Tag Archive | sisters

Nix Minus One, by Jill MacLean (book review) – save his sister, a dog, himself?

Jul10

book cover of Nix Minus One by Jill MacLean published by Pajama PressA dog, beaten and ignored.
A girl, risking and reckless.
A boy who must step out of his safe-place to save them…

I lived in Newfoundland in early grade school (on a now-closed Air Force base), so I have a strong mental picture of the isolated small coastal town that Roxy longs to escape, where Nix’s solitary ways are known to everyone, where a story can never be untold.

Request this novel-in-verse from your local library or independent bookstore; they might have to order it (Pajama Press is a small Canadian firm, not one of the “Big 5”), but it’s so worth waiting for!

Have you ever felt like the only person who could fix a situation?
**kmm

Book info: Nix Minus One / Jill MacLean. Pajama Press, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Nix helps hide Roxy’s wild nightlife from their parents, like he wants to help the mistreated dog he meets, but the consequences may be too much for the quiet teen to handle.

Now that cod fishing is done for good, coastal Newfoundland towns are shrinking fast, but there are still enough bullies at the regional high school to taunt Nix about his weight and red hair. All the ninth grader wants to do is be left alone to play video games and work in Dad’s furniture workshop, pretending that beautiful Loren will pay attention to him some day.

Just by chance, he sees a beaten and half-starved dog at a neighbor’s house and wishes yet again that Mom would have let them have one instead of worrying about clean floors. Maybe the old grump will let Nix walk the dog, just to get her out of that poop-strewn yard full of junk.

Big sister Roxy decides to party with a senior and expects Nix to cover for her when she misses curfew. Their conservative parents warily respect his smooth manners and rich family, but have no idea that he’s the area go-to-guy for drugs. Everyone at school knows Bryan will dump her after a few weeks… everyone but Roxy.

Nix finally coaxes the dog into walking up into the hills with him, occasionally meeting classmate Blue when she’s birdwatching, both laughing about how they’ll never be popular at school with these hobbies.

And then that rainy night, when Roxy doesn’t come home, when silence becomes the fourth person at their dinner table…

Why couldn’t Nix keep his sister safe?
Why can’t he get Twig away from the master who mistreats her?
Why can’t he make Mom and Dad happy?

This powerful novel-in-verse echoes with the rhythms of family life, school tensions, unexpressed dreams and desires, and a long-hidden story that suddenly re-orients everything that Nix ever knew. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Nobody’s Secret, by Michaela MacColl (book review) – Emily Dickinson, death, and a mystery

Jun25

book cover of Nobodys Secret by Michaela MacColl published by Chroncicle BooksSmall-town secrets, small-town minds,
Can’t be bothered  too much about a dead stranger,
But young Emily can’t forget meeting him… Mr. Nobody.

Yes, teenaged Emily Dickinson can’t ignore the obvious clues left at Mr. Nobody’s purported death scene, even when warned away by her fastidious mother and local law officials.

A mystery threaded through with first drafts of her poems, from those earlier days when she would venture out of her house alone – and perhaps a mystery that solves the mystery of why her older self kept so much to herself.

Do you like novels which “star” real people?
**kmm

Book info: Nobody’s Secret / Michaela MacColl. Chronicle Books, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer]

My book talk: When Emily meets a young man who charmingly declines to tell her his name, she’s intrigued. When he’s found dead in her family’s pond, she’s aghast. When she decides to discover who he is and why he died, she’s in danger from more than just society’s disapproval.

Of course, she knows that Mama wants her to stay indoors with sister Vinnie, doing their chores while not in school. But the meadows and clouds call to Emily’s poetic soul, which is why the young man from elsewhere finds her out among the flowers. As they don’t properly exchange names, they call one another “Nobody” with laughter. A chance meeting in town shows Mr. Nobody less than cheerful about family business which brought him to the law office of Emily’s father in Amherst.

Imagine the shock of finding him drowned in the Dickinson family pond later! But he’s clad in rough workman’s wear instead of the city clothes Emily remembered, and no one in town knows his name, so his body is being kept in the church basement until he can be identified.

Emily takes it upon herself to unravel the mystery surrounding him so that the young man may at least be buried under his own name. But Amherst is a small town, and everyone knows what everyone else is doing, so it may be more difficult than she first thought.

