Britannia All at Sea

Britannia All at Sea by Betty Neels, 1978 Harlequin

     When the important consulting doctor interrupts her supporting one of her nurses Staff Nurse Britannia Smith sends him back to the ward like a misbehaving child. Professor Jake Luitingh van Thien doesn't appear to like the Staff Nurse - while he is kind to the rest of the staff he is cold and shows no emotion to the splendidly built young woman. Despite his lack of encouragement Britannia decides she will marry him.
     She doesn't have much chance to nurture their romance when the Dutch professor returns to Holland. But when a close friend invites Britannia along on a visit with her godparents, Britannia accepts it as a sign from the Fates and joins. She has no definite plan to forward their relationship, but that doesn't stop Britannia from hoping.
      Britannia and her friend are surprised when the professor appears across their cycling path one day. When her friend accepts a proposal from a young man she meets at her godparents' Britannia is given the opportunity to spend more time with the doctor.
     Jake invites her to see his Dutch hospital and he and Britannia spend significant time together. Their association is progressing as Britannia hopes, until she meets Madeleine de Venz. Madeleine is beautiful and sophisticated, coming from the professor's background, and has plans to marry the rich and handsome doctor.
     The English nurse is swamped with feelings of inadequacy when she contemplates stepping between the professor and what she believes to be his best interests. Will Britannia marry her handsome doctor, or is the idea of love at first sight an illusion?
     We follow another of Betty Neels's nurses as she attempts to find love despite her own inclinations and her chosen man's temperament. Readers of all ages looking for clean romance will enjoy another of Neels's stories.

In the Hand of the Goddess

In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce, 1984 Atheneum

     Alanna has become squire to Prince Jonathan, one of few who know her secret. After several years working to become a knight and learning her lessons at the heir's side Alanna must face the risks of growing up surrounded by young men.
     When the Great Mother Goddess visits disguised Alanna during a mission she encourages the girl to stand up for her dream. With support for her dream to be a warrior, the Goddess reminds Alanna there is more to life than just adventure and suggests the young woman open herself to love.
     In the same meeting, Alanna creates a new friend in Faithful, a black cat with strange purple eyes. His eyes alarm or surprise everyone who sees Alanna with her new cat companion, but it is his magic which caused the Goddess to place Faithful with her chosen warrior. Faithful becomes Alanna's most trustworthy companion and protector.
     With the Ordeal looming and the memory of her friends' response to their experience in the solid room Alanna is uneasy. While she has learned to become a knight, she still struggles with the feminine arts. In disguise she goes to her friends in the City and asks the Rogue's mother to teach her to dress and move as a woman. Alanna even allows her friend Prince Jonathan to introduce her to the more adult pursuits to be found between woman and man. All the time worrying what their friends will say when she reveals her secret.
     Over the years Alanna still worries about the Duke of Conte and his intentions toward the royal family. Duke Roger remains suspicious, but any time Alanna tries to resolve her questions about the Prince's cousin something helps her lose interest and move on. Things don't add up, and it is on the wave of her successful knighthood that Alanna finds the strength and time to take action.
     Alanna's journey transitions from learning to be a boy, learning to fit into her role, developing the skill she will require to succeed to learning to be a woman, learning to risk more than physical danger, to pursue what she believes is right. Pierce hints at more than romance between Alana and Jonathan, though it isn't illustrated for the reader. In this second stage of her life Alanna's story is more suited to teen readers with deadly betrayal, complex romantic relationships, and a minor crisis of identity.

The Sin Eater's Daughter

The Sin Eater's Daughter by Melinda Salisbury, 2015 Scholastic Press

     Once, long ago, the God of the Day and Goddess of the Night lived in tenuous harmony, but the Goddess seduced her daily counterpart and Night ruled the land; the crops died and life deteriorated under her rule. But her success in putting the Day to sleep resulted in a child: Daunen. Their daughter's pure song woke her father and brought balance into the world. Night and Day agreed that in times of great strife their daughter would return to Lormere as a beacon of hope.
     Seventeen-year-old Twylla has lived four years as Daunen Embodied, with her title comes great responsibility: her touch is poison. By the grace of the gods only the royal family can touch the young woman and she is trained as the court's executioner. At the palace Twylla is distanced from the court for her title and her power. She is betrothed to the prince, and is pleased her new destiny has taken her from her mother's place as the next Sin Eater.
     But the young woman is isolated, feared, and kept caged to the queen's beck and call. When her guard becomes strangely ill Twylla finds friendship with her one remaining guard: Lief. Lief is from a neighboring country and becomes more than simply a friend to Twylla. Though destined to marry Prince Merek, Twylla finds this new young man who dares to come close and brave her poisoned skin irresistible, even more so when he discovers everything she's lived for the last four years is a lie.
     Living in Lormere's spotlight as a feared weapon is not how the Sin Eater's daughter imagined her life at the palace, but with secrets coming out she discovers there may be a way to salvage the life Twylla dreamed of while still protecting the people's hope in Daunen Embodied.
     Blending mythology and fantasy The Sin Eater's Daughter is filled with power struggles, death and destruction. Twylla is trapped at the whim of a queen increasingly going mad. With Prince Merek and her guard, Lief, vying for attention Twylla struggles to find balance and a future. Her tale is more appropriate for mature readers with gruesome death and dangerous love triangles.

