For fans of fairy tale adventures

In this world of young adult series, it is refreshing to find a fantasy story that is complete.  The Grimm Legacy by Polly Shulman is just that.  It is the story of an ordinary girl who is a modern-day Cinderella.  She lives with her dad and step-mother, and, while her step-mother isn't evil, she is demanding, especially now that the step-sisters are away at college.  A well-written research paper on the Grimm brothers leads her to a job in the New York Circulating Repository, a long title for a very special lending library.  This one requires membership, and does't lend books, but, rather, items: rare items, items of historical significance such as Marie Antoinette's wig, and even magical items.  (As a librarian, this would be my dream job!). Elizabeth and other teenage employees are drawn into a mystery when it appears someone is replacing magical items from the Grimm Collection with forgeries.  There are menacing, giant birds, shrink rays, a trip to Nowhere, and even a magic carpet ride before they get to the bottom of the mystery.

I like that this book doesn't end exactly the way I guessed.  While there are a prince and princess, it wasn't quite what I thought it would be.  Having said that, the ending is, however, a bit too tidy.  It's like the author wanted to make sure all the big questions were answered, and in doing so, forced the story line.  Much is revealed through conversation, in the end, rather than through discovery.  

Finally, while this story is complete, there is a companion book called The Wells Bequest which is about another special collection at the New York Circulating Repository....items from H.G. Wells.  

Compelling MN historical fiction

I read Frozen by Minnesota author Mary Casanova because of a great confluence of events....being from Minnesota, meeting her at a conference, co-planning a historical fiction unit, and, finally, running into the right person at the right time.  The book sort of fell in my lap.  I am so glad it did.  In fact, I'm beginning to rethink my opinion that I'm not a fan of historical fiction.

It is set far in the north of Minnesota on the eve of Prohibition.  A prostitute is found, dead, frozen in the snow.  Everyone assumed she passed out and died from exposure.  Known to only a few, huddled near her body was her six-year-old daughter.  Fast forward 10 years.  The girl is now a teenager, foster-child to a state senator, and she hasn't spoken a word since she was brought to them all those years ago.  She still has dim memories of the night her mother died, and she suspects there was foul play.  She begins a secret journey to find the truth, and her voice, both literally and figuratively.  Clear-cutting, logging barons, environmentalism, women's rights, greed, mental illness and murder come together in this compelling mystery.  

This story has it's inspiration in a news story from that era about a prostitute found frozen in the snow whose body was propped in the city hall as a "joke."  I admire the creative mind that took such a sad, sordid article and created such a rich backstory.

Insight into the mind of autism

I just finished reading The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higoshida, a Japanese boy who struggles to communicate due to severe autism.  What makes this stand out is that he wrote this when he was only thirteen.  It offers moving insight into the mind of a person caught in the onslaught of input that is autism.  Naoki used a character board to communicate as speech was often beyond his ability to control.  He speaks candidly of the misconceptions about what motivates the actions of someone with autism.  What makes this even more astounding is his sophisticated world view, especially for a 13-year-old.  When asked why he enjoys going for walks so much, he responds, "...to us people with special needs, nature is as important as our own lives.  The reason is because when we look at nature, we receive a sort of permission to be alive in the world, and our entire bodies get recharged.  However often we are ignored and pushed away by other people, nature will always give us a good big hug, here inside our hearts."  It makes me think twice about my preconceived notions about not only autism, but other disabilities.