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Peter & Max (fiction), by Bill Willingham – Fables, love & revenge

Mar19
Peter and Bo live up on The Farm,
keeping to themselves after Bo’s crippling accident,
near the moon-jumping cow and that talkative puss.

Oh yes, storybook folk and creatures live in our boring mundane world, leaving behind the enemies and evils that attacked them in their magical homeworlds. But you won’t find Fabletown on any maps of New York City and no country road will let you drive to The Farm upstate where all the magical animals stay. None of the Fables want to draw the attention of the mundy populace – laying low is their key to staying alive.

But here comes Peter’s brother Max, asking for admittance to Fabletown after all these years of evil power and magical domination over Hamelin, outside the mysterious Black Forest.

He wants revenge, he wants Bo Peep, he wants to take over a new kingdom.

Even if you haven’t read the Fables graphic novels, you’ll enjoy the twists and turns of familiar Fables with Willingham’s skillful backstory additions. And Fables fans will delight in this long-form narration which fills in some storyline gaps while staying ever-true to the series.

p.s. remember that the Fables series started publication over 10 years ago, well before TV shows like “Once Upon a Time” – see this interesting article by Bill Willingham.
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Book info: Peter & Max (a Fables novel) / Bill Willingham; illustrations by Steve Leialoha. Vertigo/DC Comics, 2009. [author’s website] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Recommendation: Left for dead in the Black Forest, Peter and Max are separated from their minstrel family and must find their way through its terrors alone. Sinister forces prey upon the Piper brothers’ minds, twisting one toward wrathful revenge while the other draws closer to the magical music of the flute given to him by their father.

Making such otherworldly music exacts its price, and Peter’s mouth collects many small cuts and scars as he plays. Max finds an instrument of his own, invoking its darker powers to get back at Peter and anyone who may have helped him escape the Black Forest.

Yes, this is the tale of Peter Piper, whose playing gladdened the heart, and of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, who lured away all that town’s children. So long have their stories been told that the people are now Fables themselves, including Peter’s childhood friend and love of his life, Bo Peep.

Replaying the same dark vengeance wearies even Fables, so Peter and Bo decide to leave their storybook land and retire to an obscure corner of the human world. Such an unmagical place shouldn’t attract the dangerous interest of the dark forces who pursue Fables in their enchanted homelands – but sometimes evil slips through Fabletown’s watch spells and guards.

Max has come into the human world, and he plans to duel Peter to ultimate death, taking Bo Peep as his prize. Can Peter win this fight without exposing Fabletown to the humans?

Peter & Max is the first novel based on the long-running Fables graphic novel series, and author Bill Willingham has called on series cartoonist Steve Leialoha to provide illustrations for this compelling story. Whether you’re a longtime fan of the series or are visiting Fabletown for the first time, you’ll enjoy meeting familiar storybook characters in most unfamiliar circumstances. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

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.

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.

The Thief Queen’s Daughter, by Elizabeth Haydon (book review) – secrets, memories for sale

Feb20

book cover of Thief Queen's Daughter by Elizabeth HaydonFired on his first day as King Vandemere’s Royal Reporter?
Ven must make his friends believe that as he embarks on a dangerous undercover assignment at the King’s behest.

Willingly visiting the Gated City rather disreputable weekly Market? Alone?
Of course, they insist on going with him to the Outer Market, where one can buy pleasant dreams or have one’s childhood memories stolen.

If they aren’t out of the Raven Guild’s market by last bell, they’ll be trapped for a week in hostile territory where their coin won’t buy food and their heads might not stay attached for long…

Haydon has ‘excavated’ Ven’s fascinating journals from the long-ago time when humans were not the only intelligent race on the earth, when magic and dragons were commonplace, when Nainfolk like Ven lived to be 200 years old. It’s great to see this series available in paperback now.

Having a brave Nain as a sworn friend-for-life might lead you into all sorts of adventures.
What are your experiences with friends who stuck with you through thick and thin?
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Book info: The Thief Queen’s Daughter (The Lost Journals of Ven Polypheme, book 2) / Elizabeth Haydon; illustrated by Jason Chen. Starscape, 2007 (hardback), 2008 (paperback). [publisher site] [book trailer] Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

My Book Talk: When the King sends Ven searching for the origins of a mysterious artifact, he warns the young Nain that entering the Gated City on this secret mission might be the last thing he ever does. Of course, that’s the one place where unique items are bought and sold (and stolen) – from merchandise and promises to dreams, memories, or even childhood!

