Archives

N for Naive: Strings Attached, by Judy Blundell (fiction) – mobsters, favors, payback

Apr16

Kit has see if she can make it in New York City on her own,
since Billy left for the Army.
She can sing, act, dance. She just has to do it.

So what if Billy’s dad wants to help her a little?
“No strings attached,” says Nate the Nose…
How much can you trust a gangster, Kit? How can you be so naive?

New York City in 1950. Recovered from World War II, all hustle and bustle and bright lights, with plenty of time for nightclubs and business deals – legitimate and otherwise. Lots of big theaters and smoky little dives like the one where Kit gets a job, where they’ll believe she’s old enough to work, not a 17-year-old running away from home.

Eventually she has to decide whether Nate’s help is worth the risks of observing which lawyer talks to which shady character at the nightclub, especially when some of them disappear. Can she risk not telling Nate when his son will come visit her? Why does she feel like the Korean warfront might be a safer place for Billy than being with his father?

Find out what Kit decides when you pick up Strings Attached at your local library or independent bookstore. (A fun note about author Judy Blundell: she’s also written Star Wars Journals and Star Wars Jedi Apprentice books under pen name Jude Watson.)
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Book info: Strings Attached / Judy Blundell. Scholastic Press, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Book Talk: This chorus line job just could be Kit’s lucky break. When Mr. Benedict offers her an apartment near the New York City club, she considers it – after all, he is her boyfriend Billy’s father…and rumored to be a gangster.

Anything’s better than staying in Providence, with her father’s drinking and her siblings trying to hide it (like triplets could ever hide anything from each other – ha!) and the scorn of Billy’s upper-class mother for the Corrigans’ genteel poverty.

Oh, how Billy argued with his father before leaving for basic training! Nate Benedict just couldn’t believe that he’d be stupid enough to join the Army during the Korean War. Now Billy returns his father’s letters unopened, and Nate wants Kit to let him know how his son is doing when he writes to her.

Nate brings Kit lovely clothes “like Billy would want for her,” and soon her upstairs neighbors think she’s a kept woman. The Greeleys were both teachers until they were fired for possible “Communist sympathies,” so they have lots of time to keep an eye on the neighborhood.

Kit often sees Nate in the nightclub audience, talking to known mobsters and crooked lawyers. When he asks her to have dinner with some of these guests, she realizes that her great apartment has a bigger price than she expected. When Billy forbids her to tell his father that he’s coming to the city, Kit knows that something is going to go wrong.

Does Billy really love her? Is his father a real gangster or just trying to make himself look good to the big city guys? How close is the Greeleys’ opinion of her to the truth of the matter?

A mystery, a love story, a growing-up tale – all piled into the hustle and bustle of 1950 New York City – with Strings Attached. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

L for lamb to the slaughter? – Grave Mercy, by Robin LaFevers (fiction)

Apr13

Handmaiden to death.
Fair assassin.
Death’s own true daughter.

At the convent of St. Mortain in old Brittany, Ismae finds her calling, her gift. She can see the Dark Lord’s mark plainly on those guilty ones she’s assigned to kill…and she can communicate with souls after death.

Her training at the convent has molded her into a subtle instrument of Death’s justice, yet she is unprepared for the intrigues of Anne’s court. Will her skills be enough to protect the young duchess from traitors?

I studied in Brittany years ago, land of ancient standing stones and long-held traditions, living down the block from Nantes’ massive cathedral where Anne must be crowned to keep Brittany independent (and just found my apartment balcony on Google Earth – wow). Folks in the countryside still identify themselves at Bretons before they say they’re French…

First in His Fair Handmaiden series, you can find this exciting tale at your local library or independent bookstore now.

Do you believe that relationships can persist despite mere distance…or death?
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Book info: Grave Mercy (His Fair Assassin, book 1) / Robin LaFevers. Houghton Mifflin, 2012. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

My Recommendation: Smuggled in boats and hidden in wagons, Ismae escapes a forced marriage to arrive at a remote convent. Here, the sisters of St. Mortain are dedicated to the Lord Death, a cadre of assassin nuns trying to keep Brittany and the old gods from being swallowed by France and its intolerant Catholic priests.