Scorch Trials

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner, 2010 Random House

     After Thomas and his companions are rescued they arrive at whatever place it is the boys are dropped off by WICKED. The building is a large room with two dormitories off the main room; Thomas is awakened the first night when Teresa is pulled from him - screaming in his mind. When the boys awaken it is to find their windows replaced with screaming creatures - humans who have begun to deteriorate and call themselves the Cranks.
     Thomas and his friends flee the creatures and Thomas searches for Teresa. In her place they find Aris - another boy. Aris describes an experience very like what the boys experienced in the maze. Aris was placed in a maze full of girls and young women, much like Teresa joined the boys. Thomas is concerned for Teresa and Aris is barely accepted by the boys.
    After several days locked in the building without food and afraid to leave for fear of finding more Cranks, a strange man appears with food and gives the boys a directive. They will cross hundreds of miles of the Scorch to a barren city and beyond the mountains and a safe zone.
     Along the way Thomas, Aris, and the boys from the maze encounter more Cranks and most survive. But when Teresa and the other girls appear will the two groups survive the planned betrayal? Teen and young adult readers will enjoy Dashner's dystopia. Some violence and romantic tension pervade the story.

Hall of Secrets

Hall of Secrets by Cate Campbell, 2014 Kensington Books

     A year after her brother Preston perished in the destruction of her medical clinic, Margot Benedict is finally putting the pieces back together to reopen. She has spent the last year encouraging her romance with Major Frank Parrish and avoiding her mother's accusing looks with work. And Dr. Benedict has been relatively successful.
     When her young cousin Allison Benedict is swamped in scandal Margot suggests to her father that they invite the young woman to Benedict Hall. Allison's mother has declared that the young woman is ruined after an escapade while returning from Europe and her Grand Tour. While Allison's only fault is finding friendship outside her parents' snobbish class, she is made to feel as if she is a great burden. Margot hopes having a young person in the house will bring Edith Benedict out of the stupor she sank into with Preston's death.
     At first Allison believes Margot is complicit in the plans to punish her with banishment to Seattle, but when Margot is genuinely concerned for her cousin's welfare Allison begins to wonder if she's found an escape. Rowena Benedict enjoys having another young woman in the house whose interest is in fashion and the feminine arts, unlike Margot, but Allison's troubles follow her from her parents' San Francisco home.
     Margot's relationship with Frank is strained when she develops a relationship with Margaret Sanger and her family planning initiatives. Like many in Seattle's Jazz Age, Frank believes birth control and family planning are something to be handled privately, Margot believes providing women the education to handle their families privately is the only way to proceed. It doesn't help that Frank is sent to California's March Airfield to examine their airplanes for the Boeing Company. The distance is both a blessing and hurdle the two must face before embarking on any sort of life together.
     Just as things seem to be coming together and the family's plans are to be realized an enemy from the past resurfaces. Allison must face the demon her mother has thrust upon her, and the Seattle Benedicts find the skeletons in their closet have not gone to rest.
     Hall of Secrets transitions readers from the conflict between Margot and Preston to the struggles of a modern woman in 1920s Seattle. Margot's privileged background gives her advantages over the women she treats, but their challenges drive her to make their lives better with access to healthcare and education. The story looks into women's rights and family planning as they become hot button issues in America, younger readers may misunderstand some nuances of the challenges Margot and the women of her acquaintance face.

