Lost in a Book

Beauty and the Beast: Lost in a Book by Jennifer Donnelly, 2017 Disney Press

    Belle has traded her freedom to allow her father his freedom. She gets used to her new home and its occupants and she discovers a surprise in the extensive library. Nevermore is a reflection of the world managed by Death and her sister, Love.
     Death bets her sister that Belle will abandon the Beast, but Love holds her sister to fair play. Determined not to cheat, Death creates a living book to lure Belle to fulfill her wager. The young woman escapes the magic-soaked castle for an equally magic-infused world which appears to allow Belle to chase her dreams and have adventures. She is fascinated by the apparent perfection of the world and the people she meets there.
     Despite growing more comfortable with her imprisonment and becoming even fond of the Beast she falls under the spell of Nevermore. Belle is oblivious to the background drama between The Lady and her sister which brought her to the fictional land.
     What happens when the living book and its creator decide not to allow the young woman home? A side story within the world of 2017's live-action "Beauty and the Beast" Lost in a Book shows another step in building the relationship between Belle and the Beast. Who will win the bet? How will Belle get back to the castle and her new friends?
     The story takes place after the Beast has introduced Belle to the library and they've started to become friends, however, it happens while Belle still dreams of a life outside the castle. Lost in a Book is aimed at teen readers and those who enjoy fantastical retellings will like this spin on Belle's story.

Newt's Emerald

Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix, 2013 Katherine Tegen Books

     Regency England is imbued with magic: families have different talents including glamour, persuasion, and weather magics. The Newington family has weather magic, and the daughter of the house, Truthful Newington, has a touch of animal talent and some local weather magic. The Newington family also has an old family relic: the Newington Emerald, which has a magic all its own.
     Lady Truthful is to inherit the family jewel when she comes of age, but during a glimpse on her eighteenth birthday the jewel is stolen. Admiral Newington, Truthful's father, blames her cousins the Newington-Lacys. The three young men promise their beloved cousin Newt that they will find a replacement for the pretty bauble abroad. Truthful appreciates their aid, but makes plans of her own. She hastens a planned journey to London where her great-aunt Lady Badgery is ready to introduce her to Society.
     Newt's great-aunt is eccentric and an excellent sorceress. Lady Badgery helps her niece become a distant French male cousin in order to hunt for the Emerald in the city. Henri, as she becomes, searches for the jewel with no success. When Truthful meets a mysterious Major Hartnett the investigation begins to produce results.
     With the Major's assistance and Lady Badgery's connections Newt discovers a larger plot at hand, one the government becomes deeply involved in Newt's charade is compromised in a brief kidnapping an her confounding feelings for the Major begin to cause problems as the chase for her Emerald comes to a close.
     Action, adventure, magic, and some brief romance make Newt's Emerald a modern take on Regency fiction and will appeal to readers of all ages.

The Hundred Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared

The Hundred Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson, 2009 Hesperus Nova

     Allan Karlsson turns 100 years old and decides he's had enough of the old-folks home where he's been living in Malmkoping, Sweden. The man is in fair health for his age and decides to leave the facility before the birthday party thrown in his honor and populated by people Allan has no intention of placating. In his slippers and with minimal funding he makes his way to the local bus station.
    At the bus station, a young man entrusts Allan with a rolling suitcase. Despite his best attempts to warn the young man of his impending departure the young man closets himself in the lavatory and Allan takes the suitcase onto the bus with him. Thus ensues the adventure of a lifetime.
    Along the way, the reader discovers the centenarian's life has been full of adventure. Young Karlsson left school to begin work at the local dynamite factory before his teen years, he became an explosives expert and traveled the world. In young adulthood, he spent time in a sanatorium and steadfastly became apolitical. Allan Karlsson took part in the Spanish Civil War, met President Harry Truman and participated in the making of the atom bomb in Los Almos, New Mexico. He traveled to China and through the Himalayas into Iran where he met Winston Churchill. Despite his lack of political or religious affiliation Karlsson has faith that the world will turn out alright, which eventually leads back to Sweden.
     In modern day Allan's adventure involves a criminal organization, several murders, a suitcase full of cash, an elephant, and the interplay between incompetent law enforcement and an overbearing press cycle. Allan Karlson truly believes life is what it will be and one should take it as it comes, acting on this philosophy leads him into some of the greatest turning points of the 20th century with humor and a devil-may-care attitude written for adults.

