Practical Magic

Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman, 1995 Penguin

     Two strange little girls live in a strange house in Massachusetts where strange women have always lived. Sally and Gillian Owens are orphans who grow up as outsiders whose family is known for strange magic. Their guardians, the Aunts, help the people of their small town when asked. But only in the darkness where the townsfolk have deniability. 

     The two girls cannot be more different: Sally is dark-haired, does her schoolwork, and is skeptical of the aunts unusual work. Gillian is red-headed, beautiful and chased by men from the time she realizes what the attention could get her. Sally is self-less, Gillian selfish. Sally chooses to live a normal life - fall in love, have children, experience heartbreak. Gillian runs as soon as she can and doesn't turn back, she's the one causing the heartbreak. 

     For fifteen years. 

     Gillian shows up on her sister's doorstep one late night in June with a dead body and the man's stolen car. Sally helps bury the problem and the sisters re-connect as the summer wears on. But some problems don't stay buried. Sally's girls are old enough to experience some of the gifts their family has harbored for centuries.

     The girls call in backup. The Aunts show the young women their gifts are based in the bond with each other and their family legacy. Magic isn't always flash and bang, but a practical way of moving through the world. 

     Practical Magic is a cozy story of sisters. Jet and Franny, Sally and Gillian, Antonia and Kylie are all heir to a legacy of magic as they move through the world seeking love. Murder, paranormal activity, and a dose of reality make for a low-stakes journey back to family. Readers who enjoyed A Discovery of Witches, In the Company of Witches, and Spells for Forgetting will also enjoy Hoffman's tale. 

Deep End

 Deep End by Ali Hazelwood, 2025 Berkley Books

     Scarlett is a NCAA Diver at Stanford University fighting her way back from a life-altering injury in her Junior year of college. She has few friends, is recently single, and struggles to get back to diving. 

     When her teammate and somewhat-friend Penelope - the darling of college diving - brings up the spicy side of her relationship with her boyfriend at a girls' outing, Scarlett is stunned to learn more about the sexy Olympian swimmer Lukas Blomqvist than she expected. Pen has no qualms against sharing her boyfriend's proclivities with the girls on the team and even pushes Scarlett and Lukas together at a team event. 

     Scarlett's academics throw them together outside the pool and the two do allow themselves to discuss the potential to let off some steam. Scarlett is surprised that Lukas's preferences are nearly perfect for her own. What starts as a purely physical relationship soon becomes more than either expected. Dealing with Lukas, her friendships, her schoolwork, and her diving becomes more and more difficult as the season continues and Scarlett has a chance at the podium at nationals, then at the Olympic Trials. 

     Drama enters the scene the further along in her competition and her relationship with Lukas Scarlett moves. Though she's stayed mostly out of the drama, when it strikes it leads to questioning all of her choices over the last year. 

     The relationship between Scarlett and Lukas takes a turn from Hazelwood's typical portrayal. The mature themes and power exchange are inappropriate for young readers making this book an adult novel. 

The Boyfriend

 The Boyfriend by Freida McFadden, 2024 Penguin

     Online dating is not how any young woman dreams of meeting Mr. Right, especially Sydney Shaw. When her latest potential conquest is a flop of the highest caliber - including expecting favors in return for investing his time in their dinner plans - Sydney doesn't think life could get any worse. 

     Tom is a teenager struggling with his attraction to the beautiful Daisy Driscoll. As a sixteen-year-old he knows dating the police chief's daughter isn't in line with his dark desires to cause her harm. When one of their classmates goes missing, Daisy looks to Tom for protection even though his best friend, Slug, is a little bit creepy. Tom worships the ground that beautiful girl walks on. 
     She is proven wrong when she discovers her best friend Bonnie's mutilated and murdered body in her apartment. The murder drives the thirty-four-year-old to be ever more cautious of her surroundings and back to her police officer ex-boyfriend. Jake is investigating a serial murder and keeping tabs on Sydney when she meets and begins dating Dr. Thomas Brewer. Thomas had saved Sydney from her disastrous foray into online dating, but what is his connection to the 16-year-old Tom who is in love with Daisy. 

     As Sydney's and Tom's relationships grow and develop, the parallel investigations into so many deaths around both of them lead to some shocking conclusions. Whether those conclusions are truth, only time will tell. 