Oh, death has long whispered around her, born with long red scars claimed by the herbwitch as the mark that Ismae was fathered by the dark Lord himself. She trains with other novices in deadly arts both subtle and sudden, preparing for her first test as an assassin who can see Mortain’s dark sign on her target, a sure signal that the person’s guilt has brought Death’s final justice.

As the French regent pressures Brittany’s young ruler to marry him, Ismae is brought into Anne’s castle to carefully remove disloyal nobles who would betray the twelve-year-old duchess before her coronation. Her protector amid the royal protocols and complex alliances is Duval, Anne’s older half-brother, born to a woman not their father’s wife. Information travels back and forth to the convent by raven, but can hardly convey the wisps of rumors sliding along the castle corridors.

When the Reverend Mother orders Ismae to kill Duval, she searches for Lord Death’s mark to show her the method of assassination, but finds none. How can this be? Every other victim has displayed a clear mark. Is someone intercepting the secret messages? Is there a traitor at the convent? Are her growing feelings for Duval clouding her most important gifts? Could Duval truly wish harm to the royal sister whom he’s sworn to protect?

This first book in His Fair Assassin series takes readers into the complex world of duchies and alliances, to the days when Brittany’s old gods still wandered its woodlands and rocky coasts. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

F for False Prince, by Jennifer A. Nielsen (fiction) – imposters, treason, survival

Apr6
Freed from the bleak orphanage,
Acquired for a secret project,
Led into treason by a high-ranking nobleman,
Surviving each challenge,
Endgame in sight – is it worth the lies?

Buffeted by neighboring countries that want to devour its outlying provinces, lacking full leadership since the sudden deaths of the entire royal family, the country of Carthya may soon explode into civil war.

Of course, the ruling council must select a king next month to unify the country.
Of course, all wish that Prince Jaron hadn’t been lost at sea, killed by pirates just before his parents and brother died.
Of course, one treacherous nobleman will risk treason to make Prince Jaron appear at the selection ceremony – even if he has to create the prince himself.

Four orphan teen boys have the chance to escape poverty – if they’re willing to lie for the rest of their lives. And since only one prince is needed, three of those lives will be very short indeed.

You’ve got to read this first book of The Ascendance Trilogy for yourself to experience all its twists and turns…and to see who appears before the ruling committee claiming to be Prince Jaron.
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(p.s. Giveaway for ARC of Cat Girl’s Day Off continues here through 11:59 p.m. Monday, April 9, 2012.)

Book info: The False Prince (The Ascendance Trilogy #1) / Jennifer A. Nielsen. Scholastic Press, 2012. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer]  Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

My Recommendation: Sage stole to survive – orphans in Carthya often did. But being bought so he could imitate a missing prince? That was something new.

Oh, he wasn’t the only one acquired for Bevis Conner’s project. The nobleman had gathered up four orphaned young men, each with some of the lost prince’s characteristics. And after Conner was through with them, one would be so much like Prince Jaron that he could fool the ruling council and become king, naming Conner as his chief advisor, of course. As to the fate of the other three boys, well…

It was treason, pretending to be royal, especially in these dark days after the deaths of the king, queen, and crown prince from a sudden illness. If Prince Jaron hadn’t been captured by pirates a few years earlier, the younger son would have become king immediately. With Carthya’s nobles becoming restless and outside enemies threatening, the council will soon have to name a new king to lead the country – unless Jaron appears in time to claim his throne.

At his remote estate, Conner trains each boy in the prince’s traits that each lacks: Sage must learn to read well, Tobias to swordfight, Roden to master Carthya’s history. All must practice court manners and dancing, know the royal lineage forward and backward, and watch each other like hawks, since only one will be allowed out of this mansion alive.

Can Conner really transform these orphan boys into princely youths? Can the winner truly fool the ruling council? Can the losers find a way to save their lives?

With more twists and turns than the Carthyan trade road, this first book of a new trilogy takes readers into a far-distant land and into the mind of Sage as he tries to survive Conner’s lessons long enough to become The False Prince. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

E for Elephant in the Garden, by Michael Morpurgo (fiction) – survival, love & an elephant inWorld War II

Apr5

War means casualties and refugees.
Family ties are forged in trying times.
Marlene is a refugee, a member of the family, an elephant.