Curiosity and courage are equally strong in Ven, who is just beginning to grow his beard at age 50 (a young teenager in human terms), thirteenth child of the famous shipbuilding Polypheme family. He has to make his friends in the Boys’ Lodge believe that the King has fired him (his first day on the job as Royal Reporter, no less) so that they won’t be in danger as the hunt for information takes them to strange places.

A guard dog with an attitude in the armorer’s shop, warnings to leave the Gated City’s Outer Market before last bell or be locked in for a week, spying birds who report to enemies and allies – Ven and his friends have perils to avoid and wonders to explore as he seeks the artifact’s history. The Raven’s Guild doesn’t take kindly to strangers being inside the Gated City walls after Market Day, and the Thief Queen rules the Raven’s Guild with an iron hand.

When Saeli disappears near last bell time, they fear she’s been kidnapped and go looking for her. Daring to use the back alleys and rooftop ropewalks, Ven and friends find their way to the Inner Market gate, just as the last bell sounds.

Are the archers on the Gated City walls keeping the King’s citizens out after Market Day is over or making the Raven’s Guild and company stay inside? Why does Ida say she knows the Thief Queen? (Ida tells such tall tales) Will Ven live long enough to write this adventure in his journal or grow another hair in his beard?

Ven’s “rediscovered” journals have been carefully compiled by author Elizabeth Haydon, who enlisted Jason Chan’s help in restoring the maps and illustrations that our clever and oh-so curious young Nain included. Enjoy book 1, The Floating Island, first to learn how Ven wound up so far away from his family’s shipbuilding yard, then watch for book 3, The Dragon’s Lair. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

The Apothecary, by Maile Meloy (book review) – magic potions, Cold War spies

Feb8

book cover of The Apothecary by Maile Meloy published by GP Putnam SonsMoving is often difficult,
but having to leave your home because your own government is spying on you?

After World War II, the US government did not take the threat of Communism lightly, as the Cold War kept American and Soviet nuclear missiles always at the ready. So influential people who might be liberals or Communist sympathizers were watched, regardless of their fame. People in the entertainment industry with humanitarian ideals could find themselves on the Hollywood Blacklist and never allowed to work in movies again.

It’s no wonder that Janie’s parents decided they’d rather be in England than be forced to testify against their friends before the House Committee on UnAmerican Activities.

Against the threat of open nuclear warfare, what good is an old book of spells and potions? It’s the only hope that Benjamin and Janie have as they race to save the world.
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Book info: The Apothecary / Maile Meloy; illustrated by Ian Schoenherr. G.P.Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers, 2011. [author’s website] [illustrator’s blog] [publisher site] [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Recommendation: Janie wasn’t happy about moving from Hollywood to England in the middle of 9th grade, but her family was being spied on – by US agents! Her parents were just movie script writers, believing that more people should have a chance at a better life, now that they all survived World War II.

As the Cold War deepened in 1952, anyone thought to have Communist ideas was suspect and could be “blacklisted” and kept from working, especially in the entertainment industry. So it’s off to London to work on a BBC television series under assumed names, away from orange trees and sunny beaches to gloomy skies and war-scarred city buildings.

Her new school is awful – uniforms and Latin and medieval history. Everyone huddles up with their friends except Benjamin, who lives with his father at the apothecary shop near her apartment and Sergei, whose father works at the Soviet Embassy.

When Benjamin’s father receives a note that a Chinese chemist has been captured, he scarcely has time to hide Benjamin and Janie and an old book in a secret room before the shop is invaded and he is kidnapped! Notes in the Pharmacopoeia lead them to a special herbal garden, to an old man who can read its Latin and Greek instructions for strange elixirs and warnings about risky transformations, like the tincture that allows a human to change into a bird and back again.

But the teens can’t stay in the garden – whoever took Benjamin’s father wants the Pharmacopoeia and won’t rest until they have it. On the run, arrested and questioned, Janie and Benjamin must escape again and again. Who can they trust? Their rich schoolmate Sarah? Mr. Danby, their Latin teacher and former prisoner-of-war? Sergei and his father?

