This was a fun mystery to read.  It took me a few chapters to get into the book, but I’m glad I stuck with it.  Addie French is a madame who takes in friendless Emma Roby.  Addie then partners with Ned and Welcome to help Emma to steal back Emma’s inheritance from her controlling brother.  But what seems like a simple scam gets more complex with each turn of the page.

Dallas divided her story into 4 sections, with each part being told from a different character’s perspective.  As each character’s role is revealed, you can feel yourself drawing closer to the truth and a completely satisfying end.

As an aside, although there isn’t a lot of violence in most of Dallas’ books, there are always one or two scenes that are quite horrifying, usually involving mothers and children.  I’ve read so many of her books, that I’ve come to expect such a scene and try to quickly skim it when I get there.  The fact that this distinctive scene appears in one form or another in all of her books makes me wonder what tragedy has touched her life.

Another outstanding book by Dallas, told entirely through letters that Alice, a young farmwife in Iowa, writes to her sister.  Alice’s husband joined the Union army, and Alice is left to run the family farm, with the help of her disapproving mother-in-law.  Alice is young, irresponsible and unaware of the brutality of war.  When Alice is accused of murder and the whole town seems to turn against her, Alice learns who and what is truly important.

Quinn and Sprout live with their mother, aunt and grandma.  They see their father every other weekend.  Quinn tries to make it all work and makes numerous excuses for her fun-loving yet distant father, until she discovers something about him.  His house is filled with “trophies” that he has stolen from the many women he has married and divorced.  In an impulsive act, Quinn reaches out to her stepsister, Frances Lee, and the 3 sisters together embark on a journey to return the trophies to their rightful owners.  On their journey, the girls discover much about what true love really is and isn’t.

High school girls (and their moms) should read this book.  It’s one of the best books about dating (even though it’s a novel) that I’ve ever read.  Without being preachy or condescending, the characters, both old and young, share what they’ve learned about true love and men who are worth loving.  Some examples:

• “This is who he is, who he will always be, and no amount of your love is going to change that.” p. 69
• “When it comes to relationships, second thoughts should be promoted.”  p. 139
• “Love is never unsafe.” p. 176
• “A relationship–it shouldn’t be too small or too tight or even a little scratchy.  It shouldn’t be embarrassing or uncomfortable or downright ugly.  It shouldn’t take up space in your closet out of a guilty conscience or convenience or a moment of desire.  Do you hear me?  It should be perfect for you.  it should be lasting.  Wait.  Wait for 100 percent.” p. 312

Orphaned by the brutal murder of her parents,  Princess Ben, the only heir to the throne,  is confined to the castle by Queen Sophia.  Ben misses her parents and chafes under the restrictive and controlling queen.  When she discovers a secret tower full of magic, Ben begins learning the secret and long-forgotten magical arts.  At first, this is just a diversion, but when her country’s sovereignty is threatened, Ben must put her new powers to work and defend her country.

There were many things that delighted me about this book, one being the clever allusions to numerous fairy tales woven neatly into the plot.  But more than that, even though this book was full of witches, magic and dragons, it had a very “real” sense about it.  Princess Ben was a very real character.  No slender, beautiful, graceful princesses here!  Ben is overweight, sometimes sullen, selfish and lazy.  Because of that, she’s a character that you can relate to and love.  Ben’s search for true love is real, and even her use of magic is tempered with a good bit of common sense!  Ben’s parents were also very real, and instead of being demonized (as so many Young Adult books tend to do) they are celebrated.  My favorite quote comes right at the end:

…I dedicate this work to her memory as well as that of my parents, for however we might criticize those who rear us, the fact that we survive at all into adulthood, however late that passage comes, is testament enough to their ability and perseverance.  p. 344

A fictionalized account of the Sager children’s journey on the Oregon Trail.  When their parents both die on the trail, John, the eldest, must assume the care of his 6 siblings, one just a newborn baby.  Determined both to keep his family together, and to reach Oregon, John grows from a sullen, irresponsible boy to a hardworking, determined young man as he works to care for his family and fulfill his father’s dream.

The story of the Sager children is an incredible one.  I’d love to learn more about the true story of these children.  One of the Sager children, Mathilda, wrote an account of their journey to Oregon and their subsequent involvement in the Whitman massacre.  The book can be read online.

The thing I enjoyed most about Morrow’s story was the gentle, all-knowing narrator tone which she adopted.  Parts of the book could be quite overwhelming to children–the death of parents, attacks, starvation, loneliness, etc.  Morrow’s gentle narration makes it seem as if the children weren’t quite so alone.

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