The new nursing home patient is ranting about her missing photo book, but the staff has never seen it. Is old Lizzie just imagining things? Luckily, nine-year-old Karl doesn’t care what the grownups say and visits her room to learn that her little brother was named Karl, too! And the stories that she tells about Karl’s magic tricks and her mother being a zookeeper are so real. Was the grieving young elephant who came to live with her family real, too?

This book tells parallel stories, with the present Lizzie’s tale in one typeface and young Elizabeth’s in another. Morpurgo says this book was inspired by the news story of the Belfast zookeeper who kept a young elephant at her home during threats of WWII bombings of the Irish city, as well as the heroic efforts of refugees helping and protecting children in many situations.

Find this unique book soon at your local library or independent bookstore so you can meet Elizabeth, Marlene, and their family on the cold and difficult journey toward safety.
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(p.s. Giveaway for ARC of Cat Girl’s Day Off continues here through 11:59 p.m. Monday, April 9, 2012.)

Book info: An Elephant in the Garden / Michael Morpurgo. Fiewel and Friends, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

My Recommendation: Bombs falling through the winter night, thousands of people – and one elephant – flee Dresden as it burns. As the old lady talks in the nursing home, Karl and his mother at first wonder how much of the story is true, then marvel that anyone survived it.

Elizabeth grew up in Dresden, with her younger brother Karli who loved doing magic tricks, their mother who loved peace, and their father who loved his family more than anything. But the war changed everything, taking away their father, making their mother work to feed the family. Mutti became a zookeeper, caring for the animals, telling Elizabeth and Karli about their antics and the sadness of Marlene, the young elephant whose mother had suddenly died.

When it becomes clear that Germany is losing the war, the zoo director reluctantly decides that the animals must be destroyed so they can’t run wild through Dresden when bomb attacks open their cages. How could Mutti let Marlene be killed? She brought the elephant home to their garden where Karli fed her and comforted her, inside its tall brick walls.

But soon the Allied bombers came, and the city became an inferno. Mutti led them away from the flames, through the snow, toward her brother’s farm in the country. A noise in the barn where Marlene sleeps alerts the family to an intruder – an enemy soldier!

Can they trust this young Canadian man? How can they feed Marlene in the winter forest? How will they get to safety with Allied troops approaching and German forces retreating? (and is Ms. Lizzie’s story really true?)

As gently as the young elephant finds her way across the snowy hills with her adoptive family, this story of survival and love quietly flows from Lizzie’s memories into the lives of Karl and his mother in the present. Based on true history of the Belfast Zoo’s elephant during World War II. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

B is for Battle Fatigue, by Mark Kurlansky (fiction) – Vietnam War battles come home

Apr2

Little-boy games turn into young men’s worries.
How can war injure someone without leaving a scratch or bruise?
Can history be right and current events still be terribly wrong?

Joel’s childhood memories – playing soldiers with his pals, cheering for the Brooklyn Dodgers to finally win before they move to LA, those blue numbers tattooed on the bakery lady’s wrist – form the backdrop to his anguished dilemma as his draft number comes up in the early days of the Vietnam War.

How can he reconcile becoming a Conscientious Objector with the sacrifices that his father and uncle made in World War II? How can he live with himself if he goes to fight a war that he deeply believes is wrong?

Noted nonfiction author and researcher Mark Kurlansky takes readers on a young man’s emotional journey in a work of fiction that rings truer than many biographies.
Look for Battle Fatigue at your local library or independent bookseller to discover where Joel lands.
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Book info: Battle Fatigue / Mark Kurlansky. Walker Books for Young Readers, 2011. [author’s website] [author interview video] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Recommendation: Joel knows he’ll grow up and go to war to keep America free, like his dad and uncle did. But when a teen neighbor returns from Vietnam physically unharmed and mentally shattered, he begins to question whether every war is right.

Born on the 7th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, grandson of European refugees, Joel Bloom plays kids’ games with his pals and the souvenirs that their dads brought back from WWII. During the Cuban Missile Crisis, he and his junior high classmates practice diving under their desks for A-bomb drills (sometimes a chance to hold hands with sweet Kathy). He tries to teach a German exchange student how to act more American, but local memories of relatives lost in the Holocaust prove stronger than Karl’s willingness to be shunned. How odd that Karl’s only friend in Haley is the first Jew he’s ever met.