The Sleeping Prince

The Sleeping Prince by Melinda Salisbury, 2016 Scholastic

     After her brother goes missing and is presumed dead, Errin and her mother have struggled to survive. She must care for her ill mother and scrape together rent money by selling illegal herbal remedies. Their village is evacuated because of the war with the Sleeping Prince in Lormere and Errin is slowly running out of options. 

     Leif is still missing, having disappeared when the Sleeping Prince took power, but Errin's friend Silas has stood by her and tries to help. When he too disappears Errin undertakes a journey across Tregellan to find some semblance of safety. 

     The Sleeping Prince seeks revenge on the people who cursed him to sleep for so many centuries. The science-based Tregellans discover Aurek and his history contradict everything they've believed about myth and history and the creatures which stalk ti boundaries prove there is more to the world than simply science. 

     Silas's disappearance forces Errin to leave her home and seek answers hidden across the land. She is trained as an apothecary and rediscovers happier times with her family in the places from her past. Memories of Leif and their parents provide a compass as Errin evades the Sleeping Prince and his monsters--both human and otherwise. 

    She discovers there is no safety - even Twylla hides from Aurek as the tension builds and the resistance is broken apart. 

     The Sleeping Prince draws from The Sin Eater's Daughter as Salisbury creates a new type of heroine: Twylla and Errin are distinctly different with different goals and motives. Also richly constructed is a new take on classic fantasy motifs this second installment lives up to its predecessor and lays the foundation for the conclusion of the elaborate tale. Teen and young adult readers may be jolted by the vivid violence found in this war-torn series. The Sleeping Prince is followed by The Scarecrow Queen. 

A Wicked Thing

A Wicked Thing by Rhiannon Thomas, 2015 HarperTeen

     Aurora wakes to a stranger leaning over her, kissing her! Stunned by the liberties taken by this young man has taken, it takes a moment for the Princess to register what is happening: Her family is gone, and she has slept through one hundred years of her country's history. Prince Roderick explains what has happened and that the two are now betrothed. Reeling from the shock Aurora allows this strange prince to re-introduce her to Alyssia.
     But no one seems to want to explain what has happened, beyond a fairytale explanation. Nor do they seem to care that the princess is grieving her lost life. The new King John and his queen explain to the young woman that she is in danger and must be kept isolated for her safety until she can show her support for the new dynasty by marrying their son. Aurora struggles with the restrictions and, despite warnings from her new friend and maid Betsey, escapes into the city Petrichor surrounding the castle.
     In the city Aurora meets Tristan, a young bartender who charms her. Contrasting Roderick's awkwardness, Tristan is confident and shares the city with the young princess. He seems not to recognize Aurora, allowing her to forget what awaits in the home which others have taken for their own. But Tristan has his own agenda. When he tries to encourage the princess to join his rebellion Aurora is torn--she cannot destroy the one thing she was raised and groomed to protect, but this new king and his court aren't ruling her country as it should be ruled and the people suffer.
     In the castle is another man to challenge Roderic's suit: Prince Finnegan of Vanhelm came from across the sea to see Prince Roderick's attempt to wake the Sleeping Beauty. While the queen warns her away, Aurora is hesitant to trust the prince who seems to hold her and her kingdom in contempt. But Finnegan professes to want to help Aurora and offers her sanctuary, though he believes she will flee a forced marriage rather than political upheaval.
     The queen plans her wedding as the king plots to control Aurora. When the new dynasty's daughter is killed by a dessert meant for Aurora the family uses it to imprison the rightful heir and twist her to their wishes. Aurora decides she's had enough of their management and asks for Tristan's help in escaping.
     Aurora questions herself and the decisions thrust upon her in light of the new relationships she builds. She questions history as written - she's a relic of it herself and doesn't remember as the books describe it. A Wicked Thing is led by a strong young woman who does not fit the prevailing model. She is reflective and uncertain, but stands in her convictions. When the men in her new life are dishonest or opaque on and in their reasoning she calls them to the carpet. Teen readers will enjoy this retell of Sleeping Beauty in a new light.