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.

Much Ado About Nothing

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare, 1598 Folger's Shakespeare Library

     In fair Messina, the Governor Leonato is living with his daughter and unwed niece. Hero and Beatrice are fast friends and loving cousins, when the army of Don Pedro, a prince of Aragon, returns through their city the two women meet and celebrate the victory with the prince's trusted men.
     Benedick is a familiar face, one whom Beatrice enjoys mocking. The animosity between Beatrice and Benedick is fierce though Shakespeare hints at a prior romance, and their companions believe they're a perfect match. The two, however, are in agreement on the fates of their friends.
     Hero and young Count Claudio are in love at first sight. The prince agrees to push Claudio's suit for the shy officer. With Leonato's blessing, all appears to be in order for a wedding.
    Enter Don John. Don Pedro's younger brother finds himself sick at the happiness of others. Don John and his followers scheme to convince Claudio the prince is wooing Hero for his own purposes.
     While Hero and Claudio attempt to reconcile their feelings with Don John's commentary they help Don Pedro convince Beatrice and Benedick of their suitability.
     Originally a play to be performed Much Ado About Nothing is designed as a script to be read either as part of a performance or aloud. Much of the humor is adult-oriented, the story is intended for adults, yet has little objectionable material as much of the action is left to the imagination.

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.

In the Hand of the Goddess

In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce, 1984 Atheneum

     Alanna has become squire to Prince Jonathan, one of few who know her secret. After several years working to become a knight and learning her lessons at the heir's side Alanna must face the risks of growing up surrounded by young men.
     When the Great Mother Goddess visits disguised Alanna during a mission she encourages the girl to stand up for her dream. With support for her dream to be a warrior, the Goddess reminds Alanna there is more to life than just adventure and suggests the young woman open herself to love.
     In the same meeting, Alanna creates a new friend in Faithful, a black cat with strange purple eyes. His eyes alarm or surprise everyone who sees Alanna with her new cat companion, but it is his magic which caused the Goddess to place Faithful with her chosen warrior. Faithful becomes Alanna's most trustworthy companion and protector.
     With the Ordeal looming and the memory of her friends' response to their experience in the solid room Alanna is uneasy. While she has learned to become a knight, she still struggles with the feminine arts. In disguise she goes to her friends in the City and asks the Rogue's mother to teach her to dress and move as a woman. Alanna even allows her friend Prince Jonathan to introduce her to the more adult pursuits to be found between woman and man. All the time worrying what their friends will say when she reveals her secret.
     Over the years Alanna still worries about the Duke of Conte and his intentions toward the royal family. Duke Roger remains suspicious, but any time Alanna tries to resolve her questions about the Prince's cousin something helps her lose interest and move on. Things don't add up, and it is on the wave of her successful knighthood that Alanna finds the strength and time to take action.
     Alanna's journey transitions from learning to be a boy, learning to fit into her role, developing the skill she will require to succeed to learning to be a woman, learning to risk more than physical danger, to pursue what she believes is right. Pierce hints at more than romance between Alana and Jonathan, though it isn't illustrated for the reader. In this second stage of her life Alanna's story is more suited to teen readers with deadly betrayal, complex romantic relationships, and a minor crisis of identity.

Alanna

Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce, 1983 Atheneum

     Alanna is not meant to be a great lady: she enjoys wielding a knife and the thrill of adventure. When her twin brother Thom rejects the idea of a knight for sorcery Alanna sees a chance for them to each get what they desire. At eleven the twins are sent to a convent for magic and etiquette  and to the palace for a knight's training. Two forged letters and a haircut later Thom and Alanna become Thom and Alan.
     The young lady is giddy at the prospect of enjoying her training, but worries constantly at the threat of discovery. Alan makes friends with the boys, including the Crown Prince Jonathan. These friends help when a bully decides Alan's weakness and small stature are the reason enough to pick on and heap abuse upon the new recruit. Alan's friend George Cooper, in Corus, also teaches Alanna some tricks for fighting dirty.
     The day comes when Alanna can no longer ignore her woman's body and the fear of discovery becomes even more fraught. George Cooper again comes to her rescue, this time introducing Alanna to his mother. Alanna continues to keep her secret despite the increasing difficulty.
     After several years as a page, a knight's skills are not limited to swardwork and etiquette. A magical sweating fever rips through Corus and many of the capital's important figures are sickened. When Alanna has the chance to use her magic, but doesn't and one of her friends dies, she is wracked with guilt. She uses the opportunity to save her friend and the future king when jonathan takes ill.
     With the illness Jonathan's favorite cousin and the most powerful mage returns to Corus. Alanna and the duke butt heads, and she is unreasonably distrustful of Roger's motives. When the duke begins training those knights-in-training with magic Alanna becomes even more suspicious. A challenge to the Crown Prince draws all the suspicions Alanna fells to a point when Jonathan's life hangs in the balance.
     Each moment looms with discovery of Alanna's secret. Along with each moment her skills grow to match her spirit. To become the first Lady Knight Alanna develops her personal armor along with her martial skill and hides her female-ness to become one of the boys.
     Similar to Garth Nix's Abhorsen series and Megan Whalen Turner's The Thief, Alanna is high fantasy for all ages. With some suggestive content, Alanna is a young girl growing into a woman among men.

