From the back cover: "From now on I'm Alan of Trebond, the younger twin. I'll be a knight." And so young Alanna of Trebond begins the journey to knighthood. Though a girl, Alanna has always craved the adventure and daring allowed only for boys; her twin brother, Thom, yearns to learn the art of magic. So one day they decide to switch places: disguised as a girl, Thom heads for … [Read more...] about Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
Books
So Much to Tell You by John Marsden
From the back cover: Fourteen-year-old Marina didn't know why she was sent away to school. Actually, that wasn't completely true. She knew it had something to do with the progress she hadn't made in the hospital. After all, she still didn't talk. And Marina knew her mother didn't want her at home. Then Marina started writing in a journal for English class. Bit by bit the … [Read more...] about So Much to Tell You by John Marsden
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
From the back cover: Welcome to a surreal version of Great Britain, circa 1985, where time travel is routine, cloning is a reality (dodos are the resurrected pet of choice), and literature is taken very, very seriously. England is a virtual police state where an aunt can get lost (literally) in a Wordsworth poem, militant Baconians heckle performances of Hamlet, and forging … [Read more...] about The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Witch Way to Murder by Shirley Damsgaard: C
From the back cover: Ophelia Jensen wishes she was just your typical, thirty-something librarian. Unfortunately, she's been burdened with psychic powers—an unwanted "gift" she considers inconvenient at best and at worst downright dangerous. Her kindly old grandmother Abby, however, has no compunctions about the paranormal, being a practicing witch with unique abilities of her … [Read more...] about Witch Way to Murder by Shirley Damsgaard: C
Five Children and It by E. Nesbit: B+
From the back cover: 'It' is a Psammead, an ancient, ugly and irritable sand fairy the children find one day in a gravel pit. It grants them a wish a day, lasting until sunset. But they soon learn it is very hard to think of really sensible wishes, and each one gets them into unexpected difficulties. Magic, the children find, can be as awkward as it is enticing. Review: After … [Read more...] about Five Children and It by E. Nesbit: B+