vol3.no1

Volume 3# 1

All books reviewed here are recommended. Please, always keep in mind that the only books that appear on this page are ones that I liked enough to write about. For every book reviewed here I have usually read two that I would not want to inflict on anyone.

Happy reading,

Romance/Supernatural/Historical
Fantasy/Romantic
The Bride Finder
Susan Carroll
Fawcett. 0449149277

Anatole St. Leger, the scion of a family gifted with strange powers sends the "Bride Finder" to bring him back a sturdy, plain, horse loving wife. The "Bride Finder" has always found the right spouse for the St. Legers, those who marry one not so chosen are doomed. Rev. Fitzleger, the current Bride Finder brings back sensible, tiny, book-loving, red-haired Madeline who grows to love this lord that frightens all others.

The best romance of the new year this lively combination of fantasy, the supernatural, and captivating romance is a terrific read.

Historical/Europe/9th century
Pope Joan: A Novel
Donna Woolfolk Cross
Ballantine 0345416260

Pope Joan is commonly regarded as legend but Cross brings her life and the 9th century vividly to life in this novel that takes us from her life as a brilliant girl child in Germany to her life as a monk and a priest while disguised as a man and finally to a position as the most powerful religious leader of her time. Romance and politics are blended in seamlessly in this fascinatingly told story.

Young Adult/Fantasy/Saga, Myth, & Legend/Robin Hood
In a Dark Wood
Michael Cadnum
Orchard 0531300714

In a fascinating turn around the Sheriff of Nottingham is seen in a sympathetic light. Forced by his office to seek Robin Hood he really doesn't want to hurt anyone just to keep his position as a king's man. Lush prose and graceful descriptions.

Crime/Suspense
Pretend You Don't See Her
Mary Higgins Clark
Simon & Schuster 0684810395

Lacey Farrell becomes friends with Isabelle, a woman who is trying to sell her dead daughter's luxurious Manhattan co-op even though most think Isabelle has a screw loose because she just can't accept the fact that her daughter was killed in a tragic accident not murdered as she is trying to prove. Lacey stops by just in time to hear a gunshot, see the fleeing killer, and hear Isabelle's dying words. Pursued by a hit man Lacey goes into the witness protection program but knows that she will not be safe until she can solve the mystery of the earlier murder that started the whole mess in the first place. Clark always satisfies.

Young Adult/Coming of Age/Cults
Leaving Fishers
Margaret Peterson Haddix
Simon & Schuster 068981125x

Wrenched away from her friend filled small town life, Dorry lonely in the big city is reeled into a cult by an apparently fun-loving attractive group of kids at school. Beautifully laid out, the reader feels Dorry's confusion and entrapment. A fascinating read.

Young Adult/Coming of Age/Abuse
Forged by Fire
Sharon M. Draper
Atheneum 068980699x

Gerald's life changed for the better when his doper mom was sent to jail and he went to live with his loving great-aunt. Tragically she dies just when he finds out that his mother wants him back and now he has a younger half-sister and a vile abusive stepfather. Coping magnificently he makes lots of right decisions in a world fraught with peril. In places this book is tied closely to Draper's award winning Tears of a Tiger. One of the tough teens I work with said this was one of the best books he had ever read. High praise indeed.

Young Adult/Historical/North America/17th Century/Native American
James Printer A Novel of the Rebellion
Paul Samuel Jacobs
Scholastic 0590163817

Jacobs brings the 17th century vividly to life as he tells the story of King Philip's War (1675-76) from the viewpoint of Bartholomew Green, printer's devil. James Printer, a Nipmuck Indian apprentice in Bartholomew's father's print shop in Cambridge, Mass., his friend, teacher, and mentor is forced to flee for his life because of his ethnicity. We see the war in an up-close and personal way making it and its horrors and atrocities very real.

Young Adult/Historical/
Moving Mama to Town
Ronder Thomas Young
Orchard Books 0531300250

It's a shame that a lovely cover for a children's book was used as the kiss of death on this nicely developed young adult tale of Freddy James Johnson, a 13 year old who shoulders the responsibility of providing for his mother and younger brother when his father runs off. Knowing he is no farmer he goes to town where he finds a job and an apartment as well as himself. A great coming of age story.