Is it a foreign government that wants the Pharmacopoeia’s secrets? Someone wanting wealth or immortality or power? It will take all of Janie and Benjamin’s bravery and cleverness to keep this special knowledge out of the wrong hands. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Between Sea and Sky, by Jaclyn Dolamore (fiction) – mermaids, flying folk, love and loss

Jan30

The lure of the forbidden…
The temptation to go just a step further from home…
The realization that you might not ever be able to go back…

Esmerine’s world encompasses not only the classic attraction of mermaids and humans for one another, but also the tensions between the land-dwellers and the flying Fandarsee. Reveling in the ‘life of the mind’ and deeply intelligent discussion, these flying folk also are the messenger corps of this wide place, able to travel faster and farther than even the nobility’s best horses.

Perhaps the memory of their childhood friendship will be enough to convince Alan to defy his overbearing father’s demands long enough to help Esmerine find her sister. Or maybe the elder Fandarsee’s deep loathing of merfolk will hinder their search until it’s too late for Dosia.

You’ll have to read Between the Sea and Sky to find out for yourself. Check with your local library or independent bookstore for this original and complex tale of the peoples of land, sea, and sky.
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Book info: Between the Sea and Sky / Jaclyn Dolamore. Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site]

My Recommendation: At last, Esmerine has earned her siren’s golden belt, imbued it with magic so she can defend the mermaid village and the sea. She’s excited to join her older sister Dosia as a siren; they’ve always enjoyed that junction of air and ocean, not to mention their glimpses of land-dwellers in boats and on shore.

Merfolk sometimes tease Esmerine about her childhood friendship with that flying boy who brought books to share with her on a tiny island. Paper never lasts under the sea, so she has only memories of the stories she and Alander read together. Perhaps she’ll see other flying folk soon, and one of those messengers can take her greetings to him.

The young sirens patrol near the surface, and if necessary use the power of their alluring songs to stop greedy humans from overfishing or exploring too close to the merfolk. Sometimes they must resort to overturning a boat or letting the ocean claim intruders from the surface. Always, always, always, the sirens have been warned against speaking to human men, for the pull felt between mermaids and men is strong and subtle.

When Dosia doesn’t return from a secret rendezvous with a young man on land, Esmerine knows that she must go ashore, transform her beautiful tail to awkward legs, put on human clothes, endure the fiery pains of each footstep, and find her sister before it’s too late – and Dosia is doomed to have land-legs forever.

At the seaport, she learns that her friend Alander now works at a bookshop – maybe he can check with the flying messengers to help Esmerine find Dosia. Grown up, he’s known as Alan now; the Fandarsee man discovers that Lord Carlo had fallen in love with Dosia and has taken her by carriage to his mountain castle to be married there.

How can Esmerine travel all the way from the shore to the mountains? Will it be too late to help Dosia return to the sea? And why does even arguing about little things with Alan feel better than Esmerine’s patrols with the sirens?

In this richly imagined world where humans, merfolk, and Fandarsee must find ways to co-exist, young Esmerine must discover where her heart can truly live. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Book Award List Time! (reflective)

Jan26

It’s nice when someone validates your choices and opinions, isn’t it? And when the someones are the noteworthy folks on the American Library Association’s many book awards committees, then it’s even nicer.

Several BooksYALove selections were tabbed on the 2012 award lists, which looked at books published in 2011 and late 2010. And, yes, some are now on bestseller lists, but were posted here well before sales popularity moved them there. You should be able to find them all at your local library or independent bookstore, but you may encounter a waiting list!

Beat the rush on future award books by reading them whenever something appealing to you is introduced on BooksYALove – no spoilers, I promise!