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.

Spring Awakening

Spring Awakening by T.J. Brown, 2013 Gallery Books

     Prudence has travelled to London with her new husband, Rowena has agreed to marry her friend Sebastian Billingsly, and Victoria has decided to make her way as a lady bachelor. The Buxton women have grown stronger and grown apart since their London home was taken from them and their estrangement at Summerset Abbey. But there is more at stake for the three women and the people they care for when the first World War begins.
     Prudence has fallen in love with her husband Andrew Wilkes. When he volunteers to fight, Prudence finds she is expecting their first child. The stress of her changed circumstances is minimal compared to the blow their relationship when she asks the Buxtons that he be stationed somewhere relatively safe. Andrew thinks Prudence lacks faith in him, but Prudence just wants her husband to come home.
     Rowena and her cousin Elaine remain at home while Victoria moves to London and most of the men in the Cunning Coterie join the war in Europe. While Elaine is held under her mother's thumb, Rowena recovers from her disaster of an affair with the young pilot, Jon. While tacking together plans for her wedding to Sebastian she begins to ferry planes across the Isles for the British government.
     Away from her family in London, Victoria repeatedly rejects Kit Kittredge's marriage proposals. When he reveals he will be joining the covert war effort Victoria realizes she will lose her best friend. Victoria distracts herself in work as a volunteer nurse, even joining the Red Cross in France. The youngest Buxton girl discovers sometimes it isn't worth losing the respect and love of a friend to have it all.
     The Buxton girls find their lives have been leading them in separate directions toward the same end. Rowena and Victoria aid the war effort more directly, and Prudence becomes an anchor as many women of her time were forced to become. Through love and loss each woman learns to blaze her own trail, but finds her way back to the family who left London at Sir Philip's death. Spring Awakening is a historical novel weaving fact together with fiction. Older readers will enjoy the nuance and complex love lives which follow Rowena, Prudence, and Victoria to the series' conclusion.

Silver on the Tree

Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper, 1977 Atheneum Books

     Will Stanton is still waiting for the days the Dark and Light will clash in their final battle. He accepts the invitation of his aunt and uncle to return to Wales and the Old Magic found there. His companions from previous adventures reappear and meet, a good thing too, because Will is going to need all the help he can find.
     Simon, Jane, and Barnabas Drew are on holiday with their parents when they follow the sound of a hunting horn to the top of a hillside to find Will. Will has brought Bran along. When they first meet Bran puts the Drew Children on edge - something about the young man is eerily different.
     Bran doesn't appear to understand why the three Drews should come along on their adventure. His quest is all-consuming and only Will's temperance keeps Bran from thriving the three allies from their place in the quest.
     With the Dark steadily gaining strength--Will, Bran, Simon, Jane, and Barney search to solve the ancient riddle found in Over Sea, Under Stone. At the completion of their search will be the last great battle between Light and Dark. Between the Welsh hills mortals and Old Ones alike muddle through the most ancient myths and stories of the British Isles.
     In the conclusion to Cooper's saga the parts of the tale become whole. Arthurian legends meld with ancient Rome in a clash of histories where men decide the end of the day. Readers who enjoyed Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydian and Madeleine L'Engle's young adult fiction will find similarities in Cooper's work.

Seaward

Seaward by Susan Cooper, 1983 Margaret K McElderry Books

     West and Cally are swept into a strange world where the beauty is mesmerizing and dangerous. Lady Taranis tempts the youths to stay in her kingdom forever while Lugan, her male counterpart, urges the two forward and to the end of their journey.
     West is an enigma to Cally, from a different part of the world with a different outlook and native language. The seeming magic surrounding West gets them through various different terrain and confrontations with creatures of all shapes and sizes.
     Cally appears to be a naive child to West's jaded eyes. She adores the beauty around her and trusts most of the characters they meet, but as they head Westward to the sea West finds the girl more and more enchanting. His mother's warning before he arrived in the lost world: To trust the man with an owl's eyes, the girl with selkie hands, and the creature at the top of the world; allow West to bend to Cally's simple joy and uncomplicated trust. The two balance each other as they progress and become something more than friends.
     West and Cally discover that some things in life are worth the pain of loss, especially to feel love. They persevere and are rewarded for their efforts. While their adventures are appropriate for a broad audience, some scenes and moments are aimed at more mature readers.