     The Boyfriend is a contemporary murder-mystery suspense told from two points of view in two timelines. Sydney surviving Bonnie's murder with her friend Gretchen, ex-boyfriend Jake, and new boyfriend Thomas are in the present day. But how are they linked to Tom in the past with his friend Slug, the murdered teenage girls, and the love of his life: Daisy? McFadden's signature twist is sharp and unexpected. The novel is intended for mature readers with graphic violence and risqué content. 

The Midnight Library

 The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, 2020 Viking

     Nora Seed wants to die. She doesn't feel like her mediocre life is worth living anymore after her cat dies, she loses her job, and she doesn't have a clear way to achieve any of her dreams. Late on that fateful Tuesday night, Nora takes too many pills and finds herself in the Midnight Library. 

     In the midnight library it is always midnight: it is a place between life and death, a sort of Schrodinger's Cat in the plurality of worlds where the Librarian helps Nora chose a book--a life--to try out while she's in between. Nora begins with lives where she made the other choice: stayed with swimming and became an Olympic champion; continued on to study glaciers and join a research team in the Arctic; stayed with her ex, got married, and lived out his dream of owning a pub; or joined her best friend on an adventure in Australia. 

     Each life shows her a new way she could have lived, but there's always a sense of displacement - as if she's joined the race partway through. When she becomes disappointed in her life Nora returns to the Midnight Library and the Librarian. With each new life comes the possibility of perfection, but each life is shown to have it's own disappointments. When Nora experiences motherhood in one of her lives she discovers she does want to live. 

     But is the desire to live enough to keep her alive? Haig's thought experiment about what happens after death is a poignant look into regret, despair, and hope. With suicide at the center of the tale this story is appropriate for adults and mature readers. 

The Love Hypothesis

 The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, 2021 Berkley Books

     Stanford University is the dream, and Olive Smith is a third year Ph.D. student living that dream. Until her friend Anh starts to put up a fuss about Olive's lack of long-term relationship. She lies to her best friend, a lie of convenience and one intended to keep Anh from pushing her into a blind date. But that lie requires some quick acting to keep it going. 

     To keep from getting caught in her lie Olive kisses the first man she sees - the grumpy professor Adam Carlsen. Olive thinks her lie is going to be caught out and Anh will keep up with her matchmaking attempts only for Dr. Carlsen to agree to be her fake-boyfriend. 

     Their charade feels unusually real to both Olive and Adam and spending time together isn't the terrible and terrifying ordeal Olive thinks it will be. Adam is clever, he supports her in her work and personal life, and he stands by her when a scientific convention goes crazy. 

     Olive doesn't think this fake relationship will make it because of her background and how she experiences attraction.  It takes Adam revealing what she never knew for them to give it a real chance at love. 

      The setting in STEM is novel with a female scientist as the lead character who wants to earn her way, but is stopped by systemic prejudices. The relationship between professor and student is scrutinized by the university while Adam and Olive's connection is closely inspected by her friends. Their story follows the traditional fake-dating trope featuring scientists with adult themes. 

The Gates of Sleep

 

The Gates of Sleep by Mercedes Lackey, 2002 DAW Books

     Hugh and Alanna Rosewood are happily married and happy to be celebrating the birth of their first child: a daughter named Marina. The two Earth Masters are surprised that their child has water-magic, but their close friend and powerful water-mage, Elizabeth Henstridge, confirms the baby will be a powerful mage. 
     Upon the child's christening, Hugh Rosewood's estranged sister surprises the family. With a thinly-veiled familial connection, Arachne invades her family home, but the schism makes Hugh and Alanna suspicious of her motives. Their fears are founded when Arachne tries to steal away the baby's powers. 
     The Rosewoods' friends, and little Marina's godparents, immediately recognize the curse but are unable to remove it. One of her godmothers' talents as a water-mage allows the Elemental Masters present to subvert Arachne's curse - putting it to sleep. Fearing Arachne will reactivate the curse Hugh and Alanna send Marina with three of her godparents to be raised in secret. 

     Even the Rosewoods have no idea their beloved daughter is raised in Cornwall with pre-Raphaelite artists. Marina loves her aunt and uncles and respects the magic they teach her, but as she nears her eighteenth birthday and the looming deadline of the curse her education in water magic requires additional support. Her fourth godparent--a respected lady--comes to Cornwall under the pretense of research to train the young mage. 

