A Kind of Magic

A Kind of Magic by Betty Neels, 1992 Harlequin

    Rosie MacDonald and her parents left their family home in the Scottish Highlands to "Uncle Donald" after Mr. MacDonald realized an unfortunate investment. The family is living in Wiltshire when Rosie's grandmother demands the young lady accompany her on a rail tour of the highlands. 

     Eager for a vacation and a glimpse of her old stomping grounds, Rosie consents to her domineering grandmother's demands. Rosie plans the time as a break for her aunt who normally cares for her grandmother. Mrs. MacDonald demands the constant attendance and exacting standards of those who care for her. 

     When her grandmother sprains her ankle at their first stop Rosie and Mrs. MacDonald must allow their new acquaintances on the train to move on without them. The local doctor has several responsibilities and has received assistance from Fergus Cameron. 

     Mrs. MacDonald finds the youngish doctor to be competent despite the dislike between Rosie and the doctor. Fergus doesn't reveal to Rosie or her grandmother this renown in the medical world. Fergus takes every chance he gets to visit with the young lady, even going so far as to bring her along with him when he examines her Uncle Donald. 

     With her grandmother's recovery and Uncle Donald's death, the MacDonald family returns to their home allowing Fergus to further his suit with the unsuspecting Rosie. 

     More passionate than her earlier novels,  A Kind of Magic follows the meeting of independent Rosie and strong-willed Fergus as they grow toward each other in a true Neels romance. 

One for the Money

One for the Money by Janet Evanovich, 1994 Charles Scribner's Sons

     Living in Trenton, New Jersey, isn't all flowers and sunshine for Stephanie Plum. She's lost her job as a buyer of a lingerie house and has been searching for work nearly six months when she hits a dead end. Admitting to her over-involved family that she's unemployed drives Stephanie to blackmail her cousin into a job as fugitive retrieval specialist: Stephanie becomes a bounty hunter - and her first assignment is Joe Morelli.
    Joe was every girl's dream back in high school, and after he took advantage of seventeen-year-old Stephanie Plum he hasn't been one of her favorite people. In fact, Stephanie is looking forward to catching the cop-turned-fugitive. Despite the consensus she won't catch him, Stephanie is confident she'll find the charmer, especially for the $10,000 that'll keep her off the streets, and more importantly, out of her mother's house.
    As she searches for Morelli, Stephanie discovers just how green she is. With help from Ranger, another bounty hunter and Vinnie's best, Stephanie makes a couple collars to keep her going. Some luck and downright brazen bravado lead to several encounters with her new target, and Joe is not happy. But something doesn't add up in what happens and the mob seems to be after Morelli too.
     The two team up to find out who is trying to frame Morelli and Stephanie picks up a stalker in local boxer Benito Ramirez. At first, it looks like the abusive and misogynistic boxer's antics are unrelated to Morelli's problems, but the beating of Lula, a prostitute who gave Stephanie information on Morelli's case, points to an unknown connection.
     Stephanie's naivete and bumbling belie her tenacity and grit as she is nearly killed more than once and faces a man who refuses to acknowledge her agency in the face of his wants. Though she may not appear to be the sharpest knife in the drawer, Stephanie Plum gets to the bone and learns she's got the moxie to make it in this new career. The first in the series One for the Money is an adult novel with violence, mature humor, and intense situations.

Anna of Byzantium

Anna of Byzantium by Tracy Barrett, 1999 Laurel-Leaf Books

     Anna Comnena is the firstborn child of her father and chosen to inherit his Byzantine Empire. She has no worries when a baby brother is born because she has been training for this her entire life.
     Neither the selected princess, her father, or her diplomacy instructor - her father's mother, Dowager Empress Irene - put much store in visiting envoys and their insistence that only a male heir can rule the empire. Anna and her grandmother continue her education and the princess becomes a talented statesman.
     As she grows, Anna's talents soon threaten her grandmother and the Dowager Empress uses her pull with the Emperor to remove Anna from succession. When she discovers the betrayal Anna Comnena must use the skills her grandmother helped her develop in order to take back that which is her birthright.
     Anna faces her grandmother, the influence of the barbarian envoys, and an ever-changing political landscape while fighting to win back her kingdom. But will she succeed, or with the political machinations take away everything she's work her entire life for?
     Readers who enjoyed The Royal Diaries series will follow the fiction of Anna's story as she goes through significant life changes.