The Grey King

The Grey King by Susan Cooper, 1975 Margaret K. McElderry Books

     Young Will Stanton has had a nasty illness, when he finally recovers his doctor suggests he take a holiday with family in Wales. Little does the young man know that he is drawn to this ancient place by forces more powerful than the country doctor. While in his fevered delirium Will has forgotten something he meant to keep forever.
     In Wales at his aunt and uncle's farm Will becomes stronger. Under the crags of the Grey King, a local name for the mountain, snippets of a poem return to Will. He meets Bram, a curious boy and the Raven Boy from his poem. With the new friend and ally Will remembers his mission and his place as an Old One in the cosmos.
     The quest set before Will, and inclusive of his new friend, is for a Thing of Power, a magical harp which will help him wake the Sleepers and bring aid to the Light in the upcoming ultimate battle with the Dark. But finding the harp is just the beginning.
     With his returning memories Will attracts the notice of the Lord of Darkness: the Grey King. The Grey King raises his minions to combat Will at each turn. Through the Dark the local sheepherding peoples become violent and oppose the boys and their galavanting. A neighbor to Will's uncle, Pritchard, becomes a nuisance; eventually he creates the greatest hurdle in Will's quest. Will and Bram are persistent, but will they manage to install one more stone in the wall of humanity's defense against the Dark?
     Like the previous installments of the Dark is Rising Sequence, The Grey King is high fantasy mixed with the solid traditions of the local peoples. Will is an outsider who finds his place with the help of another outsider - the albino boy Bram - and fights for the future he believes is right. Readers who enjoyed the Lord of the Rings and Chronicles of Narnia will enjoy this young adult fantasy.

Magnolia

Magnolia by Kristi Cook, 2014 Simon & Schuster

     In small-town Magnolia Branch Mississippi the Marsden and Cafferty families have been friends and neighbors since the American Civil War. They've been talking about uniting their families for generations. So when one family has a son and the other a daughter at the proper ages to marry, the families spend their entire lives throwing them together.
     Jemma Cafferty and Ryder Marsden cannot stand each other. Jemma has spunk and Ryder always seems too good to be true. It doesn't help that at every turn their parents try to convince Jemma and Ryder into a relationship.
     When Jemma's older sister has an incident at school and both sets of parents go to her, Jemma and Ryder are left alone to deal with an approaching hurricane. When the road washes out the two teens huddle in Jemma's home fighting the elements, wild snakes, and their sudden attraction to each other.
     In a new take on the Romeo and Juliet story these not-so-star-crossed lovers go from hate to something much different. Magnolia is an example of contemporary young adult romance and appeals to readers who enjoy contemporary fiction.

Greenwitch

Greenwitch by Susan Cooper, 1974 Margaret K. Elderry Books

   Simon, Jane, and Barney Drew with their mysterious uncle Merriman Lyon return to a small coastal town to rediscover the Golden Grail lost by the Dark. Reinforcements have been called, but the children are unaware of their new companion's role in this great quest. Will Stanton is loathe to tell the Drew children his status as an Old One. Like Merriman he is more than he appears.
     But Jane is the one invited to join the local women in their creation of the Greenwitch--an ancient superstition and offering to the sea for a plentiful harvest. Though the form is sinister, Jane finds a sadness about the creature made of branches and leaves. Her kindness in the meeting is returned when Will and Merriman seek the manuscript which wil translate the magical Grail.
     After the Greenwitch is cast into the sea, a strange lackey of the Dark reaches beyond his grasp to struggle the creature's stolen "treasure" from it, only to be destroyed as the spirits of the sea are released. The Old Ones step up to stand between the people of town and the destructive force of the greatest bounty - the ocean.
     Merriman, Will, Simon, Jane, and Barney realize the war they wage is one of moral struggle, not physical. A war which allows a warm bed through the night and the habitual cup of cocoa to soothe battle-weary soldiers. The high fantasy of Greenwitch draws the reader further into the war between Light and Dark as it nears it's inevitable and ultimate clash. Aimed at young readers, Cooper's style is most suited to pre-teen and early teen readers; though anyone can enjoy her vivid imagination.