Why did Mr. Nobody say he’d leave as soon as he cleared up this family business?
If he has family nearby, why haven’t they claimed his body?
Why don’t the stories that Emily uncovers add up to the truth?

As the fifteen-year-old tries to understand what happened to the young man she wanted to know better, she jots down impressions which become the unique poetry seen later by the larger world, as Mr. Nobody predicted, in this original and clever mystery featuring Emily Dickinson.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher through NetGalley.

William and the Lost Spirit, by Gwen de Bonneval and Matthieu Bonhomme (book review) – quest for father trapped in time

Jun16

book cover of William and the Lost Spirit by Gwen de Bonneval, art by Matthieu Bonhomme, published by Graphic UniverseA way-finding goat,
Mythical creatures and legendary people,
Trust your spirit, not your eyes.

Hilane is sure that Father is alive when everyone else thinks he’s dead, and her quest to find him turns into brother William’s odyssey through lands of fable and myth to discover a way to release his spirit from whoever (or whatever) holds it captive.

Brigands and knights and political treachery are all part of this sweeping medieval tale in graphic novel format.

Is their father dead or alive? You’ll have to read William and the Lost Spirit for yourself to find out.

May your Father’s Day be much less-adventurous than William and Hilane’s travels!
**kmm

Book info: William and the Lost Spirit / Gwen de Bonneval; art by Matthieu Bonhomme; translation and commentary by Ann and Owen Smith. Graphic Universe, 2013.   [author Facebook – in French]  [artist biography]  [publisher site]  [book trailer]

My book talk: Bandits roam the French countryside and their widowed mother prepares to wed the seneschal for safety, but William and his sister Hilane still sense their father’s life-force and undertake a treacherous journey to find him.

As the Count’s business manager, the seneschal should have ensured that the knights have the resources to clear the area of bandits, yet somehow the peasants are still being killed or run off. Now that Brifaut is marrying the widow of the Count’s son, he will receive a title and much of the abandoned land. Hilane and William think that their father’s “death” was most suspicious – how can a healer die of unknown poison?

When Hilane runs away before the wedding, William follows, turning to their other-worldly aunt Ysane for clues to her whereabouts and meeting up with a Crusades-experienced knight, a troubadour, and a friendly goat. Ysane says that William’s father is alive in “the Far-Off Lands” and that he’ll be guided on his journey as needed. So off they go, encountering turn-coat knights, fearsome creatures, Prester John of legend, and many perils along the way.

Can William find Hilane before it’s too late?
Will he survive the challenges and bring justice to his grandfather’s land?
Is his father truly alive?

This action-packed French graphic novel includes all three original volumes of William’s adventures, plus extensive commentary by the translators in the US publication.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

School Spirits, by Rachel Hawkins (book review) – ghost-hunting ain’t for amateurs!

Jun3

book cover of School Spirits by Rachel Hawkins published by HyperionMonster sighted? Check.
Banishment strategy selected? Check.
Ready to walk into high school? No way!

Of course, home-schooling makes sense when your family is frequently traveling to hunt and eliminate otherworldly baddies, but none of her martial arts training prepared practical Izzy for her first major undercover assignment – locate and banish a high-school-based ghost with a grudge!

Makeup, clothes not suitable for stalking in the shadows, a hedgehog mascot for the basketball team …  and very, very attentive boys? Hope Izzy can corner Mary Evans’ ghost during the right moon phase and get out of Ideal, Mississippi in a hurry!

Grab this serious/not-so-serious ghost-trapper tale today at your local library  or independent bookstore, first in new series by Hex Hall author Rachel Hawkins.

Which ghosts of high school would you banish forever?
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Book info: School Spirits / Rachel Hawkins. Hyperion, 2013.   [author site]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Being a Brannick means hunting down supernatural monsters – it’s the family business. When her big sister Finley disappears before Izzy’s training is complete, the teen finds herself walking into high school for the first time, ready to fight an avenging ghost, but so unprepared for cliques, cute boys, and pep rallies.

A science teacher was nearly killed in his lab with the door locked from the inside, and sightings of the school namesake’s ghost have been reported for the first time in years. So homeschooled Izzy is tapped to infiltrate Mary Evans High School to eliminate the ghost.