Running Out of Time

Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix, 1996 Simon & Schuster

     Jessie Keyser lives in small-town Clifton, Indiana. Her family has settled in a village in the 1840s and they live the pioneering life. When a diphtheria outbreak begins to divide the citizens and there doesn't seem to be anything to help. Jessie's mother reveals they aren't really in 1840 Indiana.
     Mrs. Keyser reveals that Clifton is a settlement that recreates life in mid-nineteenth century America, they live in a tourist attraction. Now the children are ill and the owners refuse to provide adequate modern medical care - to preserve authenticity they claim.
     Jessie's mother, along with several other parents, fear for their families. Mrs. Keyser asks Jessie to leave Clifton and enter the modern world to find a cure. Jessie braves 1996 Indiana in search of Isaac Neeley. Along the way she almost loses the food and money her mother supplied, she is nearly captured by Clifton's armed guards, but Jessie escapes and finds Dr. Neeley.
     Neeley brings the overwhelmed teen to his apartment where he drugs her to kill her. Jessie manages to escape Neeley through a window and holds a press conference to get help from the general public. In the middle of the conference Jessie faints and it is discovered she too has diphtheria.
     Jessie is confused by the fantastic technology she encounters in the modern world, but she doesn't allow her amazement to distract her from her ultimate goal. With more and more of the true purposes behind Clifton Village coming to light the danger Jessie and the other families face becomes more apparent. Will she find help or will the children of Clifton run out of time?
     Older elementary readers and fans of both historical fiction and time travel will enjoy Margaret Peterson Haddix's Running Out of Time.

Mary, Bloody Mary

Mary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer, 1999 Gulliver Books

     Princess Mary Tudor is the daughter of Catherine of Aragon and King Henry VIII of England. She is his only legitimate child when her story begins and she is betrothed to the young King of France. When Anne Boleyn catches her father's eye he requests an annulment from Queen Catherine which would make Princess Mary a bastard and remove her social standing. Mary is sent from court to Ludlow and the queen is sent to the north.
     When the king makes a drastic move and separates from the Catholic Church to form his own church, then become its leader, he finally gains the power to divorce Catherine. Henry marries Anne and their union is followed by a daughter, Elizabeth. The king creates a Dual Oath which forswears the Catholic faith to declare Henry the head of the church and Anne's children the heirs to the throne.
     Anyone who refuses to swear is declared a traitor, but Mary has a promise to her mother to uphold. Anne comes after the deposed princess to strengthen her position, but Mary survives while hundreds of Catholic citizens are slaughtered for their faith.
     Meyer's novel is based in history and looks at one of England's most tumultuous eras from the vantage of a young woman at the center of the upheaval. This portrayal of Bloody Mary Tudor imagines the events which shaped her entire life and how they affect teenaged Mary. Middle level readers can relate to a girl who feels like such an outcast as her life changes drastically.

The Moorchild

The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw, 1996 Margaret K McElderry Books

     Moql is a threat to the Moorfolk band: half-folk and half-human she cannot shift her shape or become invisible. The Folk Prince banishes her to the nearby town to replace the smith's daughter whom the Folk kidnap.
     A Changeling among her human village Moql is named Saaski by her new parents and as she grows Saaski strives to be a good human child. But she it teased, harassed, taunted and feared by the villagers and their children. Saaski only finds peace on the moor, marking her as even more different than the other village children.
     On the moor Saaski meets Tam, a young man who travels with the Tinker. He doesn't seem to fit in either and accepts Saaski for who she is, despite his occasional suspicion of her background. Tam and Saaski become fast friends and his acceptance is a balm when her only pleasure is the discovery of her human grandfather's bagpipes.
     Saaski fights her otherness and strives to fit in, but as she grows her memories of the band begin to return and Moql becomes more than a story she's made up from a dream. When the village comes down with a case of the chicken pox, things begin to go awry for the child and she begins to fully remember the Folk and their Mound.
     Saaski discovers her human emotions along with her minor Folk magics. With the discovery of her past she finds a great injustice done to these humans who have cared for her for eleven years. With the help of friends old and new, Saaski seeks to right the wrong and escape the villager's tyranny.
     An eclectic mix of faerie magic and human superstition, The Moorchild explores what happens to the changeling left behind when she really is Folk. McGraw writes for elementary readers in this historical fantasy.

Among the Hidden

Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix, 1998 Simon & Schuster

     Luke has never had a friend, he's never had the chance. Luke is a third child, one of the illegal Shadow Children born against the Population Police's edicts. When a housing development goes up replacing the woods behind Luke's family farm even Luke's ability to go outside is taken from him.
     Trapped inside Luke spends his time watching the world which has been taken from him. In looking out the window Luke discovers a face in one of the new homes across the way - another third child.
     While the world in their sleepy suburb is away at work Jen and Luke meet and become friends. Jen will do anything to escape the shadows, but is Luke willing to go with her? When the Population Police appear in the neighborhood Jen and Luke are both at risk, as are their families.
     Sheltered by his very existence as a third child in a world which only allows two children in each family Luke is easily excited by someone and something new. Like a small child Luke latches onto his new friend and attempts to adapt to the world her presence creates.
     Among the Hidden is the beginning for Luke; his entire life has been surrounded by family and the open air, with the addition of hundreds of eyes the idea of living in hiding becomes a reality. Luke must grow and learn to become a fugitive in truth and in doing so undertakes a dangerous journey. Readers who enjoy suspense will find Luke's adventure thrilling while still mild enough for younger readers.

