Tag Archive | sisters

Once a Witch, by Carolyn MacCullough (book review) – prophecy with no power?

Jan3

book cover of Once a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough published by ClarionGetting away from a bad situation always seems like a good idea… except when a bigger problem roars down from an unexpected quarter.

There’s always someone, somewhere, who is taller or has a better free throw average or solves the crossword puzzle faster than you – usually we find something else to focus on and things seem better.

But Tam’s birth prophecy said she would be “most powerful” and “a beacon to us all” – she’s not imagining her family’s disappointment as she grows up with no Talent at all. Her mom’s arguments about Tam leaving home made the weather storm and moan; her grandmother’s future-sight never shows whole pictures.

At least Gabriel is here now – his Talent for finding things might help Tam as she searches for the professor’s long-lost family heirloom. And a little time-Traveling with a cute guy…

Followed by Always a Witch which extends and completes the story of Tamsin and the Greenes as they struggle to keep the Knight family from gaining control over humankind.
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Book info: Once a Witch / Carolyn MacCullough. Graphia HMH, 2009. [author’s website] [book website] [publisher site] [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Recommendation: Boarding school is a better place for Tamsin, unTalented among her family of powerful witches. There, she can almost forget the words of her seer grandmother – that Tamsin will be most powerful of them all. Ha!

At least her childhood pal Gabriel and his mother have moved back to Hedgerow, where the extended Greene family has lived quietly for many decades, more than content to stay out of public notice. He doesn’t yet know that Tam’s Talent never manifested, but someone will surely tell him soon.

When a professor visits the family bookstore and asks her help in tracing an heirloom, mistaking Tam for her very Talented sister, she agrees. A bit odd that McCallum finds them both in New York City soon after, as Rowena shops for her wedding dress…

Tam’s search for the missing clock takes her and Gabriel much further than she had imagined – back to 1899, in fact, thanks to Gabriel’s time-traveling Talent. But finding the clock triggers a new quest as Tam learns more about her family’s history and their past battles with another group of witches who’d rather rule over unTalented humans than avoid their notice.

Can Tam keep the clock away from the professor long enough to discover its secrets? Have she and Gabriel altered the path of time? How can she do anything to help her family when she has no Talent?

Tam tries to balance her personal world with the larger questions of good versus evil in this first book of a duet which is followed by Always a Witch. Surely Rowena will decide on a wedding dress before it’s all over… (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

LIttle Women and Me (fiction)

Nov4

Fun Friday with a blast into the past, as a middle-school girl is launched back into the pages of Little Women – no cellphone, no jeans, no kidding!

It seems like the world of Little Women is so much simpler than modern life, but Emily finds that even in 1861, human nature keeps things interesting. And the personalities of those March girls!

So, can Emily change the parts she dislikes about her favorite book? Will her actions as “the middle March” fix it or spoil it?

You’re sure to find the original Little Women at your local library or indie bookseller, but if you’d like to read Emily’s favorite online -free!- in a variety of formats, visit Project Gutenburg here.
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Book info: Little Women and Me / Lauren Baratz-Logsted. Bloomsbury, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site]

Recommendation: Emily jumps into the assignment to change something in a classic novel – she can’t change her real-life family, can she? Being a middle sister is just so annoying…

Back in the pages of her favorite book, Little Women, Emily tries to decide on just one thing to change: Prevent sweet Beth from dying? Keep Papa out of the Civil War fighting? Have boy-next-door Laurence marry Jo instead of silly Amy?

Suddenly she is whirled into the book itself – as middle March sister Emily!! What a different world – life for 13 year-old girls in 1861 means corsets and needlework, not jeans and text messages.

As she lives through the events chronicled in the novel’s pages, Emily tries to fit into the story without giving herself away as a time-traveler. School isn’t mandatory for girls? Hooray! Reading aloud to grumpy, demanding Aunt March? Yikes! Long evenings at home with sewing instead of the internet? Urrr…

Key events in the story are just around the corner – can Emily change things enough to keep Beth alive or make Laurie realize that he loves his best friend Jo instead of her sister Amy? And what will happen to Emily when the last page of the book is turned?

Whether reading this before or after Little Women itself, readers will see 19th century life and Alcott’s classic tale in a deeper way through Emily’s humorous adventures and misadventures. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Torrent (fiction)

Aug31

Welcome to World Wednesday as we return to 14th century Tuscany with the third volume of The River of Time series, being released tomorrow.