One official school club in this small Mississippi town is the Paranormal Management Society, with 3 members, all considered weird by other students. Mom always says that “civilians” who think they can take on the Prodigium make supernatural situations worse; hopefully, Izzy can nab the ghost without involving Romy, Anderson, or Dex.

Ah, Dex, who seems to be Prodigium himself, might have a crush on Izzy? She and Torin (the spirit living in Brannick mirrors for past 400 years) watch many movies and television shows about high school life, trying to get a handle on how to cope with boys who ask for phone numbers and girls who are mean and teachers who just don’t have a clue.

A mangled Barbie doll on the head cheerleader’s locker mimics the dead frog found on the science teacher’s door before he was attacked. Mary Evans appears to Izzy and is much more powerful than a ghost should be. Even after Izzy seals the ghost girl’s grave, Mary steers a speeding car into a crowd at school!

Who or what has augmented Mary Evans’ powers?
How can Izzy banish the ghost when normal techniques fail?
Why can’t she shake the feeling that Dex isn’t who he seems to be?

Vengeful, deadly, tied to high school forever – this paranormal opponent forces Izzy and her mom to delve deep into Brannick lore to find a way to save her classmates from evil School Spirits  in this new series by the author of Hex Hall.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Renegade Magic, by Stephanie Burgis (book review) – dark magic, Regency manners, secrets everywhere

May6

book cover of Renegade Magic by Stephanie Burgis published by AtheneumThe pointed comments about their mother,
the deliberate snubs by those in high society,
the accusations of magic being used…
can the healing waters of Bath wash away their troubles?

The Guardians have refused to train Kat to handle the magical powers she inherited from her mother, and all of England may be in dreadful peril because of it!

This funny and suspenseful series owes much to the author’s love of Regency romances, like those of Georgette Heyer, and her own life as one of several siblings.

Kat, Incorrigible is the first book of the series (my recommendation here), and Stolen Magic  is the third (review coming soon).

Try out the first chapter of Renegade Magic  here and get swept into A Tangle of Magicks  in “The Unladylike Adventures of Kat Stephenson” series, as it’s known in the UK.
And the “Dueling Magicks” short story is currently available free (grab it now here!).

What magic powers would you like to use against the stuffier conventions of  society?
**kmm

Book info: Renegade Magic (Kat, Incorrigible #2) / Stephanie Burgis. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2012 hardcover, 2013 paperback.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer]

My recommendation: Kat doesn’t care about polite society, but when accusations of witchcraft during her eldest sister’s wedding send the family fleeing to see-and-be-seen Bath, she’ll take the change of scenery. But this spirited young lady had no idea that evil magic was gathering in the fashionable city – she may have to break a few more Guardian rules to stop it!

No one could have imagined that Frederick’s mother would storm the little country church to accuse middle sister Angeline of bewitching her son – with real witchcraft! Never mind that the three sisters really did inherit their mother’s magical skills and that Stepmama pretends they are not excluded from polite Regency society because of that scandalous family history.

Suddenly, they’re off to the resort city of Bath so that Angeline may acquire a new fiance to quell the gossips, with Stepmama settling the family into her distant relative’s well-placed townhouse by hinting that Lady Fotherington is Kat’s godmother. Of course, everyone important in society respects that great Lady; only Kat knows she’s one of the Guardians using magic to protect England against evil magic-wielders – and that she despises Kat for inheriting her mother’s powers.

As Angeline and Stepmama and reluctant Kat visit all the right places during the proper hours, brother Charles gets himself entangled in gambling again (all he learned at Oxford, it seems), a notorious man singles out Angeline, and Kat seeks out the unusual magic giving off sparks of evil with her cousin Lucy’s unexpected help.

Are the famous spring waters of Bath hiding a darker secret?
Why is scandalous Viscount Scarwood wooing Angeline?
How will Kat ever get the Guardians to train her properly?

Good magic, bad magic, and treachery lurk below the surface of 19th century Britain’s preoccupation with fashion and manners in this fast-paced sequel to Kat, Incorrigible.  Be sure to follow Kat’s quest to recover Stolen Magic  in the third book of the series, too.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

S for Sisters in Jane Austen Goes to Hollywood, by Abby McDonald (book review) – Sense and Sensibility and sunscreen

Apr22

book cover of Jane Austen Goes to Hollywood by Abby McDonald published by CandlewickPoor relatives can’t be picky about things,
Change can be painful…
but landing on your feet in Beverly Hills – wow!