Mainstream Fiction/Gentle Read
Bachelor Brothers' Bed & Breakfast
Bill Richardson
St. Martin's Press 0312171838

Obviously literary fiction because of its total lack of a plot, Bachelor Brothers' Bed & Breakfast, will none the less enchant readers with its compendium of musings and notes from the fraternal book loving twins who run the bed and breakfast to their bibliophile guests.

Fantasy/Contemporary/Magic Realism
A Gracious Plenty
Sheri Reynolds
Harmony/Crown 060960225X

Horribly disfigured by burns as a child Finch Nobles has a full and interesting life interacting with her only friends the dead in the cemetery she tends. As we grow to know a few of her friends we hear the rich tales of varied lives from a beauty queen turned topless dancer, to an inarticulate wailing baby, and a transvestite homeless rich man.

This is a wonderful story and I'm glad that it has had such a widespread audience of those who only read literary or mainstream fiction. As fantasy fans will surely see it is set firmly in a familiar landscape that is so often maligned by those who dismiss fantasy without reading it. An outstanding book and an outstanding fantasy novel.

Young Adult/Historical/19th Century
An Acquaintance with Darkness
Ann Rinaldi
Harcourt Brace 015201294X

Emily Pigbush knows her life is going to change drastically, the Civil War has to end and her mother is dying but she will be taken in by her neighbors and life long friends the Surratts. Greater changes happen though than she expected when President Lincoln is assassinated and Mary Surratt is implicated. Against her will she must live with her uncle a doctor who may be involved with grave robbing for scientific research purposes. As usual Rinaldi delivers a satisfying tale filled with interesting historical detail.

Young Adult/Historical/Great Depression
Out of the Dust
Karen Hesse
Scholastic 0590360809

Stunning and powerful this novel presented as poetry makes the reader choke on the endless Oklahoma dust and feel 14 year old Billie Jo's pain as she struggles to survive a horrible accident in the midst of a horrible year. This is a must read and one of the most powerful YA books of 1997.

Young Adult/Horror/Vampire
The Vampire's Beautiful Daughter
S.P. Somtow
Atheneum 0689319681

Johnny Raitt, one quarter Lakota, one quarter Polish, and one half Jewish has been told he'll fit in at Claudette Colbert High School just between Beverly Hills and Encino but he never expected to find his soul mate and the girl of his dreams who happens to be one half human and one half vampire. They meet shortly before their mutual 16 the birthday and Rebecca wants to see what life as a normal teen is like before she steps over to the other side and becomes fully a vampire. A lot is crammed into a few days including Johnny's killing of an ancient vampire (who looks like a 13 year old dweeb) and his vision quest. The Vampire's Beautiful Daughter is a delight to read.

Science Fiction/Bioengineering
Maximum Light
Nancy Kress
Tor 031286535X

Told from the viewpoints of a rebellious young woman, a dying doctor, and a gay young dancer we enter a world where humanity is on the brink of extinction due to mutations and an alarming decline in the birthrate. Unable to nurture children many people turn to surrogates leading to a criminal underground experimenting with illegal genetic manipulations. A fascinating premise and sympathetic characters make this a good SF read.

Horror/Romance/Vampires
The Ruby Tear
Rebecca Brand
Tor 0312861656

Under a pseudonym Susie McKee Charnas tells of an ancient feud that places a New York stage actress at risk when the vampire zeroes in on her because the man she loves now hold a fabulous stone that was stolen from him ages ago.

Crime/Suspense
The Echo
Minette Walters
Putnam's 0399142517

The reigning queen of literary suspense presents a tale of hidden identities and lost souls as journalist Michael Deacon tries to unearth the identity of a homeless man found dead in the garage of a well-to-do young female architect.

Crime/Historical Mystery
Heart and Bones
Margaret Lawrence
Avon 0380973510

Hannah Trevor, a midwife in 18th century Maine finds the body of a woman who had been tortured, raped, and murdered. A letter left by the deceased points a finger at three men, one of whom Hannah loves.

A terrific story with multiple layers. Highly recommended.