As I read YA books that deal with real-life issues during the “YA Saves Reading Challenge” hosted by TheBusyBibliophile blog, plus all the wonderful science fiction, fantasy, and historical fiction on the publishing horizon, I’m sure to find plenty of great young adult books beyond the bestsellers which will be included in future award lists – and you could see them here first!
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2012 Newbery Medal – Honor Book
Breaking Stalin’s Nose, written and illustrated by Eugene Yelchin – my recommendation

2012 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults – “Forbidden Romance” category
I Love Him to Pieces (My Boyfriend is a Monster #1) / by Evonne Tsang; art by Janina Gorrissen – my recommendation

YALSA 2012 Best Fiction for Young Adults
What Happened to Goodbye, by Sarah Dessen – my recommendation

Payback Time, by Carl Deuker – my recommendation

Ten Miles Past Normal, by Frances O’Roark Dowell – my recommendation

Icefall, by Matthew J. Kirby – my recommendation

Huntress, by Malinda Lo – my recommendation

Legend, by Marie Lu – my recommendation

Karma: a novel in verse, by Cathy Ostlere – my recommendation

This Thing Called the Future, by J.L. Powers – my recommendation

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs – my recommendation

Now is the Time for Running, by Michael Williams – my recommendation
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(thumbs up image courtesy of Mohamed Ibrahim via http://www.clker.com/clipart-29226.html)

Eona (fiction)

Jan23

Dragons malicious,
dragons benign,
dragons untamed…
Are there any dragons who serve humankind?

As the Chinese New Year begins – the Year of the Dragon – return to that ancient land much like China, to a place where the Dragoneyes commune with the dragons of the zodiac compass points to keep the land and its people safe from violent weather and terrifying storms.

Yet one Dragoneye seizes his dragon’s power for personal gain instead of serving the Emperor and his people. As the only female Dragoneye in the realm, Eona must decide where she stands, as well.

If you haven’t read Eon yet, stop here! It’s impossible to introduce the plot of Eona without giving away some key surprises of the first book (reviewed here). Eona will be issued in paperback in April 2012.
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Book info: Eona / Alison Goodman. Viking, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

My Recommendation: Only two Dragons remain in their celestial realms. Only two Dragoneyes to channel those immense powers to protect the land. Only one Dragoneye loyal to the Emperor. Now is war.

Eona dreamed that she could become a Dragoneye, never imagining that one of the 12 mighty Dragons was female – the long-absent Mirror Dragon. Few in the Imperial Court imagined that Lord Ido, the Rat Dragoneye, would help Sethon challenge the Emperor’s power; no one thought he would call on the darkest powers to slaughter 10 Dragoneyes and doom their Dragons to oblivion. Eona’s healing powers are being swept away as the ten masterless Dragons surge through the celestial passageways whenever she calls on the Mirror Dragon for help.

Without all the Dragons and their Dragoneyes to protect the Empire, its people are slammed with typhoons and earthquakes. Lord Ido and his assistant are using the stolen black folio to unleash its horrors on the new-crowned Emperor and his troops. Eona can taste the folio’s bitter magic, feel Ido use it to build Sethon’s mind-controlled army, sense the Rat Dragon’s will being twisted to evil purposes.

When young Emperor Kygo names Eona as his chief advisor, the few remaining palace nobles object. But the Mirror Dragon’s might and Lord Ido’s approaching army silence their protests. Eona searches for answers in the white folio, and her friends join her in spying missions and dangerous secret journeys. Why the Dragons ever consented to help humankind in the first place is still a mystery to her.

Can the Mirror Dragon overcome the black magic fueling the Rat Dragon’s attacks in the air? Can Eona’s friends and allies survive the battles on land? Can the land itself hold together as the darkest of evil forces strive to shake it to rubble and ash?

Eona’s 656 action-packed pages conclude the tale begun in Eon: Dragoneye Reborn in this far-distant place reminiscent of ancient China. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Huntress (fiction)

Jan9

Years of rain,
Crops rotting overnight,
Monsters infiltrating villages near the Great Wood,
a sudden summons from the Fairy Queen to her hidden city.

The most talented sage-in-training for generations, Taisin has seen a vision with Kaede accompanying her on this quest, and the oracle stones have confirmed it. Kaede is an able enough scholar, but her years at the academy have merely proved that she has no ability as a sage, despite her noble father’s hopes. He’d rather solidify a political alliance using her as a marriage pawn, but the King has faith in the oracles and in Taisin’s vision – the two young women will indeed answer the Fairy Queen’s call, along with Prince Con and his best warriors.

