Over Sea, Under Stone

Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper, 1965 Harcourt

     When the Drew family (Simon, Jane, Barney, and their parents) visit Trewissick in Cornwall for their summer vacation, the three children and their strange Uncle Merriman are on a quest for King Arthur's Holy Grail. At first it's just an adventure for the children, but when some strange characters come out of the woodwork things turn sinister.
     Through their encounters with the strange people hoping to turn Simon, Jane, and Barney over to their side and in searching for the Grail they learn the difference between the Light and Dark. When the forces of Darkness begin to use the people of Trewissick, Simon, Jane and Barney turn to Uncle Merriman and the Light to help complete their quest.
     Cooper's work was written for younger readers, but the writing style lends itself to an older audience. It is a somewhat simple storyline yet is skilfully crafted with twists and turns to draw readers in and immerse them in a realistic world full of magic and mystery.

Stargazer

Stargazer by Claudia Gray, 2009 Harper Collins

     In Gray's sequel to Evernight, Bianca and Lucas have been separated by the ideologies of their parents and the explosive events at the school. But the two are unwilling to allow the forces around them to keep them apart.
     Despite Lucas' absence from Evernight Academy, life goes on for Bianca. She helps fellow vampire Balthazar find his sister, and searches for whatever it was Lucas hoped to find in the headmistress' quarters. But soon enough her life at Evernight Academy is overshadowed by the loss of Lucas and all Bianca wants is to be reunited with her love. All the while the troubles between the vampires and wraiths escalate.
     When Lucas returns for her, Bianca decides it is time to be freed from the stress of having to hide him from her family, the urge to become a vampire, and the increasing pressure from the wraiths, to do what Bianca has no idea. Lucas doesn't play as large of a role in this portion of their tale, but the forces surrounding his and Bianca's relationship affect how they continue their lives. When the Black Cross returns to Evernight Bianca makes her decision--she escapes with Lucas and the vampire hunters.
     Gray has managed to continue the Romeo and Juliet theme without turning it into a soppy teenage drama. Bianca and Lucas work around the problems that keep them apart, rather than moping and hoping they miraculously fix themselves. The couple change their circumstances, working toward their desired ending. The language is general and the content, despite including several vampire killings and deaths, remains descriptive without being graphic. Stargazer is appropriate for middle school through high school ages.

The Hidden Staircase

The Hidden Staircase by Carolyn Keene, 1959 Grosset & Dunlap

     In her second adventure, Nancy Drew gets a call from her friend Helen Corning (a returning character) to help her great-grandmother and great-aunt. The Turnbulls are two ladies who think their home is haunted. She agrees to visit Twin Elms Mansion and help the women discover the truth of their concerns. She and the Turnbull women begin to search for a hidden staircase that would explain the ghostly phenomenon. While Nancy is at Twin Elms Mr. Drew disappears, Nancy takes a break to discover what has happened to her father.
     Nancy wonders if the two cases are related and begins pursuing her father's disappearance in earnest. When she discovers Nathan Gomer, the man who forecasted Mr. Drew's troubles, has bought Twin Elms and an adjacent Turnbull family property something smells fishy. Nancy and Helen pursue both ends of the case surrounding the Turnbulls and eventually discover the connection that cracks the case.
     Nancy balances the two cases, their various twists and turns lending new perspectives to the other side. She is persistent and orderly, looking into each new theory and supporting her theories with evidence. While Nancy and Helen make some questionable choices for their era, they show initiative and subdue their own fear to solve the case and return Twin Elms to the Turnbull women.
     The story is written in understandable language. Nancy's adventures play out logically, yet with twists and turns that keep the story from being predictable. It is ideal for early mystery readers: not too frightening, yet it still has chilling elements. The tale is still enjoyable for older readers; it is quick with multiple plots that blend together for an all-inclusive resolution in the final chapters.