The Secret of Shadow Ranch

The Secret of Shadow Ranch by Carolyn Keene, 1965 Grosset & Dunlap

     Nancy is called to Shadow Ranch, a horse ranch in Arizona, to help discover the truth of a ghost horse that's been appearing throughout the valley. She follows her friends Bess Marvin and George Fayne to help their cousin Alice discover the mystery of her amnesiac father.
     When the girls arrive they search for the treasure left by an outlaw who was one of the original residents, they help Bess and George's aunt run the dude ranch, and they look into the mysterious horse. Nancy and her friends enjoy the mountainous Arizona wilderness and the western lifestyle away from River Heights.
     Life at Shadow Ranch is not without the danger which seems to follow Nancy, but the four young women manage to survive their journey and even enjoy the mysteries they encounter. Nancy Drew's story is appropriate for readers of all ages.

The Secret of Red Gate Farm

The Secret of Red Gate Farm by Carolyn Keene, 1961 Grosset & Dunlap

     Nancy Drew and her friends find it strange when an exotic saleswoman refuses to sell Bess a particular fragrance while shopping. On their way home Nancy, Bess, and George encounter a young woman looking to find work in the city. The girls become friends and decide to help Joanne in whatever way they may. When Nancy joins Joanne on a job interview she finds what appears to be a mysterious code.
     Nancy sets aside the code until, when visiting Joanne's grandmother for a working vacation, she and her friends discover a mysterious secret society on Red Gate Farm. The "Black Snake Colony" is a nature cult residing on the outlying edges of the farm.
     All is not as it seems, when Nancy is accused of counterfeiting money. She presents the code she discovered and the strange cult to the authorities. The four girls are asked to go undercover in aid of the federal agents on the case.
     Nancy and her friends find adventure in seemingly simple situations. Readers become more acquainted with Bess and George through the book, with mystery and adventure around the corner.

A Bloom in Winter

A Bloom in Winter by T.J. Brown, 2013 Gallery Books

     After Prudence's hasty marriage and escape from Summerset with Andrew Wilkes, Victoria and Rowena are at loose ends. Neither expected the woman raised as their sister to suddenly abandon them, but Rowena's guilt over the family's treatment of Pru and Victoria's insatiable gaiety gloss over the pain of losing their friend.
     Rowena discovers her passion for flying and the young man teacher her to fly are powerful enough to bring her back from the brink of the depression she has sunk into since her father's death. Jon reappears despite his family's abhorrence of the Buxtons. The fledgling romance between Miss Rowena Buxton and Jonathan
     Victoria Buxton confides in her newly acquired best friend, Kit Kittredge, her hopes and dreams. But while Victoria is passionately fighting for what she innocently believes is right, Kit finds his friend more and more alluring.
     Prudence never belonged below-stairs at Summerset, her new marriage to Andrew shows her how sheltered her life has been. Yet as life settles between the two memories of Sebastian Billingsley surface and Prudence questions her love for her husband. Avoiding her old life is the only way she can avoid the pain Sebastian's memories bring.
     When Victoria's naivette lands her danger her desire for independence nearly takes her life. Prudence and Rowena unite against their quarrels to find their sister and bring her home safely.
     The young women of the Buxton household were raised to believe in the individual merits each person achieves. When their backgrounds no longer prepare them for the world they live in, each young woman searches for a new place to belong. Though they are limited by a woman's place in pre-World War I England, they are in possession of clever minds and passionate dreams which push them to find new stations to fulfill. While written for avid fans of Downton Abbey, readers of all ages and tastes can find something to capture their interest in T.J. Brown's Summerset Abbey books.

Our Happy Time

Our Happy Time by Gong Ji-Young, 2014 Marble Arch Press

     Privileged pop singer Yu-Jung Mao faces a round of therapy after her third suicide attempt. She is an angry woman and unwilling to undergo the battery of questions from doctors and nurses she sees as nothing but hypocrites. When her aunt, a nun with the Catholic Church, offers her an out Yu-Jung takes it.
     With Aunt Monica, Yu-Jung visits Seol's detention center and meets Yun-Soo. Yun-Soo is a death row inmate incarcerated for the rape and murder of a teenager, and the murders of her mother and their housekeeper. Yun-Soo is at first bitter and refuses to see Aunt Monica and the sweets she provides, but over time he begins to accept the kindness she brings.
     Yu-Jung is surprised that a man she sees as morally bankrupt and little more than an animal can make her reconsider how she views and interacts with the world. But as they spend more time together, both Yu-Jung and Yun-Soo come to understand no one is wholly good, nor wholly evil.
     When the expected comes unexpectedly Yu-Jung is transformed, but her choices will ultimately define her, just as Yun-Soo's have defined him.
     Meant for a mature audience, Our Happy Time addresses topics from murder and corporal punishment to what it means to be human. Young Adult readers can enjoy the unrepentant sarcasm of Yu-Jung as she challenges what she believes about herself and society surrounding her.