Whether you’re saving Malinda Lo’s Ash until you finish reading this prequel or you’re returning to the sea islands and forests of ancient Cathair, you’ll be transported to a far place and a far time as you anxiously accompany Kaede and Taisin on their journey, hoping for their political success and future happiness together.

Find Huntress today at your local library or independent bookseller, and beware the monsters of the Great Wood.
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Book info: Huntress / Malinda Lo. Little Brown, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

My Recommendation: No sunshine, no crops, no hope for their country unless two teens can learn what the Fairy Queen knows about the new monsters attacking under the never-ending clouds. From the sanctuary of their Academy, 17-year-old Kaede and Taisin must travel far – a daughter of the hunt and a sage just coming into her immense psychic powers against threats from… where?

Kaede thought that this quest would be much better than her noble father’s plan to marry her off as a political move, but as their small group encounters human babies born with writhing monster souls and villages scoured clean by ravening creatures of the fog, she’s not so sure. Is it coincidence that the Fairy Queen’s invitation came to the King’s court at this time of great troubles, when only Prince Con could be spared for the journey?

Traveling further into the Wood, whispering winds taunt with empty promises and Xi ghosts try to lure them off the trail. Taisin worries that her spell-knowledge is not enough to protect them. Warrior Shae opines that worry is useless; only action will see them through. Ceaseless rain leaches color from the world and hope from their spirits. The only warm spark in this dismal place is the growing attraction between Kaede and Taisin.

As they near the Fairy Queen’s city, Taisin’s sleeping- self travels to distant icy halls, the Xi ghosts circle closer, and the Huntsman of legend appears with a message. Can they indeed ford that vast river separating Fairy lands from those of humans? Will the Queen know why Cathair’s weather remains always winter? Can she help them bring springtime back to their world?

This evocative prequel to Ash takes readers into a world of menacing shadows trying to overrun a land like ancient China, where much depends on the hearts of two girls who should still be studying in school and falling in love instead of having to fight monsters in order to save their people. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Hannah’s Winter, by Kierin Meehan (fiction) – Japanese ghosts, ancient puzzle mysteries

Dec7
book cover of Hannah's Winter by Kierin Meehan published by Kane MillerWinter in Japan.
Hot Australia far away.
Ghosts throwing donuts?

A mystery in the snow-shrouded town of Kanazawa is not what Hannah expected when she came to Japan. High school for her, horticultural field study for her mum, and then a ghost who tosses donuts and writes on Hannah’s mirror with sunscreen??

The town’s winter festivals and historic sites draw Hannah and her new Japanese friends Miki and Hiro further and further into a ancient mystery.

Dire visions foretold by three old women and dragons hidden in plain sight – could they be relevant to the task that “the ocean boy” begs them to accomplish? Dive into the puzzles of Hannah’s winter in Japan at your local library or independent bookstore.
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Book info: Hannah’s Winter / Kierin Meehan. Kane Miller, 2009. [author’s website] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Recommendation: Going to school in Japan instead of starting high school in Australia with her friends worries Hannah; her height and auburn hair will really make her stand out. But a mysterious message from the past sends her exploring her new city quickly.

Her host-father translates the ancient kanji on the fragile paper – it’s a puzzle, asking the finder to “help the ocean boy” by following the cryptic instructions. After “the first snowfall,” Hannah, host-sister Miki, and neighbor Hiro travel to “the temple of secrets” and see a vision from the past!

A boisterous ghost in the house, donuts tossed in the air, messages on her mirror, that recurring dream of the tunnel, a house of cards… Hannah finds they’re all pieces of the puzzle (except the donuts). A suit of samurai armor is delivered to Miki’s shop and puffs out incense with no fire. Japanese school is interesting, but waiting until time to “go at sunrise to wake the dragon” is hard.

Why has the “ocean boy” chosen Hannah to help him finish his task from the past? Is the man suddenly appearing all over their neighborhood “the one who does not want the boy to go”? And why has the samurai armor’s incense smoke changed from blue to yellow?

You’ll get peeks into modern Japanese culture as well as older folktales and traditions as you visit Kanazawa’s festivals and parks with Hannah, Miki, and Hiro to solve the mystery before it’s too late for “the ocean boy.”(One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)