Hallie and Grace’s very rich stepmother sells the sisters’ home so that their half-brother will “be provided for” – curses on Dad for dying without a valid will!

And Grace is attracted to stepmother’s brother (her step-uncle?) who appreciates her love of science combined with art.

You can read the first three chapters  free here, then be ready to head for your local library or independent bookstore because you’ll want to read the rest of this updated version of Sense and Sensibility ! While you’re there, look for other titles by McDonald, like Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots  (my no-spoiler recommendation here).

What other modernized classics have you read lately?
**kmm

Book info: Jane Austen Goes to Hollywood / Abby McDonald. Candlewick Press, 2013. [author site] [publisher site]

My recommendation: Dad suddenly died and left everything to his new wife, including their childhood home. So Mom, Grace, and Hallie leave the misty cool of San Francisco and move in with Mom’s cousin – in his Beverly Hills mansion. Reinvent themselves or stay the same?

So weird to meet their stepmother’s brother at Dad’s wake – he’s just a bit older than the sisters. Theo and Grace visit all her favorite places in San Francisco one last time before she moves to L.A. and he heads back east to college. They were getting along so well…

Sometimes, Grace feels like the parent as big sister is dramatic to extremes and mom is artistic, laid-back. For them, being in Cousin Auggie’s guesthouse is starting anew; for shy Grace, it’s anguishing to change, no matter how nice their cousin’s young starlet wife is to them.

Hallie can’t wait to start her acting career, but agencies won’t even let her in the door. A chance encounter on the beach gets her into an exclusive circle of young actresses where she meets Dakota, lead singer for the hottest band, new love of her life! She’ll be his inspiration now, and life is very, very good. Never mind scarred Brandon next door, offering to photograph her for agency headshots, trying to get over his tour in Iraq.

Grace stays by the pool at Auggie’s all summer, then tries to find her place among the rich and ritzy at her new high school. Her lab partner Harry at least does his share of work and business-builder Palmer is a crazy-fun antidote to the celebrity gossip around them. Mom is so wrapped up in painting a new portrait series that she honestly has no idea what her daughters are experiencing, aside from the careful comments they make during family Sunday brunch.

Will Hallie ever get an audition? Will Dakota stay true to her?
Can Grace get over what might have been with Theo?
What happens when the in-crowd gossip hits a little too close to home?

Yes, this is Sense and Sensibility  transplanted into 92010 with all the social posturing and misunderstandings intact – and an added dose of sunscreen, rock music, and current events.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

M for Mixtape, mystery and mistakes in Wish You Were Here, by Barbara Shoup (book review)

Apr15

book cover of Wish You Were Here by Barbara Shoup published by FluxBest high school pal.
A great girlfriend.
A family that gets along.
Quit dreaming, Jackson!

Senior year of high school is rarely all sunshine and cupcakes for folks, but Jax really does have some odd and difficult things to work through before he graduates in 1994.

His rock band roadie dad is dating a vegetarian aerobics instructor, straight-arrow MBA Ted has asked Jackson if he’s okay with him marrying Mom, and Brady is still gone.

Is his life a mixtape where nothing can change or is it on the shuffle setting, like Ted’s state-of-the-art CD player?

It’s National Library Week, so head over to your  local library and look for this 2008 re-release of Shoup’s award-winning classic.
**kmm

Book info: Wish You Were Here / Barbara Shoup. Flux, 2008.   [author site]  [publisher site]

My recommendation: Jackson and his best friend are moving into their own apartment for their senior year of high school! Until Brady runs away the weekend before school begins… Now Jax has to cope with everything by himself: his mom remarrying, his dad going into the hospital, girl-trouble. Maybe he can follow the postcards and bring Brady back.

If he must have a stepdad, Ted is better than most, and now only-child Jax will have part-time little sisters. But a new house, knowing that Mom and Dad will never get together again, no Brady to escape with… and to top it off, the three stepsiblings will be going with Mom and Ted on their honeymoon trip to the tropics over Christmas Break!

At least he got to meet Amanda at the beach – funny, smart, likes Kristin and Amy, really likes Jax. They’ll just have to write letters until graduation (Class of ’94 forever) since they live so far apart. One postcard from Brady, but no real news.

