Patience Princess Catherine

Patience, Princess Catherine by Carolyn Meyer, 2004 HMH for Young Readers

     Catherine of Aragon was imprisoned by her husband Henry VIII. When she can't produce a male heir Henry's mistress, Anne Boleyn, replaces her at his side. She begins the tale from imprisonment. 

     Catherine relates the story of the trip from Spain as betrothed to the prince Arthur. England is excited to meet the future queen, but Arthur dies shortly after their wedding the Spanish princess's future is in question. 

     The teenage widow is enamored of her royal brother-in-law: Henry is handsome and charming and flirts with the sheltered girl. While she awaits what her parents will arrange with the English king Catherine makes plans to seize her destiny as the English queen. 

     In a diary-like recitation, Catherine's story is peppered with the point of view of her future husband. Following the time between leaving her home in Spain until Catherine fails to produce a son for her second husband her life is uncertain. Patience, Princess Catherine is a middle-grade dramatization of the true story of Henry Tudor VIII's first wife. Meyer writes from extensive research and this is the second novel of the Young Royals series. 

Son of A Witch

Son of a Witch by Gregory Maguire, 2004 Regan Books

     A man is beaten and found by a group traveling the Vinkus mountains. The man is identified at the cloister he's brought to for medical treatment: he is Liir. Liir is the son of Elphaba the wicked, green, Witch of the West. While he doesn't share his mother's coloring, everyone knows who Liir is. The story jumps around in time telling Liir's story after the events of Wicked.
     After Elphaba's death, Liir returns to the Emerald City with Dorothy and her companions. Along the way he helps a princess of the Vinkus tribe, he locates Fiyero's daughter Nor, and gets permission from Glinda to visit the maximum-security prison Southstairs. He joins the Home Guard where he is employed for several years until he's deployed into Quadling Country where events lead to his desertion.
     After the Cloister, Liir and a Quadling girl, Candle, leave together. Liir heals from his wounds and acts the diplomat as Animals across Oz battle the Wizard's anti-Animal laws. The Birds are a threat to the intentional instability of Oz and have the ability to unite the nations so they ask Liir to represent them to the government. A grudging Liir accepts the new task.
     Candle takes the opportunity to reveal she's expecting his child when Liir returns to prepare for the journey to the Emerald City--he refuses to believe her even when she admits he was unconscious during the process. In the Emerald City, Liir finds another relationship with the Emperor's chief dragon master. The two young men destroy the dragons and steal back Elphaba's broom, fleeing again to the Cloister of Saint Glinda where Glinda herself is visiting.
     Liir's life is a series of beginnings and endings of relationships: he is adopted by Elphaba and abandoned when she dies; he is inducted into the Home Guard and deserts when their atrocities offend his sensibilities; he finds romantic love several times and loses it. The titular character is mired in self-doubt and his only real goal is to find his half-sister, Nor. Liir's storyline is in a nation fighting itself to maintain the separation between its people and as the son of the villain, he is uniquely placed to interact with all the factions of Oz. Son of a Witch is not appropriate for young readers with gratuitous violence both physical and sexual; readers who enjoyed Wicked will enjoy this sequel.

Messenger

Messenger by Lois Lowry, 2004 Houghton Mifflin

     After the events of Gathering Blue Lowry follows Matty when he leaves with Christopher. They settle in the healing Village where Christopher is the Seer. Jonas, originally introduced in The Giver, becomes Leader who manages the village and its altruistic members. Jonas and Gabe have found refuge from their dystopian hometown, just as many of the residents have escaped from hardship and injury.
     Several years after arriving, Matty strives to earn the name Messenger. His caring for the people of the Village begins to manifest in a gift of healing. When the people begin to make dangerous trades with Trademaster (a shadowy figure which trades elements of personality for what the trader most desires, wishes which never come into reality as planned).
     The Village begins to lose its identity and some even aim to close their sanctuary to outsiders. Matty goes in search of the Seer's daughter Kira before the city can close the borders. In his search for Kira's home (introduced in Gathering Blue) Matty finds his healing gift can be used to save the town from itself.
     Matty travels through the Forest, which has a sentience that reflects the health of the Village, it has become more and more dangerous of late. Returning to the Village with Kira the Forest begins to attack the two; Matty must decide what it will take to finish his task and whether his life is worth the changes he can affect.
     Lowry's tale gives more insight to the dangers Jonas and Gabe faced when they escaped in The Giver, and a future for the characters of Gathering Blue. The idea of a trade of inherent qualities for intangible, or even tangible goods is explored, along with the consequences to individuals and communities for such a trade. For readers who enjoyed the City of Ember and its sequels Messenger follows a post-apocalyptic world and its different developing societies.