First Test

First Test by Tamora Pierce, 1999 Random House

     After Alanna the Lioness hid her sex for eight years to become Tortall's first female knight King Jonathan proclaimed girls welcome to train as knights along with their brothers. In the ten years since no noble family has had a daughter willing or desirous of going through such trials, so when Keladry of Mindelan and her parents petition the crown it is a battle to allow her tutelage under the Training Master. Alanna champions the girl, but is forbidden meeting her or showing such support.
     Kel idolizes Alanna and has only dreamed of following her footsteps. When she is notified of the Master at Arms' condition Kel is furious, but her time as a diplomat's daughter has trained her well. Lord Wyldon gives Kel one year--if she proves herself up to snuff she may stay, but the entire academy seems to be looking for any excuse to throw her out.
     With the threat hovering constantly, and the very obvious absence of her hero, Kel must prove to herself and her classmates that she can make it in the men's world as a girl.
     Kel is a powerful young woman, as many of pierce's protagonists, her resourcefulness and tenacity earn her respect and friends in the all-male world. Readers of all ages will enjoy her spirit.

Sandry's Book

Circle of Magic: Sandry's Book by Tamora Pierce, 1998 Scholastic

     Sandry came from a noble house, her parents killed in a smallpox epidemic. Locked away in a cellar guarded by magic. When Master Nico finds her Sandry is terrified of the dark she's been trapped in, and just as terrified of her rescuers.
     Tris as shuttled from family member to family member with strange situations following her until, faced with another rejection, Master Nico sweeps her along his journey. Tris is furious and prickly until she settles in place.
     An outcast from the entire culture she grew up in, Daja fears for her future until the man who plucked her from a sinking ship gives her a path. Master Nico leads her to a place where she finds home.
Master Nico finds Roach as the boy is being taken to the docks and his punishment for thievery. Nico gives the boy a chance to choose his own name and future, but Briar Moss fears his salvation is temporary and fights fitting in.
     Over the course of several months Nico drops his charges at the Winding Circle Temple where they don't fit into the school's general populace. Sandry, Tris, Briar, and Daja are moved to Discipline, a cottage separate from the dormitories. They are watched over by Lark, Rosethorn--Dedicates to the Winding Circle Temple--and the mage Nico, when he settles in place.
     Each child discovers what draws their attention and their passions: Sandry loves fabrics and weaving; Tris is fascinated by the weather and nature's power; Daja is drawn to metalwork and the smithy, while Briar finds a love for plants and growing things. The shock of magic in their chosen skills urges the four children to think of magic in their everyday world.
     When danger strikes the four band together despite their different backgrounds. With their lives at stake, they challenge what their guardians believed possible about magic and magery. Sandry's Book is the beginning of the story and the characters are still developing into their varied selves, yet they maintain a multi-dimensional depth Pierce sows into each of her characters. Readers of all ages can relate to the four students and will find the journey through their stories tightly woven.

Absolutely, Positively

Absolutely, Positively by Jayne Ann Krentz, 1996 Pocket Books

     In Seattle's Pike's Place Market is the Abberwick Tea & Spice shop, owned by Molly Abberwick. Molly is more than simply an entrepreneur--her inventor father left her the foundations of a fortune to set up the Abberwick Foundation. He meant the foundation to support inventors who cannot find funding elsewhere. To help decide which project proposals are worth her father's legacy, Molly hires an expert in the history of science.
     Doctor Harry Stratton Trevelyan is the expert in an esoteric field and takes a liking to his new consulting client. But Harry's proposal for a short-lived affair is thwarted when Molly is in danger and he discovers a strange connection to her. Citing his failed relationships and the strange darkness which threatens to consume him, Harry is leery of a long-term relationship.
     When the danger to Molly is over and the darkness in Harry's past are resolved will they have that extra something that will keep the relationship going?
     Absolutely, Positively is an intriguing mix of Jayne Ann Krentz's paranormal and mystery. With an adult audience in mind, Molly and Harry work to resolve the problems they face and build on the connection they find.

The Seven Songs of Merlin

The Seven Songs of Merlin by T. A. Barron, 1997 Ace Books

     After driving Rhita Gwar out of Fincayra Merlin joins a meeting held by the Fincayrans to drive the blight from the island. Merlin and the forest-girl Rhiannon take one of the island's treasures, the Flowering Harp, and travel the land to drive the darkness from the land.
     When Merlin's mother comes to Fincarya she becomes ill. To save his mother, Merlin and Rhia set out on a quest to find a cure in the Seven Songs of Wizardry, passed down from the great wizard Tuatha--Merlin's grandfather. Once he masters the Songs, Merlin can attempt a journey into the Otherworld to find the Elixir of Dagda to save his mother.
     Merlin takes his journey with the confidence of his prior successes and his pride nearly sabotages the quest. But in the end, the loss of his sight brings him back down to earth and Merlin must relearn how to survive in the darkened landscape. Rhia stands by her friend, and Merlin relies on that support when he sets out to rescue his mother from her illness.
     Though he has been successful in driving evil from Fincayra, Merlin faces new challenges as his mother lays dying, he loses his sight, and attempts to bring life back to the island. His relationships support Merlin and his talents allow him to help his community. Readers as young as elementary school will enjoy Merlin's journey from young man to legendary wizard.