Odd that Jax gets tied up with stoner Steph, Brady’s ex, when he gets back from the island. He doesn’t love her, she doesn’t love him, but it just happens. Keeps him a little bit sane when Dad is injured during a rock concert (yep, he’s a roadie) and Jax winds up staying at his house to help him recover. Another postcard from Brady, less informative than the first.

A road trip to Graceland, spring break in Florida with his classmates…life for Jax is like the random feature on the CD player in Ted’s new van – you never know what song will play next, and the surprise isn’t always a pleasant one.

How does this being a big brother thing work?
Can he find Brady before senior year is over?
Why can’t he figure out what comes after all this drama?

Published in 1994 and named to the American Library Association’s 1995 Best Books for Young Adults list, Wish You Were Here  has been re-issued by Flux Books. Jackson’s musings still ring true, as he deals with divorce, weird relatives, the end of school, and the disappearance of his best friend.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) I won this review copy in the Authors for Henryville auction. Cover image courtesy of the publisher.

L for Lost Crown, by Sarah Miller (book review) – Romanov grand duchesses, sisters, doomed

Apr13

book cover of The Lost Crown by Sarah Miller published by Atheneum Books for Young ReadersOlga and Tatiana,
Maria and Anastasia.
Royal blood unites them,
Royal blood dooms them.

The sisters Romanov truly believed that the Russian people loved them and their ailing young brother, the Crown Prince. But World War I revealed the truth, and their lives went from merriment and joy to grim gratitude for being allowed to stay together under house arrest in Siberia during the Revolution.

And does author Sarah Miller think that Anastasia survived? Read The Lost Crown  at your local library or independent bookstore to find out for yourself!
**kmm

Book info:  The Lost Crown / Sarah Miller.  Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2012.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [author interview video]

My recommendation: Sailing on the imperial yacht that 1914 summer day, none of the sisters could imagine that their world would soon erupt in war, that the whole world would go to war, that the people’s love for their papa would turn to hate and “Down with the Tsar!” would sound throughout Russia.

When war is declared, the four grand duchesses – eldest Olga, prim Tatiana, peacemaker Maria, and Anastasia, who wishes she could fight alongside her father – and little Alexei, the Tsarevich, the royal heir, whose hemophilia makes every bruise life-threatening, must stay behind when Nicholas II goes to command the Russian troops.

As their mother, the Tsarina frets over every fever; as Mother of all Russian Children, she agonizes over the waves of wounded soldiers returning from the front. Her increasing reliance on mystic Rasputin and her German heritage condemn her in the eyes of the rebels who overthrow the government in the midst of World War.

The royal guard deserts them, Papa must abdicate the crown, and suddenly the longest family reign in history is broken as the Romanovs are taken from their palace, shifted through different cities secretively, and erased from Russian memory.

Why did the military turn on their Tsar and join the rebel forces?
How long can Alexei endure the rough travel without his doctor?
Will the royal family live through the glory days of the Russian Revolution?

Each chapter tells the fateful story from the viewpoint of a different sister, whose personality shines through, enlivening this pivotal tale of history with everyday customs and Russian endearments whispered by their parents. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

K for Key to the Golden Firebird, by Maureen Johnson (book review) – road trip with their late father

Apr12

book cover of The Key to the Golden Firebird by Maureen Johnson published by HarperTeen K for the key,
Baltimore baseball-loving Dad’s key,
the key to his beloved gold Pontiac Firebird…
but what’s the key to the teen Gold sisters coping with life without him?

Things get interesting when May starts thinking of Pete as more than just the annoying practical-joker boy-next-door during their driving lessons.

Maureen Johnson’s tale of the three sisters’ summer of tough love, rough breaks, and glimmers of new hope holds up well several years after its initial publication in 2004 (with a different cover; this is the 2008 version) and is a great choice for National D.E.A.R. Day as you “Drop Everything And Read” (which I hope you do every day).

Is it always this difficult to pick up the pieces after an unexpected loss?
**kmm

Book info:  The Key to the Golden Firebird / Maureen Johnson.  Harper Teen, 2008.  [author site]  [publisher site]

My recommendation: The heart attack that took their dad a year ago also shattered life for the three Gold sisters. No more cheering at their softball games, no more road trips to baseball games, no more of lots of things since Dad’s life insurance didn’t cover much. It’s still up to May to watch out for everyone; maybe she can find some time for herself…someday.

