“The lass” is the youngest of the poor woodcutter’s nine children.  At her birth, she was not even given a name, since she was just another useless daughter.  The lass is a kind girl, and loves most of all to spend time with her oldest brother, Hans Peter, learning the meaning of the mysterious signs that he carves over and over.  When she is given the gift of understanding animals, the lass is content in her life, until one night, a huge bear shows up, asking her to come live with him in his castle for a year and a day.  In return, her family will be made rich.  The lass goes to live with the bear in his enchanted castle, full of enslaved servants, mysterious carvings, and unanswered questions.

George’s retelling of the Nordic fairy tale, “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” is fabulous.  George became passionate about all things Norwegian when she was just a girl, and this passion infuses her book with realistic details.  The details and changes that she makes to the original story only make it more exciting and believable.  This book can proudly take its place amongst the finest of fairy tale retellings.

Bunce’s debut novel is a fantastic addition to the world of fairy tale retellings.  Mixing historical fact, fantasy, romance, and a suspenseful ghost story with the retold tale of Rumplestiltskin results in a tale that’s hard to put down!

Upon the death of their father, Charlotte Miller and her sister Rosie find themselves responsible for their family’s woolen mill.  Although the girls are skilled in their trade and eager to work, they find themselves fighting a losing battle to keep their mill.  Strange accidents, bad luck, unexpected debts and rumors of an ancient curse plague their family business.  Out of desparation, the girls make a deal with a mysterious man who appears to magically save the day.  But the price of his help, which at first comes cheap, soon threatens those they cherish most.

 Note:  I found and read this book because the publisher (Academy Chicago Publisher) recommended it for my reading list.

Julian was only 7 years old when the Nazis invaded Poland, and he fled Warsaw with his mother whom he barely knew, and his aunts and cousins.  Although Julian and his family were Jewish, Julian’s beloved governess Kiki had taught Julian of God’s love for Catholics and disregard for Jews.  Thus, Julian secretly in his 7-year-old heart was a Catholic.  Julian’s thoughts and misunderstandings on God and religion form a welcome break from the brutality of the war swirling around him.  One passage in particular describes the Trinity from a  child’s mindset:

Over the next two years or so, I learned from Kiki about God and Mary, their little boy Jesus, and the Holy Ghost.  This last, I saw from pictures, was like a white pigeon that they had.  This, I supposed, was like the canary that I was going to get some day when I was old enough.

Julian’s mother was an amazingly strong and intelligent woman.  Although she was used to being pampered and cared for, when it came to the survival of her family, she did whatever it took to keep her and her son alive.  This memoir recalls the basic story of Julian’s escape from Poland.  But beyond that, it shows two important transformations in Julian’s young life.  First, Julian’s attitude towards his mother changes from disregard and embarrasment to love and respect.  Second, due to his mother’s influence, Julian discovers that God doesn’t hate people just because they aren’t born Catholic–God loves everyone.

Due to the nature of the book (a memoir) parts of the book read a bit slow, as Padowicz includes more detail than a fiction writer would.  But because of the detail and his memory of small incidents (accidentally receiving his first sausage sandwich, jumping in the hay loft) the story has an authentic feel, and has a true child’s perspective on some horrible times.

Burch recounts the tragic period in his childhood, beginning at age 8 when he is dropped off at an orphanage without explanation by his mother.  Burch is then bounced from institution to home to foster home and back to institutions for the next several years.  He never knows if or when he will see his family again, and his only comfort is an old stuffed animal taken from an orphanage.  Burch struggles to learn the rules in every new place that he visits, but the hardest rule to accept comes from a boy his own age:

“There ain’t no friends in here. . . It’s like this.  If you got a friend in here and they go away someplace, then you’re left by yourself, alone.  And if you keep making friends and they keep going away, then over and over again, you’re alone. . . It hurts.”

But in spite of this rule, and in spite of the abandonment and abuse that Burch repeatedly experiences, he eventually learns to love and receive love.

At first this book seemed like just another high school drama:  Kate wants to be popular, and concocts a plan to become so.  But Steele has taken this basic theme from high school fiction, and developed it into a powerful story.  In her quest for popularity, Kate learns some difficult lessons about whom she can trust, true friendship, the costs of being “popular,” and ultimately how to do the right thing.  I know that when I summarize it that way, it sounds like a cheesy, sentimental book, but it doesn’t come across that way at all.  The story is fast-paced, Steele avoids preaching to her readers, and the book will be devoured and enjoyed by both high schoolers and adults.