess

Warrior Princess by Frewin Jones, 2009 HarperTeen

     Branwen ap Griffin is fifteen when her father's kingdom is attacked by Saxons and her brother is killed. War breaks out and Branwen is sent to a neighboring kingdom to live with the royal family for safekeeping. She leaves behind the familiar free-wheeling lifestyle of a small kingdom for the pomp and formality of a large kingdom and its complicated social expectations.
     Used to fending for herself, Branwen has trouble fitting into the exacting strictures in her new home. When she runs into a mystical woman, Rhiannon of the Shining Ones, in the forest Branwen questions the new world she's been introduced into.
     Rhiannon tells Branwen her destiny is to be the warrior standing between the Saxons and her people, but the princess isn't sure she is capable of being the warrior she believes her people need.
     Balancing between wanting to return to her home and following her parents' direction Branwen embarks on a journey to become the warrior she has always dreamed she could be. Teen readers will empathize with Branwen's uncertainty and longing to fit in as she strives to stand out in a story similar to Osterlund's Aurelia and Quick's A Golden Web.

Spring Awakening

Spring Awakening by T.J. Brown, 2013 Gallery Books

     Prudence has travelled to London with her new husband, Rowena has agreed to marry her friend Sebastian Billingsly, and Victoria has decided to make her way as a lady bachelor. The Buxton women have grown stronger and grown apart since their London home was taken from them and their estrangement at Summerset Abbey. But there is more at stake for the three women and the people they care for when the first World War begins.
     Prudence has fallen in love with her husband Andrew Wilkes. When he volunteers to fight, Prudence finds she is expecting their first child. The stress of her changed circumstances is minimal compared to the blow their relationship when she asks the Buxtons that he be stationed somewhere relatively safe. Andrew thinks Prudence lacks faith in him, but Prudence just wants her husband to come home.
     Rowena and her cousin Elaine remain at home while Victoria moves to London and most of the men in the Cunning Coterie join the war in Europe. While Elaine is held under her mother's thumb, Rowena recovers from her disaster of an affair with the young pilot, Jon. While tacking together plans for her wedding to Sebastian she begins to ferry planes across the Isles for the British government.
     Away from her family in London, Victoria repeatedly rejects Kit Kittredge's marriage proposals. When he reveals he will be joining the covert war effort Victoria realizes she will lose her best friend. Victoria distracts herself in work as a volunteer nurse, even joining the Red Cross in France. The youngest Buxton girl discovers sometimes it isn't worth losing the respect and love of a friend to have it all.
     The Buxton girls find their lives have been leading them in separate directions toward the same end. Rowena and Victoria aid the war effort more directly, and Prudence becomes an anchor as many women of her time were forced to become. Through love and loss each woman learns to blaze her own trail, but finds her way back to the family who left London at Sir Philip's death. Spring Awakening is a historical novel weaving fact together with fiction. Older readers will enjoy the nuance and complex love lives which follow Rowena, Prudence, and Victoria to the series' conclusion.

Destined for Doon

Destined for Doon by  Carey Corp & Lorie Langdon, 2014 Blink

     After a year of living her dream life on the stage Kenna Reid isn't so sure it truly is her dream. She has been haunted for months with callings of the young prince she left behind. When Duncan appears in her closet of a  dressing room Kenna is sure he's just another vision. But when he interrupts a meeting between Kenna and her creepily attentive director she finally realizes Duncan isn't just another apparition.
     Duncan has been sent to find Kenna and bring her back to Doon, but not to resume their relationship. Doon's queen and Kenna's best friend Veronica Welling sent Duncan to find Kenna and bring her home.
     It's only with her best friend's help that Vee can push back the ancient curse which surrounds and begins to swallow her kingdom. With her betrothed prince acting strangely Vee begins to feel the strain of her relationship as it wars with what she wants from and for her throne. Jamie seems to be throwing everything he has into dispersing the dark cloud gathering around Doon and it begins to challenge the relationship he and Veronica have created.
     Both Kenna and Vee soon discover they're better at saving the mystical world Doon than making their relationships to work. Depending on each other and the young men they love, Kenna and Vee fight to eradicate the darkness around their home.This sequel to Doon follows Kenna as she realizes her dreams are not all she expected them to be, and she returns to Doon ready to create a new and more fulfilling life with her best friend and the prince she loves. Destined for Doon is aimed at more mature readers with romantic tension and somewhat graphic destruction.