In November 1963, Joel turns to his diary as he tries to make sense of JFK’s assassination. High school means varsity baseball, a newfound love of chemistry, and afterschool fights that someone else starts; even his little brother gets challenged to fights because Joel never loses. Everything changes when President Johnson announces on TV that the USA is now fighting in Southeast Asia… and Joel realizes that he and his pals will fight and die in this war.

Dickie from next door enlists in the Marines and leaves for the war proud and tall, returning broken and haunted. College will keep Joel from being sent to Vietnam for four years… but will it be long enough? He doesn’t want to go – not because he’s afraid, but because it’s not right. Will he become a Conscientious Objector or enlist anyway or head to Canada? Big questions from a troubled time in our nation’s history and one young man’s attempt to answer them for himself. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Way of the Warrior, by Chris Bradford (book review) – feudal Japan, shipwreck, assassins

Mar28

book cover of Way of the Warrior by Chris BradfordLured into a trap…
all the gaijin must die…
but the youngest crewmember escapes – into a greater peril.

Jack knows that sea voyaging is dangerous, but his father is a skillful English pilot, with his handwritten navigational notes. But as they spot the shoreline of “the Japans” in 1611, their ship is attacked and sunk by ninja pirates, intent on keeping foreigners out of their country.

Only being found by an honorable samurai warrior saves Jack from immediate death.
Only Masamoto’s power within the empire allows the blond-haired teen to accompany him to train with other young men and women in the most-demanding of martial arts.

Only Jack’s determination to survive and someday return to England keeps him going through the mental challenges of fitting into Japanese society and the physical challenges of samurai school. Can blue-eyed Jack truly become an English samurai warrior in feudal Japan?

And DragonEye the one-eyed ninja assassin waits… waits for his chance to steal the navigation charts and to kill Jack. This is the first book in Bradford’s “Young Samurai” series – your chance to travel back into a closed society and heart-pounding adventure on a World Wednesday.
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Book info: The Way of the Warrior (Young Samurai #1) / Chris Bradford. Disney Hyperion, 2009 [author’s website] [book series website] [book trailer] Review copy and cover art courtesy of the publisher.

My Book Talk: Stormdriven to the rocky shores of 1612 Japan, Jack sees his father and shipmates killed by ninja pirates. Rescued from the wreckage by a samurai’s men, the young blond teen is the first Englishman ever to visit Japan, bringing with him only his father’s secret sea navigation charts.

Jack is adopted into the family of samurai Masamoto who has mourned for 2 years since his elder son was assassinated by “DragonEye,” the same green-eyed ninja who killed Jack’s father. At age 12, Jack must quickly learn how to handle a wooden practice sword and chopsticks, how to speak Japanese and follow the many rules of this polite society, how to “fall seven times and rise up eight.” Akiko, daughter of a fallen samurai, helps Jack learn these many lessons as they prepare to enter the samurai academy in Kyoto.

Will the younger Masamoto son accept this “gaijin” foreigner as a foster brother or keep fighting against him? Will Jack succeed at the samurai academy as he seeks to learn the Way of the Warrior? When DragonEye threatens the capital city, can Jack and the other young samurai stop him? And will Jack ever get home to England again?

This exciting first book in the Young Samurai series includes a glossary and pronunciation guide for the Japanese words essential to the story. Ikinasai! Let’s begin! (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Gate of Days (fiction) – time travel, betrayal, mystery

Mar26

A photo of “Dracula’s dungeon” in an old book,
centuries-old graffiti scratched on the filthy stone walls,
“HELP ME SAM”

It’s a mysterious Monday, as Sam once again hurtles back through time, trying to land in the right place in the right era so he can rescue his dad from Vlad Tepes in the 15th century. No doubt that their enemy, the Archos man, stranded Dad there by taking the coin that would unlock the time-travel statue… no doubt that he would kill Sam and his cousin Lucy if they interfered in his plans to steal masterpieces and riches throughout the centuries at his leisure.

The Oracle of Delphi in ancient Greece, gangsters in Chicago during Capone’s heyday, Pompeii as Vesuvius rumbles to life – will Sam ever be able to control where and when the statues take him in time? Find out in book three, The Circle of Gold – after you read book one, The Book of Time (review), to get all the background first, of course.