Wicked

Wicked by Gregory Maguire, 1996 HarperCollins

     Before Dorothy arrived in Oz and defeated the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba was a misfit child with green skin and a tendency toward violence. The daughter of a zealot father and licentious mother, Elphaba was the product of an affair and is raised mostly by the family nanny. Elphaba's younger sister, Nessarose, is not born green as she was, rather she is born without arms and must be constantly cared for. When Nessarose takes up her father's religious zeal she becomes his favorite, which haunts Elphaba to the end of her days. 

     Sixteen years later Elphaba is attending the women's college in Shiz when Galinda of the Arduenna Clan of Gillikin is placed as her roommate. Galinda is more interested in her social standing and its improvement than her green roommate until a fallout with her friends sparks an unlikely relationship between the two women. Elphaba teaches Galinda the worth of her mind and the two attend classes together where they join the movement against Animal (sentient and self-aware animals who have a genetic connection to humans which Elphaba explores throughout the book) discrimination under the despotic Wizard of Oz. When their professor, a Goat, is murdered Galinda becomes Glinda in his memory.

     Glinda and Elphaba create several friendships including Fiyero, a prince of Vinkus with strange blue diamonds etched over his body. Nessarose even joins them in Shiz, still doted upon by her father. The Headmistress of the women's college manipulates Elphaba, Glinda and Nessarose's education and eventually asks them to work on behalf of the Wizard of Oz. When Elphaba and Glinda attempt to forward their cause on behalf of Animals in a visit to the Emerald City the wizard brushes them off and the two women separate for several years. 

     Five years after their separation in the Emerald City Elphaba is still working on behalf of Animals. She encounters Fiyero and they begin an affiar. When he is taken by the Wizard's secret police and thought dead she flees to a mauntery where she meets the woman who created the potion which cured Elphaba's condition and took Nessarose's arms. The woman cares for Elphaba during the shock after Fiyero's presumed death and leads her to seven years later journey to Vinkus to see his family.  Elphaba travels with Liir, a boy to whom she claims no relation. 

     She attempts to tell his wife of their affair, but the woman will hear nothing of it. They stay on and Elphaba discovers a book written in English from Earth which teaches her magic; she is the only Ozian able to read it suggesting an ancestor from Earth. But problems rise at back home in Munchkinland--Nessarose has become a witch and in trying to speak to her for their father, Elphaba accidentally labels her the Wicked Witch of the East. 

     Life seems to be falling apart for Elphaba--upon her return to the Vinkus Fiyero's family has been kidnapped and she must save them. Then a house is dropped on Nessarose--with a little girl from Kansas inside--Elphaba is finally reunited with Glinda, but their homecoming is tainted when Elphaba discovers the girl has Nessarose's enchanted shoes. Elphaba begins to come unhinged, she discovers several secrets from her past, and after an encounter with the girl from Kansas is never seen again. 

     Maguire's story is the history behind Baum's The Wizard of Oz and the Wicked Witch. Unlike Baum's story, Wicked is an adult novel exploring political upset and the power of an individual's history over their future. Elphaba is a passionate and severely misunderstood character, and Maguire gives her life and purpose behind the Wicked Witch of the West. 

The Lost Years of Merlin

The Lost Years of Merlin by T. A. Barron, 1996 Philomel Books

     When a boy washes up on the coast he cannot remember anything about himself. He finds himself protecting a beautiful woman with long blonde hair from a dangerous boar with razor-sharp tusks. The boy protects the unconscious woman by hiding her in a hollow tree, but is unable to fit too. The two are rescued by a glorious stag who follows the boy through his journeys.
     When the woman wakens she reveals she is Branwen, his mother, and his name is Emrys. Emrys discovers he has magical powers, which he uses to protect his mother from being burned at the stake, but kills a boy and causes his physical blindness in the same encounter. Emrys leaves his mother at a monastery and searches for where he truly belongs.
     Emrys travels to the magical isle of Fincayra somewhere between Heaven and Earth taking only herbs from his mother and a gem with vast powers on his raft. In Fincayra he meets Rhiannon and she tasks him with saving the forest she lives in. When Rhia is kidnapped in Emrys's place he vows to use his powers to save her and make things right.
     In his search for Rhia Emrys discovers several truths about his past which influence his future, one only he can decide. Through his adventures and the secrets they bring to light Emrys challenges his own capabilities, growing and altering to fit his circumstances. In the first part of his tale Merlin becomes the man behind the legend. The Lost Years of Merlin is a read aimed at older elementary students, but can interest readers of all ages.

