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Masterful storytelling! A splendid mix of fantasy and old Russian fairy tales and a must for readers who enjoy being scared just a little to get the point across. Vasilisa is born of mixed blood - peasant and noble and has grown up with the old ways but will be introduced to the new wave of Christianity that will find its way into her village. She is as wild as her brothers but has the sight and leaves offerings for the various creatures that protect the village and surrounding wood. With this sight she must also pay the price of being branded a witch, a demon child and the responsibility of saving the village from the Bear who brings his horde of vampires and demons. There is another who only a few can see, the Bear's brother, who will help Vasilisa but will demand much of her as well. This is the classic battle between good and evil, between the old ways and the new and between the pure of heart and those who want glory above all else. 
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Welcome to the beautiful upper class town of Mill Valley. Middle school is where kids begin to find themselves and for one loner and a group of popular kids the journey will end in tragedy. We follow these kids through high school where they act as if nothing bad can ever happen to them. Their parents pay the bills and pretty much ignore them as they tolerate the trips to visit the school refusing to believe the worst. Kids will be kids, not my kid etc is the norm but we see what really is going on behind the scenes. When one teacher goes out of her way and begins to care she thinks she has broken the shell and gained their trust but part of this journey is the realization of how little control either party has. You hope that this isn't how it really is for the teachers and the kids but this could be any kids, in any school, in any town.  A young woman returns to her childhood home in Kenya in the years following WWII to find things very different from when she left. Her father has replaced her mother with a new society British girlfriend who resents Rachel for not accepting her. The native people are rising up against British rule and Rachel gets pulled into a dangerous world to match her dangerous feelings of the people around her. You get a real sense of the beauty and danger of Africa as well as the repression of the native people. Read this in tandem with "Circling the Sun", "West With the Night" and "Out of Africa".  I adore these characters and their witty banter. Stoker and Speedwell are sorting through a museum collection when their detective services are called upon. An unusual Women's club with some high society names is where their client beckons to find the real killer and free the innocent victim before he faces death row and a scandal. A fun romp through Victorian London with just enough danger, mystery and a touch of romance is just what you need on a chilly winter night.  |
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