Now Mom works double-shifts at the hospital to keep the family afloat, older sister Brooks is coping by drinking instead of starring on the softball team, 14-year-old Palmer rejects almost anything that she should eat, and middle sister May is going crazy trying to take care of them and keep up her grades. To stop depending on wildly undependable Brooks for a ride to work, May must get her driver’s license, but has failed her first test – ever.

It’s finally come down to this, asking Pete for help – Pete, whose pranks pulled at May’s expense are legendary – desperate times indeed, if she has to get her life-long nemesis to teach her to drive. And so the summer begins, with May stalling out at stop signs, listening to Nell at work chronicle her dates with Pete, telling Palmer to turn down the television over and over, worrying about Brooks, wondering about this new friendship with Pete.

When Palmer discovers something they’d almost forgotten about, the sisters realize that they have to make one more road trip in Dad’s beloved Firebird before they have to sell the classic car.

Can they honor their dad’s love of baseball without tearing themselves apart?
Can they pull off the trip without Mom learning about it?
Can they put their family back together before it’s too late?

Maybe family and friendship can overcome the odds in this story of finding what’s important in the midst of sorrow for this trio of sisters, named after baseball greats by the dad they adored.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Book in my personal collection. Cover image courtesy of the publisher.

J for Jessica Spotswood – Born Wicked (book review) – eccentric sisters, witches in hiding

Apr11

hardback book cover of Born WIcked by Jessica Spotswood published by PutnamDon’t talk about the girls who disappeared,
Pray that the Brotherhood will approve your choice of husband,
Hide any hint of difference or intuition or possible magic skill,
Witches persecuted in New England… how 19th century?

A new alternate history, where New England is the ultra-religious patriarchy and the Middle East is the home of freedom.

The next book in the Cahill Witch Chronicles, Star Cursed,  will be published in June 2013, so grab Born Wicked  now at your  local library  or independent bookstore – and if you buy your copy from Jessica’s favorite indie bookstore, One More Page Books,  she’ll autograph it, too!

Oh, In case you wondered, clicking any link in BooksYALove posts won’t benefit me in any way, shape, or form, just like my Policies page states.

Is Cate right to keep secrets if the truth will put her family in grave danger?
**kmm

Book info: Born Wicked (Cahill Witch Chronicles, Book 1) / Jessica Spotswood. Putnam, hardcover 2012; Speak, paperback 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer]

My recommendation: Magic only in the rose garden, avoid attracting the Brotherhood’s attention, watch over one another – that’s what Mother told Cate before she died. How can a sixteen-year-old keep her younger sisters from spellcasting in this land where suspected witches are sent to Harwood Prison?

Oh, to live in Dubai where women have freedom, can learn more than reading and simple sums, where they can use their magic gifts if they choose! Here in New England, the Brothers preach that magic is “devil-sent” and the Brotherhood Council runs absolutely everything.

Keeping to themselves except to attend Services and piano lessons hasn’t stopped gossip about the Cahill sisters, as Cate had hoped. Now Father has hired a governess for them! Worse yet, she’s from the Sisterhood, where women must go if they do not marry by 18. She will polish their manners and perhaps help them repair their social standing in their small town.

Cate’s own intention ceremony is in just six months, when she’ll announce who she intends to marry – probably Paul, her lifelong friend who’ll return from university soon. But she’s becoming fond of Finn, the bookstore owner’s son who’s had to take on other work as the Brotherhood drives off their customers.

Social calls among Brotherhood wives bring out new information about old situations, and the most influential daughters decide that Cate is worth spending time with after all, to her chagrin. A letter from “Z.R.” tells Cate to search for her mother’s diary and find answers there.

Who is Z.R. and why did she wait so long to contact them?
Is there truly a prophecy about three sisters like Cate, Maura, and Tess?
Will Cate’s intention ceremony begin a life of contentment or close the door on happiness?

This first book in the Cahill Witch Chronicles introduces an alternate world where New England is a place of religious oppression, where truth can be more dangerous than lies, and where Cate must decide how much she’ll sacrifice to protect her sisters from the Brotherhood’s menace.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.