Curse of the Blue Tattoo

Curse of the Blue Tattoo: Being the Account of the Misadventures of Jacky Faber, Midshipman and Fine Lady by L.A. Meyer, 2004 Harcourt

     After being dropped in Boston, Massachusetts, at the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls Mary "Jacky" Faber is climbing the walls to get back to her adventurous life at sea. But Jacky was found out and there's no place for a girl aboard His Majesty's Dolphin or any sailing ship. The crew drops their favorite ship's boy at the young ladies' academy with directions to try to become a lady.
     Miss Miranda Pimm is the girls' headmistress and despairs of Jacky's wild ways and unacceptable jewelry. When she meets the girls Jacky finds the majority exclude her; all except Amy Trevelyne. The popular girls are led by Clarissa Worthington Howe, who becomes Jacky's nemesis.
     During a walk through the school's graveyard Amy and Jacky discover and unmarked grave, and Jacky suspects the rather strange Reverend Mather had something to do with it. Jacky soon skips class to enjoy Boston and is arrested for dancing in the streets. She meets a prostitute while in jail and is saved by the local populace's disparaging opinion of Miranda Pimm.
     Jacky Faber is returned to the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls and expelled. There she creates several true friendships and begins the unravel the mystery surrounding Reverend Mather. Jacky's promiscuous behavior get her into several scrapes, but her quick thinking and general good luck keep her from getting to far into harm's way. Though rarely apologetic, Jacky maintains that her heart is in the right place, even as she bucks convention. Younger readers will enjoy the adventure, but some of Jacky's exploits are more suitable for readers in middle school or older.

Revenge of the Witch

Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney, 2004 Harper Trophy

     Old Gregory has been hunting the things that go bump in the night for years. He is aging past his prime, but there is no one to take his place as twenty-nine apprentices have failed, fled, or died.
     Thomas Ward is the seventh son of the seventh son, and the year he turns thirteen he is apprenticed to the Spook. He follows old Gregory from his home and discovers a world of Ghosts, Ghasts, Witches, Boggarts, and other creepy-crawlies in the darkness. The work is difficult - learning the skills specific to the Spooks as well as more traditional learning in Latin and Greek.
     The apprentice is old Gregory's last chance and after a month's trial Tom is allowed to return home before making the commitment to his task. The young man hopes his mother will welcome him, but is surprised when it is revealed his Mam has planned his apprenticeship since Tom's birth.
     Being the seventh son of the seventh son gives him abilities few others possess, but it is his mother's heritage which makes Tom different. Old Gregory acknowledges Mam's ability, but only after tragedy strikes their family and Tom must make a difficult decision concerning a new friend.
     While his trials are dangerous, both to Tom and the people he cares about, he perseveres. Tom matures with the tests old Gregory administers, he stays long after he's already decided to go home, and when it comes to the most difficult choices of his young life, Tom acts with integrity and trusts his instincts. As he is fond of saying - somebody's got to do it, might as well be me.