Eragon

Eragon by Christopher Paolini, 2002 Knopf Books

     When a young boy hunting in the forest discovers a beautiful blue stone in a flash of light it begins an adventure which could save his nation. Eragon takes the blue stone home and discovers it is more than just a rock. His Uncle Garrow and cousin Roran suggest they sell it, but when the stone hatches into a small blue lizard with wings Eragon realizes he's discovered a dragon.
     Eragon forms a special bond with the creature. He and his new friend Saphira discover an ancient history of legend in their journey to understand what it means to be the last of the Dragon Riders. When the king's men come searching for the dragon egg and murder Eragon's uncle it is the village storyteller Brom who helps spirit Eragon and Saphira out of the mountains and toward freedom.
     In the south of Alagaesia are the Boer Mountains of the dwarves. Brom sets the trio on that path to evade the King Galbatorix's searchers and capture the creatures who murdered the only family Eragon has known. Along the way Brom teaches Eragon swordplay and magic and the history of the Dragon Riders. Eragon hopes to use his new skills to hunt the men who killed his uncle and destroyed his home - the Ra'zac. As they travel Saphira grows stronger, and larger. When she becomes large enough to easily carry Eragon they learn to fly.
     In their search for the Ra'zac and during Eragon's education the trio travels to Teirm where they seek any sign of the monsters. While searching the city Eragon meets herbalist Angela and her witch-familiar cat, Solembum. Something about the pair tingles against Eragon's enhanced senses and Saphira warns him they are likely to find the pair again.
     Brom continues to teach the fledgling pair until Eragon's thirst for revenge draws them to the Ra'zac hiding in Dras Leona. There they discover Arya, an elven noblewoman held captive and regularly tortured by the Shade Durza. In rescuing Arya the Ra'zac and shade discover Eragon and Brom. They are aided by a stranger, Murtagh who helps them escape, but Brom is gravely injured in the process.
     As Brom dies he reveals his history to Eragon, upon his death Saphira, in a feat of magic, turns his tomb to diamond. Murtagh decides to travel with the remaining group and they seek refuge with the rebellious Varden in the Boer Mountains. But their journey is far from complete - the King's forces, monstrous Urgals, the Ra'zac, and Durza follow to the gates of the dwarven kingdom, which the group may find sealed in their faces.
     Readers who enjoyed Tolkien's Middle Earth and Lewis's Narnia will enjoy the high fantasy of Paolini's Alagaesia. Magic and chivalry entice while evil stalks in the open and one boy with his dragon finds the way through to join a rebellion. Young adult readers may find the pacing varies, with some portions moving along at a quick clip and others catching in the scenery; overall readers of all ages can enjoy the fantasy.

Spelled

Spelled by Betsy Schow, 2015 Sourcebooks Fire

     Generations ago Dorothea had an ancestress who irked two elemental sorceress sisters. In return the sisters cursed Dorothea's line, but they were young and inexperienced witches: instead of cursing the girl who challenged their plans, one of her descendents would inherit the curse and destroy Story with flames. Until the curse manifests and burns itself out Dorothea is locked inside the Emerald Palace.
     Tired of being locked inside her home and each moment of her day being dictated and scheduled, Dorothea begins to act out. The princess has been trained as a spoiled, materialistic brat. Her parents announce an engagement Between Dorothea and Prince Kato and it drives her to make a reckless wish. As Dorothea herself tells the reader - A badly worded wish is worse than any curse.
     When the rules and laws of magic begin to deteriorate and unravel Dorothea ventures out with Prince Kato and the kitchenmaid Rexi to find a solution. For a girl who had never left the palace Dorothea discovers that sometimes fate is something she makes for herself and her subjects.
     Set in the land of stories and centering on the Princess of the Emerald City Spelled is filled with fairy tale language, unexpected romance, and not one, but two evil witches bent on seeking revenge. Readers will enjoy Dorothea's sarcasm and spunk while following her about Story.

Nancy's Mysterious Letter

Nancy's Mysterious Letter by Carolyn Keene, 1968 Grosset & Dunlap

     Nancy Drew receives a letter that plunges her into another mystery. When Nancy and the girls invite the postman in for tea and cocoa his bag of mail is stolen. The authorities ask Nancy to come in for questioning; they believe she had something to do with the theft.
     When Ned Nickerson invites Nancy to visit him at Emerson College for the big football game she meets another woman whose mail was stolen. The woman believes Nancy to be part of a criminal enterprise.
     When the mail is re-sent Nancy, and others, receives a letter. While the letter is addressed to Nancy Drew, it is not intended for River Height's Miss Drew. Upon investigation with her friends Nancy discovers a Nancy Smith Drew teaching at the Emerson.
     The Nancy S Drew our detective finds is an heiress and there are those who would stop Nancy. They will even go so far as to kidnap the detective to stop her. Nancy Drew, along with her friends, searches for the answer to their newest mystery. Older elementary readers will enjoy the condensed mystery.