Nicol, James. The Apprentice Witch.

Nicol, James. The Apprentice Witch. Scholastic/Chicken House  2017 318p $16.99   ISBN 978-1-338-11858-2     ms   Fantasy  E-BN       

Arianwyn has failed her witch’s assessment test and will not get her silver star. She is shuffled off to the distant town of Lull on the edge of the Great Wood to spend her life as an apprentice witch.  However, things are not so quiet in Lull. All sorts of unusual creatures are showing up unexpectedly, and Arianwyn must discover the source of the mysterious occurrences. Her magical abilities are tested as never before and she also has to contend with trouble closer to hand in the shape of  her archrival Gimma.  

This exciting magical adventure written in a sprightly manner is utterly spellbinding. It offers both fantasy and suspenseful fiction in a well-paced plot and features engaging characters. The plot is full of surprises, the locations are beautifully rendered, and even the secondary characters are very three-dimensional. The author mixes adventure, political intrigue, and mystery into this very well done novel.     Highly recommended for middle-school libraries.   

Summary: Airanwyn has failed her assessment test and will always be an apprentice witch.  She is sent to the small town of Lull on the edge of the Great Woods, where her magical abilities are truly tested.

Magic-Fiction, Witches-Fiction                --Susan Ogintz

Strange, Lucy. Secret of Nightingale Wood.

Strange, Lucy. Secret of Nightingale Wood. Scholastic/Chicken House  2017  288p.  $16.99    ISBN 978-1-338-15747-5            ms/jr  Realistic Fiction      

E-BN           

After the death of her beloved brother, Henrietta is left to grieve alone when her mother becomes emotionally ill.  In desperation, her father goes abroad to work, leaving Hen to try to bring the family back together.             Sometimes the comments on a book jacket are spot on and sometimes they require a stretch of the imagination.  Readers recognize that critics come in many sizes and shapes, often offering generic, shining comments to entice readers to purchase a book.  In this case, Pam Muñoz Ryan said, “From the first page, I was entirely smitten and compelled to read on until I finished this mysterious and poignant story.”  Spot on.  The poetic style of Lucy Strange pervades this debut novel, embracing the beautiful, yet nearly tragic, story of young Henrietta, who is forced to become an adult at age 13.  Father leaves home, unable to face his wife’s deteriorating mental state.  The nanny, Jane, has her hands full, with an ill mother, a baby and 13-year-old Hen, especially when the mother becomes a bedridden patient of Dr. Hardy.  To Hen she seems to grow more distant by the minute.  Henrietta has taken to wandering the woods, especially after meeting a woman named Moth, a reclusive type who is witch-like in both actions and appearance.  Lucy Strange masterfully weaves a subplot into the main plot: apparently the previous owner of the house lost her son in the war and took her own life by disappearing at sea.  Could Moth be the woman who disappeared?  Meanwhile, Henrietta watches helplessly as Dr. Hardy takes her baby sister away and at the same time plots to put Mother in an insane asylum to receive experimental treatments that seem torturous to Hen.  Just as Henrietta is poised to watch her family fall apart, she becomes empowered, but not without help.  As if the drama were not enough for a reader, it is the way Strange tells the story that contributes equally to the novel's power.  There is sometimes a fine line between sanity and insanity, and Strange finds the words to convey this line exquisitely.

Summary: After the death of her beloved brother, Henrietta is left to grieve alone when her mother becomes emotionally ill.  In desperation, her father goes abroad to work, leaving Hen to try to bring the family back together.                             

Families-Fiction                                                       --Martha Squaresky           

Strange, Lucy Secret of Nightingale Wood

Strange, Lucy Secret of Nightingale Wood Scholastic/Chicken House    2017   288p   16.99  978-1-338-15747-5            ms/jr  Realistic Fiction            E-BN   

After the death of her beloved brother, Henrietta is left to grieve alone when her mother becomes emotionally ill.  In desperation, her father goes abroad to work, leaving Hen to try to bring the family back together.            