Dead Witch Walking

Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison, 2004 Harper Voyager

      Rachel Morgan is a runner for Inderland Security--the I.S. for short--hunting down and arresting the bad guys. But when she decides to get out and start her own firm, the I.S. is not pleased. Rachel's vampire partner, Ivy, and pixy backup, Jenks, follow her and the trio become partners in Vampiric Charms. But in the midst of the changes, the I.S. puts out a contract for Rachel and the demon Algaliarept begins chasing her down.
   Rachel and Ivy move into an old church, renting it from Piscary, the city's master vampire. To thwart her death threat, Rachel moves to take down Trent Kalamack and his illegal Brimstone trade. Trent is a powerful inderlander, holding a seat on Cincinnati's city council but of indeterminate origins, and when he catches Rachel sneaking into his compound as a mink he captures her and forces her to fight in the underground rat fights.
     Before she ends up in the fights, Trent keeps Rachel in his office where she slowly starves herself (she doesn't want to eat poisons or something that will affect her magic) until Trent's new secretary feeds her carrots from her own lunch. Rachel learns about the inner workings of Trent's compound and discovers other, more unsavory business dealings than just illegal Brimstone.
     Rachel is even more determined to escape the rat fights and take Trent down. She discovers the reigning champion is another human-turned-rodent and together they arrange to escape. But even she realizes that she'll need stronger magic to complete the task. She considers black magic and the rat, a human named Nick, helps her get into the restricted books at the local university.
     Just as Rachel and Nick find a book that might be helpful Algaliarept appears to kill Rachel. Nick manages to command him to return both of them to the church where Jenks' wife Matalina and Keasley, the mysterious witch across the street, patch Rachel up. Ivy goes to the Federal Inderland Bureau (the F.I.B. is the human-run equivalent of the I.S.) trying to get Captain Edden to go after Trent.  Edden cannot touch Trent, but Rachel makes another foray into his compound and finds security that prevents Trent from killing her. Trent is unhappy that his attempts at damage control fail and continues trying to get Rachel under his control.
     Rachel Morgan has her own ideas about how the world should work; though she plays within the rules she gets results the "good guys" can't always get. Her tenacity and independence are remarkable, yet they are what also pushes her into the vat of trouble she inevitably finds. Rachel is a strong woman living in a difficult world and surviving. Mature readers will be able to understand more of the gray reasoning behind some of Rachel's exploits, and some content is more suitable for older readers
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Grim Tuesday

Grim Tuesday by Garth Nix, 2004 Scholastic Books

   Just as Arthur Penhaligon returns home, the phone Dame Primus gave to him in Mister Monday begins to ring. Dame Primus herself is on the line telling Arthur six months have passed in the House since he left and Tuesday has found a loophole that allows him to take over the lands Arthur has wrested from Monday. Arthur must return to the House straightaway to reclaim his inheritance, but before she may explain how the line goes dead.
     Arthur manages to get into the Far Reaches, Tuesday's domain, where he is mistaken for an indentured worker. He and Japeth, a former Thesaurus, fall behind when their press-gang moves to another region and are picked up by Suzy Turquoise Blue, Arthur's friend from his first adventures through the House. Suzy has brought tools to help them break into Tuesday's tower and rescue the second part of the Architect's will and the Second Key.
     Suzy and Arthur make it into Tuesday's tower through the glass pyramid which protects it and find the Mariner, the second son of the Architect and the Old One. The Mariner is held in Tuesday's service through blackmail and helps Arthur retrieve the Will. But when the Will revokes Tuesday's power, he demands the Key instigating a competition between Arthur and himself over which the Mariner presides as judge.
     The competition is to create something unique and original: Tuesday creates a magnificent tree and Arthur creates a xylophone and plays his own tune. The tune proves to be more creative than Tuesday's replication of a secondary realm sculpture. Arthur is declared winner and rushes off to repair damages to the Far Reaches.
     At the buttress between the Far Reaches and the Nothing Arthur finds an upper house denizen, who is believed to be Superior Saturday's servant Dusk, meddling in Arthur's newly claimed lands. A fight ensues which Arthur wins and the shadow of Trustee interference blooms over Arthur's time in the House. When he returns, Dame Primus has united parts one and two of the Will and names Arthur Lord of the Far Reaches, then takes over stewardship so that he may return home.
      Arthur makes the decision to slow the process of becoming a denizen  so that he may return to his family. Dame Primus reverses the effects of the first Key and Arthur is admitted to the hospital when he does arrive home. He awakens to an invitation from Drowned Wednesday under his hospital room pillow.
     Tuesday is greedy, his entire lifestyle revolves around more and more until the world he is to care for is falling around his ears. Like the other Trustees in the Keys to the Kingdom, this flaw is his downfall making him unworthy for his position and allowing him to misuse his power. For Arthur, defeating Tuesday is only one more step toward achieving his inheritance from the Architect. Grim Tuesday is followed by Drowned Wednesday in the Keys to the Kingdom Series and is good reading material for readers as young as fifth grade.