Birthday Boys

The Birthday Boys by Beryl Bainbridge, 1995 Carroll & Graff Publishers

     In 1912 Captain Robert Falcon Scott sails for the South Pole. Along the way he and his crew plan to examine the environment. The story follows Scott and four of his crewmen from their home berth in England, south to the dangers of the last frontier in a race for the Pole.
     Based on a true story The Birthday Boys is told from the point of each of the five men, who tell the tale with their own opinions and prejudices. Their story unfolds as one of arrogance--believing their mechanical monstrosities will endure the harshest elements known to man; continuing into the depths despite their predecessors' advice; and believing courage will triumph when sense advises caution.
     Each portion of the tale conflicts and readers are encouraged to make their own truth as the men leave home, sail around Africa, resupply in Australia, and finally brave the Antarctic winter in a vessel ill-suited to the task. It is a race, but one against the elements and the hourglass of time itself.
     Bainbridge's story can be complex and its themes are better understood by older readers, though the events themselves follow along the historical accounts. The Expedition's narrators will never return home, and their story, while short, leaves behind a melancholy taste.

Just Ella

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix, 1999 Aladdin Books

     Prince Charming has proposed and Cinderella said yes. Now Ella Brown has been swept away from her stepmother and stepsisters to what should be a paradise--no chores, beautiful clothes, and a future as queen. But being a princess isn't all she expected it to be. Princess lessons and palace etiquette are suffocating and Ella has little time to herself.
     What would be the time she and her fiance spent getting to know each other is spent with the prince staring at her like a piece of art or treating her as a mirror to his own glorification. Add to that her lack of power as a noblewoman and life back home is looking better and better.
     The only bright spots are Mary, a serving girl from the kitchens, and Jed, Ella's history tutor who stands in for his father. They become her only friends and the support that gets her through living in the bleak palace. When Ella becomes suspicious that Jed is using her connection to support a refugee camp he wants to create, they have a falling out and Jed admits to falling in love with her.
     When Ella falls out of love with the prince's boyish selfishness she asks to end their engagement. Prince Charming becomes violent toward her, and her decorum tutor and chaperon has her taken to the dungeon to change her mind. The treatment only encourages Ella to escape and she does through a sewage hole in the dungeon floor.
     Once free, Ella Brown tries to find the refugee camp Jed has made a reality. When she arrives he is delighted to see her, and proposes, but Ella is marriage-shy and asks for time. In the camp she learns to live her values and support the people around her--she is more than just a pretty face and has the ability to both affect change and help the people she cares for.
     In the end Ella Brown goes from princess and noblewoman to a noble woman caring for the people around her. Young readers will enjoy her spunk and compassion in Haddix's take on a classic fairy tale.

A Game of Thrones

A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, 1996 Bantam Spectra

     When Eddard "Ned" Stark the Lord of Winterfell is called upon to exact justice on a deserter of the Night's Watch he brings his sons to witness their future duty. On their return the boys find a pack of direwolf pups, just enough of them for each of the Stark children, legitimate and bastard alike. The direwolf is the sigil of the House of Stark and each wolf connects with its child to mirror his or her traits.
     The King Robert Baratheon visits Winterfell to ask his longtime friend to be his Hand, the second in command to the king. Ned  is hesitant, but accepts the post, despite the mysterious death of the previous Hand. He promises his wife, Catelyn, to look into the possibility the queen Cersi's family Lannister could have poisoned the former King's Hand. Bran, the fourth legitimate Stark child, witnesses Queen Cersi cavorting with her twin brother Jaime Lannister, and is shoved from the windowsill. He falls and is paralyzed, and Jaime sends an assassin to keep the secret. However, Catelyn and Bran's direwolf are there to protect him. Catelyn goes to the capitol to discover the treachery that dared invade her home and to warn her husband of his danger.
     Bran stays at Winterfell with his older brother Robb and his younger brother Rickon, while his sisters Sansa and Arya journey with their father, and the oldest, illegitimate son, Jon Snow joins the Night Watch. With the Stark children go their direwolves: Ghost, Grey Wind, Lady, Nymeria, Summer, and Shaggy Dog.
     When the king is killed during a hunt, the people in power scramble for power. Queen Cersi grasps the throne through her son, Ned and the rest of the King's Council move in their own directions, the lords of the land bicker and break apart taking their properties and armies with them, Robb goes to war and claims the title King of the North.
     Away from Westeros and the Seven Kingdoms and the chaos of a regime change Danerys Targaryen, the granddaughter of Robert Baratheon's predecessor, and her brother attempt to make a new life for themselves. Viserys sells his sister to the roaming Dothraki in exchange for the promise of Westeros under his control. When her brother is killed Danerys takes over his dream. She convinces her husband to unite the wandering Dothraki and capture her homeland for her when an assassin attempts to kill both Danerys and her unborn child.
     When her husband dies, Danerys discovers her destiny as the Mother of Dragons. Her Dothraki clansmen swear allegiance to the western woman; as the story ends Danerys is just beginning her journey back to the country her family ruled for centuries and she hadn't returned to since her infancy.
     A Game of Thrones is an adult novel fraught with violence and political stratagem. A simple story of a family who puts duty before all else becomes the tale of governments and politics. The story is told from several different points of view, ranging from Ned Stark to Queen Cersi to Danerys Targaryen. The world is changing and chaos reigns in this first installment of A Song of Ice and Fire.