Look for the whole Book of Time series at your local library or independent bookstore, as all 3 volumes are now available in hardcover and paperback.
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Book info: The Gate of Days / Guillaume Prevost; translated by William Rodarmor. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2008. (Book of Time trilogy #2). [author interview] [publisher site]

My Recommendation: Sam knows where his father is imprisoned – Vlad Dracul’s dungeon, in 1462! Now, he must get back through time using the stone statues to save him. But first he has to locate the 7 special coins that will open the complete time loop, without alerting the villain who stranded his father in the past.

Just weeks ago, Sam would have said that his dad was still mourning Mom’s sudden death in a car crash, not chasing a secret through time using the mysterious stone statue in his bookstore’s cellar. And Sam wouldn’t have risked telling his cousin Lucy about time travel’s possibilities if he hadn’t needed her help to keep him anchored to the present while he searched for Dad.

If he can just rescue Dad and get back in time so that his grandparents don’t worry about him being gone…
If he can elude the Archos man who is one step behind him, intent on stopping Sam, permanently if possible…
If he and Lucy can survive the eruption of Vesuvius and Chicago mobsters…
Could Sam possibly open the Gate of Days wide enough to stop Mom’s car from crashing on that terrible day?

The adventures begun in The Book of Time (book 1) reach their startling climax in The Circle of Gold (book 3), with Rodarmor skillfully translating all three thrilling books of the Prevost trilogy. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Wizard of Dark Street (fiction) – magic, crime, beauty creams

Mar16

Pendulum House, with its namesake device swooshing through the parlor in great arcs.
A dragonbone desk and enchanted daggers.
The Gates of Iron, opening into New York City every midnight for exactly 60 seconds.

Welcome to Dark Street, last of the 13 great roads connecting the worlds of humans and Faerie, in 1877 as yet another crime investigation is bungled by Inspector White. In just weeks, Oona Crate will be considered old enough to select her own life path, and she knows that she must become a true detective, ignoring the magical blood that flows through her.

Stereotypes for wizards and witches go by the wayside on Dark Street, as Oona must deal with slippery memories, the Goblin Tower prison, suppliers of contraband, and a most puzzling riddle.

The author has scripted, scored, and recorded a musical introduction to Oona’s world that you won’t want to miss in a video that charmingly showcases his composing and singing skills.

Look for The Wizard of Dark Street at your local library or independent bookstore.
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Book info: The Wizard of Dark Street / Shawn Thomas Odyssey. Egmont USA, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

My Recommendation: Oona wants to be a detective, not a wizard. Although she is the first natural-born magician in 200 years, she ought to be allowed to cultivate her other talents – as long as she doesn’t get permanently killed in the process.

As Wizard’s apprentice, Oona was learning spells needed to defend humankind if evil forces from Faerie realms attacked; even in the modern world of 1877, the Wizard must be ready. Dark Street lies in the heart of New York City, but ordinary humans rarely find this last corridor between the worlds of Man and Faerie.

But the Wizard’s disappearance, an increase in crimes along Dark Street, and an incompetent police inspector lead her to investigate many things – Why do only young witch girls venture out of Witch Hill? Who has stolen all of Madame Iree’s dresses? Is the blind actor a victim or a criminal?

A new apprentice must be selected since Oona wants to step away from that role, but which candidate will be chosen – witch girl, human young man, snooty Miss Iree, the clever brother? Something is wrong about all this…

Luckily, Oona has enchanted raven Deacon to tutor her in further magic and her own natural curiosity to lead her in detection. Are the criminals after something bigger than just designer dresses? Were her parents really killed by magic instead of an accident?

This first Oona Crate mystery places readers solidly into its 1877 setting and a very magical place indeed. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Becoming Marie Antoinette (fiction) – alliances, intrigue, braces

Mar14

Everyone knows about Marie Antoinette and how her life ended at the guillotine…
On a World Wednesday, we look at what was it like before she became Queen of France.

This novel begins when she was just a little girl in Vienna, one of Empress Maria Theresa’s many daughters, all destined for marriage into political alliances to benefit Austria.

As dentists put gold braces on her teeth and tutors smoothed her accent, Maria Antonia was completely refashioned into a princess in the French style, one whom the teenage Dauphin would desire as his wife.

The young strawberry-blond Dauphine despaired over many things in the unfamiliar French court, especially that her marriage to Louis-Auguste was not consummated for seven years – a male heir to the throne must be produced!