Battles a-horseback and on foot.
Treachery and loyalty.
Faith and hope, gained and lost.
And, oh, you will so want to be with Gabi and Lia again as they time-travel to be with those they love!

Please be sure to read Waterfall (#1) and Cascade (#2) first so that you get the full backstory of how two bored American teen sisters become the She-Wolves of Siena and inextricably entwined with the people and destiny of Castello Forelli. Swashbuckling gal heroes – my favorite kind!
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Book info: Torrent / Lisa T. Bergren. David C. Cook, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site]

Recommendation: Traveling back in time, the Betarrini family hopes that they’re not too late to save their friends in 14th century Tuscany. Bringing Dad with them is an unexpected blessing, but being separated from Marcello is causing Gabi such anguish and pain!

Once again, Gabi and Lia exit the ancient Etruscan tomb into a battle zone – this time they may have the upper hand as the Forellis have left weapons hidden for them. Ah, Castello Forelli has been rebuilt, but over it fly the flags of the treacherous Lord Paratore who started the border wars! Traveling the backways by night, the Betarrinis hope to find safety and information in the city.

How happy the people of Siena are to see that the battling Ladies Betarrini have returned to them from their mysterious travels! How delighted handsome young knight Marcello is to have Gabi back in his arms! How wonderful to see that his election to The Nine is benefiting the people of the region through Marcello’s able decisionmaking.

But how sad the sisters are to discover that Fortino Forelli is a captive of Lord Paratore, being tortured despite all offers of ransom from his brother.

Can the She-Wolves of Siena help rescue the lord of Castello Forelli while keeping Gabi safe from Paratore’s bitter desire for revenge? Is Lord Greco still a double-agent for Siena, or has he decided that Florence will win the war? Will the Betarrini family stay in the 1300s, knowing that the Black Plague is coming – or will Gabi be taken away from Marcello forever?

Swordplay, expert archery, the rough road to Rome, narrow escapes, and the power of true love – you won’t want to miss this thrilling sequel to Waterfall and Cascade!
Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Sweetly, by Jackson Pearce (book review) – gingerbread house, werewolves on the prowl

Aug29

book cover of Sweetly by Jackson Pearce published by Little BrownWelcome to Mysterious Monday and a truly frightening retelling of a classic fairy tale.

The story of Hansel and Gretel really is scary when you look at it afresh, as candy, cakes and a gingerbread house lure children into mortal peril in the eerie forest of the witch.

Jackson Pearce has given the Grimm Brothers version a mordant twist as rumors of possible witches near a small Southern town turn out to be much worse than anyone feared.

Published just last week, Sweetly  will undoubtedly make the bestseller list – but you found it here first! Grab it at your local independent bookstore today, or get on the waiting list at your library – and lock your doors when you read it!
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Book info: Sweetly / Jackson Pearce. Little Brown, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Book Talk: In the woods of their childhood, Gretchen and Ansel lost their sister – even as the three held hands and ran from the sounds, she was snatched away from them. Their mother died from grief, their father mourns still, their stepmother finally pushing the now-teen siblings out of their home.

Driving as far away as their old car and their savings will carry them, they roll to a stop near Live Oak, a small South Carolina community that’s dwindling away as modern life tempts its young people away to the big city. Young chocolate-maker Sophia invites them to stay with her at the charming sweetshop outside of town, lonely after her father and sister have left. Her candy creations taste magical; her hospitality is warm and authentic.

The townspeople of Live Oak are rather wary of the newcomers, but do warn them of strange occurrences in the woods near Sophia’s place and even about Sophia herself. The missing persons posters in the Post Office all feature older teen girls – if they just moved away to the city as Sophia says, why haven’t they contacted their families?

As Sophia’s famous girls-only chocolate festival approaches, Gretchen meets a young man who claims knowledge about the monsters in the woods, monsters that sound like the ones in her recurring nightmares about her twin’s disappearance.

Can Gretchen trust Samuel when folks in Live Oak say he’s part of the trouble in the woods? Is there a link between the chocolate festival and the disappearing teens? Have she and Ansel walked into a trap created by their own past?