     Although her studies are incomplete Marina is forced to return to her parent's home when they die mysteriously abroad: Arachne has managed to arrange her brother's estate in order to take control of Marina's life. With her aunt and cousin managing the Rosewood heir's every move, Marina has little ability to continue her studies. Their intent becomes more clear and more sinister Marina is unable to contact her godparents and must face alone her new guardian and the curse she still doesn't understand. 

     Marina's story in The Gates of Sleep is a creative retelling of the "Sleeping Beauty" fairy tale. Set in the world of Lackey's Elemental Masters magic abounds and those who are gifted with magic are both good and evil. This story is more mature than the popular tellings of Sleeping Beauty and includes elements of Satanism and intentional harm to disadvantaged populations. 

The Serpent's Shadow

The Serpent's Shadow by Mercedes Lackey, 2001 DAW Books

     England is monumentally different than India and Maya Witherspoon finds it both a blessing and a challenge when she flees her mother's homeland for her father's. Something is chasing the young woman and her Indian household across continents. Maya hopes that hiding among the working poor in London will keep her hidden from the unknown pursuer. 

     Peter Scott is an Elemental Master of Water. His club is a center for the men who protect England from magical threats. He is assigned to find the new and mysterious source of Earth Magic in the depths of London. He discovers the female doctor and her entourage hiding behind a unique shield set by an obvious novice. Peter and his fellow masters are surprised by the shield itself, but the stodgy old men have no inclination to help Maya learn how to manage her power. 

     Better to ask forgiveness than permission--Peter takes it upon himself to teach Maya the basics of western magic and the mastery of Elements. She is powerful but faces opposition at every step as she pursues her goal to be independent and help those who otherwise wouldn't be helped, and to create a home for her little family. It is Peter and his connections who support her and her dream when Maya discovers who and what have been hunting her. 

     The Serpent's Shadow sets a modern young woman in Edwardian England. Her race, gender, and professional occupation are all challenges to the status quo and Maya's passion for helping others earns her just as many friends as her vocation earns enemies. Magic cannot solve all of her problems or grant her wishes, yet Maya knows it will help her as a doctor. 

     Lackey creates a complex mirror of Edwardian England enriched with regional magics as elaborate as the cultures across the world. This is the first of an extensive series exploring retellings of classic stories. 

Shadow of Night

 

Shadow of Night by Deborah Harkness, 2012 Viking Adult

     As an alchemical historian, Elizabethan England is a dream destination for Diana Bishop. When the present is too dangerous for a witch with no control over her power and who has fallen in love with a vampire Diana and her husband, Matthew de Clairmont escape into his past. Fitting into history when Matthew and his family are powerful forces both politically and martially is difficult for modern woman Diana. 

     Matthew is Matthew Roydon in 1590. Advisor to Queen Elizabeth I, spy, and member of the Creatures' Congregation, he is responsible for ensuring the creatures of Europe refrain from meddling in human affairs. Diana discovers her husband is a powerful man in his own right, but the weight behind his family name is an additional level of protection over their forbidden relationship. Their travel in time displaces the original Matthew Roydon and requires that the pair scramble to reassure his family when Philippe de Clairmont receives word of his missing son. Matthew is hesitant to meet his relatively recently deceased father and concerned the vampire lord will take issue with his choice of wife and Diana's witchy magic. 

     Philippe knows something is changed in his son, and the pair are forced to reveal some of the future to the vampire. Matthew's family accepts Diana and, with Philippe's support, the two have a second, public wedding. More characters come into play as Diana meets more of the de Clairmont clan, including Matthew's sister Louisa, son Benjamin, and nephews. Not every member of the ancient and powerful clan is happy with the new witchy member, but Matthew and Philippe stand behind Diana to set events in motion which will ripple down the timeline. 

     While her personal life revolves around how the vampires of the de Clairmont clan handle Matthew's marriage, her magic and the focus of their journey depends on Diana making strong relationships with a nearby coven. With their help she discovers the key to her unmanageable magic is to try not to manage it - Diana is a spell-weaver and writes her own laws of magic. 

      Circumstances require that Diana and Matthew cut short their journey into 1590. Their travel home is just as fraught with concern as the trip backwards in time. They return home months after leaving and to surprises they couldn't have imagined. 