Affair

Affair by Amanda Quick, Bantam Books 1997

     Charlotte Arkendale and Baxter St. Ives have one thing in common, their search for a murderer. Charlotte is a resourceful woman, on the shelf in Regency England at twenty five years old and in business looking into the background of potential suitors for women. One of her recent clients is murdered and Charlotte believes it must have been one of the suitors she recently rejected.
     Baxter St. Ives is the bastard son of an earl, a gentleman with a passion for chemistry and a logical investigator. When his aunt asks him to look into her friend's murder the path points to Charlotte. He engages himself as her man-of-affairs and bodyguard, but it quickly becomes clear Charlotte is not the murderer.
     As the pair continues their investigation they discover a passion neither expected. They become lovers as well as partners.When their quarry attempts to break the connection between Charlotte and St. Ives they begin to think their murderer is not a rejected suitor, but something much more dangerous.
     To allow Charlotte to move in society and to provide a plausible reason for the significant amount of time she spends with St. Ives, the pair announce their engagement. The only people aware of the engagement's fraudulence are those aware of the murder investigation: Charlotte's sister and housekeeper, and St. Ives's aunt. So when they are attacked and their relationship is challenged, the motive seems to be completely separate from their investigation.
     When a villain from their separate pasts reappears with a plan to upset the status quo and destroy them both in the process, Charlotte and St. Ives realize that their feelings are more powerful than either thought at first. They manage to find the murderer and the story is wrapped up leaving few questions and several hopes for Charlotte and St. Ives's joint future.
     Affair is a romance novel, more appropriate for more mature readers and generally aimed at women. There are explicit scenes, however the general story arc has merit aside from the romantic fantasy.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling, 1999 Bloomsbury

     After nearly being killed by a book, Harry Potter is seeing strange shapes in the shadows. First a cloaked figure then a large, shaggy dog, but things are getting out of hand when one of the strangely cloaked figures attacks him while Harry and his cousin, Dudley, are in a public playground. Harry is sent an owl from the Ministry of Magic and scolded for his use of magic in front of a Muggle.
     When Aunt Marge comes to visit she, like the rest of her family, demeans Harry's parents and Harry himself. In a fit of rage Harry unwittingly uses magic to inflate her like a helium balloon and escapes in the aftermath. He is picked up by the Knight Bus and travels to Diagon Alley where he runs into the Minister of Magic himself. Fudge asks Harry to spend the rest of his summer in Diagon Alley where he may be protected and looked after.
     As he takes the train back to Hogwarts with Ron and Hermione, Harry discovers that Fudge wanted him accounted for because Sirius Black, Harry's Godfather and a convicted murderer has escaped from Azkaban Prison. Nearly everyone assumes Black plans to murder Harry and the Ministry has sent Dementors to patrol the school and surrounding areas.
     The Dementors are soul-sucking hooded creatures capable of stealing an individual's happiness and making them relive their worst memories. When one appears on the train, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts' Professor Lupin defends the trio and helps them recover with chocolate. It is not the first or last time Harry encounters the Dementors: he falls nearly fifty feet during a Quidditch match when a group swarms him. The problems urge Harry to take lessons from Lupin on a patronus charm, which repels the creatures.
     Third Years are offered the opportunity to visit the nearby town of Hogsmeade, but when Harry doesn't have permission from his guardian he is confined to the grounds. Fred and George Weasley, however, have other plans and deliver into Harry's possession the Maurader's Map. The Map was created by Mooney, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs in years gone by and shows the location of any person within Hogwarts grounds, as well as passages off campus. Harry uses the map and his father's invisibility cloak to sneak into Hogsmeade where he meets up with Ron and Hermione. On one such trip Harry overhears several professors speaking about Black: how he betrayed Harry's parents, his true relationship to Harry, how he murdered not only muggles but friend Peter Pettigrew, and how he is thought to be working for Voldemort.
     The boys' relationship with Hermione is strained when she reports Harry's Christmas gift of a state-of-the-art broomstick (to replace his Nimbus 2000 after it was destroyed by the Whomping Willow), and only made worse when Ron thinks her cat ate his rat. But when Hagrid needs their support, the friends reconcile to be there for him as Buckbeak the Hippogriff is executed for attacking Malfoy (but not without reason).
     Harry, Ron, and Hermione go to the gamekeeper's cottage where they hear the axe of Buckbeak's execution. As they prepare to leave Ron's rat flees and Ron chases after him, only to be dragged down a tunnel beneath the Whomping Willow by a large black dog that has been following Harry about.
     Hermione and Harry follow where they discover Sirius Black with Ron. Lupin interrupts their standoff to explain the situation. Lupin is a werewolf and his friends became animagi, wizards who could transform into a chosen animal, so they might spend time with their friend. James Potter became a stag, Sirius Black became a large black dog, and Peter Pettigrew transformed into a rat. That rat became Scabbers, Ron's pet. Old feuds break out among the three remaining friends and Pettigrew escapes. Harry, Ron and Hermione must hurry to make it back to the castle as Lupin transforms into his were-self and Sirius chases him away from the children. They run into several Dementors and wake in the hospital wing.
     Dumbledore explains that Black is awaiting the Dementor's Kiss, which sucks the soul out of a person's body, and Harry and Hermione must go back with Hermione's Time Turner to save the day. They manage to save Buckbeak and themselves and arrive back in their hospital wing beds when Dumbledore returns with the news that Black has escaped.
     The trio's third year at Hogwarts is full of caution and the results of misrepresented facts. Though Black was not the one to betray the Potters, he feels guilty for being unable to stop them. The guilt has sentenced him to twelve years in the wizarding world's high security prison, a punishment beyond his perceived crimes. Yet when the truth is revealed, he relieves himself of that guilt to become the man James Potter made godfather to his only son. Without Harry's search for the truth and Sirius' insistence he must repay the debt to his only remaining family, Sirius Black might have continued to live in a self-imposed prison.
     This story illustrates the power of forgiveness and how strongly guilt can hold a person in thrall. It is aimed at young adults from middle school age through adulthood. Though some concepts of time travel can be difficult for young readers to understand, the ideas behind them and that the travel supports are simple and easily explained.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling, 1999 Bloomsbury Publishing