Enjoy this spooky, enthralling take on the Hansel and Gretel story with the lights on, windows locked, and shades drawn against what may be lurking in the woods near your house! (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Cascade, by Lisa T. Bergren (fiction) – time travel, romance, the Black Death

Aug15

It’s mysterious Monday (after time off for a wonderful Caribbean interlude last week at the International Association of School Librarianship conference in Kingston, UWI-Mona), and we’re hurtling back to 14th century Italy with Gabi and Lia.

Have the teens convinced their rational archaeologist mother that they can truly travel into the past? Worry that time is moving faster in Marcello’s world while she is in the present is causing Gabi true pain.

And consider the classic time traveler’s paradox – if they do go back and stop the people of Castle Forelli from succumbing to the Black Plague, will that change history as we know it?

Romance, adventure, intrigue, and a trio of strong women make this second novel in the Rivers of Time Trilogy as good as the first book in the series, Waterfall. And the final volume, Torrent, will be released on September 1, 2011 – I can hardly wait!!
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Book info: Cascade / Lisa T. Bergren. David C. Cook, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

Recommendation: Her heart belongs to Marcello – Gabi knows this now that she’s back in modern times and he is in 1342. But she and her sister Lia had to come back to find their mother – and find a way to keep the black plague from wiping out their friends in old Tuscany.

Their archaeologist mom can’t quite believe that her daughters have traveled to the 14th century and back; her scientific background demands proof. When the three Bettarini women visit the ancient tomb, Mom gets more than proof – she goes back with them!

Marcello’s betrothed has given him up for his older brother, who is finally recovering from his long illness; becoming Lady of Castle Forelli is a political move, of course. Free to express their affection at last, Gabi’s reunion with Marcello is interrupted by invaders from Castle Paratore.

The regional war between is still going strong, as the republics of Siena and Florence fight over the borderland castles. So the enemies of Castle Forelli would love to capture the Ladies Bettarini who are strong and wise and fearless in battle.

Intrigue, conflict, and the coming Black Plague – can the “She-Wolves of Siena” turn the tide? Will the troops of Florence break through the Sienese defenses to capture the capital? Will Gabi stay with Marcello in 1342, or will Lia and their mom try to draw her back to their own time?

This second book in the Rivers of Time series answers questions raised by Waterfall (#1 – blogged here July 26th) and leaves readers anticipating more intrigue and romance in Torrent (#3 – Sept 1, 2011 pub date). (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Devil’s Paintbox, by Victoria McKernan (fiction) – teens struggle on Western frontier

Jul28

book cover of Devil's Paintbox by Victoria McKernan Life on the western frontier was far more difficult than the Little House on the Prairie books showed us.

Aiden and Maddy are the last surviving members of their family whose homesteading dreams turned into a row of graves on the bleak Kansas prairie.

Their unlikely savior is gruff Jackson, recruiting for the even-tougher demands of the Pacific Northwest’s logging camps, who only agrees to take along Maddy if Aiden signs on for an extra year of logging work to pay their way West.

Friendly Nez Perce, not-always-friendly U.S. Army soldiers, and the dreaded smallpox shadow the wagon train, as they traverse open range, strain up mountain grades, and struggle across rivers.

Aiden toughens up as they travel, but will he be able to hold his own against the roughs and rowdies of the lumber camps? Adventure, peril, and possibilities fill this gripping tale of the West.
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Book info: The Devil’s Paintbox / Victoria McKernan. Random House, 2009. [author bio] [publisher site] [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My Book Talk: The shoe leather soup is gone, so Maddie and Aiden will starve to death soon, just as their family did on the Kansas prairie in 1865. But over the hill rides Jefferson J. Jackson, recruiting workers for the lumber camps in Washington.

He allows the teens to join the wagon train going west, warning them that “any way you can think up to die is out there waiting” on the trail. Aiden agrees that his first two years’ wages will go to Jackson in payment for their travel, and they head west, away from the graves on the hillside, away from the dried-up homestead.

Jackson is all too correct, and dangers face the travelers day and night – rampaging rivers to cross, wolves stalking them, Indians who might attack, and diseases with no cures.

Aiden works with his bow and arrow, bringing in deer and rabbits for his sister Maddie to cook. He meets friendly Indians who cross their trail from time to time, teaching him bareback horse riding and improving his hunting skills.

But soon smallpox, “the Devil’s Paint”, appears at a nearby fort, and the deadly disease threatens them all. The wagon train’s doctor soon runs out of medicines, the Indians blame government-issued blankets for the epidemic, and survival is now a gamble for everyone.