     The second All Souls installment sees a new, more transparent side of the categorically secretive Matthew de Clairmont. Diana learns how to use her power and the power of community. Readers who enjoyed Nora Roberts' Chronicles of the One will find similar themes in Harkness's story. 

A Discovery of Witches

 A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, 2011 Viking Penguin

     Hiding from her family history by becoming a leading scholar of Elizabethan science has served Diana Bishop well. She is on track to become one of the youngest scholars to obtain tenure at a top United States University. She is working on a research project in Oxford's Bodleian library when she meets Matthew de Clairmont. 

     The suave Monsieur de Clairmont is a vampire, older than the institution Diana has tied her future to. He immediately recognizes her as a witch - one who rarely uses her magic - and it is by her rarely used magic that she draws the attention of Witches, Vampires, and Daemons. The Ashmole Manuscript she calls for her research has been missing for decades when Diana recalls it from the stacks. 

     Rumor has it the missing manuscript tells the origin of Creatures. Diana's interest is only in the alchemical message of the text. But the fact that she can find Ashmole draws even more attention and ire when she refuses to hand over the document despite pressure from every creature of significant political power. 

     Matthew's interest starts with the manuscript but he finds Diana more and more compelling. When her own kind turns against Diana for refusing to provide the much-coveted Ashmole Manuscript, Matthew de Clairmont is her rescuer. The two remove from Oxford for her safety despite the Covenant of Creatures. 

     As they become more enraptured with one another Matthew and Diana seek to understand why the manuscript comes to Diana despite stronger magic's failure to call it forth. At the de Clairmont fortress in France Diana also discovers more about her magic and her personal history. 

     When the Congregation kidnaps Diana from the property - violating the de Clairmont sovereignty in their own lands - Matthew realizes how his life and that of the witch mirror her observations of the missing manuscript. He will violate his own laws to find and protect her and their growing relationship. 

     The more she learns about the Creatures' world the more Diana wishes she could return to the safety of her American ignorance. Her aunts--powerful witches in their magic-- do not have the political strength to protect her and her parents' magic - both rare and powerful - has been absent most of Diana's life. 

     Diana and Matthew risk more than just censure from the Congregation for an interspecies relationship. Something in the Ashmole manuscript has drawn the attention of the most powerful elements of their world and their ire. At heart, this is a romance with elements of The DaVinci Code and Charlaine Harris' Snookie Stackhouse series meant for mature readers with vivid violence. 

The Invisible Library

The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman, 2015 Roc

     As a Librarian sworn to the Library, Irene deals with everything from magic to science-fiction-become-reality. Her latest assignment has her taking an apprentice on a journey into a chaos-infested world much like nineteenth-century London. 

     Kai has his own history, but it's been five years in the library studying and preparing for his practical, and Kai is ready to take the next step. Irene has been told their mission is a simple retrieval, but elements of the story don't match up with what she's experienced. 

     Irene and Kai enter the alternate world in search of a unique copy of a dangerous book, but it's already been stolen. To top it off the world seems to have too much chaos for the level of the alternate. Irene questions the information the Library has provided as the danger escalates. 

     Chaos-infested worlds risk the appearance of Dragons who have the ability to restore order to chaos-ridden alternates. Irene doesn't necessarily want to meet the dragons and the job of the Library is to keep the balance. An unexpected, and relatively drastic, warning from the Library itself seems to indicate there's more to the chaos than Irene was briefed. 

     Kai has his own secrets, but the trust and partnership between the two help Irene and Kai move forward together to solve the mystery of their assignment. As they chase the unique book they were sent for, Irene and Kai make connections in this alternate world. 

     Irene is offered the chance to join a movement that counters the solid and rigid Library in a way that still allows her the joy of discovery and exploration. The temptation is strong, but the offer comes from a man feared and vilified for his counter-societal ideas. 

     The first of her Invisible Library series, this tale weaves together a new universe of worlds where the amount of chaos energy determines how closely it aligns with the world of the reader. Older teens and adults will be better able to unravel the new laws of time and space as Irene and Kai develop their partnership and decide their individual paths forward. 

The Clue of the Broken Locket

The Clue of the Broken Locket by Carolyn Keene, 1965 Grosset & Dunlap

     Nancy, George, and Bess are vacationing at Misty Lake when they meet Cecily Curtis. Mr. Drew has sent the girls to give Cicely the key to her lodgings - the owner refuses to go near the lake because of a ghost ship. Cecily asks for Nancy Drew's help to solve two mysteries: one concerning her fiancee, the other involving a family secret. 