     Harry returns to the Dursleys' house for the summer after his first spectacular year at Hogwarts. Very few things have changed: Harry is still at the beck and call of his aunt, uncle, and cousin, but he has been moved from the cupboard under the stairs to the upstairs second bedroom. While the Dursleys are hosting a dinner party a house-elf, Dobby, appears to Harry and attempts to warn him away from returning to Hogwarts. However Dobby's methods only cause more problems at the Dursley home encouraging Harry to return to school at the earliest opportunity.
     That opportunity is presented when Ron, Fred, and George Weasley steal their father's flying car and break Harry out of Number 4 Privet Drive. Harry spends the rest of the summer at the Burrow with the Weasley family.
     Preparations for school go awry when Harry mispronounces Diagon Alley and the Floo network (magical transportation from fireplace to fireplace) sends him to the dark-arts center, Knockturn Alley. Hagrid rescues him and returns Harry to the Weasleys in Diagon Alley. Harry and Ron's family meet Gilderoy Lockheart--a famous wizard taking up the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts--who insists upon a picture with Harry for the papers. Returning to Hogwarts is again difficult for Harry and Ron when the barrier onto the Platform refuses to let them through; they borrow the flying car again, following the train, but crash into the Womping Willow when they try to land it. They manage to make it to Hogwarts, but Mrs. Weasley sends Ron a Howler proclaiming her displeasure to the entire banquet hall and threatening to yank him out of school if he misbehaves.
     Harry, Ron, and Hermione discover that his fame is all Lockheart is willing to talk about and his classes become monuments to his accomplishment, rather than teaching opportunities. Things get even stranger than normal at Hogwarts when Mrs. Norris, the caretaker Filtch's cat, is petrified and someone writes in blood on the wall "The Chamber of Secrets has been opened, enemies of the heir beware." The trio does some research and discovers Salazar Slytherin had created the Chamber of Secrets during the building of Hogwarts, it houses a monster only the heir can control.
     Harry comes under suspicion when he speaks Parseltongue at a meeting of Lockheart's dueling club--Slytherin was known for his ability to speak Parseltongue. When Harry finds Nearly Headless Nick and an annoying Gryffindor first-year petrified he becomes the number one suspect. Harry and his friends suspect Malfoy and disguise themselves as Crabbe and Goyle to test their theory. Malfoy is not the heir, but he reveals the chamber was opened fifty years before. Things are quiet but soon a mysterious journal appears in a flooded bathroom. Harry writes in the journal and it writes back: it houses the spirit of Tom Riddle, a student who, fifty years previously, falsely accused Hagrid of opening the Chamber of Secrets getting Hagrid expelled.
     It isn't until Hermione is petrified and sent to the Hospital Wing that the boys learn what the creature is or how it travels the castle. The basilisk slinks through Hogwarts at the beck and call of the heir and those lucky enough to escape its direct glance are simply frozen in place rather than immediately killed. But with Hermione lost Harry and Ron hurry to find Hagrid, hoping to discover the heir before he or she can do more damage to the school. Before they can speak to him, Hagrid is taken to Azkaban prison for opening the Chamber and releasing its terrors on the school. His only advice is to "follow the spiders" as they flee Slytherin's creature. Harry and Ron follow the spiders into the Forbidden Forest where they come across Aragog, a giant spider and pet of Hagrid's. Aragog points them to the girl killed fifty years before, a girl found in a bathroom. The only answer is Moaning Myrtle, a ghost living in the bathroom where she died.
     Harry and Ron drag an escaping Lockheart along with them as they enter Myrtle's bathroom. Using Parseltongue, Harry opens the chamber, but must leave Ron with an incapacitated Lockheart when he causes a cave-in with Ron's broken wand. Within the chamber proper, Harry discovers a semi-solid Tom Riddle over Ginny's prone form. Riddle tricked Ginny into opening the chamber and acting for him until he was strong enough to reform and take over his inheritance. Riddle calls the basilisk to kill Harry, who cannot fight back as he cannot look at the creature.
     Dumbledore's phoenix, Fawkes, appears with the sorting hat and blinds the basilisk, infuriating Riddle. The phoenix drops the hat and it produces Godric Gryffindor's sword, giving Harry a chance against the giant serpent. He defeats the creature, but is bitten by one of its poison fangs. Fawkes's tears heal Harry's wound, but Riddle is solid and attacks him. Harry stabs the journal with the basilisk fang and it bleeds ink as Riddle disintegrates into nothing.
     Harry and Ginny return to the cave-in and, with Lockheart and Ron, the school where they reunite with the Weasleys. Ron and Harry are commended, the basilisk's victims are revived, and all returns to normal. Harry confronts Lucius Malfoy, Draco's father, for slipping the journal to Ginny and tricks him into releasing Dobby the house-elf, earning Dobby's eternal gratitude. Harry reluctantly returns to the Dursley home for the summer holidays.
     In this second novel, Harry encounters a crisis of identity: while he knows he is not the perpetrator of the crimes, his entire school is not so convinced and the evidence against him grows. Harry must deal with the difference between what he knows to be true and what the people around him believe, yet he manages to maintain his sense of self, listening to his mentors' advice--we are a sum of our choices, rather than our abilities. Dobby's appearance and the accompanying prejudices mirrors challenges of race and personhood that appear throughout our society, as do the issues of magical and non-magical beings and their access to the magical world. One major theme that is magnified through Lockheart and Riddle's Diary is the acceptance of information without looking into motivations or biases. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is about muddling through appearances and deciding whom to become based on personal wants and desires, rather than the dictates of society. The ideal audience is older elementary to middle school, though anyone can find something enjoyable in the story.