Will Aiden make it to the lumber camp? How will a scrawny, malnourished 15-year-old keep up with strong men and dangerous work? Smallpox is just the first challenge that he must face as he tries to live long enough to grow up. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Waterfall, by Lisa Tawn Bergren (fiction) – time travel, romance, sword-fighting

Jul26

You’d think that archaeology was exciting, digging into the past and all that – well, not to Lia and Gabi, teen sisters who’d rather be back in Colorado with their friends. Who cares why the Etruscans disappeared from Italy? But Mom is carrying on the search for ancient tombs that she began with their father, so recently killed in a car crash.

Neither sister is good at waiting around, so the chance to see even a looted tomb is worth doing. But when their hands touch the matching handprints on the wall, they are swept into the past – Knights and castles? Is this a re-enactment? No – they’re really in the past!

Relying on her wits and fencing skills, Gabi navigates the courtly customs of 14th century Tuscany and its local politics. As she searches for her sister and frets about the oncoming black plague, Gabi may be losing her heart to the young knight who rescued her, who is betrothed to another…

Swordfights, romance, and a gal with guts – and this is just the first book in The Rivers of Time Trilogy! Watch for my August notes on Cascade , while Torrent will be published on Sept. 1, 2011.
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Book info: Waterfall / Lisa Tawn Bergren. David C. Cook, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

Recommendation: Another summer of ancient ruins in Italy? Teen sisters Gabi and Lia risk sneaking into the latest find, only to be whirled away when their hands touch the handprints near the warrior mural!

Gabriella emerges from the old tomb into the middle of a battle, with horsemen with swords, archers firing arrows through the woods! Where’s Lia? Now the ruined castle on the hill is a bustling fortress. Rescued from the leering soldiers in red by a handsome knight under the gold flag, Gabi is soon convinced that she’s truly landed in the past.

The handsome young knight Marcello explains that her hiding place sits on land that the red bannered Paratores are trying to seize for a rival ruler. Her modern jeans exchanged for a suitable gown, Gabi says she’s from faraway Normandy to explain her unfamiliarity with local customs at the Castle Forelli and asks her rescuers to help search for her sister.

When the castle is attacked, Gabi is thankful for her late father’s fencing lessons, but learns that the evil Paratores have Lia! Soon she is known as the warrior Lady Gabriella, as she fights to protect the people who saved her.

Oh, no – the sisters have landed in Toscana just years before the Black Plague sweeps the land! Can Gabi rescue Lia? Is there a reason that they’ve been brought back into the past? Is there a way to reverse the time trip? Can Gabi leave Marcello behind if they go back to the future?

This thrilling first book in The River of Time series sweeps you into the daily life, perils, and people of the medieval Italy that Gabi is growing to love (or is it Marcello?) – followed by Cascade (#2) and Torrent (#3). (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Briar Rose (fiction)

Jul16

Shh… Sneak-in Saturday has a double meaning today, as we consider an adult book that snuck itself into teens’ hearts and then snuck onto numerous award lists before I could blog about it.

Originally written as a novel for adults, Briar Rose won the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature in 1993, but gathered such a following among older teen readers that it was re-released as a Tor Teen paperback in 2002.

Memories of less-often told stories of the Holocaust spill into the present day as Becca tries to carry out her grandmother’s last wishes on a trek to Poland that becomes a heart-wrenching journey into the hellish days of World War II.

A strong, faithful book that reminds us that history’s headlines are not the only important stories.
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Book info: Briar Rose / Jane Yolen. Macmillan/Tor Teen, 2002. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

Recommendation: Becca always loved her grandmother’s story about Briar Rose, no matter how many times Gemma told it to her and her sisters. The princess, the black-booted witch’s curse, the mist that covered the kingdom and made everyone sleep for a hundred years… not the same Sleeping Beauty story that you heard or read in books.

Years later, grown-up Rebecca promises her elderly grandmother that she will find out the rest of the story. Upon Gemma’s death, she inherits a small box of photos and papers – clues to the past and the rest of the Briar Rose story that journalist Rebecca must uncover.

From research to refugee camp, Becca traces Gemma’s mysterious arrival in the United States from Europe in the closing days of World War II. The path leads back to a Nazi extermination camp in Poland, not a concentration camp, but a place so deadly that only 4 men ever escaped… and no women ever left it alive.