     Cecily's fiancee is Niko Van Dyke a musician who believes his record company is cheating him out of earned royalties. 

     The clue to her family secret is half of a golden locket that Cecily was told leads to a pre-civil war cache of buried treasure. 

     The investigation leads to Pudding Stone Lodge and the Driscoll family who may be involved in Niko's misfortunes. They also discover Cecily's look-alike -- an unknown cousin held in the thrall of the Driscolls.   

     When twin children go missing Nancy, Bess, and George are set on finding the answers to all of their questions. They call in the help of Ned Nickerson, Dave Evans, and Burt Eddleton - the girls' respective boyfriends. 

     Through quick thinking and perseverance, Nancy and her friends solve the mysteries in front of them. Middle grade and young readers will enjoy the mystery, with enough suspense to keep them wondering who is who and what will happen to Nancy on this next adventure? 

The Forbidden Library

The Forbidden Library by Django Wexler, 2014 Kathy Dawson Books

     Young Alice Creighton has always had a passion for books and reading, she is a hard worker and a rule-follower. But Alice's familiar life is thrown on its end when a real-live fairy appears in the kitchen one night. The day after her father argues with the creature he sets out on a ship to South America, a trip from which he will never return. Alice is taken to the estate of a distant Uncle Geryon: The Library.
     Upon her first exploration, the large house has nearly everything but a library, though that makes it no less strange. Meals are prepared by invisible and silent hands, the laundry appears cleaned and pressed without disappearing, and the house remains spotless despite not a soul wandering its halls. Uncle Geryon's only visible servants are Emma (a competent but simple-minded girl) and Mr. Black (a gruff man of questionable character).
     Bored with her new life Alice is fascinated when she finally encounters the Library for which the estate is named. The building is separate from the main house and Alice discovers the cats guarding the place are more than they seem: one even leads her to overhear a conversation between the mysterious fairy and the frightening Mr. Black. Ashes becomes her companion in trying to solve the mystery of her father's disappearance.
     In investigating Mr. Creighton's death Alice stumbles across a previously unknown ability to enter some of the books she reads and use their magic to affect the outside world. As she learns how to use her Reader power Alice discovers a battle raging beyond her corner of the universe that threatens to use her as a pawn.
     Though Alice is warned over and over again she continues to believe in the inherent good of people. Her hopes are met with betrayal, but through the conflict, she finds answers she's been seeking, and more questions driving her quest forward.
     The Forbidden Library is the beginning of Alice's journey through literature. The magic of the LIbrary and Alice's ability to Read into books only trigger the start of her adventures. Her story is appropriate for middle-school readers with frightening characters, liberties taken, and children pitted against monsters to gain power.

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.

Pennyroyal Academy

Pennyroyal Academy by M. A. Larson, 2014 G.P. Putnam's Sons Publishing

   From the north, a young girl battles her way through enchanted forests and barren landscapes for a chance to become a legendary princess at Pennyroyal Academy. Pennyroyal has a reputation for building and training knights and princesses of note to fight the great dangers of the day: dragons and witches. But with fewer and fewer candidates of noble blood, they've opened the doors to common-born candidates for the first time. The girl without a name becomes "Eleven", though her new friends christen her Evie.
     Evie is running from something, but she doesn't want to reveal too much to the people around her. The child was raised by dragons and believed herself to be one until she couldn't master the art of flight. This is her chance to start anew.
     At the academy under the care of the steely Fairy Drill Seargent Evie, Demetra, Basil, Maggie and the rest of their candidate class undergo rigorous training to build the core traits of courage, Compassion, Kindness, and Discipline in their quest to become fully-fledged Pennyroyal Princesses. Along the way the usual conflicts between classmates, bullying, pre-teen crushes, and the knowledge that they are at war plague the cadets. Evie discovers that being human may be even more difficult than becoming and being a Princess.
     Pennyroyal Academy is set in the world of Grimm's fairytales and draws on the stories of classic princesses as history. It deals with some mature content - consent and the boundary of humanity in war, in a format more easily accessible to younger readers. With rampant violence (they are training to kill witches and dragons) parents may want to preview the story before offering it to younger readers.