And author Juliet Grey (pseudonym of nonfiction author Leslie Carroll) reminds us that, as queen, Marie-Antoinette never said “Let them eat cake!” First book in a trilogy, to be followed by Days of Splendor, Days of Sorrow in 2012.
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Book info: Becoming Marie Antoinette / Juliet Grey. Ballantine Books, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

My Recommendation: As younger daughter of the Empress, Maria Antonia knows her life path already – to be married into a political alliance someday. But as a young girl, she would rather pick wildflowers than practice foreign languages, would rather chase butterflies than learn court etiquette. To her, the French ambassador’s visit to Austria in 1766 was a surprise; his announcement that she was now betrothed to the King’s grandson was a shock! Someday, the Dauphin would become King of France – someday, this shy 10-year-old girl would reign beside him as Queen Marie Antoinette.

However, there was much to be done in the years before their wedding. Antonia’s healthy complexion had to become pale in the French manner, her crooked teeth straightened (yes, she truly wore golden braces, agonizingly painful in their beauty), her accent polished, even her hairline had to recover from all those tight-pulled ponytails of childhood.

In the meantime, smallpox claimed members of the Austrian court and threatened the Empress, another sister was promised in marriage to the far-off King of Sicily, and Antonia finally receives a portrait of the Dauphin, so handsome and serious, waiting for her at Versailles.

At the grand ceremony on the French-Austrian border, a proxy stands in for Louis Auguste who must remain with his grandfather the King of France as they are declared married and numerous treaties are signed. Maria Antonia leaves behind her childhood as she crosses the river, becoming Marie-Antoinette, a young teenager without allies in a foreign court full of intrigue.

Written as a diary, Antonia’s observations about the differences between life with her 15 brothers and sisters in Austria and the scandalous behavior of French courtiers trying to move up the social ladder at Versailles are fascinating. First in a trilogy, Becoming Marie Antoinette ends just as the Dauphin becomes King of France. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

The Book of Time (fiction) – time travel, conspiracy, danger

Feb29

Time traveling… can anyone who finds the stone statue do it?
Will any coin in any sun-ray work?
Which way – and when – has Sam’s father gone?

Happy Leap Day as we leap through time and history with Sam on this World Wednesday.

Worrying about an upcoming judo tournament and the neighborhood bully should be enough for Sam to cope with in his small Canadian hometown. But his father has slipped into deep depression following the car wreck that killed Sam’s mom and has somehow vanished from his locked-tight bookshop!

Sam has no time to warn his cousin Lucy that he’s found a clue to his father’s trail and no way to know that it will send him hurtling through time!

First in a trilogy with many twists and turns, as Sam finds himself in places historic and obscure during his attempts to control his travels through time and find his father.
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Book info: The Book of Time / Guillaume Prevost, translated by William Rodarmor. (Book of Time trilogy #1). Arthur A. Levine Books, 2007 [author interview] [publisher site]

My Recommendation: Sam’s dad became more and more distracted after Mom’s death, but now he’s disappeared entirely! Searching for clues in Dad’s antique bookshop in Sainte-Mary, Sam uncovers a secret room in the basement and an ancient stone statue.

Hmm… a stone carved with slots in each sun-ray and a slot-sized old coin nearby. Just put that coin in that slot, and – whoosh – Sam is transported from the basement! But where?

The Canadian teen finds himself at the monastery of Iona in medieval Ireland! The monks are preparing for an attack by marauders intent on stealing their treasures. Somehow Sam can understand their ancient Celtic dialect, but will he be able to save their priceless books and relics?

Fitting another coin into the stone statue where he landed takes Sam to the French battlefields of World War I, then into an Egyptian pyramid during its construction! Meeting Ahmosis, son of Setni, gives him hope of returning home, as the young man tells Sam that his father was also a time-traveler and had discovered some rules about the way that the stone statues and coins work.

But can Setni’s advice help Sam find his father, whenever or wherever he is? What about getting home to his grandparents and cousin? Just how many more stone statues are scattered around the world, anyway?

Sam’s adventures continue in The Gate of Days (book 2) and The Circle of Gold (book 3), with Rodarmor skillfully translating all three thrilling books of the Prevost trilogy. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.