Victoria Rebels

Victoria Rebels by Carolyn Meyer, 2013 Simon & Schuster

     Queen Victoria was closely watched as a child and into her early adulthood. Meyer's Victoria Rebels looks at the influences she faced as a princess. Sir John Conroy controls every moment of Victoria's life through her mother's influence. When her sister is married away from England and the comfort of friends are slowly taken from young Victoria her dislike of the man becomes a deep-seated hatred.
     Victoria learns to keep her feelings under wraps. Her letters and diary are read, her only confidants are her sister and uncle, living on the Continent. Both advise patience until the future queen is old enough to manage her own life.
     With each passing year, young Victoria watches her mother and uncle, the king, all but declare war against each other. As tensions rise, Sir Conroy attempts to strengthen his hold on the princess and her mother inciting conflict between the two.
     When she finally gains control of her life and future Victoria rebels against any semblance of supervision or control over her decisions. In her rebellion, Victoria develops her style of monarchy - only to be disrupted again when she meets the man she comes to love.

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.

Summerset Abbey

Summerset Abbey by T. J. Brown, 2013 Gallery Books

     Sir Philip Buxton raised Rowena, Victoria, and Prudence as sisters--three eligible young women who are drawn into shifting class politics in Edwardian England as the world hesitates on the edge of war. Rowena and Victoria are Sir Buxton's natural daughters and Prudence Tate their invaluable governess's daughter. But when Prudence's mother dies she becomes one of the Buxton girls in all but name.
     When their father dies, the three girls are drawn back to the ancestral home at Summerset Abbey where their class separations are thrown into sharp contrast. Until the Buxton daughters reach their majorities their uncle will control Sir Philip's estate, and the three women's fates.
     Rowena doesn't know what to do about her sisters' reaction to their changing circumstances and is frozen into doing nothing for the fear. Victoria suffers from asthma and fights for the life she dreams of, while uncovering a dangerous family secret. Prudence longs to belong, either to the downstairs world where Lord and Lady Buxton have shunted her, but she knows she belongs alongside her sisters. The relationships between Rowena, Prudence and Victoria become strained as they struggle to balance.
     Life at Summerset is not what it seems, and the attendees are more than they portray. As the world rolls closer and closer to conflict on a global scale definitions are re-written and it is the younger generation who will cement the new social and political landscape. Summerset Abbey is a novel for older readers--more appropriate for high schoolers with innuendo and political subtleties peppering the story.

Clockwork Princess

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare, 2013 Walker Books

     Jem and Tessa are planning their wedding, Will is distraught at the idea of losing Tessa and the arrival of his younger sister Cecily, and Charlotte--along with the rest of the Institute--are reeling from the last battle with Mortmain, the Magister, when Gabriel Lightwood arrives with news of his father's demise. The inhabitants of the London Institute rush to help dispatch the Lightwood patriarch turned demon and protect the world from another monster.
     When the Lightwood brothers return to the Institute the Consul, intent on removing the independent Charlotte Branwell from her position, uses their father's state and Gabriel's guilt in being part of his demise to blackmail the boys. The young men use the opportunity to feed false information to the Consul attempting to thwart his plans.
     Mortmain maneuvers to monopolize the drug that keeps Jem alive in an effort to coerce the Shadowhunters into handing Tessa over, or have her surrender herself for her fiancee. Jem refuses to allow the sacrifice insisting he would rather die than give Mortmain the satisfaction of defeating the people who could protect the world from his plans.
     When an attack on the London Institute brings Tessa into the Mortmain's grasp and nearly kills Jem, the Consul refuses to acknowledge another attack is imminent. Rather than going after Mortmain and attacking he cautions waiting and preparing for the inevitable attack on London. His cautions are nearly the undoing of Shadowhunters when Mortmain's Infernal Devices attack the Council meeting.
     Tessa's origins are revealed and her new family of Shadowhunters surrounds her when the well-ordered plan of their lives falls apart. Friendships are tested, loyalties strengthened, and power struggles balanced in this final chapter of the Infernal Devices Trilogy. Young adult readers will enjoy the brightly woven characters and relish the twists and turns of Tessa's epilogue.