Sometimes the comments on the book jacket are spot on and sometimes, a stretch of the imagination.  Readers recognize that critics come in many sizes and shapes, often offering generic, shining comments to entice readers to purchase a book.  In this case, Pam Munoz Ryan said, “From the first page, I was entirely smitten and compelled to read on until I finished this mysterious and poignant story.”  Spot on.  The poetic style of Lucy Strange pervades this debut novel, embracing a beautiful, yet nearly tragic, story of young Henrietta who is forced to become an adult at age 13.  Father leaves home, unable to face his wife’s deteriorating mental state.  Nanny Jane has her hands full with an ill mother, a baby and 13-year-old Hen, especially when Mother becomes a bedridden patient of Dr. Hardy and to Hen, seems to grow more distant by the minute.  Henrietta has taken to wandering the woods, especially after meeting a reclusive type, a witch-like woman in both actions and appearance.  Lucy Strange masterfully weaves a subplot into the main plot:  apparently the previous owner of the house lost her son in the war and took her own life by disappearing at sea.  Could Henrietta’s witch, Moth, be the woman who disappeared?  Meanwhile, Henrietta watches helplessly as Dr. Hardy takes her baby sister away, at the same time he is plotting to put Mother in an insane asylum to receive experimental treatments that seem to Hen to be torturous.  Just as Henrietta is poised to watch her family fall apart, she becomes empowered, but not without help.  As if the drama of this story were not enough for a reader, it is the way Strange tells the story that contributes equally to the power of this novel.  There is a fine line between sanity and insanity, sometimes, and Strange finds the words to convey this line exquisitely.                          Squaresky, Martha          Mama’s depression consumes her after Henrietta’s brother dies

Rubin, Sarah. The Impossible Clue.

Rubin, Sarah.  The Impossible Clue. Scholastic/Chicken House      2017  293p  $17.99      ISBN 978-0-545-94025-2  elem/ms      Mystery/Detective  VG-BN

Alice Jones is good at solving mysteries.  However, in this case she feels she is being used.  So she is determined to find the missing professor.  It is an exciting undertaking for Alice, but it provided a fast-paced, nail-biting experience for readers.

This mystery novel will captivate young and young-adult readers.  The action never stops, and it leaves the reader with more questions throughout.  The ending is a complete surprise and provides the entire explanation of the mystery.                 

Alice Jones has a way of solving mysteries.  A classmate has talked her into helping his father find his missing partner, a scientist who was inventing an invisible suit.

Missing Persons                                                                        --Linda McNeil

Inglis, Lucy. Crow Mountain.

Inglis, Lucy.  Crow Mountain.  Scholastic/Chicken House  2016            359p  $17.99  ISBN 978-0-545-90407-0  ms/hs  Realistic Fiction  VG-BN 

The reader meets two English girls from different time periods in this fictional account of parallel lives.  Hope, the daughter of an environmental scientist, begins her journey in contemporary times, and Emily, a young girl on her way to an arranged marriage with a railroad heir, begins her journey one hundred fifty years before Hope.  The similarities between the two are engaging: both examine life in Montana, both meet young men who intrigue them immensely, and both learn how to stand up for themselves along their journeys.  The differences stand out as well!  Hope’s story is told for her by the author; Emily tells her story through her journal, using second-person narration directed at the man who saves her when her stagecoach falls through a bridge, killing everyone aboard except her.  One important contrast lies in the early lives of the men.  Cal, the present-day cowboy, has been unjustly accused of a hazing incident that caused the death of a fellow teammate, whereas Nate, a former Civil War soldier, has been accused of desertion after running away from his battalion in order to save his leg from being amputated.  The creative weaving of the two stories keeps the reader engaged.  Coincidentally, Hope finds Emily’s journal and reads it during her own isolation, when the vehicle in which she and Cal are riding crashes down through the same bridge.  There are a few other farfetched examples of coincidental events, but they will not deter the reader from finding something magical in the stories’ plotlines, especially in the descriptions of the budding relationship between Emily and Nate in their isolated Montana cabin.  Native Americans, town sheriffs, and Hope’s mother and Cal’s father all add spice to the plot.  Conflicts abound, and the reader will never be bored.  There is even a rock-‘em-sock-‘em ending that will interest lovers of action and drama.   This book has a bit of sexual reference, which makes it more appropriate for high-school libraries. in the U.S.  However, the intended audience might be middle school in the United Kingdom where this novel was first published.  Fans of good love stories with a bit of history thrown in will definitely jump aboard!

Summary: Hope is dragged along by her mother on an adventure to Montana in contemporary life.  Emily was forced to face adversity in frontier America 150 years ago.  Their stories intersect when Hope finds Emily’s diary and reads it at the same time she faces challenges of her own.     

Frontier life-Fiction, Montana-Fiction                                               --Martha Squaresky