The Academie

The Academie by Susanne Dunlap, 2012 Bloomsbury

     Elizabeth Monroe is an American, specifically a Virginian in France and the daughter of future American President James Monroe. Eliza travels with her mother, also Elizabeth Monroe, for a year in Paris. Or so she thinks.
     Once they arrive she discovers that her mother has enrolled Eliza in an exclusive French boarding school. Rather than spending her days preparing for a magical night on the town, Eliza finds herself learning comportment, conversation, drawing, music, and all the other essentials to become a successful hostess in the new, post-revolution France. But her days aren't all dull; Eliza discovers that her classmates are the most celebrated young ladies in Europe: Hortense de Beauharnais (Josephine Bonaparte's daughter) and Caroline Bonaparte (Napoleon's youngest sister). Eliza's attempts at befriending the two girls only reveal their enmity. When the changing world leads the trio into forbidden territory, Hortense, Caroline, and Eliza discover Madeline, Hortense's brother's love.
     When life changes irrevocably for the four young women Eliza discovers just what she is willing to do for these new 'friends'. Madeline plays a larger part in the alteration of the girls' lives than they expected, but in the end Eliza goes home stunned at the changes in the world she discovered in Paris.
     Eliza as a character is, at first, excitable and strives to display herself in a manner similar to that of the stereotypical courtiers in novels of the time. She expects parties and balls and young men to fawn over her, so the shock of being placed in an all-girl boarding school dampens her spirits. Upon meeting Hortense and Caroline she takes the opportunity to indulge in what she thinks are politically advantageous friendships, losing herself to the more ambitious aims of Caroline despite having her own agenda for Hortense.
     Caroline despises her station, locked away from her love by a powerful older brother in a school with little to offer. She takes every opportunity to further her own desires, and even drags Hortense and Eliza into the mix.
     Hortense only wishes for her family to finally have happiness. Her mother has found love with Napoleon, yet his suspicions are easily swayed against her. Hortense finds her step-father a challenge as she has formed some sort of attachment to him, but she uses their relationship to keep Josephine in his graces. She is away she is a pawn in many schemes, but uses them to her own ends.
     While Hortense has experienced the fear of being thrown out, Madeline lives with the daily fear of being unable to escape her abusive mother. When her mother discovers the relationship between Hortense's brother and Madeline, the chance to escape is at hand and she is forced to take the leap. But Madeline realizes Josephine will never allow her son to marry the common daughter of an actress, she alters the course of her story to follow her own plans.
     The four young women of The Academie are strong-willed and frivolous, but they each take charge of their own lives in a country and world where women's lives are still controlled by the men around them. The challenges they face are interlinked as are the plans they conceive to escape their restrictions. The chapters jump from character to character, and are told in the first person. The language is understandable and suited to readers anywhere between 13 and 18 years old.

The Secret of the Old Clock

The Secret of the Old Clock by Carolyn Keene, 1959 Grosset & Dunlap

     Nancy Drew is 18-years-old, titian haired, and brilliant! In this introduction to Nancy and her adventures, she rescues a small girl when she falls from a bridge. When she discovers that Judy's well-off and avuncular protector (Josiah Crowley) has died and left everything to snobbish, grasping distant relatives she feels she must figure out why such a thing has happened to such a sweet child and her unassuming family.
     She promises to help Judy and her aunts find the will Crowley hid before his death. Throughout her adventures she relies on her friends, lawyer father, and the Drew family housekeeper, Hannah Gruen, to help with her sleuthing.
     Nancy is stylish and independent, her mother died when she was a small child and occasionally she helps her father in his law practice. Her sensible and logical process makes her an excellent amateur detective. Her courage and persistence, mixed with a sense of right and wrong make her a good role model for young girls.
     The story is written in an accessible language with the old-fashioned values of the 1950s. Nancy is both a traditional daughter and a feminist in her freedom and values. This is a short novel (around 180 pages) that centers on the mystery to be solved, spiced with the relationships that surround Nancy as heroine.

A Curse Dark as Gold

A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce, 2009 Arthur A. Levine Books

     Charolotte Miller is the older daughter of the Miller of Stirwaters. When her father dies suddenly, Charolotte and her sister take over the workings of their wool-mill. Things have never gone perfectly according to plan for the Stirwaters Woolen Mill, but when there is no longer a male heir to run the mill things begin to go haywire. There is something at work on the mill, the workers believe in its moods and some accidents are just impossible, even with bad luck. Talk of a curse begins to circulate in the town, talk Charolotte can no longer discount or dismiss.
     Charolotte and Rosie have some hope of making a good season and helping their workers make it through the winter. Everything is going well: the mill is producing some of the best cloth Stirwaters has ever seen and the people are flourishing. However, soon enough, the spirit of the mill starts to work against them; an entire run is destroyed, their "jack-of-all-trades" handyman breaks his leg in an impossible fall, and the world itself seems to be against the two young women. With the cloth moguls circling, Charolotte doesn't know what to do.
     But a strange little man appears on the scene. He comes and goes as needed, and requests only small things in return: a worthless ring from Charolotte's mother, a brooch from her love. He then proceeds to spin straw into gold. When the strange little man asks for something Charolotte is unwilling to give, she must find a way to fight for her family and the mill that keeps her community alive.
     Charolotte's character begins as any other female heroine in a patriarchal society: alone, without resources, and without the confidence to pursue her desires. But when she only faces adversity in the cloth industry, she transforms into a pillar. Her tendency to keep bottle up her troubles only causes more of them, but in the end she manages to overcome the fears that make her keep her problems to herself. She transforms from a somewhat stock character into a realistic young woman with the problems and fears of any young adult.
     Bunce has managed to blend the myths of Rumpelstiltskin into the historical landscape of the textile industry. While their world features technology of today, its society is drawn up around realistic and historical lines in an understandable blend of technological and general language. This historical fantasy takes the superstitions of the time and plays out what would have happened if they weren't only superstitions.