I Capture the Castle

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, 1948 Wyatt Books

     At seventeen-years-old Miss Cassandra Mortmain lives in an old castle with her penniless family. Cassandra has dreams of becoming a writer like her famous father; in her journals, she attempts to develop her own voice. Throughout the six months chronicles, the Mortmain household in rural Suffolk weathers several significant changes.
     Cassandra’s family includes her father: a famous author, her stepmother Topaz who is an artist’s model and muse, Cassandra’s older sister Rose is a ‘true beauty’ at twenty-one, her younger brother is still in the schoolroom and unreasonably bright, and their adopted live-in servant Stephen Who is unbelievably in love with Cassandra and has lived with the family since his mother’s death.
     In a reflection of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice the manor house which owns the Mortmain castle finds new ownership and occupants. The charming Americans who take up residence are compelling and fascinate the two girls. Rose sets her cap at the elder brother and thus begins the great drama.
   When it appears the elder brother has fallen for the beautiful Rose, Cassandra spends more and more time with the charming young men. She is fascinated by the new music and stories he shares and begins to fall for the older brother. The man then proposes to Rose. Cassandra is enamored of her sister's fiance and takes every chance she can to spend time with him.
     The younger Mortmain sister doesn't begrudge her beautiful sister the man's attention, only wishes for a love of her own. Rose's life and future occupy much of Cassandra's journal as she reflects on the ever-changing dynamic of their family as Rose's prospects change.
     Cassandra grows from an impressionable young girl to a young woman as she navigates relationships new and old. She learns more about herself and the members of her family through the Mortmain family's changing circumstances. Teen readers and those who enjoy traditional British wit will find Cassandra's observations amusing and sometimes refreshingly pointed.

Shadow Cadets of the Pennyroyal Academy

Shadow Cadets of Pennyroyal Academy by M. A. Larson, 2016 Putnam's Sons

     Evie is on summer break after her first year at Pennyroyal Academy and has been advanced to cadet second-class. At home with her dragon family, Evie feels her difference and is missing her friends. After a particularly difficult day, Evie decides to leave for school early and treks across the continent to see Demetra.
     Along the way a kindly innkeeper and his wife take Evie in and shower her in praise for the work in defeating the countess Hardcastle. Evie is uncomfortable with her new fame but when the innkeeper's wife is murdered by Princesses Evie discovers there's still more of the human world she is ignorant of. She flees and hurries to Demetra's home.
     Demetra enlists the help of their friend Anissette and the local Princess, her older sister, to discover who the murderous princesses could be. The resounding response is that they must be witches, and something about it continues to bother Evie.
     She is distracted as they return to the Academy. The news of what happened the year before has spread and hundreds of girls flocked to the academy hoping to become famous like Evie. With so many third-class princess cadets the first and second-class cadets are expected to supplement the staff. Evie and her friends find themselves in the kitchens. In addition to helping cook and serve meals, the cadets are thrust into further training.
     Though she's handed off the mystery of the evil princess
es to authorities better suited to investigation, Evie cannot let the mystery go. When the witches and Shadow Cadets are both searching for Cinderella the fight comes to Pennyroyal Academy once again. The headmistress doesn't seem to believe the results of Evie and her friends' investigation.
     She goes outside the usual plan of action and their quest to save Cinderella ends with help from an unexpected source.
     Evie is still uncomfortable with the prophecy which claims she is the Warrior Princess destined to save them all from witches. She only wants to become the best she can be, enjoy her time with her friends, and learn a little more about being human. Events conspire to draw Evie constantly into the spotlight, no matter how hard she tries to escape.
     Shadow Cadets of Pennyroyal Academy continues the story of a girl raised by dragons and trained to defend the powerless against witches. Themes of friendship, honor, kindness, and following what you know is right about in this journey. Evie is still discovering who she is and where she is going - a journey young readers can understand posed against the fight between personal wants and external expectations.

Illusionarium

Illusionarium by Heather Dixon, 2015 Harper Collins

     In the far northern reaches of Arthurise - a London-based derivative world - sixteen-year-old Jonathan Gouden is faced with a mysterious plague killing the country's women. The country's top medical researcher, Lady Florel, appears to have gone mad through an overuse of a new drug called fantillium.
     The king directs Jonathan's father, and Jonathan as his apprentice, to use fantillium to research a cure for the plague and save the queen. Jonathan and his father discover the drug allows Illusionists to create real-world hallucinations which affect the reality of anyone who is under the drug's influence, while most drug users can only create projections visible to those high on the drug.
     Jonathan and his father work to find a cure, but the task seems impossible, even with the fantillium's ability to speed up time. When the plague attacks Jonathan's mother and sister he turns to Lady Florel and her research for help. But Lady Florel is only interested in the parallel universe where she rules supreme and bringing Illusionists from Arthursie to that alternate world.
     In Nod'ol Lady Florel resides over games in the Illusionarium. Jonathan is drawn into the parallel world and forced to compete--if he succeeds he will receive the cure for his family and kingdom, failure will mean repeated, painful, illusionary death. Jonathan must learn to control his talent to entertain the audience and receive the cure.
     Jonathan meets the other contestants and discovers there's more to the games and to the other competitors than Lady Florel let on. When the fate of both worlds hangs on the result of the contest Jonathan discovers there's more to his skill than he believed. To get home to his family and where he belongs, Jonathan is prepared to literally bend the world.
     The battle of the Illusionarium tears through Nod'ol. Jonathan's adventure leads him to appreciate how choices can change the course of one's life.
     Readers who enjoy fast-paced action-fantasy will enjoy this trip across dimensional boundaries into a steampunk-fueled quest. Through vivid description, Jonathan's adventure may contain mature content suited for older teen readers.

Lion Heart

Lion Heart by A.C. Gaughen, 2014 Bloomsbury

     After the events of Lady Thief, Scarlet is aware of her elevated parentage and has been captured by her uncle, Prince John. She is Lady Marian and has been kept from the protection of her grandmother: Eleanor of Aquitaine. King Richard was captured by the Holy Roman Emperor and all of England scrambles to raise the ransom.
     Scarlet escapes her uncle's prison only to be trapped between the expectations of her grandmother the queen and the desires of her heart and her love for Rob. She begs her friends to keep her escape from the man she loves so he will stay safe at Nottingham and away from her. While Prince John searches for Richard's wayward bastard, Scarlet is busy trying to help Eleanor raise funds for her father's ransom.
     When Scarlet's past gives her the skills to be the queen's emissary, and her present gives her the knowledge to defend herself and companions against unknown enemies, she begins to suspect Prince John has more stake in keeping his brother imprisoned than he admits. And it appears John has a plan to keep the status quo.
     Scarlet's fears are founded when Robin does learn of her freedom: the man refuses to leave her side. Robin has achieved his life's dream by surrendering Scarlet to the punishment of taking the blame when Prince John ordered her unwanted husband, Guy of Gisborne, killed. As lord and Sherrif of Nottingham Rob could lose everything again if, and when, the prince discovers his part in Scarlet's continued evasion.
     The nation cannot survive much more dissent between Prince John and those loyal to King Richard, so Scarlet decides to speed the process along. When a plot involving French mercenaries and the king's ransom comes to light the young woman hatches a plot of her own to show the true colors of all involved and bring justice to the lawless and kingless England.
     Nestled into the story of crusading England this take on the legend of Robin Hood and his Merry Men is action-packed and gives Maid Marian a new spin. Though laced with graphic violence Gaughen manages to create a tale, over the course of the trilogy, which will entrance and entertain readers who enjoy historical fiction. Lion Heart is written for older teen and young adult readers.