The Giver

The Giver by Lois Lowry, Houghton Mifflin Company 1993

     What do you do when your entire civilization has no collective memories? Lois Lowry presents one idea: you give the collective memories to one person who remembers for everyone else.
     In this post-apocalyptic world, society is structured and organized to survive. Jonas lives with his parents, goes to school with friends, and takes his vitamins like a good child. But life begins to take on a new element when he starts to see flashes of something in his black-and-white world. Around the age of 11, Jonas goes through the Ceremony of Twelve where his skills and abilities are taken into account and, like every other child in the village, he is given the job that will be his for the rest of his life.
     As the ceremony goes on, Jonas' classmates each gain their assignments; simple and normal jobs like food worker and assistant in the childhood centers, but Jonas is given the mysterious task of Receiver of Memory.
     When he finally meets the current Receiver, Jonas is unsure what his task is. The strange old man lives in a run-down home outside the well-ordered community, makes his own food, and doesn't travel into town unless he must: a sharp contrast to what Jonas is used to, living in the town and getting food from a center.
     Over time he learns that the Giver is the Keeper of Memory, and the flashes of something Jonas has been seeing are more than just something wrong with his eyes, but color. Jonas is told the new job will bring him nothing but pain and isolation, but he finally really experiences life: happiness, love, rain, and sunshine in the memories of the community. But he also gets the memories of war, pain, and death. The Community has figured out a way to create sameness by isolating all collective memory in the mind of the Receiver of Memory; but while it protected them, the lack of memory inhibited the community's ability to experience life for real.
     Jonas begins to challenge what he's always believed, accepting that in order to experience pleasure you must also experience pain. And it is in comparing the two that you realize how powerful and affecting each is.
   Lowry's story includes concepts that may confuse younger readers, however they are presented in a way that doesn't challenge their understanding or enjoyment of the story. The Giver is aimed toward middle schoolers and has a relatable storyline, despite its post-apocalyptic setting. It is a memorable book, asking to be examined again and again with its cliffhanger ending.