Password to Larkspur Lane

Password to Larkspur Lane by Carolyn Keene, 1966 Grosset & Dunlap

     Nancy Drew is outside tending the garden when a carrier pigeon arrives in the yard. Hannah Gruen, the Drews' housekeeper, falls and her doctor suggests to Nancy and her lawyer father of a woman who he treats under mysterious circumstances. The doctor believes the woman is being held prisoner and Nancy begins to investigate.
     A clue from the doctor leads to the prestigious Eldridge family. Nancy follows the clues and, with the added intrigue of the pigeon's registry, finds there truly is something criminal afoot.
     Mrs. Eldridge is missing, according to a young relative, and--when Nancy, Bess, George, and their friend Helen speak with her--Mrs. Eldridge has not chosen to be treated at the estate holding her prisoner. She is not the only elderly patient at the estate, and Mrs. Eldrige explains the people running the place have some shady practices.
     Some quick thinking and subterfuge from the girls bring justice to the plotters. Nancy and her friends face danger, but they come out better able to fight for what they believe right.
     Nancy Drew is an independent young woman who uses her quick mind to investigate and solve problems. She faces danger and uses her resources in a story meant for middle-grade readers, but enjoyable at any age. Password to Larkspur Lane was revised from its original 1933 novel to be more feminist, to consolidate the plot, and to bring the familiar characters back to the main screen.

Rascal

Rascal by Sterling North, 1963 E.P. Dutton

   Eleven-year-old Sterling North and his good friend Oscar manage to capture a raccoon cub and Sterling raises Rascal. The boy has no idea of the chaos a baby raccoon can cause.
     Sterling lives with his widowed father after his mother's death and his sisters' marriages. During World War I Sterling's older brother serves and fights in Europe. Along with the rest of the town, Sterling helps with the war effort but misses and worries for his brother.
     Rascal and Sterling adventure through their Wisconsin town participating in everything from pie eating contest and fishing. The raccoon is charming and curious, but like other wild creatures Rascal has no boundaries. After several unexpected incidents Sterling is forced to allow Rascal to return to the wilderness.
     Following Rascal's first year and Sterling's adventures through their small town, Rascal looks at loss through embracing life. In autobiographical style, Sterling examines his past and the changing times he grew up in. Middle-grade readers will enjoy the raccoon's antics and easily follow North's narrative.

The Outsiders

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton, 1967 Viking Press

     Ponyboy Curtis lives with his two older brothers in the lower-class east side of town. The three boys are orphans and part of a street gang calling themselves the Greasers. Ponyboy's oldest brother Darry took responsibility for him and their middle brother called Sodapop when their parents were killed in a car accident. 

     Walking home, one day, Ponyboy is attacked by members of the Socs--Socials from the uptown, west-side of their Oklahoma town--who threaten his life. The Greasers come to the fourteen-year-old's rescue: Johnny, Dally, Steve, Two-bit, and Ponyboy's two brothers. After a scuffle the two groups separate. 

     The Socs and Greasers clash again when Ponyboy and Johnny run into a couple of the Soc girls and, later, their boyfriends. The clash ends with Ponyboy regaining consciousness next to a beaten Johnny and Soc corpse. Fearing for their lives Ponyboy and Johnny escape to a nearby town where they hide out in an abandoned church. 

     Johnny and Ponyboy have a change of heart, but before they can face the music at home they discover schoolchildren in the abandoned church which has caught fire. Again, Ponyboy passes out; when he wakes he, Johnny, and Dally are in the hospital. They check out to partake in a rumble between the Socs and Greasers which has lasting consequences. 

     The Outsiders is a classic tale about teenagers struggling to make their way in a world that doesn't care about their potential, only their choices. Teen readers can relate to the boys' struggles in a story aimed at readers the same age as the characters: mid- to late-teens with violence and moral challenges Ponyboy must face on his way through trial and tribulation. 