Why does Gemma’s paperwork say that she came from that place of death? Is she the princess of Briar Rose? How can Becca find her family’s roots when no one in Chelmno will talk about the camp?

A powerful retelling of Sleeping Beauty that explores the brutal depths of the Holocaust. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy courtesy of the publisher.

Die For Me, by Amy Plum (book review) – ultimate sacrifice for love?

Jul11

book cover of Die For Me by Amy Plum published by Harper CollinsOn this metaphysical, mysterious Monday, slip away to Paris!
City of Lights, city of Romance! What a place to try to mourn…

Oh, Kate loves her grandparents, but they can’t replace her mom and dad, gone in a heartbeat.

Her encounters with some most puzzling people startle Kate out of her haze of grief – swordfights in modern Paris? How can someone move fast enough to stop a falling stone block? Didn’t that guy fall under a Metro train??

A new variety of not-dead creatures in this great debut novel – and they aren’t vampires!
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Book info: Die for Me / Amy Plum. Harper Collins, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer] Review copy and cover art courtesy of the publisher.

My Book Talk: Suddenly orphaned, Kate and Georgia hope for safety at their grandparents’ calm Paris home. But danger is always nearby, as the sisters witness a miraculous rescue from the Seine River followed by a sword fight, then Kate narrowly escapes falling stone blocks in their neighborhood.

Kate is magnetically drawn to the handsome young man she sees near each incident. He introduces himself as Vincent, and his friends as students and painters. A tiny glimmer of hope peeks into her sorrow, but then Vincent disappears. How can Georgia go out partying every night while the darkness of losing their parents swallows Kate?

Things get stranger and stranger. She hears Vincent’s friend being crushed, run over by the Metro train – but how can Jules be strolling along their street the very next week?
Why are Vincent and his friends always nearby when someone’s life is threatened?
Why do Georgia’s new party buddies give Kate the cold shudders, while Vincent’s touch is like light and life?

A new type of paranormal creature roams the Parisian nights in this adventure-thriller with a touch of romance – Paris is Paris, after all… Are there secrets too big for the living to understand, too strong for the dead to ignore? (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

This Thing Called the Future, by J.L. Powers (book review) – tradition, love, AIDS, hope in South Africa

Jun15

Tomorrow is South Africa Youth Day, celebrating the 1976 youth protest in Soweto. Khosi’s mother and father were among the many who fought for freedom from apartheid, the South African government’s brutal racial discrimination policy.

Although apartheid has crumbled, Khosi and Zi are growing up in an era of changes, as traditional beliefs clash with Christianity, and new menaces stalk the villages and cities of Africa. “The disease of these times” Khosi calls it – HIV and AIDS leaves many children orphaned.

I visited with author J.L. Powers at TLA, and she told me of life in today’s South African townships, the funeral bells, the push for education. Reading this strong book, we can believe that Khosi will stay in school and find a way to balance her beliefs, avoid threats to her health, and see a bright future.
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Book info: This Thing Called the Future / J.L. Powers. Cinco Puntos Press, 2011. [author’s website] [publisher site] [book trailer]

Recommendation: Khosi wants to do well in school, keep her family safe, escape AIDS, “the disease of these times” in South Africa. Life can be so confusing at 14, as she prays to the great God-in-the-sky at the church and also honors her ancestors with traditional ceremonies, uses herbal cures from the sangoma as well as modern medicines from the clinic. Born on the day that her grandfather died, Khosi often has vivid dreams – are they merely warnings from her ancestor or dire predictions of the future?

She and her little sister live with their grandmother in Imbali township, while her mother teaches in another city, coming home on the weekends; their father lives so far away that they see him only on holidays. Khosi wishes that Mama and Baba were married, but during the struggle for Liberation who could afford the lobolo, the bride price?

A widowed neighbor accuses Mama of stealing her late husband’s money, a drunken man near Gogo’s house follows Khosi and Zi home from school every day, and the witch woman calls out that she will take Khosi’s spirit! How Khosi wishes she could just ignore these things and plan her future as someone who heals or dream about her crush on Little Man at her school …

When Mama comes home, sick and skinny and weary, Khosi fears that the neighbor and the witch have cursed her family. What can she do?

Author J.L. Powers’ time in South Africa has given her great insight into the lives of its girls and women, ever-shadowed by HIV, neighborhood violence, and the struggle to rise above poverty, as she brings us a powerful story that still holds hope for This Thing Called the Future. (One of 5,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.