The City of Ember

The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau, 2003 Yearling Books

     For generations, the people of Ember have lived in a well-equipped underground city. The Builders planned for the citizens to live in Ember for 200 years and the storerooms are empty, the crops are failing, and the lights are flickering.
     At graduation, the twelve-year-olds are assigned their new jobs. Lina has always dreamed of being a messenger, but she's assigned to the Pipeworks. Doon, who doesn't have a real preference, offers to trade with Lina and the two strike up an unexpected friendship.
     Lina learns the city is worried that the lights will fail to flick back on though they aren't sure why they're even turning off. Doon discovers the generator which powers all of Ember is failing. When Lina's grandmother presents her with an ancient parchment with strange writing on it, the two teens work together to discover what it could mean for their dying city.
     When the friends discover the mayor and his corrupt clerk hoarding supplies the mayor attempts to turn the city against the children. Lina and Doon decide to prove their integrity and their theory of the parchment and try to escape as Ember dies. The only problem is they don't know what they'll be escaping to or if they'll even survive the attempt.
     An adventure for younger teens, The City of Ember follows Lina and Doon's unexpected friendship through the end of the only world they've ever known into the hope of a better future. DuPrau's novel is aimed at middle readers and has been adapted into a movie. Readers who enjoyed the 'Hidden Children' series will find The City of Ember a compelling read.

Stolen Songbird

Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen, 2014 Strange Chemistry

     In the nearby town Cecile's mother is a famous singer and has spent years sending tutors to train her daughter in not only music, but to also provide both general and courtly education. The night before she is scheduled to join her mother and begin a promising career Cecile is kidnapped and sold to trolls who live under the local mountain.
     She is bound to the troll prince Tristan and told she will save the people of Trollus from a curse which has kept them imprisoned for over 500 years. But Cecile's new husband is not what he seems and politics among the people who cannot lie are far more complicated than the girl can imagine.
     Escape from Trollus is impossible, but it is Cecile's only hope, until she begins to know her new husband and the people of his cursed kingdom. Cecile discovers there is more to their imprisonment than anyone tells her and there is more to Cecile than anyone expects.
     Amid all their planning Tristan and Cecile discover they're more than simply allies; their bond helps them acknowledge the human myths are no less mythical than the trolls' restrictions on human-troll interaction. When it all comes tumbling down how will the prince and princess under the mountain respond?
     The beginning of a new series Stolen Songbird explores mythology and magic in an elaborate love story richly drawn along classic lines. What are the trolls really and how does their magic save them, even as the magic slowly dies. Jensen's novel is aimed at more mature readers, though teen readers can follow and enjoy its complex storyline.

The Valiant

The Valiant by Lesley Livingston, 2017 Razorbill

     When seventeen-year-old Fallon was ten her brave older sister was a member of their father's royal war band. Sorcha went into battle to save her king and bring her father home to care for her young sister. Fallon and her father have mourned her fallen sister in different ways: Fallon has become a fierce warrior while her father has searched for a way to keep her from his eldest daughter's fate. 

     The night of the tribal gathering, Fallon's father betrays her not once, but twice. The princess leaves behind the trappings of her station and tries to flee. In the midst of her escape Fallon is captured by slave traders and though she despises the captivity, the hope that she will escape to wreak vengeance drives Fallon. 

     As a slave Fallon meets a fierce warrior girl from the far north and the two become grudging friends. When their fighting skills are put on display in Rome Fallon and her Viking companion are bought to be female gladiators by no less than Julius Caesar's personal ludis. 

     The Lady Achilleas is a hard, but fair, mistress. Fallon discovers her new home's profession of sisterhood mirrors true sisterhood in not just the camaraderie, but also the vicious rivalries. At her swearing ceremony Fallon discovers her new mistress isn't so much the stranger she thought, but the sister she thought long-dead. Sorcha as Lady Achilleas tries to drill into her reluctant little sister that in Rome one must fight for what she wants in the Roman way. 

     The new world of gladiatrix is similar to her practice at home, but the duplicity and depravity are new for the slave princess. Someone is intent on bringing Fallon, and through her Sorscha and Caesar, down from the pedestal of power they hold over the plebeian population. Sometimes the games played with swords are the least dangerous intrigues in the world of female gladiators. Despite the constant danger, Fallon finds a new home and family. 

     Livingston's story looks at a curiosity of history: female gladiators were long thought to be outliers and are only recently being rediscovered and their reach studied. Fallon is a transplant from the frontier who must learn to live in a new and treacherous world while sorting out old beliefs and alliances. Her desire to make a name and place for herself wars with her relationships. Like many young women, Fallon is faced with the choice to roll with the punches (sometimes literally) or get knocked down. Either way, she always gets back to her feet to continue fighting.